146.0…Measuring & Tracking = Success!

I’m glad you guys are fired about about my Slim in September plan! My first day of “post vacation” healthy eats was fabulous yesterday. I am already feeling better!

Last night’s dinner was simple and delicious.

Spaghetti with marinara, sautéed zucchini and a big salad. I had twice the salad that you see in the picture. I got salad happy and made way too much but ended up eating all of it. Hey, I needed the veggies!!

I knew exactly what I wanted for breakfast when I woke up this morning. More Teddie Super Chunky Peanut Butter!

I don’t know what they do to their peanut butter but it is unreal. I put on a toasted waffle…..I know….same as yesterday but this time the fruit was different. :)

My kids favorite toaster waffles are the Special K ones with red berries. I have not been able to find them anywhere. So I bought them my grocery store’s brand of cinnamon waffles. Since they don’t have the “red berries” they won’t touch them. Turns out better for me since these waffles are ridiculous! The smell of cinnamon coming out of the toaster is amazing. And with the peanut butter on top…it blows my mind. ;)

I took my son to school and went to Zumba. Such a good class today! Here’s a random fact about me: I love jumping. I actually really like jumping jacks. Yes, I’m the only one on the planet like this probably. One of my friends in Zumba today told me that she looked at me during a part where we were doing some high impact moves and she said that I looked SO happy. I was!

After changing, I got the million loads of laundry started. Then it was lunch time. I made a salad the size of my head.

More veggies! This salad had tuna, mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, cucumber, red onion, red bell pepper and Girard’s Light Champagne Dressing.  Do you know how I applied my salad dressing today? I actually measured out 2 tablespoons. Sometimes we forget what portion sizes look like and it’s a good idea to remind ourselves and measure. Keeps your calories in check!

I took my daughter to her “Dog Smart” class. We haven’t been since June and she really needed to go. She stills screams when a dog gets near her. :( Today’s class went well though….hopefully soon dogs won’t scare her.

When we returned I was hungry so I had a snack. I was really excited about this one! The kind folks over at Fiber One sent me their new cereal: Fiber One Honey Squares to try. Today was the day!

One word: YUM!!!

I paired the cereal with some unsweetened almond milk and went to town. It reminds me a bit of Cinnamon Toast Crunch which used to be one of my favorite cereals when I was younger. The  cereal is lightly sweetened (not crazy sweet like the Cinnamon Toast Crunch) and stays pretty crunchy the whole time. A 3/4 cup serving has only 80 calories and 40% of your daily value of fiber! Get out of here. This cereal has found a permanent spot in my pantry. Thanks Fiber One!

Back to Slim in September….I received some questions on how I track what I eat and how I’m going to go about losing the 10 pounds. Here are the tricks that help me:

• Track what you eat. I use the “Lose It” app on my iphone. I always have the phone on me so it’s easy to update it frequently. Plus I like that I can easily add items to the program. You don’t have to track forever but it’s useful to see how much you are really consuming. Every calorie counts!
• Measure your food! Like I said above, measuring really keeps you accountable. A serving of cereal is a lot smaller than you think!
• Workout 5 or 6 days a week. This is what works for me. I like to have one or two rest days for my body to recover. Just get out there and move!
• Mix it up! If you do the same exercises all the time, you body becomes used to it and it doesn’t challenge you anymore. I like to do a mix of cardio (spin, running, Zumba) and weights. Don’t be afraid to pump some iron. You will NOT bulk up….you’ll only get sexier and stronger.
• More measuring! Take your body measurements! I know I weigh myself everyday (works for me but not for others) but your measurements really show your true progress. Remember, muscle weighs more than fat so sometimes that scale may not be moving in the direction you’d like.
• Drink a lot. Water that is. It really helps me with weight loss. Sometimes you think you are hungry when you really are thirsty!
• Nothing is off limits. If you deny yourself the foods you love, you will go nuts. Everything in moderation folks. You need to develop a Way of Life, not a DIET. Diets don’t work in the long run.

There you go folks. Now for those of you that want to loose those last few pounds with me, get to it! :) Take your measurements now and we’ll check back in at the end of September and see how we did!

I’m going to Bunco tonight and am excited to see my friends! With all the traveling I’ve been doing, I haven’t seen them much lately. Now that I’ve preached about all my weight loss tricks, let’s see if I can be sensible tonight with my food choices. :)

What are your weight loss tips/tricks?

Have you tried the new Fiber One Honey Squares cereal yet? If not…what are you waiting for!?!

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