dieting for dummies {3.6}

total weight loss: as of this morning, i'm up to 12 pounds

struggles: party weekend
last weekend was tough for the weight watching. having parties in our home two days in a row lent itself to lots of nibbling. plus, to keep the house clean, we avoided cooking family meals. friday night, we went out to eat at a mexican restaurant (first time since the diet began!!!). saturday night we ordered pizza. see the problem??? ultimately, it was OK though. not every day can be perfect.

tip: find fun ways to exercise
we just purchased "singstar dance" for our PS3. doing a few of these dances is a blast and definitely counts as exercise!

tip: portion control
i've probably said this already but it's such an important element. when matt fixes burgers, now i only eat half of one and with no bun. and guess what...i don't feel hungry or cheated! so much of watching food intake is just eating a more reasonable amount. eat slowly, noticing when you start to feel full. don't eat just because it tastes good (i really stuggle with this at mexican restaurants!!!).

a few random thoughts:
~ i'm still feeling a little baffled that more of my clothes don't fit any longer. there are definitely a few pairs of pants that i can't wear, but many things are just fitting differently (which i guess is still good).
~ fat free half & half is a lifesaver for my coffee
~ technically at the 10-pound mark i could treat myself to a new piece of clothing. i did pick up a new st. patty's day t-shirt and a cute tank top. not very exciting, but that's ok.
~ for the first time in a long time, i saw the target swimsuit ad and didn't cringe. instead i thought "hmmm, in a month or two, it might actually be fun to go buy a new bathing suit!". crazy!