Change, it CAN happen after all!

I'm glad that today is my rest day from exercising because my muscles feels a little sore from the workout I did yesterday. But tomorrow it's back to work for me. I have to say that I miss working out even on my days off. It's like it has become second nature to exercise.
Tomorrow is my weigh in day, I'm HOPING for a miracle and that I have lost at least 1 pound, or even less then a pound. ANYTHING. Do I think it will happen? No. I don't think I am that lucky. I have earned it though, that I truly DO believe. I've been working out like a mad woman. We'll see though I guess. I'll just have to keep going with this weight loss thing until I get to my goal. It will just take time I guess.

I watched that movie Twilight yesterday. It was alright I guess. I thought that it would've been better. I'm not sure if I'll watch it again though.

I took some pictures of myself again today. I realized that I just took some pictures a week ago, but that was after I had taken these new pictures. Oh well. A person can't have too many pictures of them self, right? :) I won't put them in this posting but I did add them to the bottom of the blog. It's not too much of a change from last weeks though. It will be neat to have all these pictures when I get down to my goal weight. I look at my before pictures and I still have a hard time believing that I looked like that. I still have moments when I'm in my bathroom and I catch a glimpse of myself in the mirror and I think to myself "Whoa! My belly is looking pretty good these days!" I half expect to see my big belly and then it's sort of weird when I don't. Did that make sense? Hope so. Anyways, I was looking up some helpful weight loss tips on the Internet, and there are a lot of really good tips so I thought I'd put them on my blog. Here are a few of them.

1. Treat high-calorie foods as jewels in the crown. This one makes a lot of sense to me. People these days are always eating high calorie foods, and eating them at SUPER sized portions. When I realized how much I was eating before I started Weight Watchers, I couldn't believe it. NO WONDER I had a weight problem! I was eating WAY too much food ALL the time! I now realize that it IS possible to be able to eat a high calorie meal, but you HAVE to exercise, and a person shouldn't eat high calorie foods at every meal. Balance it out with healthy foods and some good ole' exercise and you'll be fine.
2. After breakfast, make water your primary drink. We all don't drink enough water as it is, so this is a great way to get all the water requirements in. Plus it helps your belly feel full so that you're less likely to eat something you shouldn't.
3. Carry a palm-size notebook everywhere you go for one week. I do this one all the time. When I go somewhere with my kids, and I eat something that it's much easier to have a little notebook right there so that I can write it down right away. That way I don't forget what I've eaten and I'm more accurate with logging my daily POINTS values for the day.
4. Buy a pedometer clip it to your belt, and aim for an extra 1,000 steps a day. I have a pedometer, but haven't used it for quite a while. I like this tip though. Clip a pedometer to your belt and just aim to walk more and see what number you get. Then aim to get more steps the next day. Have a little competition with yourself. Try to always do better then your last number. I need to wear my pedometer again to see how much I've improved since the last time I wore it, that was months ago. It would be neat to see.
5. Eat five or six small meals or snacks a day instead of three large meals. I really like this tip. I try to do this daily and I have to say that it really makes sense. If you eat often then you don't let your hunger get out of hand and then want to eat everything in sight. I'm guilty of doing that and then made the awful choice of going to the store. Bad idea to do that people!
6. Walk for 45 minutes a day. Love this one! Walking is the EASIEST form of exercise that we all can do. What can be easier then this? No one has an excuse now!
7. Find an online weight-loss buddy. This has helped me tremendously! I don't really have a weight loss buddy, well actually I do, It's you all! But I don't know any of you. But the fact that I've put myself out there for people to see and know that I'm trying to lose weight, that helps keep me accountable to losing the dang fat. Even having this weight loss blog has helped me tremendously. I love that I have a place to type my feelings and to share my successes and struggles with the world. Okay, sometimes I get a little creeped out knowing that the world reads my little ole' blog, but at the same time I think it's neat. Plus it's free. What can be better then that!
8. Clean your closet of the "fat" clothes. I WILL be doing this one, just not yet. I want to hold onto my FAT CLOTHES until I get to my goal weight. It will be neat to see a physical difference in my body. I think it's a good idea to get rid of the fat clothes because it's like you're not giving yourself permission to go back to being that size again. I can tell you all right now that I will NEVER go back to what I used to be when I was at my heaviest weight. I love the way I feel now so why would I want to go back to the way I used to be? Never again I tell ya! Never again!
9. Downsize your dinner plates. I do this at every meal. It really makes a difference in the way I eat. For one thing you can only fill a small plate so full so it automatically makes you eat less.
10. Use vegetables to bulk up meals. Love this one!
11. Eat 90 percent of your meals at home. Doing this saves us who knows how much unnecessary salt and fat in our food. Making food at home helps us to control how much of the bad stuff gets put in it.
12. Eat only when you hear your stomach growling. I'm guilty of not always following this one. Sometimes I've eaten out of boredom, but luckily I had exercised that day. Still it's not a good thing to do. I'm trying to get better with this one.
13. Find ways other than eating to express love, tame stress, and relieve boredom. Again, this is a good tip, but I need to be better with it.
14. Use flavorings such as hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings instead of relying on butter and creamy or sugary sauces. REALLY good way to leave out the unwanted fat!
15. Use flavorings such as hot sauce, salsa, and Cajun seasonings instead of relying on butter and creamy or sugary sauces. I've been trying to be better with this one. Lately I seem to want to eat something sweet at around midnight. My old horrible behaviors are still there. I'm trying to get better with this one. I've been trying to stop eating at around 9:30 or so. That time might seem a little late to some of you but for me it works out. That is until that little monster we all know as HUNGRY comes out and tries to temp me with junk! I'm working on it...
16. Brush your teeth after you've eaten a meal. I've doing that doing this helps to stop any cravings from happening. Or at least minimizes the possibility of craving something sweet. Having that tooth paste flavor in your mouth somehow helps to take away any cravings for sweets. Plus, who wants to eat something after you've cleaned your teeth? Makes sense I think.

There are many more tips I could type on here. These are pretty helpful though I think. Anyways, I'm trying to get better with this healthy life style, but it's not always easy. It sure is worth all the hard work though.

Well, it's getting late. Have a good night all! Later.