My list...

Yesterday was a terrible day. I missed my run and then I had to leave BodyAttack early because of my stupid siatic nerve pain. Then the whole day was just a downward spiral for a lot of reasons. But today was a brand new day and I had a great run and a great workout. Just got back from a walk with Eli (mr. cranky pants this morning) and I think I'll go for another run today because I REALLY want to get to 140 tomorrow-- that will be a big deal. Basically that will be the LAST day of the 140's for me. SO exciting!! I love trying on "new" clothes from my closet, haha, I tried on a cute pair of editor crops that I bought last year. They're a size 4 and I think they were a little tight when I bought them. I bought them cause they were a killer deal and I thought "hey I'll get these as motivation to lose weight" and then I found out I was pregnant shortly after. Anyway, that was fun to put them on, I'm excited to wear them!!
So I received a very sweet email yesterday from a friend of a friend who started her own fitness blog after reading mine. It is so encouraging to know that you all are counting on me to inspire you for your own fitness goals! It keeps me going for sure!!! In light of that, I thought I would post some of my "tricks" and "tips" that have really helped me lose 20lbs these last 3 months...

• Cardio, cardio, cardio, CARDIO!! This is huge. If you want to lose fat, you have to do cardio every day. I do at least an hour of cardio everyday. Get to the gym, do a class, walk for an hour, if you get bored, do "short" cardio blasts like I do: 5 min on the stair mill, 10 treadmill, 5 stair mill, 10 elliptical, repeat. Can't afford the gym? Or don't have time? Go for a run/walk outside. Too cold/wet to do that? Spend $15 on a workout video and do it at home. Still don't have time? Buy one of the "10 minutes to fitness" videos and do TEN minutes of cardio-- it will take you longer to get to your goals, but at least you did something! You just have to do a little cardio everyday. The more the merrier.
• Nutrition. Nutrition is 80% of weight loss. I think it's a little funny that on The Biggest Loser they never show any of their nutrition that they're doing (well rarely) but really that is making a huge difference. It is important to remember that you HAVE to eat. When you eat too little calories, it has a reverse affect and you actually don't lose weight because your body goes into "starvation" mode and doesn't burn the fat. So find your "right" calorie intake amount and stick to it.
• Over estimate your calorie intake and underestimate your calories burned. Even with my bodybugg, I still am off. I am off by about 300 calories on average-- the bodybugg is 97% accurate, which means I'm eating more than I think I am, and I measure EVERYTHING on a digital scale. So eat a little less than you think you're eating and work a little harder than you think you're working.
• MEASURE OUT YOUR FOOD. This is huge. If you actually measure out 1 serving of cereal, it's such a tiny amount. I think before I was measuring my food, I was having about 3 servings of cereal! With milk that's like 400 calories! INSANE. I don't care how cheap or fancy your scale is, use it. It makes a big difference. Oh and use a scale, not measuring cups.
• Eat chocolate every day. :) This is a good one, but an important one for me. I can't deprive myself, it just doesn't work. I can for a few days, then I'm like a beast going through my kitchen eating anything and everything that tastes even a little bit sweet. So even if you're eating a crazy small amount of calories everyday, build some room for a little dessert. A Hershey Hug only has 25 calories! Those are my favorite. Other favorite desserts are: skinny cow ice cream sandwiches, skinny cow truffle bars, mini-cheesecakes (see recipe below), and Oreo Mini Cakesters (amaaaaaaaaazing). The trick is self control. You cant have 15 hugs, or 5 skinny cows, but one or even 2 if you really need it are enough to satisfy you're inner "chocoholic." If you're not a sweet person, and you crave salt, then buy 100 calorie packs of your favorite potato chips. You must indulge just a small amount to get you by.
• Make meal time a time to enjoy yourself. Don't eat while standing up, driving, walking, running, etc. Sit down, take some time for yourself and really pay attention to what you're eating. ENJOY IT! If you are busy doing something else while you're eating, a short while later, you'll forget you even ate! This is especially true when you're "indulging" live in the moment and enjoy it.
• Buy a weight-watchers (or something like it) cookbook. OR spend some quality time on google looking up recipes. You can pretty much make a low-calorie version of anything, it just requires some time, and creative thinking.
• Water. I'm not as good with this as I should be, but the more water you drink, the less hungry you will feel, and it helps to get all the toxins out of your body (plus like a million other benefits)
• MOVE IT! Using my bodybugg, I have found that if I am constantly moving throughout the day, I burn A LOT more calories. Now you might be thinking "duh" but you wouldn't think that something like folding laundry would really rev up your calories, but doing more throughout the day really does make a difference-- not to mention I get a lot more done! If you have a job where you have no choice but to sit, then do things that you might not normally do such as: take the stairs instead of the elevator, park further away, go talk to a co-worker instead of sending an email or IM, sit on a fitness ball instead of a chair (this will also improve your posture), take short breaks and go for a 2 minute walk or go up and down the stairs a few times. Find creative ways to fit in just a few extra calories. If you burn 10 extra calories every hour, that means about 120 calories more per day, that's an extra pound every month!
• Take pictures and measurements. Make sure to take "before" pictures. This will help with motivation as you go on your "journey." Make sure to take milestone pictures (about every 10 pounds is good) to remember how good you're doing. Measurements will help to track inches in addition to pounds.
• Put your before pictures somewhere where you will see them EVERYDAY. Mine are hanging up in my bathroom so I see them every morning. I also have quotes and motivational phrases to help keep me motivated and on track. Looking at my pictures every morning helps me to remember that although I've come a long way, I still have more to go. I also have pics of what I want to look like, always keeping the "big picture" in mind.
• BLOG! Whether you blog for the public or just for yourself (primitively known as "journaling" :) ) You need some sort of venue to relay your accomplishments, frustrations and ideas. I find that as I'm blogging, things come to me that I didn't think of before.
• My favorite foods:
• Lean Cuisines-- great "on-the-go" meals, stock your freezer with them for emergencies, that way you'll be less inclined to eat out, or snack because there is nothing to eat. Also good for variety.
• Skinny Cow's, if you've been reading my blog, you know how much I love these. Try the new 100 calorie truffle bars, FANTASTIC!
• Pounded out chicken breast with seasonings. SO EASY! Low cal, low fat, low carb. Get some "grill mates" or other seasonings, flatten a chicken breast, season, and throw on a George foreman grill. Voila, yummy meal in minutes.
• Squash. Too delicious to be called a vegetable. A whole squash is only about 80 calories. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, then sprinkle with a TINY bit of brown sugar for a delicious side dish.
• Sweet potatoes. You need to be careful with these because they can rack up calories and carbs quickly, but they are yumm-o!
• Special K Protein Plus, a yummy cereal low in calories, carbs, and fat, and lots of protein. Add blueberries for a delicious breakfast.
• Egg beaters. When you have more than 1 real egg per day, it really cranks up your cholesterol intake, so I mix 1 egg with some eggbeaters, then add garlic, fat-free American cheese, bell pepper, onion, spinach, and tomato for a hearty and delicious meal. Only about 150 calories!
• Sara Lee Whole Wheat low calorie bread. 45 calories per slice! You can have a whole sandwich for less than the calories of 1 regular slice of bread. Sweet! (be careful with deli meat as it has a lot of added sodium)
• Popcorn. You can have a lot of air popped popcorn for a small calorie price. It's cheap, easy and makes a great snack. Add 1 tbs. of butter and a little bit of salt for a little bit of flavor, just don't add more than that, it really doesn't need a whole lot. Going to the movies? Pop some popcorn before hand and put it in a ziplock bag, bring along some hugs and kisses for a little treat, and you won't be tempted to pay a visit to the snack bar! (plus think of all the money you'll save!) DON'T be fooled into thinking that the popcorn at the movies is as low-cal as your home-popped. You'll be about 1,000 calories off! YIKES!
• Cauliflower mashed potatoes, so yummy and good substitute for high calorie high carb regular mashed potatoes.
• Turkey burgers, low-calorie (and healthier all around) alternative
• Club soda-- fills that "carbonation" craving without the sugar from regular soda or aspartame from diet-- also free at restaurants ;)

Hope you got something out of this post!