I must confess, however, that I did buy a Full Bar but did not try it yet. Have you tried one yet? What do you think of them?

The Healthy Harvest wheat spaghetti is delicious — I think it’s even BETTER than regular spaghetti. Plus, it’s only a few cents more than the regular stuff. Totally worth it. YUM.

Minute Rice - Brown Rice — I also think this is even BETTER than regular rice. It’s supposed to be a lot healthier, and it’s the same price. It cooks better, doesn’t get mushy as fast, and looks more appetizing.

98% fat free hot dogs — So much better than the cheap hot dogs that I don’t even flinch when I pay twice as much for them. They’re on sale a lot, so we like to stock up.

Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheese — no pic, sorry! It doesn’t melt the same way as regular cheese does, and when you bake it, it has a weird consistency, but it’s delicious. Stock up when it’s on sale because the price is outrageous.

Betty Crocker - Sweet Potato Mashed Potatoes — Gross. Just gross. They tasted like a big batch of brown sugar, with nothing added. Nobody in the family (not even my little garbage-disposal of a 3 year old) liked them.

Last but not least, apple butter! Delicious!! So healthy - 30 calories, no fat. DELISH! Put it on an english muffin and it’s a great breakfast OR snack.

What are YOUR favorite healthy or ‘diet’ foods?

I purchased “Truvia” (the all natural sweetener that is supposed to taste better than Sweet-N-Low and Equal). I will have to say that I hate, hate, hate artificial sweeteners, but this is the best one I’ve tried. It isn’t good by any means, but I tolerated it. I put some in my tea and it was drinkable. But, in the end, I decided to mix sweet tea and unsweet tea (like half-half) to cut the calories in half. MUCH better, even if it does have calories.

I have regular internet access for now, so I will hopefully update more. How is everyone else doing on their weight loss journey?!

Right now, my favorite food is the “lite”, high fiber english muffins. I put some Weight Watchers cream cheese on them and usually put a banana on the plate with them — great breakfast, and the cream cheese isn’t pricey at all.

I still haven’t lost any weight since last week. Depressing, but I have been eating like mad. My oldest daughter turned 8 this week, so we had a birthday/halloween party with TONS of candy, cake, pizza, etc and then we took her out to eat for her birthday by herself at a pizza buffet. Go figure. She said, “It’s okay mom, your points start over next week, right?” Haha. Yes, they do. This morning, I had an egg mcmuffin for breakfast. Egg-2points (could’ve used egg beaters for 1 point but I was lazy), lite english muffin-1point, turkey bacon (YUM!)-1point, fat free cheese-1point. 5 points, and it was so delish!

For lunch, I’ll have some boneless skinless chicken breast strips. Usually I don’t buy these because they are kind of expensive, but my mom works at a food bank and they gave her like 12 bags of them the other day so we are eating chicken A LOT these next few weeks lol. She gave us 3 bags just this morning. I’ll probably add some fat free mayo, some pickles, and mustard, and make chicken salad. I bought some multi-grain club crackers (haven’t tried them yet, don’t know if they’re any good!) and that sounds like a great lunch. What do you think??

Just kind of wondering what everyone else is eating lately. I’m getting in a funk, eating the same things and getting bored.

As far as working out, I’m trying to get an exercise routine going. I have been doing a 10 minute ab workout like 2 times a week (should be doing it like 5 times a week lol oh well), and going to the gym 3-4 times a week. I’m improving, but I still have a LOT I could be doing that I’m not. I guess it’s just important to recognize that I’m fitting into a smaller size, I’m on my way to my goal weight, and I’m eating healthier along the way — while STILL enjoying my chocolate every day. Couldn’t ask for more. Praise God!

My “skinny” jeans are fitting — I wore a size 6 in those “Right Fit” jeans from Lane Bryant/Fashion Bug/etc when I started (I think that’s like a size 22). I’m now squeezing into the size 4s (size 16/18?) I bought for $1 at a yard sale this summer. Before I began, they wouldn’t even go over my hips. I’m finally seeing the progress I’m making.

I have been eating better. Instead of getting the chocolate milkshake at Dairy Queen like I was before (once or twice a week), I bought some fat free no sugar added (UGH, ICK!) chocolate ice cream with fudge in it. It was outrageously expensive, and I literally GAGGED the first time I tasted it (I’m a little overdramatic, it wasn’t that bad!), but now I’m getting used to it. Now I make my milkshakes with skim milk and that ice cream. It gets rid of my chocolate craving (or, rather, tames it for a few hours..), and it’s only 100 calories per cup! Woo hoo!

I watched “Biggest Loser” while walking on the treadmill at the gym last night. I lasted 25 minutes which is actually a record for me. I ran for like.. eh.. 2 minutes out of 25. But whatever, at least I was walking lol. I LOVE walking on the incline, so I pumped it up to 15.0 (incline) and 4.5 (speed). GO ME!! I burned 300 calories!

I hope to update next week and tell you that I’ve lost at least 1.6lbs! Wish me luck, and pleeeeeeeease oh please leave any tips you may have!

WW has prepackaged snacks that are 1-3 points. Those are awesome, but get kind of pricey. Their giant fudge bars are 1 point and TOTALLY worth the price. They’re amazing. Like heaven on earth, in the diet world at least. Oh, and a dark chocolate Hershey’s bar is only 4 points! FOUR POINTS! Woo hoo! If I can stop myself after 1/4 of the bar, it’s just 1 point. But seriously, ehem, realistically.. it’s 4 points, because I eat the whole thing. That’s okay, though. Other than my chocolate addiction, I’m doing pretty good with eating healthier. I still get an asiago cheese bagel from the Bread Company once or twice a week (points? what points?!). Again, moderation is key. Used to, I’d want two bagels.. or one EVERY day. Carbs are a big sore spot for me - I could live off of pasta (and chocolate, of course!).

Slowly, but surely, I’m improving my eating habits. I still don’t eat veggies (I hate almost ALL veggies), but I’ve started eating fruit (I hate fruit, too — I’m a carnivore!) and am going to buy some baby carrots today.

Breakfast this morning was a hard-boiled egg. I just didn’t feel like eating (this is rare, trust me!), but I knew I had to eat something. An egg is only 2 points, so I have 28 for the rest of the day. Woo hoo! Another downfall I have is DRINKS! I refuse to drink diet ANYTHING - gross! So, I use a lot of points on drinks that I probably shouldn’t be drinking in the first place. I have cut soda down to one or two cans a week, and I am drinking Gatorade (1 point for 8oz!) instead of juice (2-3 points). I drink skim milk (2 points) at least twice a day.

For lunch, I will have a sandwich — low-calorie wheat bread (1 point each slice), ham (4 slices = 1 point), fat-free cheese (1 point, and it was on sale!), and TONS of tomatoes (0 points, woot!). I love the little chocolate cakes WW has, with the icing on top. They’re only 1 point. I usually eat two of them and dip them in my skim milk.

My goal for the week is to not eat after 7pm. Honestly, it should be 6pm, but I’m used to eating at like 9 at night … so, baby steps.

I am down 13 pounds - started at 264, am at 251. I started on September 1st, and now it’s October 8th. I hope to be down 2 more pounds by next week, so I can say “I’ve lost fifteen pounds!” instead of thirteen. Thirteen seems so much smaller, ya know? But something is better than nothing, right? I am 6′2″, and my goal weight (for now) is 210. That’s 41lbs. After I reach 210, I will see where I really need to be. I’ve lost 5 inches and 1% body fat in a little over a month. I’m excited to keep going. For the first time in my life, I’m SERIOUS about losing weight. I’ve ditched the excuses, and I’m losing weight.

I hope you will join me!!