In the Dailies

It’s time. My “baby” is three and a half years old, and while I have a dear friend who still blames her twenty-three-year-old daughter for five extra pounds, I think that there must be a statute of limitations on pregnancy weight. Sadly, I think my excuses expired a while back.

I want to tell you about this book, but before I do, let me share a little about my story. (I hate diets, so I feel the need to explain why I’m promoting one.)

I was either pregnant or nursing for three years straight. My weight boomeranged over fifty pounds more than once. My poor scale never knew what to expect, and now here I am, almost six years after this journey began and still 30 pounds over my pre-pregnancy weight. I know I’ll never get back to wedding weight. I’m not aiming for that, but I would like to be rid of my muffin top hips and sausage-like thighs.

I have tried! I did a week on Atkins (only to annoy everyone with my whining and complaining); I tried the South Beach Diet for two months, but only lost my appetite (thanks to bland, unimaginative food). I tried a gym, but quickly realized I don’t like public nor shared torture. I bought a pilates machine to work out at home, but have yet to be consistent in using it. Oh, and I’ve bought plenty of other diet cookbooks, but with a husband who can instantly tell the difference between whole wheat pasta and regular, whole fat cheese and part-skim, none of the cookbooks stuck around for long. I don’t have the time nor energy to make multiple entrees for each meal, so if Rick doesn’t like it, it doesn’t return to our table.

Now, a new part of the story. I received The Baby Fat Diet through The Blog Tour Spot and decided to implement a few of the strategies even before finishing the book. I lost 3 pounds in one week. I know three pounds doesn’t sound like a lot, but it is the first time in a long time that my weight has gone down and stayed down. Weight fluctuates from day to day, but this decrease, while just a start, has remained.

So, what’s in the book? Who wrote it and what’s it about?

Monica Bearden and Shara Aaron, both moms, both registered dieticians, wrote the book together. They understand the hectic schedules of moms and they understand the need for regular doses of chocolate. Isn’t that great?

Great information floods this book. I can’t possibly cover it all; you’ll have to grab your own copy, but here are a few of my favorite inclusions.

• When to buy organic vs. when the label is more expensive than it’s worth
• The difference between hunger and appetite, knowing when to eat
• Portion control, knowing how much to eat
• How to tell a fad diet from an authentic, healthy diet
• How to read labels and know what you’re really getting
• How to tell real health foods from “healthy” marketing tricks
• Tips for maintaining a balanced diet
• Ways to excercise with little ones under foot

There really is a ton of great stuff in here! From BMI charts and calorie suggestions to recipes, shopping lists, menus and more.

Like I said, I didn’t follow all the suggestions. I haven’t even finished reading the book, but what I have read makes tremendous sense and fits into my life. I can’t reconfigure my life around a weight-loss program, but I can control my portions. I can choose a healthy, delicious snack instead of a bag of chips. I can eat slower. I can dance with the kids and run around instead of popping in a video. These are easy steps. They’re small steps. And they’re making a difference.

Click here to purchase the book through Amazon.

You can visit the authors’ blog to find more tips and recipes. Also, click on the links below to visit other blogs on the tour this week. See what they have to say about it.

5 Minutes for Books
A Little Whine and Cheese
A Peek at My Bookshelf
Be Your Best Mom
Behind the Mountain
Blog Tour Spot
Bookish Mom Reviews
Camy’s Loft
Fictionary
Fit Family
i don’t believe in grammar
In God’s Image
In the Dailies
Kells Creative Musings
Lighthouse Academy
Mommy Snacks.Net
Mommy’s Must Haves
Momopoly
Quiverfullfamily.com
Real Women Scrap
Refresh My Soul
Roni’s Weigh
The Journey of Writer Danica Favorite
The Law, Books and Life
The Pitter Patter of Losing Pounds
The Sassy Pear
The Unadorned Book Review
wandering, wonderings of a whacked-out woman