meowee Just wondering if your weather has improved...sure hope so. When the weather is sunny, so is my disposition!

Hi Cheryl glad to see you are back!

Hello to Donna, Freda, Hy and anyone else I might have missed.

Let's talk about food! I just found sunweet apricots at the grocery store in individual 70 calorie packets. Six packets to a bag. This is good for me because I tend to buy things and let them go stale, rot, dry out, etc.

Also Walmart has the Snack-away Mrs Freshley yogurt creme cakes (a twinkie wanna-be), 140 calories, 1.5 grams of fat, and 4 grams of fiber even.
Tastes great with some strawberries and fat free reddi whip, (5 cal. per 2 tablespoons I think)

I like the snack away blueberry muffins also. I love finding good sweet snacks that are also at least semi healthy.

One other thing, I love the Lean Cuisine Panini sandwiches...yum. I like the chicken spinach and the chicken club (that one is hard to find)

How bout you all? Got any delicious healthy foods you have discovered?

Hi gang . . . so far no white stuff has floated down . . . but no sun either and boy is it ever cold and windy. At least the wind has dried up the puddles. Hopefully is coming to visit over the weekend (I hope the prediction is accurate). However we're supposed to be back to the again by Tuesday. Even a couple of days of will be much appreciated.

Nothing much is new around here . . . I'm still busy with that work project and it looks like it will continue into the summer . . . not sure I like that idea but that will teach me for saying "Yes".

Gail . . . sounds like you've been making lots of great little discoveries. I tend to be a bit of a 'home-made' fan because I can use Splenda as a sugar replacement (I'm diabetic). I do like some of the Lean-Cuisine stuff but have found a Canadian brand-name that is a little better (IMHO) and also a little cheaper. Actually I don't buy many pre-packaged dinners either and when I do I always check the nutrition information and pick a kind with an Energy Density of 1.0 (or lower) if possible.

Freda . . . Thanks for the warm thoughts. If that sun does come along tomorrow, I'll definitely know where it came from.

Have a good evening moving and shaking in that great downward direction.

Hi Again!

Just reading your post gail! I just got back from the grocery store and was thinking about some of the "diet" things I buy! I love the Lean cuisine panini's too! The southwest ones are my favorites! I like a lot of spice! I do try to buy mostly fresh produce but I always have some bags of frozen vegetables. I like to roast them in the oven and look forward to making them on the grill! I just bought sweet potato fries at Meijers today. I love sweet potatoes and they have a little more nutrition than white. I also found a spray on dressing from Wish Bone. I bought it but haven't used it yet. I use fat free mayo and cool whip. I've been looking for the products that you mentioned but they aren't in this area yet! I'll keep looking! Oh, yes, don't forget the WOW chips and doritoes and baked cheetoes! Good for a treat sometimes! They talked for awhile about coming out with WOW corn chips. I was looking forward to that, but considering my addiction I don't know if it would have been a good thing or not.

How about the rest of you? Any favorite products you use? Freda

Meowee, I was wondering, how long is your summer season, being way up there in Nova Scotia?

It is so beautiful here in Indiana now, with the trees in bloom. My lilac bush is budding out also. I have a handicapped daughter who uses a wheel chair, and she and I, along with my friend and neighbor enjoyed a long walk this evening. Pushing the wheelchair adds a little more exercise when I'm walking!

Meowee, it sounds like you actually cook! I used to, but I'm more into convenience these days. I did fire up the grill this week, and made tilapia (just sprinkled on a little cajun seasoning; and it was delicious), and baked sweet potatoes, which I love.

Freda, I'm going to have to try those sweet potato french fries; do you dip them into marshmallow creme instead of ketchup? I've heard about that spray on Wishbone dressing, but have forgotten to look for it. Since I like sweet dressing, I've been adding Equal sweetener to fat free zesty Italian dressing, and I like it that way.

Tonight I had a Klondike low fat ice cream sandwich with some strawberries while watching all those skinny ladies parading around on the Miss USA pageant. Can you tell I like sweet stuff? That's the only way I can do this losing weight thing, by finding desserts I can still enjoy. I've found that if I add fruit it is healthier of course and stretches out my dessert so to speak, so I get more to eat. Because you know all the individual portion diet desserts aren't very big...just a few bites sometimes, but add a few sliced strawberries or half a banana, and you get way more to munch on.

The other day I took a snack to my cousin's house. We sat outside at her country home, we each had half of a large juice apple and a box of cracker jacks. (3 WW points) Surprisingly, that made a good combination.

Since it is late, and I can't eat anymore before bedtime, I will now quit talking about food!

Have a good weekend ladies!

Hi Ladies,

Donna...We didn't get the snow, just rain and wind. Northwest North Dakota down to Rapid City, South Dakota got the white stuff. Rapid City got about 6 feet. They can have it!!!! I just want the 75 degrees and sunny back like we had a week ago.

Freda...The computer is still not fixed. Have a piece of foil wrapped around the plug that goes into the laptop for the power supply. It goes to the shop Monday, then I will have to use the dinosuar to communicate. RATS!!!

All this food talk is making me hungry! Good thing my fingers are busy flying over the keys typing to you all. Instead of feeding my face Gail, my favorite treat/dessert is 1 1/2 cups of sliced strawberries and 1 cup of ww Vanilla yogurt for 2 points. I also like Skinny Cow Mint ice cream sandwich, for 2 points. I also like Lean Cuisine All Meat pizza for 7 points and Pepperoni pizza for 8 points. I also use Progresso soups, most are between 4 and 5 points for the whole can. Salad dressings, I like Newman's Balsamic Light dressing. 2 Tbs is 1 point, other than that, I'm like Linda, I do a lot of cooking from scratch.

Have a good weekend.

Cheryl

A gigantic sphere of yellowish-orange fire arose from the eastern sea this morning, and now it fills the sky. Some of the older ones think they have seen this before, long ago, but the younger ones feel much afraid.

Meowee!!

Cheryl

6 FEET of SNOW??? Poor people in Rapid City!

I've been eating lots of strawberries myself...aren't we blessed in this country that we can buy strawberries all year long?

I also like the Progresso soups...and once in a while I do make homemade vegetable soup. Yesterday, I had the low fat chicken noodle soup at Panera Bread, and I don't know how it can be low-fat, it is soooo good.

I like the different brands of "diet" frozen pizzas too, and I just found that the cheapie Michelina lean gourmet pepperoni pizza is just as good as some of the more expensive brands (6 points and about a buck.) Put some peppers on top and it's even better.

I just had the WW smart ones chicken santa fe, (2 points), and it was really good. Topped it with a little melted lowfat chedder and salsa.

Can you tell I don't have a man to cook for?!!

I can also tell that you like to eat. Just kidding Gail. We all like to eat, that's what got us here in the first place.

All those goodies are not available here, sometimes I wish I was home.

Heh there, people! girlie, I'm following you over here... No, really, I'm just thinking I'm going to need all the support I can get with my new challenge starting up tomorrow. Counting calories is torture for me!

Hi all. Let me back in, please. Maybe I can keep up a little better this time....well, I'll try. Am starting counting calories tomorrow for my 21-day challenge. I have gained yet again! and am disgusted with myself...she says, after stuffing in more and more food...sigh.

You got that right Elyn....I have always loved to eat, ever since I was a little girl, and I was a "little" girl, but all that eating started catching up with me when I was in my late 20"s. When I was in high school, I would have never dreamed in my wildest nightmares that I'd someday weight over 100 pounds more than I did then.

I am thankful that there are so many "goodies" to choose from now at the store. Way back when I first started dieting, I remember buying a lot of tuna and turkey hot dogs. There weren't all the low fat products there are now, and dieting was much harder because everything tasted "blah" to me. Of course back then I didn't have much grocery money to spend on lots of healthy fruits etc. either.

Hi Red Balloon Wishing you success in your 21 day challenge.

Just set your mind to it
And you can do it!!!

How's that for a refrigerator magnet quote, and I just made it up on the spot! Whooo am I up today or what? But seriously I do believe it all starts up in our brains; to me the actual dieting isn't the hardest part; it's keeping the right attitude, getting and staying motivated. I didn't make this one up but i've seen this quote,
YAGOTTAWANNA

Hey Gail, how about "making up on the spot" instructions on staying motivated and YAGOTTAWANNA. I sooooooo need one.

Gail...I'll have to see if I can find that pizza brand you mentioned. I knoiw they will not have it in the town I shop in, I will have to go to Fargo and check. I love to cook and eat, that's my problem, I like it toooo much.LOL I do have a nice collection of "Light and Tasty" cook books that I'm using.

Welcome back redballoon and good luck on your 21 day challenge!

Linda...Your too funny!! Glad the big redball decided to rise in your area. Hope it's around for at least 6 months with warmth included. It was nice here as well, 73 and today is suppose to be 75. I'll be out for a couple of walks. Stepped on the scales this morning and I was back in the 330's. Hope it says a 2lb loss tomorrow for my weigh-in.

Elyn...Love your av, it too cute!!!

Have a great Sunday gals!

Cheryl

Staying Motivated

Gee if I could figure out the formula for that and bottle it, I would be rich...and thin!

Here is my latest line of reasoning concerning dieting or healthy eating if you'd rather call it that.

I have found for myself that whether or not I am eating right, I am obsessing about it, so I might as well go ahead and continue eating healthy. Does that make sense? Before Christmas I completely went off my diet and gained weight. Even though I was eating everything my little heart desired, I still wasn't happy, and I still called my friend all the time talking about dieting; driving her nuts I'm sure. (My blood pressure went up too, and I outgrew my clothes.)

I'm never going to be able to escape the issue of eating; because that is my area of weakness. I'm either going to control it, or it's going to control me.

I do feel good when I am in control. I find that for myself, I do better belonging to a group; now it is WW. When i diet on my own, I am not as committed, and it's easier for me to start slipping. I need that weigh in day.

I feel good today because I was able to wear some slacks I had outgrown!

There are so many reasons to eat healthy and lose weight, and only one real reason not to.......food tastes good!!!

Is the immediate gratification of that good taste worth what we give up...our health, our looks, our self-esteem, our energy, our wardrobe?!!

I am preaching to myself here; I need to remember these things when I weaken.

Wow . . . two days of sunshine in a row . . . and it is actually warming up a bit today, too . . . and you should see how green the grass is after all that rain.

Gail . . . Keep up being up! I like your quotes and I like your logic. It's so true, if we are going to be OC about our eating it might as well be about good eating.

Red . . . Welcome back and good luck with the 21 day challenge. You can do it.

Elyn . . . Love that new avatar. Wow, I hope we can all catch some of Gails' good vibes.

Cheryl . . . Yay, girl. Our weather is not as great as yours sounds, but it is trying to get there.

Okay everybody . . . keep moving and shaking and doing the good stuff and I'll see you again really soon.