Day six-check yourself before you wreck yourself

This is after a day at the town pool with my family. The day was pretty uneventful as far as food goes. I took cherries to the pool for myself because normally I'd eat potato chips or something like that from the concession stand. After eating the cherries I ate a few of my husband's sunflower seeds because Bethenny suggests eating protein with fruits because not only is it a healthy snack, but it will curb the hunger as well. After eating a sandwich for dinner (turkey and cheese) I decided to eat a donut. I knew it was the "food noise" talking and not my "food voice". Nevertheless, I ate the donut. My mistake was eating the whole donut. It really wasn't worth the investment. I even had a stomachache for a little while afterwards. The old me would have continued the bad investments for the rest of the evening because I would have told myself "I messed up" anyway. The new me, the naturally thin thinking me, followed rule 7, "check yourself before you wreck yourself" and just like that it was over. I was done! I ate it and it's over and that's that. Tomorrow is another day!

Day five-taste everything, eat nothing

This is me at the end of a busy Summer day with the kids. Boy am I wiped out! As far as eating goes, today was the first time I used the "taste everything, eat nothing rule". The whole day went well. I ate half a bagel with a tiny bit of vegetable cream cheese,a cup of cherries, and coffee for breakfast. For lunch I chose to have grilled chicken over a garden salad since I already had the carbs in the morning. For a snack in the afternoon I ate a low cal popcorn snack bag. Later, my family wanted Chinese food for dinner so we ordered take out. I would usually order one of the higher calorie dinners, but tonight I made the decision to have a small wonton soup. It was my choice and I felt great about my decision. My "food noise" wanted sesame chicken, but my "food voice" told me to go with the soup. My kids were eating boneless ribs and I would normally indulge in these (they're so good) but this time I didn't. This is when I realized I could taste the boneless ribs with out going overboard and then feeling guilty afterward. I took two tiny pieces and moved on. I followed the "taste everything, eat nothing" rule and it absolutely works. I savored the taste and I was able to walk away from it satisfied. It sounds like common sense, but for some reason it never dawned on me to just "taste". I'm really starting to think more and more like a naturally thin person!

Day four-cancelling my membership in the clean plate club

One of the many things Betheny (in her book) has taught me is that I do not have to eat every thing on my plate and that I should leave a little. It honestly never dawned on me to do this. I made two slices of turkey bacon and an egg white omelet for breakfast. I was enjoying it so much, but then I realized I hadn't been "paying attention" and almost ate every last piece on my plate. I had been doing this for so many years it became a habit. Well this is when I remembered Bethenny's suggestion to "cancel your membership in the clean plate club" and left a couple of pieces. Although you can't see the pieces I left because the plate is the same color as the food, trust me, its there.

Day three-listening to your "food voice"

Here I am eating breakfast. This morning I actually heard my "food voice" speaking to me (as Bethenny describes it). It was my intention to eat a banana and a couple of turkey slices for breakfast. In my head, this was all I was planning on eating. However, after about 15 minutes I still wasn't satisfied. I now know that my "food voice" wanted carbs. I listened to this voice and I toasted a whole wheat english muffin and added a very thin later of peanut butter and sugar free jelly. This is what I'm eating in this picture. I was then satisfied and felt good about my decision because I remembered, *Your diet is a bank account* This picture was taken by my 14 year old daughter, Naomi. It is really important to me that I set a good example for all my children (I have three), but especially for her, my only girl. For some reason, women struggle constantly with their body image. I am 40 years old and I am DONE STRUGGLING. I don't want to struggle any more and I don't want to set that kind of example for her. Bethenny Frankel's book came at an awesome time in my life because I just turned 40 this year and I want to really enjoy my life and stop the stinkin weight issue once and for all. Bethenny's no-nonsense advice is just "what the doctor ordered". I've always wanted to follow a thin person for a week to see what and how they ate and lived their life. Thanks to Bethenny's honest writing, I get to do just that now. She's not afraid to say that she sometimes skips lunch or that she sometimes doesn't make the right food choices and that's what makes her real and believable to me. I pray this works for me!!!!
Check out Bethenny on, "It's on with Alexa Chung" on MTV today. Click on the following link:
http://www.mtv.com/videos/misc/424807/bethenny-frankel-on-catty-housewives.jhtml

Day two-"pay attention"

This is me, day two of Naturally Thin eating (the Bettenny Frankel way). I am about to delve into a delicious salad I made for myself. The "rules" I used today are: Pay Attention*Your Diet is a Bank Account* and Downsize Now*

Paying attention is something I normally didn't do when it came to eating. Bethenny suggests paying attention,savoring the food. In other words "be conscious". This goes for all aspects in life.

Your Diet is a Bank Account helped me to make the right choices. The choice is mine and no one else's. I drank a protein shake blended with a banana for breakfast (yum), and was about to make a salad consisting of mixed greens, a little bit of roast beef, swiss cheese, and oil and vinegar. I wanted to add a hard boil egg to the mix at first, but since my diet is a bank account, I decided that I had more than enough protein thus far and decided to nix adding the egg to the salad instead.

Downsize Now suggests we eat from smaller plates. Normally I would have had a larger plate to make my salad, but with this rule in mind I made the choice to use a smaller plate the way "naturally thin" people do. I was extremely satisfied after eating this "downsized" lunch.

Day one-"Before" photo

This is me weighing in at 150lbs (5'4")! My 8 year old took this picture of me today holding Bethenny Frankel's Unleash Your SkinnyGirl and Free Yourself from a Lifetime of Dieting. I wanted you all to see my "Before" picture as I begin this, what I hope to be, life-altering process.

What did I eat today?
-This morning I drank a Designer Whey protein shake blended with rasberries (yummy) and a banana.

-This afternoon I ate a small bowl of split pea soup with a mixed green salad. (so far so good)

-For an afternoon snack I ate a plum and a hard boiled egg.

-Dinner was one grilled boneless pork chop with two small ears of corn on the cob.

-Evening snack (because I was still feeling hungry) was a couple of turkey slices and one slice of swiss cheese


How did I do?
I think I had an awesome day eating the Naturally Thin way. Feeling good so far. I'm excited to be on my way to a Naturally Thin body. Here are the ten rules Bethenny lives by:

YOUR DIET IS A BANK ACCOUNT
YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL, JUST NOT ALL AT ONCE
TASTE EVERYTHING, EAT NOTHING
PAY ATTENTION
DOWNSIZE NOW
CANCEL YOUR MEMBERSHIP IN THE CLEAN PLATE CLUB
CHECK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU WRECK YOURSELF
KNOW THYSELF
GET REAL
GOOD FOR YOU