Singing for a smaller me

It's official, I have now begun the process of converting my inner circle to Meatless Mondays! Meatless Monday for me must mean Meatless Monday for everyone!!! Well, not everyone, just my husband, a few select friends and anyone coming to the den for dinner on Mondays.

What with this whole Meatless Monday thing, I'm much more inclined to cook at home. Most likely because the usual meatless choices at restaurants consist of veggie burger, salad, veggie burger, salad, and - oh yeah - veggie burgers. Don't get me wrong, I looooooove good veggie burgers, but most pretty much suck it.

Last night's meatless creation came from the Morningstar Farms website. Since I'm not all that creative when it comes to cooking, I've become a pro at looking up recipe and intuiting their tastes and flavors. Yeah, not creative at cooking, but a definite foodie (I didn't get this monumental butt by hating food!). I was intrigued by several recipes but settled on the Chik'n Stir Fry. So glad I did. Found a recipe to keep in my cookbook, and not only I liked it, but so did hubby and BFF!

The BFF proclaimed, after last night's dinner, that she was now a Morningstar Farms convert. (Watch me do my little happy dance).

Meatless Monday Food Plan

Breakfast: Fiber One Oats and Chocolate Bar, Banana. 4 POINTS

Snack: Strawberry Fruit Strip. 1 POINT

Lunch: Meatless Buffalo Wings and 2 Fling Dark Chocolate Bars. 8 POINTS

Dinner: Chik'n Stir Fry with Brown Rice. 13 POINTS

Dessert: Apple Juice. 2 POINTS

Activity POINTS Earned: 5.

TOTAL: 28 POINTS Eaten, 4 left over.

Okay, there's something of a theme going on here. Meatless days = me not meeting my POINTS target. Hmmm. Must plan better for the future.

Continuing yesterday's affirmation to recommit to my weight loss program, I'm starting over with The Beck Diet Solution from the beginning. The first two weeks of the program lay the groundwork and prepare you for success in your weight loss program. In a way, going through them seems almost futile having started some time back, but I know they teach a number of useful tools for the days ahead.

Yesterday I recorded my advantages for losing weight. Today brings you Days Two and Three:

Day Two: Choose Two Sensible Diets.

When I started with Beck, and hadn't headed back the Weight Watchers route, I contemplated any number of diets: the Sonoma Diet, the Fat Smash Diet, the Raw Diet, so on, and so on. But when it really came down to it, I refused to follow any program that wouldn't let me enjoy *all* the foods I like.

In the end I knew Weight Watchers would be my number one and best choice, followed closely by the Spark Diet over at SparkPeople. Weight loss programs where you can have what you want in moderation? Learning how to eat like a normal person? Heavens to Betsy you must be kidding!

Day Three: Sit Down to Eat.

Sitting down to eat seems like such a simple thing to accomplish, and most of us take for granted that we always eat sitting down. But do we really? How often do you grab a chip as you're walking past the bowl? How about a handful of peanuts? Once you pay attention all those little bites really add up!

Over the past four or five months, I've become pretty lax in this department. Originally, I militantly followed this concept. Any food at all meant I was sitting down whether it was on a chair or cross legged on the floor. Funny thing that, I overcame a number of cravings and sabotaging behaviors by just following this simple direction. Any time I wanted something out of the candy jar, I'd grab it, but would make myself take it back to my desk before unwrapping and popping it in my mouth. You know what happened? Nine times out of ten I'd reach for the jar, think about the walk of shame back to my desk, and decide against it.

Well, guess it's time to go back the militant route. And if I really need it, I can find a few minutes to sit down and have a bite.