I was hoping to be able to say I've lost 10 pounds but...

[Cassandra]

I gained .2 pounds so I have lost the round number of 9 pounds for 6 weeks work. I'm a bit disappointed although, as a friend's guru says, "no appointment, no disappointment". I find I have a lot of trouble in a restaurant setting. I don't want to ask for something plain, steamed and with any sauce on the side. Why bother going to a restaurant if you are going to eat something that would be better made at home. Perhaps the problem is that, although I didn't mean to, I indulged mildly 3 times this week, which seems to be too much. I thought I had done enough extra exercise to counteract the extra points but apparently not. :-(

[auntAgonist]

1. Cassandra,

Don't despair! You might have gained muscle weight from exercising. It's not going to all come off at once. Restaurants are hard, try going for broiled or steamed. grilled veggies are good too.
It sounds like you are really trying, keep it up Cassandra!!!!

don't give up :)

aA

[Longhorn]

2. Still, excellent progress in six weeks! Congratulations!

I've only lost a couple in the same amount of time but I'm being amazingly patient. I've lost weight quickly before and while it's fun while it lasts, it's also very depressing when it comes back quickly! If I only lose ten pounds a YEAR and keep it off, I'll be happier in the long run.

I tend to order salads when I eat out. I'm a lazy cook -- "occasional meal assembler" would be a more accurate description -- so if I have a salad at home, it's nothing special. In a restaurant, I can have a salad with more exotic greens and other veggies, and maybe some chicken or shrimp, and I still feel like I had a special meal that I wouldn't have had at home. I just take it easy on the dressing.

Restaurants also tend to have better soups than I would have at home (in other words, not Campbells!) So especially when it's colder, I'll often have soup and a salad. I really like tortilla soup or French onion. Even with the cheese and tortillas or crouton, they're not that bad on calories compared to other meals and they're very filling. Again, not something I would have at home.

[Cassandra]

3. My biggest problem with weight loss is...

that I hate most green vegetables, especially leafy ones. This makes having a salad in a restaurant a tricky thing. Even if the salad has lots of other ingredients, so that I have enough to eat, I find the snide comments about leaving the greens on my plate to be a bit tiresome; I've been hearing them all my life. I just don't like bitter flavors or "green" ones; they make me gag. Eating out, for me, is an opportunity to have something special, particularly if I am paying for it. I'd rather have something I can't make myself. I guess I'll gradually be able to strike a better balance in restaurants.
In my WW meeting this week there were 2 women there who've been at it as long as I have and haven't lost anything, so that did make me feel a bit better.

[lavenderdiva]

4. do you like Vietnamese or Thai cuisine?

the reason I ask, is they offer an amazing, and oh-so delicious variety of salads that have very little 'greens' involved. They are mainly meat-based, with cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, cabbage OR something else involved (not all of those ingredients are in every salad, just involved in some way). Their salads are not leafy green things like we are used to in American cuisine. The dressings involved are not creamy based ones, usually a very tasty vinaigrette of some sort. So they are inherently light, without any special ordering. The flavors involved are utterly delicious, and nothing like you will experience anywhere else. I just love both Vietnamese and Thai cuisine. Also, the soups they offer are usually broth based, or have coconut milk to add creaminess, without cream!

[Cassandra]

5. Some

I hate cilantro, so I have to order carefully. Fortunately, my favorite Chinese sauce is black bean, which is very low in calories; WW loves it. I have trouble digesting onions these days so I have to be careful with those. My problem is that I love fattening things; peanut sauce, cream sauces, cheese, cake, cookies. I can still have chocolate in modest amounts but everything else seems like a minefield. The other day I had eggs benedict (before looking up the points-16!!) and I have to admit I felt like I was carrying buckshot in my stomach. I have to remember how I feel when I'm eating in an unhealthy manner so I remember not to do that again unless I want to feel crappy.

[indigo32]

6. Hang in there Cassandra

it's never a smooth ride.
You are doing great.