After 2-1/2 weeks, I've finally lost one pound off the weight I started with! (There was that bump there when it actually went up.) I've gradually been making progress on lowering my sodium intake, but it seems as sodium goes down, calories are going up. I'm continually having the dilemma of, do I choose the food with lower salt and higher calories, or vice versa. A good example is light Miracle Whip (fewer calories, more sodium) vs. real Hellman's mayo (more calories, less sodium). I guess it's going to take a few more weeks of juggling to get everything balanced out--but I'm gonna do it. Hi, Raybeck, welcome! I hate to tell you but something else happened in that 2-1/2 years besides "eating too much"--you got 2-1/2 years older! DH and I ate like pigs back in college--we used to *each* get a Burger King deal where we bought one Whopper and got one free. That's right, two Whoppers, an order of fries and a huge drink (not diet) for each of us. And we were thin! I read somewhere that your calorie need really does go down each decade, so you either have to eat a little less, exercise a little more, or else gain weight as you get older. Unfortunately I didn't read that till the damage was done. ;) So don't beat yourself up--you might have been eating the same as always, not realizing it was time to adjust. It's great you're taking charge of it now! TREKaren--I hear you on the Hershey kisses. One thing I'm not giving up is my daily piece of Dove dark chocolate--42 calories, and worth every one. :) DeeMarie--Take care of yourself. Thanks for the vote of confidence in the brownie mix. Can't wait to try it this weekend. Erica

Welcome BB! I have a friend on Prednisone for asthma too - it makes it harder to lose BUT you can lose (she is too) Wow you would have loved the old WW diets - that was exactly what they did and there were not nearly the choices they have now. The only problem I have with the rigid diets (and menus can be found in most Women's magazines) is that they tell you to eat for example 4 ounces of salmon for lunch and a half cup of green beans. OK so where does the rest of the salmon go? Do you toss the other green beans? There are no salmon or green beans mentioned for the rest of the week. So my suggestion (and it is worth what you paid for it) is to make a list of the foods you want to eat and would fit the plan you want to be on. For example - breakfast for me is cereal OR a Weight Watchers bagel with ff butter. That is what I like and eggs don't make me feel full. You might be different. Snack is an apple or pear. Something I can come in and eat on the run when hunger hits - high fiber. Lunch will be a lean protein with a low starch veggie. If I get snacky in the afternoon I'll grab some carrots or another pear. That leaves a lot of room for a nice evening meal (low on starches and always a steamed veggie) or a leaner meal and a trip to McDonald's for a cone or hot fudge sundae. If I go out for lunch or supper I choose something in the 300 calorie range and it does not take long to learn what you can eat. Evening snack is frozen fruit. A whole bag is usually about 150 calories and I don't eat the whole bag. This works for me for now. It might not be a diet you would like but your diet is out there. Hi gang! Well I had spaghetti wars yesterday. Made it for supper and long after I had my bowl it started singing to me so I popped it in a bag and froze it. Today there are Snickers bars and cookies leftover from a teen class (only 3 showed up - sunny day). They are getting bagged and taken to the basement. Every day is another battle. We are having a false summer here and I want to plant my stuff outside so badly! But I won't - not until after mother's day and that is taking a chance. We have had late frosts many times before. I went to a used booksale yesterday along with 351 other people in line. It was huge and I bought a lot of gardening books. I checked out the diet books too but nothing jumped up. Spent my $20 (all I allowed myself to take) and got out of there. There were people buying hundreds of dollars worth of books. Most were $3. I found a stack of Country living gardening mags from the 90s for $1. Lots of good ideas there. Well must go start the day - stay strong everybody (and especially) Kathy

Okay I stepped on the scales today - too chicken last week - I am up 4 pounds but I know why. It has been a phase of just wanting to eat. So I did. Now I stepped on the scales, got things out of my system (I do not blame my monthly cycles). Sometimes I just want to eat. Some days I just want cookies and coffee. It reminded me of xmas - when I decided to begin this journey once again. I ate everything until I was sick of it. Then I resolved myself to get at it again. I think the past THREE weeks have been the same all over - the difference is - I am still here posting. We are human. Some folk zoom through this and get to goal. I know myself too well. The past 3 weeks were the same point I got to last time and gave up, regained all my lost weight and gave up hope. This time I saw it as a period of letting go. I have learned now that this will be a life long journey and the best part of all is having all of my friends here to share life with. Thank you for your motivation, your down moments, your up moments. Thank you for continuing to remind me to stick with it, not give up on myself. Posting is purifying. Posting lets me be honest with myself. If I posted that my weight was the same - it would be false. If I posted that it was my monthly cycle then it would be me giving up and not believing that I am responsible for what I eat, how, when and why. I think being honest with myself keeps me going and all of you doing the same helps all of us remember we are embarking on a journey to better health, happiness. We just keep taking it one day at a time, one step. No matter what, I have resolved this year to get through these moments and keep coming back, not giving up. It will just take a little longer to reach goal but then again if it takes 6 months, a year, two years so what. It took TEN YEARS to pack it all on. It ain't coming off overnight! So here I am. Hoping this week is better than last, hoping I get back at posting more often. Many thanks to all of you for sharing and being here! My buds, my pals! Have a wonderful day - make it a good one. McPeg

I agree with eating more to lose at times. I try to start the day with some protein, a bread and some fruit. If I don't eat some protein I seem to get hungry sooner. A convenient breakfast for me would be a frozen pancake or waffle, lite sausage links or a piece of ham and a piece of fruit. Sometimes an egg, two strips of bacon and toast. Many times I eat lunch for breakfast and breakfast for dinner. Lunch is a tuna sandwich on a roll with a salad's worth of greens on top, Sometimes a roast beef or turkey sandwich or a small burger or a Lean Cuisine meal. I don't care for processed meats. Fruits and veggies as needed for hunger. Dinner is standard meat,veggie and starch but portion controlled. If I eat potatoes, pasta or rice I skip the bread. If I don't, I have bread. Snacks are usually chewy granola bars, fruit and grain bars, fig newtons or occasionally a "good" cookie like oatmeal. I eat ice cream almost every day, but measure out 1/2 cup. For crunch I measure out dry cereal or pretzels. I use sugarfree jello sometimes and clear veggie based soups to fill up when I'm on a "can't stop eating binge". I "trick" my sweet tooth by using healthy choices. For example I will slice a banana on a hot pancake or waffle, sprinkle with a little cinnamon sugar and add a dollop of whipped cream...banana cream pie thats good for me. For apple crisp I nuke a sliced apple sprinkled with a bit of cinnamon and sugar and top it with crushed honey nut chex cereal. I don't get enough dairy since I'm not a milk or yogurt person, so I take calcium. I do eat cottage cheese and cheese though. The little Babybell cheeses are a good snack at 70 calories each. That's pretty much how I eat and as long as I don't get carried away with restaurant portions or eating too much fat at one meal it seems to work for me. Anyway thats what I eat. Hope it helps.