Thanks for that info Aphil. Unfortunately, most of the restaurants listed on this site are not in Canada. We have Pizza Hut (but we never go there because it's not in our town), McDonald's (of course), and maybe a few other burger joints. Does anyone know if there is something out there similar for Canadian restaurants. I suppose I can do a search on the web and also phone the restaurants I'm interested in to find out if they have nutritional info on their meals.

Ideal: WTG on your loss. Any loss is a good loss. Man, I can't imagine doing that much travelling. I hope you enjoy it.

I was going to mention in my earlier post that I made a great soup yesterday. I made a humongous pot and counted all the calories in the ingredients and it's only 100 calories per cup. It's a chicken based soup with lots of veggies and cabbage, plus tomato sauce. We call it Borscht, but it's not the beet version, it's a Mennonite version (I'm Mennonite and no, we don't drive buggies and where just black). We're modern Mennonites , besides that's the Amish that do that.

I also forgot to say what I like about myself. I think this is a great exercise, but it's hard to do since we're always seeing the negative and we don't want to sound pompous bragging about ourselves. But, anyway, I've been told I have a nice smile (straight teeth too) and nice eyes. I think so too! .

Ciao!

Okay...I have had a minor setback, and I have come here to calm down before I turn it into a disaster.
I was sewing on the costumes, and I kept having problems with the thread tension, and other small things...and I got so aggravated, that I succumbed to a small emotional eating episode....those darn little chocolate eggs...I swear they are EVIL.
Well, I have done my abwork at least, and I have dance class later-so I am just going to try to be good the rest of the day and not turn that episode into an all day eating free for all...
Gosh, I hate it when I do things like that...but I guess I am only human, and we all slip up now and then-the key is how we deal with it.
I really need to stop thinking about my deadline, and just take it slow and easy while I sew...like I have all of the time in the world. When I sew slowly and just for the joy of it, it seems to go much smoother than when I think about the pressure-when I try to hurry through a seam rather than slow-that is always when it screws up and I have to rip it out and start over-which takes longer than if I went slower to begin with.
I also need to stop being such a perfectionist with it...I anguish over every little thing-a small imperfection in a hemline, or the smallest stitch out of line...(like everyone is going to be turning their outfits inside out and examining every inch of thread!)
I saw a few imperfections in the skirt I turned in last week, and when they saw it and it was tried on-no one noticed a thing. I guess we are all our own worst critics...be it with our bodies, our talents, our work performance....
We were watching a show last night called "American Chopper" and it was about a father and son team that make custom motorcycles-and I was casually watching it with Jason, and noticing how bent out of shape the father got when things went wrong, or when they were behind on a deadline, and how easy going the son was...I told Jason that "that old man is going to have a stroke if he doesn't calm down!" Jason turned and looked at me and said "All you need is grey hair and a handlebar moustache-and you would be just like him! You stress out just like when things aren't going your way!"
(He was joking, but then again-he wasn't.)
I have a friend from Chicago that is a costumer as well-and she does twice as much work in that field as I do...and she has the most easygoing personality...it is like nothing ever phases her...I don't know how she does it! She could have an ACME bomb dropped on her sewing machine just like on the Road Runner cartoons-and not bat an eye...
Well-I best be getting in the shower-I have to leave for class in a couple of hours, and I need to get there and burn off some of those stupid chocolate eggs...they were those kind in the little foil paper...AARRGGHH...
Aphil

ps-willbe-we live in northern Indiana, and in a nearby city called North Manchester-actually it is where we camp at in the summer, there is a large Mennonite population there with a gorgeous church. A lot of people that aren't around it much sometimes get Amish and Mennonite confused-due to only the few outward similarities, like some of the clothing and such-but I know that there are MANY differences. All of the Mennonite's around here drive cars, have computers, and go to Wal-Mart just like everyone else does. There is a larger Amish population here in Indiana in lots of other nearby areas...such as Mishawaka and Napanee though. Do you have a list of some restaurants that ARE in your area? I will try to find you some info on them if I can!

OK Aphil...don't beat yourself up, about the chocolate or the sewing. You're right though, we are our own worst critics. Just remember, today is only one day in your whole life and while eating those eggs wasn't a great thing, I bet they sure tasted good . Sounds like you're getting yourself right back on track, which is the right thing to do...as well as bringing it here instead of continuing with the binge. Go work hard at those weights and those little eggs will be all gone.

As far as sewing goes, take a deep breath, relax your shoulders and sew away. Hope it all comes out looking fabulous!

Brenda

Hello everyone!

Gosh, it's so great to see so many posts!

hi tryin'hard! - welcome back from your vacation! Yes, when one sees obese people in the motorized chairs, it's true we just shouldn't make a snap judgement on why they are incapacitated, but we know that keeping the weight down is just such a big help in overall health.

On chewing the food 30X - you're right - lots of times it just mooshes into nothing by 20!

Aphil - sorry to hear of your stress! and darn those chocolate eggs for tasting so good! You are SO disciplined, normally, this is just a rare occurance. You'll blast those calories off very soon. That was so nice of the acquaintance to call you "Skinny" - and for the guy to joke, but I'm sure admiring, of your upper body strength! We've also seen the father/son on American Chopper - interactions like that are painful for me to watch!
And the HD clothes that Raiden received must be SO cute ( and probably were horrendously expensive, lol!)

Hi Jacklyn! Good to hear from you! I'm sure that doing that program with your husband will be better than if you one of you were doing it on your own. We're excited for you too!

Idealperson, welcome back from your vacation, and you get a huge gold star for having a LOSS during a vacation!! Really!

willbe - Way to go on keeping in your calorie range, and upping your water! and congrats on your volunteering work with the school. Volunteers are responsible for SO much good in small communities! (large ones too, I guess!) And that soup sounded great! I should be more adventurous with soup-making; even if my guys wouldn't go for it, I think it's a marvelous ("Mah-velous" :lol) thing to have as a first course, to help fill one up.

Okay, I would say that I am proud of how my tum looks now;and my shoulders; and I know that others think of me as having a very caring, kind personality. I think I'd rather choke than criticize someone

Oh!!! I wore shorts to work yesterday...felt so cool and comfortable, and OK with it, so I will be wearing them all the time!! And today a co-worker said, "wow,you've got muscle in those legs!" and the young kid (18) who works there also said, "yeah, I noticed that too - that must help you with holding up that cycle of yours" So I am very OK with having others think I have muscly legs! and thank you eveyone here who gave me positive reinforcement with the big short-wearing decision!

Hello to everyone else, and have a nice night!

Your friend,
Holly

Hi everyone ,

Holly: That's great that you wore your shorts to work. And look at all the compliments you got. That's wonderful. Now you can wear your shorts with confidence knowing that your legs really look pretty good afterall!

Aphil: How did the rest of your day go after the little chocolate incidence? At least you had the courage to admit it to us. On Sunday we were at my sister's for dinner and she had all kinds of easter candy out. I have to admit that I did indulge in some of the chocolate, those little candy covered eggs (I think they're the Cadbury Mini Eggs). m-m-m, they were good! And how are the costumes. I hope you got that all figured out too. I don't sew clothes anymore. I would always rush through so much. One time I was making a straight skirt for myself (this was in my slimmer days) and I cut two backs, instead of a back and front. I went to the store to buy more fabric so I could start again, but you know what I did...again, I cut two backs. I just am not good with clothes. Too many curves, tucks and stuff like that. At least with quilts it's all straight. I've learned though, through the exactness of sewing quilts, to take my time, so maybe I should attempt something more challenging.

We had the boy's teachers over for dinner last night. I was careful about what I ate, although I didn't measure anything. I just eyeballed, but I didn't want to sit there with all our company, spooning my rice and veggies into a cup and weighing my chicken. I even had enough calories left to have a piece of Angel Food Cake with strawberries and a little whipping cream ...ooooh sinful! I took the dog for an intense walk after everyone left.

I really have to do some baking around here. I've been avoiding it because it will be so hard to resist. I think I might try some of the recipes on this site. Has anyone tried any of the sweets recipes that they can recommend?

Well I better go and start making lunches for the kids to take to school. Have a good day all.

Brenda

Everyone seems to be doing real good lately.

Willbe, I don't have any sweet recipies to give you. I've tried a few and experimented using applesauce and yogurt instead of butter, oil, etc. and splenda for sugar, but haven't found that magical recipie. Last night, I did make my own version of pound cake (no substitutions) using two mini loaf pans it gomes out to 14 slices for about 96 calories each. The trick now is eating only one or two a day. Here is a low-fat brownie recipie I got from discovery health channel. I haven't tried it yet, but its worth a look.
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup applesauce
1/4 cup boiling water
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/8 salt
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large bowl, mix baking soda, sugar, flour, and salt.
To dry mixture, add cocoa, applesauce, and boiling water.
Mix in egg and vanilla.
Pour into pre-greased 8 x 8 inch baking pan.
Bake for 35 minutes.

Vermontmom..how's the hubby doing on Atkins? Ooh hoo on the shorts!

Aphil, you have such a great attitude. We've all been there and you took the high road, instead of saying, "well, I might as well blow the rest of the day" , like I would hae done. And those chocolate eggs didn't put any of those inches you lost back on. By the way, I had 5 wisdom teeth and had to have them all pulled, so I must of had one yours.

Ideal, congrats on your loss.

I decided I don't want to be under employed anymore. So I pre-registered for a job fair. I got up this morning, did my hair, but on a nice pants suit, and printed out 20 resumes. Went to the garage, car is a dead as a doornail. Husband is off to work, none of my neighbors are home to give me a jump. I wouldn't want to ask them anyway, because my car is way up in the garage and is going to have to be pushed out to get the battery charged. I knew it was a bad omen when one of my favorite earrings fell down the drain. Oh well, that's why I'm here making this long post. On the bright side, I can't go to Mcdonald's to drown my frustrations in some french fries.

Hope everyone else is having a productive day!
Missy

Hi everyone!
Well, today I am 100% back on track after my little incident yesterday...and feeling much better about things!
Holly-I am so glad that you decided to wear shorts to work...and look at all of the compliments that you got! I am sure that your legs look great!!!!
willbe-I do quilting a little bit when I have the time...I have a log cabin square baby quilt started...I usually do a little bit at a time between larger sewing projects. Quilting is so meticulous...you really have to watch every little seam and make sure everything fits together perfectly...but the results are amazing...I bet yours look great! I am undoing my machine today and oiling it, brushing out all of the lint and glitter...changing the needle...it really needs it-I am working on another skirt today. Oh-and I can totally relate to cutting out two of the same piece by accident...especially in a straight skirt or certain pants patterns-where the pieces can really look similar!
I am also glad that you had your little treat of angel food cake...that is always what I request my mother in law make for me when it is my birthday...she is very traditional, and has to make a dinner and a cake for all of her "kids" and there is no telling her no! Angel food cake is the healthiest and most diet friendly cake out there...you can have a pretty nice sized slice for under 150 calories, and if you add some low cal strawberries-it is a great way to add a fruit serving in there, to make dessert a little healthier.
As far as baking recipes-the crustless pumpkin pie one I listed a while back is really great-here are a few other ones you might like to try:
BLUEBERRY CORN MUFFINS
1c. blueberries-fresh or frozen
1T. all purpose flour
1c. nonfat plain or vanilla yogurt
3T. vegetable oil
1t. vanilla
1 egg
1c. whole wheat flour
1c. cornmeal
1/4c. sugar
3t. baking powder
1t. baking soda
Preheat oven to 400*. Spray a 12 muffin tin with Pam spray, or line with paper baking cups. Toss berries and all purpose flour, reserve. Beat yogurt, oil, vanilla, and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients into bowl except for berries until just moistened. Carefully stir in berries. Divide batter evenly among cups, Bake about 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
per muffin-145 calories
4 grams fat
2 grams of fiber
(These muffins are great because they are not loaded with sugar, and the fattening oil is greatly reduced, with the yogurt added for moistness instead. They are also made with a lot of whole wheat flour instead of all purpose/white.)

CHOCOLATE CHIP APRICOT COOKIES
1/4c. (1/2 stick) melted margerine
1c. brown sugar
1T. skim milk
1/2t. vanilla
2 egg whites
1c. all purpose flour
1c. old fashioned oats
1/2t. baking soda
1/4t. salt
1/4c. chopped dried apricots
1/4c. miniature chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350*. Spray cookie sheet with Pam spray. Mix margerine with brown sugar in large bowl-stir in milk, vanilla,and egg whites. Stir in flour, oats, soda, and salt. Stir in chips and apricots.
Drop dough by tablespoonfulls onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart. Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown-they will still be slightly soft. Let them set up 3 minutes on sheet before removing them.
Makes 2 dozen cookies
per cookie-95 calories, 3 grams fat, 1 gram fiber
(This one is great, because it only uses a small amount of chocolate-making a little go a long way, plus the added fruit-and the oats are great for adding fiber to the recipe.)
Happy Baking!
Aphil
edit:Missy-we were posting at the same time! I have found that once you get used to cooking with less oil and sugar, that you really get used to it, and then regular baked goods are way too rich...which is good, because when you do have it on occasion-then it is usually to rich for you to eat very much of it. 5 wisdom teeth, huh? OUCH. Jason has had tons of junk done with his teeth...they are about 50% root canaled and capped over-I told heim he pretty much has a permanent set of false teeth! He has also had his wisdom teeth pulled, and one of his front teeth is actually a fake implant...he got it knocked out in high school...plus he had braces in high school as well...I would hate to add up all of the $$$ that has been put into his mouth...he has a pretty smile-but he SHOULD after all of that!

Footnote:

Everything has a way of working out for the best. While I was posting earlier..the wind started to kick up and then it started rain with a little bit of thunder. Its still raining pretty hard, and it turns out that a tornado warning is in effect. I had been on my way out without a coat or umbrella! I would have looked like a drowned rat and that wouldn't have been too professional.

And I opened up the drain under the sink and got my earring back. Hooray.

Sounds like things are looking up for everyone...and for me, too! I went to Curves today to work out, once a month they weigh and measure their clients, so yesterday was my day: I was down eight pounds and 4 1/2 inches(overall in my arms, bust, and hips)!!!! My waist stayed the same and my thigh got 1/8 of an inch bigger. Now, I am phyched to keep up this exercise routine, I have never been one to exercise and now I am hooked! Thanks to Aphil ( and many of you!) for being an inspiration! One of my favorite things to bake is:

a yellow cake mix (dry) mixed with a 12 oz. can of diet 7-up-bake this at 350 for about 27-30 min. When cooled, poke holes in the cake and spread fat-free chocolate pudding over all (I use 2 of the pre-made pudding cups-Hunt's), then top with Cool-Whip Free. Sometimes I will crush a Slim-Fast candy bar-Peanut Butter Crunch-on top! This is very, very good and only 3 pts. for WW!

Try it and let me know what you think!

Missy~~~I am glad you got your earring back. I lost a ring just outside my back porch, still have not found til this day.

Ideal~~~You are melting away! That is so awesome.

I always struggled with knowing where to place the measuring tape. I think I will try to find some kind of diagram on the web, unless someone already knows of one.

Amy~~~We stress out on the slightest imperfection that comes out of us. It's almost as if we feel that we shouldn't be less than perfect in anything and everything we do. But sometimes we need to remember that we aren't perfect. We also need to just take a few deep breaths to realize the simple pleasures. I know your outfit is going to come out beautiful. Put me to a sewing machine and you can forget the plan because I have no idea of what I am doing on the sewing machine. Yes, you had a slight down slide with the chocolates but tomorrow is another day and yesterday cannot be undone.

Holly~~~Girlie...you sportin' your legs or your shorts at work? Woohoo! Hey you have worked hard to have what you have what is it going to hurt to show a little of it from time to time? Go on girl strut your stuff!

Brenda~~~I love that name...that is my cousin's name therefore I will never have a child with the name Brenda. Baking, cooking, preparing any kind of food is a big challenge...the best trick I have found is to either brush your teeth really good before you start or stick a piece of your favorite gum into your mouth. It really works. I hope it will help.

Well Ladies...the semester is almost over and I am just flying high. I can't wait. May 1, is my last class day and then it is finals. Woohoo! Once it is over I will be more focused, more determined, and more energized to get 10 lbs off during the summer break and have 30 lbs off by the end of the year. It's going to happen.

I better go. I will talk to you all again!

Hugs & Smiles, Kina

Hey everyone! Just a short post for me, as I have a busy day ahead of me. Just wanted to report that this is day 4 of the BFL program, and hubby and I are doing pretty well on it! So far we have had 2 pretty heavy weight lifting sessions....and can you say OUCH??? I haven't been this sore from working out in a long time. But that makes me feel like I am making progress. The hardest part for me is getting up at 5:30 am to get some cardio in. Funny thing is after I get up and do it....I feel pretty good! I have actually been EARLY to work everyday this week. Which is unheard of for me. I'm sure my coworkers are wondering what the heck is going on! Glad to hear that everyone's doing so great! Gotta go...phone call.

Kina-if you want to start measuring yourself when you get back into things more here-here is what you do:
Make a little chart on a piece of paper-write arm, bust, waist, hip, and upper thigh on the top of a piece of paper-then to the left side-write the date you measure-then each measurement across under the body part-then each month, write the date again under the first date, and write the new measurements under the old ones...and so on.
As far as the tape, use a soft flexible sewing measuring tape, not a man's stiffer tool/workshop kind. You want to hold the tape a little snugly, but not tight around the body part. For the bust-you want to wrapr it around the fullest part of your bust, keeping it even (not higher up or dropping down) in the back-for the waist, look in the mirror, and wrap it around the smallest point of your waist-usually near your naval. (Pants these days are a lot of times lower rised below the naval-this is just the style, and not your waist.) For your hips, wrap it around the fullest part of your hips, usually it will go around the bottom of your rear end in the back-but mirror again will help you see the fullest part of the hip.
For the arm, I usually measure right around the center of my upper arm/bicep area. For the thigh, I measure a couple inches from where the thigh meets the torso, usually about the fullest part. I hope this helps! I think it is so cool to do, because you can see yourself getting smaller in places, so it is much more fun than the scale...and a more true show of the changes in your body. My waist started out at 39" and now it is 34 1/4"....my arm has went from 15" to 14 1/4"....my hips have went from 47" to 44"....and my thighs from 28 1/2" each to 26 1/4"...it is really great seeing the changes down on paper like that...I look forward to my monthly measurements-because you never know what you are going to expect...it started mostly in my waist and bust, and now the hips and thighs and arms are really shrinking and firming up.
Please, everyone go take your measurements who doesn't already, and start reporting them here each month! I want to see all of you shrinking women!
We all went to Wal-Mart last night to get some small fencing stuff for the garden to keep out the rabbits, and I picked up some frozen whole strawberries and a bunch of bananas...I am going to make some smoothies for breakfast over the next couple of days...I really love them-if anyone wants to try them and not scroll back through the old threads-I blend 1 cup of whole frozen strawberries, 1 chunked up banana, and 1/2c. apple juice. together...the strawberries are still frozen, so they add the frostyness instead of ice...and they are filling, and satisfy a sweet tooth in a very healthy way-with no addded sugar, just the natural sugars in the fruit. The berries also add fiber...and you get 3 fruit servings in the smoothie. Sometimes I have to make 2-one for me, and one to split between the kids...they love them as well...
Well, everyone have a fantastic and productive day...I plan on getting my exercise in, and eating healthy all day...
Aphil
ps-Holly-I forgot to mention it earlier...when we were discussing the American Choppers show-I do get as stressed out as that guy, but I DO NOT get that rude or insulting...

Hello fellow weight watchers...the weather here is finally getting warm, it is 68 today. My hubby and I are putting a fence around our front yard-that's quite a workout! We have neighbors that let their # dogs run all over and I want my little boy to be abl;e to play outside safely. Anyway...I found a snack that quells my chocolate cravings for only 2 pts., it's the chocolate chip rice krispie bars (pre-packaged) I brought a box to work and we all love them. Here is what I ate yesterday:

Breakfast: 1/4 of a fresh pineapple-so good
1 English Muffin w/ little butter

Lunch: big salad w/ chicken

Supper: More chicken
Green Beans
2 stuffed mushrooms

Snack: Choc. Rice Krispie Bar
1 orange Daily total: about 20 points
banked 4
lots and lots of water & 1 hour of exercise!!!!! Good Day!!!!

Hi Everyone,

I've got the munchies....HELP!!!! I haven't had anything but 4 Doritos yet, but they were sooooo good that I'd like to go eat the whole bag. I should go do something, but it's pouring rain here, only my 2 youngest are home and I can't leave them alone yet, and I really don't want to eat 'cause I'll be sorry. I'll just keep typing and maybe the cravings will go away.

I've got Red Snapper in Thai sauce planned for dinner tonight. I also bought some nice small white potatoes. I think I'll make a big salad to go with that. m.m.m....

I had a really cute picture e-mailed to me today, but it's too big to attach. Does anyone have an idea on how to make a picture smaller so it can be attached?

Now, maybe I'll go do my Nordictrack instead of walking....

Willbe, hang in there. Be strong! If you did succumb, just dust yourself off and get back with the program.

Ideal, congrats on your loss. Now this cake you mentioned..it's just the mix and the soda? No egg, oil, etc?

Aphil, I know you are right about the food. There was a time I couldn't stand diet soda, soy burgers, artifical sweetners, etc. I keep trying though, but I just haven't been too thrilled yet with the baking.

Hiya to Kina, Jacklyn, Vermontmom, et al!

Missy