Conference rocks::weight_control

    A lot.  Of damage that is.  Oh those two cookies won't be too bad,
    it is just that they are the start.  THROW THEM AWAY.
    
    If you can't bear to do that just send them to me in the interoffice
    mail and I'll throw them out for you!
    
    -Joe
    
    PS >> Resist!

    If you throw them away you will be throwing away calories.  How's
    that for burning up calories fast!
    
    Remember, eat it today, wear it tomorrow.
    
    Unfortunately, too many of us were brought up not to waste food
    so we have weight problems.  If we had been brought up to eat what
    we can, then I think more of us would have been better off (who
    knows).  Anyway, throw them away and see how good you feel tomorrow.
    Guarantee you will feel proud of yourself.
    
    

    I did even better than that!!  I took them outside at lunch and
    crumbled them up for the birds!  I guess they can eat cookies ;-)!
    If not, I'm sure some little bug that has a sweet tooth will eat
    them.  Then, I walked for about 45 minutes.  When I came back I
    only ate until I was full (about 1/4 c. tuna, and 4 saltines). 
    Since my neice is spending the night with me tonight, I'll see if
    she can show me some new exercises (she's in gymnastics and a pom-pom
    girl).  She told me on the phone last night that she'd wait until
    she came over to work out (and she's only 12!) so I could work out
    with her.  Anyway, after I ate my tuna, I went and talked to my
    "friend" that brought the cookies by.  I just pleasantly reminded
    her that I was on a diet and I appreciated her thinking about me
    and bringing me the cookies, but that I really would appreciate
    it more if she didn't offer me any more goodies from the meetings
    she's in (there's enough temptation when I'm in meetings).  She
    said she had forgotten I was on a diet and actually apologized!!
    Then, she offered me some of her diet tips.  She use to weigh 160
    and probably weighs 115 to 120 now.  I never knew she had been
    overweight.  
    
    Anyway, I'll make up for the 2 cookies I did eat tonight and tomorrow
    by exercising doubly hard.  
    
    Virginia_who hadn't cheated all week!! 

    Good job.  I bet you felt real good about what you did.  I thought
    of you this weekend and wondered how you did.
    
    Mary
    

    
    Throwing food away is hard!  Giving it to the birds was a good
    solution; I think I would've put them by the nearest coffee pot
    for someone else to grab.
    
    It's also good that you mentioned it to the woman who gave them
    to you.  It's often the case that people do that sort of thing because
    they're not thinking, rather than out of a malicious desire to see
    you fail.
    
    I wouldn't worry about the damage done by 2 cookies.  They were
    probably in the neighborhood of 100 calories each, max.  With the
    attitude you've got, you'll have that worked off in no time!
    
    Bev
    

    
    Can you stop at two cookies ?  If you did toss them out or just
    left them it would help you out.  
    
    I know I would crab a cookie in the Cafe and I said lik you what
    can one cookie do well then the next day I got one then the other
    day I said well I'll have two today and then I started eating other
    sweets again and now I am having bad health problems and on a strict
    Dr's diet because I said what harm will it do ? It doesn't happen
    over night it creeps up on you.. so try to live without them .
    
    If you can control yourself and have a couple once in awhile that
    is ok..but if its' all the time LEAVE THEM ALONE !
    
    
    Please take good care of YOU.. you are so much more important then
    COOKIES !!
    
    Chipmunks and birds might like them and they wouldn't go to waste.
    
    
    Good Luck and your sweet enough.. and tell your friends as I have
    had to learn and say NO THANK you ..
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    Thanks for all the kind words of support!!  You guys are great!
    I did ok this weekend.  They seem to be so hard to get through!!!
    
    I live in Memphis, Tn and we have an annual bar-b-que cook off every
    year for Memphis in May.  Well, Friday night, we went to it.  I
    did eat a bar-b-que sandwich, but I bet we walked over 15 miles
    that night.  There weren't any parking spaces for blocks and blocks
    away and then once we got in there, we had to walk alot, no where
    to sit down, so I don't feel like it or the cookies hurt at all
    after all that walking!  Saturday, I did fine, no problems at all.
    But, Sunday, we went to a cookout over at a friends and I fell off
    the wagon so to speak.  I ate ribs and baked french fries and smoked
    sausage.  I don't guess it was as bad as it could have been, but
    I still felt guilty about it.  I'll just have to make up for it
    this week.  How do you get through the weekends????
    
    

    
    Check on note 75 it's on Weekends.. called the Weekenders..
    and yes you can say that again it sure is hard on weekends.
    
    I love all that food too but in order to really lose is
    to have it but plan for it.. and if you do binge out go
    right back to your program and don't starv yourself to
    make up for over eating on the weekend.. you'll just eat
    more.. and like I had to learn don't feel bad and I know
    it's not easy because it may drive you to eat more..
    You did it and had fun, Now the parties over and 
    time to Buckel down..
    
    We all go through this so your not alone.. and 
    watch out for those so call friends that try to push food on
    you.. just push it back (-:
    
    
    
    
    Find some Hobbies
    
    
    Ann
    
    

    re: .7
    
    I have to echo the words of Ann in .8 - namely the part about finding
    some hobbies. I have found, like so many other people, that weekends
    are tough. But I have found, also, that often the reason I overeat
    on the weekends is that the food is there and I am there. In other
    words, I am often eating because I am bored.
    
    So, what has worked for me is trying to keep myself busy and on
    the go on the weekends. At the very least, instead of sitting around
    and munching, I go for a walk. I have been cleaning, writing, reading,
    shopping, etc. Also, I keep a glass of seltzer water or some such
    thing around me when I am at home, so when my mouth needs something...
    
    Best of luck!
    
    -Amy.

    re: .8
    
    Ann, 
    
    I read the WEEKENDERS in 75.  It's good to know I'm not alone. 
    When I'm at home, I usually don't have any trouble sticking to what
    I am suppose to eat, but when we go somewhere else (like to a cookout)
    where I have no control over what's "on the menu"; I just can't
    seem to help myself.  If I would have left off the potatoes sauteed
    in the butter sauce and the smoked sausage (I really don't know
    too much about smoked sausages, but I figure they're pretty high
    in calories) and just ate the green beans and ribs I would have
    been all right.  Plus I had a piece of cake, too.  This week hasn't
    been too good.  I was up half the night Sunday, so, Monday I wasn't
    too keen and ended up fixing speghetti for supper.  Well, with just
    2 people to feed, a pot of speghetti goes a long way.  We had speghetti
    Monday night, Tuesday for lunch, Tuesday night and there's STILL
    some left.  I didn't bring any for lunch today.  I brought an apple
    and some yogurt.  But...guess what's for dinner tonight??  Right,
    speghetti.  Also, we had overnight company last night and by fixing
    the speghetti Monday night, I didn't have to cook last night.  Also,
    with guests on a work night I'm tired today and don't want to have
    to go home tonight and cook.  Also, there's suppose to be someone
    at our house at 5:00 tonight to give us an estimate on our roof
    (leaking!!) and who knows when he'll leave.  I've already decided
    that this weekend we're going to stay home and get our priorities
    straightened out!!!  Too much partying lately and not enough stuff
    around the house getting done!!  Anyway, thanks for all the
    suggestions, and I'm going to try to remember to write in the weekend
    file Monday!!
    
    Keep on losing!!
    
    Virginia

re .10 (Virginia)

Well, while we're off the subject...

Spaghetti makes a fine side dish, but a pretty high-calorie main course.  You
can either mix "lots of" meat in with the sauce or use meatballs or sausages,
or something totally different (all in "reasonable amounts").

You can make a small amount of spaghetti; no one says you have to make a whole
pot of it, and it's harder to resist when already cooked.

It's also cheap enough that when you make more than you intended to, you can
just throw it out.   (Don't mix the sauce in until you know what's going to be
eaten.)

If you are worried about what to do with the leftover sauce, especially if
it's homemade and wonderful (and hopefully calorie-trimmed), you can either
freeze it or mix it up with veggies.

About eating the sausage, I wouldn't say it's terrible in itself, and the ribs
are probably just as high in fat content, but you shouldn't be eating a whole
lot of protein in general, and depending on how big the sausage was (and how
many ribs you had) it would most likely be quantity rather than what you ate
that caused you harm if any was done.

Something I like to do at BBQ's, etc, where there's so many different things
around, is to take just a taste of lots of things, like a bite of a sausage,
a rib, a tablespoon of potato salad.  That way, you're not missing it, but
you're not eating lots of everything.

Just a few thoughts,
Jill 

    
    
    When you make Spaghetti why do you make so much? You don't have
    to make a big pot all at once.. When I lived alone I'd make enough
    for me.
    
    I would try to fix more different meals if I were you also.
    It makes it more interesting. I would get bored eating the
    same thing over and over again.
    
    Yes we are all tired but you can get a nice salad going and
    it doesn't take long to bake some chicken..or someother
    meat.
    
    I know it' not easy and I have hard times as well.. It's
    good to take care of yourself..as all that other food looks
    and taste good but what good is it doing you ?
    
    I know I love all that food but I always feel so much better when
    I follow my program..
    
    
    Take care and good luck,
    
    Ann
    
    
    

    When I feel tired and vulnerable I eat a frozen low calorie meal.
    I keep several in the refrigerator for just such occasions.  They
    are high in sodium but I prefer to deal with that rather than the
    temptation to binge or prepare a quick high calorie meal.

    re: .12
    
    Ann,  I made so much because I knew I had company coming Tuesday
    night and that way I had plenty in case they were hungry when they
    got there (these were out of state guests).  Also, I didn't want
    to have to spend any more time than I had to in the kitchen Tuesday
    night.  
    
    re: .13  
    
    The frozen meal would have been fine except for the fact that I
    would have had to cook Tuesday night or eat another frozen dinner
    and then cook for my guests (or worse...ordered a pizza for everybody)
    when they arrived.  Also, I didn't know what time they were arriving
    so I couldn't have cooked a meal and kept it warm, and speghetti
    is so easy to warm up!!!

    
    The only why I can lose weight is to change my eating Habits.
    Change my style of thinking of the Foods I eat and how much of
    it I eat.
    
    I feel so much better when I follow a program or diet and eat 
    right then if I stuffed myself with desserts and chips and dip
    and you name it.. It's alright sometimes..but you know when you
    eat less of it and you do have it now and then it taste better.
    Some foods don't control my life like it did.
    
    I am control of it now and I know what I have to do and must do
    to be a healthy person.
    
    You should join a Weight Watchers and learn how to prepare foods
    for a crowd and still be able to enjoy your company.. Most of
    the Dishes are Great and people wouldn't even know they were
    Weight Watchers and you could eat it and not feel Guilty.
    
    There are some files that have recipes here so check it out.
    
    
    Good Luck this weekend..
    
    
    Ann