Use whatever you have.
Here’s what I used:

• 2 ears of corn, sliced
• 4 medium sized red potatoes
• 1 onion sliced into rings
• 2 zucchinis cut chunky like
• a couple regular tomatoes  quartered(I had some smaller caprise tomatoes that I quartered, I ended up using 4)
• 1/2 bunch asparagus
• 1 T olive oil
• 1 T garlic powder
• salt and pepper to taste (S&P)
• 1 T basil

I washed all the veggies and then cut them up to whatever specifications I listed above.  I set the oven to 350  and put the potatos and corn slices in the pan, and drizzled them with the olive oil, garlic powder, basil and S&P and topping them with the onion slices.  I cooked them in the oven for about 30 minutes before I came back to see how they were doing. They said they were fine, but would like some company, so I took the cue and added the asparagus, tomatoes, and zucchini.  I baked them for probably another 30 minutes.  Be careful that you watch them and stir them so that the more delicate veggies (asparagus, tomatoes, zucchini) don’t get really crispy gross.  The timing really all depends on how thick you cut your veggies. I was going for a more rustic, chunk style roast so that’s why mine took so long.  Use a bigger pan if you can so they have more surface area touching the pan (it’ll help put a nice crusty coat on them!)  My wall oven is a really weird size so I can’t fit bigger pans in it, so I had to adjust accordingly.

“it’s like an almond butter jelly smack of goodness to your mouth!”

Time to get out of the breakfast rut. This is so easy to make, hearty, filling, and SWEET (in the sugar way. But ok, fine, in the Napoleon Dynamite way, too.)

1/2 C oats of your choice (I used Trader Joe’s Quick Steel Cut Oats)
3/4 C water
2 T almond butter (I used Trader Joe’s Crunchy Almond Butter with Flax Seed MMM!!!)
1 T all fruit jam (low-cal jam would work, whatever you want to deal with calorie/taste wise.)
Combine oats and water. Cook as directed. Stir in almond butter and jelly. Don’t stir too much, because it’s nice to have fun little taste-bite chunks of almond butter or jelly. MMM! That’s all I can say. MMM! I would eat this for dessert. After I ate it for dinner. And breakfast.

Recovery was rough. I had nearly every infection and complication you could get after a c-section. I wasn’t able to really get up and walk around until about 8 weeks post-delivery (with my last c-section I was back at work after 3 weeks!) And now I am 3 months post-delivery.  My stomach stillll hasn’t shrunk down, I’ve only lost 19 lbs since delivering a 10 lb baby, I have some pretty serious Post Pardum Depression going on, bleeding stomach ulcer, incredible pain in the abdomen still, and nothing fits, nothing fits, nothing fits. I don’t even want to get out of bed in the morning. I re-enrolled in Weight Watchers when baby was 1 week old. I weighed in and was happy that I’d lost almost 26 lbs. I’ve only gone back one other time, to find I have since gained 5 lbs (probably up 10 by now) and it’s just a disaster really.  The WW program has changed to the new Points Plus Program.  I haven’t given it a fair shake, but I am so frustrated with my mental state. I keep telling myself that I should dive in, I lost over 90 lbs with the last program, however that is what is making it hard. Why fix something if it’s not broken? I am hesitant to go to the new plan because I am lazy. I knew the point values of EVERYTHING before, and now they make you use this new device called a cal-cu-lator. Uggghh…however, I must admit the iPad app for WW and Online tools is super cool and easy! I realize I could follow the old plan, but the human in me really wants the new shiny program to work, I don’t feel like the old one is good enough for me anymore.

So, my point, I do have one – I am here to bare myself to the world. While I am very much an extrovert and outgoing and enjoy self-depreciating humor, I am ironically very shy when it comes to personal things pertaining myself, especially body image. But today I declare myself an open book, and will be documenting my journey (I’m sure it’ll be about 99% struggle) online for all of my adoring fans (both of you!) This will be a test of wills. I am a musician (singer-songwriter) and am use to baring my soul to an audience, so maybe it won’t be so hard afterall.

The blog is going to be consisting of 3 parts: Food, Exercise, and the Mental Journey.

A few months ago I was back east visiting my former stomping grounds and came home with a lovely tick bite. Which then turned into Lyme Disease. And Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. And then I found out I was pregnant. Again. (Muffle screams of I JUST HAD A BABY!!!)

So I’m busy preparing for the birth of child #3, work is even more burdening, and my music career is kinda on the back burner and I feel like a loser because I still have 15 lbs of last time around baby weight to lose.  But I digress, I can’t kick myself yet. I have to be positive and congratulate myself for getting this far.  When I combine the weight gained with the last 2 kids, it is over 150 lbs! I think I’ve done a pretty good job considering I lost a combined of 160 after both of them (I know it seems like the math doesn’t add up, but trust me. I lost more than just baby weight the first time, but not all the baby weight the second time.)

Where does this leave TigerFIT? Right where it needs to be.  I am bound, determined and focused to have the healthiest pregnancy EVER! Yes, I capitalize words to make me more motivated.

With kiddo #1 I was pre-diabetic, meaning I flunked my 1 hour glucose test but passed the 3 hour test barely. I gained around 65 lbs.

With kiddo #2 I had full on gestational diabetes and gained almost 85 lbs.

With kiddo #3 I am not sure if I will be diabetic or not but I commit to only gaining 20 lbs.

The posts here will be more centered on a healthy pregnancy (sorry everyone that hates preggos) and overall health and fitness. 

I’ll post food finds when I catch them, and also some recipes I’ve been working on.  I really hope to cut back on some working hours so I can spend more time in the kitchen because yes, I’m one of those weirdos that actually likes to cook. 

Stay tuned!

I’ve been debating for a long time whether to buy some home gym cardio equipment or just go to a gym. The pros of an at home studio: Work out anytime I want, only pay for the equipment, privacy of my own home, etc. etc. etc. Cons: This could result in being a VERY expensive clothes rack and dust collector. Yep. That’s about the only con.

So I paid for an entire years worth of gym membership. I will try to make it there tomorrow and will report back all about my lovely gym experience.
Oh, I forgot the best “pro” about going to a gym – getting to buy cute workout wear. I don’t know why, but that’s always an exciting motivator.
Miss Fitness September will rise again (and hopefully before next September.)
Wish me luck. Lord knows I’ll need it.

xoxo,
Tiger

So class, what have we learned?

1. Take the stairs.
2. Never sit down with temptation (even though technically chips ahoy cookies do nada for me, but they are edible and I do like putting edible gunky junky things in my mouth for some undetermined reason)
3. Liken Albertsons donuts to the devil. Devil=no good. Albertsons donuts= SOO good but really not good for your soul. Or hips. What a rotten analogy.
4. It’s good to park far away in a parking lot. By the time that annoying completely-capable-and-healthy lady (you know the type) that just has to park at the nearest un-handicapped spot has finally found said parking spot, you will already be strolling out of the store and back to your car parked in the egypt end of the parking lot. Hopefully without donuts. And hopefully without donuts because you didn’t even go to the bakery display and gobble down the donut before you even made it to the ever loved, non-judgemental self-check out. That brings me to…
5. Do not go to self-check out. You will be more likely to buy crappy things because there is no hot barely legal clerk checking you out (no pun intended. Unless of course you think I’m cute, too [I believe you can look up my number through the customer loyalty system?]) Everyone knows self check outs were invented to prevent pregnancy, help shy girls through puberty, and further obesity. Where else do you buy condoms, tampons, or donuts?

I hope you think about these things…

TigerFIT adjourned.

And I’m throwing these damn cookies away (read: in the back of the cupboard after I carefully wrap them in Ziplocks for another date with danger/mindless eating binges.)

1st RULE: You talk at TigerFIT meetings. 

2nd RULE: You TALK at TigerFIT meetings.

3rd RULE: If someone says “stop” or goes limp, only if they don’t have a pulse are they allowed to leave TigerFIT.

4th RULE: Only two cheating food items a day.

5th RULE: One donut at a time.

6th RULE: No shirts, no pants? Well lose some weight, fatty and maybe your old ones will fit.

7th RULE: TigerFIT will go on as long as it has to.

8th RULE: If this is your first time  at TigerFIT you HAVE to weigh in.

Everyone ignored all those rules, except weighing in.

We all set a goal – Health, weight, pants fitting, and no more than 1 item of junk food a day were the goals discussed.

Everyone agreed they need to find better snacks and meals. Time seems to be a constraint in almost everyone’s life, so finding healthy, quick snacks and meals is going to be key. I volunteered to find some good things for us all to munch on and will distribute them to everyone later this week.

We all agreed to journal everything we eat. This will give us some sort of accountability.

TigerFIT meeting adjourned.