New and would like a buddy

[yellowhair11]

Today I am hurting - I have my melt belt on now but on my back instead of belly. I think I over did it at Curves yesterday - ate too many snacks last nite but really did not eat much during the day. Thks. for that slimfast tip, I thought I would have to plug my nose and drink it but it was tasty.

No official word on who is coming for Easter yet. Yes T, this is the exact meal my mom would make and the boys always want the same thing Grandma had. Since I joined this board I think my total is 14 lbs. but I have been off and on the diet wagon a long time. I do not carry my weight well, look heavier, dumpier than actual pounds. People have guessed me as 30 pounds more than actual. I have a GF that is 220 but looks 160, she is all muscle naturally. I told her about Curves as she has diabetes, etc. and dr. insists she needs to lose but ignores my efforts to get her to go so I dropped it. I am hoping the Curves will help build the muscle along with the Callanetics which I know work very well.

I have 3 brothers in Wisconsin and a couple nieces, lost track of cousins, etc.
Sorry your dream meeting was not too informative but you had a nice day out. You will get back on track when you are able.

I see peanut butter, apple butter, on so many diets so thats probably a good choice D - I hate peanut butter.

Enjoy your Easter all !

[Denise78]

Happy Easter !!

Glad to hear from you, T. Sounds like you had an enjoyable visit in the country even if the dream workshop wasn't very productive for you. We have 3 large apple trees in our backyard and they are so gorgeous when they are in bloom.

YH, sorry to hear you are in pain today. 14 machines was a lot to do 3 times around. Maybe you should stick to just twice around and if you feel motivated, just do a couple of the machines 3 times but not all 14. Hope that meltbelt helps the pain!

We grilled steaks yesterday and I felt sick all night. Was just too heavy on my stomach after eating so lightly all week long. I should have realized that and cut the steak in half and not eaten so many peppers. Anyway, now I know better and hopefully will not indulge so much at today's holiday meal.

Yesterday's menu:

B-1 scrambled Egg Beater w/salsa, 2 veggie sausage links, coffee
L-1 turkey burger w/mustard & lettuce on low-carb pita
S-2 meringues
D-steak, cauliflower, lettuce w/low-carb dressing, 3 grilled jalapenos wrapped in bacon & stuffed w/cream cheese
S-4 meringues, soy p'nut butter on bran cracker, 4 olives, 1 string cheese

23 lbs is so little in the realm of what I need to lose, so it's not noticeable to the outside world yet. But...the watch I got at Christmas which I was going to return because it was so tight...is now loose and flipping around on my hand. Great -- just where I wanted to lose weight -- my wrist! But at least I'M noticing these little things so hopefully, eventually it will be noticeable to others too.

I'm not a big p'nut butter eater but I think when my choices are so limited, I'll take what I can get! The soy p'nut butter & bran cracker snack is starting to grow on me. I'm actually enjoying it now! Those little meringues are helpful too....13 of them are 40 calories, 0 fat and 0 carbs and I don't think I could ever eat 13 in one day, never mind one sitting....so it's a good little sweet crunch when I need it, even tho the taste is just okay, nothing spectacular.

Dh just got the rolls in the pan to rise and I need to start cooking here. I made up a couple of Easter baskets for the boys even tho they've told me for a couple of yrs that they are too old. I guess I'M the one that never grows up!

Have a wonderful day ladies! D

[Denise78]

I am stuffed!! I ate everything on plan but I'm afraid I ate a little too much of it!! I'll be working hard this week to work it off, that's for sure.

I wanted to share a salad I made for Easter dinner. It was so sweet and yummy that I actually had it as my dessert while the guys were eating their cheesecake.

Strawberry & Spinach Salad

1 tsp poppy seeds
1/4 cup Splenda
1/4 cup olive oil
1/8 cup white vinegar
1/8 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced onion

Whisk all ingredients together and cover in refrig for about 1 hour. Take out of refrig and add 1/2 bag (about 5 oz) fresh raw spinach leaves (ripped in half), 1/8 cup chopped walnuts or slivered almonds, several hulled and sliced fresh strawberries and sprinkle of feta cheese (optional). Toss and refrigerate for 15 min. Yum!!! The dressing was sweet and scrumptious!

Teresa -- that stuffed eggplant came out awesome. Dh and ds1 loved it too. Thanks so much for the suggestion! It was like a low-carb version of eggplant parmagiana, which is a big fav of mine and ds1's.

Well I am off to sit out on the deck with dh. He's giving me a pedicure.

Hope everyone had a great Easter and didn't eat as much as me!!

---D

[Denise78]

Okay I went to FitDay and plugged in all I've eaten and while it's more than I normally eat, it wasn't as much as I imagined. I came in just around 2000 calories and 30 carbs. (Normally I'm eating more like 1000-1200 calories and 20-30 carbs.) I think it helped that I skipped lunch. Of course, the night is still young so I will try to stick to 0 carb snacks if I eat anything later.

Today's Menu

B-2 scrambled Egg Beaters, salsa, 3 sl bacon, bran cracker w/cream cheese, coffee
S-2 meringues, 1 pc sugar-free sm choc bunny (ears)
D-ham, stuffed eggplant, 3 deviled eggs, spinach & strawberry salad
S-1 pc sugar-free sm choc bunny (head) Will save the rest of the body for tomorrow!

I want to go to Curves tomorrow, I need to go, but ds1 will be leaving early afternoon and I don't know that I'd get back in time, so I will see if my friend can go earlier with me. I would like to be home when ds1 goes back to college and see him off. He's always forgetting something. Plus I like to be able to say goodbye to him because I never know when he'll visit again.

Well that's enough yakking from me. Have a good night! -- D

[Teresa3]

Hi, All--

I'm so glad the eggplant turned out well for you, Denise! And it's great the guys liked it, too. I think it's hard for guys to like eggplant sometimes, unless they're Greek or Italian! But you're such a great cook I imagine you could figure out how to make anything taste good! The strawberry spinach salad sounds divine; thanks for the recipe! Sounds like you had a very nice Easter dinner. I wouldn't be too concerned about the calories, since you kept your carbs so low, and besides, 2000 cals is not really too much; it's a maintenance level.

Well, I have happy news to report (no, I didn't lose any weight! )--I was so motivated by your suggestions, D, and your menu, YH, that I went to the Safeway this morning and got some ham and cooked Easter dinner just for dh and me! Although the meds are increasing my appetite, I think they are relieving my pain enough for me to want to shop, and I realized I could just get a ham slice and it's so easy to just heat that on the stove. We already had some green beans, and we had some banana squash, so I steamed the beans, microwaved the squash, heated the ham and we had a simple, but delicious Easter lunch! I made dh clear his papers off the table (hard to do), and got out the nice plates and pretty placemats and napkins. He put on some Hawaiian music and we had a lovely time. We had some nice tangerines for dessert, and some dark chocolate and tea. This made me feel really good, and he liked it too. I would not have done this if it weren't for your encouragement, so thanks so much, and I hope your day was as lovely as mine was!

So who came for dinner, YH? Hope everything turned out well, and you all had a nice day. Did you get over your aches and pains? You should get some kind of a nice reward for exercising so hard, not pain! And congratulations for losing 14 lbs. so far! That's tremendous!

Corrisann, hope you had a great time today with all your company, and that the cold weather didn't dampen your Easter spirit! Look forward to hearing how it all went. Take care, everyone! T.

[yellowhair11]

Sounds like you did well with the Easter fixins T & D.

So glad you made the dinner T and I like Hawaiian music, glad it turned out nice for you and dh. Papers on table-my place is piles of stuff all over - I did not bother with trying to put the leaf in the table, etc. It turned out to be just the boys and puppy so they served themselves buffet style in the kitchen. BF never came out of the bedroom so I just served him his plate, they ate alot and no leftovers except some ham so everything turned out good-they did not show up till 445pm. I ate alot of the green beans which had real butter and breadcrumbs and too much ham-but that was it. The tangerines sound great-I saw the clemetines this weekend but the box was so pricey so I passed.

I think you did fine D with the 2000 cal / 30 carbs - thats not much for an Easter day. I gobbled 4 papaya pills after I consumed too much ham but that was my only meal and proceeded to have 1 fruiti and the mini quaker cakes later on for my snacks. Feeling better this am-my whole body hurt yesterday-so I think it was the Curves and doing too much Sat. when I went. I was so excited about the 3 lbs. that I went gung ho. I hope you get to go today !

[Denise78]

Teresa, what a nice Easter dinner you and dh had. Sounds very romantic. I'm glad you could get to the store and do something special. I bet that made you both feel good.

YH, glad the boys showed up. And grand-puppy too. Sounds like you had a nice meal with your family and I bet those boys enjoyed your home-cooking.

I am beating myself up this morning for overeating this wkd. So yes, I am positively going to Curves today. I need to get that scale going back down in the right direction and need to get my spirit back up. It just kills me that I worked so hard all week long and let one meal turn me around so much. I called my friend last night and she was fine with going earlier and skipping lunch so that I could be home in time before ds1 goes back to college. I feel very bloated this morning and I'm hoping a gung-ho session of my own at Curves will get me back on track. It will be worth any amount of pain to me right now.

Corrisann, I hope you not only survived the wkd with your company, but had a wonderful time visiting with everyone too! We miss you so I hope they get the heck out of your house and let you get back to posting here!

Have a great day everyone! D

[MI CHICK]

Have been so busy I never even got to read the posts till this morning--so nice to get on & read many!

Seems like you all had a good weekend. Lots of good exercising going on & good family times together. And so happy to see that the eating seemed to really be pretty much under control for all too. Any slips were nothing like we would have done to our bodies in the past. We are growing & learning

Glad you were able to make a special day for you & dh Teresa! Think we forget to make the effort when it's just "us". Like only company & our kids are worth the sitting down to a nice table! Too bad about the additional med's...I've never had to deal with those issues. But I know my day will come.

It's hard to face the thought but Denise hit the nail on the head about the foods investigation. It really does help immensely so it is worth the few hours it takes in the beginning!!! YH the Slim Fast is good when it's ice cold--I used it (the choc of course LOL) in the past & it tasted quite good & held me that 4hrs quite well. When I shifted to the lc I didn't buy it anymore.

That salad sounds so good D!!! Thanks for the recipe! It's always great to have a good cook on board
My buffet on Sun was eaten almost bare as I had 12 people. Left overs are fruit salad & green salad---so only the good stuff for me to get into! Am just going to cook us some fish to go with it tonight.

Congrats on the lbs lost YH & D Am so proud of you as I know how hard it is to take even an ounce off!!! You are a true inspiration to me! The exercising is the key I'm sure, & I really hate to hear that.....LOL!!!

My eating was actually pretty good with all the company. Was way too busy to get into anything I shouldn't. And I really don't over eat in front of folks either....I am a closet eater. Before folks come or after they leave kind of a sneak. Last nite before I went to bed I did eat some Easter M&M's I'd put out in my pretty crystal bowl. Not good but my only real slip. My amounts of legal stuff is still too much I'm pretty sure--but I'm happy to be eating what I should at least. The sun is shining this a.m. & I really feel motivated to get my grip back this week.

Everyone have a great day!! Will be back later & post my menu at the end of the day
corrisann

[Denise78]

Back from working out. I really pushed myself today. Went around 3 times on 9 machines. The first time my rate was at 20, so I pumped it up and the 2nd time around it was at 28, which was too high. I slowed it down a little (but still kept going strong) for the 3rd time around and was at 23, which was optimum for my age. I feel so invigorated now and ready to face a whole new week! We came straight home, no stopping for lunch or to run errands, so I was home a little after 11:30, perfect timing. Because we went earlier, there were a few more gals there. 7 of us altogether at one point. But that was fun too, everyone was getting in the groove and jumping around to the music.

I ordered 2 outfits from Roaman's catalog and they came today. I tried them on and was pleasantly surprised that they both fit me perfectly and ds2 told me I looked really nice -- which you don't hear often from 16 yr old boys! I need them for 2 sorority events we have 3 wks from now. I'm wondering if maybe I should have gotten a smaller size because these are not tight at all, actually a little loose. Imagine that! But I will keep them since I'm not sure if the next size down won't be too tight. I figure I can always shrink them in the washer/dryer or pin them if need be.

C, your enthusiasm is right-on and just what I needed to read this morning. I think this gorgeous weather is getting me motivated also....birds are chirping....sun is shining......and I'm really excited to do well this week too. Here's to a great week ahead for all of us!!

D

[Denise78]

Quick question YH -- how many grams of fat does WW allow per day? Just thinking that I had way too many fats yesterday but am trying to figure out what is a good ratio for me.

[yellowhair11]

Thats tough - you plug in the calories, fat, and fiber and it gives you the points. You are allowed so many pts. per day based on your age, height,weight. Here is a general idea: One point is equal to the # of calories in a serving divided by 50. The value increases by about one point for every 12 grams of fat and drops by about 1 point for every 5 grams of fiber. Does this help ?

More later

[yellowhair11]

For a weight of 300-324 daily points target would be 32

[Denise78]

Whoa -- glad you gave me that info. I've been averaging 50 or higher everyday. It's the pepperoni I have to cut out. Too fatty to have for a snack. I ate over 100 grams of fat yesterday -- between the ham and the sugar-free chocolate. No wonder I felt so bloated and sick this morning.

So as you lose weight, the amounts of fats, carbs and calories that you are allowed to have, go down to lower amounts? Not fair!!

Thanks for the info. I'm really trying to do low-carb but also a more balanced, healthier way of eating and that would include watching the calories and fat too.

But wait a minute....is that 32 pts per day I could eat or 32 grams of fat? Yikes, I probably am way overeating on the fats!!

[yellowhair11]

It sounds like your dinner was a big hit C and everyone was happy, thats great! Good thing the good stuff is just left - I have the honey ham just taunting me in the fridge. I thought about those freakin M&M's in the nice crystal bowl too Is the company still there ?

You went to town at Curves D-good for youYou know I could get my rate up but I have this dooming thought ill have a heart attack along with the cigarettes-so I have not because of this thought. Now I have a smoke right before Curves and immediately afterI hope you are not too sore tommorrow like I was. I plan on going tommorrow. Do you have time to exchange the Roaman's outfits for the next size down-then you would have to lose the weight I have ordered from them in the past and they were pretty fast. Or would you be stuck if they don't fit ? Your such a chef you probably know how to do alterations too

AM- cantelope and a peach

Lunch - Salad with 1 hardboiled egg and 1 sl. deli turkey breast
Drink potion

Dinner - Ham and mash potatoes for the guys. I will boil some cabbage for myself and try to have just a little ham - I thought about the slimfast - can't do it tonite, the ham is driving me crazy.

[yellowhair11]

Correction: I am having ham and a sweet potatoe with the FF "I can't believe its butter" for dinner.

[yellowhair11]

No, that would be 32 points per day for an average weight loss of 2 pounds per week, yeah, the per day points keep dropping as you lose the weight, what the heck is the matter with that outfit - I think you should can the pepperoni too.

[Denise78]

I agree YH, don't get your rate up too high if you are still smoking. No amount of exercise is going to do you any good if it ends with you having a heart attack.

Well I just went and ordered another 2 outfits in the smaller size. They will take 8 business days to get here. Then I will compare which ones fit me better come April 17th and 20th (the sorority events) and return the size I don't need. Roaman's has a very good 90-day return policy so I should be okay doing that since I won't be wearing the outfits before then. This time, I had a coupon for 99 cents shipping so that saved me $9 which will even out because I will have to pay for shipping when I return the outfits I don't keep. But at least if the next size down is too small, I'll still have the larger size on hand.

I had ham for lunch so I'm thinking maybe a turkey burger for supper but I guess it depends on my mood later. Dh and ds2 are having grilled ham & cheese sandwiches and tomato soup. I'm doing very well with my eating today but of course, night time is my hardest so we'll see how that goes later. I sent ds1 off to college with a big bag of ham and a bag of dinner rolls (gotta get those goodies out of my house!).

The pepperoni is going to stop too. It's sending me over the edge with the fats. Too bad because I really love it.

And no, I am not a seamstress at all. You should see what I can do with a stapler when a hem goes out though.

---D

[Teresa3]

D, a stapler and a hem! Got a laugh out of that one! I can't cook, but at least I can put a hem in and sew on a button! Not much to brag about, though!

Man, a grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup sounds delicious! Yum! I looked for some low carb stuff at Safeway today (I've gone 2 days in a row now! ) and found some whole grain flax seed bread that's only 6 carbs, and some cheesy, seedy crackers that are only 2 or 3. It looks like I need to incorporate some high fiber carbs in order to not be bingeing so much and follow the recommended guidelines for the diabetic diet. I see the endo Thurs. I know that's what they're going to tell me to do. Tomorrow's our 30th wedding anniversary and we're going to a bistro up the coast, so I guess I will not try to restrict too much there, but I imagine I won't be too off plan.

D, I don't think you should be beating yourself up at all for eating a few hundred extra calories at Easter--that's only one day of eating at a maintenance level--it shouldn't hurt you. But I do admire your determination to exercise and get right back to your plan! And congratulations on fitting into the new clothes--doesn't that feel great! I ordered a couple of tops and a lower sized pair of spring jeans this week, too. But I am sooo not ready for them, since I just put back some weight on this neurontin. The doc said the usual gain is about 5 lbs. on that, and I've gained 4. But I think I felt my appetite slowing down today, so I hope I am adjusting, and it definitely is relieving my burning pain, so I am Ok with having to deal with a setback.

YH, sounds like all the guys loved your home-style Easter dinner--they scarfed it all up! Is it too bad bf didn't come out to be social, or was that a blessing? I hope you had a nice day anyway! Congrats on being such a consistent exerciser! Looks like you have to be a math genius to figure out how to do WW--congrats on that, too! I'm enjoying leftover ham, too.

C, You do sound cheerful--glad you had a nice weekend, and have healthy leftovers. I guess the weather is finally starting to warm up a bit there? I Hope you are able to get out and walk now. What are you doing for exercise these days? How's work going? I know you lost one client recently--did you get someone else? Good going on keeping your eating consistently healthy; a few dark chocolate m&m's are full of antioxidants!
Take care, all! T.

[Denise78]

Good morning Ladies...

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY, TERESA!! Hope you have a wonderful day with your dh. A drive up the coast to a bistro sounds so romantic and such a fun thing to do.

YH, I miss your middle-of-the-night post. Does this mean you slept the night thru??

Wow shopping 2 days in a row, T. That new med must really be working. Glad to hear it is getting you up and around better. That would be worth a slight gain, don't you think? I look at your picture and I wonder where the weight is going to come off of anyway? You are already so thin and just where I would like to be at!!

I'm still feeling so bloated from all those fatty foods this wkd. I'm going to get my nails done today so I will pick up some metamucil or something to flush me out. It's killing me but this always happens at the beginning of each week...I go up a lb or 2 and then by the end of the week....I am back down. I always worry that some week I won't go down again. I have got to get stricter on the wkds.

I am feeling sore today. Knew I would be because I did such a heavy-duty workout on Monday. Thank goodness there are no men at Curves because I get my fat to jiggling all around and I'm sure I look quite comical with all that blubber bouncing.

T, I will be curious to see how many carbs your dr recommends per day. The dietician and my dr both told me 45 carbs with each meal, 200 per day. I think that's why I had high sugars in the beginning because that is way too many carbs for a diabetic, or at least it was for me anyway. You may be able to carry those because you are not as heavy as me but believe me, when I was first diagnosed, I was probably around 180 lbs so A LOT less than I am now. I wish I could find that low-carb bread around here. The lowest I've found is 9 carbs and that is still too high for me because I am not satisfied with just 1 slice, so that puts me at 18 carbs in one sitting and raises my sugars too much. I'll make a deal with ya T, you do all the alterations on these skinny clothes I am going to need in the future and I'll become your personal chef.

C, hope work went well for you yesterday (and today) and that you are enjoying the warmer weather! What'd ya do with the leftover Easter M&M's? Did you save any for us???

YH, have a good day at work. I hope you are not too sore to go to Curves today!

----D

[Denise78]

Yesterday's menu:

B-1 scrambled egg beater, coffee
S-1/2 deviled egg
L-ham w/mustard & lettuce on low-carb pita
S-5 meringues
D-20 shrimp w/dab of ketchup & horseradish, lettuce w/low-carb dressing, low-carb pita, 1/2 deviled egg
S-2 bran crackers with tsp of soy p'nut butter, 10 almonds, 1 pickle, lettuce in low-carb pita

P.S. I went crazy not being able to have my pepperoni. I will have to find some kind of substitute for that today.

[yellowhair11]

Can you really use a stapler to hem things, I cannot sew a button on.

I am glad you are getting out and about T - and have a lovely dinner with your dh. We want a full report from the endo. dr.

What are you up to C ? I imagine you get alot of exercise on your job? Did you get on the glider yet? Where are thos M&M's ?

Your a wizard D - you did the right thing with the outfits -