another new year !

I started this happy little bluebirds blog last year about this time.

Since then I've lost 30 pounds :) 

and regained 15 :(.

Well, today is a new day and this is a new year,

and I am pleased to say that I am trying to look at my life

with

renewed optimism

and

hope.

My daughter  posted a quote on her blog that said

simply...become who you are.

I like that.

All I really want is to be the best me I can be...

Well, I'm   a little   closer than I was last year...

Care to join me in the pursuit?

You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it."

-Margaret Thatcher

not giving up!

The woman who can

drive

herself

f u  r   t    h     e      r

once
the effort
gets

<   painful   >

is the woman

who

will

win!

It's been a struggle lately...

but I don't want to give up. 

I could use some

inspiration

and a few

prayers! 

~Thanks!

motivation

incentive

inspiration

drive

enthusiasm

impetus

stimulus

driving force

I'm listening to this...

hoping it'll help keep me

motivated

to fit into this... my LBD

{little black dress}

What's helping to keep

you

motivated

to

lose weight

today?

accountability and moderation are key

Last week

at my Weight Watcher's meeting,
I volunteered to take home the class journal.

You see, I need accountability.

I don't know if anyone will really even look at it,

but it helped to commit to keeping track of everything

I put in my mouth.

The week before I'd lost .6 and the week before 1 lb.

After choosing to be really acountable,

I lost 3 lbs. for a total of 33.6.

YIPPEE!

I've also found myself thinking a lot

about the quote in my last post.

Instant gratification

has become such an expectation in our world today,

and I see entitlement as a

c u l t u r a l

way of life.

Well...I'm finding that living a life of

moderation:
{living within reasonable limits and never to excess &
with self-restraint in the face of temptation or desire}

is what I really want.

I know that when I wake up in the morning

after staying within the limits I set for myself

I feel

so

much

better!

It's not easy!

{And I still give into temptation more often than I care to admit}.

But I wore a dress to a wedding this weekend that was

3

sizes

smaller

than the last dress I wore!

Yeah...that feels

a

lot

better!

what do I really want?

~*~

The chief cause of

failure
and

unhappiness

is trading what you want

most

for what you want

now.

~Zig Ziglar

~*~

presentation

This is a Hea!thty Choice Chicken Parmigiana Dinner.

My husband's lunch.

Very practical.

"Why dirty a plate?"

This is my lunch.

It's the same dinner with an upgrade!

It's still 7 points on WW, but somehow

so much more satisfying!

He said his was good,
but I'm certain mine was better!
It's all in the presentation...
ya know?
:)

I wish potato chips were considered a vegetable!

I really wanted to trade my

Wachusett potato chips

for a bag of

"Lay's Classic,"

~MY FAVORITES~

to eat with my 1/2 sandwich for lunch.

I L.O.V.E. Lay's potato chips! I think I love them more than chocolate, cake, and cookies!

But I decided to check the Points Value.

As it turns out, the Lay's have twice as many points!

There's a 1/2 oz. more in the Lay's bag. But the comparison between

grams of fat was amazing! {7 grams of fat in the

Wachusett brand compared to 15 grams in the Lay's!}

I opted for the Wachusett chips!

I think I deserve a BRAVO sticker at my next WW meeting, don't you?