Over the past few months, I’ve really enjoyed reading the blogs of other recent newlyweds. It is so interesting to me how we’re all so similar and that many newlyweds go through the same types of experiences. One of the dreaded experiences that I know we’d rather not go through is gaining the “happy fat.”
My whole life I’ve heard about women that gain weight after the get married because they get comfortable or because they’re cooking meals that their husbands will like. I convinced myself that this could never happen to me.
Leading up to the wedding, I got down to a size 4 pants and size 2 skirts. I’m 5’8″. I ate well, I exercised, and I couldn’t believe that my body was responding so well to the good treatment I was giving it. It was mostly hard for me to believe because when I was 18 years old, I didn’t gain the freshman fifteen. I gained the freshman forty! It gradually came on, but it stayed on all through college and I didn’t get rid of it until my first year out of college.
I worked hard to get it off and told myself I’d never go back to the dark side. Well I’m on my way there now. Granted, I’ve only gained 10 pounds since the wedding, I have gone up one pants size and I refuse to get any further. It’s fun gaining the weight. It’s not fun getting it off. And it’s not fun spending money on new clothes when you have to go up a size.
Over the past few weeks, Mojito Maven, LyndsAU and I have noticed that we’re often talking about the same weight-related issues and we decided that we needed to be able to talk openly about our struggles. I know there are other women and newlyweds that are going through the same issues and we want for you to be able to open up about it in the comments of our blogs.
Every Wednesday, we’ll be hosting “Weight Watchers Wednesday.” I’m obviously hosting it this week, but next week LyndsAU will host and then Mojito Maven will host the following week. Wednesdays will be our day to share successes, failures, and progress.
This is a place to post recipes and give us your secrets. What motivates you to exercise?
I am a strong advocate of Weight Watchers because that is what has worked for me. I enjoy counting points and being able to keep everything organized, because that’s how I think and work best. My goal this time is to lose 10 pounds and get back to “wedding weight.”
2 tsp olive oil, extra-virgin
2 medium yellow pepper(s), cut into 2-inch long thin strips
1 medium onion(s), thinly sliced
1/2 cup red wine
1 1/2 Tbsp minced garlic
28 oz canned crushed tomatoes, fire-roasted recommended
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes, or less to taste
1/4 tsp table salt
8 oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, fusilli
1/3 cup basil, fresh, chopped
Meanwhile, to make sauce, in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat, cook sausage, stirring and breaking up meat with back of a wooden spoon, until cooked through, about 3 to 5 minutes; remove to a plate.
Heat oil in same skillet. Add yellow peppers and onion; cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are lightly colored and crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.
Add wine and garlic; cook until most of liquid evaporates, about 1 minute. Add tomatoes, crushed red pepper, salt and browned sausage; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer until vegetables are tender and sauce is heated through, about 10 minutes.
While sauce simmers, add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package instructions. Drain pasta; return to pot. Add sauce and basil; toss to mix and coat. Yields about 1 1/3 cups per serving.
Obviously, your serving size will affect the points value, so think small!
What is your goal? Share your stories with us.
This blog is not supported nor endorsed by any part of the Weight Watchers corporation. All point values are figured using the Weight Watchers eTools and are assumed to be as accurate as possible.Recipes that are labeled as “Core (WW)” may contain trace amounts of non-Core ingredients, but the point value per serving of those ingredients would figure to be .5 points or less in all cases.
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