"TipFULL" Tuesdays! "Drinks,Drinks and MORE Drinks"!

So I decided to start a new little series or whatever you want to call it on Tuesday's and it will be full of tips, or at least what I think are tips and things I have learned along the way. If your like me I LOVE the "trainer tips" they flash on Biggest Loser each week and a lot of them I get some good info on :o). I am in NO means an expert on any of this stuff as lol, but with losing 165lbs this last year it has brought a lot of things to my mind and has caused me to find newer and different ways to change my life and do things, so I figured why not share. Many people when they talk ask me for "tips" and I have never really sat down and thought of what my tips would consist of but thing one kind of popped into my head this week.

For me I have had to find ways to keep myself full and what not in between meals. I have never been a huge snacker, I am more into bigger meals rather than little snacks. For me I found sometimes I would eat a snack and then that snack would lead me to want more and more food, and it could be a slippery path for me and I could go down easy. It is so nice to just think "O I will eat 1 100 calorie snack, or one Fiber one bar" which for some that totally works, but for me especially in the beginning it would trigger my hunger and then I would want more ya know? I think you just have to find a balance for you and what works best in your plan. I did eat more snacks in the beginning but now I tend to just have 3 meals, usually 150 calories in the morning then 525 each meal or so, give or take. But...I do feel sometimes I need something so something that has totally become my Best Friend thanks to Hungry-Girl, is Sensible Solutions Diet Hot Chocolate.

This stuff is a key ingredient to my every afternoon lol, and has been for about 3 months now. I was a little hesitant to try it cause I figured it wouldn't be that great, but wow it is, or maybe I have just been away from Chocolate that long lol. What I do as well to make it even better is add 2-4 tablespoons of Fat Free Reddi Whip for 5-10 calories and that is AMAZING, another tip from Hungry-Girl. So for a whole coffee cup full with whip cream it's 30-35 calories. I like it as well because the liquid part fills me up and satisfies my sweet craving all at the same time! It has no fat in eat either and very little sugar, but does not lack taste because of those things. I don't know if you have checked but just for a Tall Non Fat Milk Hot Chocolate at Starbucks it 230 calories! I like the sounds of 30-35 WAY better :).

Another form of drink I really enjoy are SoBe Waters and Sparkling waters as well!

SoBe's are great because not only do they taste AWESOME and have 0 calories (in MOST so be careful some do have sugar and calories, but they are pretty well labeled) but they also have good things in them for you, like vitamins a bit of sodium to replace what you sweat off like Gatorade just WAY less lol. They also have antioxidants in them and are all naturally flavored, I mean can you ask for more lol?? A tip I do with these is put them in the freezer for a bit and let them get a little frozen/icy and they taste a lot like a slushy or those slushy drinks from Dairy Queen. These are great when I go out shopping or are running around or with friends while there snacking. I think it's a lot like gum, it's something to with tricking yourself because you are physically putting stuff in your mouth, kind of like when you chewing gum, but your not getting the harmful affects of when your eating, and you deff. not getting the calories either so that is great. For me it takes my mind of off eating and it also has a great taste. My favorite no calorie flavors are the Blueberry Blackberry(tastes like a Blue sucker SO good!) and then the Fuji Apple green one, SO yummy as well and then they have a lot of other great ones too! I have yet to find one I don't like, and they are pretty much sold everywhere and Target has them a lot for 10 for 10 wkly.

I don't know if I have mentioned but I do not drink pop anymore and haven't since last February. I used to be a HUGE Diet Coke person but decided I was giving up other stuff, it had NOTHING good in it and was not good for me despite the no calories. I know for some it works but for me it was just something I needed to part with. I am super sensitive to caffeine as well so that wasn't helping me and then the sodium and bad chemicals weren't great either. I also found it made me crave sugar sometimes more too. Anyways a good friend of ours brought over some all natural sparkling water this past summer (the fizzy kind of like pear or peach flavored stuff). Anyways it was amazing and gave me that same happy feeling pop used expect you got away from the chemicals and sodium and dark coloring :o). I don't drink it a ton but it is SO good to take to movies(shh I know your not supposed to do that haha, thank goodness for BIG purses haha) and I also love a cold one with my 100 calorie popcorn for an evening snack! I really like the Sam's club kind from Wal-Mart and the Market Pantry kind from Target, both are great and they give you that pop feel that you kind of miss if you do away with pop like I did.

Of course with all these drinks I still turn to my Water first hand lol, but it's nice to have variety and keep it different sometimes. I did though have a LONG talk with my doctor about me needing to drink more water with as much as I workout and sweat now, especially with spin. I am now trying to drink at least 64 oz a day or more, so that is a new challenge for me :o). I think often times Americans especially with ALL the sodium in our diet, mistake feeling "hungry" for really being dehydrated and thirsty. I believe there is truth in the more water you drink the less hungry you are, I know for me drinking my water and liquids has helped a ton! Deff. keeps you fuller longer!

Well I hope this helps and makes sense, I am off to get ready and run some errands and then head to the gym :). I am excited tonight because a few friends and I are going down to our best friend's college to visit her because she had to go back a week earlier than we did, so that will be fun! Thanks again for all the birthday wishes it was a very nice day, and I also found my camera right after I posted last night lol, go figure!

~Kassandra

P.S. BIGGEST LOSER TONIGHT!

CANNOT WAIT! :)