I lost 4 pounds! YAY! I was afraid that I was stuck. I have been working so hard. I was afraid that I would be disappointed this morning, but I wasn't. If I can stay focused for 2 more weeks, maybe I can lose 4 more pounds. I can really tell it in my clothes.

Portion size

As a treat, today I stopped in at Panera in Green Hills to pick up lunch...I was running some errands and I wanted half of a turkey sandwich to eat on the drive home. The drive home is one and a half hours, and I'd planned for the baby to nap the whole time...peaceful drive, quiet lunch, who could ask for anything more?. They somehow messed up my order and gave me a whole sandwich. It.was.huge. Maybe my 9-inch plates are really helping me adjust portion size, but I ate half of that sandwich and wow, that was a lot of food. I put the other half in the fridge, and the chips in the pantry when I got home. It seems like restaurants give you so much, and it is hard to resist, though.

We have 14 followers and an average of about 20 visitors a day. I think that is pretty good for a new blog.

I think everyone is doing good with their new eating plans. I am sticking with mine. I have been on South Beach since December 29 and I have really stuck with it. The scales don't show it, but the tape measure and my clothes do. I am so glad that my clothes are fitting better.

Keep up the good work.

Your 5 Eat-Right Rules

I was looking through an older issue of Prevention Magazine, and I came across these five guidelines. They really go along with the methods that I am using to lose weight, so I thought I would post them.

Your 5 Eat-Right Rules (Prevention Magazine, May 2008)

Rule 1-Stick To 1,500 Calories A Day
If you weigh more than 200 pounds, increase your daily intake to 1,700 calories by ading a single 200 calorie snack or two 100-calorie snacks, or by increasing your protein serving at lunch and dinner to 4 ounces (see rule 3).

Rule 2-Eat Every 4 Hours
Going longer can send your blood sugar and energy levels plummeting and leave you more vulnerable to making poor eating choices. Each day you'll have a 400 calorie breakfast, 300 calorie lunch, and 500 calorie dinner, plus a 100- and 200-calorie snack.

Rule 3-Have 3 Ounces of Protein for Lunch and Dinner
Eat up to 4 ounces if you're on a 1,700-calorie plan.

Rule 4-Watch Snacks
Instead of grabbing a bagel or pastry midmorning or hitting the vending machines around 3 pm, schedule healthy snacks for these high-hunger times. You can eat them between any meals or after dinner.

Rule 5-Drink Often
Many people mistake thirst for hunger, and staying hydrated helps keep your metabolism in high gear. Choose naturally calorie-free beverages such as water, sparkling water, herbal or black tea, and coffee; limit caffeinated drinks-no more than two a day.

I'm going to really work at applying these five rules this week and see if it can help me stay focused, especially on the weekends. I can usually do well during the week, but weekends are hard for me. My sparkpeople account will be really helpful with keeping the meal calorie guidelines in rule #2.

I'm also going to step up my workouts this week. I love the Wii Fit, but I don't think that I burn enough calories on it. My plan is for 3 days a week to do about 10 minutes of yoga on the Wii Fit, 20 minutes on the treadmill (using C25K program), and some strength training on Wii Fit. On other days, I will just do Wii Fit aerobic and balance activities, along with the yoga and strength training. Unfortunately, I may have hindered my workout regime this morning when I took a little spill down the steps at church. For more info on this embarrassing moment in my life, read here. I didn't really hurt myself, but I am awfully sore. I hope that I can get out of bed in the morning to work out!

I have a great lowfat soup recipe that I'm going to share later in the week. Very yummy and filling!

I think my weight gain may have been hormonal (I hope). I have not weighed since Saturday. I tried on a skirt that was previously rather snug and it just did fit. I think I might try to wear it Monday with something that doesn't have to be tucked in. My camel corduroys are also fitting looser.

In the most recent issue of Food & Wine there was a recipe for Waldorf Chicken Salad. I sounded yummy. I sort of tweaked it for my convenience. I use spring mix lettuce, Boar's Head sliced smoked chicken from the deli, chopped fuji apple, red grape halves, chopped walnuts and Ken's Light Blue Cheese salad dressing. I have eaten it for three nights and am kind of sad that it is gone. I love salads. I could live on them year round. I try to be careful of my choice of toppings. Lean meats, low fat cheese, grape tomatoes, and light salad dressings that are lower in sugar. I rarely eat iceberg lettuce. I try to stick to romaine and spring mix. I found something the other day called Baby Ruby Reds. It is a mix of baby spinach and baby butter lettuce. That is my new favorite.

I've been craving eggplant lately. I know, that's weird. I think I am going to Publix tomorrow night and get an eggplant and some squash. Saturday, I am going to roast both and eat until it's gone. Yum! I might cook some copycat Cracker Barrel grilled chicken tenders to go along with it.

I hope everyone keeps up the good work. It sounds like everyone has been extremely successful, except me. I'm not getting discouraged. I'm motivated to do better.

Well, today I am wearing the jeans that prompted me to get on the diet wagon, and they fit much better. They aren't 100%, but I don't have some really grotesque muffin top thing going on anymore. These jeans are not stretchy. I love stretchy jeans but it is very easy to gain weight and not notice with them, especially if they have a low rise.

Most of our snow is going away and it is warmer today so I walked 2 miles with the dogs...we were all glad to get outside for a bit.

Weight Watchers Week 2

Week 2 has been a great week from a food and nutrition stand point. I tracked my points, planned ahead and was able to eat out and enjoy my life. I vowed to get on the elliptical three times this week and I got on it ZERO times! This week I will pledge three times again and try harder. I stepped on the scale today and much to my surprise I lost 7.5 pounds!! Needless to say I was ecstatic! That makes a grand total of 10 pounds in two weeks. Yea for me!!

Hello fellow slimming-down preps! Tammy has graciously agreed to let me post here from time to time, so here I am! I’ll take just a sec to introduce myself, and then I’ll be on with some weight-loss information. I’ve been reading blogs since June and I started my own blog, The Pink Putter, in late July. This blogging world is really a special place and I am proud to be a part of it. Like TammyB and Hicktowndiva, I hope to provide tips, along with my struggles and successes on my quest for a healthier me. Now on to more important things…

I thought that I would begin with some random thoughts/information about my weight loss efforts…

I lost 50 pounds on Weight Watchers back in 2002, and I have gained almost all of it back in the last six years. My mother was diagnosed with cancer, it completely rocked my world and I totally fell off the WW wagon. I am still mad at myself for letting myself undo all of my hard work, and I think that this is part of the reason that I am struggling to lose it again. (Insert a Dr. Phil moment here.)

I’m not following any particular program or diet, I’m just making healthier choices, exercising, and drinking lots of water. I do like The Abs Diet, so I follow many of the principals/healthy ideas from that book.

My husband, Mr. P, is also working the healthier lifestyle with me. This helps enormously!

I’m using the Wii Fit right now for my exercise program, but I also have a treadmill and home gym that I can use. The Wii can give you “attitude” sometimes, which has provided some hilarity in our household as Mr. P and I do it. I love the yoga, hula hooping, and step aerobics.

My job as an assistant principal at a large elementary school keeps me very busy. I work long hours and often eat on the run. So I have to plan, plan, plan. Here are a few tips.

-I cook a couple of entrees on Saturday and Sunday, so that Mr. P and I just have to reheat meals during the week. This saves me $$ on Subway and calories at McDonald’s.

-On Mondays, I take in a large bag of staples for the week-yogurt, string cheese, 100 calorie packs, cans of V-8, some ham or turkey, and a couple of Lean Cuisines. This covers most of my snacks and a couple of lunches, so it’s less planning at night during the week. I usually just bring fruit and/or a lunch item daily. Luckily, I have a small refrigerator in my office to hold all this stuff. I can only imagine what my teachers think when they see me lugging a grocery bag in on Mondays.

-Most days, I get up at 5 am to work out. Getting home at 6:00 in the evening is early for me, it's usually 7:00 or later, so if I don't workout first thing in the morning, it doesn't get done.

-I’m using Sparkpeople.com for an online nutrition tracker. It’s free and easy to use, so check it out if you are interested. Thanks to Buford Betty for turning me on to this site.

-I allow myself one "cheat meal" a week. This tip came from The Abs Diet, and I think that it helps me stay on track the rest of the week. I usually try to log some extra Wii time on the day I eat my cheat meal.

Well, I’m going to go now. This has turned into a pretty long post-sorry about that!

I'm looking forward to sharing this experience!

Mary Beth

Downsizing my plates...

I bought the book, The 9-Inch "Diet" by Alex Bogusky...it's a fun/short read that talks about how plate sizes and portion sizes have increased in the US over the years. Since it's a relatively painless change, I bought a set of 9-inch luncheon plates to go with my Fiestaware, which I will swap out with my 10 1/2" dinner plates. We are going to be all about eating on 9-inch plates at my house. I got out a set of vintage Homer Laughlin luncheon plates for dinner last night and we will use those until Amazon sends me my new plates.

I weighed this morning. I had gained 1 1/2 pounds. I was so sure that I had lost some weight. I measured yesterday and I had lost 1/4 inch in my rib cage, 1/2 inch in my waist and 1/2 inch in my gut. Maybe what I ate for dinner last night was too salty. I'm going to weigh again on Monday. Maybe I'll see a difference. I'm trying not to get discouraged.

Keep up the good work girls.

How many calories does shivering burn??

We are a chilly bunch of Slimmed Down Preppies today, aren't we? It is unusually cold for the South...I don't think I will be getting my walk today, either. It is back to the yoga tape.

I tend to drink more coffee when it's cold but I'm drinking it black instead of with a little milk like I prefer...I figure it all adds up, right? ::shiver, shiver::

Well, I weighed myself this morning...4 lbs total lost so far. I did my yoga/pilates tape yesterday and was hoping to walk with my dogs today but it is so cold and windy that I just can't bring myself to do it. I worked on housecleaning chores (ugh) and it was all icky stuff like vacuuming and scrubbing bathrooms...I hate that. I think that might have to be my exercise because I do not want to do the yoga tape again today.

Week 1 Weigh In

My first week of weight watchers went really well. I got on the scale this morning and I lost 2.5 pounds. For me, a body that does not lose weight quickly, that is good. I am pleased. I will try to get on the elliptical trainer three times this week. I only got on one time last week.

Ruths' Chris

I did really well at Ruths' Chris. I had the Baby Arugala salad and the petite filet. I drank hot tea. I would have love to had the chocolate cake, but I was good. BFF was going to get desert, but decided against it. She had decaf coffee instead. I did sneak and eat a couple of bites of bread. I couldn't resist. It was so good.

I think dieting is not about depriving yourself, but making good choices.

I admire those of y'all who are planning your meals so well...I am good about planning dinners and breakfast but lunch and snacks tend to be "what I feel like" so that can be my downfall. I've been putting good snacks right up front in the refrigerator--snap peas, baby carrots, hummus, blueberries. It helps to avoid the bad stuff when I have good options right in front of me.

I did my walk again today...it was the baby's first day at Mom's Day Out (she cried, it was sad...but it will get better) and so I took the dogs out for my 2 miles.

Ruths' Chris

Tomorrow night, BFF and I are going to Ruths' Chris for our Christmas dinner. We always treat ourselves to a nice dinner at Christmas. This week is the first opportunity for us to get together. I have studied the menu and I'm going to have the small filet and some kind of salad. I haven't decided which one yet. I am going to skip the bread, wine and dessert. I will have a nice meal and still stay on my diet.

I have a shopping trip planned Sunday. My mother always likes to eat at Cracker Barrel when we go on our shopping trips. We only eat breakfast and dinner. For breakfast, I'm going to have the one egg and toast with Promise margerine and hot tea. I will also eat my mother's eggs off of her plate (she doesn't like eggs at all). For dinner, I'll probably have the grilled chicken tenders, green beans, carrots and no bread. I know Cracker Barrel is so unsophisticated, but we are meat and veggie people. Once a month, we try something new and different, but not this time.

Weight Watchers and eating out

Not sure if this is of interest or not but I am following the Weight Watchers points systems. I am doing it on line. Eating out is a big part of my social life and hectic life with children (probably why I am so big!). This weekend I was very proud of myself. Friday we ate dinner before we met some couples for drinks near the house, so I was full when we got there. We were there quite a long time so I ended up drinking many diet cokes and had the shrimp cocktail. I had saved some points so I had six cooked plain shrimp with just a bit of cocktail sauce. Normally I would have eaten so much more. Saturday involved lunch and dinner out. Saturday for lunch we ate at Jason's Deli. I found the WW points in the Weight Watchers Eating Out book. I had 1/2 of the Turkey Reuben (5.5 points) and a cup of French Onion Soup (5 points). Sunday we ate at McAllister's Deli. I found WW points for this restaurant at Dotti's Weight Loss Zone. I had the Deli Ham Sandwich on Wheat (7 points) and the French Onion Soup (1/5 points). Now I am a really big girls so I get a lot of points. This may be too much for you smaller girls. Mr. PE and I had a date night Saturday night and we went to a movie and dinner. We saw Gran Torino which was a really good movie. I brought a package of WW Cheddar Twists (2 points) in my purse and I purchased a super duper extra large diet coke. Mr. PE had popcorn and I did not have one bite! After the movies we went to TGI Fridays. I had a diet coke of course and the dragon fire chicken. It is really yummy. It consists of a marinated chicken breast topped with Kung Pow sauce, mandarin oranges and pineapple pico de gallo, and served with stir-fried brown rice and cilantro lime seasoned broccoli. I found the nutrition information for this at The Daily Plate and then I calculated the points to be 9. If you are following Weight Watchers, I hope this helps. Official weigh in day is Wednesday so we will see how things went. A peak at the scales yesterday looked good! My resolution for this week is to drink more water.

Off the wagon, and back on.

If I am posting too much, y'all let me know, but since Tammy works on weekends I imagine she is busy so I hope that you don't mind two posts from me. I sent my husband out to a local bar/grill to pick up sandwiches last night for a treat, since I'd been so good all week. I ordered a turkey reuben--I love regular reubens but it is less fatty with the turkey. And then he comes home with my sandwich...AND hot spinach/artichoke dip. Which is totally my weakness. I tried to just have a tiny bit but let's just say that this dip is not good left over and I have a terrible time throwing perfectly good food out. Ugh! The restaurant (Shenanigans in Sewanee) kind of makes what they feel like when they feel like it and so they hadn't had that dip for months, otherwise I'd have told my husband NO WAY. He thought he was being sweet bringing it for me...and he was, but he has been on the Power 90 for a solid year and looks great, whereas I look like Blubbo the Whale.

So, I'll just get back on the wagon and keep going today...but next time I'm warning him...no dip!

Walking

The exercise that I tend to stick to best is walking. I have been walking 2 miles/day for the past week. I don't have a treadmill so I walk outside, and I take my dogs because 1. They love it and 2. One of them is fat. I'm not sure why one dog is fat and the other one is skinny because they both get the exact same amount of dog food every day, but let's just say that Mr. Cooper (pictured) meets the breed standard weight for two Cavalier King Charles spaniels, not one. That's what they are, Cavalier King Charles...they are blenheim-colored, which means red and white. Anyway, Cooper and I both need to quit with our couch potato ways in 2009. We are taking it one walk at a time. So, what kind of exercise works for you?

I weighed this morning and I had lost 2 pounds since last week. In a way I was disappointed. I don't know why I should have lost more. If I can lose 2 pounds each week for a few weeks, maybe I'll get my weight back on track.

Yesterday, I was looking at the Publix circular. They had specials on skinless chicken, salad, Fiber One cereal, fruit juice, yogurt, low-carb beer......and chocolate overload cake. How mean. All I could think about was that cake. I hate when Publix does that. They always have some special treat on sale with a big picture. Hopefully, I can resist.

Welcome

Welcome everybody. Please be patient for a couple of days until I get everyone added as authors. Like I said on my other blog, if you don't want to be an author, you can read and comment.

I'm on day 11 of South Beach. In a way, I feel like I've lost weight, but in a way I've not. I guess I'm being too impatient. I do feel better. I have more energy. If only I can use some of this energy to clean house.

Yesterday, at about 1:15 I realized the my boss had not been to lunch. I emailed him and offered to go get him lunch. He replied that he had eaten a breakfast bar because he had put on a few pounds over the holidays. I wanted to say "Boo Hoo! Let me tell you about weight gain." Don't you just hate people like that. I never saw him eating any of the goodies at work. He must have pigged out at home. I pigged out everywhere.

Happy Friday and Hang in there.

WELCOME!

Welcome to Slimmed Down Preppies. As most of you know, this is not my blog, it is our blog. This will be a blog where we can discuss our diet mishaps, successes and secrets. Let's get started. I need to figure out how to add everyone so that they can post. I guess this will be a work in progress. Feel free to suggest or make any changes. It won't hurt my feelings at all.



Welcome aboard.