13th May 2011

Though no one can go back and make a brand new start my friend, anyone can start from now and make a brand new end. Carl Bard
Oops running late this morning, just got back from walking the dog, and realised it’s Friday the 13th! Of course the scariest thing that can happen to me today would involve money because I’m a bit short at the minute and guess what happens when I walk in the door, mom declares the washing machines broken – lol, you gotta smile.

So it’s day 5 of the 8wk, 8lb challenge and I’m still on track, managed to get through Thursday night without going over my budget which I’m really pleased about because I normally cave and have an extra glass of wine which then drives me to the kitchen looking for food but I didn’t I ended the day on 29pp, so heading towards the weekend with my 43 of my weekly allowance and all my activity ProPoints.

I’m off out for lunch today but plan to choose wisely plus I’m walking there and back because the cars going in for its MOT and Service, everyone wish the car good luck :-D

I’m loving the new Simply Enjoy cookbook and can’t wait to try some of the recipes out, they all look fabulous. One thing I’ve noticed when I’m cooking is the tasting! Are you a kitchen nibbler?

While cooking, do you taste stuff or when your weighing your cheese do you pop that little bit in your mouth? Come on, it's okay. Lots of us do it. Remember when you were a kid and your mom was baking, it was a treat to "lick the spoon?"

Most of us take small tastes, sips, or nibbles of whatever we're preparing to see how it tastes (mmm whatever, sure, that's why we do it). Tasting a tiny bit from the corner of a spoon is one thing, but taking bites and thoughtlessly chewing away while cooking can add hundreds of calories a day without your realising it. All those nibbles and crumbs add up.

If you carefully weigh and measure your like I do with my Weight Watcher scales, you'll know that 10g of food is often not a very large bit. Ever seen 10g of cheese? It's tiny but still works out at 1pp, believe it or not. How easy is it to pop that in your mouth?

So next time you cook, notice if constant nibbling and tasting is something you do, and make an effort to break that habit. You can eat a piece of fruit before you start cooking so you won't be so hungry; chewing peppermint gum also helps, because it gives a peppermint taste which effectively ruins the flavours of many other things.

Treat the tasting habit like any other, and when you notice you're starting to do it, just put it back down. Sometimes it takes a bit of effort at first, and that's okay. Take a sip of water and a deep breath. Keep a notepad and write down a tally for everytime you start to eat a bit, and then stop yourself. You'll be shocked how often it happens at first. If you change from 20 nibbles down to two, you'll have made fabulous progress and maybe saved a ProPoint or two. I knew a leader once who knew she had this problem and also she was guilty of accepting the odd sweet or crisp of her kids. To counteract it she had a daily allowance she gave herself for what she called BLT’s – Bites, Likes & Treats! She’d allocate a fixed amount of ProPoints to cover them. She lost 8 stone!

Its things like this that can help you take off a few pounds without even trying.

Have a fabulous freaky Friday, here’s to the weekend xx