A Couple of Things If You’re Losing Weight…

#1. I am so happy! I have always loved english muffins, and on Weight Watchers, they are definitely an alternative bread choice, but I wasn’t willing to sacrifice 2pts. where I could have 2 pieces of light bread toast for 1pt. I don’t know how long they’ve been out, but now Thomas’s (the english muffin people) have come out with a “light” english muffin. It’s terrific! Each muffin is 100 calories, only 1 gm of fat, and 8gm. of fiber. On the WeightWatchers point scale, that is only 1. Not only that, but evidently at one time they used high fructose corn-syrup, which they don’t do anymore. It just brought back a little bit of deliciousness for me. (It’s amazing how excited you can get about something so little, aye?).

The other thing I wanted to talk about is putting lemon in your water when you’re out. I think this is an old dieting trick for adding a little bit of acid hoping to burn just a few more calories. After watching this, I will never do that again!

Not A Whole Lot To Say…

Easter went off just fine. Both the kids had to work, but that’s okay I guess. The ham  was perfect and I even made gravy from the pan drippings. (A little salty for my taste). I have to admit, without the Easter Baskets this year, it was like there was a little something missing all day. As old as the kids are, I used to make them hunt for eggs, etc.  This year I also had to worry about dessert, something that never mattered before because everyone ate the chocolate in their baskets. Thank goodness for sugar free instant pudding and fat-free milk. LOL. I made a banana cream pie, folding a little Cool Whip into the top half, in a lower fat grahmcracker crust and then just a drizzle of Lite Hershey’s Chocolate Syrup. If I tracked the points right, it still was 4pts. a slice, but it was good. Luckily I was too full after dinner, so I had it for breakfast. I know, shame, shame.

I did want to say that I have been “listening to my body” for that “satisfaction sigh”, when you’re supposed to put down the fork and be done. The problem I’m having with that is that I apparently am like Pavlov’s dog. I’ll be eating and start thinking about it, then I do it. I don’t think that’s how it was meant to work. Sometimes I think about it shortly after I start eating and then it happens. If I follow the rules, I’m nowhere near satisfied (of course, that probably wouldn’t hurt me any as far as dropping a few pounds), but it’s frustrating! If anyone else uses that as a “body signal” how do you handle it? Is it just me? When I think about it and I’m not eating, it makes me yawn. Weird.

Over the Holiday I also got a look at being an “empty nester”. The kids had gone to friends after work Sun. nite and stayed most of Monday. It was definitely quiet around here. While I am anxious to have them move out so I can have my house back, I have a few doubts on how well I’m going to handle it. As they’ve grown up, we’ve really become quite good friends. I’m just hoping I’ll be busy enough changing everything around, I won’t have time to notice they’re gone.

It’s So Good To Join…

the world again. I actually started out last week going to a  training for Real Estate Brokers. It was so great to interact again. I had not forgotten as much as I thought. It was so good, I started with a hug from a member services person that I have barely known but has helped me a lot recently. We had talked and played tag so many times when she saw me, a hug was automatic.

That on top of my daughter being here, I am working more on getting out and not being the hermit that it is so easy to become.

I don’t know how many read the “letter to my body”, but it has helped. I find myself making better choices based on “us” getting along better and thinking about how I want to be later on in life, than even counting points, (altho that doesn’t hurt, combining the two).

Happy Easter to all those who celebrate. I’m looking forward to the day. The BF is off work, I’m ready to go to church, and I’m feeling happy about Easter dinner. I’m also really happy not to deal with “Easter Baskets” LOL. I have told every one and the only one in my house really disappointed is my mother, who really doesn’t need it, so I will probably go get her candy Monday. This year there will be no extra PeePs, colored speckled eggs, etc. This year, maybe the kids are old enough to finally understand what Easter is all about.

Veggie Daughter Comes To Visit…

I previously wrote about my oldest daughter going vegan. I have since learned the difference between “vegetarian” and “vegan”. She is definitely “vegetarian”. The nite she got here, I had made my famous quiche for dinner with a salad. The quiche has ham in it, so she didn’t eat any of that, and I set about to try and find her something that I had that didn’t have meat in it. When you’re completely carnivorous as I am, there’s not much that doesn’t have meat. I offered to make her scrambled eggs and that was about as good as it gets! Even my soups all have either fish or meat. Luckily she hasn’t totally given up dairy yet, as there are a lot of things that have dairy that she uses to substitute for not having meat in her meals. I told her to take it one step at a time, because if she makes it too hard on herself she’s just setting herself up for failure.

 I’m really happy that she has stuck with this so far. She has always had problems with her digestion, and she was never a big fruit or vegie eater. She was drinking diet cokes like crazy and I could never get her to drink water. All of that has changed, plus she’s gotten very pro-active about her vitamins. She had a veggie burrito for lunch yesterday which she said was delicious (Del Taco), that she never would have even tried before.

Last nite I made homemade nachos for dinner for all of us. They work out to about 5pts. per serving for me, and they don’t have any meat for her. My family loves them because on each round tortilla chip is a 1/2 tsp. of warm beans, put a pinch of low fat cheese on top and melt in the micro. Put a tiny dollop of guacamole on top, and a tiny dollop of FF sour cream on top of that and eat. Each nacho is made individually and they are surprisingly filling. They are nothing like the nachos you get nowadays where everything is just thrown on a pile of chips!

We went shopping most of the day yesterday. I couldn’t believe it. I wore her out (my revenge for Las Vegas) and we were back out at it this morning. We both talked about how important it is to get out and be doing something. We both come from kind of the same place. It’s very easy to stay in sweats, looking like hell and never leave the house unless you have to. While her visit was, as always, too short, it was packed with fun and we were able to give each other some great encouragement. I’m rockin’ and rollin’ now. LOL

A Letter To My Body…

I picked this up from LadyShanny and Blogher and decided to give it a try. Until I did this, I didn’t realize how resentful and angry I was at the physical me. Hopefully, now that I got it out and examined it, I can get rid of it.

                               A Letter To My Body

Here we are after spending a half a century together, and I figure I know you pretty well. We’ve pretty much come full circle, the baby with her belly hanging out over her diaper, the little girl who was taller than almost everyone in her class, the blossoming young woman who quickly turned into “full figured”, and the older woman who has once again turned into a body with her belly hanging over her underwear. You’ve taken me from being a kid to having 3, and I must say we got along pretty well thru all of them. We’ve gone thru menopause together and it was easy. No matter what I’ve done to you, you have always bounced back and been strong and reliable.

I would love to say I don’t blame you for the shape I’m in now, but to a certain extent, I do. In fact, to be totally honest, I’ve been angry with you since I was 12. We had two parents. Mom, who fought being overweight all her life, and Dad, who was skinny as a rail all his life, right into middle age. You took on all of Dad’s mannerisms, gave me his face, but took on Mom’s fat cells. I have her shape and took on her lifetime of fighting my weight. I do resent you to a certain extent. I resent fighting with you about what I eat all my life. You’ve never given me a chance to relax. It’s always been a battle.

Now that we’re older, things haven’t changed much. I do realize as we’ve gotten older, you are more in need than ever before of the proper fuel for you to carry me the rest of the way. I don’t want to suffer and be limited in my mobility as the days and years pass, and I realize that you can turn on me at any time. You have won the war. Now the tables have turned and I shall be your servant. I am heeding your warnings, the stiffness in the joints, the pain in my hips when I lay too long on my side. My heart says I want to be around to see my youngest child thru life and see my Grandchildren graduate from high school. The Bible says you are a temple. I have never quite figured that and have not exactly brought “presents” in thru your door, but I am starting to see that now. I shall look at you thru new eyes with a new appreciation for what you can do. Hopefully, from this point forward you can accept my apologies and we will get along much better in the future. As the old joke goes, “if I would have known I was going to live this long, I would have taken better care of you”.

“Need To Exercise Saves Dieter”

If I was writing a newspaper article in a “good news” paper, that would be my headline. I am getting so much more concious of my need for exercise, that rather than driving home from the bar (yeah, a saloon), I walked.

The other day I needed to stop by the neighborhood bar to see the owner, who is a friend of mine. Since I was in the bar business for the last 10 yrs. most my more recent friends are bar people. The bartender on duty was the same one who has been there working days for at least the last 15 yrs. and we’ve always been pretty good friends. I hadn’t had much to eat and the first drink he poured was pretty strong. (Skyy vodka and water= 2pts). The second one I had to be polite because I had cashed a check (good an excuse as any) and told him to pour it light. It was still pretty good. My friend that I was there to talk to came in while I was having that drink, so I stuck around for another. By the time I was ready to go (3 drinks= 6pts.) I could really feel them. What a sissy since I don’t drink much anymore!  Instead of getting behind the wheel of my car, (last thing I need right now is a DUI) or calling someone to come get me, I decided to use that opportunity to get my exercise in for the day. It’s probably a mile to a mile and a half from home. I sped up, slowed down, sped up, slowed down, trying to make the most out of what I was doing. It was great! I felt better when I got home, I stopped and saw a neighbor that lives just a couple of doors down that I hadn’t seen in awhile, and managed to get some worthwhile cardio in. Plus I was carrying a carton of cigs, a 32oz. bottle of water, and my purse, so essentially I was walking with weight. LOL.

Gotta take advantage of opportunities when they strike!

This is really cute…

Creation This is my little fun thing for today.  Please don’t be offended. I can’t take credit for the making, but I couldn’t resist sharing. It seems appropriate here.

It’s Sure Getting Nice Outside…

Thank goodness. Today my exercise of choice was to walk up to the bank. It’s probably a little over a mile or so, but I got a look in the mirror, it was beautiful outside, and I had the time, so why not? It probably worked twice as well, because I walked up, had my little chat w/the bank manager, and walked back. Luckily I subconciously left my cell phone at home when I left, so I couldn’t call anyone to come pick me up. Over and above that, I never smoke when I’m walking, so I left those at home also. All the way around, I’m counting this one as a win!

A Little Fun Today…

First I want to say that my trip to the City the other day was a bust. It turned out they only appraise the stuff they are interested in selling. I didn’t want to sell anything, I was just curious how much some stuff was worth. Oh well. What I found funny was any other time that I have gone to the San Francisco, you can never park close to where you are actually going. You always walk at least a couple of blocks. I was counting on that. Since I mentioned that little fact in my blog the other day, not only did we get up there later than I intended, but I got parking right at the edge of the building! They had their own little parking lot (free) for their visitors and I only walked maybe 1/2 block at best. So much for using that as a way of getting my exercise.

Now for the fun. I thought this was really cute. I stole it from Janice (Our Lady of Weight loss) over at Beliefnet.com. Hope you enjoy.

The Ten Commandments of Permanent Fat Removal

1. Thou shalt honor and believe in thyself.
2. Thou shalt move thy booty. Move it and move it some more.
3. Thou shalt never go hungry again. Eat small meals and healthy snacks throughout the day.
4. Thou shalt stock the fridge with the right stuff – the fruits and vegetables of the earth, the melba toast of men who walked before us.
5. Thou shalt honestly write it down. If you bite it, you must write it.
6. Thou shalt weigh and measure thyself and thy food.
7. Thou shalt drink enough Holy Water to frighten Noah and map out all the restrooms in thy village.
8. Thou shalt not deny thyself a treat or two now and then.
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s plate.
10. Thou shalt not eat out of misery, boredom, anxiety … but should thee over-indulge, forgive thyself immediately. All Is Forgiven, Move On!

Short and Sweet

I am sort of in a hurry as I am going into San Francisco this AM. I’m actually kind of excited as I haven’t been in quite awhile, even tho I only live about 45 min. away. I’m going with a friend to “Butterfields and Butterfields”, altho in San Francisco it’s “Brohmans and Butterfields” or something like that. They are a huge auction house that deals in everything, sort of like the Antique Road Show. My friend has some pieces of jade he wants to sell and once a month these guys will appraise 5 things for free. Since we’re going up, I’m going to take some of my grandmother’s old jewelry. I’m not interested in selling, but there are a couple of pieces I’m curious about. Most of it’s costume (I think), but it’s “old” costume and very pretty. I’m pretty excited to see what they have to say about it.

As for my exercise this AM, I figure I will get it in the City. It’s almost impossible to park anywhere close to where you are actually going, and as long as I’m up there, there are a few places I’d like to go. I figure I will get in my share of walking. I can always play with the weights or roll on the exercise ball later. I’ve been gathering more exercises to do with the ball, but I’m a little old and stiff yet for some of them, and I’ve discovered my balance isn’t that great either, but that’s ok. I don’t mind building up to things. I’ve been so sedentary, I feel good getting any exercise in at all! The exercise bug is actually starting to bite. The other day I woke up with a slight headache, so I didn’t get up and work out in my home gym. About 3 hours later my headache was gone and I felt such an “itch” that I had to do something, so I went for a brisk walk in the California sunshine. I just need to be consistant about doing something!