I've been in and out all day long and nearly forgot to post today -- down 1.2 pounds, which is great considering I've been more focused on making my gut feel better this week than on anything else. 

All it took was cutting out wheat and peanuts and the noise in my tummy was silenced. 

I think that when my stomach was railing against me, I was actually eating to quell the pain and totally sabotaging my weight-loss efforts. Maybe yogurt! A piece of toast! Soup! Ice cream! Nothing was working until I decided to cut out the wheat and peanut butter again.

What did I learn this week?

• I did best when I didn't eat after dinner. Once or twice I caved and ate a piece of fruit but I also stocked up on zero-calorie stevia-sweetened water enhancers (thanks, Publix!) and would reach for a bottle of tasty water instead of other things.
• I ramped up the exercise. I'm really good about consistency but during December I got a little sidetracked with holiday stuff and working at the fundraising gift wrap booth at the mall. So I'm back to five solid days a week (can't wait for the new Planet Fitness to open!). 
• Morning (and sometimes lunch) smoothies are my go-to meals. I can cram a lot of good stuff into one Nutri Ninja cup. I've been reading Dr. Phil's The 20/20 Diet and he suggests making a smoothie with a base of 6 ounces vanilla Greek yogurt and a scoop of whey protein powder. I've always done one or the other but that 1-2 punch of proteins really keeps me full for a long time. 
• A big bag of organic apples is a great investment. If I absolutely must have something and I'm out of points, I'll grab an apple. But even though Weight Watchers says fruit is zero points, I limit my fruit to three servings. If I happen to go over that, I'll add a point.
• I really miss peanut butter! We have 4 jars of the stuff, creamy and smooth, in the pantry and I am so tempted to just stick my finger in the jar. But then I remember how awful the stuff makes me feel so I walk away. I have a jar of almond butter in the fridge and that satisfies the nut butter craving but surprisingly I'm not compelled to eat it willy-nilly, like I did with the peanut butter -- go figure.