Guilt Free Thanksgiving Gluttony

Yes I indulged! I still tried to log my calories just for kicks, but I don't need an app to tell me I ATE TOO MUCH! I'm up 4 glorious pounds and don't even care. I enjoyed my family and friends and I'm finally comfortable with knowing a few bad days won't make me gain back the 49lbs I've lost. I may gain back a few, but who cares. Now that my lifestyle is a healthy one, I can lose them just as easily as I put them on. I was back to my regularly scheduled program today and took the dog out for a mile walk (chihuahuas don't have much stamina!) and visited my old friend Jillian for Level 3 of 30 DS. I totally loved my diet vacation!

#Unprocessed (& Delicious!) Peanut Butter

I pledged to do October less processed, and one of my favorite food items that needed a make over was definitely me beloved Low Fat Jif. So, yes I realize it's the end of November and I'm just getting around to posting about this but I was reminded of it as I made my grocery list because this was a change that ended up sticking!

Ok, so let's start with my beloved Jif that I've eaten for years. I thought it was peanut butter. But no! It's a peanut "spread". I assumed the ingredients couldn't be that bad because really how much do you need to alter peanuts to make peanut butter? And I was wrong again with that one too. Here's the ingredient list:

Reduced Fat Jif Ingredients:

PEANUTS, CORN SYRUP SOLIDS, SUGAR, SOY PROTEIN, CONTAINS 2% OR LESS OF: SALT, FULLY HYDROGENATED VEGETABLE OILS (RAPESEED AND SOYBEAN), MONO AND DIGLYCERIDES, MOLASSES, MAGNESIUM OXIDE, NIACINAMIDE, FERRIC ORTHOPHOSPHATE, ZINC OXIDE, COPPER SULFATE, FOLIC ACID, PYRIDOXINE HYDROCHLORIDE.

Here's how you make peanut butter:

1. Put peanuts in food processor

Boom. Peanut butter. So why all the extra stuff Jif?! 

I knew I wouldn't be making my own peanut butter (even though it's so darn easy), so I decided to find a yummy natural one without all the extra stuff in it. I ended up trying MaraNatha's No Stir Organic Peanut Butter and it was a home-freaking-run. I love it and will never eat anything else!

Thus, Unprocessed October was a huge success in my book!

Wisdom According to Pinterest

Strollin' w/ My Peeps

Out for a beautiful afternoon stroll yesterday with both of my babies. We only ran over the dog twice this time!

The Final Countdown!

I did it! I met my first goal date and weight of 175 lbs on November 2 (my baby's 1st birthday). This is the countdown that I kept on my fridge and I absolutely loved crossing off the days....all 148 of them. I have set another 60 day goal (Phase 2) that ends on New Year's and I'm already off to a great start! Oh, I also collect refrigerator magnets. Don't judge.

The Hardest 5K Ever!

Running is a funny thing. Some days are amazing, and the road just flies beneath my feet. Other days not so much. Well, I signed up for the October 21st Waterworks 5K at White Rock Lake and that week had been jogging 3 miles easy peasy in Nashville while on vacation. Then the race happened and I learned that I need to run more hills! OMG it nearly killed me but I finished (not last!) in 42 minutes. Here is me forcing a smile just before the finish line. I'm positive I had blacked out at this point!

Happy Birthday Baby!

It's hard to believe that this time last year I welcomed my baby boy and had spent the better part of that year pregnant (read tired, hungry, large, tired, oh and hungry.) I've been absent from my blog for several weeks as this has just been a super busy and emotional time for us as we prepared for the baby's 1st birthday party. Looking back on the day he was born and our year as first time parents was heavy stuff!

I had planned out this long blog post detailing my traumatic birth story, our first few months as new parents, my struggle with breastfeeding, the roller coaster of our relationship as we grew into new life stages, going back to work (kind of!) after maternity leave, and planning G's first birthday party....but I've changed my mind and I'd much rather keep those intimate details between my partner and I.

However, I will say that all seriousness aside, this year has been a BLAST! Everyone says how hard being a parent is, and yeah it has it's moments. It's way harder than say, not being a parent. But, all that hard stuff doesn't even compare to how much fun it is to watch  your child learn and grow and laugh. I've had the time of my life being G's mommy and I'm excited about the year to come!

Here's a pic of us taking a breather at his shindig!