Leah is now a year, and I haven’t even come close to losing the weight I gained when I was pregnant with her. I’ve never been one of those lucky women who get to watch the pounds just melt away simply because they are breastfeeding. If I want to lose the baby weight, I really have to work at it, and to be honest with you… I just haven’t felt like working that hard. And, what they say about the older you get the harder it is to drop the pounds is true. Young ‘ens out there… listen… love your skinny waists and perky boobs now while you can because it is a lot of work to keep it up (literally) when you get older. Trust me on this one.
Along with my blogging friends Amy of She Wears Many Hats and Robyn of Our Homeschool Home, we have began the weight loss journey together. I am doing Weight Watchers, which I’ve had lots of success with after my other three babies were born. The best part about what we are doing is that we are able to keep each other accountable completely and totally virtually. Our weigh-ins are on Friday, so we take a camera phone picture of the scale (love my WW scale) and share it via email with each other (let’s just hope that Amy and Robyn aren’t holding on to mine for future blackmail opportunities). We do the same thing with exercise and take a camera phone picture of the screen after our workout or a picture of our view while exercising. We have also implemented a weekly conference call to share ideas, frustrations and success stories. And finally, Twitter interventions have become a norm as well. The truly fantastic iPhone app, Lose it!, is keeping track of our progress along the way.
What I love about Weight Watchers is that you really can eat whatever you like, as long as you budget points for it and remember to exercise. It is such a flexible program, which is perfect for a food blogger like me.
This Vidalia Onion Bake recipe was one of my favorites from back when I was on Weight Watchers before. My friend Whitney made it one time when we were at her house and it now gets baked or grilled and served as a side at least twice a week around our house. To make it completely low point and Weight Watchers friendly, substitute the butter for several sprays of I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter spray.
If you have started a weight loss journey, I’d love to hear about it and would appreciate knowing what’s working for you as well as any additional resources you have that might make our journey more successful. Good luck at losing it!
Vidalia Onion Bake
40 min | 10 min prep
6 onions
- 6 vidalia onions or any sweet onions
- 6 chicken bouillon cubes
- 6 tablespoons butter or butter flavored Pam cooking spray
- 6 teaspoons brown sugar
- Slightly hollow out each onion.
- Arrange onions in small baking dish.
- Place 1 bouillon cube in each onion, top with butter and 1 tsp brown sugar.
- Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
- These can also be made on the grill.
- Just double wrap in aluminum foil and grill until tender.
Disclosure: This blog post contains affiliate links. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.
For many of us, what we eat and how we eat it is a major component of the fulfillment of social customs and/or religious rituals or both. The meal is the centerpiece of hospitality and celebration. However, like everything else that exists, even all permissible fare can be for evil as well as for good. What we eat can nourish our bodies and give us strength or it can cause damage even when it is fresh and properly cooked. With all of the hype about hundreds of published “lose weight” diets like low fat, high protein, low carb, raw food, and diet recipes of all kinds with diet pills like Hoodia and Phentermine, fat burners and the like, people spend billions every year on weight loss programs that help shed a few pounds with most regaining their weight after a few months. Moreover, the fact that diet books seem to make the top of the bestseller lists every month is a clear indication that there continues to be a strong public interest in weight loss.
Overeating is one of the most difficult problems to overcome. It arises from an addiction to sugar. Unlike chemical dependency, sugar is a substance that we need. We cannot eliminate it from our diets and expect to live more than a few days. Therefore, we must develop a special attitude toward food if we are going to have any hope of controlling our intake. It’s time to simply think thin. Have you ever noticed any thin people in your life? I mean the types who don’t seem to have any trouble controlling their appetites. They don’t run to the buffet like people who have not had a meal in three days. In fact it often seems that they couldn’t care less about the food. As a writer, I have interviewed a number of such individuals and I have found they all had a fundamental difference in their relationship with food than those who are overweight. The difference is in eating to live rather than living to eat.
To continue, while it’s great to be athletic with a program of daily exercise and eating healthy things, there are many who for various reasons are unable to go much beyond sedentary living. Thus we have to look more what and how much we eat and bring our appetites to being commensurate with our body’s need. The idea of exercise, while vital in the scheme of things, is a separate issue for the purpose of this discussion. Hence we go back to the thin person to find out how he/she thinks in order to learn how to think thin. One thing I found out about thin people is that they watch little or no commercial television. If you watch enough TV you will get hungry because there are images, both obvious and sublime, of people eating appetizing foods being thrown at you in the commercials and in the shows. Another thing is that the thin people I have interviewed keep themselves busy with projects and away from sounds images and people who stimulate the desire to eat.
In conclusion, the whole idea of losing weight is a matter of avoiding temptation. Trying to resist the temptation to eat beyond our needs is like trying to stop a stampeding elephant because we have this constant fight with our inner animal and hunger is one of the three big urges. The animal doesn’t know how to count calories and doesn’t care about the unintended consequences of food binges. Therefore, avoiding temptation is the only way to go. We can achieve this avoidance behavior by staying away from commercial TV and taking an interest in projects that don’t involve a lot of luncheons and cocktail parties. Finally, it would be helpful to approach the thin people in your life and find out more about how their relationship with food differs from yours. Then we can work on learning how to say “no” to food.
.-= Moshe sharon´s last blog ..Weight Loss: with all the Hoopla about Hoodia, Phentermine, Low Carb, Fat Loss Supplements and Fad Diets, it’s Time to Think Thin! =-.
So glad y’all are there to hold me accountable. It makes it more enjoyable to share the ups and downs with others who are in the same boat.
And this looks incredible! Nothing better than butter and onions. Can’t wait to try it this week.
.-= Amy from She Wears Many Hats´s last blog ..A solution. =-.
I think Weight Watchers is great too – it teaches you that you really can eat everything, just in moderation. This looks delicious!
.-= Jessica @ How Sweet´s last blog ..Giveaway! =-.
Your journey is awesome, so cool that you can share it with your virtual friends. Yes, as we get older and after we have children it is much harder to keep a trim figure. I work hard each day to maintain mine….thankfully whole foods & a healthy lifestyle become addictive! xo
I just got to my pre-pregnancy weight recently! (It would be more exciting but I need to lose some more due to gaining weight after a miscarriage before getting pregnant again.) I exercise for 30+ minutes per day at least 5 days per week. I’ve also reduced the amount of sweets I intake (partly to lose weight, partly to be healthier.)
After all that I was still 5 lbs away from the pre-pregnancy weight and decided to try a diet (I’m not much of a dieter) – it was about portion controls – eating the right amount of fruits, veggies, grains/starches, protein, dairy and fat. One of my neighbors told me about it so I tried it and it worked wonderfully, but due to my life being nuts lately I couldn’t stick with it… Hubby was very supportive which helped me stick with it for 3 weeks. I lost 4 lbs the first week and then about 1-2 the next two weeks – that’s pretty normal for this diet. The thing I loved was that I felt full after eating and did not need to have extra snacks. When my life slows down I will go back to this way of eating because I felt it fit with the recommendations of what we’re suppose to be eating.
Good luck with your journey!
.-= Crystal’s Cozy Kitchen´s last blog ..What tiredness can do to you =-.
I actually have a post going up on Wednesday about healthy eating habits. I agree, you can eat what you want, but moderation is key. And for me, the best way to moderate myself is to eat salad or veggies first. They help fill me up before I get to the “bad” stuff.
Good luck reaching your goal!!
Good luck! My mother-in-law did WW and lost 55 pounds. It is always more fun to gain weight than to lose weight. It will be worth it in the end.
.-= Steph @ Plain Chicken´s last blog ..Southern Style Mac & Cheese =-.
I’ve done WW in the past, but found that I got over confident and stopped counting points the right way. These days I’m working on portion sizes and trying to pay attention to whether I am hungry or just bored, frustrated or whatever. I also just started running and am already made the goal of a 5k in July to keep me motivated. Good luck! Sounds like you are off to the right start!
.-= patsy´s last blog ..Chili’s New Avocado Burger (review) =-.
the onion looks good! and your baby is absolutely healthy and adorable.
.-= Pearl´s last blog ..Back to blogging! =-.
Ugh! I was so proud of myself after the first year of motherhood. I was breastfeeding and the pounds were melting away-I even fit into my high school aged sister’s jeans! And then…he weened himself off, the holidays hit, and my breasts emptied and shrunk and I can only imagine that they somehow relocated into my waist, hips, thighs and butt. I’ve got to do something!
Good luck with your journey! I wish you well…so that might mean not to make anything from my blog! LOL!
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..Strawberry Gelato =-.
So glad you still love it!! It’s one of our favorites too. It’s been too long since we’ve done dinner….
good for u! keep it up 🙂
i started booty camp and meeting with a trainer 6 weeks ago and have lost a total of almost 10 inches… working out well for my upcoming wedding 🙂
.-= dani´s last blog ..#76) Cinnamon Cupcakes =-.
Good for you! It’s so wonderful to have a support group of people who know exactly what you’re going through and to cheer you on.
About two years ago now I lost fifty pounds that I kept off for a long time by running running running. Now being injured and unable to run, I regained fifteen of it, which isn’t a lot but is enough to make my clothes not fit. Not good. So I’m starting counting calories and such again to try to lose it. It’s hard, especially being a blogger, but I still go to the gym and work my butt off. And eat my cake. Once a week. 😛
I love this onion recipe! So making it!
.-= Joanne´s last blog ..Pie-Spiced Roast Butternut Squash =-.
My “baby” is almost 7 years old and I still need to lose the weight, so don’t feel too bad. I’m also counting my calories with the Lose It! program on my iPhone. Good Luck!
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..Chicken and Orzo Frittata =-.
Love that you are sharing your weight loss story with us. I lost all my weight to my ravenous little boy and then some when breastfeeding. I had problems keeping weight on and was losing my curves. As my milk reduced I started to gain, then my mom died, I gained more, I weened him for good about a month ago and have finally this past two weeks been able to stop gaining weight. I’m up almost 20 from my low after pregnancy weight, and up 10 before pregnancy. I am doing my wii fit 30 minutes everyday and have cut down meats, white flour and sugar. Its so hard for me too, before I had time to be a gym rat, but now time is limited. Best of luck to you!
.-= Angie´s last blog ..Fennel, Lemon and Thyme Roasted Chicken =-.
I just started a second blog about my re-kick in the butt weight loss journey. I lost like 100 lbs., I still needed to lose a ton more but just got stuck and then started gaining. So now I started the weight loss blog to help me keep accountable. I joined up with Biz’s 101 days of summer weight loss challenge over at Biggest Diabetic Loser. She has over 50 people doing this challenge with her. Everyone gets to pick their own goals and sends her a recap of how the week went and she does a post about everyone. I’ve found a ton of great people who are committed to the same goal. Weight loss. It helps me to cheer them on because then I am motivating them AND myself. So glad you found some blogging friends to help with your goal! Stay positive!
.-= Debbi Does Dinner Healthy´s last blog ..Ravioli with Roasted Zucchini, Tomatoes and Garlic =-.
I gained 60 pounds with both of my children and thankfully, was able to get rid of the weight and ended up thinner than ever from chasing both of them around! Of course, that was a long time ago! 🙁 I am now dealing with no exercise (internet) and my hubby’s health issues (heart diet), so I can totally relate. Plus, I have gained weight that is staying with me.
There are so many foods I want to prepare, but can’t (unless there are guests to eat all of it). Every day is a challenge.
I know WW is a great program and I am sure you will be successful at it! The best part is having someone to do it with you (which I think you have)!
Good luck and keep us posted!
.-= bunkycooks´s last blog ..Peach Sorbet =-.
Unless you’re using a sodium-free bouillon cube, beware! A typical chicken bouillon cube (for example, Herb-Ox) can contain over 1200 mg of sodium, more than half your daily allowance! Try a sodium-free one instead…
My husband and I just finished the p90x workouts over about a 12 week period… it was probably one of the most challenging workouts I’ve ever done… i went from not even being able to do one pushup to being able to hold down 15 – 20 pushups and pullups easily. I gained muscle and lost several inches. I probably should have been more stricts on the diet part… but still gained some results. The best part about working out is doing it with a friend or spouse so you can hold eachother accountable and even challenge each other and push each other when the going gets rough. Since then, we’ve gotten back into running and I am scheduled to run a 10k race in July hopefully. Consistency is the key overall in my opinion when it comes to working out and staying healthy. If you try to be too extreme too often, then it usually goes south, but when you try to be balanced and just do some form of workout at least several days a week then you gain so much more.
Anyway… thought you might be interested in knowing about a website called daily burn. My husband and I use it to track everything we eat in a day, what workouts we did, how many calories we burned, etc. It’s free to set up an account and they have a database full of exercises and food so you don’t have to add them in yourself… the majority of what you eat will already be listed. The cool part about it is it even breaks your food down into groups of how much fat, carbs, protein, etc. you should be eating in a day and where you fall into the scale based on what you’ve eaten for the day… showing if you have met your goals or not. really awesome.. .i highly recommend it! http://www.dailyburn.com
I wish you luck!
I did WW once… but my problem was I was skipping meals in order ot have that slice of cake or extra cookie… I think that in order to get to a certain weight, you need that fuel from eating good, nutrient rich meals. Eat 5-6 times a day, but small portions (except veggies, eat those like mad, just w/out the added fat of butter-use olive oil or roasted w/ balsamic vinegar for flavor). Eat lots of protein and stay away from fatty meats. No carbs at night (including fruits) and exersize, both cardio and strength training. It’s all stuff you can do on your own and yeah, maybe it’ll be hard the first couple of weeks, but I am doing it now and it’s amazing the amount of energy I have and how good I feel when I get up in the morning.
.-= Niki´s last blog ..2010 Stanley Cup Champions!!!!!! =-.
We made these while camping!
I use http://dailyburn.com to hold me accountable and track everything. There are many similar sites out there (I used to use MyPlate on Livestrong.com) but I’ve found Daily Burn to be the best fit for me.
If I am ever feeling too lazy to get my butt in the gym, I watch this commercial to get me pumped up
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YC6jEfxmosc
but I’m an ex-athlete / fighter so that may not work for everyone.
.-= sarah´s last blog ..carneros inn & FARM restaurant =-.
I love the onions. Good luck with your getting healthy program and hang on to the blogger friends. That will help to keep you accountable. I walk every morning with a neighbor. I know I have to get out there because of her.
.-= The Teacher Cooks´s last blog ..Mandarin Orange Cake =-.
I am a big fan of WW. Been a lifetimer for 6 years and the key for me is to find an inspirational leader (go to different meetings at different times…..you mayhave to go to more than one meeting to find her….) and actually going to the meetings each week. Of course, organization and planning ahead. you have to have healthy food in the house or you’ll eat something not so healthy. I need that structure that WW gives you.
Looks awesome! Good for you guys! Pregnancy wreaked havoc on my bod as well. I’m going to the gym regularly, so far slow & steady is working, but you may have just ignited the flame to kick it up a notch! YOU GO GIRLS! (shake, shake, shake)
.-= Wenderly´s last blog ..Rosemary Garlic Sweet Potato Fries =-.
mmm… i just tried this for lunch and ate it along with a whole-wheat mini-hamburger bun with cheese melted on top. it was just like eating french onion soup! yum. thanks for the recipe.
.-= Lisa´s last blog ..The Chewy =-.
Thanks for this recipe! I will definitely be trying this, modified to take out the sugar. I have been trying to lose the weight I gained after my kidney transplant which is incredibly difficult due to the medications I must take and that it is sometimes difficult to exercise as I’d like. I have made progress though! Low carb is the only thing that has worked for me so far. I’m 9 pounds lighter! Weight Watchers sounds good though. I may try this later because I find it hard to sustain a low carb diet. Good luck to you on your diet!
.-= Melissa´s last blog ..Happy Kidney Day! =-.
I wish you had included the Weight Watchers Points or at least the calories/fat/fiber. Do you know about all the recipe calculators out there? SparkPeople has a great one. I use it a lot ot figure out my ww points.
This looks AMAZING, and it’s so easy!! Thanks for the recipe!!!
The recipe sounds delicious. Rather than the substitute spray you might want to try using Melt. It is a spread that tastes great and is made with Organic virgin coconut oil which along with the flax oil it also contains are shown to boost metabolism and promote healthy weight. Check it out, http://www.meltbutteryspread.com, my kids love it and it works well to bake with unlike other substitutes it does not break apart into little puddles of water and oil.
Enjoy!
I have never tried this exact recipe but do something somewhat similar, where I drizzle balsamic vinaigrette over an onion and roast it. It caramelizes and tastes delicious, and olive oil is a better option than butter! I usually just make a vinaigrette out of extra virgin olive oil, balsamic vinegar, (3:1 ratio) with a small dollop of mustard, a few minced garlic cloves and salt and pepper. Definitely worth a try!
Wow, bake onion, this idea I’v never tried. I’d like to lose some pounds but could not stop eating. I hope this recipe is my style.
The things you find on the internet. This is totally worth every minute I spent on it. Looking forward to more of your posts.
This looks tasty, but how do you eat it… or in other words, what do you eat it with/on? Do you eat the onion by itself, or with a soup, on bread… I’m obviously not much of a cook & could use some ideas ~ Thanks :)!