Wednesday, October 1, 2008

New Me, Meet Old Closet


I have a closet FULL of clothes that I have not been able to wear since I was five months pregnant. Seeing that Cooper is now 16 months, we are talking almost two years have gone by where I can only fit into about 10% of the clothes I had hanging in there.

Before having my youngest, Cooper, I was at my smallest and fittest since high school. I went to the gym three to five days a week and had a personal trainer. After my third child (and gladly surrendering my career as a Compliance Paralegal) I just have never been able to make the same time and hiring a trainer is no longer a luxury we can afford. So what was a girl to do?

I turned to NutriSystem which I realize is not that cheap but I would have spent more replacing my wardrobe and my self esteem would have remained in ruins. Well, 2 months and 18 pounds later I am happy to report that I am back in a majority of my old clothes although (truth be told) some of them I no longer care for or have anywhere to wear them to!

I wanted to share some great non-NutriSystem favorites that I have discovered.

1. Trader Joes Bambino Pizza Formagio. A lot of the Nutrisystem diet is about portion control. So this pizza is a small main course but the calories are right and the taste is delicious! Serve it with a salad, non fat dressing and vegetables and it is a great dinner that doesn't taste diet at all!

2. PB2 Powdered Peanut Butter. I know, I know....sounds strange but it is really good and you can not beat the calorie count, even reduced fat peanut butter at the store is 190 calories (110 fat cal.) per serving while PB2 is 53.2 (16.8 fat cal.) for the same serving size. It is made with high quality peanuts that are slow-roasted and pressed to remove the oil. Once mixed with water, PB2 has the same consistency as full fat peanut butter with all of the natural roasted peanut flavor but with nearly 85% less fat calories. You will go through a jar quicker then regular peanut butter so don't stress about the minimum. I love it spread on a wheat waffle, topped with sliced banana. What is cool too is that you can mix it directly with jelly for instant PB & J!

3. Weight Watchers ice cream and bars. We get these by the cart full at Vons. I keep waiting for the press conference to come out where they say just kidding.....these aren't diet. They are soooo much better then the Skinny Cow desserts, you won't feel like you are missing out on anything!

4. Ron and Franks Hot Chocolate with Splenda. Last year I gave up caffeinated drinks which was hard for a longtime coffee addict. Three cups of black coffee and a triple shot non fat latte were my morning staples. So giving up my replacement, hot cocoa, was an issue. Luckily I heard about this 20 calorie cocoa which is a great substitute. The only flavor I could do without is the dark hot chocolate (tastes a little burnt) but the rest are wonderful!!

5. Butter Buds. These are great for cooking with and pouring over cooked vegetables! My kids love it on the corn on the cob!

No comments: