Good morning, ladies--Before I go on, Cyan, I want to wish you a happy birthday in advance. I don't recall exactly which day you said it was, but I don't want to miss it. I do understand what you mean about evaluating yourself every year at birthday time. I don't think it gets any less, even if you reach some of your goals or are where you want to be. I find as I approach 50, I think more and more about the reality of aging in myself--see the wrinkles, the resemblance to my mother, the aches and pains I didn't have before, the number of funerals I've been to in the previous year (and how those who died are closer to my age than ever before), how fast my children are growing, when will my health start declining--the list goes on. I just try to take life one day at a time. It also helps me to view life as a journey with a plan that really isn't my plan, but the plan of someone greater than I. I also try to find meaning related to that plan in the events of my daily life. Just try to enjoy each day and make the most of all of them.

I am still struggling with the type of food plan I want to use. I do like the low-carb lifestyle, except for that pesky no-no to bread. I am going to try to come up with some type of compromise that will work for me. I bought an Atkins pocket carb counter during my shopping trip yesterday. I hope it will allow me to make some choices within a low-carb plan, since it will give me carb information about the food choices I make. I also want to eat the MINIMUM amount of bread possible and still be satisfied. I also want it to be a plan where I will lose weight. I am not looking for fast--steady would be good, though. Exercise has not been very good. I've only gone out once my whole vacation! I am planning to work out in the yard today--sunny and upper 60's!--but that's not the same as intentional exercise. On a positive note, yesterday during the "girl shopping trip" I ate this great low-carb salad at Subway! They've developed an Atkins friendly menu, and this is the second of the selection I've tried. It was called the Ranch Club Salad--lettuce, spinach, onions, green pepper, olives, cheese, ham, turkey, bacon bits, and a low-carb ranch dressing. It filled me up and kept me full for about 4 hours!!! That's what I like about low-carb. I am full for a long time--I just need variety!

Anyway, the trip turned out very good. I never saw $250 go so fast, except for groceries. Both girls filled out their wardrobes fairly well, and I was even able to laugh about the adventures of shopping with two girls with two opposite body types with hubby last night. With my girl with the full hips, I kept going back for a size bigger and had to keep repeating that tight was not the right way to dress. With my skinny girl, I kept going back for a size smaller so she wouldn't swim in her clothes. They were pretty good about not fighting and complaining, especially since I kept repeating that if they fought or complained, we'd go shopping for ME. That always nipped the start of complaints or arguments in the bud. We were out from 9:30 a.m. till 4:30 p.m.--even bought some groceries on the way home. Dad liked their clothes, and so did I. The rule is that we only buy clothes that they AND I like.

Anyway, today is a day at home with some laundry, paper grading, yard work, and light housework--also some time for me to read whatever I want.

I'm sorry I'm not good with individual posts these days--do know that I love what I read from everyone, and I value all of your friendship. Well, I'm going for now. Have a good day all--I look forward to reading your posts soon.

Hi ladies,

I just got caught up on the posts...sorry I can not answer individual... but happy birthday Cyan and welcome back lisa!

Florida was great except for our last night in South beach...Hotel I booked on Hotel.com did not live up to expectation...plaster fell on my head when I opened the drapes, people were outside in hall playing touch football and riding rollaway beds, lobby smelled like a sewer, staff was horrible, all for the "discount" price of $150 a night, $14 a drink and additional charges for valet. It was suppose to be the jewel of the art deco district on south beach back in 1939..only problem nothing was fixed since 1939! By the way it seems that south beach is not filled with the supermodels everyone says...there were a lot of people that needed the south beach diet. Otherwise the trip and hotel in Naples was very nice, I was good and put on 30 sunscreen everyday but foodwise ate alot of hig calorie foods and drinks...skinny pants are not fitting.

Today I started getting a bad sore thoart so I am making chicken soup, reina I do have some good chicken recipes I'll e-mail you.

Here's how I am going to get back on track

1. start the gym ( Ihave belonged for almost three weeks and haven't gone yet...
2. start walking more
3.yoga tapes
4.bed earlier
5. low carb eating and portion control
6. no sugar
7. daily food journal posted on the refridge

I dont know what happened but I woke up very hungry this morning

I ate my bran cereal with skim milk for breakfast and by the time I got to work I was ravenus..spelling? anyway, I had my apple ...then my hardboiled egg and fat free yogurt and by 11.30 I was having lunch...which by the way was soooooooo gooood....It was smoked salmon with light cream cheese and onion on protein bread with an olive oil vingagrette and artichoke salad...Hit the spot and now the hunger monsters are quiet.

Today's Meal Plan
breakfast: bran cereal with skim milk
lunch: smoked salmon and light cream cheese on protein bread with onion and artichoke salad
dinner: shrimp and scallops baked in a butter garlic sauce on a bed of spinach
snacks: yogurt, hardboiled egg, apple
beverages: diet soda, water, white tea

exercise: I cycle tonight

I did my pilates dvd last night...the buns and thighs...it felt good.

Ok Ladies Have a great day

Cyan

Hi Everyone,
Quick reply to say I am still around. Very busy week this week and will have time to post more later today or on the weekend. Happy Birthday Cyan! Welcome back Debee! More individual posts later but happy to read all of your posts and look forward to reading more soon.
Cjunk

Awh Gee Thanks Cjunk...Its my birthday...yep...34 years old...oh my...the years are creeping up on me.

I cycled last night for 20 minutes but I woke up hungry and ate ate ate...1552 calories. So my challenge for myself this weekend is not to over eat...to maintain my calories at 1300...wish me luck gals.

I didnt have my planned dinner...I had instead whole wheat pasta with tomato sauce with and oz of mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese. I then had a tablespoon of reduced calorie peanut butter and yes...the dreaded easter chocolate left over...at least its all gone now...thank goodness for that.

Today's Meal plan
breakfast: bran cereal with skim milk
lunch: chicken stir fry with artichoke salad
dinner: baked shrimp in a garlic butter sauce on a bed of spinach and asparagus.
snacks: an apple, cheese

pilates dvd tonight

Have a great weekend Ladies.

I have my sushi party tomorrow afternoon and then sunday morning...a seafood brunch buffet...oh my...wish me luck.

Cyan

Happy Birthday Cyan! Enjoy all your celebrations...in moderation of course

Pleased to report that I have exercised every day since Sunday and I only overate with too many sweets one day this week. Really hoping for a loss by Monday.

Hope all of you are having a great weekend!

MIKI

Congratulations Miki for having such a great week!! Loss or no loss keeping on track like that is an amazing accomplishment!! Cyan, I hope you had an awesome Sushi party. We had a 1st birthday party for my nephew and it was a blast! I bought him a cool play carpet and he loved it as well. The past week was really rough for me--the roughest ever so far health-wise. Still waiting on new test results to come back. I was extremely tired, feeling down mentally as well and just fighting to make it through the work week. This morning I feel very much the same so I am hoping the results come in early this week so that they can give me a B12 shot as I know I need one!! Gotta head to work this morning but will try and go lightly on myself until I feel better. Also plan to try and exercise today as it always helps me. Talk to you all soon. Cjunk

Hey Gals

How are ya?

Cjunk..I hope you get the test results soon so that they can start treating you. I am sorry you feel so tired..it has to be hard to live with tiredness that never lets up. Hang in there.

Miki...ditto on what Cjunk said...looks like you're baaaaaack! And I know you know it feels great...now...the scale will follow suite and you will start phase two of your weight loss plan. kudos to you.

Debee how are you doing on your plan...did you keep to your top 7 list? Let us know.

Newie...have you figured out what type of food plan you will stick too...maybe do a combinaton of several plans and come up with a new one suited to your needs, likes and dislikes...that would probably be best. Let us know what you decide.

my sushi party was a hit and we rolled 11 maki rolls for three people...we had spicy tuna and spicy salmon, regular tuna and salmon..smoked salmon...thalapia and mahi mahi....sooooooooo good...and easy todo...I am having the left overs for lunch today.

I didnt do any intentional exercising since thursday...so back to the drawing board...so tonigh will be pilates.

I ate way too much this weekend...between 1500 to 1700 calories so I was very surprised this morning when I weighed myself at still at 171.5 ...so I am very happy with that...now I am ready to move on off of the 170's...no more birthday parties or holidays in the next little while...so that will be very good for me.

Today's Meal Plan
breakfast: all bran cereal with skim milk
lunch: sushi 12 pieces
dinner: homemade grilled hamburger with asparagus
snacks: yogurt, mixed berries
beverages: diet soda, water, tea

Have a great day girls and looking forward to hearing your posts.

Cyan

Hi, ladies! I'm trying to catch up on my e-mail reading before school this morning. It was great to read from all of you.

Cjunk, it must be so hard for you dealing with feeling so tired all the time. I hope the doctors are able to pinpoint it and get you the right treatment.

Miki--good to hear from you--glad to hear you're getting the exercise in.

Cyan, I hope you had a happy birthday--it sounds like you had some good plans coming through for you. No, I have not found exactly the plan I want to follow. I don't know what's wrong with me this spring--last summer I seemed so motivated. I do know that I am very tired from all the stresses and changes of the last year. I fought a migraine headache the whole time I was on spring break--still have it to some degree. It gets worse when I get with the kids (oh, those rowdy ones!) I think it was probably caused by a combination of stress and hormones. During my break I walked three days out of the eleven--not what I had hoped, but better than nothing. It always made me feel better too. I've been trying to eat in a combination low glycemic/low carb manner, with lots of veggies but allowing myself fiber one cereal (for regularity) and a couple of slices of whole wheat bread a day. Yesterday, though, I really came under some kind of sugar attack--I just craved sugar. By the end of the day, I had eaten about 9 cookies, one biscotti, and about 10 Hershey's kisses--spread out over the whole day. It was like I was starved for sugar! I really don't understand what is going on with me. All I can do is just start over each day. Today I am going to take a tip from you and record my food.

Breakfast--peanut butter sandwich on whole wheat bread--two cups of coffee with non-dairy creamer--1 cup coffee at school

Lunch--1/2 cup low-carb yogurt with 2/3 cup of fiber one cereal, one orange, 8 baby carrots, can of diet coke

After-school snack--2 tbsp of dry roasted peanuts

Dinner--2/3 cup rigatoni with meat sauce, salad with fat free dressing, 1 cup of coffee with non-dairy creamer

Bedtime snack--2 slices whole wheat bread with lite margarine

Water throughout the day

Question for anyone--: Is this a lot of food for a day? Is that where I am going wrong? I'd appreciate anyone's opinion.

Got to go. Time to get ready for school.

Hey Girls

Newie...no that is not a lot of food at all...you should use www.fitday.com Its free and it will calculate your calories for you and bread them down in terms of fat, protein and carbs...this way you can fine tune your diet. I use it everyday and find it very helpful. Good luck.

I did my abs pilates dvd last night..ok...that one...I find more challenging...ouch my abs hurt today LOL

Meal Plan for today
breakfast: all bran cereal with skim milk
lunch: chicken breast deli meat sandwich on protein bread
dinner: portuguese cozido...assorted boiled meats and vegetables. Its sounds gross but trust me...its delicious
snacks: mixed berries, yogurt and low cal frozen yogurt
beverages: diet soda, water, white tea

tonight's exercises: cycle for minimun 20 minutes

Have a great day ladies

Cyan

Hi Everyone. Still waiting on results. Yesterday worked a 12 hour day so I am flexing part of my day today so as to take a bit of a break. I was so wound up from the amount of work yesterday that I couldn't sleep and by about 3am I fell asleep and then slept in until almost 9--which is okay because I have flex time owed anyway from yesterday. Feeling really dopey but rested. I think I may talk to my supervisor about using some of my vacation time to get myself into a get well regimen once I get the results back--that way I know what I am dealing with. Newie--I would suggest replacing the peanuts and peanut butter with something more natural like almonds. They add a lot of sugar to peanut butter and also it is higher in bad fats than other nuts. It's not much of a noticeable switch as they make almond butter although it is not as sweet. Also where possible get rid of diet coke.I find it makes me feel more hungry..I read that aspartame tricks your bloodsugar levels into thinking it has sugar and then you crave more sugar because of it as you get more highs and lows. Cyan, I like fitday.com as well and have used it in the past. I am always surprised with how many calories I consume when I log it!! And how little B12 and protein I eat compared to what I should!! It got me eating more cereals instead of breads as they are fortified and more filling. I think you have great advice. Good for you for sticking to your Pilates--I find it is such a core workout and really tough. Gotta go for now. Cjunk

Hi everyone!

Cjunk, sorry to hear you're having such a hard time lately. Hopefully soon you will have test results that will help you know what to do to get to feeling better.

Cyan, glad you had a nice birthday. 15-1700 calories is good considering your birthday celebrations.

Newie, I sympathize with you and those headaches. Feeling any better today?? I hope so!

My computer is acting crazy so I gotta end this before I lose it I think.(the post..not my mind ) Just had to come in and report I lost 3 lbs this past week...Hooray!!

Hope everyone is having a great week.

Bye for now
MIKI

wooohooooo Miki...you are back!

I did my cycling yesterday...I barely made it to 20 minutes...the music sucked.

Todays' Meal Plan
Breakfast: 2 protein bread, one fried egg, 1 kraft singles, 2 sliced of breakfast ham, 1 cup of grapefruit, ketchup and mayo
Lunch: chorizo, blood sausage, boiled cabbage, 2 slices of protein bread
dinner: chorizo, blood sausage, boiled beef, cabbage, carrots
snack: yogurt low fat, mixed berries

I hope I havent grossed anybody out...but it sure is tasty...as you can tell I was very hungry this morning...so I had to have my favorite breakfast sandwhich in the whole world and boy did it feel great!! LOL Not hungry now

later girls

Cyan

Man this morning was tough getting out of bed...this week has been long...been extra tired in the mornings....I am glad the weekend is nearing.

I did my pilates dvd...the 20 minute workout.

Tonight I will cycle...I hope I find the strenght

Meal Plan for today
breakfast: all bran cereal with skim milk
lunch: chicken breast broiled with vegetables
dinner: sole with butter garlic sauce on a bed of spinach
snacks: mixed berries, yogurt and sugarless ice cream maybe
beverages: water, diet soda, white tea

Well have a great day folks

Cyan

hi ladies,

quick note...past week has not been good...very busy and this morning I discovered my 8 year old spilled a gallon of green paint on my white rug...I have spent hours today cleaning it up...n eed to get motivated again...eaing out of stress and no exercise...I belonged to LA fitness for a month andnever went once...oh well Monday I'll write more...hope everyone has a great weekend.