Hi Everyone:

Another great day weather wise here in Toronto. I have a day
off today to attend school meetings at two different schools
for my twins so it will be a busy one!!!

Still plugging away on my program right now I am back on
Suzannes program except I am sneaking a few nuts in each
day! Probably not a great plan. I am doing my gazelle 20 minutes in the morning 5 days per week and now that the weather has turned beautiful I love to walk outside on my lunch hour! I find the bright sun shine and warmer weather so
welcoming after this winter!

Anne.

ANNE, glad that you are enjoying this great weather. This type of weather makes you really want to get out and move. We're having some great weather too. A lot of our snow has melted, and we can actually see some of our driveway again! I've been trying to incorporate a little of Suzanne's WOE. I did eat some of my breakfasts on vacation Suzanne's way, bacon or sausage & eggs, no toast, but it gave me awful heartburn, so I know I do need a piece of toast with it. I too am eating nuts and they satisfy me between meals. I am basically staying away from white flour, sugar, and processed foods. I just can't do the food combining.

nikki, I saw your PM. I have that book too, it's from Readers Digest, right? I bought it in FL and haven't gotten a chance to really sit down and read it. I tried counting points again yesterday....that lasted 1 meal. DH wants to do whatever with me, so I thought I'd read this book through today to see what it's all about. What grabbed me was no counting of anything! We'll see. I like the concept of changing your habits one week at a time rather than all at once.

This is great we are all back together again!

Take care and have a great day.
Aleka

I picked up Suzanne's book at the library. I have a bit of a problem with the food combining but sure like the fruit idea. (I've been doing Atkins.) The recipe section was great! She has two fennel recipes which are easy and delicious!
And Spring is coming for sure. I heard a robin singing at 6 this morning.

Goodmorning,
Looks like I'm the last one here.
Anne, sorry I haven't written to you in awhile, these past few days have not been good ones for me. You asked if I'm still taking my vitamins/supplements, yes and more than ever. I take a lot of things, I must be a sucker for that stuff.
The book Aleka is talking about is ChangeOne. It's basically eating 1300 to 1600 calories a day. It's a very down to earth weight loss program and I'm going to follow it for awhile. I just like and need some variety in my eating.
Aleka, I like the book, but wish is was not written like a magazine. I'm reading a chapter and then there's this box with stuff to read that is not part of the other stuff. You have to read either several things at once or go back to read the stuff you missed. Other than that, I do like the plan.
Ruth, Suzannes recipes are the best. The food combining gets easier and easier after you do it for awhile. I really like that plan, just liked it too much.
Well, I'm off to exercise. I'm doing the gazelle everyday for 20 min. and light hand weights with aerobics every other day. So far, I'm just maintaining my weight, so I have to get busy with the diet part too.
Take care ladies, so glad to be back together again, Nikki

Hi Everyone!
I am so happy to see us all back again I am posting again today!
Nikkic, I am sorry you are going through a bad time. I hope
things are going better for your now

Aleka: the food combining is tough. I also drink coffee with
caffeine, I must be honest. I do eat my fruit first thing in the
morning wait half an hour and follow with all bran and skim
milk. The rest of the day is pro fat for me.

Everything went good today at the school interviews, My
child with Autism has been signed up for high school. His
teacher seems excellent with vast experience in Autism. She
will be a real asset for David.

Talk to you all Thursday!

Anne.

Well, the war has started. I was hoping that things could have been worked out. I have a bad feeling about this.

Ruth, nikki is right, Suzanne's recipes are awesome! Which book did you take out of the library? I think her Fast & Easy book is the best. I really don't like to cook and the recipes are so much simpler to make. She has a pizza recipe in the Fast & Easy book with a cream cheese crust. I made it one night, and it was so delicious. I love her WOE, but I was having a difficult time losing weight on it and became discouraged.

nikki, sorry you've had a bad few days. Hope things are better for you now. I have read some of that book. I think some of the portion sizes seem awfully small. They say to have 1/2 cup fruit salad. On WW the serving size is 1 cup. Do you think the serving sizes are for mini meals? If they are, then those serving sizes don't seem too bad because you'll be eating in another 2 hrs. or so.

ANNE, that's wonderful news that your son being signed up for high school. You must be so happy. I too am still drinking regular coffee in the morning. If I have coffee during the day, it's decaf. I have found that if I eat a pro/fat breakfast and have decaf coffee with it, I don't start to shake a few hrs. later, so that's the only time I drink decaf in the morning. I do the same thing with the fruit, then have Shredded Wheat and skim milk.

It's great we are together again!

Take care.
Aleka

Hi,
I don't know if it's been a hormonal thing or just feeling depressed about the state of the world. The last few days, I've just not felt like myself. I look at DH and wonder why I ever married him and I want to just hide from everyone. On the other hand, I don't know why no one wants anything to do with me. Ha. Maybe it's a combination of everything. Plus, DH has not been himself either, so we are just having a hard time of it. It seems things are getting better today though, between us anyway. The state of the world is another matter and I'm not at all happy about that. I wish it had not started either Aleka. So many people are for it, I don't think they really know what war is and how it will affect them personally.

Anne, I'm really glad your son is going to have a teacher who you like and trust. It is hard to find someone that is knowledgable and really understands what is going on with Autism. Teachers like that can really make a connection with the kids.

Aleka, the portions in the book for the fruit do seem small. In fact, I thought they all seemed small. Maybe that's what I need right now, ha. The breakfast you two are eating fits right in with this plan. I think I'll start that myself. I have a box of Cheerios and some skim milk, so think I'll eat that, alternating with oatmeal and one piece of fruit in the morning. Just change that one thing this first week. Oops, not today, DH brought me home a coconut cream pie shake for breakfast. I'll do it tomorrow and start the lunches next week.

I'm really glad we're back together too. I felt like something was really missing in my life. Later, Nikki

Hi Everyone:

Nikkic its hard not to feel down with all that is going on right
now. You guys will think I'm coo-coo but I am always afraid
we are entering "end times" I am a Catholic so I'm always
wondering when ever a serious conflict happens if we are
"on the brink".

Hormones at our age are going out of wack too and man oh
man can that effect your moods!!

Aleka, how many nuts do you eat a day? Do you have any
favorites? I eat about !/4 cup a day of almonds with a few
salted peanuts thrown in for good salty taste. I tried eating
mixed nuts but I can't leave them alone. 1/4 cup soon turns
into 1/2 and before you know it 1 cup or more

Today was real rainy and gloomy. I think it is getting near
that April Showers bring May flowers time......

Talk to you all later.
Anne.

We got rain overnight. At least it wasn't snow!

ANNE, I too am a Catholic, so I know where you are coming from. I eat mostly roasted & salted Soy Nuts. The serving size on the pkg. I get is 1/3 cup, so I can eat a lot more. While we were on vacation I found some macadamia and cashew mix. I threw in a can of almonds and eat about 1 oz. of that, which isn't very much. I usually measure out my portion of nuts, put them in a bowl, put the can of nuts away, and eat them in another room. That way I'm not tempted to eat the whole can...which I could very easily do.

nikki, your mood could be a little of both. At this stage of life, your hormones can do strange things. I still have mood swings even though I'm on a very low dose of Premarin. Sometimes I just want to be left alone and will bite anyone's head off if they disturb me. Glad things are looking up for you. Did you start the Change One diet this morning? Let me know if you were satisfied with the amount of food they suggest. If you were, I may give it a try.

Take care and enjoy your day.
Aleka

Morning,
I'm sure it was a hormonal thing. I don't feel like that now.

I'm not Catholic, but I have the same feeling. It seems like the signs are all there. I know in the past, people have said this over and over. But what makes me think this is true now, more than ever, is that people everywhere seem different, and for the most part, not in a good way. It is always best to be right with God and walk with Him. Even if these aren't the last days.

Aleka, I'm going to start the Changeone breakfast today. For me, it's still too early to eat. I have to exercise and take my shower still. I am never hungry in the morning, my problem time is and always has been, evening and night time. I get up to go to the bathroom and I'll eat something at 2am. If I don't, I can't sleep anymore and I become obsessed with being hungry. I need to get back into listening to those tapes again, they did help with that.

We are getting some sun today. I think I'll start cleaning up the camper, washing the linen in there and getting it ready to go. I like to have it all ready and just have to pack up clothes, food and water and head out. I saw some people camping last weekend down by the river. Of course, they had big motorhomes that you could live in year round, but it was still good to see some people getting out.

Got to get in there and exercise, See you tomorrow, Nikki

Hi Everyone!

It has been a non stop rainy day here in Toronto. We were
so dry last summer its a good thing (as Martha would say)

Dad is happy he gets two days off from his radiation treatment!
His spirits are good and all in all he is coping well.

I am going to spend time this weekend putting away winter
clothes and bringing out my spring and summer clothes.
I have been wearing my spring jacket for the last week and
it feels so good to be out of all that heavy outerwear!

Aleka, I like soya nuts too! Is 1/3 cup considered a serving
size for soya nuts? When I looked up the calories in a cup
of peanuts I nearly fainted!

Nikkic is the Change one Plan low carb?
Talk to you later.
Anne.

Anne,
I was wondering how your dad was doing. Sounds like he is doing great.

The Changeone plan isn't low carb. It's just low calorie. Not even low fat. Just a sensible kind of diet. It's nothing that anyone couldn't figure out, but it's kinda nice to see it all written out. This is what I had to eat today-Breakfast was one cup of multigrain cheerios with 1 cup of skim milk and 1 apple. Lunch was a 6" Subway sandwich without the cheese and no fatty dressings on it, had some sweet onion sauce and red vinegar. They say in the book that you can have a six inch sub, just avoid the mayo and I left off the cheese because I can't tell it's on there anyway and don't need the calories. What your suppose to do on the plan is learn how to eat regular food in portions that are suppose to cause you to lose weight. I think as long as I'm exercising and keeping my appetite under better control, I should start to lose some weight again. This week, I'm just working on my daytime food, next week, I'm going to work on supper and evening eating. Actually, your only suppose to change one thing every week, but I figure I've been on one diet or another for so long, why wait?

ANNE, that great news about your Dad. Hope he has a good 2 days off. The nutritional label on my container of soy nuts says, Serving size, 1/3 C , 140 cal. Which isn't too bad. In my WW food companion book, the serving size is 1/4 C, but our leader told us to use the serving size that is listed on what you're eating. Peanuts, cashews, almonds, ect, have a lot of calories for very few nuts That's why I eat the soy nuts, you can have a lot of them That's great you're getting out your spring clothes. We still have another month or so where we can have snow, so my spring clothes don't come out until Memorial Day weekend. When I do take them out, I leave out a few winter clothes.

nikki, in the book they said that you wanted to, you can change one thing every two weeks to get a jump start on your weight loss. Your breakfast sounds really healthful. What you had for breakfast is what a WW breakfast is like. WW is the same concept and Change One, eating regular foods in smaller portions. Let us know how you do.

Take care and enjoy your Saturday.
Aleka

Good morning ladies,
I'm feeling great today. I did an abs tape with Tony Little this morning, he's such a dork, but the workout was really a good one. I can sure feel it. My stomach is my major problem right now. The rest of me is looking pretty good, even muscular. But I took a bath last night and really saw what that stomach looks like, like I'm 9 months pregnant. So I'm really going to concentrate on that part everyday. Of course, I do the gazelle too. I'm up to 25 min and I'm trying to do it 3-5 times a week. Somedays, my ankle just won't cooperate. It's so frustrating, my spirit is willing and my flesh is weak, ha. So I have to rest it more than I want to, or else I just can't walk the rest of the day.

You guys and your nuts/soynuts. I can't eat them, their like potato chips, I can't just eat a portion. I can pour one out, eat it and then become obsessed with eating more. Lately, I've been eating beef jerky. I got a great deal on it, $1 a bag for a normal $5 bag, so I bought 16 bags. It satisfies that need for a salty snack and with my low carb mentality still in place, I figure it can't hurt that much. Besides, it takes forever to chew up and my jaws get tired pretty quick.

I'll say it again, I'm so glad we're back together. I always feel accepted and never judged by you guys. It is so very nice and makes me feel so good.

Well, I'm working on the camper today. Yesterday, it was just too cold and windy. Today, the weather is so beautiful and it's going to be in the 50's. Have a good day, Nikki

Hi Everyone!

Nikkic, Tony Little makes me laugh! Yes he is a dork for sure
but a loveable one! I know what you mean about your
stomach, mine is awful. Like you, the rest of me looks pretty
good but the tummy has to go!!! I have tons and
tones of stretch marks from my pregnancies alot of sag and
most of my weight is on my gut!!

Aleka, I am going to buy the pine nuts. They are a great bargain
for the calories. I should be ashamed but I was lying in bed last
night munch on peanuts!!! I have to stop this nonsense!
I think the pine nuts would be a great substituation.

The weather here is damp and rainy, we are suppose to get
some good weather this week coming up.

Nikkic, weather in the 50's sounds fabulous, wish I was there!

Aleka, are you still following WW points program?

Talk to you later.
Anne.