Trick yourself into losing some!

Ok, so we all know that I am a sucker for junk food, and had to play mind games with myself to actually change my eating habits to lose weight. Hitting the treadmill didn't hurt either. However, Girl Scout Cookie time hit last month, and I have not one, but TWO girl scouts. And as a leader, I have a garage full of cookies. A GARAGE FULL. Oh, my poor, poor willpower.

But I was still good. I made a joke to a friend that I usually eat a whole box, so I still get HALF (haha). Needless to say, I was a bit nervous when I had to head back to the dr for the full body checkup. Would the scale tell just how many cookies I had eaten the past few weeks?

NO - it didn't! I PWNED that scale. Not really, I lost all of a 1/10 of a pound, but since I didn't gain any, I consider it a win. So how in the heck did I still lose some weight while snacking on those cookies? A few little tricks:

1. I still only get junk for dessert. If I want a snack, it is a small serving of fruit, nuts, or cereal. I can have all the water and diet soda I want with it, and if you don't believe, just try your fave diet soda and some pistachios and TELL ME that is NOT as good as a junk foodie dessert. It is almost as good as chocolate, and thus passes muster.

2. Once a day, I can have a couple squares of dark chocolate with my fruit. Mmmmm . . . chocolate.

3. Still only half a plate at meals. That is the LAW. Get out the knife and cut that food in HALF.

4. Get rid of the ground beef and use ground turkey. This has saved me this month, as we usually eat pasta (or chili or shepherd's pie) at least once a week. Plus it has a tendency to be cheaper at the meat counter. I never realized how many calories and how much fat I save by this one switch. And since I'm not a huge hamburger fan anyway, it was an easy fix. According the kids, the best baked spaghetti I have made this far was made with the turkey. I consider that a pretty good win. AND my arteries are thanking me as well.

5. Take two girl scout cookies out for the box, put them on a plate, close the box, put it back in the cabinet, go to the other room, sit with plate, and eat only those cookies. Don't say you will stop at two, because you SO won't. Those cookies are like crack.

6. Try to drink some skim milk with breakfast. I notice I ALWAYS feel more full if I do that, even if I hardly eat any calories for breakfast. Milk sticks.

7. Make more pudding, jello, and fresh fruit desserts. Have them in the fridge ready to go - that way you don't grab the junk just becuase it's faster. Make pudding and jello cups with small mugs and cover with plastic wrap. Keep them and the cool whip in the front at eye level so they are the first thing you see when you open that fridge to snack. Keep the milk and fruit there too, so when you want to snack, it will remind you: "Oh, I can have fruit and cool whip!" or "Oh yeah, I can have some cereal with that milk!" This helps get you out of the mindset that junk is easy to grab. Yeah, that donut is sitting right there, and you can have half with a glass of milk for breakfast, but for a snack, that pudding in the fridge is just as easy to grab and eat.

8. And as always, whether it's a snack, a meal, or whatever - you only get HALF. Save the other half for later. m m m m. . . later . . .

Your arteries will thank you. :)