Thank you all so much for the thoughts on my internal dilemma. I’m still processing it all and will let you know my final thoughts soon. I certainly appreciate that all of you continue to believe in me and don’t see it as losing credibility. I can tell its a topic many feel strongly about and your continued support means a lot. Thank you.

On to more fun topics. Like food. Check out my fridge right now…

I wish I was kidding. Actually, no I don’t. I love this stuff! You see…I typically shop for my groceries at Kroger. They had Chobani 10 for $10 this week, so I bought 10. Then, I heard from my sister-in-law that Publix also had a 10 for $10 sale. They have all the good flavors! So…*cough cough*…I made a little pit stop after the gym to check what they had available. NEW FLAVORS!!!

Yea. I bought more. I don’t go to Publix often so I had to take advantage of new flavors for sale. You know you would do the same thing. Don’t deny it! Then…the very next day…a package showed up on my doorstep. It was from Chobani. They sent me the new flavors to try, as well as some of their new kid flavors for M.

And although it tempts me to just eat Greek yogurt for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, I have managed to consume regular meals. I even discovered a couple new dishes to love in the process. Like this sandwich I tossed together for lunch yesterday…

An egg with a blue cheese laughing cow wedge, tomato, and spinach on my favorite 9 grain bakery bread. When I don’t have leftovers for lunch I usually turn to sandwiches. I discovered that eggs totally beat turkey for a sandwich filler.

I also found a new recipe to whip up for dinner. I made it Tuesday night and it was a total hit! Cooking Light inspired me with this recipe.

Spicy Honey Chicken

• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
• 6 TBSP honey
• 2 tsp cider vinegar

Cut the chicken breasts into one inch chunks.

Wash hands thoroughly and prepare the spice rub by mixing the garlic powder, chili powder, salt, cumin, paprika, and red pepper in a medium sized bowl. Put chicken in bowl and toss to coat in spice blend.

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Spray with cooking spray or add a teaspoon of oil. Cook chicken 5-10 minutes in the skillet until cooked through.

While the chicken is cooking, mix the honey and cider vinegar together in another small dish. When chicken finishes cooking, pour the honey/vinegar mixture over and toss to coat.

Serve it up! Roasted brussels always make an excellent side.

Question of the Day – What flavor combos are you loving right now?

When the kiddos’ naptime (aka my post-writing time) rolled around I stared at my screen with this dilemma:

The response came in for me on Twitter and Facebook (shameless plug to follow if you don’t already). Verdict = share what’s on my mind. Who am I to deny the answers social media provides? 

I have been facing an internal dilemma.What exactly? The scale. Dun dun dun!!!!

When maintaining my weight or gaining weight for conception and pregnancy I had absolutely no desire to use a scale. It did not matter to me in the least. Now I suddenly feel myself wishing I could have it available to me. Why? Well, I am trying to lose weight. Its necessary to get back to that place I personally feel my best. I sort of miss having a concrete way to know how those efforts pan out. I feel like I am approaching my goals blindly.

Although harder, its still possible to eat enough healthy food calories to inhibit weight loss. I also don’t want to lose too quickly, which can be detrimental to milk supply. And I have no clue if I’m doing either of those things. I fear that I will reach a point where I feel I’m not making progress and will then make unnecessary changes. It’s interesting…I gave up the scale to not have mental games, yet now it seems to be causing even more of those games.

I tell myself the following: I feel confident in my relationship with my body. I believe I could use a scale without getting caught up in the number. I trust that I would use it as a tool and nothing more – simply as a more regular gauge in addition to my clothes and progress pictures, which both take longer to show noticeable progress. I would still do my thing, with minor tweaks when needed and not because I think its time as I may without a scale. I would not focus on reaching a particular number and would never do anything drastic in the name of achieving a number. I would keep the balanced approach I have strived to achieve.

Then, there’s the other side. I know I don’t need a scale to tell me I’m making good choices for my health…and health matters most. I have stated here my belief in getting back in shape scale-free. I would feel like I was letting FFF, and its readers, down. I also feel like I would lose credibility personally. I have other ways I can track progress and focus on. I know that, while I weighed myself weekly after Makenzie, my body naturally returned to its happy place. Although I used the scale to reach my goals, I didn’t depend on it either.

I still don’t know where I end up with this internal dilemma. I want to be true to myself, my beliefs on health and balance, this blog and what it represents above all else. Can the two coexist?

Question of the Evening – What’s your relationship with the scale? Or any thoughts?