Well it's coming to the end of day 5 of my streak and I'm still feeling good! In the past 5 days I've said no to cupcakes, bagels, chocolate covered pretzels, and that dish of Dove chocolates that's been sitting on the counter at work since Monday. I'm still having snacks and everything, but really some of that stuff just isn't worth the calories! Why waste 200 calories on 1 piece of chocolate when I could put that towards my steak dinner? Which was totally delicious by the way.

My new favorite thing is the dry erase calendar I've hung in the kitchen. Each night I cross off the day with a green or red marker depending on how I gauge my success for the day. Now I started mid-month so there aren't a ton of Xs but there are twice as many green as red and I'm happy with that! The best part of the day is adding another green X. I've also got my current measurements written up there and I've got a count down to my current goal. It's nice having it right in my face everyday. Very useful. :)

Another useful tool...talking to myself. I've always done that, but I try to really point out important things to myself that impact my current goals. For example, the other day I stepped on the scale and the number had gone down. That made me feel great! I took that moment to ask myself "Is there any food that makes you feel as good as you feel right now?" The answer is no. I love food and I love to eat, but there is such satisfaction in knowing that your hard work is paying off, and there is no chocolate peanut butter milk shake in the world that can give me that same satisfaction. Thinking about that makes it a heck of a lot easier to say no.

Do you have any other helpful hints or tips? I know it's still early in my journey and there will be rough times in the future, so I figure I should be prepared to handle them with as many positive tools as I can find!

Hope you had a good day...remember we're half way to the weekend! We can make it! :D