Oh, I'm a lover of Lean Cuisine and Kashi and Vons/Safeway's Eating Right dinners and such. I try to choose those less than 300 calories (but I do admit that I don't check the ingredients). I usually have additional veggies on the side. DH and I have them for lunch a couple times a week. I used to make sandwiches when I got tired of salads for lunch, but I'm trying to stay away from bread--including ww bread.

Down half a pound despite our dinner last night. I did stray from South Beach phase 1--I had a couple dinner rolls (how can you resist hot out of the oven bread?) a dollop of garlic mashed potatoes (they weren't that good) and wine.

The tailor called, they can't let out my skirt. Looks like I'll either have to wear the shiny one or do some more shopping this weekend.

I usually go for the Spa Cuisine options from Lean Cuisine, but really I eat all of the different types. My favorite is kind of embarrassing -- it's the sesame chicken, which is breaded and fried chicken in a sweet sauce with pasta. But at least it's portion controlled. I also like the ginger garlic stir fry with chicken, butternut squash ravioli, chicken and vegetables, and many more. I avoid the ones with seafood and don't really eat the ones with beef. I also try to get ones between 250-350 cals. Any less than 250 and I'm starving afterwards! 330 is about right for me.

I found something really weird lately. After I eat an apple, I get hungry quickly -- more hungry than I was before the apple! Weird. In any case I swapped out today's apple for some strawberries, so we'll see how it goes.

About allergies - I use Flonase personally. My only allergy symptom is extreme congestion. I actually didn't know I had allergies until I was in college and went to the doctor for a lingering cough. I was amazed that after taking Flonase for a couple weeks, I was able to breathe through my nose for the first time in my life! I used to not understand people talking about nose breathing, since I never, ever was able to do it and I thought it was just normal to be congested. What a revelation! I think if you have a barrage of symptoms, like runny nose, itchy eyes, hives, etc, then a pill is probably the best choice. If your symptoms are confined to your nose like mine, a nasal spray is great. You just have to remember to get a saline spray to keep your nose moist, because otherwise it can dry out too much and bleed.

More on allergy solutions: Nasal sprays are decongestants, so they are perfect for a runny nose. The pills are anti-histamines (unless they have a "D" in their name, like Claritan-D or Zyrtec-D, then they also include a decongestant). The nasal sprays will just work on a runny nose; the pills treat all the other symptoms, but only work so-so on a runny nose (which is why I take both Zyrtec and a nasal spray), unless you take the ones with the decongestant added. But you get a huge does of the decongestant with the pills, more than you need, and it works all over your body. Decongestants work by constricting your blood vessels, so taking one in pill form for long-term isn't a great idea because it will be constricting your blood vessels all over your body, not just in your sinuses, where you really need it.

If itchy eyes are a problem, there are some great prescription eye drops that will solve that. I've also found that just keeping my eyes moist by using an OTC lubricating drop (like Refresh Tears) helps immensely. It sort of washes everything out.

Flonase has alcohol in it, that's why it can dry out your nose (I took Flonase before I switched to Nasonex). I also found Flonase to sting a bit when I sprayed it into my nose. Switching to the no-alcohol Nasonex solved both problems.

paperclippy: I had the same experience when I went to college. I grew up in a house with animals, which are mainly what I'm allergic to. We thought I had a permanent cold. Then I went to college, where there weren't any animals, and it was like some kind of miracle. Suddenly I could breathe like a normal person and wasn't sick all the time.

Barbara - yeah, I had all sorts of dental problems which were attributed to being a "mouth breather" when I was a kid. I didn't get it, I was like, what other kind of breather is there? Mine never seemed like a cold though because my nose was never runny. It was congested all the way in the back of my nose, so it didn't look like there was anything wrong, I just couldn't breathe. :P I don't even know what I'm allergic to! I just take my Flonase and figure as long as it works I don't need to know.

Oh, scratch that -- I know for sure I'm allergic to oriental lilies! MIL gave me a bouquet of them when I was staying in a hotel, and having them in the hotel room gave me the nastiest allergy attack I've ever had!

Ack! Y'all make me glad I don't have allergies! My sister does, and asthma as well, so I know how miserable it can be. Hers did get better when she stopped smoking (years ago), duh.

I ended up going to bed at 9 last night. 12:30 the night before really hit hard. Booo, I used to be able to stay up late easily. Anyway, I feel more normal today. It's cold and cloudy here, and wouldn't you know I'm going to be out on the golf course - not playing - later this morning. I'm dressed in my winter clothes - cords and a fleece top! And a jacket of course.

Allison - I don't know what your skirt is made like, but if it has a hook and eye close or a button you can get these little extender kits to make the waist bigger. I know you said your blouse would cover, so maybe that would work. I used them when I was pregnant - had to dress up for work and I was not buying maternity clothes in several stages.

Thanks for all the tips on the frozen dinners. I think it would be good to find a few I like for when I don't have time to make something. 300ish calories is pretty good. Our Hy-Vee has some Kashi brand, so maybe I'll give those a try.

Oh, wait, I just figured out what time of the month it is. No wonder I want to eat a house. Stupid hormones. (And may I just say that I feel like a ditz when every single month I say "why am I so cranky/tired/munchy???" and it actually takes me a while to figure it out!)

I'm glad I only get seasonal allergies in the fall for 2-3 months. It's not that bad, I just get very runny. Sutafed is all I've found that works well, but it keeps me up at night, so I'm ok during the day and like a faucet by night. Oh well, I won't worry about that until the fall. My mom's family didn't have much money growing up, and had a lot of kids, so she says she never took any allergy pills until she went away to college for her severe seasonal allergies. Like Jessica, she says she never knew how bad they were until she felt better!

Jessica, I like the LC sesame chicken too! I think it's still under 400 cals - I figure what you do too - at least it's portion controlled. It is a lot lower in fat than, say, sesame chicken at a chinese restaurant.

Deb, thanks. I'm trying (sorta) to not eat that house.

Belly dancing class tonight should be fun!

Hi everyone, what I thought was severe allergies for me, is miraculously improving greatly since I quit smoking. I was taking zyrtec but I don't even need it now.

I just got home from running errands and hitting the gym. I did 20 min's treadmill, 20 min's stairstepper and 30 min's LBWO. I didn't cough not once. I plan to go do more cardio and UBWO tomorrow.

Meghan, I definitely know that my eating has been off plan lately. Maybe you could return the favor and give me that kick in the rear too. I don't have your excuse though, I've let the stress of quitting smoking be my excuse for eating too much. The pigging out has got to stop now though cause I feel fat!

Has anyone here had any good results with having their teeth bleached? I'm wanting to try this due to the smoke and coffee stains. I would like to have beautiful white veneers , but they seem a little too expensive right now.

Megan - yeah, the sesame chicken is 330 cals. I have the numbers for my most frequent ones memorized! It's also TOM for me and I realized this morning that's probably why I was so lazy and hungry last night! At least I'm not hungry at the moment. Maybe I'll be able to avoid munching after dinner tonight and actually get some exercise, although the weather is kind of sketchy. I wonder if the dog will let me do an exercise video without freaking out (last time I was doing crunches he kept walking over me and sniffing in my face!). Maybe I'll get DH to take him for a walk and do a video while they're gone -- I will admit I don't want to take him for a walk because it's cold out there!

Lily - sounds like a great session at the gym!

I am missing the gym. I really want a good elliptical workout right now, but I don't have my gym clothes with me. We haven't been since we got the dog. My ultimate plan was to take the dog for a run in the morning to get my exercise, but I can't run right now, and walking is pretty darn boring. I can't seem to motivate myself much with walking. Maybe I will take my dad up on the offer to have him ship me his weight machine (not a bowflex but same idea) that he has never used. Owning an elliptical would be good too. I never liked the idea of a home gym, but now that we have responsibilities that make us have to be home (the dog), I see its appeal. Still, my motivation to work out drops by 90% the moment I step through the door into my house.

traci~I thought about the extender thing, but don't know where to go to buy one.

Megan~LOL about forgetting! I'm reading "The Other Boelyn Girl" and they refer to it as their monthly courses. I wonder if that's where they get "the curse" from?

Lily~I've done teeth bleaching using the trays that were professionally fit by my dentist. It wasn't uncomfortable--I'd wear them about 2 hours a day (and the best part is you CANNOT eat while wearing them or for half an hour afterward). It worked really good. The bad part is my teeth got quite sensitive during that time (it does go away). I've been thinking the Zoom system that the dentist does in his office sounds pretty cool (and fast).

Rant: OK, I need to rant for a minute. Why is that people feel it is acceptable to comment on the food that I eat? If I hadn't lost weight, no one dream of publicly criticizing my food choices, why is this suddenly socially acceptable because I've lost weight. I had a business luncheon today and it was somebody's birthday, so they brought in birthday cake. Now I've been POP for at least a month now and the lunch wasn't too bad. I had bland chicken (not even any sauce on it that I could tell), vegetables (a lot of butter, but still, it couldn't have been that bad), and a green salad with a tiny amount of dressing. I skipped the mashed potatoes and white rice entirely (who needs both potatoes and rice in the same meal?). So when they brought out the cake and cut it into small pieces (really half-sized pieces), I figured I could have a piece. I'm not trying to lose any more weight anyway and one small piece of cake isn't really going to matter for maintenance. As I'm taking my piece, someone (a man, even--for some reason it's always men that makes these comments to me) says something about how he is surprised I'm allowed to eat cake. Honestly! And what is really driving me nuts is that now I can think of 100 things (okay, well, five things) to say in response but I was so taken aback at the time that I just demurely said something about how an occasional treat is okay. And then after making that comment, he went on to help himself to his second piece of cake!

Just to get it out of my system, here are the things I wish I'd said in response:

• I lost 35 lbs, or close to 25% of my total weight. Do you really think I'm going to gain it all back with this one piece of cake?
• How about you let me take responsibility for what I eat and you can worry about what you eat?
• Why on earth do you think it is acceptable to comment on the food I'm eating?
• Later this afternoon, I'm going to do 20 min of HIIT followed by one hour of circuit training. What are you doing to work off your TWO pieces of cake?
• I write down everything I eat and add up all my calories every day. Pick a date, any date, in the last three years, I can tell you exactly what I ate. Tell me, what did you eat on March 15, 2007? What, you don't know? Hmmm, I think maybe I'm a little better at this than you are. I'm pretty sure I can make appropriate food choices without your help.

I am not taking these comments anymore. The next person that makes this sort of comment to me is really going to hear it!

Rant Number 2: We had a lovely warm day today, highs in the mid 90s. It was so nice to be warm. The only glitch was that my gym had some sort of malfunction with their thermostat. Not only did the air not run for several hours but I guess the heater was actually running. They had just gotten it fixed when I got there, so it hadn't cooled off yet (but at least it wasn't getting warmer). I do a circuit training class on Thursdays and it was an absolute sauna in the group ex room. OMG, like 20 degrees hotter than the rest of the gym. My trainer, who was teaching the class, was sweating and he was in a tank top and not even doing anything. And even worse, one of the exercises he had us do a combination of bear crawls across the floor and push-ups. At one point during this, I accidentally put my hand down in someone else's big puddle of sweat. Can you spell DISGUSTING! Ugh. Even thinking about it now makes me want to go wash my hands again.

OK, I'm done now. Thanks for letting me rant. I feel better.

Oooo, Barbara, I like all five of your comebacks! Next time, unload them all. The only people who comment on my weight and food choices are people who I seem to make feel guilty about THEIR weight and food choices. No one who exercises regularly and eats carefully has ever made a snarky comment about weight or food to me. Hmm ...

Lily, it's great that you're back in the gym and not coughing. I remember how you just fell in love with the gym last winter and couldn't wait to go back. We had to tell you to take rest days, remember? We're all so proud of you for quitting smoking! (and Baff too!)

DH and I leave for New Mexico tomorrow, so I need to finish packing today, then weigh my suitcase to be sure it's under 50 pounds. We have a cat sitter coming in twice a day for the five cats, so I need to get all set up for her. Do you think 99# (3 - 33# buckets) of kitty litter is enough?

Food's been good this week, exercise hasn't due to my cold, but I'm easing back into it. DH and I are meeting friends for dinner and I've already decided that my one treat will be a glass of wine. None of them eat dessert, so I don't have to worry about it.

What's everyone have planned for the weekend?

Ouch Barbara for the unwanted food comments. I admire your polite response, but admire more your list of responses for next time.

The comment that blew my mind came from my BIL, who, with me standing right there, asked my wife, "Is he allowed to have this?" Good grief. Not only a food comment but I'm not even deemed responsible enough to answer for myself.

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Good Morning all. I'm back to using fitday. I need to be accountable and I know that works. I'm still above maintenance and it's irritating. I too have allergies. I've got singulair and flonase.
BarbaraPeople are just plain irritating. ((Hugs))
MegHave a lovely trip. I'm feeling the need for a trip about now.

Have a good day all.

Hi all,

Tensions are running high this Friday! My office is pretty laid back, but already the morning has been started off by one person ranting about how she's not allowed to bring biscotti in without being lectured about how many (Weight Watchers) points they have... and then just went off. Firstly, she has always been slender but there was a time a year ago when she complained constantly about not being able to lose 5 lbs. She actually went on diet pills for a few months (!) and finally resorted to going off her BC pills to lose weight. And now that she is happy where she is, poof, she thinks talking about weight is annoying. Secondly, the person who is doing weight watchers is obese and was denied health insurance b/c of her weight. So she is doing it to qualify for health insurance.

That is why I don't ever talk about food - b/c I have been subject to so many comments and it's just nobody's business. I can totally relate to your frustration, Barbara, I've been there soooo many times. I love all of your responses. If only we all had the courage to actually say these things when people prod us about food.

The person who is doing WW is my roommate who I've ranted about many times for her food comments to me (the best, completely unsolicited, I was sitting at my desk eating my bran flakes and reading my emails, she said "I just don't know how I could eat food I hated all the time"). I wish her success, but I'm feeling a little conflicted. She's been really rude to me so many times yet now she wants to borrow my WW journals, points finder, etc.

Bill, that's pretty funny that they asked your wife, not you, if you could have the food!

Oops I spent my whole post talking about food comments and criticisms and I have to go to a staff meeting more... I'll post more later!