It is Weight Loss Wednesday again! (If you haven’t joined our little cyber group of girlfriends, don’t fret! Newcomers are always welcome. You can get caught up by clicking on Weight Loss Wednesdays in the side bar. Just leave a comment on the last post listed there. You can read the others, if you’d like, but it isn’t imperative. Just hop over each Wednesday to join us and check in with how you are doing. You don’t have to tell us what you weigh. You can tell us how much or little the scale moved, if you want. The point is accountability and encouragement for each other. We’d love to have you!)

I want to chat a bit today about planning for success in our weight loss endeavor. Then, I have a way fun announcement that involves you! And as always, let’s all ‘weigh in’ so to speak, sharing how our weeks went.

My week was okay. I kept up my exercise. I was careful how I ate. However, a couple of days I got kind of lazy and frankly, a bit tired of logging in just what foods I consumed each day and how much. Besides, I had taken an entire two weeks off from logging my food intake over the holidays and had lost over 5 pounds in the process!

So, I defiantly decided on a few evenings last week to stop writing down my calories and just ‘be sensible’.

Bad idea!

Over the holidays I was so strict with myself on the days I wanted a treat or goodie that it didn’t really harm me. I still lost. This past week however, I munched on baked sour cream-cheddar chips (my favs!) without really portioning them out; you know, just sort of guessing what a serving on my plate looked like.

And I did the same with a few other foods on a couple different days. As a result, I know I went over my allotted calories, even if only by a little, on at least 4 days last week. And the scale reflected that.

I didn’t gain, but I only lost one pound. At first, I wanted to kick my stupid scale.

Then I wanted to kick my stupid self!

But I quickly did a little mental gymnastics and some adding in my head and realized that, even though I only lost a pound this week, I hit the ’30 pounds lost’ mark. Yeah!

So, this morning I resolved to not let the runaway calories happen again (even if the foods munched on are healthy. They still have calories!)

That brings us to today’s topic.

How can you plan for success and NOT let the munchies (especially the late night kind) get the best of you? Please share! I’ll give a few first.

Pre-portioning items from a large bag into serving-sized baggies. Had I counted out those yummy, sour cream-cheddar baked chips and placed the servings in individual zip bags, I might not have just kept munching. I would have just taken one small bag out of the cupboard. I’ve read many studies that prove that to be true.

Having raw veggies cleaned, cut and handy in the fridge along with some light dip (homemade or store bought). When I want something crunchy, I don’t like to wait to wash and clean veggies and sometimes, the chip cupboard seems like a quicker choice. However, I have a hard time controlling myself with those pesky chips!

Keep herb tea bags and packets of Stevia (natural, calorie-free sweetener) in my purse at all times. This sure helped me over the holidays. I can sip on something hot and sweet whenever the sweet or salty snacks at a function are calling my name.

Okay, how about you? How was your week? Any ideas for planning for success? Or give me your thoughts on this fun announcement:

Each week when I read your comments, I so wish we could all get together just once. However, since we live all over the country, that is pretty much impossible. But the other night when my Proverbs 31 sisters and I were on a conference teaching call, it hit me.

Let’s do a WLW conference call some evening!

Yes, you and I and all our WLW cyber-sisters chatting it up and encouraging each other from the warmth of our own little homes!

I’d run it much like we do for our P31 calls. I’ll start us off with a devotion/teaching. And then we’ll open the floor for Q & A and discussion.

I know the first time I led a call for a ministry that wanted me to teach on organization, I never thought it would work. How can 60 people all talk at the same time? However, these calls work out fine. Some jump in and add their two-cents worth; others just listen. You know who is talking because we’ll refer to ourselves by our screen name. “Hey–This is mom of 6. I was wondering……”

Oh, doesn’t this sound like fun?

Are you in? I am thinking we may have it at 9 pm EST on a Thursday evening. Your only cost would be for the call and many cell phones are on free nights and weekends by then so it might be totally cost-free!

Well…that’s all for now. Let me know your thoughts and how your week went and any planning for success ideas you have!

Have a great week. I appreciate you ALL!!!

Planning for Success Blessings,