[Jen-L]

Hey everyone. Are we all gone this Friday?? I have 1/2 day and I am excited. We are leaving Emma in daycare for the afternoon so we can do some things around the house... mow lawn... and I need to weed big time. Everything is very overgrown and looks aweful. I have been way too busy!

Had fried chicken last night... but loved it! I have WI tomorrow and hope my historic gain will not be there this week... I always gain the week of ovulation. Go Figure!

Anyhoo, hope you all have a great Weekend!

[Janet R]

Good morning friends!

Ohhhh Jen, an afternoon off sans baby... sounds like heaven! Don't know about you, but the weather here is absolutely gorgeous today... no humidity! Perfect for a little yard-work.

Well, it must be a fluke. I got on the scale today and was down 2 pounds... hmmmmmmm... don't know if the CAD thing is working or if it's just a coincidence. I guess it would be pretty cool if it was working, though I had just convinced myself that I needed to give WW another go.. :confused:

I realized what my problem is with the whole POINTS thing (remember, I've been counting them in some form since 1997 ). I'm just tired of not eating (or feeling guilty about eating real foods... I'm tired of fat free salad dressings, fat free mayo, fat free sour cream, fat free yogurt (with asparatame instead of real sugar), lite bread, fake burgers, fat free hot dogs on lite bread instead of a real roll, egg-beaters, low fat cheeses, etc... No matter how hard I try to convince myself these days, the fact remains it does NOT taste like the real thing. And some of it is downright icky! My problem has always been that I like QUANTITY, so if I try to eat the real thing, instead of the fat free version, I get so much less and then I'm hungry.

I think what I am going to try to do is use SOME of the real foods and SOME of the "fake" foods and see if I can't find a compromise so that I can enjoy real taste and flavor. I need to increase the veggies and increase the water and hopefully that will fill me up. Also, within the next month or so I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and spend the $400 for a treadmill so that I can exercise after dark, in the house when Benjamin goes to sleep. Or, in the morning (if I could ever drag my arse out of bed!) I'm also going to try to incorperate some of the CAD principles by decreasing the carbs and increasing the protein. I think proteins and (some) fats will help to fill me up more and satisfy me so that I don't feel hungry all of the time.

I intend to get going full force come Monday... till then I'm just going to be reasonable. This weekend we are going to my mom's and Saturday night DH and I are going out to celebrate our 8 year anniversary - there will be no point counting that night!

BTW, Wednesday was our actual anniversary date. We celebrated with dinner at McDonalds. How pathetic is that?? LOL We didn't have a babysitter and taking Ben to anyplace more fancy just isn't worth the trouble. We spend more time protecting the other customers from food that resembles missles (Ben likes to throw it!) than enjoying our meal.. Plus, once he's done he wants out of the chair and it's very hard to keep him entertained long enough to eat our dinner! I didn't want to stay home and cook because my house had to be at least 100 degrees, so McDonalds and its airconditioning won out! LOL

Ok, I've rambled long enough.

Talk to you all later!

[JKarr]

Hey Jen! I didn't want you to be here all alone! Where is everyone this morning??? Went to the Cubs game yesterday afternoon for a work outing, where I proceeded to eat and drink a bit too much (what else are you supposed to do at a baseball game?!) but I went for a 4 mile jog last night so I still feel okay today. Of course, I am hungrier than normal since I ate so much yesterday, but I have a healthy day planned out so I should be okay.

Ali - I'm so happy that he called!

Come out and play everyone!!

[StaceyT]

I have to do chores in the morning! I'm still trying to get everything organized from our wedding. I just wanted to pop in and say hi!
I'll be back later today!

[Jen-L]

Janet... My first time on WW with the original points program and I really strict and hated it. Getting PG really helped me, because this time on WW, I refuse to deprive myself. I like quantity too, but my compromise it... eat less of the good foods! You have to want to do it to make it work! I DO NOT eat FF things (except sour cream for dips, because the dip wipes out most of the taste). I eat LITE things instead. Lite cream cheese, Lite salad dressings...etc. I just eat less and more veggies! I also do not eat FF hotdogs. BLUCHHHH... and I will splurge on bratwurst... if I have the points. I eat SMALL steaks (remember my gourmet one). All with in reason for me. If I can eat the real and good foods, I am happy. And it works for me. OK, it is working slowly! But honestly, do you really think I will eat FF for my whole life??? NO WAY! So this is my healthy lifestyle change. I have lost 21+ pounds and happy I am losing, albeit slow!

You gotta find your groove and fall into it. GOOD LUCK! And if you need any advice, let me know. I started WW in 1998 (minus my PG break!)

[Jen-L]

OK... WHO IS GOING ON HOLIDAY AND WHERE ARE YOU GOING??? I am jealous!

[Janet R]

I answered "holiday", only cause that's the only one that fits. We're going to New Jersey (LOL) to my mom's house. On Saturday afternoon we'll play at the lake. Saturday evening when my mom gets home from work DH and I are heading out for a date. Sunday mom will probably make us a great lunch and then we'll head back home. Not too exciting, but it should be pleasant.

The good thing about getting away from home is that we wont be tempted to do chores instead of enjoying ourselves!

[KO]

I'm going to BONJOVI tonight and waffling between relaxing and doing some chores this weekend
Jen can I borrow some of your control b/c I like things that taste good in mass quantities you know till you cant taste anymore
Jen 2 woowoo 4 miles
Janet I would have picked Burger King and gotten matching crowns Happy Belated Anniversary
oh god stevie nicks is on Rosie singing Landslide I might cry

[LoriD]

Hey All! I answered staying home on the poll-and I am so happy about it! this weekend is the only weekend out of five that DF and I have no weddings, engagement parties, or other things to do that require going away!!!!

Congrats to everyone on their losses from yesterday! hope to be posting one next week as well...
Ali-Your pictures are AWESOME! Youare truely an inspiration...you should write in to Thinline!!!
Janet-I hear you about the fat free foods-I am like Jen-I would rather not have mayo than eat fat free-I got used to mustard! But seriously, I rarely eat fat free mayo, sour cream, and cheese. i eat low fat like Jen. as far as hotdogs, have you tried the Hebrew Nat'l 97%fat free or the healthy choice beef, turkey/chicken franks? Theya re 1 point each!!! the Healthy choice beef franks are 2 pts each!!! All three of those taste real...I fed them to people at a party and they had no idea....
AND< there are 1 pt hotdog and hamburger buns out there...wonder bread makes some, I think...so you can have a hotdog on a real bun for 2 pts!!!! I've been doing this at cookouts all summer! As for hamburgers, I get the low fat ground beef and mix it with some steak sauce and then make the patties-they come out nice and moist-add a little onion soup mix, and you're golden! Mmm-I'm hungry now.

[TxAggie]

Happy Friday everyone! Well WI on Wednesday went better than I expected. I lost 0.2 which brings me to 135.6. I still want to get down to 132, but I haven't been working the program very much lately. I'm with Jen in that I hate the "fake" foods. I use real butter and real cheese and meats. I just moderate my servings and add lots of bulky veggies to whatever I am making. Garlic and Onions always add lots of flavor too!

I missed the Hummus conversation, but I have to say its one of my favorite foods. Its really easy to make. I just get a couple of cans of chickpeas. Dump them (juice and all) into a pot and add 4 to 6 cloves of garlic and simmer for a while. Then I drain(reserve some of the liquid) it and dump it into a food processor. Here I add lemon juice to taste and about 2 T of Tahini paste (sesame paste). Then you can season with salt and pepper and herbs to taste. I like to serve it with toasted pita and jalepenos.

Kierie ~ Bon Jovi sounds like fun! I am jealous.

Janet ~ Whoo Hoo on the 2 lbs. I'm sure you'll find a good balance since you are working so hard at it. Just hang in there and don't deprive yourself.

Jen ~ I picked Holiday too, but we're really just going to my hometown for a reunion. It should be weird to see eeryone from HS again. I also get to see my best friends little 2 mo old girl again. I can't wait to see how big she is! I know they grow at super sonic speed!

Well I have to get to work. I'll check back later!
Kay

[TxAggie]

With the Hummus recipe, you add a little olive oil before you blend it up and you can add the liquid if you want it smoother.

Also ~ Congrats on the anniversary Janet! That is awesome!

Hi Lori and Stacey! Lori ~ How is the wedding planning going? Have you got the dress yet? Tell us about it!

Stacey ~ You'll get settled in soon. Don't you love married life?

Hi to all I missed!

[Jen-L]

See the recipe thread. I did a search on-line for hummus!

[JKarr]

Thanks for finding the hummus recipe, Jen!! I can't wait to try it. Maybe I'll do that this weekend...

Kier - Have a great time at the Bon Jovi concert!!! I sure wish I lived by you so we could go together! I'll just have to listen to the CD tonight and pretend that I am there...

Janet - Great job on the loss! Maybe CAD is just what you needed.

I with you guys on the fat-free stuff - I HATE it!! Luckily, I am not a quantity eater, but a quality eater, so it is a bit easier to fit the real stuff into my day. That's a good thing since cheese is my absolute favorite food! I can do the Kraft 2%, but that's as low fat as I can go!

[Jen-L]

Jen2... Yup, Kraft 2% is my low end too. Used to eat the FF slices and hubby through a HUGE stink. They tasted aweful. I bought the 2% and he still blew up, until I made him try them... he liked them! Also, I refuse to eat FF cheese of any kind. First, I live in WI and cheese is our signature product... 2 FF is yucky. I do eat a 40% less fat shredded cheese that isn't too bad. But if I want a hunk of cheese to naw on... it's gotta be real!

Janet....see, you can eat real foods! Don't deprive yourself, just count it!!

[Belle2000]

I just lost my whole note! booh!!

Oh well....

I was saying I worked like 10 hours without a break yesterday and I ate lunch in a meeting - a 15 point sandwich, is what I worked it out to, so I was over in points by about 8 or 9 yesterday. I was really upset. I did take my dogs for a walk/jog for 20 min, but I didn't even get in my walk to work b/c I drove

OH well.....

Today is a new day, right?

So far today I have had 8 points and walked 33 min moderate, which I believe is 2 points for me (right? anyone?). I am having souvlaki for lunch at 7 points...and then I am meeting b/f for drinks/horderves at a new bar with his co-workers! OUCH! I am only having 2 drinks (6 points) and I'll order my own food rather than eating the freebies, which are always high high high fat. That is my plan. that way I won't go over 29 points (I'd rather bank my exercise points)...

KO - enjoy Bonjovi!! I heard its a great show!! Tell us all about it!

Jen - enjoy your half day - I hpe to jam out at 4pm....

Janet - woo hoo on the 2 lbs down! Sometimes the flukes are great!

jen2 - woo hoo, a 4 mile jog, good for you!! I love to run, I am starting to really enjoy how I feel afterward.

Lori - I am with you on the fat-free foods, mostly. I love astro fat free yogurt, but I wouldn't even know it was fat free, its so good!!

kay/Jen - now I must make hummous this weekend...yum! You stink after though, but DAMN its good stuff!!!

Well, I better sign off - where'd my signature go?? I must have screwed someting up. Gonna change that!!

B