[kris5747]

Hi. I'm married & have a dd that will be 3 in March. I don't have tons of weight to lose but have been having trouble motivating myself to lose what I need to. I can identify with being raised in the South on Pecan Pie & Fried Chicken. The worst thing is that now that I'm a mom I feel like a good mom when I cook stuff like that for my family. It's comfort food & I know that I'm teaching my daughter bad eating habits but that's all I was raised on so that's all I know how to cook. Maybe I'll find some new (and more healthy) recipes here.

I just really need some support in general to keep myself motivated to lose the weight. It's hard for me to stay motivated b/c I'm not that fat. I definitely have some stuff to shift around, tone up, and take off after having my dd but every time I see something I really want to eat I think, "well, it's not like I'm that fat!" so then I eat it & regret it later.

My husband & I got married back in September 2004 but we didn't have a real wedding at the time so we're going to have the real one in June. He's in the military & is going to Iraq for 3 months so while he's over there I have to get in shape for my wedding. I think we're going to both do "Body for Life" and I want to try to lose around 20 lbs. doing it.

Anyway, that ended up being way longer than I intended. Just wanted to introduce myself.

I'm also testing out my avatar & signature so sorry if it's goofy looking.

[almostheaven]

Try broiling the chicken more often than frying it. And if you gotta fry, for Southern's sake, fry it in olive oil with a healthier coating. Try the pecan pie with a sugar substitute or something. But treat the fried chicken and pie more as treats than as daily eating.

[Jennifer 3FC]

Welcome to 3FC! We have an Eating For Life thread in General Diet Plans, and we have a great Ladies Who Lift forum here as well.

I used to cook just the same way as you! I learned healthy alternatives. Look at the recipes on the main 3FC site. There is a cornflake chicken recipe that is SO GOOD. It's loads better than any fried chicken I've ever had. Cooking healthier will be the best gift you could give your family. Our children are in the fastest rising group of diabetics. Feeding them healthy now will help save them later.

[michellejy]

My mom is from the south so heavy, fried foods were pretty normal when I was growing up as well (biscuits and sausage gravy, anyone?). I actually have a totally different cooking style than my mother, but my husband really loves food so I can't exactly be making salads every night.

I do as many healthy alternatives in my regular cooking as possible- light or fat free sour cream, light Miracle Whip, light ricotta cheese, and baking instead of frying when possible. To me, 99% of the light alternatives are as good as the regular versions. Things like Baked Cheddar and Sour Cream Ruffles are actually better though. I always hated how greasy potato chips were, but the baked ones are addictive!

[almostheaven]

Yup on the baking. You could even find recipes for baking "fried" chicken. Kinda like the Shake-n-Bake deal even. Gotta be better than grease fried.