Some Minor Changes

I am excellent at making plans. What I am not so good at is following through. But if you've read any of the posts in this blog, you already knew that.

One morning about three weeks ago, I decided to make a few changes--mostly in diet--just to see what happened. So, I bought an assortment of vegetables (lettuce & red cabbage mix, green peppers, red peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower in particular), several different bottles of Kraft Light dressings, some diet ice cream (more in a minute), and yogurt.

Each morning for breakfast, I eat a small portion of the generic brand of Honey Nut Cheerios (minus any added sugar) with milk and a small container of either strawberry or peach yogurt, along with a big mug of hot tea (with milk and sugar--not exactly the healthiest way to drink it, but babysteps). For lunch, I enjoy a big bowl of the lettuce mixture along with bits of each of the cut-up vegetables.  Now, in the past I have tried various "diet" dressings and hated them.  However, I've now tried the Kraft Light House Italian and the Kraft Light Catalina and they are both awesome! And I've learned to enjoy a lot less dressing on my salad than I used to.

I've been limiting my soda intake to weekends and on those occasions we are out to eat, but I'm working my way down to cutting them out altogether (I know--gasp!).  It helps to not have it in the house.  Anyway, I've really been enjoying the Grape Crystal Light, which is helping me to increase my water intake.

I still get one regular meal a day, but I've been trying to watch the portion sizes. There's also no snacking during the day. Desserts are limited to no more than 150 calories, and I've only been allowing myself two of them each day. There are a number of yummy 100-calorie cookie packs that I've enjoyed (the 100-calorie Oreos are decently good, if a little crispy). As we all know, I absolutely adore ice cream. Diet ice cream is something I've eschewed for quite some time, and I ate so much sherbet growing up that I won't eat it now. However, I've discovered that dieters can actually eat ice cream, thanks to the Skinny Cow brand. I've tried the ice cream bars, ice cream sandwiches, and the little 1-serving containers of soft ice cream and there is nothing that tastes remotely "diet". The mint-truffle bars are delish, as are both the mint and chocolate ice cream sandwiches. I've tried the vanilla (which is okay), the chocolate peanut butter, and the cookies and cream flavors as well. Next on my list to try is the strawberry shortcake ice cream sandwiches.

Anyway, along with all of these small changes, I hope to also increase the daily exercise. Troy and I have made a deal that for every 25 pounds I lose, he will pay for me to stay in a hotel overnight by myself! Sounds like an incentive to me! Stay tuned!