My second weight loss step was to switch out my bad foods for good ones. This one I still work on, but I am eating so much healthier. It wasn’t hard and I love trying new recipes. I didn’t go through my pantry and throw everything out. I know some nutritionists and diet “experts” recommend this but I don’t. Instead I switched one bad food for a good one slowly. It was much easier to make small changes rather than those sweeping drastic ones. I really feel that is why so many people end up on a perpetual diet their whole life. I’m a southerner and cajun so I LOVE food! I love fried catfish, cornbread, desserts, gumbos, and more. I know how hard it is change those eating habits for life.

My first food I changed was bread. I was eating honey wheat bread, which was better than white bread, but I still needed to find a healthier bread. I had tried different types of multi-grain breads before finding my dark German wheat bread. It’s very tasty with a good fiber content but low carbohydrates. I’m not a low carb diet, but I still try to eat moderate amounts. I stopped using vegetable oil and switched to olive oil. We also stopped frying foods, and we now saute, grill, or broil. The hardest switch for me was eating brown rice instead of white. I really resisted this change and didn’t make it until about four months ago. I actually love how it tastes with beans. We don’t eat much rice anymore. I have since discovered wild rice that I really enjoy eating. I’m still hunting for quinoa but my local store doesn’t sell it. I need to go to Whole Foods soon and stock up on some items I can’t get at my store.

One change I really indulge on weekly is my Fage Greek Total Yogurt. Yes I eat the full fat version, but I only eat 1/4 of a cup at a time with fresh fruit like berries. It’s so delicious and creamy that it’s more of a treat. I actually look forward to that snack in the middle of the day. I did switch to dark chocolate by finding a good quality chocolate that had three ingredients. The best part was I can pronounce them all, and it has 70% cocoa content. I break the bar into 12 small pieces and have one of them daily at the end of the day as a nice treat. I haven’t had any chocolate or real sugar in over 30 days. I just don’t crave it anymore. Losing weight doesn’t have to be hard and can be quite enjoyable. Take it slowly and try new foods.

Today’s thrifty living tip is use cloth napkins and dish towels over paper napkins and paper towels. This will save you lots of money over your life. I still use paper towels from time to time, but a super sized pack will last me for months. I usually buy one or two of those 8 roll packs on sale at CVS yearly. I have the same pack of napkins I got on sale over two years ago. I just rarely use them. I would much rather use my cloth napkins and towels.

I buy the dish towels on clearance and stock up. I make my own napkins by cutting out the size I need and serge the edges so it doesn’t ravel in the wash. These napkins will last for years. If it’s a big spill then I find the dish towel will clean up the spill quicker, and I don’t have to waste several paper towels. When they get to a point that I can’t use them in the kitchen, then they become cleaning towels. I really try to use them up as much as I can before discarding. We all know it’s better for the environment, but it’s also much better for my pocket book.

I’m going to post my baby steps in how I have managed to lose over 75 pounds in the last 10 months. I’m doing it slowly, but for me this is a lifestyle change and not a diet. The first step I took was to quit drinking all soft drinks. I still needed my caffeine fix so I switched to regular iced tea. I don’t believe in artificial sweeteners so I used regular sugar but much less of it. I would make a gallon of tea and add a 1/2 cup of sugar. That wasn’t very sweet at all. I also increased my water intake. I didn’t feel like I was depriving myself. The best part was I started saving money by not spending $40-50 a month on soft drinks. Making a couple of gallons a tea weekly is so much cheaper. I was spending about $5 a month on tea and sugar. I did wean myself off the sugar by decreasing how much sugar I added. Once I got used to the 1/2 cup then I cut it down to a 1/4 cup. After a couple of months I was using no sugar at all. I just squeeze a little lemon juice in it which helps. If I eat out, then I either order iced water or unsweet tea with lemon. I do occasionally drink a soft drink, but maybe like once a month to every 2-3 months. The desire to drink them often is gone. I prefer to drink herbal tea now with no caffeine on a daily basis. The best part was I lost 6 pounds in 10 days by not drinking soft drinks. That gave me great motivation to continue losing weight.

The main reason I quit drinking soft drinks was for health reasons. I was suffering from heartburn on a daily basis. I kept thinking it was the red sauces, but once I quit drinking cokes, then my heartburn went away. It was amazing! Many people will drink diet drinks since it has no calories, but it still has all those awful ingredients and colors. Most people know that coke will eat away acid on a car battery. Well imagine what those same drinks are doing to your insides? Many people drink 2-3 a day! I find it quite scary, and that just reinforced my desire to quit drinking them. It’s a major step that many people feel that they can’t do it. I will say not only will your body thank you, but so will your pocket book.

Here is a great offer that I am getting and wanted to share. Canvas People is offering a free $55 Gift Certificate to redeem one free 8×10 canvas of your favorite digital picture. You do have to pay $14.95 shipping and handling but this is a great savings! You can order a frame for it as well, but I’m going to frame it myself since I already have a perfect one at home. This site is really cool. You can add special effects to the canvas. I think this is a great gift idea for anyone. Why not use a vacation picture which would make a great memory for hanging on the wall. This deal is also a great gift idea for grandparents. I’m buying one for my husband as a surprise gift so I can’t get into more details just to be safe. He really doesn’t read my blog but you never know. If you would like to browse or take advantage of this great deal then just click either on the picture above or click here to go to Canvas People. Enjoy this great deal.

I have been so behind on posting that I totally missed my 2 year anniversary. On 5/14/10 Thrifty Momma Ramblings celebrated it’s second year! This is huge news! It’s such huge news that I decided to give a $25 gift card to one lucky reader! I have a list of the following stores that the winner can choose to spend their $25 gift card. This drawing will end on June 30th at midnight CST. The winner will be announced on the blog the following day.

To enter this drawing all you have to do is leave a comment about my blog. It could be about why do you like, a favorite post, or whatever that is relevant to my blog. No anonymous posters please. You don’t have to have a blog but leave your name at least. I’m planning to post some really great content for this blog like more reviews and giveaway’s. I will also discuss my weight loss journey as I continue down this path. I’ve met some really great people and am enjoying writing this blog. I can’t wait to see what this year will bring. Thanks so much to all my readers. I wouldn’t have much of a blog without you guys.

EXTRA ENTRIES:
2 Extra Entries- Blog about this drawing on your blog linking back to this post. Leave me a comment with the link that I can follow and see it.
1 Extra Entry- Subscribe to my email list located at the top right hand side below header.

A list of the stores you can select your gift card from is listed below. Good luck!

1) Wal-Mart
2) Target
3) Amazon (online)
4) CVS
5) Walgreen’s
6) Best Buy
7) Rite-Aid
8) Blockbuster
9) Academy
10) Michael’s or Hobby Lobby