Some Updates on my Weight Loss Journey

I am not even sure where to start.  Do I start by apologizing yet again for not posting regularly?  Do I moan about the new format on Blogger which has me baffled and confused (and frustrated)?  Do I just make up every excuse I can imagine as to why I haven't committed to putting entries into my blog?  Nah, why bother?  I really don't think anyone is reading this anymore so this blog is just for me now, I suppose!

Here is an update from the past few weeks (some good, some terrible).

Week 33 (May 3 - 9, 2012)
Loss or Gain: 0lbs
Total weight loss since beginning: -27lbs

Week 34 (May 10 - 16, 2012)
Loss or Gain: +2lbs
Total weight loss since beginning: -25lbs
Eeek - this probably had something to do with the heavy duty dinner I ate on Mother's Day and the fact that I was bloated beyond belief the day I weighed in.  Either way, the scale was going in the wrong direction!

Week 35 (May 17 - 23, 2012)
Loss or Gain: -3.5lbs
Total weight loss since beginning: -28.5lbs
Now this is more like it.  These are the numbers I would like to see more often.  I would really like to get to the -30lbs mark very soon.  I am tired of being stuck around 27lbs where I have been for about 2 months. 

Uh-oh - LONG overdue post

Uh-oh!  I've been bad.  I didn't realize that it has been so long since my last post.  I have just started Week #33 and I haven't posted since Week # 27.  Oopsies.

So here are some results:

Week 28 (Mar. 29 - Apr. 4)
Weight Loss or Gain: -0.5lbs
Total weight loss (since beginning): -26.5lbs

Week 29 (Apr. 5 - 11)
Weight Loss or Gain: 0lbs
Total weight loss (since beginning): -26.5lbs

Week 30 (Apr. 12 - 18)
Weight Loss or Gain: -0.5lbs
Total weight loss (since beginning): -27lbs

Week 31 (Apr. 19 - 25)
Weight loss or gain: +0.5lbs
Total weight loss (since beginning): -26.5lbs

Week 32 (Apr. 26 - May 2)
Weight loss or gain: -0.5lbs
Total weight loss (since beginning): -27lbs

I think I was so consumed with my trip to Las Vegas and trying to sell one of our houses that the past few weeks have just flown by.  I have managed to stay on target and not gain any crazy amounts so I am happy with that.

I am also back from my trip to Las Vegas so I will have to post a separate post for that.

I hope to post more regularly!!

Shopping for Vegas!

To those who doubted me, I told you I would try to post more.  


Unfortunately, this is will probably come off sounding like a negative post.  I don't want it to be but this has been on my mind. A.LOT.  


I am heading to Vegas in 3 weeks with 3 of my close girlfriends.  Why, you ask?!  Well, we are all celebrating our 40th this year and we thought this would be a great way to celebrate.


Here is where I am a bit nervous.  I am going with 3 very beautiful women with pretty great bodies.  I am not necessarily comparing myself to them but I do worry what I will look like standing beside them.  I am happy with my 25lb loss and am much happier going to Las Vegas at this weight then I would 25lbs heavier BUT I am still not going to feel completely comfortable.  


I am going to have to buy some items of clothing because some things are too big on me and make me look frumpy while some things I can't squeeze into yet.


So, you know what I decided, as a treat to myself for my 25lb loss so far, I am going shopping tomorrow night.  Hubby is going to pick up the kids from childcare and I am going straight to the mall right after work.  I don't want to go too fancy and spend oodles on dresses that I'll never wear again.  I am looking for some funky/dressy tops to go with jeans and dress pants.  Fingers crossed that I can find some fun Vegas-type clothing!!


Wish me luck.

Week 27 Results

Week 27 Results (Mar 22 - 28, 2012):

Weight Loss or Gain: -1.5lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -26lbs

Yipppeeeeeeeeee!!!  I hit (and passed) the 25lb mark.  I didn't think my loss would be such a good one this week.  It isn't that I overindulged or anything this week but a 1.5lb loss during a week where I just ate like normal and worked out twice didn't really warrant such a loss.  I was thinking that maybe I would stay the same or lose 0.5lb.  Oh, I should also mention that I am bloated like anything today so when I stepped on the scale, I was thinking that I may actually be up a bit.

In any case, I am super excited.  Yipppppeeeeeee!!

Week 25 & 26 Results

Boy, oh boy, am I ever bad at promises.  I promised a few times now to start posting more regularly and I have gone back on my word.  I am sorry to anyone who may even be reading my blog.  Somedays I feel like I have a lot to say but I am nowhere near a computer but other days I am at a computer and I have nothing to say.  I'll try to be better.

In any case, I have two weeks of results to give you:

Week 25 Results (Mar 8 - 14, 2012):

Weight Loss or Gain: -1lb

Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -23.5lbs

Week 26 Results (Mar 15 - 21, 2012):

Weight Loss or Gain: -1lb

Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -24.5lbs

Wow, I am very close to the 25lb mark and I am quite excited.  I am a bit hesitant though getting too excited for last week's loss because when I stepped on the scale yesterday morning, I was actually up 0.5lbs.  I don't understand how someone's weight can fluctuate so quickly (1.5lbs in one day).  Oh well, I'll take it!  

Maybe next week I'll change things up a bit (eating or exercising) to see if I can get down at least another 0.5lbs to reach the 25lb mark.  That sounds like such a nice number.

Week 24 Results

Week 24 Results (Mar. 1 - 7, 2012):

Weight Loss or Gain: -1.5lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -22.5lbs

Well....ya-frickin'-hoo!!!  Woohoo!!  Doing a happy dance over here.  I am very excited with that loss.  Actually, I peeked at the scale 2 days ago and I was actually down 2lbs but I went out for a work lunch yesterday and had an incredibly delicous lunch (pitas, tzatziki & greek salad).  It sounds healthy enough but I had tonnes of pitas (too many carbs for what I am used to) and the greek salad was quite oily and very salty (much more than usual).  It doesn't matter though because 1.5lbs is awesome. 

I am making another small goal for myself.  I want to lose another 7.5lbs between now and the end of April.  That is 7 weeks so it is doable but I am not sure if I can do it. 

Why the new little goal?  Well, some girlfriends and I are making a trip down to Vegas for 4 nights at the end of April and it would be really nice if I could have lost 30lbs in total by the time I go. 

I am not going to put too much pressure on myself though because I hate disappointment but I am going to try.  Wish me luck!

Week 23 Results

Week 23 Results (Feb. 23-29, 2012):

Weight Loss or Gain: -0.5lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -21lbs

I am happy with the small loss because I thought last week's visit with my sister-in-law would have caught up with me but I am not ecstatic because I have been at the -21lbs before (just 2 weeks ago).  When I hit another loss, I'll be much happier. 

Week 22 Results

Week 22 Results (Feb. 16-22, 2012):

Weight Loss or Gain:  No Loss and No Gain
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -20.5lbs

I will admit, I am really surprised about this.  I had completely expected to gain about a pound (and hopefully not more).  My sister-in-law was visiting from England so we were out and about acting like tourists in our own city.  It included a lot of eating out and drinking wine.  Check this out:

Thursday: popcorn at the Disney on Ice show with our kids and wine with dinner later on in the evening
Friday: dinner out at an amazing Italian restaurant (lots of wine and a delicious pasta dish with rose sauce)
Saturday: a Beavertail at Winterlude (if you don't know what a Beavertail is, imagine a very flat and very large doughnut which is full of sugar and fat); wine later on in the evening
Sunday: breakfast at a restaurant (omelette with salsa and cheese), ice cream cake for dessert at dinner (sister-in-law's birthday celebration), about 4 glasses of wine
Monday: pancakes at a sugar bush and a few licks of maple taffy

OMG.  Looking at that is rather embarrassing.  Please believe me when I say that this is not a regular week's menu AT ALL.  We really were all over the city at various toursit attractions so there were just some things that I couldn't turn down. 

Now can you see why I am pleasantly surprised that I didn't gain a pound (or two).

Fingers crossed that it doesn't all catch up to me next Thursday morning. 

Week 21 Results

Okay, okay, I know, I have been pretty slack with the blog entries.  I am really sorry.  Don't think for a minute though that I am giving up on my weight loss goals though.  That is definitely not the case.  I am just in a writer's slump and can't think of anything clever to write about.

In any case, here are my Week 21 Results (Feb. 9-15, 2012):


Weight Loss or Gain: +0.5lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -20.5lbs

I am not completely surprised by the gain because I had a few little hurdles to get over in Week 21.  The main hurdle was going out for a really nice dinner on Saturday night.  Besides drinking a 1/2 litre of wine by myself (which was SO delicious), I also ate a CRAZY number of calories.  I had a gorgeous salad with roasted vegetables, goat cheese and balsamic dressing.  Then my main course was a mediocre pasta but full of calories and fat.   The other hurdle one night was the tempting pizza that I ordered as a treat for my kids.  I loaded up on salad but definitely sampled some of their pizza.   

I wasn't shocked by the gain but a little worried because I know Week 22 is going to be a hard one.  My sister-in-law is visiting from England for that entire week and there will definitely be some extra calories and wine consumed as well as no time at the gym.  Fingers crossed that it isn't too bad.  

Week 20 Results

Week 20 Results:

Weight Loss or Gain: -1.5lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -21lbs


Ya-freakin'-hooooooo!!!!  I'm so excited, I just can't hide it.  I'm about to lose control and I think I like it (haha - you are going to have this song in your head now)!!  Can you tell I am happy?  I was hoping to reach my half way point this week.  I have been sort of stuck between the -17 to -18.5 for the past 2 months so it is about time my body starts doing what I want it to do.  I think (maybe) my body was getting used to the loss of -18lbs and just decided to stay put for a bit.  Hopefully with a 1.5lb loss this week, I'll start losing regularly again.

I have a few events coming up in the next few weeks including:
- a couple dinners out (both at yummy Italian restaurants);
- Winterlude (which, if you have ever been, you really can't enjoy completely without having a Beavertail); and
- a 5-day visit from a family member in the UK which will mean some glasses of wine to celebrate (also her birthday dinner).

I am sure it will be okay though.  I have proven in the past 4 months that I can still stay on track while enjoying life and the various events that come along with it!

Week 19 Results

Week 19 results:


Weight Loss or Gain: -1 lb
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): - 19.5 lbs


I am super duper excited!  I only have a half pound to go before reaching the half way mark of my goal of 40lbs lost by the time I turn 40.  As you all know, if you have been reading my blog, my ideal goal is actually 50-60lbs but my realistic goal is 40.  Once I get to 40 (and dammit, I WILL get there), I will see how things are progressing and make a new goal. 


I don't have too many challenges in Week 20.  I do have a lunch date but that should be easy to take care of.  I have been to the restaurant before so I know they have a nice vegetarian sandwich with veggies and falafal and then I add a side salad.  It is a higher point/calorie meal then I am used to for a weekday lunch but I'll just have a lighter dinner.  No worries.


Fingers crossed that I make it to -20lbs!!   

The Soup Lady

Recently I have been wondering if I should call myself the "Soup Lady".  When I started this journey almost 4 months ago, I realized that I needed to pay close attention to my lunches at work.  If I didn't plan ahead then I would be forced to grab something quickly from home or buy something at work.  Both options would mean more calories then I needed to have and buying something would mean spending too much money.

My solution - make my lunches ahead of time and freeze extra portions for future lunches.  I have been doing such a good job of it that one day I counted 30+ lunch size containers in my freezer for upcoming lunches at work.  All were low fat, low calorie and extremely nutritious.

Apart from some batches of vegetarian chili, I have been trying out some soup recipes.  Before this, I had never even made homemade soup.  I had been collecting recipes for years but just never got around to making any.  To be honest, they all looked very time consuming (chopping up the veggies, blending batches of the soup in the blender etc).  Anyway, I finally tried my first soup a few months ago and it was so much easier then I thought.

So, here is my list (so far) of soups that I have made:

- broccoli soup (which I posted about here before);
- potato soup;

- butternut squash soup;

- lentil soup (this was a flop but I have a new recipe that comes highly recommended); and

- cauliflower and roasted red pepper soup.


I really have to say that having these ready for lunches is really contributing to my weight loss.  It is so easy to grab a frozen soup (yes, I freeze them so they don't leak in my bag on my way to work) and go to work.  I always pack some fruit and, depending on the soup, some additional veggies to munch on with my soup. 


I will post some of the soup recipes in case any of you want to try.  I'll also post my vegetarian chili recipe because it is absolutely amazing.  I could eat it for lunch and dinner for weeks on end. Yummy, filling and very flavourful.

Week 18 Results

Week 18 results:


Weight Loss or Gain: - 0.5lb


Total Weight Loss (since beginning): - 18.5 lbs


To be honest, I wasn't expecting a loss at all this week so I am quite excited about the 0.5lb loss.  I had two dinners out last week which put me way over my calories (points) for those days.  I stayed within my daily target range for the rest of the time and I went to the gym 2 times so I guess it paid off.


I know I have been quiet on here lately and I have been meaning to fix that.  I hope to start posting more exciting stories and recipes soon.

Week 16 & 17 Results

I know, I know, I've been slacking.  The good thing is, I have only been slacking with my blog.  I haven't been slacking with my food and exercise.  I am still watching what I am eating, writing everything down AND going to gym 2-3 days per week.

So, here are the results from the past 2 weeks.  They aren't brilliant but they show that I am still on track.

Week 16 results:

Weight Loss or Gain: -0 lb
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -17lbs

Week 17 results:

Weight Loss or Gain: -1lb

Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -18lbs

So, there you have it.  It isn't mind blowing but it is still okay.  

I have a couple of events to go to during Week 18 so let's hope I'll be okay by the end of it.  

Toodles!  I hope to be writing more regularly.  Sorry if you have missed me.

Week 15 Results

I should have posted this 5 days ago.


Week 15 is now over, thank god!!


Week 15 results:
Weight Loss or Gain: -1 lb
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -17


I know that looks good but trust me, the scale is not going to be pretty next week.  Why you ask?  Well, to start with, I over indulged on alcohol on New Year's Eve and I guess it just hasn't caught up with me yet.  I won't even tell you how much I actually drank but I can tell you that it is more than I am used to drinking (guess I needed to party).  Hee hee oops!!  The next thing, I nibbled on some junk food the next day to help cure my small hangover.  I am in so much trouble next week.  Well, at least I had a tonne of fun on New Year's Eve this year!!  :)

Week 13 and Week 14 Results

Whoops!!  I haven't posted in 2 weeks and now Week 13 & Week 14 are both over. 


Week 13 results:
Weight Loss or Gain: -0 lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -17.5lbs


Week 14 results:
Weight Loss or Gain: +1.5lbs
Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -16lbs


I knew that I would have a gain at the end of Week 14.  This week was the hardest by far and included Christmas Eve (lots of munching and drinking), Christmas Day (lots of munching and drinking), and then another family party two days later that included lots of food.


No one ever wants to see a gain on the scale when they are trying to lose a substantial amount of weight BUT I am fine with it.  I expected it and I deserved it.  I over indulged (more on the wine then anything else), I ate well, I sampled some chocolates (yummy smooth chocolate balls with milky peanut butter), I had some baked goods and I didn't exercise at all.  See?  I deserved the 1.5lb gain.


I should be back on track now.  The only issue will be with New Year's Eve (in 2 days) which will probably include a bunch of wine.  I will still stay on track the rest of the time so let's just hope that the scale next week is much nicer to me!!


I probably won't post anything in this blog for the remainder of 2011 so I'll speak to you in 2012.


HAPPY NEW YEAR EVERYONE!!!

Week 12 Results

Week 12 is officially over!


Week 12 results:

Weight Loss or Gain: -1.5 lb

Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -17.5 lbs


Yahoo!!  Woohoo!!  Yipppeeeee!!!  To say I am excited by that number is an understatement.


This week has had MANY challenges:

Challenge # 1: Two of my December functions happened in Week 12.  Actually 3 functions were supposed to take place this week but one had to get cancelled.  In any case, of the other two, one was not so hard to stay within my daily point range, the other seemed to be super hard.  The easier of the two was at my chidren's childcare Christmas party.  It was a buffet dinner filled with tonnes of food but I was very careful when I went up to fill my plate.  I stuck to the veggies, fruit and a few small sandwich things that I had brought.  The second function was the more difficult one.  It was a work Christmas lunch at one of my favourite Italian restaurants in Ottawa.  I have been to this restaurant numerous times and one of my favourite dishes is a Pasta Primavera with homemade fettucine noodles, broccoli, sundried tomatoes and a pesto cream sauce.  The pesto cream sauce is what had me a little worried.  I can't even imagine how much fat and calories are in that sauce.  Anyway, my friend convinced me that I should have it anyway.  She reminded me that it is one of my favourite dishes and if there was one Christmas function that I didn't have to be super careful was this one because they actually had a dish that I already know that I really enjoyed.  And she was right (thanks KW)!!  :)  So, in order to offset the calorie intake I was about to consume with the pasta, I chose not to have any wine at that meal and I didn't touch any of their fresh bread.  I started off with a minestrone soup (another dish of theirs that I absolutely love) and then had my delicious pasta.  You know what?  It was SO worth it.  If I am ever to go over on my calorie intake for a day, this is the type of meal that I want to do it with.  It was well worth it.  After the meal was over, a friend and I decided to walk back to work to burn off some of the calories.  It was about a 15-minute walk which I would like to think burned a few calories!!!


Challenge # 2: Pizza.  I wanted to get my kids pizza one night as a treat and because I just didn't feel like making dinner.  Sometimes we make our own but this time I decided on ordering a delivery pizza.  I knew that I had been pretty good during the day so I could treat myself to a couple of slices.  I ended up having quite a bit of salad on the side and two really yummy pieces of cheese pizza!  Mmmmmmm.


Challenge # 3: Christmas cookies!  It is a tradition at Christmas time to bake sugar cookies with my girls.  They love to cut them with the Christmas cookie cutters and decorate them with sprinkles.  Even though I am not a huge cookie eater, I did have to sample one (or two, or three) over the past few days.


Challenge # 4: M & M's.  I am planning on making a different type of cookie over the the weekend to bring to my girls' school for a cookie sale.  These ones are a little like sugar cookies but they also include red and green M&Ms.  I went to Bulk Barn over the weekend to buy enough for the recipe but I obviously bought too much because the bag was $15.  Eeeek.  This super expensive bag of M&Ms has been sitting in my cupboard for about 5 days now and the amount that I brought home is no longer the amount I have in my cupboard now!!  Yes, I have snuck in there on a few occasions and grabbed a small handful.


Even with all these challenges, I have tracked all of my eating (even the little handfuls of red and green M&Ms) every single day.  Even if I wasn't very happy with the number of points I had eaten for a particular meal (i.e. the yummy pasta with pesto cream sauce), I had to be honest with myself and put it in my spreadsheet.  I think that is one of the main reasons why I still lost weight.  I tracked every.single.thing that I ate.  By watching what I ate at other meals in the day, I was able to stay within my calories/points range most days (even the pizza day).  The only day I actually went over was the day I had the pasta with pesto cream sauce.  I'll tell you though, it was well worth it. 

So, now onto Week #13 which will have a few more challenges.  I'll just take each meal and each day at a time and plan accordingly.

A Broken Hip Means Fewer Calories

As you know, I have a lot of parties/functions/get togethers to go to in the month of December (as most of you probably do). There are so many that I am really worried about how it will impact the numbers on the scale. Too much food and too much wine makes for a tough time trying to lose weight. Too much gain makes for a very unhappy me.

One of the functions that I had scheduled was last Friday, December 9th. I was invited to a girlfriend's house along with 5 other fabulous ladies. It was a potluck so we were each asked to bring a dish (either an appetizer or a dessert). If it was anything like it was last year, there was going to be a lot of yummy food and a decent amount of alcohol. One good thing was that I was going to have to drive home afterwards so I would have to limit the amount of alcohol I consumed (an excellent way to save some calories).

Unfortunately, I didn't end up going to the get together at all. My father fell and broke his hip (again) and was waiting to get operated on. My Mom & Dad were supposed to be my babysitters that night.  Instead, my Mom had to spend some of the time at the hospital with my Dad and then when she finally got to my house, she was too exhausted, frustrated, stressed and mentally drained to be on her own. She didn't ask me to stay but I knew she needed the company. My Mom has been through a lot in the past 2 years and that is just what good daughters do.

So, I ended up missing the lovely evening with friends. I still brought my friend, the hostess, the spinach & artichoke dip that I made, the French loaf that I bought and the wine that I had for her. I apologized for having to miss her party but explained that I had to be with my Mom when she returned from the hospital.

As much as I was disappointed that I couldn't attend the girls' night, there was one silver lining...I didn’t consume too many calories/points on Friday night.


Well, there's one event down, a gazillion more to go.

Week 11 Results

Week 11 is officially over!


Week 11 results:


Weight loss or gain: -1 lb


Total Weight Loss (since beginning): -16 lbs


Yay!!  I am extremely happy with another pound down.  I am feeling super bloated today and assumed I would step on the scale and see a gain.  Actually I weighed myself about 30 minutes ago and I am feeling even more bloated at this very minute so I bet you that if I went on that scale right now, I'd be up the pound.  Damn you time of the month!!!


Tomorrow marks the beginning of the numerous eating and/or drinking functions that I am going to over the next few weeks.  I just hope the scale is good to me throughout these celebrations.  I am going to try to be good and I usually have quite a bit of will power but 2-3 functions per week is a bit much, don't you think?!  Oh well, time will tell, right?!

Parties and Potlucks and Wine, Oh My!!

I got woken up shortly before 4am by one of my darling daughters and then I couldn't get back to sleep.  I laid there for about 30 minutes and finally decided that I should just get out of bed.  It isn't even 5:30 and I have showered, put in a load of laundry, checked emails, finished packing lunches and did a few other odd little jobs around the house.


Now I am sitting here enjoying a cup of tea thinking about everything that I have coming up in December.  I have to admit, I am really nervous.  I have lost 15 pounds so far and I want to continue to lose weight but the next 3 weeks are really going to be difficult.  I'll be lucky if I just stay the same and not gain anything in the next 3 weeks.  I know that sounds very negative but look at this crazy schedule:


Thursday, December 8th - party at my children's childcare which includes a huge buffet of food (appetizers, main dishes and tonnes of desserts)


Friday, December 9th - potluck at my friends' place which will include tonnes of food and wine.  The good thing is that I will have to limit the amount of alcohol I consume because I have to drive home.


Tuesday, December 13th - office Christmas party at lunch.  I may choose not to have wine at this function but the party is being held at an Italian restaurant and the vegetarian items on our group menu are pretty high in calories.  Eeek!


Thursday, December 15th - Christmas lunch with friends from work at Milestone's.  I think there is a nice vegetarian sandwich that I can have that isn't too bad.  


Friday, December 16th - Christmas "shindig" (as my sister calls it) at her place.  Lots of food and wine.  The good thing is that I will have to limit the amount of alcohol I consume because I have to drive home.


Saturday, December 17th - dinner out at a pub with my immediate family (kids, parents,  sister).  Not sure what's on the menu but I am sure I'll be having a glass of wine to celebrate the season. 


Tuesday, December 20th - Christmas party/potluck at my office. 


Friday, December 23rd - get together at my friend's place.  If it is anything like last year, we'll end up consuming LOTS of wine and quite a bit of food.


Saturday, December 24th - Christmas Eve (as you all know) - our immediate family always has a few glasses of wine to celebrate but I think this year we are going to be careful with the food that we eat.  In previous years it was usually crappy munchy food (i.e. M&M) which is full of fat, calories and sodium.


Then there is Christmas day and then another family party a few days after Christmas....Aaaaaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhh.....


So, those are the dates that are already set in stone.  God only knows what else may pop up between now and Christmas.


Here are a few ways that I think may help me in not gaining weight this month:
1. Continue at the gym every week.  Increase the 2 days a week to 3 days a week (if possible).
2. On the days where I have an evening function, I will be very careful in what I eat during the day - probably just a lot of fruit and veggies.
3. On the nights where I am consuming alcohol at someone's house, I will bring some diet sprite or 7Up.  My sister introduced to me what she calls the "Cheap Man's Sangria".  It is half red wine and half Sprite or 7Up.  So, if I bring the diet stuff then I can lower the calories that I am consuming in my alcohol.  
4. Of course, the obvious is to stick to the healthier dishes like veggies and fruit at all these potlucks but I have to be serious with myself.  I am going to want to sample some of those other yummy looking appetizers.  
5. I don't think desserts are going to be too big of a problem.  At this time of year, I actually prefer the appetizers over the desserts.  Don't get me wrong, some desserts are quite tempting and I may have a sample (or two) but I don't think I will overindulge.
6. LOTS of water.  I will continue to drink LOTS of water this month to help flush out a lot of the stuff I'll be putting in my body.


If anyone else has any other suggestions to help me out this month, please feel free to comment.  


Wishing us all luck over the next few weeks!!  :)