I have been at a bit of a slogging stage in my weight loss journey, still doing what I need to do but not very excited about it. Changed up my exercise a bit, change of seasons has changed my eating, but overall a bit blah.

This week I started using two new tools and am having fun again. First, I changed the site that I log my food and activity at. While using a new site is a bit awkward it does make me think about the process more. Also this site, caloriecount.about.com allows me to enter data on foods that aren't in their database so I've been eating more new recipes that have the nutrition data per serving already calculated.

Then I noted that most foods there list the weight of their base serving size in grams. My old analog food scale only has the grams marked in 200 gram increments so I've pretty much done this project in ozs. or cup measures. I decided to go out and buy a digital food scale that could be set to grams. I love it! Very easy to use and the numbers geek in me likes knowing I'm using more precise measurements now that I'm to the point where calorie calculation needs to be accurate to keep me in the loss column (a lot more wiggle room at 265 lbs than at 163).

Anything new that's gotten you re-invigorated?

I love getting new toys. I bought a watch/pedometer/calorie counter/heart rate monitor today! So excited. Enjoy!

I need to get me one of those digital scales. I've been using a tablespoon to measure out my peanut butter and I think i might be getting a lot more on it than an actual tablespoon. Have an old kitchen scale, not digital, and I put a tablespoon of peanut butter on it today and it weighed 35 grams, which is a little over what 2 tablespoons weigh!! So either my old scale is off or I've been eating 2 tablespoons of PB instead of 1...that's almost 100 calories difference. I need a digital scale! Gonna get one next time I go out.

I am going to a new gym, where they have classes... and I am working out so much more. And I love that I can interact with people at the gym now!!!

I love trying new things, it really helps me avoid the yo-yo that maint had been for me in the past.

I try to avoid the point where I get bored, annoyed, distracted and stop by exploring new options before I start to even think of getting bored.

Now Im curious about the details of your toys

My most recent new thing is gyrotonics - sort of like pilates (on the machine, not floor)...but more fluid, micro movements. Amazing. I did like 10 diff specific pelvic exercises and holy crap I was sore the next day. Way unlike seeing my bootcamp style trainer.

Caryesings-- great idea about the digital food scale. I've always been a little imprecise about my measurements, but now that I'm not losing at all, that might be a good spot for me to try tightening up.

I love trying out new recipes or tweaking some of my older recipes. I'm obsessed with my crockpot in the fall and winter, so I cannot wait to try some new things in it again. I'm really craving Lentil and Barley soup, so I think I'll make some tomorrow. I really enjoy menu planning too, the shopping not so much though. But grocery shopping is a necessary evil.

Actually, food has me keyed up again. All along this journey my food has evolved. My latest "ban" is HFCS. I've been on a mission to get rid of it which has led me to a whole foods store, which I never knew existed! And just this morning I hit up Panera for a miche of whole wheat and it just made me feel good somehow. I actually tried Meijer's bakery first and looked at the ingredients. I was appalled that I couldn't pronounce the laundry list of ingredients in their HOMEMADE bread! AND it had HFCS as one of the main ingredients.

I've also been loving the return of winter squash and sweet potatoes.

So yes, I'm taking advantage of getting excited about healthy foods.

For me too, it's the food. I keep finding new things.

I also look forward to the cycles of the year - the summer fruits - the fall squashes and the soups and stews that seem to fit so well with it.

In fact yesterday I made a huge pot of yummy veggie stew. I hadn't made it for months, but with the cool weather upon us it was time I changed it up a bit by adding cabbage (thanks to a recent post about it) and string beans. It was fabulous, too good in fact as I overate it. I am adding cooked cubed chicken to it today.

I do like rummaging around the kitchen stores as well. I'm always up for a new container or knife. I also adore beautiful linens and serving pieces and am always on the look out for something special to enhance my dining experience.

I've said this many times - I look at all of this as my hobby.

Mmmm, Robin, cabbage--love the stuff! I seriously cannot get enough of it. I love it rolled with a laughing cow cheese spread, love it stir fried with onions, peppers and zucchini (it's awesome cold on a wrap), love it in soups and stews--you get the idea. I just finished making a ground turkey chili with lots of veggies and beans. I froze individual servings for lunches at work--yummy!

i use calorie count! lol i think its very helpful

That's a point well taken. I think changing things up in terms of tools is a very good idea indeed. I've been intending to get a digital scale for a long time and just haven't done so. My analog one isn't bad, but is not as precise as I might like.

I'd like a new workout tool of some kind as well - something for my home gym or something like snowshoes for winter.