Just checking in. Life is still unpredictable. The steroid treatment is offering relief on the skin, but as I scaled back on the dosage my mouth also began to get worse. It's not really painful yet, but I think the doctor is going to have to keep me on a larger dosage for a while.

The painting looks fabulous. The living room, computer room and kids rooms are all done. I'm in the middle of removing wallpaper from my bedroom as we'll be doing that one after the halls and kitchen. It's nice this week and my brother figures it's a good time to get at the front deck, so the inside will wait.

Meanwhile, I am maintaining. Using the quick-track method with the clicker for the most part.

Cheers, Candace

Independence

Happy Independence Day to my American friends. And Happy Birthday to my independent (sometimes frustratingly so) loverly daughters.

Oh My - News and summer

Dear, I have totally disassociated myself with the internet I think. The stupid thing kept crashing all spring - we suspect there is a bad wire on the line somewhere, but once the technician showed up it's been working since. My brother has been here and we've been busy...sort of. There has been painting, sanding and staining of items as well as a clean-up that seems to not last long enough anywhere. But you don't want to hear about all of that.

I will start by saying that is has been a stressful spring. After my layoff I suffered from mild insomnia. When my severance ran out my employer submitted and inaccurate Record of Employment and my claim was threatened rejection for benefits. Over a 6-week period I had to keep contacting them and they submitted 2 more inaccurate Records; however, the last one only had a pay-out ommission, so I just reported it and requested they contact the employer with any further questions. My claim is still being reviewed, but the are at least making payments based on the information submitted.

Anyway, during all of this I broke out in...lets call them hives for now. Well, I had just read an article on bed bugs, so I freaked out and actually pulled my back during the ensuing 'investigation'. I finally got into see my doctor and he (erroneously) diagnosed me with scabbies. Ironically, I was the only one showing signs in my family and was totally confused by this diagnosis, but began treatment. After several weekly treatments that did seem to offer temporary relief I requested to be referred to a dermatologist who now has be on steroids for Lichen Planus. This may put a glich into my getting back on track.

Ummm, yeah...during all of this craziness and poisoning myself with nasty creams I did slip up. Come on...this is in my scalp, mouth, back, arms, lower legs and feet - very generalized but a classic case according to the dermatologist. In case anyone is interested it is extremely itchy on the skin and painful in the mouth. Anyway, one evening I was even 5 lbs over my goal weight. I began drinking my water immediately and was much more diligent about writing before biting. On Saturday I officially weighed and was 2 lbs under goal. I suspect I will really need to rely on tracking and planning to get through this - steroids and weight-loss don't often mix. It sounds too like the steroid treatment is 'phase 1' and that this disorder is not easily cured. I am being optimistic though - I can at least hug and kiss my family again.

Hope your spring was better. Take care, Candace

Quiet Blog World

Blog World seems relatively quiet judging by the blogs I follow. I guess I'm not the only one in a blogger slump. Hopefully this doesn't equate to a weight loss slump.

In fact, I'm not doing so badly. I've been having some rough times, buts that's mainly due to the case of Coco Mint 1 pt bars Weight Watchers sent me. I transfered 12 boxes out to locations already, ate 4 boxes (2 of which need to be paid for yet - reminder to self) and a few left to remove from my home premises. Why did WW send me a case of bars you ask? Well, they send all At-Work leaders product and I guess I was still doing an At-Work session at the time. Not anymore though and they are really just...yum...very good. I guess a kudos would be that I ONLY opened 4 boxes and I (sort of) shared with my 10 year old.

Other than that, I'm maintaining for the most part. Hoping to lose around 4 more lbs in the next couple of months. I'll let you know how that goes...

Enough Lallygagging

OK - not sure what is wrong with my. I don't expect a loss tonight. Last night I made an incredibly healthy dinner - well, I did use white basmati instead of the brown though. Anyway, a great stirfry with lean meat and lots of veggies made with a WW inspired sauce. I loved it and decided to...gulp...have a second helping. No biggie, right? Wrong. It wasn't in my plan. I didn't need it. AND I ate until stuffed. I did finally stop myself with half a plate left and put it in the fridge for today. I just finished it for morning snack.

If that wasn't enough, my daughter made an apple dessert from a 1970's cookbook and I had a (large) piece. It wasn't even that good and I told her afterwards that all recipes in that book need to have the sugar cut (at least) in half.

BUT, I am going to weigh-in tonight and am walking this afternoon. But before that, I have to finish some food prep and do a workout. Take care.

The Clicker

Any Weight Watcher members out there who love the Quick Track method? Yes? Well, isn't it annoying that you still have to dig out your tracker and jot it down? The Clicker to the rescue. This little devil is priced low and allows you to set your points that you're going to eat today and click down to zero throughout the day. You can also click up if you're cashing in any Activity pts. It's up to you to be mindful of your Good Health Guidelines; however. I've been struggling with journaling and, eating with the GHG in mind is not a problem for me. So I gave this little gem a try. It's not for everyone (I recommend detailed journaling to new members and anyone struggling with breaking a plateau), but it's smaller than the calculator and priced right. I can hang it from a retractable key chain on my belt buckle or hook it on the side of my purse, so it's always with me. And as I go to eat that 2 pt. granola bar I suddenly think twice, because that's 2 clicks of my day.

New stuff is fun.

Battle of the Bars/Habit adjustments

Before joining Weight Watchers, granola bars were my go-to before dinner and chocolate bars were the thing I collected everytime I was in line at Wal-Mart or put gas in the car. But, if you want to change a habit then one of the easiest ways to do so is to change your routine. I began paying at the pump to avoid the gas station convenience stores. Wal-Mart and quick trips to the grocery store remained a challenge, but I would often pick up yogurt or healthier choices that I could eat once in the car. Having a packed cooler with healthy snacks and plastic utensils also helped - yup, I'm the crazy woman who sucks back 2-3 yogurt cups while sitting in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. As for the granola bars, I've learned to choose other options while waiting for dinner and to only eat until satisfied. No more 8 point snacking while waiting for a 6 point dinner.

BUT - I still love both the granola bars and the chocolate goodness of a chocolate bar. Well, onto the contest then.

When WW profiled the Peanut Butter mini bars, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Two of my favourite things together again - and in a portion controlled wrapping. OK, the great thing about ALL of these things is they are portion-controlled. My opinion - the pb mini bars are awesome as a chocolate bar replacement. Do they have granola goodness? No, but their Fruit and Nutty 1-pt counterpart does.

The Fruit and Nutty WW mini bar is also very good, but it's small size and texture (I am sorry to say) to not compair to the other products featured here. It's winning points - it's 1 pt vs. the 2 pts for all the other items in this post.

A lot of my members were raving about the Curves bars. So I had to try them out. I liked them - I really did. They were softer than the Fruit and Nutty and (bonus) they had chocolate chips and peanut butter. I did not try the fruity version, but really enjoyed this 2-pt snack that I could toss in my bag with a bottle of water while running around. The kids enjoyed them too...until.

A similar product to the Curves bar is the fibre 1. And now I understand the huffalaboo about this bar. They are 2 pts of awesome goodness. No peanut butter, but great mini choc chips and a subtle syrup on the bottom. These are, for a sweet granola treat my favourite. In fact, my whole family loves them. These are a keeper and will NOT be purchased in little boxes, but rather the massive boxes you find on the bottom shelf.

Finally, I had to give these a try. I tried the cranberry ones and must say, Dempster's has done an amazing job. They are little squares and are awesome to relax with a cup of coffee or tea. They are not necessarily promoted to satisfy your sweet tooth, but are more like a very soft granola heath bar. I like these in a different way than the chocolate counterparts above.

So, I like them all. The WW minis are a great chocolate bar substitute - but be careful not to eat half the box in one sitting...ahem. The WW fruit and nutty (not pictured) provides a great 1-pt alternative for granola bars, which I have not found in the other brands. Curves is nice and if you have a pb craving you want satisfied in a g-bar, this has it; however, the fibre 1 is larger, softer and sweeter for similar Nutritional Facts. The Healthy Way bars - well, if you're not into chocolate or just want something more wholesome, these are the way to go, and they have 5g of fibre per serving. They make me feel yuppyish.

But the fibre 1 wins overall for me for a number of reasons. I love the texture, taste and size (because size does matter). The price point on the Curves and Fibre 1 bars are similar, but that is reduced when you identify what you love the most, then buying the BIG box. Then we have a whole new dilema - how to keep from eating 3-4 of these before eating a 6 pt supper...

Organization

Does anyone else have trouble with this. Scheduling and clutter in various areas of your lives. Well, since I'm home for a bit, my overall goals have changed. I was going to show a couple of the girls at work how to do vendor reconciliations since the AP clerk doesn't know how to do them. Training others had to do with freeing up my time from bookkeeping tasks so I could focus more on the stuff that management needed. Well, since none of that is any longer my problem I can reassess my goals and action plans and evaluate their importance in my life.

One of the biggest areas of impact in my life is - Decluttering!!! I am discovering that the little pocket book I bought for organizing events in my personal life is now insufficient. I have a template for tasks and stuff and will likely create a diary in a 3-ring binder. This will include a large lay-out page for each day (rather than a small lay-out page for each week).

I need to do several things, but first and foremost is to make sure I don't miss any WW meetings that I had committed to. Also, I need to plan for babysitters well in advance since so very few kids babysit these days and the times I need people really are helter-skelter now. Hopefully few and far between as well.

Next, I have to train hubby that his shoes belong in the kitchen closet, not the front hallway. Honestly, I picked up 3 pairs EACH of his and the 10 year-olds footwear yesterday lying in the hall and kitchen floors.

So, yesterday I went through the living and dining rooms and found a pile of books that need to be returned to the library. I also have a bag set to go to donations and a box of 'stuff' I'm not sure what to do with yet. I'm trying to take down winter decorations and replace with spring stuff and am, so far, pleased with the results. I now have some piles of stuff on my kitchen table that need allocating to various areas of the house. I think I will do the 'catch-all' room next. In there I keep the kids coats and outer gear with a shelf for things such as buckets of hats, mits or flip flops, depending on the season, the computer and my exercise equipment. Not sure what the matress, bed, molding, old armchair and various other stuff is doing in here though.

The Walk

So, I'm signing the 10 year old and myself up for a 5K on June 6th. We could do this any old time just by heading out the door, but an organized race sounds like fun for a change. I took the dog out for a 5K walk this morning. She didn't do too bad considering the amount of candy she's stolen from the kids in the past week and a half. It was cold out this morning and we just walked - almost 6400 steps according to my pedometer. It took almost an hour.

Update on past posts. Hubby is still at work. He got moved down to another plant. March Break has left me exhausted - anyone else? We spent time at the Wildlife Park doing crafts and seeing the animals - even went on a nature hike. Also got to the pool and some time in the school gym. We took in "Hotel for Dogs" and that's about it. I only did 3 WW meetings this week, which was good considering that the kids were home and my sitter has strep throat.

I guess today is officially Spring. The table is set with a dollar store table cloth and fake yellow flowers. Corny, but fun. There's frost here, but we're going to celebrate anyway. Take care.

Computer Crash

Lost my Pc Friday night. I'm hoping it can be fixed soon. Meanwhile, the setting to blogger from the library are freaking me out.

Oh - down to 148. Cheers, Can

And More Curves - Not so good today

Today is another busy day. Got the kids off to school, returned a library book and paid my membership at the gym for a month. The gym I joined last year has a small 1-time joiners fee, but 1-time means 1-time, so I didn't need to pay for it today. I just brought in my card and paid my membership for the next month. I didn't stay for a workout, but will probably go this evening.

Next I did some banking and bought a couple of things at the grocery before coming home. While in the grocery store I made a to-do list for today and am surprised how much is on it. I am covering a WW meeting in the city today and have a few errands along the way.

After posting yesterday a few things happened that really threw my mood. I had heard that a man was hit by a train close to home on the radio yesterday morning and found out that it had been a friend. He had a son the same age as my oldest daughter and was heavily involved in the community recreational scene. It just hurts my heart that he is gone. This was one of two train accidents in Nova Scotia this weekend. Bruce Preeper will be missed and I send out warm blessings to his family.

My husband discovered that his friend had passed away shortly before being told that he would likely be laid off this Friday. We've never both been out of work at the same time before. Such drama has the makings of a sitcom. He came home in such a state I wondered about leaving him alone with the kids last night. I did and headed off to the city for my WW meeting.

It went well. Everyone just loves talking about exercise. On the way home a dear ran out in front of me. I slowed down and watched it hop off onto the other side of the road, worrying about whether the on-coming traffic could see it. That's when it's partner ran in front of my car, stopped and came head to head with my grill. I let out a yell as it flew to the ground and ran back the way it had come. I hadn't been going too fast, so it may be OK, but discovered later there is a crack in the front of the car. Normally I wouldn't be too concered, but this is a 2009 - my first ever new vehicle.

Sorry to be a downer. I'm going to get ready and head into the city now. After I get home I'm taking the kids for a walk - I think we all need some fresh air. And I will definately hit the gym tonight. Getting back into a routine will do me some good. Food for today...I had oatmeal, blueberries and soy drink, plus a couple of coffees. I picked up a spinach salad on 50% off at the grocery (along with 50% off lf brownies and 50% off bananas) so the salad will likely be my lunch and a banana for snack. I'm taking some fish out of the freezer for supper, too. I think rice, fish and some stir-fry veggies sounds good.

SO - How was your Monday?

And Then Life throws you a Curve

Hey, so life is actually looking up this week. I have a short post then it's off to the races - or at least the shower. You know they say the only day that is important is today. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow will never come. So, on Tuesday (vs. tomorrow) I am going to re-join the gym. Fact is, I'm far too busy today. It's already 10:30 and I've had a busy morning. Got the kids off to school and set up the dishwasher and threw a load of laundry on. Then I got on the 'ole internet to apply for a job I've been eyeing for a couple of days now. I played with my resume and shot that puppy into virtual, give me a call sometime land. Then I chatted with the boss-lady at Weight Watchers about picking up some daytime meetings over the next little while. Turns out, lots of the ladies (and gentlemen) are taking vacay over the next few weeks, so subbing for them will keep me busy.

So you're asking 'what are you talking about? donchu work full time?'. Well, I've alluded to career changes in the past and it looks like it's happening. I took a semi-generous severence package - look, I'm in no way complaining since some people just get shown the door, but others are more generous - and am taking some time to pull things together.

The rest of today involves a shower, walking the dog, getting supper together and prepping for tonights WW meeting. If time allows I'll be doing the grocery list - if not I'll do it first thing tomorrow.

What else is cool about this? Next week is March Break and, since hubby is evenings, I can still do some daytime WW meetings, but also plan some great quality March Break time with the kids - something I've only been able to do one day in the previous 5 years. How awesome is that? I'll have to research where the 'free' times are - you know, like $2 movie day and free admission skating and free admission swimming and such. Oh, and the Wildlife park craft mornings with admission to the park - craft, a walk and wildlife sounds fun to me.

Tomorrow morning...I mean Tuesday morning...I will join the gym. Cranky, I better do something. My pants are getting snug and I r.e.f.u.s.e to buy a larger size.

IS IT MARCH ALREADY!!!

Hello all!

It IS March already. Man - I'm not showing the virtual world any love lately.

WELL...OK, I'll fess up. Between mid-January weigh-in and the last week in February weigh-in I am (gulp) up 5.2 lbs. There you have it. I've been totally OUT of it. I'm not making any promises and what I'll do - because I obviously have no accountability to myself here. Still 0.6lbs under goal though.

SO - I'm going to Phat Camp with Phit-n-phat in June. Gotta start prepping for that. I also found my sign-in card for the gym, so when I'm ready to re-join I won't need to buy another one. Hubby is still on permanent evenings - so that still sucks.

What HAVE I done? Well, I realized my 'environment' was going to pot. Well, dirty pots, spilled molasses, frozen cake in front of the frozen veggies, pie on the counter, candy at eye level in the pantry instead of up high. You get the picture right? So, I resolved to fix it. I cleaned the pantry and am trying to take back ownership for the groceries that come into the house again.

I've also re-established my weekly meetings with my friend and unofficial life-coach. We're working our way through some 30 year-old Anthony Robbins tapes. Continuous improvement is important. I mean change is inevitable - we're not going to be in this same place next year anymore than we were here last year. Changing in a positive direction though is entirely under your control.

Next on my list is moving my computer into the dining room space and cleaning up my gym space. Right now the computer and related clutter as well as winter gear have taken over my gym space.

Fantastic February Fun

Oh yeah - February is proving to be much better than January. The family is less sickly. I am less tired. AND it was actually not dark when I left work the other day. WOOHOO!!!

Last night we headed out for Valentines craft supplies. Guess I should've picked some up in the city. Usually the drug store, dollar store and grocery store are brimming with crap for every holiday. Not so this time around. And it appeared that all locations ordered from the same supplier. So, the 10 year old walked away with some stickers and rose pettals. She used some white tissue paper from Christmas - we couldn't even find red wrapping paper (sheesh).

This is all for her valentines box. In grade 5 they're not planning anything - which I think rather silly. Keep 'em kids as long as you can is my motto. Anyhoo, the teacher said they could make boxes on their own time IF they wanted and hand out valentines IF they wanted. Um, OK. So, my daughter (yay her) is busy on her box and is still handing out valentines to all her classmates. She said she wouldn't likely get very many this year since a lot of the kids decided not to participate (boo them).

Meanwhile, the 5 year old was getting arm cramps from signing her name on all of the invitations. Thank goodness they'll be making bags or something in the classroom.

Tonight is to be spent working on a grade 5 project due Friday. I'm the typist as she needs to expand on some categories. Fun, fun.

Hubby is on evenings, so I have officially 'lost' my me-time during the weeks. No biggie, but gone are my dance classes. Apparently I wasn't the only one not showing up and they cancelled it until next fall. I did apologize earlier this week as it was the first time I saw the instructor. I do have a sitter for my weekly WW meetings, but attending another leaders meeting is a no-go for now.

My mother sold the cottage. Closing date is in 2 weeks. The kids and I are hoping to rent it for a week this summer for our vacation. I asked Mom to chat with the couple and see if they were interested and to give us dates. I'll plan my time off around that - one last kick at the can, so to speak.

Happy pink day!

Goals and Challenges

HooBoy, Do I have goals. I was pretty lazy about getting them down this month, but here goes.

Physical Health: Back to tracking all food and attempting to stay within weight-loss points. Also, committing to a 4-day regime with 2 stregth session per week.

Give Back: I really think my roal with WW is a part of this. I haven't been able to go to other meetings this month as my husband is working evenings. Other than that, I'm focusing on preparing for the meetings ahead of time as best I can and sticking fairly closely to the meeting agendas.

Finances: In maintenance phase. Not a priority during the winter usually. Trying to stick to budget and not acquire further debt.

Continuing education: Sometimes I don't feel like I have the time for this. Last year I gave up the CGA program of professional studies. I've been thinking lately of other alternatives. Massage Therapy could be good...they have a weekend training for free in the city that sounds interesting.

Self-improvement: Something has recently caught my attention that intriques me about the masculine and feminine energies. I want to further explore this information in the next several weeks. As a result of this, I have had several conversations with my husband about my lack of vision - and how that's OK. He has vision and has struggled against me for years as I tend to live in the moment. I think it's time to let go of fear and allow him to create.

Take care.

And it goes on.

Not sure what's going on. I think I'm in a funk. Food is OK, except that I succumed to pizza today at lunch. And not just any pizza - Pizza Town donair pizza. Anyway, back on track this afternoon.

Been walking in the evenings with the dog and kids. The weather has been lovely. Tomorrow we will visit my mother-in-law. There's been someone sick since Christmas, so this is the first weekend it's safe to go. The monkeys are over-tired in general and a couple of nights early-to-bed will be good for them.

This week has been a difficult one emotionally. A lot going on and winds of change blowing in I believe. We have a friend that just took quite a large drop in pay and changed his career completely. Pros and Cons to everything, but he's happy with the change. I've been wondering for the past year if my problem is with my chosen career or my chosen job. I've tried to make the best of it but think self-sabotage sometimes happens in all areas of our lives. I moved frequently in my life - moving often for change and improvement. Or maybe it's just a mid-life crisis - or maybe I'm just tired.

Times like this - emotional ones - it's hard to focus on why you're eating. I'm grateful for my diet this week. It's filling and I don't have to think about it. But if you get down, or stressed or happy and turn to food, one of the things I do is use the Anchoring tool from Weight Watchers. Just stop and place your hand on your belly and ask,"Am I hungry for food?" If you're eating for comfort only, you may want to re-evaluate and do something different - like post a blog, take a walk or relax in the tub. Ahhhh...I never get to relax in the tub anymore. The lock is broken and someone always 'needs' me. Gotta get that lock fixed.

I hope everyone is doing well.

Food plan for the week

I started my menu for the next week today. I'm going to follow this menu, give or take some items, for the next week, then I'll switch it up. Activity will include different things each day, but for today I needed to get the kids and dog out, so that's what we did. The dog is on a diet at 10 lbs over-weight and has a slipped hip, so she needs to be walked around 1 hour a day. Easier said than done in the great, white north. Hubby had her out for a quick walk earlier today, so we took her out again.

Morning
1 item(s) Wheat English muffin - 1
1 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter - 2
1 large grapefruit - 1.5
1/2 cup(s) reduced-fat soy beverage - 1.5
Subtotal - 6
Morning snack
1 medium banana(s) - 1.5
1 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter - 2
1 regular plain rice cake(s) - 0.5
Subtotal - 4
Midday
3 oz cooked chicken fillet - 2.5
1 slice(s) Lite Sliced Cheese - 1
1/2 medium serving(s) baby carrots - 0.5
1/2 cup(s) celery - 0
1/8 cup(s) homemade hummus - 1.5
Subtotal - 5.5
Afternoon snack
1/2 cup(s) Cheerios - 1
PC LF yogurt - Quick-added food - 2
Subtotal - 3
Evening
1/2 cup(s) reduced-fat soy beverage - 1.5
3 oz cooked farmed Atlantic salmon fillet(s) - 4.5
1/2 large cooked sweet potato - 1.5
1 cup(s) cooked broccoli - 0
Subtotal - 7.5
Food POINTS values total used - 26
Food POINTS values remaining - 0
Exercise
40 min walking, leisure - 1
Activity POINTS values earned - 1

What do I know?

After almost 2 years, the scale is still a mystery to me. Tonight I wore jeans and a light sweater and weighed in at 144.2. Shocked to say the least - pleasantly so. Still, the goal is to get below 143 sometime in the next few weeks, so work to do. Just not as much as I thought.

Did approximately 30 minutes on the elliptical tonight. I really want a tready. Measurements to be taken in the a m. G'night.

And the Scale drops the morning AFTER Weigh-in

OK, so last night was not my official weigh-in. But, I had stepped on the scale last Monday evening (with indoor jacket and boots on) and kept track of my points all week. So, last night I stepped on the scale again to get a feel for what was happening - and because all of this was related to a new meeting project for the travelling journal. Yesterday morning I had also stepped on my home scale. Let me give you a re-cap of what the various scales said:

Monday the 5th - evening: WW scale: 150.0
Monday the 12th - morn: Digital devil: approx 152
Monday the 12th - evening: WW scale: 149.6
Tuesday the 13th - morn: Digital devil: approx 148

Just goes to show you that the scale provides feedback only. The general trend is down (yay for journaling). Having said all of this, I will only be weighing-in once a week in the future. Multiple weigh-ins are not good for stress level (of course, WW already knows that).

By Wednesday evening I will have my 'official' WW WI (sweaters and shoes removed). The last 'official' WI was well before Christmas and I am not expecting to see a number below 145 again yet, so I have some work to do. And, I am looking forward to attending a meeting as a member. Sticking with WW pts for weight-loss again this week.

Mexi-Style Salad Bowl

One of the interesting things in the new WW 3-month journal is that it has a recipe for every week. I tried out the week 1 recipe today and hubby had some too. I made a couple of substitutes out of necessity - like digging out baby corn from the frozen stir-fry to replace corn kernals and we didn't have red-wine vinegar so we used balsamic vinegar. Also, we skipped the cilantro or basil to taste - I didn't have any fresh and knew it would be good as-is. What would I do differently next time? Less jalapeno pepper - there was half a pepper in each salad and we are just not used to that intensity. I'll post here the recipe that WE made.

And YES - I would make this again!!! In fact, I made up another container for my lunch tomorrow. Two thumbs up.

Mexi-Style Salad Bowl

2 oz thinly sliced chicken thigh, pan-grilled
2C mixed salad greens
1/2 C defrosted baby corn
1/2 C rinsed canned black beans
1/4 C mixed bell pepper, chopped
1/4 C diced red onion
1/2 minced jalapeno pepper
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil

Arrange chicken on top of greens and add remaining salad ingredients. Drizzle vinegar and oil over salad.

Tracker, Tracker on my Desk...

make my tracking the very BEST!

I'm a tracking machine. I had adjusted my pts this week to weight-loss mode, but so far have been using 6WPAs daily. To offset I'm going to plan my weekend to include filling foods and a high-protein breakfast each day. I'm going to try to make Sat & Sun each only use 2WPAs.

As far as the 3-month journal goes, which name do you like better: a 'magic' journal or a 'travelling' journal. OR, any other suggestions?

On the exercise commitments, only made 30+ mins on elliptical Wed night. Tuesday I can't remember what happened and last night was a meeting with my friend. She recently returned from a 6-day conference in Florida with Anthony Robinson, so lots of information was shared.

Hugs to all. Have a great weekend - I'll likely be popping in and out.

The Best Defense

Imagine my surprise yesterday when I walked into the lunch room at work and saw not one, but several boxes and bags of treats. From chocolate and cookies to pretzels and chocolate-covered caramel popcorn. Then what landed at lunch? Food from a cancelled meeting. Sandwiches, soups, sweats and a veggie tray.

I didn't do so well with the chocolate, had a bowl of leek soup, a half sandwich made with real chicken (not the processed stuff) and stuffed myself on the veggie tray. It could have been worse. The treats are still here today. What would you do?

Ahem...what would you do?

Jan 5/08 - Day 1 of a commitment to write it before you bite it.

Coffee with whole milk (1)
Oatmeal with blueberries, 2/3C soy drink and splenda (5)
Water and multivitamin
Coffee with whole milk (1)

Make pulic my commitments:

1. Track all foods eaten for this week
2. Cardio - 30 mins - 5x
3. Strength training - 2x
4. NO chocolate this week

It's 9:40am on Day 1 - So far, so good. I will be tracking in my handy-dandy WW 3-month journal this week and then hand the journal on to one of my members to track in next week. Talk about accountability!

So, what do you think about a rotating journal in meetings? Is this something you would do? We'll be marking the weekly weight-loss of the different members in the book - hopefully starting with me. Also, is it a good idea to start the book with me. My thoughts were: I wouldn't ask you to do it unless I was willing to do it myself. Plus, it provides a good template (I think). Thoughts and feedback on this are greatly appreciated.