For what it's worth

Karilynn asked me to please share some of the things I did this month to lose the weight that I lost. If you saw my pictures then you can see that I have A LOT more to lose. One of the reasons that I was able to lose 22 pounds is because I have so much to lose. I was looking at the pictures I took and could barely see any difference. I'm actually hoping to see more of a difference in the coming months. Anyway, I digress...sorry.

Here are some of the ways I lost weight.

9 out of 10 mornings I start my day with a bowl of oatmeal. 1/2 cup with hot water - sometimes a little honey to sweeten.

Then I don't eat anything until lunch. For lunch I will generally have a sandwich. I bought low cal meat (3 slices for 45 calories), I put it on 45 calorie bread and add sprouts, cucumbers, pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, and a little mayo and mustard. If I am still hungry I also will eat 1/2 cup to 1 cup of dannon light and fit yogurt. I also drink as much water as I can stand during lunch.

I eat one snack in the late afternoon like an orange, or I'll pop some 94% fat free popcorn. The popcorn is good because it also makes me thirsty and forces me to drink more water. Some snacks I enjoy are fat free saltine crackers, fat free cottage cheese, dannon light and fit yogurt, fruits, and veggies.

For dinner I stick with veggies, chicken, salads - sometimes I'll make myself a 'grilled burrito' with peppers, onions, chicken and put it in a low carb, low fat wheat tortilla, topped with fat free sour cream. I'm not a great cook so I'm always looking for easy things to eat. Sometimes it's just about eating a small portion of whatever my family is eating and loading up on the veggies. And sometimes, it's about making the best choice possible given your current choices. This month I've eaten McDonald's three times. Once I got a yogurt parfait and twice I ate a grilled chicken sandwich with no mayo.

The thing that has made the most difference to me (eating wise), I think, is not eating after about 6pm at night. I eat dinner and then I just stop eating...no exceptions!

I also have started to exercise, mostly just stuff in my front room that I can do myself. Maybe 10 minutes with the Biggest Loser tapes, or I'll run up and down my stairs until my legs burn, also wall sits are horribly hard and great if you want your legs to burn :) . I've started parking farther away at the stores and walking faster as long as I don't look too stupid. I lift 5-8 pound weights for my arms and I bought myself a kettle ball (I think that's what it's called) and I swing that around like they do on Biggest Loser.

There are SO MANY things I still need to learn. This diet for me is about eating less and moving more. It's really that simple. I just try to make better choices every minute of every day. I read all your blogs and you guys give me better ideas every day. I also receive a huge amount of motivation from all of you. I cannot even explain to you how much it means to me to finally be losing weight after years, and years of being the biggest sister/daughter in my family, or the biggest friend in my group of friends. I have so much more to lose but I'm finally on the journey that will take me there.

The last thing I wanted to say is...every time I REALLY want to eat something that I love I think to myself "I've had it before, I know what it tastes like, I'll have it again, just not right now" That one phrase has helped me through a lot of temptations.

Thanks again for all your support and love. I'm rooting for each and every one of you to be successful in this journey. It's one day at a time for me, sometimes it's one minute at a time, but I love that I can jump on my computer and pull up the blogs that give me the strength to say no long enough to get past that craving and eventually see the results on the scale.