Ten Things That Have Worked for Me So Far in My Journey to Better Health

1. Writing down what I eat.

It's so easy to underestimate how much I eat, and writing everything down helps me to police myself. This brings me to

2. Measure and weigh what I eat.

Admittedly, this is a pain in the kazoo. However, like I said, it's easy to underestimate how much I eat, and if I weigh and measure everything, then I know that I'm eating proper portions.

3. Know the nutritional value of what I eat before I eat it.

In Weight Watchers, this is points...Points are a ratio that is determined by the caloric value of a food and how much fat it contains and how much dietary fiber it contains. The higher the calories and fat and the lower the dietary fiber, the higher the points. The lower the calories and fat and the higher the fiber, the fewer the points. Anyway, as my leader says, once you put something in your mouth, you own it, so it's good to know what you bought. Figuring out everything beforehand allows for making the decision of whether a food is worth spending points on. This brings me to

4. Planning. I have to plan what I eat...not necessarily every meal every day (although that would be best), but I plan to have only things in the house that I probably will not overeat and that are mainly low in points so that I can eat enough food and be satisfied (that means no Oreos LOL).

5. Being satisfied comes from eating foods I like. I eat foods I enjoy, that leave me feeling satisfied, so that I don't have to worry about feeling deprived and then going on a binge to make up for all I missed. I like chocolate. I've tried many times to stop eating it altogether, but that has always had dire consequences. So, I have 100 calorie packs of Hostess cupcakes, Keebler cookies, and my very favorite GIANT cookies and cream bar by Weight Watchers. I've also found fruits and vegetables that I love, and those make me happy too.

6. Preparing for success. I cut all the leftover dessert that I didn't send home with the guests after my party on Sunday into appropriate portions, put each portion in a ziplock baggie, and put it into the freezer. So, when I feel like having something from this stash, it's already portioned out, it's frozen so it either needs to defrost or I have to eat it more slowly because it's frozen, and it's in the freezer where I don't go very often, so it's less tempting.

7. Exercise. I still don't do this enough. Being sick earlier in the week threw me for a loop, and I got out of my routine. However, lifting a 70 pound stroller in and out of the car several times a day and transporting two children in and out of it and car seats and chasing around a three year old, and walking up four flights of stairs with laundry several times does count as some exercise, but aerobics and weight training would be better. I promise to get back into the routine today.

8. Drinking water. I don't like water all that much, but I do like 4C flavor packets and Crystal Light flavor packets...especially the berry ones. My husband likes the iced tea flavored ones. That helps to make sure I get all the water I need, and it's not a struggle since I actually enjoy the taste of the drink.

9. Experimenting with new healthy foods. I bought just the other day when I went food shopping, cous cous, ancho chillies, and lentils. I've never cooked with any of these things, but to keep my meals interesting, I have decided to branch out into some new areas to see what other healthy foods are out there that I may like. I love to watch cooking shows and I love epicurious.com, and so I'll be going there to get some ideas of what to do with these new ingredients.

10. Make a new committment every day. Take health one day at a time, see the big picture, recommit to health every single day, sometimes more than once. It's not good to wait until Monday to start again if it's only Wednesday because I slipped up. I may as well start again that very minute...why not? As Dottie from Dottie's Weigh Loss Zone says, "One day at a time, no guilt, and move on." Go visit her at http://www.dwlz.com/. She's a real person who has struggled to take off weight, put it back on, and is now working her way down once again.

Well, okay,

11. One more. Support. I have a wonderfully supportive family, and I also enjoy attending the Weight Watchers meetings. The leader is great, and lost 109 pounds herself. The people in the meeting are also lovely and supportive as well, and it always helps to know you're not alone. Thanks too to Cindy and Carole on here, who are also working their way to better health and documenting it on their blogs.