Haylo- Star is terrific on that kind of thing. Also, congrats on being down 3! And for holding your ground on the lites. One thing several of us do, is substitute Luna bars for the lites - they have about the same amount of cals and other macronutrients. . you can get lots off of ebay, or from Amazon (I think Michelle does that??) But, truthfully, if you can do it without a daily lite/luna fix, you're better off.
Oh, Sy, I added WW low carb tortilla's to my stash this week. Do you count one as two S or one? I think they'd be awesome with those laughing cow wedges spread over it and some vegies on top of it. . .
Howdy-
I just tried the luna bars for the first time. I thought I was going to die of happiness after eating the smore's one. YUM So I went to the store and bought 5 more.
Solocat-welcome!
Fiona-Great advice. I am still kicking myself for just eating 1 bad meal last week. I gained 2 pounds from it. Yuck!
Haylo-I'm sure you'll have a good time. Just try to stick close to the plan, but still enjoy yourself.
Julie-I do have something that I really want!! A suede leather jacket. I found two that I wanted the other day and drooled. My husband will be getting it for me once I reach goal. Although I know I could get the size I want now. I think I'm pretty much in the size up top that I'm going to be 11 pounds from now. I also want a new pair of shoes. I usually just walk around in flip flops. Even in Washington with all of this rain. The one thing I've done is I would buy one pair of jeans for almost every new size that I would get in to. I didn't have to buy the higher sizes because I had a lot of those clothes that were sort of still in style. Once I hit 14's and 12's I needed to get some different pants. I think I bought some 16's also, because I was at that size on my birthday, so I treated myself. Right now. I'm trying my hardest not to buy any new pants because I'm so close to a true size 8.
Anyway I'm just rambling on. I have nothing better to do right now. My DH won't be home for another few hours and I'm avoiding housework. I will talk to you all later. I'll be online this weekend also. I'm always here.
Julie - yep, that was 6 pounds since 3/31. I have a funny feeling it was H2O weight, but a loss is a loss!
When I refused the LA Lites, I was switched from the purple plan to the red one and it added up to one more starch and a half of a protein. I bought some Balance bars, just because the textire and taste is very similar to the LA Lites. I wonder if the same company makes them both and packages them differently? I did like the LA Lites, especially the Chocolate Crunch! But it would have crunched the pocket book I saw Julie's hint about the Lunas....and I do like those. So next time!
RWF...good luck with tomorrow's WI. I am thinking I may make the effort to go up and get a WI - waiting until Monday is too long!
How long did it take you all to figure out how many P's, S's, etc, etc recipes you have were equal to? I have lots of low-cal recipes, guess I need to sit down and do some calculating.
Solocat: You asked the same question I had. I think the suggestion from LAWL is to eat things seperatly. But I too have lots of low-cal recipes and always wonder how I could work them in.
Everyone else thanks for the suggestions on the bars.
Hi - I guess I should tell you all that if you decided NOT to go with the lites, and you were moved to the higher plan (like red), don't eat the lites or bars in addition to the full food. The extra starch and half protein is supposed to make up for the lites. Does this make sense?
And yes, the recipe/combination thing -- all of us always want new ideas, so keep em coming. There is a LAWL cookbook, too . . . you can sometimes find them on ebay, and often times your center will have leaflets with recipes for the various holidays.
My experience with most published recipes is that the protein sizes are way different, but they are good springboards for ideas.
Haylo, just one more thought on your adventure tomorrow - try not to go hungry. I find that if I start off hungry at a food fest, I go downhill quickly. (note -you may have better control than I have!)
Mandy- that suede jacket sounds terrific, and so do shoes, and I totally understand about the pants fitting right! My question was - how about some sort of reward NOW that doesn't require a particular size?
TextJewel: Thanks for the tip, my counselor also suggested taking a bar with me just in case. I wanted to ask you since you mentioned it or anyone for that matter. I notice that you wrote that if they put you on a higher plan because you refuse the lites then you don't eat the bars. I was wondering, because I am on the red plan not because I have refused the bars, but because of the amount of exercise I do. So if I decide not to do a lite, is the procedure to exchange it for a 1/2 protein and a startch. I know I can substitute for another bar like the others have suggested, and Mandy suggested substituting with string cheese. Just wondering, because I am having a little difficulty getting alternate substituions from my center they are really pushing the lites.
haylo, they will push the lites - they make money on them! And when we start substituting things it just makes it too difficult for them to check our diaries and to pinpoint the problem (if we are having one). . . At some point, a couple of months ago, Aphil (our moderator) suggested an egg and a yogurt for a lite substitution - basically what you're looking for is about 180 calories with a fair amount of protein and not much fat. . . you can try 100-110 cals of cheese instead of the yogurt (I think that's what Mandy is doing with the string cheese). Also, if you want something crunchy and sweet, you can use luna bars - they usually run for about 1.50 in the stores, but sometimes you can find them on sale, or buy them off ebay, etc. .
It does take time but eventually they WILL stop trying to push stuff at you. Starving student will work very well. My center has stopped pushing the supplements at me (but occasionallyl I get a new counselor). I have read that you can get them to put something in your file like NO SALE to indicate that you don't want to buy anything extra.
Julie that was very helpful, Thank you very much for all you insight. I think when my samples run out I will try those Luna bars that everyone is talking about.
Haylo (is that your real name???) - anyway, you angel, I'm putting stuff off too - I'm going to brush my teeth and get ready for bed. . .what are you working towards in school?
Always glad to help - the real purpose of the whole thing is not to drive us crazy, it's just to eat right and lose weight!
Hey gals - ! I'm trying to get DD put to bed and then I have to pack - I think the last time I took an overnight trip anywhere was for Mary Kay Seminar last July - I'm out of practice!! We're only going to be gone one night but I still feel frazzled. I think what threw me is that we were at the store picking up snacks for the drive, and I grabbed some grape juice for DD and then realized after we got home that it probably wasn't the best choice, color-wise...
Anyway, I was good and got myself some of that lite raspberry lemonade (Minute Maid brand, I think) and some whole grain, mixed-berry granola bars. It's not water and veggies, I know, but it's a better choice than Mt. Dew and chocolate chip cookies and Pringles, which was my preferred road trip snack back in the "good old days!"
I REALLY have to get DD in bed and then concentrate some more on what I'm doing, so I can't chat - but everybody have a GREAT OP weekend and I'll catch up with you on Sunday night!
So I went to the store and bought 5 more. 
I saw Julie's hint about the Lunas....and I do like those. So next time!
