For my family, the 4th of July weekend means we will be going SWIMMING!  And swimming means what moms?  We will be putting on bathing suits!

Now this can be a traumatic time for any mother of a baby!  If you have some anxiety about putting on that bathing suit, here are a few thoughts to hopefully encourage you:

1. Choose a bathing suit that is most flattering to your figure. This may be your maternity swimsuit. Use a cover up when you’re not in the pool. A sarong wrap that ties around your waist and covers up that post-baby belly works great.

2. Don’t focus on the way your body looks. Focus on having fun with your friends and family! Remember that almost every woman in the pool or on the beach feels conscious about her body too!

3. Set a goal for yourself to get back into your pre-baby bathing suit. Why not use that pesky bathing suit as incentive? It may take several months, but make it your goal to put your old bathing suit on next season. Here’s a video tip I made about this and you can see me in my old bathing suit.

You can get in your old one too with some work and determination!  Dive in with both feet moms!

Today’s Action Step:  How many pounds do you have to lose to get into your old bathing suit?  Set a reasonable goal (maybe dropping 2 pounds a week) and set a goal date to get back in your swimsuit.  Even if it’s in the dead of winter, you will be proud of yourself when you can put it back on! 

You may wonder what Winchell’s has to do with Weight Watchers.  No, I’m not advocating a new “eat donuts and you’ll still lose weight” program!  But I would love for you to hear my funny friend, mother of 3 Wendy Griffith talk about her experience with Winchell’s and Weight Watchers.  Her insights will make you smile.  You’re not alone ladies in your desire to shed those pesky pregnancy pounds!

I interviewed Wendy this week on my podcast, Losing Weight After Baby.  It’s titled “Winchell’s and Weight Watchers.”  Click on archives and listen to it here

Today’s Action Step:  Listen to my podcast today!

My mom is an excellent chef.  I’d rather go eat at her house than a restaurant.  Me?  Not so much!  I need all the help I can get!  I figure many of you have to be in the same boat.  You’d like to eat healthier but you don’t have time to make an elaborate meal.  That’s why I’m going to start something new called Monday’s Meal!

Every Monday, I will be posting a recipe that must be:

• Quick and Easy
• Nutritious and Delicious
• Painless for the non-cooks like me  

Hopefully I will save you the time of scouring your recipe books or searching online for a new recipe to try.  Just stop by every Monday for fresh ideas! 

Marinated Teriyaki Chicken, courtesy of www.allrecipes.com

• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cut into bite size pieces
• 2 cups dry white wine, divided
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon onion powder
• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion
• 1 green bell pepper, diced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons teriyaki sauce

To Marinate: Place chicken in a nonporous glass dish or bowl. Pour 1 1/2 cups of wine over chicken, then sprinkle with garlic powder and onion powder. Cover and refrigerate to marinate for at least 1 hour.

Heat vegetable oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 to 7 minutes, or until soft. Remove from skillet and set aside.

Remove chicken from marinade, discarding any remaining marinade. Heat olive oil in a medium skillet over medium high heat and brown chicken, adding teriyaki sauce to ’sear’. Braise with remaining white wine and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and no longer pink inside.

Add onion/bell pepper mixture to chicken and heat through, stirring. Serve hot.

Call us pitiful, but our family loves going to the 99 cent only store!  We went today and filled our cart with 31 different items, ranging from deodorant, July 4th hats, playdoh, steel wool pads AND healthy food!

Sure, there are a lot of food items in the 99 cent store that will not help you lose weight after baby (try the cookie aisle for starters) but did you know that you can get lots of fruits and vegetables for $1 too?

One dollar items include bananas, nectarines, lettuce, salad, carrots, bell pepper, onions, kiwis, broccoli and spinach.  We bought two bunches of bananas, cut them up and put them in the freezer.  Try this for a summer treat - frozen bananas are delicious! 

Eating healthy doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg - you just have to get a little creative! 

Today’s Action Step:  Where do you shop for fresh fruits and vegetables at a good price?  If you don’t know, ask your healthy friends for new store ideas.

My 3 year old toddler has radar!  No matter what I put in my mouth, he has this uncanny ability to ask me 2 seconds later, “What are you eating mommy?”  Sometimes I even pretend that I’m not eating, pausing mid-chew, but he still says, “I know something’s in there.”  He could be in a totally different part of the house, but somehow he knows when I’m snacking.  And he’s all about snacking!

So, when he catches me eating watermelon or soybeans, I very proudly say what I’m having and I offer him some.  But of course there are other times, when I have popped a chocolate square in my mouth, or a cookie (even though it was oatmeal!). 

I must admit, my son has helped keep me honest in my snacking!  What have you been snacking on lately mom, and are your snacks nutritious enough for your kids to eat?  That’s a great litmus test! 

To read the top six nutritional mistakes moms make with their children, check out my article “Whatcha Eating Mom?” on my website. 

Today’s Action Step:  Snack smart!  Choose nutritious food you’d be proud to serve your children when your health conscious friends are watching. 

Tomorrow we are going the state fair where they fry almost any food you can think of!  Years ago, when I was a teenager, I ate a ton of fried zucchini and onion rings at the fair (they’re vegetables right?).  The next day, I went to a movie.  I got sick and ended up throwing up in the bathroom.  Hope that wasn’t too much info, but needless to say, I’ve never indulged in fried foods again after that! 

When will you be walking through temptation alley next?  Hopefully you won’t have to get sick before realizing that too much of a good (tasting) thing can make you feel terrible afterwards AND gain weight in the process.  A double whammy!

Tomorrow at the fair I know I will have kettle corn which is a family favorite.  To make up for the calories, I’ll do an extra cardio workout.  Losing and gaining weight is all about math.  If you know you’re going to cheat (like at the sweet-laden, delicious fair), then plan to skimp on calories the next day and put in an extra workout. 

Today’s Action Step:  Assess your week.  Is there a day when you know you’ll be eating extra?  Maybe you’ll be going out for dinner or to a family barbeque.  Plan for damage control.  Add an extra workout to your week to make up for your cheats.  Then enjoy yourself!

Want to win a free camouflage baby onesie for your “Major Miracle” or “Commander in Chief?”  My friend over at Beloved Mama is hosting a summer giveaway of my onesies so be sure to stop by her blog and enter to win! 

Thinking of these slogans in regard to weight loss…wouldn’t it be a “Major Miracle” to get your pre-baby body back or better?  To do so, you just need to be the “Commander in Chief” and tell your hands to put down those french fries and pick up a salad fork.  You can do it mom! 

If you need some gift inspiration to appreciate your husband this Sunday for Father’s Day, listen to my podcast about “What Your Husband Needs” this week.  You’ll learn what to give him that’s absolutely free and that for sure will be in his love language!

In my podcast, “What Your Husband Needs, Part 2″ I talked about the importance of being attractive for your spouse.  Sure, we want to lose the weight for ourselves, but we must recognize that our physical appearance is important to our spouses too.  My husband is not shy so he told me flat out, ”It would mean a lot to me if you lost your pregnancy pounds.” 

He just told me a story yesterday of a friend who was so discouraged because his wife had not lost her pregnancy weight, and he was constantly surrounded at work by fit, attractive women.  His friend was having a hard time being attracted to his wife’s extra 25 pounds. 

Of course we want to be loved unconditionally by our spouse, but that isn’t an excuse to let our bodies go.  I love what Dr. Willard Harley says in his excellent book, “His Needs, Her Needs”:

By calling for a wife to be attractive I mean she should take pains to look something like the woman her husband married.  After all, that was the woman he fell in love with, not a movie star or some other fantasy.  Does this mean a woman must stay eternally young?  Of course not, but getting older provides no excuse for letting weight creep up and up, not fixing your hair, and dressing like a bag lady.

Today’s Action Step:  Look at a picture of you on your wedding day.  Are you in better or worse shape?  If worse, make a decision that you will get back to your pre-baby weight, for your sake AND for your husband’s.

There are a lot of things in this world that require patience, and losing weight after baby is definitely one of them!  Like the saying goes, nine months on, nine months off.  It took me about 6 months to get the weight off after my last pregnancy.  Many days, I thought, “I’ve been exercising like a fiend!  Why can’t I zip these jeans yet!?”  Do you know the feeling?  Patience, my friend.  The prize goes to the tortoise, not the hare, remember? 

Another thing that required a lot of patience in my life was waiting for Mr. Wonderful to waltz into my life.  I’m blessed because the wait was definitely worth it!  I wrote about meeting my husband on Ungrind, a wonderful Christian webzine for women.  I hope you will enjoy the article. 

Today’s Action Step:  Take a deep breath.  If you’re frustrated about your weight loss, remember to be patient with yourself.  Set small doable goals and don’t give up!

For months, I have wanted to design a camouflage onesie for baby boys and girls that said “MAJOR MIRACLE.”  I thought these would be so cute for anyone who’s had trouble having a baby like me, physical challenges, military families, and so many others who would say, “My baby is a miracle!” 

So I’m thrilled to announce the baby onesies are available on my website.  I also have them availabe in “COMMANDER IN CHIELF” which is sure to make you smile!  Please check it out and tell your friends about them.  The onesies make great baby gifts.  The models are my daughter and Tracy’s son (she was featured on my last podcast).   You can see Tracy’s son wearing his Major Miracle onesie in my previous post.