Trying something new - Jicama

I tried something new last week.  Jicama.  I had no idea what it would even look like when I went to find it in the produce section. It's not pretty, but in the right recipe, it wasn't bad at all.
I tried this recipe for Jicama Salad With Mango and Dried Blueberries from Section89.com.

picture & recipe from section89.com

 I also ordered Green Smoothie Girl's Twelve Steps to Whole Foods Manual.  I needed something to get me motivated again.  I've been wanting it for a while.  It's working.  I'm back to eating almost 100% good real food.  That 3 pound weight gain I mentioned a few months ago turned into 7 pounds.  But after a week of good eating it's back down to 3 pounds.  When I'm eating right my body naturally drops the weight, I have more energy and I feel so much better.

ps.  If you have any more jicama recipes, send them my way.

The Gym Just Got Really Crowded

This is the time of year when all the treadmills are taken at the gym and the Zumba classes are filled with new bodies.

Two years ago I was one of those bodies.  155+ lbs and ready to try (again) to slim down.  I look at all the new faces there and I wonder how many of them will still be coming in March.  It seems like that's when the treadmills start to free up.  Those New Year's Resolutions to "lose some weight" are forgotten.

Some days I want all these new people to just go home because I've been waiting for a treadmill for 10 minutes and I'd really like to get my workout in before I have to pick kids up from preschool and kindergarten.  

I wish I could encourage them and say "I did it and so can you!  Just keep coming. Don't give up!  You're going to feel great a year from now!"

But I don't say anything.  
Because then they'd think I was a crazy stalker woman, and they'd stop coming.

And the treadmills would be free again.

I think I may be on to something.

Reward Yourself

My 4 sisters and I used to post to a private blog, similar to this one. We would track our weight and what we ate and used it to help and encourage each other.  This entry is from September 2008.
I'm having a thought.... I think we should do something to celebrate milestones. For example if we move from the 150's to the 140's, that would be a milestone. Though I don't know how to celebrate without food. What do you all think about that?
Oh, but the milestones should only be counted on a Monday. Otherwise we'd be celebrating them every other day since my weight usually goes up and down and up. Also, thanks for your comments. It's always encouraging to see that someone is watching what I'm eating and is cheering me on. :)
Looking at your food journals I've discovered that I'm a HUGE eater. You all eat half of the amount of food I do. So my question is, Are you charting everything you eat? (Not that you have to. There are no rules on this blog--except that you can't let anyone else read it.) I was just curious.  
The reason I wanted to post this here is that the Milestone idea really worked for me.  I decided to reward myself for each 5 lbs that I lost.  New work out clothes, a pair of jeans (in a smaller size), and a new play list for my Zune were all things I used as motivation.  Anyone else have any ideas that work for you?