Losing myself continued

It's been nearly 6 years since I got fed up with my weight and decided to do something about it. What have I learned in that time?

• Regular soda just isn't worth the calories. Neither are juice or punch.

• Water is so super awesome, especially when it's ice cold.

• You don't have to count sacrament bread in your points tracker.

• I can't bake with splenda or low fat margerines. Stick with "real" ingredients and just eat less. I'll enjoy the treat more.

• Being hungry from time to time isn't the end of the world.

• It's nice to feel full.

• Sometimes I think I'm hungry when I'm just thirsty. Have a drink and see how I feel in a few minutes.

• It is possible to find inner peace eating just one cookie rather than twelve.

• I don't need guacamole to be happy, and sour cream is optional.

• Toast tastes just fine with only jam rather than butter and jam. Even dry toast is pretty darn delicious too.

• My self-worth is not defined by how much frosting is on my slice of cake.

• I only need mayonnaise on one piece of bread in a sandwich.

• I can make my own pizza and not break the points budget. This is great because I LOVE pizza.

• While we're talking about pizza, Little Caesars pizza actually isn't terribly pointy. It's not for everyone, but I enjoy it from time to time when I need a quick pizza fix and I don't have time to wait for a crust to rise. It's always hot-n-ready.

• It's fun to binge. (I've always known that.) But it's even fun to go to town on a bowl of salad (with vinegar for dressing), carrots or a heap of grapes. Sometimes for me, it's all about quantity, rather than quantity of fatty stuff.

• Speaking of "bingeing," low fat microwave popcorn is tasty, especially when you experiment with spices to top your popcorn. Mesquite flavored popcorn? Spicy, but tasty. Curry popcorn? Same. Garlic salt? Yum, but bad breath later.

Keep reading! You can do it. You won't be disappointed.*

• Smoothies are an awesome treat. Just put milk, bananas, strawberries and some splenda or sugar in a blender, and blend until smooth. If you want it super cold, add ice to the blender. Want variety? Change up the fruits.

• Fruits and vegetables have a magic power to help me feel satisfied without using up a bunch of points. For that, I love vegetables and fruits.

• I don't have to feel deprived; I just have to find ways other than a towering bowl of ice cream to treat myself. Diet soda is a great treat. Especially diet Dr. Pepper. So my favorite!

• Cafe Rio is worth every single last point. We get it once a week as a treat for eating well during the week. I don't spare any grain of rice and my "No black bean left behind" policy is in full force. Pointy but entirely worth it to me.

• Exercise can be fun. Seriously people. This is coming from a contender for "the laziest person on the planet" award. I hate sweating, I hate jumping, I hate panting. But get the right exercise buddy (mine is TC), and a routine you like (we do Tony Horton's Power 90), switch up the routines from time to time and it can be fun. Make fun of the exercise video and listen to great music and it can be a good time. Plus, it gives me an excuse to indulge a little bit later by having a smoothie or a yogurt.

• Speaking of yogurt, it makes an awesome snack. It's sweet and cold and creamy. Way yums.

• I have collar bones and wrist bones! And I'm not actually big boned like I always thought. Who would have thought?

• People are judgmental no matter what your weight is. Heavy? People judge you. Not heavy? People judge you or assume you're naturally thin, or that it's easy.

• On that note, weight loss is a constant battle for me. Food is a pretty common subject around here because it's on my mind. How much I eat, when I eat, what I eat... It's all something I need to be aware of because when I wasn't I would eat insane amounts of food and wonder why my pants kept getting tighter and shorter.

• Knowing how much a food is worth in points helps me evaluate if I really want it or not. And the whole concept of eating less than you burn off really works. Gordita's honor.

There's more to this story, but just like last time, this is getting long. Stay tuned.

*You may be disappointed. ikrod makes no guarantees about satisfaction or disappointment when spending time on this website.