oh a little bit of this and that...

I lowered my goal weight by 25 lbs.  No worries, my little lovebugs, this 25 lbs by no means will make me too skinny.  The thing is, I have been over-weight since I've been 9, so I was trying to be fair to myself when I set my initial goal weight.  I wasn't looking to be super skinny...I was just looking to be normal...to be healthy.  I actually know that my initial goal weight would put me in a healthy category, but I realize now that I won't be happy with myself there because I know that I am capable of going further and becoming even healthier.  It's also really difficult to set something like this without really knowing what will look right / be right, you know?!  It would be one thing if I had once been a normal size, then gained weight and was just trying to get back to my fighting weight.  At this point, I'm 44.4 lbs lighter than I've ever been since high school even.  Weird, huh?! 

The scale does some super weird things.  I will go 2 or 3 weeks without any loss and then BAM! I will have a nice loss to make up for it.  I recorded my weight loss on 5/31 to be at 102.6 lbs down.  I lost absolutely nothing 6/7 and had the same problem on 6/14.  I went to weigh in on Monday, 6/21, and BAM! I had lost 3.8 lbs for a total of 106.4 lbs down.  What makes it especially odd is the fact that I felt I was a total chow hound last week (and I'm not referring to my Father's Day feast or the slice of my brother-in-law's birthday cake I ate) and I hardly got any exercise in at all as a result of a VERY stressful week at work.  I think sometimes the scale doesn't give you what you deserve when you deserve it, but eventually it comes around.  =)

For the record, although I felt I was a chow hound, I still ate within my diet plan.  I truly do feel that is the secret to my success.  No matter what the situation whether it be boredom, sadness, joy, stress, hunger, or whatever that initiates the ravenous beast within, I stick to the general guidelines.  I've recently discovered some new products (well not necessarily new to the world, but new to me) and thought I would share.  Though these might not be South Beach stamped, I read labels like nobody's business and determine whether or not things are acceptable based on other things that I know are acceptable, if that makes any sense.  Basically, not everything is black and white, so I call the gray area my interpretation of the diet.  Here are some examples:

We all know I love my Guittard extra dark chocolate chips.  They have 6 grams of sugar in them for 30 chocolate chips.   They are simply devine, but since they don't come in single servings, I have to rely on my CONTROL to stick to the 30.  Let's face it...I'm not always in control, so I don't always have these tasty little morsels in my home.  BUT, alas...a girl needs a chocolate fix from time to time.  Older sister Cathy suggested the Snickers Marathon Energy Bar.  They are only 150 calories with 11 grams of protein, 7 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of sugar.  It's a party in my mouth and has some nice nutritional info to boot.

Additionally, I discovered Bobo's Oat Bars at H.E.B.  Now H.E.B. sells them for $2.50 a piece, but if you buy them on Amazon.com, they are a little over $2.00 a piece.  There are 10 different flavors to choose from, too (apricot is my fave).  These are good for breakfast with maybe a glass of ice cold skim milk.  They are 180 calories, 3 grams of protein, 3 grams of fiber, and 9 grams of sugar.  I would liken it to a cross between a muffin and a really soft oatmeal cookie.  ***UPDATE:  apparently I need to learn to read a label correctly - the nutritional information I listed is for 1/2 the bar, not the whole bar...I apologize for the mis-information.  Let this be a lesson to us all about making sure we fully read/understand what we are putting in our mouths at all times***

The Laughing Cow came out with their new flavors recently.  I picked up the Light Queso Fresco & Chipotle and had it for lunch today spread on whole wheat sandwich thins.  It was creamy, spicy, smoky...I'd even go so far as to call it zippy.  For only 35 calories per wedge, it's a great spread on some sort of bread or even celery.  I know some people put it on potatoes (not allowed on South Beach, though), too.  The Hungry Girl also uses The Laughing Cow cheese wedges in several of her recipes.


Okay, that's all I have for you for now other than to tell you that I also seem to have a HUGE hummus problem lately.  I can't get enough of that stuff.  You know what?  If I just happened to run out of whole wheat pita, I'm pretty sure I could just grab a spoon and start digging in.  Don't judge me!  =P