On the seventh day...

Today is my seventh binge-free day. It's a miracle.

I've eaten within my Points limit and tracked every bite.

It's been months since I've had a week like this one.

It wasn't a white-knuckle week like the weeks I've had in the past several months. I didn't have horrible cravings where I wanted to eat all the time. The cravings are gone. Honestly, it feels like a miracle.

These are things I think help make this a good week :

1.) I changed what I'm eating. I'm avoiding as many processed foods as possible and eating as many of the "filling" foods as possible. I've broken off my relationship with Weight Watchers ice cream bars, Skinny Cows and Dreyer's fruit bars. They are no longer my friends and are not welcome in my home.

2. ) I've tracked all my food in the online Weight Watcher journal. My Weight Watcher leader told us last week that is the number one thing that will make a difference in your weight loss.

3.) I've been eating a lot of the what Weight Watcher calls filling foods. The ones that have the little green diamonds next to them in the food tracker. These are whole grains, whole foods, not processed junk. These foods make me feel fuller for a longer period of time. I realize I just said this in #1 but I can't emphasize it enough. This has changed my life.

4. ) As much as this gives me a big pain in the butt, I've been following the Healthy Eight Eating Guidelines. I save the healthy oil and at least one dairy to have with my evening meal. This helps satisfy me and keep me full throughout the evening.

5. ) The absolutely amazing support of the blogging community. Without you guys, I'm sure I would have totally given up a long time ago. You make a huge difference in my life. I can't even begin to thank you for all your support and constantly cheering me on.

6. ) You knew this one was coming...."The end of overeating: Taking Control of the Insatiable American Appetite" by David Kessler, MD. The cognitive behavioral therapy in this book has worked wonders for me. I know it won't work for everyone, but I guess I found my magic bullet. Okay, it's not really magic. I have to do all the work, but it provides me the tools to use to avoid binging and overeating.

Learning to say "no" to myself is something I didn't even think was possible.

I realize it's only been seven days, but I feel full of hope and excitement for what the future holds. I don't fear it anymore. I will not wind up a contestant on the Biggest Loser.

The guidelines (in case you forget them):

5 servings of fruits & veggies
2 servings of milk products - 3 servings if you're over 50
6 glasses of "liquids"
2 tsp healthy oils
1-2 servings of lean protein
1 multivitamin a day
Choose Whole Grains when possible
At least 30 minutes of activity a day most days of the week
Limit sugar and alcohol