Eight weeks into Front Range Adventure Boot Camp, I have become bored with my food choices. A person can only eat so much chicken before they have an adverse reaction.
Cluck, cluck.
The only thing that has not caused ennui is incorporating one of my favorite foods – pumpkin – into my daily menu. In the past, I had always associated pumpkin with pies, cookies and rolls. Well, let’s face it – I still do. But now my indulgences of this low-calorie, potassium-rich food have evolved into Kashi’s Pumpkin Spice Flax Bars and pumpkin protein shakes.
I was recently at [where else?] Super Target and the woman in front of me noticed the conveyor belt full of pumpkin products.
“Do you like pumpkins?”
“What gave me away?”
“Ha ha. Have you heard of Hungry Girl?”
“What did you call me? Is it that obvious?” (In case you are wondering, I was a comedian in a former life.)
“No, not you. There is a Web site – Hungry Girl - that has a lot of healthy pumpkin-based recipes.”
It was then I knew it was love.
But before this Hungry Girl divulges too much, my weekly weight loss is 2 pounds with a 2% drop in body fat. My eight-week total is 20 pounds.
Most people would be happy with these totals but coupled with my struggle to switch things up, I had a glass-half-empty kind of week and felt defeated about how far I still have to go.
So I went out and bought The Hungry Girl cookbook. The author – Lisa Lillien – has been everywhere in the media lately. She proclaims that she is not a nutritionist, just hungry, and has struggled with weight issues for most of her life. Now, she is at the forefront of the latest trends in food and dieting, living the Hungry Girl lifestyle and loving what she eats.
I tried a couple of her recipes – the vegetable egg rolls and healthy strawberry scones – and loved what she eats as well.
However, my big challenges this week are not about mixing it up but having waaaaaay too many choices. My daughter’s birthday parties are on Saturday and Sunday, followed by a Memorial Day breakfast and BBQ. I am not too concerned about losing weight this week but certainly don’t want to gain any back. What tips do you have?
I'm a Canadian-born mom of two, former Denver Post columnist, family travel writer, editor of MileHighMamas.com and 9News contributor. Expert on all things Utah, Denver, family and travel. Lover of laughter and life. Happily married to a man obsessed with growing The Great Pumpkin. 