thanx jessica.. good to see ya!

Hi vixens

Sara - I sort of know what you mean, although it worked this way for me for all kinds of "non-healthy foods" (such as hamburgers). I like to think of it as "we forced our bodies to eat junk, and now that they've tasted good foods again, they complain openly when we revert back to the crappy habits".

Everyone - Today for breakfast, I ate oatmeal for the first time in my life, and well... it tasted pretty bland >.< Not bad, not disgusting, just bland... the kind of things that makes me feel like emptying a half pot of jam on it just to give it more taste. So I was wondering, do any of you put something on theirs, and what would be nice to try? Tomorrow I'm going to try with cinnamon (I love that), but I'm looking for more ideas. It could be a good breakfast, if only it wasn't making me feel like I was eating chunks of cardboard

Kery...I put splenda on it. Honey is good too. I buy the flavored oatmeal mostly. The strawberries and cream, apple cinnamon, and maple and brown sugar are all really yummy. I love oatmeal. I wouldn't eat it plain though. yuck.

Speaking of, Im having oatmeal for breakfast.

Since my mini goal is almost over. I accomplished almost everything I said I would. its time to start a new one. A goal for when I go back home. Ill post more later.

Love,
Deanne

good morning, everyone! It's going to be a hot and sticky day here too. Deanne, I've got a '99 Harley Lowrider. I started out with a Honda Shadow VLX (600 cc) for about 5 years. Then, I felt ready to move upward and onward so I started looking at Harleys. I hated the sportsters because they're not very comfortable. In fact, I had one for a month and then sold it. I stumbled across the Lowrider at the dealership and really loved it. It's a huge jump in power though (88 cubic inch engine which translates to about 1450 cc). After I got used to all that power between my legs, I started having fun.

Thanks for filling me in on what kind of diet you all are on. Do you mind if a Southbeacher crashes your gathering? (smile) I've been doing really good so far, except for the one day at my nephew's birthday party. But I'm afraid to weigh myself because I don't know what kind of weight loss I've had. I did lose a couple pounds about 4-5 days ago, but haven't been near the scale since.

I loved the pictures of the car and the pool! We just took down our pool, because our kids are grown and we don't seem to have the time to enjoy it or take care of it. When I get too hot and sticky though, I jump onto my motorcycle and go out riding in some forest preserve areas where the air is a little cooler.

I'll include a picture of me on my motorcycle here in this post, if I can figure out how to do it. OK... I did the preview post thing, and it doesn't seem to have attached the picture. Let me know if you guys see it or not. And, if anyone can give me instructions on how to put a picture right into the post, I'd appreciate it! Thanks...

Deb

Deanne - Deb's post above mine just made me realize that I hadn't answered your question about what plan I'm following. So let's remedy to that: I follow the Montignac one (it's mainly about eating foods with low glycemic indexes, as well as avoiding the association of carbs + fats in a same meal). Although I'm not always 100% on plan with it, I admit (I still like my occasional bretzel, I'm Alsacian, after all! LOL), but when I "stray off" now, at least I manage to limit myself. If I crave a chocolate croissant, I wait a little to see if I really want it.. if I do, I buy one, and only one. It normally takes care of the craving, gets eaten slowly, and shuts the Brat off, after the intial struggle of "noo I want 4 of them! 5! 6!"

And yeah, I think that the oatmeal I've bought is definitely NOT flavored I just wish to find something I can add to it that isn't... full of useless calories. I'm not keen on sweeteners, and I'm also afraid that I wouldn't be able to stop at an "appropriate" quantity" if pouring fructose on it. Perhaps honey, but I need to check if it'd really fit. Hm, or strawberries? *will experiment*

Hey gals, sorry i've been MIA lately. Deb I'm on the southbeach diet as well. I've been a little lax this past week though. That time of the month and gosh was I craving ice cream. SO I had some, but I didnt eat the entire gallon lol.
I just found out that Sidney, my daughter that got hurt, does have a broken nose. I told them at the hospital something was wrong but NOOOOOOO they told me I was over reacting and she was fine. Now a week later we're off to see an ENT to see what can be done for her now. I'm hoping they dont have to break it and re-set it, but she does have a lump on one side of her nose. I'll try to attatche a picture of what her injury looked like the day after.. dunno, my files are big and this site hates me sometimes lol..

Ok, thats my baby.. She's usually a little cuter though. Her eye looks completely normal now, it's just her nose that's giving me fits.

Hey chicks...

I'm proud to say that I have been OP all day. I don't feel like getting off plan either. I feel fine. I'm still concerned that something is wrong. For the past 6 months, I've been on time with TOM. Now, I'm about 11 days late. I took to pregnancy tests. Nada. It could be connected to why I only have a 1-2 day period. I don't know whats up. It concerns me that I have not even been ovulating. I want a baby one day damnit.

Deb- I love your bike! My husband has a crotch rocket, a Ninja. He misses it dearly(its in the States). We go to the bike shop here at least once a weak. He found a Busa that he wants. Its 1300 ccs though. Too much for the desert. Oh and they just built a Harley shop here. Imagine that. A Harley shop in the Middle East!

Kery- I'm not sure what to tell you about the oatmeal. Strawberries sounds yummy! Maybe bananas. Cinnamon would be good too. Your plan sounds interesting and difficult. Is it hard? I'm so braindead sometimes. I like WW because I dont have to think much. Your plan sounds like something that will be very healthy now and in the long run. What sorts of things can you NOT eat?

Where is everyone else?

I'm eating some cheez its right now. The tobasco kind.

My food:

Watermelon(1 lb)- 2.5 points
LC Chicken Enchilada- 6 points
Cheez its(26)- 3 points
Total:11.5
Balance:10.5

Love,
Deanne

Kim...oh your poor daughter. That looks so painful!! How is she feeling?

She's fine Deanne, but she's awful tired of people poking at her face and looking at her lol

Ew, Kim, I hope your daughter's nose can be fixed quickly! It's weird that doctors couldn't even tell that something was wrong... that's kinda, err, their job...

Deanne - It's not terribly hard, just a bit tricky to get used to regarding the foods to associate (or not). For instance, I can eat spaghetti with tomato sauce and broccoli, but not spaghetti with cheese. More generally, it recommends to eat non-processed foods, whole grains... stuff that is anyway good, whether we want to lose weight or simply stay in good health. The only problem that can really stem from it in my opinion is that, as the author says that there's no need to bother about quantities, some people may understand "we can eat cheese at will as long as it's not mixed with carbs, etc", and go into overeating/unbalanced meals. I guess it's a matter of logics at this point, haha. If being sensible about it, I think it can indeed easily be followed for life.

As for what I can't eat, it's a matter of glycemic index first, but there are things that are really "forbidden" for their extremely high GI, for instance potatoes and beer, or any kind of "junk food" (which allies fats + carbs, and generally that's refined carbs too). I recently got an updated version of the author's book, where he says that on the "maintenance" phase, one could allow themselves such foods IF balancing them with very low-GI foods, but he lost me at this point, it's really a pain to calculate whether the global GI of a meal was too high or too low then

Wow...It makes sense. Who is the author? I'd like to read up on that book. How long have you been on the diet?

Ok, Im going to the WW site to check on my points. I think I have 2 left for the day. Hmmm...glass of milk before bed maybe??

Deanne - The author is Michel Montignac. I'm not completely sure about English translations of his book, I think it's called "Eat Yourself Slim", this is the one title I've found that would be the closest to the French title. There's also one that is "for women", but the method remains the same - this one mainly adds things for girls in their teens, women above 50, etc.

As for how long, I started middle January this year, it's been pleasant enough a method to follow so far. However, I must admit that I've been a naughty girl for the past 5-6 weeks or so, and haven't been following it as thoroughly as before - see where the Brat caused me problems Had I been more committed, I probably would've shed a few more pounds since then, but I don't mind - I've realized that as long as I exercise and allow myself "treats" without overeating them, I can maintain easily, which has now caused a new motivation to kick in

Kery...it sounds like you're getting back on track. Me too. I had a few days there where I was all over the place with my diet.
How tall are you?

Kim... I'm so sorry to hear about your daughter breaking her nose. Poor thing having to deal with it for a week without getting anything done. As far as doctors go, sometimes I can understand why they call medicine a "practice". LOL

Kery... your diet sounds a bit like the South Beach diet, as far as sticking to "good" carbs vs. "bad" carbs. Have you ever read or heard anything about the SB diet?

Deanne... wow, they have a Harley shop out in the Middle East?? I guess it shows that Harley is pretty much a worldwide popularity status. I honestly don't really put a whole lot of weight on the name. I mean, I don't snub people who ride other bikes just cuz I ride a Harley now. It's fun but no big deal.

Well, I'm off to go out with some girlfriends tonight. I'll be back later! Hope you all have a nice night and behave yourselves. (grin)

Deb