40 degrees here today too. (60 yesterday and will be 60 again by Sat). Must be why I can't get rid of this head cold. I am supposed to ride tomorrow night - I did very well last Friday - trotted on my own for the first time. I'm riding Fantasy, we nickname her Fannie. She's a bit stubborn, and I was proud of myself for sticking to my guns. It's scary because I thought if I keep persisting, that she'll get mad, but she didn't. So the next time she got stubborn, I was able to get her back on track much quicker.

Pretty muddy so I was nervous going over the cavaletti's (sp?) in a 2-point! It sure is great exercise, and riding at night is nice. You can see all the stars out there - my house is too urbanized to enjoy the night sky. Too much light pollution. DD enjoyed herself and actually saw a shooting star!

I will go tomorrow again, even though it will be a bit chilly! (I hate the cold).

Kathy--

In the last thread, thanks for understanding my low-sodium kvetching! I'm feeling much better about things now--I found some interesting low-sodium stuff online and ordered a few things. And today I'm making a trip to Trader Joe's because according to their website they have lots of stuff I could use. (Guacamole, yum!) I'm sure I'll end up on some kind of medication, as your DH, but I still want to try this.

As far as my weight, at least it has stabilized and I'm back where I was before starting this diet. And I'm back to doing my Leslie Sansone exercise tapes; did them the past two days and will do one this morning as well.

BTW, it's been beautiful around here the past few days too, just now starting to get a bit colder and rainy. Sunday I was able to sit outside quite a while, getting some sun and drinking a Fresca. The other day I saw the first robin, and the snowdrops are up. Spring will come!

One pound down this week!

Yay, BarnMom!

Wondered if anyone has tried No Pudge Fudge Brownie Mix.

I found it at Trader Joes, and now I see they are going to sell it at our regular market also. All you mix in is nonfat vanilla yogurt. The neat part is, they give instructions on the box for making one brownie at a time, in the microwave. They say flat out it's for when you're afraid you'll eat a whole pan of brownies--I think they've got me pegged, LOL!

Haven't tried it yet, but it seems like a handy thing to keep around, and much cheaper than those frozen Weight Watchers desserts.

Here is a link that might be useful: No Pudge's website

Hi, guys, I'm new to this particular forum. How do I join the Diet Pal gals? I thought it might inspire me to know other folks are going through what I am...trying to lose some weight. Appreciate any info on how this works and if anyone can join. Thanks so much.

Oh, just jump right in and you have "joined"! : )
Welcome! I have been M.I.A. for the past 2 weeks and am just catching up myself...

Tikanas

Thank you Tikanas! Hopefully, it will be helpful to check in now and again and report on my progress...at least I hope their is progress...lol I have never been overweight until the last 2 1/2 years and need to lose about 30 - 35 pounds. Don't know what happened, I went from 110 to 155, well, I do know what happened, I ate too much. At 110 pounds I was way too thin. I look much better around 120 to 125. I am 5'4 1/2", so anyway I hope you guys can keep me encouraged and I will sure try and do the same for you. I have much more feeling for folks that are overweight than I ever have. Always thought, well all they have to do is stop eating so much, now I know that no one really wants to be overweight and if it were that easy, no one would need to lose weight. Thanks again for inviting me in, I really appreciate it.

Erica, I baked those brownies for company, and no one knew they were 'diet'!!! Absolutely wonderful. I don't have much of a sweet tooth (love breads and pasta), but I brought the leftovers into the office...again, no one knew.

These brownies are very fudgie, like candy. I cut them into squares that were about 2 points each. Some folks topped them with ff Cool Whip!!!

Enjoy!

I've also been MIA...taking care of DH after surgery, trying to get over pneumonia. No exercise, eating poorly, I'm trying to get back on track, but it's not just busines-as-usual around the house lately. Today I went to 'chair yoga' here at work. So relaxing, and I felt a bit more energized; more so than I have in a month. Hope to get back slowly with yogilates next week, then I hope to get clearance from my doctor to start back at circuit training.

Make today count!
D

I'm trying! I did some things well, but did scarf some hershey kisses.

At least I'm finally completely well, from whatever I have had for the last 3 weeks. So I am trying not to be too hard on myself for getting back in the swing of things.

After 2-1/2 weeks, I've finally lost one pound off the weight I started with! (There was that bump there when it actually went up.)

I've gradually been making progress on lowering my sodium intake, but it seems as sodium goes down, calories are going up. I'm continually having the dilemma of, do I choose the food with lower salt and higher calories, or vice versa. A good example is light Miracle Whip (fewer calories, more sodium) vs. real Hellman's mayo (more calories, less sodium). I guess it's going to take a few more weeks of juggling to get everything balanced out--but I'm gonna do it.

Hi, Raybeck, welcome! I hate to tell you but something else happened in that 2-1/2 years besides "eating too much"--you got 2-1/2 years older! DH and I ate like pigs back in college--we used to *each* get a Burger King deal where we bought one Whopper and got one free. That's right, two Whoppers, an order of fries and a huge drink (not diet) for each of us. And we were thin! I read somewhere that your calorie need really does go down each decade, so you either have to eat a little less, exercise a little more, or else gain weight as you get older. Unfortunately I didn't read that till the damage was done. ;)

So don't beat yourself up--you might have been eating the same as always, not realizing it was time to adjust. It's great you're taking charge of it now!

TREKaren--I hear you on the Hershey kisses. One thing I'm not giving up is my daily piece of Dove dark chocolate--42 calories, and worth every one. :)

DeeMarie--Take care of yourself. Thanks for the vote of confidence in the brownie mix. Can't wait to try it this weekend.

Erica

Good Monday Morning!

Hope everyone is getting ready for a wonderful, healthy week.

Wish I could exercise, but I'm having trouble getting it together. Yesterday, DH and I went with SIL and BIL to the City to see the "art" in Central Park. We had an early breakfast near home in Jersey and got to the very cold park before 9am. I just don't 'get' modern art, and we had some laughs walking under those "saffron" shower curtains--LOL!!! Even though I was home by 1pm, I was exhausted and needed to go to bed until about 4pm. Never realized how difficult it was to get over pneumonia.

I have not been able to get my healthy food in each day -- 2 fruits; 3 veggies; 3 dairy, protein, etc. When you are sick, you continue to go toward the toast, mashed potatoes, etc...things that make you feel good that don't give you a bellyache. I realize that it will take time, but it's frustrating that the weight just stays there.

I intend to work forward, however, and not backwards!!!

Make today count!
Dee

Dee Marie--Thanks for mentioning the Christo thing in Central Park. I'd heard a piece on the radio about it a few weeks ago, meant to look for pictures online and then forgot. I think I would have laughed too--to me, it looks like a lot of yellow cafe curtains hung out to dry! The pattern of the whole thing looked pretty neat in a photo taken from far above, though.

On the dieting front, I've been having some take-out and restaurant meals, and I think it's working out ok. I've managed to lose another pound while indulging in: an egg roll (no General Tso chicken), one (just one) piece of cake, and a huge eggplant parmesan sandwich.

Had lunch out today and only had a large veggie-only salad with fat free dressing. The waitress couldn't understand why I didn't take the buffet lunch special for the same price--the reason was, I didn't want to be tempted by all the other stuff they had out. Now I can snack tonight and know I'm still within my limits. :)

Erica

I'm back on track after a few mistrials.

I read a great article in Woman's Day about taking care of our heart risks as women. A lot of good advice. I have a lot of family history on both sides. I have never smoked but my weight, age and family history are against me.

So I have to get real here, and change my life forever (I know, I have said that before, but it has not been easy).

Anyway, they gave this tip. When you are eating out, or can't really measure/portion things out, do this.

Divide the plate into quarters. Your plate should contain 1/2 vegetables, 1/4 protein, and 1/4 whole grain.

I have been following this rule when eating out, the last few days, and it has really helped keep me honest with myself.

I also got a recipe I plan to try tonight.

Mix equal parts FF yogurt and cool whip.
Put cupcake liners in a muffin pan.
Put a Nilla wafer on bottom of cupcake liner. Spoon yogurt mixture into cup.
Insert one more Nilla wafer into the cup kind of sticking up in the middle.
Freeze, eat later and enjoy!

I'll let you know how it turns out!

Just came back from the doctor's, and on his scale I've lost 4 pounds over the past 3-1/2 weeks. I'm very pleased, although I don't think I can rightly claim one of the pounds--last time I was wearing heavy snow boots.

Nevertheless, the blood pressure was still up; I'm starting medication and was told to cut down on sodium more than I did the past month. So it's back to more shopping and trying to figure out what I can eat.

We have a Whole Foods Market not far away, which I think I'll try. They're supposed to carry a lot of "healthy" stuff. Has anybody been to one? Any suggestions for things I ought not to miss?

Erica