First Day of Mini-Goal

I have done well today so long as I stop eating now. Right now I feel full. I hope that carries over through the next 5 hours before bed time.

I actually have 19 calories to use if I just can't stand it, but what can I eat for 20 calories? Plain lettuce does not sound so appetizing. I guess this is really part of the push. Were it not for the heat, I would have the energy to fight cravings. I could go to bed early. That actually sounds like a great idea right now. I'll let you know how things went tonight on tomorrows post.
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Google Cheat Sheet

About two weeks ago, my techie hubby sent me a link to Lifehacker. He then directed me to a really cool Google cheat sheet.

Thank you Lifehacker , my hubby, and adelaider.com for making it easier for e-dummys like me to quickly access so many Google features. The cheat sheet is very well organized. It is color coded (red, green, and yellow) and segmented into various types of features used within Google. Red boxes are for expert user features. Green boxes are centered on the sheet, slightly larger than red or yellow boxes, and are for novice user features. Yellow boxes are on the right of the sheet and are for intermediate user features. This sheet also contains sections detailing general information about Google. One section describes services that Google maintains which are not called "Google". And there is even a section near the bottom of the sheet detailing text formatting for using the Google Search Engine should you want to use it to search for something such as a vehicle VIN number. I highly encourage everyone to visit Lifehacker, the article they wrote about the Google cheat sheet, and adelaider.com. Everyone needs to have a copy of the PDF which opens using Adobe. It is simple to understand and delightfully useful.
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Incorporating Mini-Goals

Over at the MiddleAgeShed there is a great article written to inspire and assist a fellow weight loss blogger. The article lists 5 tips for successful, sustained, and dramatic weight loss. I would like to mention one of those tips in particular and officially state my intentions to incorporate this principle into My Diet Plan.

The tip from the article Losing a Large Amount of Weight - 5 Tips is #2, "Break down the weight loss into small goals." I think this is an excellent idea. In My Diet Plan I originally broke it down into 2 large goals. After reading this article and having had time to experience this long-term weight loss battle, I have decided to revise my goals. That being said, I have already met one smaller goal... to get below the 200 pound mark. Though I am just barely there, it is a significant accomplishment. I am already able to fit back into some clothes that had become too tight. That's a double reward as I don't have to go buy all new clothes and having too tight clothes was the reason I started this new lifestyle to begin with.
I'm going to take this smaller goal idea in a different direction for the time being. Instead of focusing on pounds lost as a small goal, I'm going to focus on re-commitment to my principles. My first mini-goal is to have 3 days of "green" according to My Food Log. This may seem like a wimpy first mini-goal but I have just returned from a week long vacation. During the last 7 days (OK 8) I have not been logging my calories. I was unable to log while on vacation and the first day back just got away from me. I need to revitalize my commitment and I think a mini-goal of three days green is a great place to start. Wish me luck!
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Back In The Saddle

After a wonderful vacation and successful casting out of demons from my son (baptism) I am very glad to be back. The Great Smoky Mountains National Forrest is definitely a place everyone should visit, several times if possible. I fell off the diet wagon during the vacation, but I didn't fall as hard as I expected.

I learned a few things about my eating habits, metabolism, fitness, and activity level while I was away. My eating habits overall have certainly changed for the better. I generally don't eat so much anymore. I don't know if my stomach has shrunk or if my body is now better able to listen to it's full signals. But in general over the vacation, over-eating was not my biggest downfall.
My metabolism is normal, I think. I did eat more calories but I also had far more activity than usual. I did not gain any weight after falling off the wagon for 7 days.
I am impressed and inspired by my apparent overall fitness level. There were several days where I expected to wake up sore the next morning. Several days of the vacation incorporated far more walking than is normal for me. Two of the days included excessive cooking and cleaning in less than cool temperatures. I experienced no soreness and actually had the energy to push through the work without exhaustion.
The increased activity level and absence of exhaustion lead me to believe that my general activity level is higher than I had originally estimated (during the creation of My Diet Plan). This also would explain why I have lost more pounds than indicated by My Food Log.
So, all of these points are good. In what way did I fall off the wagon? Well, it was mostly in the type of foods I indulged on and in my beverage choices. I was a sucker for dessert. I was able to resist the homemade, freshly made, still warm, and smelling soooo sweet fudge. But, I had a few servings of ice cream and chocolate cake. I also grabbed a Coke at every opportunity instead of my requisite diet sweet tea. Had I cut those two areas out over the vacation, I could have probably lost at least 2 pounds given the increased activity, instead of maintaining the same weight. In other words, I could have probably reduced my daily caloric intake by about 600 calories, if I had skipped the desserts and sodas.
One other, very important lesson I learned.... although I did have the energy to push through some very trying days, I did notice that on the days where I filled up on desserts and sodas, I had a noticeable change in energy level at the end of the night. I guess what I'm suggesting here is that sugar and fat may give an initial energy burst with sustaining properties, they will eventually cause an energy depletion.
All in all I had a very relaxing, fun filled, purposefule trip to the Great Smoky Mountains National Forrest. I would love to do it again. I miss living there but I am glad to be back to my current home.
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