More Comments from a Foreign Computer...

Friday night my brother-in-law came by to see what was up with my beloved computer. It appears the new printer we installed had a glitch in the software and it nuked my outlook express, Internet explorer and corrupted my address book. He left with the machine under his arm. It was a sad moment....

He thinks he can make things right. He probably can. He always does! but when.....when????

I am on my daughter's PC right now....I plan to visit the blogs of all those comments I have been receiving. It is so great to make new connections as we press forward into the new year and continue our battle together.

I have also been watching the Biggest Loser (can't get enough of it) I find the program so motivating! The one thing that impresses me is the amount of sweat these people put into their efforts - literally! They work hard and it appears that what they have learned becomes a way of life. I know that next month the exercise part of my game plan shifts into gear and I need to be thinking now about what I'm going to do. Walking will be a mainstay - but I know that I need to actually sweat some too! The thought of that is not very appealing. But then again...looking into the mirror isn't all that appealing either these days. We have this full length mirror on the back of our powder room door and every time I sit on the toilet I am forced to look at my wide arse hanging over the sides and my fat tummy rolls all piled neatly - one on top of the other. UGH!! It's a not so gentle reminder that there is work to be done on this body! (and now that hubby has stumbled across this blog and is probably reading this - Michael - keep your mouth shut!)

Thank you guys for all the great tips regarding "diet" food and alternatives. I picked up a package of egg beaters the other day and lo and behold they WERE just egg whites with yellow dye! I may do a little kitchen experiment and try mixing some egg whites with some yellow food coloring and make a batch of scrambled eggs, because I agree with Teale - white scrambled eggs just don't cut it!

Kathy was right too about Aldis' (we do have one near us!) and I have found some good alternatives there. They have a line of stuff that's pretty good and the cost is not so bad. (I think it's called Lean & Fit...) I really like the bacon (hubby doesn't) so I make 2 kinds. It's worth it.

And I do eat whole grain bread all the time. I always have. I prefer the taste and it's good for me. I haven't found a 100% whole wheat lo-cal bread yet. I guess they figure if you're eating whole wheat - you're pretty much on track anyway. You do have to read the label to make sure it's 100% though...there's a lot of fancy footwork on labels these days. Sometimes wheat just means there's wheat in it. Not necessarily the whole grain. And lite (this is true!) can just mean the product is lite colored and have nothing to do with calorie or fat content! Go figure!

The diet industry is a multi-billion dollar machine just waiting to cash in on the hopes and dreams of women across the world. We need to be careful where we place our trust. (Kimkins comes to mind...) Common sense and good judgement are our best allies here. If it's too good to be true - as my momma always said - it ain't!

So.... Eat Less ~ Move More ~ Keep on Blogging!

Down but not Out!

Well...I'm at my friendly neighborhood library. I hate posting here because of the lack of privacy. But I'm needing to be in touch with you guys!

I can't answer any e-mail so for those of you that have written me there...but I WILL be in touch soon! My brother-in-law (the computer guru) is coming tonight to assess the damage. Hopefully it will be as easy as re-loading some missing programs that got swallowed up into oblivion.

I have also not been able to e-mail the Brita company regarding your prizes (double GRRR) but I will do that as soon as my e-mail is up and running. (The address I need is stored in one of the files I can't access.) But I can at least read my mail!

And I do so want to visit the blogs of those of you who have visited recently! I'll do that soon too!

The Challenge is proving to be..well...a challenge! I haven't gone shopping yet so I'm still working on planning around what's in the house. (Hubby is a stockpiler) so we have a large pantry downstairs that is chock full of whatever we need. Unfortunately he shops most of the time and nothing is really diet-friendly. I am going to bite the bullet and spend a little more to eat a little less - so to speak.

In the meantime I spoke with my WW pal and asked her the scoop on egg-beaters. I noticed the recipes on Amy's site called for them exclusively instead of eggs. She said that she uses mostly egg whites for cooking. And if she needs a yolk she'll do a 3 to 1 ratio. For instance...making egg salad - 3 cooked whites and one cooked yolk. She never buys egg beaters. So that's one savings.

Does anyone else have any tried and true substitutions for the more expensive diet-friendly foods? One of my main gripes with tradition diet plans is the calling for specialty stuff. I want something I can stick to for life and honestly...I don't see myself buying lo-cal bread from here on in...or fat-free cheese.

On the home front - we had a surprise visit from our youngest from Massachusetts. I barely had time to miss her (though I did!) and she was back! She had some business in town regarding her car so we were able to have an nice birthday dinner for her and her sister (their birthdays are 5 days apart.)

Okay guys - keep your fingers crossed that my PC gets fixed tonight! In the meantime - keep up the good work!

I'm Still Here...

Really quick update fellow bloggers! I have not jumped ship on you all. My wonderful computer malfunctioned when we installed our new printer and I cannot access my blog or mail or anything!! GRRRR!

I am still hanging in there and hope to be back with a post in a day or two.

I hate computers.

Check Out These Links!

I try to post every day but these past few days got ahead of me. I got on a roll taking down the Christmas stuff and trying to pack it in a way that would make sense next year when I take it all out in the new house. And then I figured since I was packing stuff...why not start packing the house! (I tend to get a little sidetracked when I do things.) So I took down all the pictures on my walls (we need to paint anyway before we sell) and then I packed up all my cook books...and well...one thing led to another!

But I'm back. And I must confess...not doing as gung ho as I promised myself I would. I AM doing better....writing down what I eat....making healthier choices....but as the day wears on - so does my resolve. My biggest problem has been that I'm in a rut. I'm sick of eating the same stuff all the time. And being unemployed (as I have been these past 6 months) money has been tight. And dang if it doesn't cost more sometimes - to eat less!

Buying all the low-fat, no-fat stuff isn't cheap. I never have figured out why they have to charge you more for something if they've left part of it out....

Anyway - I realized that I must change my game plan. I tend to be a fly by the seat of my pants type gal....and that doesn't always work. I need the rigidity of having a meal plan in front of me for the whole day so I don't have to decide what to eat for my next meal as I'm standing in front of the fridge - door wide open - mouth wide open.

An lo and behold ~ a fellow blogger comes to the rescue by pointing me in the direction of yet another blogger that I'd never read before! Susan, of thinningthoughts mentioned her game plan which is based on Amy's food plan. I'm pumped now! Amy has taken the Nutri System plan (which she was on for 2 months) and created her own food plan which she followed with GREAT success! You must check out her pictures! Read Susan's post too - because she also refers to Amy's cookbook which is in a PDF file. Right now I'm in the process of minimizing the pics in Amy's plan so I can print it all out without giving my printer a royal cramp!

Alas...Amy does use a lot of low-fat, sugar free versions of ingredients - so I will have to buck up and spend some money. But at least she's given me TONS of great ideas for great food (I love how she included a picture of each item she prepared and even of the serving sizes!) and I will not be bored eating my same old - same old every day.

So happy Sunday all - I'm sure I've given you some good food for thought this morning! Keep at it...and if you've fallen off that wagon - hop right back on! It's only January 6th!

And The Winners Are....

Allrighty then! I put the names of the readers who posted a comment in a hat and picked three. These three lucky winners will receive a Brita Water Mount Faucet Attachment as well as a water bottle. They will be mailed to your homes so you need to e-mail me with your mailing address (my e-mail address is in my profile) so that I can forward your address to the Brita Company.

And the winners are....drum roll please..... Susan from Thinning Thoughts, Linda from Pointing the Way and Joan from Back 2 Basics 4 Kids. My Faucet Mount and Bottle arrived today and they are both so cool! The water tastes really great - no chlorine taste! And the bottle holds a whole quart so if I fill it up twice each day I've drank my required water!

I hope you guys enjoy your prizes. (Remember to e-mail me with your addresses.) And the rest of you....don't be so darn shy! My site meter tells me I've had 76 hits since that post was displayed and only a handful of people responded!

In the meantime I hope you're all holding firm to your resolve. I'm struggling ~ but at least those M&M's are long gone or I might've caved!

A New Contest for the New Year!

Okay friends - here is the scoop on FilterForGood!

The Brita Company and FilterForGood are partnering with “The Biggest Loser” to eliminate bottled water from the ranch. Bottled water waste has become a very real environmental concern, with more than 38 billion disposable bottles sent to U.S. landfills last year. The trainers and contestants on the show are pledging to use FilterForGood reusable bottles in an effort to take positive steps toward a healthier body and a healthier planet. You can check out the FFG bottles and take a pledge yourself to reduce bottled water waste at FilterForGood.

I've taken the pledge (we go through bottled water here like crazy!) We all know that when we're tying to eat better and lose weight - that water plays a very important role. I used to try to re-use the bottles...but they always inevitably got thrown out and it did seem like such a waste. And the water never really did taste all that good coming straight from the tap...

So one of my contributions to being environmentally savvy this year is to stop buying that dang pre-bottled water! The Brita company is sending me a Brita faucet-mount and a water bottle to get me started. They are also letting me award 3 faucet-mounts along with 3 water bottles to my readers!

So here's what I'm gonna' do. First check out the FilterForGood website and take the pledge. Then post a comment here telling me you did and what you think of the idea! I will randomly draw three of your names from a hat. If I pick yours - you win a faucet-mount and a water bottle that will be mailed to you! Pretty cool 'eh?

“The Biggest Loser” takes contestants and viewers on an unforgettable journey – challenging them to transform their bodies, their health and ultimately their lives. The show has always been dedicated to improving contestant’s health and now they are taking steps to help improve Mother Earth’s health, too! Let's join them!

For some reason the banner on my side bar isn't connecting to the FilterForGood site so click on this link to get there!

Remember - comment on THIS post. If I pick your name I'll contact you to let you know and get your address so I can have your prize sent to you.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!

So we rang in the New Year and what was I doing when the ball dropped in Times Square? Playing basketball with my sister! My brother has this indoor game where there are 2 baskets and 4 balls. You compete with a partner to see who can score the most baskets in the allotted time. It was down to seconds when we heard the others in the next room counting down along with Dick Clark. (Gheesh - the guys never ages!) And being the competitive sports we are - we couldn't stop till the time ran out. Which made us about 4 seconds late for New Years. No biggie- they were all still blowing noisemakers and trading hugs when we got in the room. Point to all of this is...I was doing something ACTIVE when 2008 arrived! Woohoo! Yippee for me!

This morning (we all slept at my brother's) we had breakfast and I portioned my helpings and I was okay. I didn't pile my plate high or go back for seconds. (Except for the coffee - had about 4 cups of that! Had to - we were up till almost 4am!)

I'm feeling in control. Part of it being I did a really, REALLY hard thing last night. I knew if I was going to suceed at this I needed to purge my cupboards of anything that might trip me up. Like the 25 bags of peanut M&M's my daughter gave me for Christmas. What a gift! I absolutely adore peanut M&M' so she bought me a bulk supply. When I opened them Christmas morning I felt sick inside as I feigned a smile and knew I would never get to indulge in them. I'm not saying I didn't consume a few bags between then and yesterday. but last night, I packed up the box (along with the box of chocolates our neighbors gave us) and brought them to my bro's. I handed the stash over to my niece and nephew and said "Enjoy! Just don't tell Rachel!" (my daughter.) They were delighted beyond words. I felt a little sad....

But now it's a new year and they are there and I am here! And that works for me. That was a mighty step for me. But I'm serious this time around. Very serious.

So Happy New year all my friends! May 2008 bring success for us all!

Stay tuned tomorrow! I'll be explaining the Filter For Good Banner on my site and how it relates to The Biggest Loser AND....the 3 really cool prizes I'll be awarding in the next contest I'm sponsoring in my blog!