TIP OF THE DAY - SATURDAY

DO NOT SKIP MEALS OR STARVE YOURSELF. TRY TO EAT 5-6 SMALLER MEALS PER DAY. Skipping meals or starving yourself puts your body into survival mode. This is where your metabolism slows down to conserve energy. This is why your body can survive without any food for several days. Of course when your metabolism slows down your body burns a lot less calories. Try to eat a meal or snack every 3-4 hours. Instead of the traditional breakfast, lunch and dinner, try a breakfast, a lunch, an afternoon snack, a dinner, and an evening snack. Eating smaller meals keeps your metabolic rate high throughout the day because your body is constantly using up energy to digest the food you are eating. Eating smaller meals will also leave you feeling lighter and more energized throughout the day. If you find you get too hungry between breakfast and lunch have a midmorning snack instead of your evening snack. This works for me then I never eat right before bed.

TIP OF THE DAY - FRIDAY

EAT CHEAT MEALS: I got this tip online, from a friend and from the nutritionist. I am not so sure but here is the thinking; If you try to have a very strict diet, it will be very hard to maintain, this is why you should have cheat meals. Cheat meals can contain any kind of junk food you crave or really like. You should plan a cheat meal at least one day in advance. This ensures that you will not use cheat as an excuse to consume junk foods in moments of weakness. Also watch the portion size of your cheat meals, obviously the smaller they are the better. I was told to have a cheat meal once a month to every six weeks. Like I said this tip I am not so sure of. I started dieting (hate that word) the first week of December and so far have not had a real craving for anything I shouldn't eat, not sweets, soda, or fried foods. A weekend might be the time to have your cheat meal because planning it for the next day would help you eat better today and eat better on Sunday.

TIP OF THE DAY - THURSDAY

MAKE GRADUAL CHANGES. Do not overload yourself and try to implement all these new ideas at once. This will make weight loss seem overwhelming and impossible. Instead try to implement one new aspect of weight loss every week or two. If it is a big change, maybe just one a month. Start slow. If you are not used to doing a lot of exercising running a marathon might not be a good choice for this weekend. Start with a nice walk around the block or call on a sister or friend to go to a mall and walk. Do some window shopping about what you are going to wear when you lose the weight and reach you goal weight. If you are not used to drinking 8-10 glasses of water a day, start with 4-5 a day. It won't take long till you are drinking all 10. NEVER get cranky about those plateaus you will reach. I just learned that the plateaus are just a resting stop for your body so it can catch up with the changes you are making in your eating and exercise habits. Plateaus are great signs of where you have been. They are still hard to handle for some of us but they are good signs of improvements.

TIP OF THE DAY - WEDNESDAY

BR PATIENT! We seem to have a lot of tips about taking it slow, not getting discouraged, don't give up, and maybe that is because losing weight is very, very hard and takes time. Sometimes it seems like it takes too long,forever as a matter of fact but we can't and don't want to rush it because we want this to be more than losing weight. We want to make a permanent life style change. We need to remember we can lose a lot of weight very quickly when we start implementing healthier eating and exercising habits. The hardest pounds to lose will be those last 10 - 15 pounds. However those last 10 pounds will make all the difference, especially in your body's shape and leanness. So don't give up, don't rush just take it day by day and a step at a time.

LOSERS FOR THE WEEK

Not many ladies weighted in this week. They can still do it though.
So for the third week of January here are our numbers:
Elizabeth lost 3.6 pounds
Yvonne lost 1 1/2 pounds
Sarah lost 1 1/2 pounds
Joleane stayed the same
Becky stayed the same and
Liisa stayed the same

I Have A (stupid) Question

Why is that when you know you CAN'T eat you don't! But, when you know you SHOULDN'T eat you do it anyway???

Here is the deal....I've been having these chest pains since before Christmas. No it's not a heart thing, I've been to the doctor. Did an EKG and my heart was fine. Beats a little slow but then again so does Lance Armstrong's. Me and him...two of a kind...fit as a fiddle.....NOT.

Anyway had the upper GI thing done...no problems...the nasty tasting barium crap went down just fine. So today, Tuesday, I am headed to the Gastroenterologist for an Endoscopy (big words huh). He's going to stick a long scope down my throat...to see what he can find...ulcer etc. blah blah blah.

But back to my question...I couldn't eat anything last night after 7PM, so I didn't, no big deal. And this morning, clear liquids only until 11AM. Again, no big deal..I had some warm chicken broth and a Popsicle so far. Again, not a big deal, I know I can't eat so I don't.

However...the other day at work...someone past by with a plate of brownies and I knew I shouldn't eat it....but boy I riped in to that thing like no body's business!!!

Why is that? Crazy how our minds think. So...on a go forward basis...I think I'll tell me self I am headed to the Gastroenterologist every day and see if that works......

Joke from the Popsicle stick---- What can the lizard do that the snake cant? Stretch his legs!!!!

TIP OF THE DAY - TUESDAY

This one is for me...Be okay with failing. I don't like that word, (failing). Weight loss isn't always the easiest goal to achieve. Be okay with slacking off, falling off the wagon, and then trying again. The only way to not lose the weight you want to is to give up. Don't be hard on yourself. Special occasions are the hardest time to diet, and don't forget well meaning friends who want you to "go do something with them" usually on a weekend. ALMOST ALWAYS part of the something is eating. Just remember even though you are going out for breakfast, lunch, or dinner you can still take it easy on the calories. Just remember too that tomorrow is a new day and you can start again. For me it is those blasted plateaus that get me discouraged, so watch out for those and be prepared. Good luck and KEEP LOSING!