Missing

Hey all,

Sorry I've been missing the past few days. It's been a doozy of a life. Between moving, getting sick, work being crazy - I just haven't had the time or energy to bust out a blog.

Never fear, though, I'm still here. Still working hard. Still eating yummy, delicious food (I made chicken and eggplant casserole last night - delish!).

I wanted to share with your a couple of secret diet killers. Calories really are the key to the whole weight loss debacle, but there are some hidden enemies that can really hold back weight loss progress:

1) "Fat Free" Is fat free a better option then not? Usually, yes. But don't let the words fat free elude you into thinking you are choosing a lower calorie or healthier option. To make up for flavor lost in fat you will regularly see increased sodium or sugar content. Read the box and compare to the regular version before you buy. There's really nothing wrong with a little fat.

2) Canned soup. It's delicious. It's typically low-cal (thank you Progresso!). It's PACKED with sodium. I'm not sure why they have to put so much sodium in a can of soup - probably something to do with preservative effects. Always opt for the low sodium soups (even then, the numbers can be baffling). Better yet, make your own. Soup recipes can be found in every shape size and a form and typically just require a little chopping and simmering. Remember, though, if your recipe calls for chicken (or beef)broth, grab a low sodium version of that as well.

3) Low calories per serving. Many boxes will tell you how low calorie a serving of their cereal, crackers, cookies, whatever it is have. But remember - all servings are not made equal. 100 calories of Cheerios is a whole cup of the stuff. That's great! 100 calories of Oreo cookies is only 1 cookie. If you are going to have crackers or cookies, make sure you read carefully and portion out your servings so you don't accidentally down 500 calories without thinking.

Those are just a few hidden diet disasters. I'll share more later.

Food Journal:

Breakfast: Smoothie - 6 strawberries, 3 ounces low fat yogurt, 1 large tbsp protein powder and crystal light strawberry juice (210 cals)