Hi Everyone,

Well, I did pretty well over the Easter weekend ... meaning that I didn't 'pig out' at all ... unfortunately, I have been struggling with the left overs ... the bad ones! I'd bought some choccies (for our guests of course) to have with coffee after the meal ... unfortunately I forget to get them out so they were left in my cupboard! Hubby opened them on Monday night and I have had cravings ever since! The fact that TOM arrived didn't help because I've had the worst chocolate craving just knowing they were in the cupboard! Needless to say I succumbed and now I'm feeling really angry with myself. The left over cheese board also got the better of me!! Salads it is for the rest of the week then! ... Any suggestions anyone?

It's the River Clyde on the west coast of Scotland. A very beautiful part of the world. You used to hear a lot of foghorns from the ships going up the Clyde.

Hello fellow 40s. Nice to find a group of women who understand this stage in life. How can I have pimples and wrinkles at the same time? And when did my mother's liver-spotted hands show up on my arms?

I'll be so happy when all the Easter candy lurking at work is gone. The chocolate eggs call my name every time I walk by them.

Hi Everyone, Easter isn't over untill all the left overs are gone!! I take all the left over candy to work. It doesn't last long there. I'm like everyone else, if its at home it just calls out to me! And i'm not allowed chocolate right now anyway.

But, I just don't think totally limiting everything is the answer. When I can have chocolate, I have 1 small piece every day with my afternoon tea. After all, both are health foods! And if I know I can have that small piece I don't crave it so bad. It makes me really pick and choose.

Salads are wonderful but they don't stick with you very well. Just a small serving of protein helps. Just adding a few beans or a small piece of baked chicken will not only fill you up but will keep you feeling fuller longer. Without adding a lot of calories.

Speaking of seeing my mother in me, how did her arms end up on me? Her worst feature! No matter how small I get I still have big arms. That's the reason I lift weights. They may have to be big but at least they can be toned!

Everyone, go make it a great day

Leftovers have all gone thank goodness, so Easter is well and truly over for me! Back to counting calories like I should have been doing all week ... but haven't! Don't hold out much hope of a loss this week, but it'll soon be a new week and I'm back on plan.

Hands up who has a teenage daughter ... Well, I've got troubles with mine at the moment ... she's been having a great time over the Easter hols out and about with her friends etc. totally happy ... last night she was on msn and on her mobile until quite late, laughing and giggling ... then when she went to bed I heard her crying ... she was soooo upset ... says her friends are being mean to her but wouldn't give any details ... now she doesn't want to go back to school on Monday!@#$* I need to get to the bottom of this ... girls can be such b@#$%*s!!!!! I just don't understand it ... she's got great friends (or so I thought!) and it always happy ... what went wrong?? Oh, to be a teenager again!!!

Crisis over!! Ten minutes after she got up this morning she was on her mobile talking to her friends laughing a giggling and asking me if she could have her pocket money a day early as she was going out to a carnival with them!! The fact that I lay awake half the night worrying about what had happened didn't seem to concern her!! ... She said it was nothing and didn't matter!! My son (he's 18yo) reckons it was more likely to do with a boy that she's got a 'thing' about!! B!@@*y kids ... it's no wonder I'm already grey!!

Nichola I have 3 girls 2 teenagers. They're different beings. Lots of drama.

Morning!
I only had one daughter. She's safely married off now Upon reflection, it wasn't too bad. A few dramas, some tears but it passes.

I have one teenage daughter (16) who gives me absolutely no grief whatsoever. Nicest kid, funny, fun to be around. We often finish each other's sentences or say what the other was going to say right b/4 the other does. Lucky? You bet! But her 10 year old sister makes up for it tenfold!!! Am NOT looking forward to her teenage years!

Jo

Hey Guys...

WELCOME Ashley103!...go figure hey...sometimes when I talk...I think the same thing...it is my mother all over again...my mother worked in a women's shelter for 20 years so she is pretty cool...

Nichola...read through some of the previou posts...as everyone gave me some real awesome choices about that to add to salads...also for me...when I am wavering I drink 10 ozs of h2o quickly and chew some gum...if in 30 mins I am still hungry then I eat something...but I find for me it is the choices that I have to eat...I have an evil very real "fat tooth" so for me carrot sticks and skinny hummus (I have an awesome recipe for this) won't cut it when I need fat...so I look at what I have available...I made this reduced hashbrown recipe (I have an awesome recipe for this one) that was really good and satisfying...but when in doubt...I use rice pudding that is 130 calories for 8oz with no trans fats and it does the job and I am fine for the day...but it is knowing your "tooth" my daughter has a "chocolate" tooth...one of my co-workers they have a "salty"... my daughter is 22 years old now and she was not a stitch of trouble and a real blessing...it did help that she has an allergy to alcohol so that has greatly decreased so much worry for me...

Jo...I was thinking of you the other night..."Ab Fab" was on in fact they had several episodes on...Edina Monsoon (Jennifer Saunders), Saffron (Saffy), Patsy (Joanna Lumley), Bubbles (Edina's secretary), and Mother (Gran)...they are positively grand...

SusanB...how goes it...how is the walking going?

The Slim Me...yeah I have been adding some really different things like nuts, spinach, marinated salmon...it has really helped...it is just that I eat at least one salad a day and it had been so "ho hum" lately...

Clydegirl...Now that makes so much sense to me...that sounds positively lovely...

So for me...the week has come and gone...I had some trials getting in my water as I was stuck in one meeting after another or I have been running around trying to put out "fires" since Easter...regardless...I weighed in and I am down 3 more lbs...Yeah!...so another week under my belt... I think what it really helped with everyones salad suggestions because I find that things have been getting kinda boring and I don't have the time to make elaborate meals...so I am eating more greens willingly and not grudgingly...

Now does anyone have any good salad dressing ideas... I have been working with Balsmic Vinegar, olive oil, garlic, citrus juice, hot sauce/hot mustard, herbs...but this is getting boring...

I will tell you the one thing that my daughter and myself tried this week and we had egg beaters (I was very resistant to trying them) and man they weren't have bad...much better than I expected...

Hi Everyone,

Welcome to Ashley!

Thanks to all for the reassurances about the teenage girl thing ... I guess there'll be one or two more dramas to come!

Kimush, well done on another 3lbs lost!! That's fantastic! What sort of plan are you following? I've taken your advice and looked back at the salad suggestions ... I'm off to do my weekly shopping now and I'll be stocking up on lots of good stuff ... thankfully, all the bad stuff from Easter has now vacated my kitchen!

Weighed in this morning and as suspected no loss to report ... I'll do better next week!

Hey Everyone,

Nichola...I am on the Best Life Plan...and it is the best one that I have been on...

The salad suggestions have been so helpful because sometimes all that lettuce can be boring...

And last week you lost 6 lbs...that is damn impressive...I think of it as 6lbs of butter...that is unbelieveable...so maybe your body is adjusting and is getting ready to pick up momentum...You will do it!

Walking is fabulous! I can't recommend it highly enough. It's easy, can be done almost anywhere and you can't beat the price. This time of year ... I'm just rarin' to go. Even after all these years and all the stuff I've learned/read/been told ... I'm amazed how well my body responds to simple activity.

Hi guys! How's everyone doing? Ashley!! Glad you joined our little group here. Lots of great ladies here who post often (I LOVE that part. )

Well, for some stupid reason the bloody scale decided to go UP 2 lbs. this week. Not sure of the cause. I was expecting maybe a 1 lb. gain from Easter food and some cheetos and chips and peanuts I ate earlier in the week, but cripes I sure didn't eat 7,000 calories worth of them!! I did increase my uppor body weights on Monday and only did cardio 2 times this week. I have had ham 3 or 4 times this week -- in salads -- so maybe some of the gain ... maybe .5 lb or so? ... could be water retention. I'm just so gggrrrr ! It amazes me that I ate like a piggy before I started all this and sure, gained the weight but not 2 lbs. in like 4 days??? Guess I need to pull myself up by the bootstraps and buckle down. BTW, cheetos and bbq chips are now officially banned from this house. To my credit, I haven't had any of the kids Easter candy. <sigh> I just feel like "so what" though, you know?

I'm tweaking my workouts starting next Monday. It seems like every 6 lbs. or so my body has acclimated to whatever I'm doing and changing it up re-boots things. I bought a book called the 28 Day Body Shapeover by Brad Schoenfeld. The eating part is pretty much what I've been doing - although it's stricter than what I've been doing - but it's the exercising part that I'm really looking at. It's working w/wts and interval cardio, just mixing it all up differently than I have been doing. We'll see.

Am off to the eye store to get new rx sunglasses and reg. glasses. Long, stupid-eye-doc story but suffice it to say the new doc I went to and his office people screwed up my prescription big time and I'm getting it fixed. I've been monkeying around w/this for over a year and just found out that my husband's eye insurance coverage switched as of 1/07 and I'm now covered for one pair of glasses. I thought I had to wait until next March.

Since I'm in a ranting mode today, just thought I throw out the I'm bloody well sick and tired of this freakin' stupid *** weather!!!! Last Monday and Tuesday (b/4 Easter) were beautiful. We've had the heat on since last Wed and it's cold, windy and so un-spring-like I just can't stand it! I want to throw my winter coat out the window I'm so tired of it. No interest in walking the doggie in this weather. The wind today is like 30 mph and it's chilly alright.

Ok, I'm done now. Thanks for listening; I'll be a happier camper next time I post. Really.

Jo

Hope you don't mind me jumping in here. I'm 45 and in perimenopause and can't believe how much harder it is lose weight during this stage. It's like the scale just don't wanna move, no matter what I do. My doctor said it would be more difficult but I didn't think it would be this difficult. But I'm not giving up, I really want to lose this weight and get back to where I should be.