At Goal!

So you might be wondering if I kept it off. Yes, not only have I kept it off but I am continuing to lose. To date, I have lost 82 pounds. I have met my Weight Watcher's goal. This week, I bought new jeans, size 8. Whoo Hoo!

Progress So Far

Okay. I have been at this since January 1. Now time for my confession. At my highest weight, I weighed a whopping 228 pounds. Last time I weighed, I weighed 173. For those that are counting, that is a hefty 55 p0unds lost. I have gone from a size 20 to a size 12. I am not where I want to be yet, but I can see my goal on the horizon. So come on now, if I can do it, you can do it. There is no magic on January 1 so don't wait. Start today! It is easier than you think.

Progress

I have stopped writing regulary because, frankly, the people I was writing the blog for have all fallen off of their diets. One by one, they have all given up on the idea of losing weight. Well, almost all of them have. My brother is still trying to lose weight and has is making slow and steady progress. He has gone from 303 pounds to 281 since January. Lately, he has been adding 3 miles a day on the treadmill to his routine. Good job big brother.
As for me and my husband, we are still fighting the good fight too. My husband has gone from 234 pounds to his current 208 pounds. He is looking forward to being on the right side of 200. I have gone from 221 to 194. I am now in what they affectionately call "ONEderland" on The Biggest Loser. A few more weeks work and I will be out of the '90's. That is how I approach losing weight. I don't at how far I have to go but I work on getting out of the decade that I am in. So there's my tip of the day. I hope it works for you.

Groups Weight Loss for January

Congratulations to all. Our little group of seven people has lost 62.2 pounds in the month of January. According to the experts, losing weight is the top priority for those making a New Year's resolution. Quitting smoking is a close second. Anyway, as you all know starting a diet is the hardest part. Experts say that over 90% of those making those resolutions will have already abandoned their diets by the end of January. So if you are still working at losing weight, you have already beaten the odds. You may have lost a lot of weight in January or your weight loss may have been very modest but if you are still on your diet, you are way ahead of the curve. If for some reason you have gotten sidetracked from your diet take comfort in knowing that you are not alone. Take this opportunity to make a fresh start and begin again. Don't wait until next January to start again. Good luck and keep up the good work. I will update the group's total for the month as people report in with their weight loss.

Snack Basket

I was thrilled when my husband decided to give the diet a try with me. My happiness soon turned to annoyance when it seemed like every five minutes he was pestering me and asking me how many points something was or if he could have this or that. After about his third or fourth request, I got smart. I got up and got a magic marker. I checked the labels on each can of soup and marked the total number of points for the can on top of each can. I also made a snack basket. I sat a basket on the counter. In the basket I placed things that were allowed. I wrote how many points each item was on the wrapper or skin. No more guessing. Now when he wants to snack he just goes to the snack basket and gets a snack without bothering me. It works for me.

So You Say You Like to Cook

I like to cook which poses a problem for me when I go on a diet. I miss cooking. Luckily for me, I stumbled on a new show on the OWN Network where two girls review a cookbook each day. This week they reviewed Jessica Seinfeld’s cookbook, Deceptively Delicious. She hides a lot of vegetables in her brownies, dips and casseroles making them better for you and lower in calories.

They also reviewed a book which I feel compelled to run out and buy. The Best Light Recipe Cookbook looked amazing. They made chocolate chip cookies, Fettucine Alfredo, and New York style cheesecake. The great thing about this cookbook is that it shows you the nutritional information for the original cheesecake recipe (580 calories per slice) and the nutritional information for the light version (340 calories per slice).

So if you hate those prepackaged diet meals and miss cooking in the kitchen, these two cookbooks may be just what you need to make healthy low-fat real food. Bon Appetit.

Let Us Eat Lettuce

I was watching a show about health and fitness when I heard a surprising fact. Did you know that lettuce was a negative calorie food? Me neither. What exactly is a negative calorie food? Well, lettuce has a very small amount of calories per serving but it takes more calories to chew and digest the lettuce than the lettuce actually has making lettuce a negative calorie food. But before you get excited and think you have found some miracle food that burns more calories than it uses, keep in mind the deficit is very small. Be careful when you eat the lettuce though because y0u can make a salad high calorie by piling on the toppings and dressing.

Another benefit of lettuce is that it is a natural diuretic which comes in handy when you are trying to lose weight. So whatever you do, don’t skip the salad. Let us eat lettuce!