Ways to Make Dieting More Fun

• Instead of utensils, try eating with lit sparklers.

• To make drinking water more palatable, add sugar-free flavor crystals, scotch, or sugar-free scotch crystals.

• Buy caramel apples and scrape all the caramel off; now it’s just a healthy ol’ apple on a stick.

• Eat a ball of salad.

• A healthy drink can be made more “sassy” by adding some sassafras.

• Chocolate-covered vitamins.

• Drink your water out of a disco ball (see directions at end of post for converting disco ball into water bottle)

• They say “never skip breakfast,” but they never say “never skip during breakfast” so skip to your heart’s content.

• Remove all furniture from your dining room and eat all meals inside an inflatable moon bounce instead.

• Raw veggies are boring; crudités are exotic.

• Make healthy s’mores with roasted cauliflower, carob and melba toast (unless you worry about forever ruining a treasured childhood memory).

• Fat-free salad dressing fountain.

• Cotton balls aren’t as tasty as cotton candy, but waaaaay less sugar.

• When you’re ordering at a restaurant, make sure everything’s prepared to your exact specifications… and order in Pig Latin.

•Experiment with fresh herbs; try some fresh basil on tomatoes, some fresh rosemary in soup or fresh poison ivy on a salad.

•Make every meal a little more fun by reading my blog aloud to your family while eating.

Directions for converting disco ball into water bottle: (1) take disco ball, (2) drill hole in top, (3) fill with water, (4) drink water.

Fun, Fun, Fun ('Til My Daddy Takes the T-Bone Away)

I read quite a few weight loss blogs, and a familiar song on quite a few of them seems to be “I want to lose weight, but I don’t want to quit living my life.”

What does that mean? That means they want to continue going out to eat when they want. It means they want to have a few drinks with their friends when they want. It means they want to have a slice of birthday cake and maybe a bit of ice cream on the side without stressing out about it. They want to have fun.

I like restaurant meals a great deal, and I’ve thrown back more than my share at the bar with buddies. I generally have a good time in those instances, but can I tell you what’s really fun?

• Fun is slipping on a pair of pants you couldn’t get into two months ago.
• Fun is seeing an old friend and having them on and on about your weight loss.
• Fun is playing with your kids without losing your breath.
• Fun is overhearing co-workers marvel over how good you’re doing.
• Fun is watching the scale dip past another 10-lb. mark... and then another one...
  
• Fun is looking in the mirror and admiring the simple beauty of a sweat-soaked t-shirt.
• Fun is going to the doctor and having him or her pat you on the back over your progress.
• Fun is reading older blog entries and seeing just how far you’ve come.
• Fun is succeeding on this journey and knowing that it was you... all you... that got it done.
  

A good meal at a fine restaurant is nice. There’s nothing wrong with having drinks with friends. And that slice of cake… it’s okay.

But compared to those other things, I’ll take my “fun” list any day of the week.