New Tip: Eat with a baby spoon!

Since I take care of a baby during the week I have a nice collection of baby spoons. One morning for breakfast I thought I would have a yogurt. I went to grab a spoona and of course every spoon in the house was dirty or missing. I usually find a huge amount of missing silverware in the late Spring after all of the snow has melted! Any way, the only thing left in my silverware drawer were the baby spoons. Instead of taking a few minutes to wash a spoon I decided to go ahead and use one of the baby spoons. By doing this I discovered that I take smaller bites because of the size of the spoon and also that it takes me longer to eat. This also forces me to take a little more time to eat and actually enjoy it. So now I have moved on to using a baby spoon more often. By doing this I have also discovered that I don't eat as much. Maybe that is because my brain actually has time to register that I am full and I have time to understand what my body is saying to me. Some of you may think this is odd and that is fine with me. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion but before you laugh this one off give it a try! You might actually like the idea!

The Doctor OZ Challenge!

I record the Doctor Oz show everyday so that when I wake up in the morning to do the treadmill I can watch him. On Monday, Doctor Oz, started a weightloss challenge of only 10 pounds. He has a panel of experts that will be speaking each week on ways that you can drop 10 pounds. On the first show, one thing that I really liked was that the nutritionist said you can eat what you want, just cut down on the portions. I have always said that! It has been 1 year and 9 months since I started my life style change and I must say that one of the big reasons for my success is that I eat the foods I love. He also has a fitness trainer that stresses taking only 10 minutes a day can change your life. I also follow this way if thinking. It is through the small steps that I made that I am now running 6 miles a day, Monday through Friday on the treadmill. I started out walking very slow and working up. There are two other people on the panel, a doctor and a therapist. The therapist said that you have to love yourself first. I can't say that enough! The doctor gives lots of advice on vitamins and other health issues that come with gaining and loosing weight. Doctor Oz has also teamed up with "Zappo". Right now if you go to Doctoroz.com you can sign up to receive a free bracelett that says, "Just 10". It is completely free, you pay nothing. This is to help remind yourself that you need to loose 10 pounds to make a difference in your life. I have already ordered mine even though I have already lost way over 10 pounds. I want it to help keep me going. I encourage everyone to take a look at Doctor Oz's website and show. I love waking up to him in the morning! He has so much wonderful information that I have added to my life. One thing else, Doctor Oz said that you should be taking a good multivitamin, especially women. He also said to have Vitamin B. I am guilty at not being good at taking my vitamins but after watching yesterday's show this morning I am going out today to get them!

Cute Clothes! Down East Basics Rocks!

I just found the cutest clothes ever! I love to watch other peoples' blogs and I struck gold while reading a blog. I love to watch Tater Tots and Jello's blog. She has some great crafting ideas. She is having a give away featuring Down East Basics. You have to got to their site choose something that you like then post a comment about what you liked. My problem with that was only posting one thing! I ended up posting about the skirt that I ordered, perfectly pretty skirt. I had to order it! I am always looking for something new and trendy to wear to church. Now that I have lost the weight I can do that. I tried to paste a picture of it but since I am still very new to this whole blog thing, it didn't work out. You will have to go to their website: www.downeastbasics.com to see it. If you want to enter the give away go to tatertotsandjello.blogspot.com. I think the give away ends on the 12th. I must warn you to have someone hide your purse because you may be in trouble after you see what they have!

Exercise!

I do not like to exercise but I know that if I want to stay healthy I have to do it. One thing that helps me is that I only exercise Monday through Friday. I decided to do it this way because during the week I work. To me, exercise is like going to work for my body. I didn't want to commit to Saturdays because that is the day that I do all of my running around on. It is hard enough to get all of my shopping, ballet and appointments done on Saturday so adding a workout would be to much. Sundays is dedicated to church and family. I also have a fear that if I was to workout on Sunday the Lord would punish me with an extra pound, ha, ha. It also helps me during the week when I don't really feel like working out to think about me weekend of no exercise. My favorite form of exercise is my treadmill. When I first started loosing weight I dedicated 1 hour a day to it. I think that I started at a 3.5 and 3 incline. I think that I only did 3 miles at first. I am now doing 6 miles at a 4.0/4.5 speed and 6 incline. I alter each lap from slow to fast to help boost my metabolism. I also have several DVDs that I like to workout to in addition to the 6 mils. I never feel like I have to do 6 miles and a DVD but sometimes I just get in the mood for more exercise so I do it. I have all types of DVDs from Biggest Loser to Richard Simmons. My dad is sending me all of the Richard Simmons DVDs. I love him because he makes working out fun. Exercise is so important! You can loose weight by counting calories a lone but exercise is what your body needs to get strong. The extra weight that you have carried on your body has taken a toll on you whether you have had any symptoms or not. You need the exercise to help build up your insides as well as your outside.

What I like to read for inspiration

I keep a good stack of magazines by my recliner. When I first started my weight loss journey I bought every kind of health and fitness magazine out there. I love to thumb through them instead of picking up a snack when I am bored. I also like to read about new ideas for loosing weight or recipes to try. Currently I have a subscription to , "Women's Health," "Fitness," "Shape," "Prevention" and lastly "Self." I can't wait for my subscription to "Self" to end!!! I used to love the magazine but now when it comes in the mail, I throw it in the trash. I know that you are dying to know why and honestly I can't wait to tell you. Several months ago Kelly Clarkson was on the cover of "Self." As you probably know, Kelly has never been a real skinny girl. "Self" decided to cut her done to size! They altered her body to make her fit their idea of what she should look like. I know that magazines tweak pictures. I have no issue with changing a shirt color or even making someone look tan but to literally cut her down to size really angered me. What message is "Self" sending to their subscribers!! If they wanted to put Kelly on the cover they should have left her the way she is and push self acceptance! That would have made a great statement in a society that pushes women to feel inadequate if they are not a size "0." For those of you that know me, you know that I wrote the magazine. I told them how I felt and that as soon as my subscription is over I would never buy their magazine again and I mean that! Some may say that by trying to loose weight you are not accepting yourself for who you are so I am being a hypocrit. To those people that question me, I do accept and love myself now. I do feel pretty and confident even though I am no were near a size "0." At the same time I also know that physically I am not in the best shape and I need to do what I can to achieve that goal.

Don't leave off the Mayo!

Sometimes I think that when people think about dieting they think that they have to go without. This is true even when eating something like a sandwich or a burger. I do not believe in this at all! I love egg, cheese and mayonnaise sandwiches! I just had one for lunch today. I used my Miracle Whip in my sandwich! I am not looking at the Miracle Whip jar right now so I am trying to think back at to the calories per tablespoon. I think it is 25 calories but don't hold me to it! The point is 25 calories is worth giving up to have a sandwich that I really enjoy! Ketchup is the same thing. Mind you, I do not put loads of mayonnaise on my sandwich. Everything in moderation! The only thing that I do watch out for is my salad dressings. I will only have a salad with regular Ranch dressing if I am out to dinner on my cheat meal. At home I love Fat Free Caesar Italian dressing by Kraft. I think it only has 16 calories per tablespoon. I am not much of a salad eater though. I mainly eat that if I am in the mood for carrot sticks which is not often! I belonged to Weight Watchers at one time and with their program you count points. Carrot sticks and dressing became my main source of treats when I was counting points so I am really not in to them any more. Of all of the weight loss programs out there I must say that Weight Watchers is the best. I stopped going years ago because we moved to an area that did not have a meeting place. I then decided that I would do my best to beat this weight thing on my own. So far I am doing a pretty good job. One last point: Look at the labels of everything you eat, if the calorie amount is something that you are willing to give up then do it! You don't have to eat bland food to loose weight!

I LOVE my Orbit gum!

One of my secret weapons to win the fight against my weight is to chew gum. I personally love Orbit Wintergreen. I buy it in bulk at Sam's Club or Costco which ever store I am at. Sometimes I chew 3 pieces in a day, 15 little calories, other times I may not have any at all. It really does curb the appetite. I have a pack of gum on my treadmill, in my office and even next to my food journal in the kitchen. The flavor from one piece of Orbit gum will last 30 minutes. Think about it, if you have 3 pieces of gum in a day you used up 15 calories instead of reaching for a 100 calorie snack pack. You could be potentially saving yourself 300 or more calories a day just by chewing gum. So when you are feeling bored and not really hungry but you want to eat, reach for a piece of gum. I know that it has helped me!