I am excited to share with you some tips and tricks my Mama Sue has learned over the past couple of weeks.
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| Mama Sue, sis, me |
Need to catch up? I have created a tab on my blog with all of Mama Sue’s posts about her journey to losing 50 pounds!
Mama Sue’s 50/50 Weight Loss Page
I hope her story can encourage those who are trying to lose weight, and if anything, this woman is a great writer! Here’s this week’s post from Mama Sue! Enjoy!
{“Preparing for Battle” by Mama Sue (Week 4)
Well, I figured “forewarned or forearmed.” Cookies are a “trigger” for me; once I have one, others seem to follow until I have insensibly consumed more than I had intended. Knowing this, and knowing I was tired from having woken overnight and not slept well (when I’m tired I tend to crave sweets), I prepared myself for the inner battle by eating one of my favorite foods, Greek raspberry yogurt.
It took me a while to hop on the Greek yogurt bandwagon. I had been wondering what all the fuss was about; the stuff is expensive, for one thing, about twice the price of regular yogurt. So when I saw a display at my favorite grocery store, I checked out the label: 15% of the daily recommendation for calcium (no surprise there, as it’s made with milk), but 28% of the daily need for protein? Wow. That makes it, in my eyes, better than eating meat! More curious than ever, I bought one (peach was actually the first one I tried), and tried it the minute I got home.
Admittedly, there is a taste difference with Greek yogurt: it’s much thicker than regular yogurt, and there’s a little tangyness to it that took a little getting used to. But it is creamy and delicious, with fruit at the bottom. For the price, it is cheaper than some meats and it has both protein and calcium. And it satisfies my sweets craving, while filling me up enough that I’m not hungry for a while. SOLD!
I ate my yogurt just before leaving for the meeting. I also brought something low-cal to drink, just to keep my hands from wandering over to the goodies. It worked! I wasn’t really very hungry after the yogurt, truthfully. But the cookies were all my favorites. Not fair! Chocolate chip, M & M, and thickly frosted soft sugar cookies were offered to me over and over. They were passed around and of course they were set right in front of me. What would be the harm? But I stopped myself every time. I’m not hungry! I will have dinner soon with my daughter! Wait until later! Wait! WAIT! and I did. It worked. I was surprised and proud of myself.
I have had several small victories like this over the past couple of week; recognizing my “trigger points” has been a key to my success. I eat before I go anywhere that has tempting treats offered. Any more, that includes just about everywhere. Would you believe that even the fabric stores have a huge assortment of candies and soft drinks next to the checkout? I try not to fall prey to the marketing tricks, and it isn’t easy at times!
What about you?
- Preparation: she prepared with eating a greek yogurt before the meeting
- Portion control! Take the amount you want, put it on a plate, and stick with it!
- Eating sweets after a satisfying meal will help control your blood sugar as well as keeping you from reaching for more after a filling meal.
- Realize when you’re most vulnerable! I agree with Mama Sue that when I am tired, I tend to eat more just because. Recognize this and prepare for it!
- Drink lots of water because sometimes when you are feeling cravings or hunger…you’re just thirsty.
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| Hodge Podge Cookies…they are a bit hard to resist. Eat them with dinner to not over-indulge. |
Feel free to leave comments on this blog and Mama Sue will check them! You can also send me an e-mail @ semihealthnut AT yahoo DOT com and I will forward questions/comments to mom. (Or facebook, or twitter, or text or phone…the possibilities are endless!!)
She really appreciates all the support! Thanks for the sweet comments! 🙂
Have a wonderfully blessed evening,
~Amanda aka Semi-Health Nut~
Testeroo