Tip of the Day

                                      One thing I'm glad I did:

My birthday, 08/2011, -35 pounds

The moment I began calorie counting, I made the decision that I wouldn't let myself get too carried away. I knew that if I threw myself into this with both guns blazing, I would eventually fizzle out. The main decision I made (that I couldn't be more glad for) is that I didn't restrict myself from anything. I knew that if I told myself I couldn't have such and such, I would want that thing even more. I knew that at every glance of it, my knowing it was off limits would put me one step closer to indulging myself in it. So instead of cutting myself off, I allowed myself to have it when I wanted it; this forced me to learn how to eat around that item (i.e. if I want ice cream, I have a salad for dinner). I have gotten to the point where there are many things I find that I want less, because I know it isn't sustaining. I have gone from making meat my main portion, to vegetables as my main portion.

                          One thing I wish I did:

Today, -70+ lbs

05/2010, -0 lbs

When I started, I was really ashamed of my body, and to be honest, not 100% on how well I would stick to my journey. Most of me didn't believe I would actually achieve as much as I have, so when I thought about taking "before" pictures, I shuddered and blew it off, and the idea of taking measurements wasn't much of a thought. Being where I am now, I kick myself for that. I shuffle through my photos from before, trying to get a good one of me, full body, to see how much I really have changed, but fall short of finding many that work. Before I started my journey, I more or less refused to have my picture taken from the neck down (it's true...if we're friends on facebook, look at my catalog of profile pictures). In fact, I would often refuse a picture in general, being afraid that the photographer would capture anything more than my face. How did I live like that? It seems much sadder in retrospect than it felt at the time.
That being said: Take real before pictures! Take pictures of your progress along the way! Take your measurements! You'll regret it later if you don't. Probably.

Tip of the Day:

When I started this blog, I started it with the intentions of being a full-gamut weight loss blog. I had so many questions when I began losing weight/calorie counting and have learned so many tips and tricks throughout that I thought this would be an excellent venue to share the knowledge. However, so far I've only posted recipes and things of the sort. So right now I'm going to give you my first Tip of the Day:

                                                                                               Cheese. Do you need it?

If you answered "yes", then here's what to do:

             Shred it                          

One slice of cheese is usually around 110 calories, but with shredded cheese, you have greater control over portion size, and can easily cut back on the amount used while still covering the same amount of area. You'll probably notice, too, that the less cheese you eat, the more you realize the food that would have been underneath have fantastic flavors of their own. I've even gotten to the point where I often realize that I didn't even need to have the cheese in the first place, and go without it the next time, freeing up calories for more of something else! As with anything (erm, most things), you don't have to give it up entirely, just dial it back a notch or two.