Stay at Home Mom....I prefer CEO and Master Chef of the Chambers Household.

I run this joint. My hubby makes the money which funds our home but let's face it 

My husband Stephen and I July 2013

without me....the house would fall apart. It's a good feeling to be needed and I have always dreamed of being a home maker. To really experience it....it is amazing and every morning when I wake up I am so thankful that my husband supports me in every way. Even

My Son Xander, Daughter Bella and I June 2013

though I find it exhausting and sometimes irritating cleaning up everyone's messes, getting lost in piles of laundry and the constant need to wash the dishes....I love taking care of my family. Being a stay at home mom can come with a certain....laid back affect on your appearance. Honestly the people who see me are walmart employees and occasionally when I take a  trip to a different store their employees.  One of my biggest reasons for taking my weight loss journey this  year

and really making it a lifestyle vs a diet....is my children. My husband has always loved me no matter what my weight and he has always made me feel beautiful. But I never felt that way and I certainly didn't want my children seeing me pig out and be unhealthy so that they could follow in those steps. When I had my son in 2007 I was the largest I had ever been in my life 230lbs at delivery and 215lbs give or take when he was 3 months old.
I forced myself to lose the  weight but my mind was not where it needed to be and as soon as I got it off I was back to the same old routine of doing whatever and not exercising.  I gained 30lbs of the 70lbs I had lost over the course of 3 years and when I got pregnant with my daughter in 2011 I finished it all off and was back at 220lbs at delivery with her. January 4, 2013 I had a wake up call....it smacked me so hard in the face one morning that I literally felt sick to my stomach. In my mind it was one thing for a boy to grow up with an over weight mom but for a girl to do it.... the emotional effect on her I know  would be bad. I could not and would not do that to them.....my children, the reason I wake up every morning were now my reason for being better, healthy and not skinny....but fit.

November 2013 145lbs

I have no desire to have a six pack and I've accepted that no matter my weight I will probably never be comfortable in a bikini again and that is ok. Every day that I wake up and my son sees me go for a run, is a good day. He will ask me on my rest days "When are you going on your run mommy?" I am the role model that I want to be for them and it feels amazing. But what made this time different than the last time? Two big things needed to happen for me to lose this weight and keep it off this time...First I needed to change my thought process, this wasn't a diet to lose weight....it was a lifestyle change, my weight loss journey was my training session on how to live the rest of my life. I didn't need food to feel happy or complete....I needed to feel good in my own skin. To be healthy....not skinny.

Second I needed to cook good and healthy food, I also wanted to make sure that my family were eating better too. Yes it is sad to say that it is way cheaper to eat junk food and it isn't always easy getting a meal on the table every night. But part of weight loss and being healthy is making a commitment and sticking to it. I went to the store and got Weight Watchers New Complete Cookbook....even if you don't follow their program I recommend you get this cookbook. Each recipe has it's nutritional value listed and the food....is real food that every store carries and the recipes are amazing.  Teaching yourself how to eat is the key here....anyone can drink a shake or heat up tv dinners in the heat of weight loss but will you do that forever?! Most people don't and a lot of people can't maintain because they never learned how to eat properly in the first place. It wasn't as hard losing the weight this time because the food was new, exciting and oh my goodness....it is delicious!  I know that not everyone stays home and can cook every night, take a few hours on the weekend or your day off and make a few meals....they freeze very well and then you have a healthy meal already prepared all you have to do is heat up! Most of the meals I make we get two dinners out of,  I do a lot of freezing and re heating so I know it works. I recommend soups for lunches...add them with your main dish to help fill you up! There are tons of great soup recipes in the cookbooks I have. You can make this work, you just have to want it bad enough. I have a pinterest account and I find tons of great "skinny" recipes that I pin so even if you can't afford a new cookbook you can find great meals online for free!!! My friend loved her Weight Watchers One Pot cookbook so I picked it up. Tons of fantastic recipes that only take one pot per recipe to make! Talk about easy clean up! 

                                                                                                                                          

I also want to stress that I am not a "cook" I have no training, I enjoy cooking....not the dishes so much.....but it comes down to a simple..."if Staci can do it, you can do it." All I do is just follow the recipes, so give yourself and your family the gift of delicious healthy food. Start cooking, get in that kitchen and whip up some tasty food, you won't feel like you're "eating right" because it tastes so good!!!!!

There are lots of sweet treat recipes in the complete cookbook, so you can enjoy the sweets of life without adding to your waistline too!

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