That's so great mandmsgirl! I notice that it is getting easier for me to eat smaller amounts and less snacks. Snacks used to really be my downfall. I just couldn't seem to limit myself to ONE snack no matter how many calories even! Now I have one snack...generally low calorie between lunch and dinner and one in the evening and I can do it. I've been enjoying exercise for about 4 years now but it has not helped me lose weight...but it keeps me healthier I'm sure and definitely more flexible and I think it helps me maintain my weight. I'm even more excited about exercising now that I am limiting my snacks as I think I will see more results now. I am a diabetic and I am having much less trouble keeping my carb intake down these days too.

Morning everybody . . . and it's a and mild one for Atlanticca . . . . . . but I won't let myself get too happy . . . I know will will likely have more snow. Maybe by having said that, I've scared it away.

Oh MARY . . . you are so right about the need for exercise. It's great for the BGL and for everything else, too.

And . . . just when you thought we were all headed in the right direction (downward) along comes this latest catch-phrase -- "Normal Weight Obesity". I'll put a link on the main Age 50+ page for you to have a read.

Anyway, get out there and do some great moving and shaking kind of stuff today . . .

I could use some suggestions on how to get past that snack time. I have tried healthy snacks but my craving is for the bad snacks. Might as well skip the healthy ones as I seem to always end up with my fingers in the cookie jar. (not literally) I have nothing in the house that could be called a bad snack. I even watched that guy on TV with the think yourself thin. I watched that episode on emotional eating.

He had this tapping thing going on that you tapped all these accupressure points, rolled your eyes this way and that and hummed a tune and then counted to five and sang again. Well I would say that by the time you had done all this possibly the craving had passed. It seems that till I get to a certain carb level I am not satisfied.
I so hate this as I can sabatage a great day just hours before I go to bed.
I am off to the gym after work and then will head home for diiner.
I am using fitday to try and stay at about 1600 cal.
I have come to believe that you do have to work hard at what you want.

I came across an article on weight loss on ASK.com and it said to write every day for 15 minutes on what you want, why you want it and how will it make you feel. Article is called 17 Seconds to weight loss.
Talks about changing your thinking with these questions from negative feedback to positive.
http://thyroid.about.com/library/new...seconddiet.htm

So that is my thoughts for today. Any suggestions on how to stay away from the carbs and sugar let me know......
Cheers Jude

Well I've got two boring little tricks that work for me . . . well, most of the time. anyway.

If it's real hunger, I find that a couple of stalks of celery stuffed with reduced fat string cheese honestly helps -- lots of chewing (the celery) and the protein in the cheese seems to help -- I'd suggest peanut butter, if it is not a 'trigger' for you (I can't handle PB, I'll usually eat by the cupful )

If it's just that nasty little niggle of boredom (or similar), I'm honestly very happy with a mug of green tea (or even just hot water) with a tsp of Splenda and a Tbsp of lemon juice.

Unfortuntely, I cannot really trust myself around any of the more traditional snack foods.

Good Morning . . .

Sunny but cold and windy right now. Long term forecast is for above freezing temps for the next couple of weeks -- looks like Spring might finally be going to appear.

Today is shaping up to be one of those busy ones, so I'd better get started on the things that have to be done before the fun stuff can begin. See you all a little later. . .

Hi, I'm active and over 50. But I don't get the difference between the threads for Active, Golden Girls and the other one about Light something or other. Can you explain? Thanks. I'll check back tonight as I'm in a rush right now getting things ready to teach a vegetarian cooking class tonight in another town. I've got to leave in an hour and a half and here I am on the internet. What's wrong with me? Get goin', log out....really I'm leaving now.

Not much difference really . . . Golden Girls tends to chat about lots of stuff including children, grandchildren, pet peeves, etcetera . . . in Active Folks we try to chat about anything except those; but mostly about activites meaning exercise or extra-curricular stuff, like books, movies, museums, etcetera. Getting Lighter is also getting fairly slow (not too many people posting in there lately), but it talks about anything and everything.

Feel free to post in any, or all, of them . . .

Thanks Linda for the snack suggestions. I am doing better today and have my celery and PB left for my afternoon snack. PB is not a problem for me unless it comes with bread and jam. It is the jam that I like.
Today is a better day. Funny how that goes. Yesterday I could have eaten all the bars in the candy machine we have here in the lunch room. I never carry money so that keeps me away from that. Good thing.

So I hope everyones day is going well. I know Counting is away and Jayell can not get herself out of the pool and the sunshine!!

Big Welcome to Isabella!!! Jude

I'm a tax accountant... going to the pool and gym keep me semi-sane. But only semi!


Jay

I learned something about not eating enough food during the day. Yesterday I ate very lightly and went to bed somewhat hungry. This morning when I woke up I was almost faint from hunger. I also slept in so it was later than usual when I ate. I ate immediately but it was almost two hours before I felt energetic enough to exercise. I won't do that again. That two hour delay really set me back in my schedule. I am doing a vegetarian cooking demonstration Thursday nights for eight weeks and I was so behind getting everything ready I was in a real rush. Everything turned out all right though and the demo went great. Tonight I demonstrated low fat, low sugar fruit desserts.

retiredone,

Yeah--not good to eat too lightly! Better to stay on a schedule, I think.

Also, I try to have a snack including protein about a half hour before a workout or a swim. Otherwise I get too hungry later.

Can you share with us one of your fruit desserts? I'm always looking for ideas!

Jay

Hi Gang . . .

Just a quick "HI" this morning . . . doctor's appointment . . . then just might take my first stroll on the boardwalk -- it's sunny, relatively windless, and temp is supposed to hit 12C/54F today . . . . . . but guess what is in the forecst for tomorrow -- yep, the "S" word again.

See you later . . .

Here are the two recipes I demonstrated last night. I don't have the nutritional information for the crisp but I'll see if I can get that information and edit this post. I'll post these in the recipe section also. Everyone seemed to enjoy the treats and licked them right up. I served the "Blushing Bananas" in a martini glass and it looked quite elegant. I have three more sessions to go and next week I'm doing falafels and oven fries.

Blushing Bananas
Adapted from: Low Fat & Light Four Ingredient Cookbook

1 pint fresh strawberries (or use frozen and add 1 tablespoon honey)
¾ cup frozen orange juice concentrate, undiluted and thawed
3 large ripe bananas, sliced
Low fat or fat free whipped topping

Wash and hull strawberries. (If using frozen berries, let thaw.) Combine strawberries and orange juice concentrate in a blender and blend until smooth. Alternate banana slices with strawberry-orange sauce. Top with low-fat whip. Serves 8

Each serving contains: 140 calories; 0.4 g fat; 1.3 g protein; 2 g fibre


Holiday Crisp
Filling:
2 cups apples, peeled, cored and sliced
3 cups other fruit, peeled, cored and sliced (pears, peaches, plums, blueberries, etc.)
2 tablespoons minute tapioca
½ teaspoon cinnamon
½ cup apple juice concentrate

Stir all ingredients together and place in 9-inch square pan. Place topping over fruit and bake 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until fruit is cooked and the crisp looks golden brown.

Topping:
⅔ cup whole wheat flour
⅔ cup oatmeal
2 tablespoons honey or brown sugar
3 tablespoons non-hydrogenated margarine
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking soda

Mix all together until crumbly. Serve warm or cold with low fat topping.

Yum!!!!

Well . . . here we are again . . . after an absolutely beautiful day yesterday, all I can say about this one is that it is daylight here in my little corner of the world. So far we've had a dusting of snow and we are currently getting a little covering of ice (just to preserve the snow, I guess). Later on it's supposed to be turning to just plain rain, so that should clear everything away again.

Definitely going to be an inside kind of day . . . guess I'll fire up the Wii and go bowling . . . also need to do some mundane housekeeping type things. Wow, what an exciting weekend -- but there is hope -- weather forecast says we have a nice, spring-like week coming.

Hope you have a good moving and shaking kind of day everyone. come tell me how great your weather is -- I need that kind of vicarious hope.