I’ve got two big items for you all today:

1. I officially had to invest in a Sam’s Club membership because I was buying so much chicken. #buyinginbulk

2. And the most important news: I have an ab-lette!**

**ab-lette (n.) – the smallest formation of an abdominal muscle; what you get before you have an actual ab.

We may be having that ab party before I know it. I mean, I have already sent all my family and closest friends a picture of said ab-lette. I’m thinking I may need to send some save-the-date cards for this little guy. (If you’re looking for abs check these out, Crunchless Abs: The Ultimate Guide.)

See ab-lette selfie below. If you can’t tell, I’m very proud of this little one.

barrett shirtless selfie

Ok, back to those chicken breasts: I don’t think I could accurately describe just how many of these plain chicken breasts I have to eat. The people at Publix were starting to look at me funny in the checkout—kind of like that one time I had to buy bananas for a lululemon run event, and I told the totally bewildered cashier that I worked at the zoo (he bought it). This time, however, I didn’t have any witty comebacks for the package after package of frozen chicken.

Six times a day, I eat 4.5 ounces of the stuff. If this were like eating a 4.5 ounce burger every few hours, I’d I love it, but never mind, this time it’s chicken: no cheese, no sauce, no cookies and whipped cream (what? Your food fantasies get a little weird when you’re eating like this), no nothing. Yeah, my mouth is watering, too. Not.

But when it comes to fitness and meal prepping, you have to find recipes that taste good enough that you won’t slap yourself in the face with the spatula. I am not going to lie: I love food, so I am going to give you my two current, favorite chicken recipes. And if there’s a miracle and I find more, I will share as well. I’ll always help my homegirls and homeboys out!

You should really check them out: Reviving Boring Chicken Breasts (And Reintroducing Thighs).

Metaphor 4: Love Pounds Make the World Go Round [My Waist]

Okay, we have to get really real here. Relationships, especially new ones, are a lot of fun. 😉 You can’t get the person off your mind, you have someone to text and Snapchat with all day, and you literally want to be around that person every single second of your life.

If you haven’t figured it out, I have met someone recently, and it’s going great.

But you want to know what is not going great? The combination of my diet and my significant other. You know, you always want the person you’re dating to get along with your friends, and mine does, but what I really need to happen is for my diet and the person I’m dating to get along. And…they’re not. I’ll be honest: I have cheated (on my diet, not my sweetie), maybe a liiiiiiittle bit more than I should have.

My roommate and I laugh about this, as she is dating someone who is 3,000 miles away, and she is losing weight while she’s with him. But when they see each other, she admits she eats her face off. Because when couples do things together—it almost  always ends or begins with food (in a non-sexual way)!

For example, I like going to the movies, and I love me some popcorn and Milkduds. I can relate a lot to the recent clip of Amy Schumer on Ellen admitting that she can’t just eat popcorn one at a time; it’s a straight head-in-the-troth style of eating.

 

Or, when you stay up late, you realize how hungry you are at 3 A.M. (when you should be sleeping), and your body totally pulls you towards the fridge…so you know what, it wasn’t my fault that I ate that half-canister of trail mix with the M&Ms. It was the fridge’s fault, okay?

But the thing is, dating is fun, and that’s why we do it, and I don’t regret any part of it. Since my last weigh in, I probably haven’t made the progress I should’ve or wanted to. But my heart is full, and I can’t seem to wipe this smile off my face because of that person.

And to me, that is just as good as fitting into those skinny jeans that haven’t fit in a few months.

So while my waist may be feeling that love, I will wear it proudly. Thankfully, the person I am with right now is a huge supporter of this journey, and they know as well as I do that it will get really real once that 16-week marker hits aka August 8th.

After that, I will really miss TGIFriday’s for the “Dinner For Two Under $30” deal.

Looking for other healthy recipes that won’t break your diet? Read on…

A Healthy and Oh So Flavorful Shrimp Platter

5 Mouthwatering Egg White Oatmeal Recipes

Strawberry Spinach Superfood Smoothie