Healthier Lifestyle Thread 28th July Till 3rd August

[marcy]

Hi everyone!

I hope you had a great day. I met a GF for supper and ate too much but we had a great time catching up. She works at a restaurant we go to quite a bit and she said 2 of the people she works with asked her how much weight I’ve lost and if I had surgery.
I have 2 “firsts” to report today. The first one is little but kind of boggled my mind. I went to our insurance agent to pick up the insurance policy we need for our star party. I parked by a high curb with a slope right by it. I was careful to open my door so I wouldn’t scrape it on the curb or get it stuck in the dirt. I had no problem getting out of the narrow door opening but the thing that kind of startled me was how little the car lifted up when I got out of the car. It was barely noticeable. When I used to get out of a car it probably raised about 2 inches. Cool, huh?

My second first is really exciting for me. I enrolled in the “Race for the Cure”. Now don’t get too excited I am only doing the 1 mile fitness walk but that is amazing that I would even be able to do that. The friend I met for dinner tonight is going to walk with me. It’s August 9th.
Kimi, I am glad you are feeling better and had a great birthday.
IndyGirl, we’d have fun shopping together. Marty and my FIL were bored out of their minds following me around the outlet mall this weekend. My MIL and SIL patiently hung out with me though. I ate at Olive Garden tonight too. I did however indulge in a breadstick, wine, some fettuccine alfredo and dessert. At least I didn’t buy a blizzard.

Tee hee.
KC, hard boiled eggs do sound good. I might start making those for my mid morning snack.
Skippy, Target is one of my favorite stores. I always spend more than I plan too. Yes, life if Fab!

DeeJay, glad to hear you had a great workout this morning. I am sure some of the things you saw from your internet search were quite entertaining.
Jcarlylew, 50’s sounds pretty cold for this time of year. My SIL lives in Silverdale and works in Seatlle. Small world, eh? Do you have a post on your ring? I’d love to see it. It would certainly be worth getting fixed for your erring and I would be paranoid about who works on it too. Marty started eating healthy last fall and has lost about 40 pounds. It’s nice that he is eating better because it makes it easier for me. I agree – it would be nice to have their metabolism.
Lorelei, sorry to hear the teefs are still pants. Hugs to you and good luck with getting the wisdom teeth out. Ouch for slipping on the stairmill. I hope you didn’t get hurt.
Bee, I am glad you and Amber got out for a lovely walk.
Hudson Hawk, glad to hear your headache is gone. The stairmaster sounds like a great workout.
Julianna, my knees hurt just looking at your stairmill. LOL at being tied to it to stay on it for an hour.
Ladypirate, sorry to hear the back is feeling worse again. I hope it gets better soon. I love chiropractors – especially those giant heating pads they put on you first. Okay, maybe this time of year it’s not appealing but on cold, snowy days I love them. Thanks for the kind words about me.
Somethingshiny, have fun at your father’s birthday party. It sounds like a great occasion to take some nice family photos.
Steph, congratulations for losing 5 pounds. I agree, once you give up something you soon find you don’t really miss it.
Rod, you certainly had a busy day. That is awesome you were sought out to help the “youngster” at the gym. I am like you – I am not unhappy at all for how things have turned out for me either.
Take care and have a great Wednesday.
Marcy

 

[Anna0499]

Happy "Hump" Day all! Only two and a half days until the weekend is upon us (I consider half of Friday the weekend

)! I had a good workout yesterday, same ol'' same ol'' treadmill/free weights routine. I was able to watch blissfulbride''s Say Yes to the Dress episode during my run so it kept my mind off the mileage. Sounds like everyone is doing great. Anyone have specific goals for the upcoming August? I think my goal is to lose between 5-10 pounds and to eat out only once a week at the most. I also want to cut down my sodium intake; I didn''t realize how much is added into prepackaged foods!

Skippy - I heart Target too! From the stories I''ve read I wouldn''t register there, but I love shopping there! I always find myself with a cartful of items even if I went in for just a couple things. Time flies when you''re shopping! It''s funny that your DH is an "anti-shopper" too. Funny story: the other day when BF was in town it was about 7:30pm and we drove past a mall I rarely go to and I suggested we stop in. BF said, "Honey, you know you need more than an hour and a half whenever you go to the mall." He was so right!

Jcarly - TV therapy works for me! It''s a mini-vacation for the mind, if you will.

Isn''t it unfair how some people can eat absolute JUNK and be stick thin?! I used to be able to eat whatever I wanted and stay the same weight, but my metabolism finally caught up with me at around age 23.

Bee - Thanks! I bought some really cute summer dresses; I am really short (5''1" on a good day) and skirts make me look short unless they are those teenybopper short ones, which I have grown out of for about 5 years now. I find the mini-dresses that are so popular right now hit me right above the knee where I need them too. They aren''t mini on me! Maybe I need to join a gym for a personal trainer...for some reason I''ve had an aversion to gyms but I might research...

HH - I do know what a stairmill is...crazy invention and a great workout!

Ladypirate - Hopefully a chiropractor will be able to perform some manipulations on your poor back and you will be back on track soon. I procrastinate working out most days because I get off work at 5 and just want to lounge around and "desensitize" myself until I start running...unfortunately, my workouts lately have been around 8 or 9 and I don''t see that changing once school starts. My sister is like you with the shopping...she''ll be asleep on the fitting room chairs while I''m trying on about ten outfits.

Somethingshiny - Yay for swimming and yoga! The surprise party sounds like so much fun! I wish I could throw something like that for my parents, but most of their friends/family live way out of town or out of the country. You''ll have to post pics of your surprised dad!

Steph - Giving up soda was one of the first things I did when I decided to get healthy. Yay for you taking the same BIG step! Your avatar is adorable BTW.

Kimberly - Hope your birthday dinner went well...do tell if DH lavished you with jewels haha

Deejay - LOL for the "tight butt" google! I could imagine the other search results that came up!

I love resistance bands...you can use them for just about any exercise you need.

Rod - Yay for the long midweek post! How do you put such long hours in at the gym? I''m impressed. So AWESOME about helping the youngins out at the gym and him not believing your age. I''m sure you''ll get more and more of that as you continue on. I love seafood too! My dad was a chef at Red Lobster for a long time (about 30+ years) and although I never liked eating there, he was able to bring home some amazing stuff he would cook for us for dinner.

Marcy - LOL I would love to go shopping with a fellow PSer! Shopping is an art to me...I take my time and don''t like to be in a rush when I''m doing it. No blizzard here either, our support group is doing well!

That''s great news about you noticing the difference in your car height and the Race!

It''s such a great cause and one mile is nothing to scoff at! It''s amazing that so many people notice your weight loss...I don''t mean to be rude but how much have you lost thus far? It must be a significant amount if everyone notices and thinks you had surgery to get where you are today!

Have a great day all!

 

[Lorelei]

Hi all!

Rod, my teefs are a little better, well the root canal tooth has settled but the wisdom tooth near it is very painful, I am scheduled to have the darn thing out next Wednesday, so I will be pitifully asking for lots of teef dust as I am skeered....

On a good note, I have got some good cardio workouts in, despite the pants heat we are having to suffer - yuck! There is no pleasing me with the weather, but it goes from one extreme to the other!

 

[Anna0499]

Date: 7/30/2008 11:01:21 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hi all!

Rod, my teefs are a little better, well the root canal tooth has settled but the wisdom tooth near it is very painful, I am scheduled to have the darn thing out next Wednesday, so I will be pitifully asking for lots of teef dust as I am skeered....

On a good note, I have got some good cardio workouts in, despite the pants heat we are having to suffer - yuck! There is no pleasing me with the weather, but it goes from one extreme to the other!

Working out with tooth pain! What a trooper! I''ve had three wisdom teeth taken out but it wasn''t so bad and it wasn''t after a root canal! Hopefully you heal very quickly. ~*~*~TOOTH DUST~*~*~

 

[Skippy123]

Hi all! I didn't do so bad at Target, I did remember I had to buy a present for a baby shower and she was registered there so I was glad I remembered that so I wouldn't have to go back. I did buy a swiffer and didn't walk yesterday, because I got a good workout sweeping and swiffering. I had a different swiffer but this wetjet is great! Am I the only one that gets excited when they get a new cleaning product?

Our floors are squeeky clean, yay!

Today I am meeting hubby for lunch and tonight a friend is coming over for dinner. Hubby is going to make that delicious ricotta, olive stuffed chicken, yum! My friend went to Bourdoux, France for a couple weeks and she is bringing over some wine from there, YUM!

Hope everyone has a FAB WED!!!!

Rod, glad you had an uber workout!!!

Ladypirate, sorry about the back, hope it is better soon! I am watching the old Hithcocks on hulu, check it out!

Lorelei, sending tooth ps dust!!! hugs

Steph, yay for giving up diet cokes and losing 5 lbs

Marcy, yay for enrolling in Race for the Cure!!! We are cheering you on! Target's rock!

Indygirl, I can't believe it is hump day! Yay for your rocking workout! My hubby hates shopping, maybe you and I need to shop together! hehe

KIMI, glad you are feeling better and hope you had a fab bday dinner!!!

SS, hi friend!!!

Hi Miss Juliana and DeeJay!!!

 

[steph72276]

Hey, guys. I am still doing really well watching my calories and continuing to do my running. I didn't make it out of bed early this morning to run, so hopefully I can get a run in tonight if it is not raining like it usually does. I really think this no coke thing is the key to my success. I don't have any cravings for sweets like I used to. In fact, Andrew and i made homemade chocolate cupcakes yesterday and I didn't even have one (although I did have some of the icing to test it out). Anyway, hope everyone has a great day!

Kimberly, hope you had a great bday dinner

DeeJay, haha about your internet search. Working as a teacher, one time at school my coworkers wanted to find a recipe for chocolate cake and I said "oh I know a great one...Paula Deen's better than sex cake" so I googled it and then though oh my the IT guy is probably on his way, but luckily he never came

Rod, sounds like you are awfully busy these days. Hope you can get a chance to relax this weekend.

Marcy, woohoo on your race. That is incredible!

Indygirl, thanks for the compliment. I know, I had given up soda for years, but then had one sip and got hooked again. I really feel much better without it.

Lorelei, good luck on getting your wisdom teeth out. I still don't have mine out even though the dentist has been telling me to get them out since I was 16...woops. They have just never caused me a problem so I don't see why I needed unnecessary surgery.


ETA:
Skippy, we were posting at the same time. Your meal sounds wonderful. Do you use the new swiffer on tile floors? I need something like that to use in between major cleanings.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/30/2008 12:09:57 PM
Author: steph72276

ETA:
Skippy, we were posting at the same time. Your meal sounds wonderful. Do you use the new swiffer on tile floors? I need something like that to use in between major cleanings.

Let me go look. . . okay, the box says not to use on nonsealed tiles. The spray makes your house smell soooo good! You can''t use it on hardwood floors though. Yay for not eating cupcakes!!!

 

[Dee*Jay]

So... you ever do anything that seems like a good idea at the time but in retrospect is just the stupidest thing in the world? Let''s just say your shoulder hurt so much that you gave up swimming... and then the very next day decided to become intimately aquainted with a bunch of new arm machines at the gym. Let''s also just say you had to wash your hair with only one arm this morning--and I''ll let YOU guess which are that was...

Regardless, just did an hour on the bike, tried out the ab machine, and then did some leg lefts for my butt.

Ouch.

 

[Lorelei]

Date: 7/30/2008 11:10:02 AM
Author: IndyGirl22

Date: 7/30/2008 11:01:21 AM
Author: Lorelei
Hi all!

Rod, my teefs are a little better, well the root canal tooth has settled but the wisdom tooth near it is very painful, I am scheduled to have the darn thing out next Wednesday, so I will be pitifully asking for lots of teef dust as I am skeered....

On a good note, I have got some good cardio workouts in, despite the pants heat we are having to suffer - yuck! There is no pleasing me with the weather, but it goes from one extreme to the other!

Working out with tooth pain! What a trooper! I''ve had three wisdom teeth taken out but it wasn''t so bad and it wasn''t after a root canal! Hopefully you heal very quickly. ~*~*~TOOTH DUST~*~*~

Thanks for the toof dust Indy! I need all the help I can get! That is reassuring to hear it isn''t actually that bad having them removed, I must admit I am dreading it!

Steph- dentists have always wanted to remove mine but I refused as up until now, they haven''t given me any trouble. I am so peeved that this one has let me down, but with the pain I have been feeling, I shall be glad to see the back of it!

Dee, I hope your shoulder gets better soon!

 

[phoenixgirl]

I''m back (from Paris)! The trip was too short, of course, and I was sad to be there without my dad, but overall it was a great long weekend.

Some things I noticed from being in much better shape than the last time I went:

*much easier to walk up the stairs to Sacre Coeur (but mind you, not totally easy!)
*much easier to not get, um, constipated

Of course, by the third day of cheerfully taking the stairs instead of the lift or escalator, walking instead of taking the metro, etc., I was pooped. But two years ago I would have been pooped just by walking around and standing all day.

And I love how French food isn''t that processed crap that makes you hungry all the time. I was hardly ever hungry, and then the next meal would come and I''d eat a moderate amount and be satisfied. I did splurge and have an Orangina one day and a Fanta and a coke the next, plus dessert two nights, an ice cream snack, and a chocolate/banana crepe for breakfast one day. But I didn''t gain any weight! Yay for burning what you consume!

I was back to working out today with a Firm video.

 

[choro72]

Welcome back Phoenix!! I''m so jealous about Paris. Do you go there often?

Lorelei, ouch, I don''t envy your wisdom tooth being pulled out. If it makes you feel better I can tell horror stories about mine. Yours can''t be worse

But root canal...Yikes!!
Now I it''s getting more common to knock you out. Of course in the United States they have been doing it for years.

My hand and knees are better now so I swam today. First exercise in two weeks!

Actually, I jogged with FI last Saturday but I''m in such better shape that jogging with him doesn''t do me any good

I did 22 laps today. I''ll try an creep up towards my 30 laps goal.

Does anyone know how to swim in proper form? My sister told me that when I swim I look like I''m drowning

 

[KimberlyH]

Happy Wednesday All!

Dinner last night was delicious; I had banana squash soup, pork loin, and a yummy chocolate coulant for dessert. I worked out this afternoon and am making something different for dinner, chicken crepes in a yellow curry sauce. I''m looking forward to cooking.

Glad you had a great trip, Phoenix.

Hooray for returning to swimming, choro.

Dee, I''m so sorry about your shoulder!

Lorelei take care of those teeth!

 

[choro72]

Kimberly, OH. MY. GOD. Did you say chicken, crepe, curry sauce together in one sentence?

I think my heart skipped a beat. It sounds so yummy...Can you tell me how to make it?

 

[phoenixgirl]

Choro, we don't go as often as we like but have been four times together and a few more times on our own. Our plan is to buy a flat there in ten or so years; we'll go for Christmas, Easter, etc., and I'll take the (not yet existent) kids for more time over the summer. My next goal is to learn French!

OK, I just had to share this with someone . . . I cooked another Eating Well dinner tonight (a moderate success), and it, well, injured DH! He is so good at cooking, and I'm not (this was my very first time cooking shrimp!), so I've figured out that I will be much more likely to cook if he'll sit at the counter and chop/shred at request. So I did the sauces and the rice and cooked the shrimp, and he chopped up the cabbage, red pepper, and jalapeno. He said the jalapeno wasn't that spicy without the seeds and kept smelling his hands to verify this.

So anyway, all throughout dinner he just seemed uncomfortable. No, it wasn't my best recipe yet, but it was totally fine by my standards. I wouldn't be embarrassed to serve it to guests at a less formal occasion, but it didn't blow me over. Anyway, usually DH compliments the meal over and over even if I think it's only so-so, but tonight he just was silent and sullen. Then he went upstairs, and we have a bathroom downstairs so I thought that was weird. I was imagining that he hated it so much that he was upstairs vomiting or something!

So can you guess what the problem was? He didn't wash his hands after cutting up the jalapeno, and he touched his nose and neck and, yup, went to the bathroom. He got jalapeno burn everywhere he touched!

Well, this explains it, because I really didn't think my cooking was that bad!

 

[Rod]

This WILL be short:

Another "uber'' long day, got to work at 7:45, left at 6:45
Came home and went back to work
Just now reading today''s posts
Had salad for dinner
Tomorrow''s another ''uber'' day, which will include the gym after work

AND, I can''t believe I''m doing this, but there''s a company who has been pursuing me pretty hard and I''ve agreed to a phone interview with them tomorrow night after the gym. I''m not sure I need to add a new dimension of complication to my life, but the opportunity could be amazing, so I feel I have to at least listen to them. AND, it would involve moving to Sarasota (about an hour south of Tampa), which is a beautiful place and someplace we would consider living.

Oy...........

Someone once said, life''s a ride, so you may as buckle up and enjoy it. I guess they were right????

Sorry no time to write anyone personally. I''m just plain beat and need to go to bed.

Night everyone..........

 

[Kaleigh]

Hey Rod,
I know you are exhausted. But wanted to wish you well with the phone interview. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain. Hear them out, they might be a good fit for you, they might not. But how nice to be saught after like that. Best of luck!

Lisa

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 7/30/2008 11:41:41 PM
Author: Kaleigh
Hey Rod,
I know you are exhausted. But wanted to wish you well with the phone interview. You have nothing to loose and everything to gain. Hear them out, they might be a good fit for you, they might not. But how nice to be saught after like that. Best of luck!

Lisa

I agree with Lisa, Rod! Sending you buckets of PS dust dear friend

and a hug too!

 

[Linda W]

Hi everyone

I just wanted to pop in here to say hello and to wish Rod good luck on the phone interview too. This may be an amazing job for you Rod, you just never know.

Marcy: I am so proud of you, enrolling in the Race for the Cure. We certainly will cheer you on.

Our camping trip was so much fun with the boys, as usual they had a great time.

We are leaving again tomorrow and will be back on Sunday. This time, it is just DH and I. We need some time to ourselves and we are ready to go away. We are going to our favorite camp spot in Morgan Hill, then taking a day trip to Carmel and Monterey. Yippppeeeeeeee. Can''t wait to be able to sleep in, tee hee.

Have a great evening all.

Linda

 

[Skippy123]

Oh your trip sounds fab LINDA!!!!! Have a great trip and take pictures for us

Have a romantic trip!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. Well ready or not I am headed to the mountains in the morning. I am looking forward to a few days away from everything but I will miss you guys.
Indy, good luck with your August goal. I want to lose 2 pounds before school starts (August 25). We would have fun shopping. I have lost 160 pounds so far and I did it the old fashioned way – portion control and increased activity. I am very anxious to go walk my mile and it is a great cause.
Lorelei, mega teef dust coming your way. Yay for getting in some great workouts.
Skippy, I love finding new cleaning “tools”. Yay for squeaky clean floors. I need to clean our floors too but that will wait till next weekend. Your dinner sounds great; have fun visiting with your friend. Thanks for cheering me on for my walk for the cure.
Steph, it sounds like you are being very diligent this week on eating and running. I am pretty amazed that I am healthy enough to walk a mile.
DeeJay, rats for flaring up your shoulder. I was thinking last night when I read what you did at the gym that your shoulder must be feeling better. I hope it feels better soon.
Phoenix, it sounds like you had a nice time in Paris. That’s wonderful you noticed an improvement in how much walking you did. Sorry to hear your DH got jalapeno burns. Ouch.
Choro, glad to hear you are feeling better and swam some laps today.
Kimi, I am glad your dinner was delicious last night.
Rod, sorry you had another long day. Good luck on your phone interview. I agree with Lisa too.
Hi Lisa.
Linda, glad you had fun on your camping trip and I hope you enjoy venturing out again this weekend. We’ll be camping too. Thank you for cheering me on from afar during my walk.
Well, I must paint my nails and go grade more papers.
I will try to check back in the morning before leaving but I don’t know if I’ll have time.
Take care! Have a great weekend.

Marcy

 

[Skippy123]

Have a wonderful trip Marcy we will miss you for sure!

 

[marcy]

Thanks Skippy. I''ll miss you guys too.

 

[KimberlyH]

Choro, I added the recipe here: https://www.pricescope.com/community/threads/wwt-healthier-recipes-thread-post-your-recipes-here.85010/page-5. It''s part CL, part my own invention. DH really liked it, I thought it was decent, I think I would rather stuff a crepe with fruit and put the chicken/curry on cous cous. I might also try different ingredients in the crepe, like mushrooms, etc.

 

[Miscka]

Hi HLTers! I have been a little MIA lately. Things here are going well, for the most part. The hardest thing I am dealing with now is my roommate! I love her to bits but she is a bad food influence on me. She is always suggesting things and I need to be better about resisting her ideas. They are so fun though!

I am working hard at trying to stay on track. Here in the next few weeks we hit our super-crazy-busy time at work. 12+hour days, no lunch breaks and constant running around, no weekends off. I am trying to find ways to get some good energy foods planned that wont kill my diet. I discovered some shrimp at Whole Foods-its a frozen bag, and you just run some shrimp under water for a few minutes and drain and its instant shrimp cocktail! I am going to try to make some scallops soon too-yum!!

Something funny that happened to me-I have been craving a good cupcake for months (darn you cupcake thread!!) and I finally got one. It was great, but I felt SO sick afterwards! It cracked me up, I guess I just dont eat sugar like that anymore. Oh well!

Hope all of your weeks are going well!

 

[marcy]

Hi everyone. Well the clock is ticking down until the in-laws show up to take me to the mountains. Marty went up Tuesday and I was going to drive up today but since the in-laws like to come up and visit us they offered to take me up. It looks like we’ll have a couple of night of some great star gazing.
Kimi, thanks for the recipe. It is fun to experiment and try different ingredients.
Miscka, rats for having food temptations with your roommate. It sounds like you are crazy busy for a few days. Too funny about the cupcake not setting well with your stomach. It is amazing how quickly we get that kind of thing out of our system and then they just don’t set well with you.
Have a wonderful weekend. Take care and I’ll probably check in Sunday or Monday.
Marcy

 

[KCCutie]

Hello Everyone!

Can''t believe it''s almost Friday again...Well the past 2 nights I''ve done 30 minutes on the elliptical. I''ve also started taking Emergen-C before my workout, not sure if it helps yet but it''s yummie so I might as well keep it up. SO has taken to adding a packet to his protein shake I don''t know if I could handle all that but he''s says its tasty too.

I''m was little bummed yesterday b/c I still can''t get back below 140 pounds like I was last week

But I''m attributing that to the fact that I have added some muscle b/c my clothes don''t feel any tighter, and muscle helps burn calories faster so I''m going to try to stay off the scale for a while so I don''t get discouraged.

YUM crepes with chicken and curry! That sounds fabulous!

Rob good luck with the phone interview sunding some *dust* your way hoping it is the great opportunity you want.

Dee*Jay Ouch! Sorry about your shoulder problems....yep it''s probably bets to concentrate on the other half for a while and let that shoulder heal up.

Linda - Have a great time in the mountains. Living in KS I miss the mountains so if you take pictures please share

 

[steph72276]

Date: 7/30/2008 12:18:59 PM
Author: Skippy123

Date: 7/30/2008 12:09:57 PM

Author: steph72276


ETA:

Skippy, we were posting at the same time. Your meal sounds wonderful. Do you use the new swiffer on tile floors? I need something like that to use in between major cleanings.

Let me go look. . . okay, the box says not to use on nonsealed tiles. The spray makes your house smell soooo good! You can''t use it on hardwood floors though. Yay for not eating cupcakes!!!

Thank you for looking that up for me Skippy....you are the best!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Hey kids! Just a quick check in. 65 mins on the treadmill for about 400 cals. I went grocery shopping yesterday (god do I hate grocery shopping... that''s one of the reasons I got married--so SOMEONE ELSE could do that for me... ) so now at least the house is full of good stuff.

Sparkpeople question: Last year when I first signed up I just put in my current weight, my goal, and how many times a week I was going to work out and it gave me a cal rage to eat on a daily basis. I just went back there for the first time in a year (

) to adjust my info and it seems different to me--different as in more complex (?). It told me I should be eating a certain # of cals but when I went in and adjusted all my info it still said the same # of cals. Am I just some special kind of stupid? Is the a "reset function"? Should I just pick a different user name and password and start over? ???

 

[appletini]

I had my PT today and it was so tough after a week and half of no activity. The next two weeks I''ll be doing sessions twice a week to get ready for my Costa Rica trip.

 

[zoebartlett]

I rarely post here but I wanted to share something. I lost 6 pounds in a week and a half! I know, I know, a lot of it could be water and it might not REALLY be 6 but I''m still excited. I just began a couple of threads here (on this board), and Absolute_Blonde gave me some advice, which I found helpful. I had said that I was trying to stick to 1200 calories, but she pointed out that that seemed very low. Upping the calories to about 1500 (which is the high end of what SP recommended) would be a better option, and I can decrease my calories as time goes on.

Last night, my new husband and I went out to dinner after going to the gym to swim. I didn''t have any of the Italian bread or the spicy pesto they serve it with. It was so hard because I really love that. I wanted to ask the waiter not to bring us bread but my husband can''t say no. For dinner I had a large grilled chicken ceasar salad. I didn''t eat any of the croutons, I dipped my fork into the dressing that was served separately and drizzled the dressing on my salad, and I only ate half of my salad. I was so proud! Okay, so I did eat many of the parmesan shavings that were mixed in. I had the other half of the salad for lunch today, and I picked out all the croutons and threw them away. I wanted to say no to dessert, I really did, but we ended up sharing a fairly thin cannoli for dessert.

How on earth do you track calories and other nutritional info. when you go out to local restaurants? I know you can find that info. on large chains online, but we went to one of our favorite local restaurants. I had done really well yesterday, food wise, and I''d like to figure out how many calories I had in total. I can''t though, because of dinner.