Lesanne, that is absolutely fantastic ... you definitely survived the first of the
holidays and are in wonderful form! I found the same as you ... planned to not
fret much over how I prepared dishes, but ended up sticking with the current
routine of lightening as much as possible (found that the french silk pie really
needed to be left *as is*). Is it just new habits that have set in for us? I
don't put sausage in my stuffing, but do add bread and butter. So why not use
light bread, does it really make a difference? NOPE! And the butter was cut down
to 1 T, just like last year. Sweet potatoes were made with sugar free syrup, and
much less of it - much better than the original version anyway since now the focus
isn't on all the gooey syrup, there is only enough for a bit of flavor. My
daughter made the desserts, she lightened them up on her own ... her decision, not
mine. Guess even she has been watching me and learning. G

Congrats on a superb week, you definitely are an inspiration and show us all that
it is possible to live life this way.

Joyce

On Fri, 28 Nov 2003 12:40:00 GMT, "Lesanne" wrote:

even after the rather off program week, my average was within .2 of last
week so I am going to leave it at 160. Last weeks average was 159.9, this
week 160.1. Not as awful as I thought. I got a burst of renewed motivation
yesterday, so this week I expect it to go back into the one fives. I found
out something interesting yesterday. I Planned to eat a "real" thanksgiving
meal. I did have several dishes that I planned to make full fat. Like the
dressing. And the potatoes. And the squash casserole. et al. I found
myself while cooking, just Not being able to do it. The recipe for the
stuffing said a stick of butter. I ended up with a couple of tablespoons.
It had sausage, and I used what I had, which was a very low fat highly
seasoned garlic and basil sausage made from chicken. This trend went along
as I cooked. I found myself pouring most the fat off the drippings for the
gravy and using ultra low fat cheddar in the squash casserole. My daughter
made the mashed potatoes, and I did have some, but they did not taste all
That good so I had a small serving. I used fresh orange juice in the jams
instead of cream. Everything was delicious, I felt "too" full after one
plate with a bit of everything on it. Had a sliver of pie, and just could
Not eat the crust, knowing what was in there. Got really hungry in the
evening (a good sign) and had a turkey sandwich, with some baked chips.
Figured my points for fun and estimate around 45, but with hindsite probably
not that much. This morning the scalemonster said 159 again.! Another
successful holiday. I have been doing this So intently now for so long, it
is like I Can't not do it, even when I plan to not do it. It is true.
Habits DO change, if you work at it.