Morning, troops! Well, just barely. I am actually home sick...or semi-sick, tonight. That headache I had last night just did not go away, and kept me up a good portion of the day. So it didn't take much urging on the part of my DH to call in. I feel better, but still kind of puny. Skipped my workout...and I really feel guilty about it for some reason!

Group Activity for Week of 10/5-1714.5 Minutes! Woo Hoo..you guys are kicking some serious hind end this week!

One of the topics in our 'play book' is dining out. This has proven to be a challenge for some of you. Exactly what is causing you problems? Menu choices? Watching other people eat food you shouldn't have? The basket full of hot bread they seem to bring at every restaurant these days? Not sure what is SBD friendly? Thinking that a meal out is an excuse to overindulge?

We don't often dine out, so this has not been too big of a problem for me. But with our upcoming cruise I am worried I will completely fall apart! Seven days of bad food choices could do some serious damage...and I don't want that to happen.

Share with me some of your dining dilemnas! What gives you grief at a restaurant?

Tomorrow I'll post what I can find about successful dining out strategies and we'll see if we can learn some good stuff.

Ellis, is Canadian Thanksgiving like here in the States? Too much food, too much family, too much of just about everything?

Robin, exercise is tough no matter what, but if it bores you then you really have a problem! I won't exercise in front of my family either, so don't feel alone in that. I finally got exercise videos that I can do in private....and it is working for me.

Ruthie-still no pedometer, huh? And you mean to tell me it isn't directly connected to your feet? How do you manage to get around? I thought of you the other day when I saw a pedometer clip in a catalog...that would stop it from straying too far!

Leslie-the exercise you are describing is one that is included in that link to "No Crunch Ab Exercises" I posted yesterday. I think they call it the plank. That one really does work all the core muscles without any bending at all! I should incorporate that one into my workouts!

As for the rest of you recruits, way to go! You are all doing so well...makes me stick out my chest with pride! Yes, it really is stuck out even if it doesn't look like it!

Have a great day!

Good Morning Sarge!

My exercise for yesterday --> 25 minutes of walking.

Franny, I had that same headache on Tuesday. Came home from work at about 1:00, because I wasn't being productive due to the head pain. It was almost gone yesterday, just hung on a little bit, but is completely gone this morning!! I just hate headaches, makes it hard to do anything. Glad yours is getting better!

Dining out.....to be honest, this doesn't really present many problems for me for the most part. I don't eat out often, and when I do, for some reason I find that I can make healthy choices. Maybe it's because I think that the people I'm eating with will be watching what I'm eating and I don't want to be judged! I find that I have more problems when I'm by myself, with no one watching. Hmmmm, does that make me a closet eater? Does it show lack of accountability to myself? I've been getting better about this, but I know I still need some work. I'm reading Dr Phils book in hopes that it will help me work through some of these issues.

I'll report back in this evening with my exercise minutes for today.

Hope all your headaches go away...I feel for you as I have never even had one...but my sister suffers from dibilating migraines.

20 minute WATP video this am.

Eating out is ok for me. I just usually pick the fish in the most original form. By original I mean not a lot of sauces & stuff. Actually we do not eat out as much as we used to. But with my cooking I think my family would like to change that

So far this week I made op meatballs that were quite good. I just had mine in a bowl with a little tomato sauce & part skim mozz. Everyone else had theirs on grinder rolls. Stuff like that helps me cause it's not that much variation to make 2 diff. meals.

Just got my Dr. phil book last night & started it...quite interesting. I can see that a lot of what he says can be applied to other areas of life as well.

Good Morning Sarge!

This topic is close to my heart, because DH and I have been doing the "Eating Out" thing a couple of times a week for various reasons.

Here's what I usually stick to: Grilled Chicken Breast or Fish as my entree, and whatever veggies they have. I always tell the waiter I don't want the rice or potatoes and instead double up on the steamed veggies. They are always pretty accomadating if you ask. I also pass on the baskets of bread as soon as they are plced on the table. This is still very difficult for me!

I used to look at eating out very differently. It was more of a celebration. A thin friend of mine told me a while back that this was a mistake. You should save the celebrations for special days like your birthday, etc. Any other time should be focused on the socializing and not on the eating. So I have been practicing focusing on talking more and eating less. I try to stay as much OP as possible when eating out and save the splurges for really special times.

Anyway, this seems to be working for me most of the time. I would love to hear everyone elses opinions on what works for them!

Thanks for bringing up this topic, Franny. Gives me space to vent, and to get feedback from others!

I'm adding 45 minutes of brisk walking to our daily talley.
Have a good day,
~Sharon

Hi soldiers! I'm an exercise whimp! I'm still sore from the kickboxing on Tues. night and so I've done NOTHING since! I am going from here to the ab web site you posted yesterday and try to psyched enough to try something (anything!) thanks again for posting the site Franny!

What exercise videos do you all like?

S'flake, what is WATP? Also, are op meatballs made from lean beef and no breadcrumbs? How much cheese can I put on top? My kids have been asking for spaghetti and I'm trying to make it ok for me to eat dinner too. Just meatballs with cheese would be fine with a salad.

Eating out is a tough one for me! I understood what to do on atkins, but I am still confused about so many things on this diet. When I can't read the label, I'm not always sure what I'm having!

Franny, my cruise experience is that you have to be strong with your meal choices ahead of time! On Celebrity cruise line, most ships offer "Spa Cuisine" which is beautiful and delicious and on plan for no extra money! Many people didn't even know about it so there wasn't even a big wait! On Carnival, my experience was that the food was pretty, but wasn't so yummy, so it was easy to choose carefully! On Royal Carribean and Norweigan, it was tough because the food was good and served nicely. I had to make my waiter PROMISE that no matter what I ordered for dessert, he would bring me strawberries! It became funny! Some ships have a pizza place on board too, and it is open off-meal-hours! I was on atkins, so when my kids ate pizza at 11pm, i ate the cheese only! Good luck and good decisions will keep you op...and just in case, wear your tighter clothes earlier in the cruise!!! I love cruising!!!

Deets: Good thinking...the dinner out IS supposed to be social and not only about eating! I didn't realize that before you said it! Thanks!

Too many headaches and dog accidents today!!! I hope you ALL feel better very soon!!!
Hugs to all!

J&L I just sent you a PM of the info.....hey lookie girls someone is asking me for a recipe

Reporting minutes for the day:

15 minutes jogging
20 minutes walking

I find eating out to be very difficult!!! I have gotten so used to ordering whatever tastes good, but now that I am paying attention to what I eat it is not easy to find SBD friendly cuisine on menus. I guess it is where we typically go to eat, too, that makes it difficult. My husband and I both enjoy the bar scene, and you can imagine the kinds of things that show up on those menus! Bar night tends to be a mini-splurge for me whether I like it or not. At least I have cut alcohol almost completely from my diet. I used to have 4 or 5 beers a week and I am down to maybe one drink every two weeks and I try to stick to red wine (or Michelob Ultra if I am having a mini-splurge). I think dining out is probably my toughest battle with this WOE.

I guess I should add that even though not all of my choices are OP, at least I am making better choices than I used to!

Pvt. Lizzie reporting exercise times today. 30 minutes bike riding this a.m. 45 minutes bike riding this p.m. That makes about 11 miles.

We eat out about twice a week. I have found that most restaurants will do what you want, you just have to ask. We have learned self control with a buffet restaurant near us, and so have many veggies to choose from, and salads, as well as an assortment of meats. I usually choose a small steak or some turkey, or chicken. They even have SF jello and pudding. Other places I would choose chicken or fish, their veggies and salad. I really rather eat fish at home, because I can fix it OP, and make it tastier without the fat. At Red Lobster I get their Shrimp Ceasar salad, hold the croutons and dressing on the side. Applebees, their stir-fried veggies and chicken. I just have to study the menu. I guess I have been doing the low fat thing for such a long time, some of those choices just come easier now. What is the old adage? 'Practice makes perfect' or close to it.:

Sarge: Hope the headache is gone. A little touch of some sort of flu?

Hope you have all had a good day. Lizzie