I look skinnier and my clothes fit better!  My belly is slowly flattening out.  This is the big boost I needed.  I am motivated by results, even small ones.  I just got back from one week visiting my grandmother in Alabama.  I really watched what I ate last week and had much smaller portions.  For instance, instead of my usual one full bowl of macaroni, I had half for dinner and reheated the other half for breakfast.  Still not completely healthy, but it is a good start.  Last night was the big step and I definitely earned a big gold star.  We went to my favorite mexican food restaurant.  As previously mentioned, I am the queso queen.  This place has really good queso and fabulous tortillas.  I had water and the spinach salad.  It was actually really really good!  We had to wait for one guy who lives further away so I had two glasses of water before we even ordered.  That did curb my cravings.  I asked myself if that fleeting taste of queso was worth all the fat and calories.  Needless to say, my dad and husband were quite surprised when I ordered the spinach salad.  I think from now on, I am going to order this salad instead of that creamy cheesy stuff.