I weigh.... WHAT?

I don't know about you, but we had A LOT of snow here this year. Every time I cleaned off my car three more inches had fallen again. After all of that shoveling, I was hungry. Multiply shoveling by about ten and that's how hungry I was in January and February. By March, I stepped on the scale and weighed more than I had ever before. That was my wake up call.

As the snow was melting, I could smell summer: hot dogs, hamburgers, strawberry short cake, funnel cake! mmmhmmm. Who doesn't hit the panic button in March and go diet/exercise crazy? We see the bathing suits on the racks and see our stomach in the mirror and think, "How will I ever walk on the beach without looking like a beached whale?"

This year I tried something different. I didn't freak out and try to lose a million pounds in a month, I took it slow, gave up Starbucks pastries for 40 days, and went to the gym at least 3 times a week. Lent has it's advantages when you're not only giving up something, you're also making a promise to yourself to live your life better. By the end of the 40 days I had lost 8 pounds!

My tip for you today [as my job (aka Starbucks) makes me come in even though I have pink eye] never EVER get a venti (large) sized latte at Starbucks. Not only are you drinking 20-24 ounces of milk (depending on whether you get the hot or iced drink) you are also not getting any more caffeine than by just drinking a grande (medium) sized drink. Okay, so there is A LITTLE extra caffeine in a venti Iced Latte, but not enough to warrant you drinking all of that milk. You're not a cow (OR A BEACHED WHALE!). Don't get me wrong though, I loveee milk, and you should too! Just not 20-24 ounces of it at a time.

Try getting a Triple Tall Skinny Vanilla Latte (only 100 Calories). That's three shots of espresso, 12 ounces of nonfat milk, three pumps of sugar free vanilla, and a lot of yum. OR you can get a Quad Grande Americano with a little bit of steamed nonfat milk, two pumps of sugar free vanilla, and one Splenda. This alternative is less in calories, more in caffeine, and still the same amount of yum.