Happy (Belated) Birthday America! (but not so happy weight gain...grr)

I so slacked over the holiday weekend, let me just say that. It wasn't necessarily WHAT I ate, but I definitely ate more of the healthy stuff than I should have. Amazing how low-fat/fat-free stuff can sabotage you just as much as the bad stuff. I had lost another lb. before the weekend (so a total of 26), but after consuming steak, baked beans, angel food cake (wish the calories in it were angelic and floated on up out of it...sigh), a ton of frozen raspberries, and snacks, I wound up GAINING:(. Like I said in my first post, I knew there'd be setbacks, but to have eaten mostly healthy foods and nothing really bad (well I guess steak isn't THAT healthy, nor are the sugar-laden baked beans), it was kind of a let-down. I had a discussion via text message on Sunday with a guy friend of mine who, while pretty fit, admits to having incredible cravings sometimes. I think it makes me feel a teensy bit better to know that I'm not the only one who isn't always satisfied with a piece of fruit or a bottle of water (and hello, who really DOES get satisfied with a bottle of water?!). There's simply some things I refuse to give up, like my Sprite Zero and Diet Coke. Bad for you? Yes. Laden with calories? No. To me, the fact that they have no calories is a major plus, and I feel like as long as I don't consume them endlessly (I have 1, maybe 2 per day) they're not doing me all that much harm. This is where the aforementioned guy friend and I disagree; his doctor says they're worse than regular soft drinks, but I've also heard doctors say that they're not that bad either. Who knows? If I was to drink the regular versions of them, I'd be consuming about 200-300 extra calories per day, and to me, that's not worth it at all. I think a lifestyle change is all about give-and-take. Am I going to be perfect always? Heck no. Am I going in the right direction? Most of the time, sure, with a few twists and turns along the way...and I'm pretty content with that right now.

Shameless plug, but if you aren't already getting emails from Hungry Girl, you definitely should! Hungry Girl sends out emails Mon-Fri (minus holidays) filled with recipes, healthier alternatives to fatty foods, and lets you know about awesome new healthy products! I bought Lisa Lillien's (Hungry Girl herself) cocktail cookbook a couple of weeks ago, and it's got some awesome healthy party foods in it...I made low-fat pigs-in-a-blanket over the weekend, and they're YUM!