It’s Thursday!

How did everyone do this week? I think the key this week for me was meal planning. My hubby and I decided to start a budget in January, so we have been forced to plan our meals better and eat out less. In addition to helping our bank account, our budget has helped our waistlines, too!
I find that if I plan healthy breakfasts, lunches, snacks and dinners IN ADVANCE, I am far less likely to stray from the diet. If left to my own devices, I will head for the french fries every time!

So, how did all this planning work? Let’s see………
That’s a loss of 0.8 lbs! Slow but sure……
I am only 1 pound away from pre-pregnancy weight! Whoo hoo!

Now, the fun stuff…..PRIZES! Congrats to the people who signed the Shrinky Linky! The winner of the Little Debbie 100 calorie Sampler pack is:

Please send me your shipping info to notsoblog@gmail.com to claim your prize! CONGRATS!

If you achieved your goal this week, make sure you sign the Shrinky Linky below! You never know when a prize might turn up!

This week: Don’t forget to put the Think Thin Thursday button on your sidebar and blog about your goal for this week. Also, try to visit the blogs of the participants and show some support! Encourage others to join us as well!

The task of the week: I think the hardest meal for me to plan is breakfast. I need it to be quick and portable (I usually eat breakfast at my desk at work). I get in a rut and eat the same thing day in and day out, and it’s getting old. Include in your Think Thin Thursday post a breakfast menu or item that works for you!

Good Luck this week! See you next Thursday!

Let’s get right to business. First, my weigh in…….drumroll, please……………..

Ok, so I only lost 0.2 lbs this week. But, it is nice to be out of the 120′s. To be completely honest, I sort of had a love affair with salt this week, so I am really not shocked that I didn’t lose more.

My goal for the upcoming week is to lose one pound and to keep chugging the water.

Enough about me, tell me your successes and hurdles! Did you achieve your goal this week? Make sure you sign the Shrinky Linky below if you did (no later than 11:59PM on Saturday, January 17th)! To reward your hard work this week, I have got a special “treat” for one lucky achiever! One person will be picked at random from the Shrinky Linky to win 8 boxes of Little Debbie 100 calorie snacks reviewed in this post!

This week: Don’t forget to put this Think Thin Thursday button on your sidebar and blog about your goal for this week. Also, try to visit the blogs of the participants and show some support!

The task of the week: Include in your Think Thin Thursday post one website or blog that helps you on your weight loss journey (through either tips, recipes, inspiration, support, etc.)

The website that I really love is 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet. This site features tips, recipes, tools and calculators, and a great forum which includes topics on all sorts of programs such as Weight Watchers or South Beach.

Keep up the good work, y’all! Looking forward to reading about your progress! See you next Thursday!

I am sorry for omitting the Mr. Linky this week! It’s there now! Please sign it if you plan on participating this week! We need the links in one place so other participants can show you some comment love!!

Next Thursday, I will post a Shrinky Linky and you will ONLY sign IF YOU ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL. So, make sure you blog about your goals!

Good Luck!
(by the way, TOTALLY recommend Skinny Cow ice cream cones! They are YUMMY!)

Welcome to all the new participants of Think Thin Thursdays (I know it’s only Wednesday, but I wanted y’all to have time to do your posts for tomorrow)! I am so excited to have you on board!

So……how did you do this week? The biggest challenge for me this week was the dreaded King Cake! It’s officially Mardi Gras season here in New Orleans and the sugary bits of goodness are EVERYWHERE. It took everything in me to turn away from the wall of King Cakes (which were obviously calling my name) at the grocery store, but I did it!

If you are new to this game, here are a few things you should know:

1. Every week I post a picture of myself standing on a scale. You guys are like my own personal Weight Watchers meeting (without the $13 fee). I use the picture as a way to keep me accountable. I do NOT expect you to post a picture of your scale or ever reveal your own weight! Find a way to make this game work for you, in your OWN way.

2. Each Thursday, blog about the goal you hope to accomplish that week. For example, it can be to lose 2 pounds, or drink 8 glasses of water, or get to the gym 3 times a week. Try to make it specific and attainable.

3. In addition to blogging about your goal, I will have a specific task for you to complete.

4. Next Thursday, IF YOU ACHIEVED YOUR GOAL, come back here and sign the Mr. Linky (affectionately called the “Shrinky Linky”). By signing the Shrinky Linky, you become entered in a drawing for a reward! Not every week will have a reward, so stay on your toes! You don’t want to miss a week and miss out on a fabulous prize!

5. Make sure the Think Thin Thursdays button (on my right sidebar) is on YOUR sidebar, too! If you win a prize and the button isn’t there, you forfeit!

6. Try to be supportive of the other participants! Visit their blogs and pass on some comment love!

This week, my goal is to drink one bottle of water a day. I have been seriously slacking in that department, so even one bottle of water a day would be an improvement!

Here’s my picture of the week. I am officially down 6 pounds since starting Think Thin Thursdays, but up 1.2 pounds from last week. But, if you recall, I had the stomach flu, so I totally expected that weight to come back. Only 2 pounds to go till I reach pre-pregnancy weight and 5 pounds to go to reach my first goal.

Visit 2 other Think Thin Thursday participants and leave them some encouraging words on their blogs!

Good Luck, everyone!! Come back next week to sign the Shrinky Linky if you have achieved your goal. There may just be a prize involved *cough awesome snacks cough*!!

Sign this Shrinky Linky if you are participating this week!

If your New Year’s Resolution includes losing weight, getting fit or leading a more healthy lifestyle, Think Thin Thursdays is for you! I am looking for new participants to build a community of people working together for a common goal. Losing weight or getting healthy is so much easier when you have a support system and accountability.

First, sign the Mr. Linky letting me know that you plan on joining in the fun! Second, grab a Think Thin Thursday button (it’s over there on the right) and place it on your sidebar. Create a post letting your readers know what your specific goals are for the week (it does NOT have to be weight loss) and complete the weekly task you find here on my blog. During the week, work hard to achieve your goals. Next Thursday, visit the Think Thin Thursday post and sign the “Shrinky Linky” if you achieved the goal you set for yourself. Feel free to visit other participants and congratulate them on their successes! There might even be prizes awarded to one participant who signs the Shrinky Linky!

This week’s task:
1. What is your New Year’s Resolution?

Looking forward to hearing about your success next week! Please don’t forget to sign the Mr. Linky right now and let me know that you intend to play this week!

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I’m taking a break today from an elaborate Think Thin Thursday post, but I did want to post my scale picture, as promised.

This is what the stomach flu will do for your diet! LOL! That’s only 0.6 lbs away from my pre-pregnancy weight! But, I know this weight will come back since it is mostly due to sickness, so I’m not getting too excited.

Hope you are all having a wonderful Christmas and I will be back with my normal Think Thin Thursday post next week!

After the birth of my first daughter, I decided to try Weight Watchers as a tool to lose the baby weight. I liked the idea of going to meetings and being held accountable on the scale each week. I am such a science geek, so I loved the idea of being able to chart my progress on graphs and managing my Points in a little spiral bound book. Despite the fact that I had never REALLY dieted before, I managed to reach my goal weight and I was AMAZED at how easy it was to achieve.
Now that Aubrie (my second daughter) is 9 months old, and I have stopped breastfeeding, it is time to jump back on the dieting bandwagon. I have been following the Weight Watchers program again and have created a little game on my blog called Think Thin Thursdays. If you want to participate see this post for official rules!

This time around, Weight Watchers has some amazing new tools to help dieters reach their goals. They have recently launched a fan page on Facebook to showcase upcoming products and deliver news and information to Weight Watchers food enthusiasts. It will feature links to recipes, product-related vidcasts, instant polls and more.

Weight Watchers is also debuting an interactive widget tool, “I Really Want!” to help consumers hungry for a snack find a sensible alternative. The “I Really Want!” widget offers various Weight Watchers sensible food products as well as everyday snack alternatives. I tried this tool out and found some great snack options to satisfy my sweet tooth!

Did you also know that you can turn tasty Weight Watchers food into incrEdible rewards? It’s an easy way to choose from extensive rewards including beauty products, cooking accessories, DVDs and more! For every Weight Watchers food product you buy, simply cut out and save the UPC barcodes and following the simple instructions at www.WWIncredibleRewards.com.

If you want to lose weight in ’09, I highly recommend looking into Weight Watchers. The program is so easy to follow, and with all of these great new interactive tools, how can you resist?
Need extra motivation? Don’t forget to look into Think Thin Thursdays right here on The Not-So-Blog! I will be giving away some Weight Watchers coupons for free products soon!

I don’t know about y’all, but the holiday parties are KILLING ME! I am finding it very hard to pass up all of the treats floating around these days! But, the one thing that keeps me on track is knowing that I have to post a picture of the scale, so without further ado…….

I lost another pound! That makes 5 pounds gone and only 3 more to go to reach my pre-pregnancy weight! YAY!

You are all doing so great! Thank you for posting and trying to get others more involved. I am hoping as the holiday season passes, more bloggers will join us!

Let’s get right to the winners of Week 5:

Sarah won the soap gift card from Mommy Jenna’s Designs and Gifts and the Month of Meals ebook!

Kimberly won the necklace from Elli Noelle Designs!

Congrats, ladies! Please email me your shipping addresses at notsoblog@gmail.com .

For this week, I am taking a break from rounding up sponsors. Hopefully, after the Holiday Season is over, I will be able to get some new things up to inspire you. I have a few ideas up my sleeve!

This week:

1. Set a goal for Week 6.
2. Blog about your experience during Week 5.
3. If you achieved your goal set in Week 5, sign the Shrinky Linky.

Your task for week 6: Visit at least one blog of someone in the Shrinky Linky and congratulate them on their success!

Good Luck!