First, to your question -

I think the important thing is that you don't feel deprived. I know for me, that's when I start to run into trouble. Watch out that you don't get bored with what you're eating, too (I'm sure I don't have to tell you this). I ate so many turkey sandwiches while I was pregnant that just the thought of one now makes me ill.

Here's a recipe I got from the Food Network. I've made this a bunch of times over the last 6 months or so. The whole wheat pasta isn't bad; just be sure to cook it long enough (it does have to cook longer than regular pasta, but it's loaded with fiber). And you'd never know that the 'sauce' for this is made from spinach - healthy and tasty (OMG... I sound so perky I'm going to make myself sick...). I also like to grill up a chicken breast to chop up and stir in with a serving of it, which is a meal in itself.

Penne with Spinach Sauce - makes 6 servings
1 pound whole wheat or multi grain penne
3 garlic cloves
2 ounces feta cheese
1 ounce reduced fat cream cheese
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 ounces fresh baby spinach leaves
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Add the penne and cook until it is tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 12 minutes.
Mince the garlic in a food processor. Add the goat cheese, cream cheese, 3/4 teaspoon of salt, 1/2 teaspoon of pepper, and half of the spinach leaves. Blend until the mixture is smooth and creamy. Set the cheese and spinach mixture aside.
Meanwhile, place the remaining spinach leaves in a large bowl.
Drain the pasta, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid. Spoon the pasta atop the spinach leaves in the bowl. Scrape the cheese and spinach mixture over the pasta mixture and toss to coat, adding enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta, to taste, with salt and pepper. Sprinkle the Parmesan over and serve.

Unbelievably (and I'll post more on this...), we've replaced our treadmill with an elliptical. And it's kicking my a$$. But I'm doing it, and that's the important thing. Getting on it and sweating motivates me to eat better, oddly enough. I tried a yoga dvd tonight - what a laugh that was. During the warm up, the lady had you doing the 'cat and dog' - down on all fours arching the back to stretch it out. W.T. thought I was playing a game, started laughing hysterically, climbed up on my back and pretended he was riding a horse. So much for yoga.

Never a dull moment around here... :)