What do I count? Everything. What don’t I count? Everything else.

I can’t kick my habit of not counting everything. I count the major things of course but have exceptions.

Salads, the staple of my diet. While they usually contain at least 2-3 servings of veggies, I throw in a few extras that I don’t count.

I’m a freak for something crunchy in my salad – this can be anything from a broken up saltine or oyster crackers to crunchy chow mein noodles – none of which I count.
I always throw on a pinch of shredded cheese, almost always reduced fat/light. No counting there either.

Last but not least, I never count my dressing. In my opinion (note: never actually measured opinion) I don’t use enough dressing to constitute a point. At the most, it’s maybe 2 teaspoons and it’s almost always light. I don’t know why I keep up this habit when there are plenty of alternative options. With all the spray dressings they have now, I can have dressing for a true zero points value.

Now that I’ve confessed some of the things I don’t count…maybe I should fess up to all that I don’t count or all the zero point foods I eat.

Zero Points - One slice of light bread, ½ cup Fiber One with ¼ cup milk
No counting – jelly, jam, bites of other peoples food, a single chip or two, handful of grapes, a few pieces of cereal

It’s become a habit to taste test the soup in the cafeteria, though yesterday I didn’t, but today I did. Along with this ‘free’ taste of soup, I throw in a couple oyster crackers, if not enjoy the full single serve package.

So maybe, just maybe if I kick these unnecessary freebies, which probably aren’t freebies at all - soup sample, crackers, cheese, crunchies and dressing on the salads – I’ll further my weight loss success.
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I had originally wrote this earlier in the week. After much deliberation, I’ve decided to act on it…but it’s been a struggle. Soup samples Tuesday and today. I didn’t veer away from the crunchies and cheese on my salads, but I did last night. No measuring dressing. Found myself having a few pieces of cereal here and there and a chip here and there.
I think the biggest cause of this issue is:

1. I try and hold out too long to eat a meal. I find myself taking freebies while I am waiting to eat.
2. Too many points left over at the end of the day. Some days I find myself with 5 points after I eat dinner. Then I can’t figure out what I want, so I grab a handful of grapes, taste some cereal...kinda go in panic mode until I figure out what to do with my points.
3. Sweet cravings that are actually more of a habit than a craving I think. I’ve gotten the mentality that I should have something sweet with my coffee or something sweet after dinner. It’s kind of part of the reason that I have so many points left at the end of the day. I try and reserve points during the day so I have room at the end of the day.

I think once I battle these little bumps, me and the scale will get along a little better.