Grace – or favor – meanings of those words are: mercy, to have pity upon, move to favor by petition.  I had that yesterday because I made it through my first holiday since I began gaining weight without totally blowing it.  Yes, I prayed for help to get through the day.  And because of that, I ended up being S.M.A.R.T.! 

This morning (since I last weighed on Friday) I found I only gained 1 pound.  That is after eating pre-sweetened strawberries on homemade ice cream and Sara Lee pound cake.  Also a 2.5 ounce hamburger on a hot dog bun (way less calories than a hamburger bun) with mayo and catsup, a dab of potato salad, a dab of cole slaw, 4 jumbo shrimp and cocktail sauce, 6 pretzels, AND 3 potato chips dipped in canned bean dip.  And only gained 1 pound that is easily removed! It is a miracle.

I did find if you have to log in your food before you ate it – think in advance – you see how many calories are in it (chips) and decide that is not where you want to use up your calories.  I wanted the ice cream so I balanced the calories so I could have it.  It was not fun logging the food but I found out it was smart. 

The strawberries were a mistake because they were pre-sweetened with white sugar by someone else and let me tell you what – GAG ME.  They were way too sweet.  I haven’t eaten processed white sugar in so long that it was sickeningly sweet and actually ruined the berries for me.  That is a good thing as evidenced by the scale this morning – I didn’t finish them.

I actually enjoyed the day, didn’t stress about the food, and ate exactly what I wanted.  By thinking ahead, logging what I planned to eat, and paying attention before I sat down, I was able to enjoy my meal without worry.  It was awesome!  And I gotta tell you, I am not that smart – without Help!