Sam's Club Rotisserie Chicken and Portion Container

Thursday September 29, 2016 MENU

Breakfast time I felt I needed whole grains in my system.  I had a serving of oatmeal.  I don't like my oatmeal with water and like it made with milk.  A coworker had brought some skim milk to work.  It was going to expire over the weekend and was going to throw it down the drain.  I took it from him and we had a couple of these 1/2 cup measures.  I put them in the freezer for me to use in my oatmeal.  I don't like skim milk but I can't tell the difference when mixed with other foods like the oatmeal.  I had recently bought me some 1/2 cup portion containers to use next time he does this.  I saved 21 calories and 2 fat's when compared to 2% milk.  When your on a calorie restricted diet you can use those saved calories.  For lunch I had some leftover black eye pea soup.  Then later around 2pm I was hungry so I measured out 2 tablespoons of pimento cheese to snack on.  I used a teaspoon to eat a little at a time.  Basically every time I felt a huger coming on I ate a little bite, till it was gone.  I went do 40 minutes of cardio when I got home from work.  Then I had some Sam's Club rotisserie chicken with some cornbread and butter.  Now look at this, how can you go wrong.  A huge already cooked chicken for only $ 4.97.  We ate some for supper and I will be using the rest to make some kind of quick meal this weekend.  Probably chicken and cheese quesadilla.  I finished the day with a total of 1238 calories for the day.  I was under my calories by 92.   If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity.


It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Philly Cheese Steak Sandwich and Spoiled Meal Plan

Wednesday September 28, 2016 Menu

I had plans to eat real good today.  I ate a small breakfast of the Jimmy Dean stuffed hash brown.  Then I left the office to do some field work.  I was out all day till 2pm.  That meant I had to eat out.  Ugh....  Well I stopped at a restaurant.  Yea I had a wide variety of options and could have picked a lighter option.  But, I knew I had plenty of calories left for the day and if I have beans for supper I will be pretty close to where I needed to be.  Which my breakfast and lunch equaled 1264 calories.  I had 66 calories left for the day and I had some left over beans waiting at home that was only 147 calories. Which would only put me over by 81 calories.   So I ate a Philly cheese steak sandwich with onion rings, I have been dying to try out.   I went work out with my 20 minutes of cardio and 40 minutes of weight training.  I headed home afterwards.  When I got home my mother had cooked hamburgers and french fries.  Well that just ruined my plans.  Not to insult my mom I ate the burger but no fries.  The burger was basic, complete with a bun, tablespoon of mayo and the meat patty.  I would have loved to add cheese to it, but I didn't.  I finished the day with a total of 1794 calories for the day.  Which put me way over by 464 calories.  Ugh that was depressing.  I will use this as my cheat/splurge day.  I can't have too many of those kind of days.  So I will see if I can keep it under control the rest of the week.  Saturday will be hard.  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

White Bean Smoked Ham Bone Soup

Tuesday September 27, 2016 Menu

Well my day started by going to Sam's Club at 7am.  I had not had breakfast.  I went there to exchange an item and pick up some milk.   I passed near the meat section on the way to the milk.  I glanced at the already cooked rotisserie chicken.  I backed my buggy up and said "Hum, I haven't had breakfast yet.  Hot chicken would be good!"  Yep I put in in the buggy and ate some when I got to work.  Sure was better than the oatmeal I was planning on eating.  I went out for work that morning and made it back in time for lunch.  I had a healthy serving of the leftover baby Lima bean soup.  Then on the way home from work at 4pm I grazed on some chewy oatmeal bites I've been wanting to try.   I thought they were OK but I don't think I would be going out of my way to buy them. I had some things to do when I got home and I only got to do 20 minutes of bike exercise.  Which is better than no exercise at all.  For supper my sister had cooked a smoked ham and had the leftover bone with some meat still on it she gave to my mom to use.  This is how us southern people reuse something that should be thrown away.  We used it to season the beans, of course!  What happens is the meat eventually falls off and the flavor's melt in the pot.  Then you just pull out the bone as you see in the photo.  The meat is distributed in the pot.   I ate some leftover Italian bread and butter and called it a day.  I finished the day with a total of 1167 calories for the day.  I was under by 163 calories.  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Pork Patty Pantoletes and Weigh In Results

Monday September 26, 2016 Menu

Well I went to exercise and did my weigh in.  As I said yesterday I didn't make good choices this past week and was even skipping some meals and snacks.  I had gained 2 pounds.  I started eating all my meals since this past Thursday.  Today's weigh in did show I lost the 2 pounds I gained and I lost an additional 2 more.  I am now down to 201 lbs.  Yay me.  So yes even though most days I was under my calories it did make a difference that I didn't eat all my meals.  Ok I need to make it a point to eat 3 meals and a snack when I feel hungry. 

For breakfast I had a Jimmy Dean breakfast sandwich.  It is a high calorie and fat item.  When I finish this box I don't think I am buying it again.  It was over 400 calories and I was hungry within an hour of eating it.  I grazed on some popcorn till lunch.  For lunch I had leftover parmesan fish and potatoes.  Supper time we ate a southern pork patty wrapped in animal casing.  My family calls them pant-o-letes.  I know it's not spelled right.  Can't find the correct spelling for it.  Very few meat markets make them here. I bought these in Cottonport at T-Jim's.  Oh it is so flavorful.  We had it with some baked veggies with garbanzo beans.  Then my mom picked an eggplant out of the garden and fried us some.  Oh what a perfect end to my day.  I lost weight and ate some yummy stuff.

I finished the day with a total of 1315 calories for the day.  I was under my calories by 15.  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Braided Italian Bread with Black Eye Pea Soup and Taco's

Sunday September 25, 2016 Menu

I have a lot to talk about in this diary.  From last Saturday I haven't been making good choices.  I ate out a little too much.  I had too much junk food for snacks .  Since Thursday I ate some healthier option snacks the last couple of days.  I have been busy a lot this week and I haven't lost any weight.  I actually gained 2 pounds according to Wednesday's weigh in.  I think it's because I have not been eating a snack when I was hungry.  Since Thursday I ate snacks when I felt hungry.    I use a scale at home that is 2 pounds heavier than the hospital scale.  According to my home scale I lost the 2 pounds I had gained and it appears I lost 2 more for a total of 4 pounds since Thursday.  I will do an official weigh in on Monday to let you know if this appears to be true. 

I had way to many morning chores like feeding the animals, cleaning the fish tank, watering the plants and garden.  I picked a super quick meal of cool whip cake.  Yea I just hate for it to go to waste.   Also, I figured I would be getting real hot and hot food may not be what I needed this morning.  For lunch I had homemade black eye pea soup.  Remember in the past I made bacon in the oven and saved the grease for later cooking's.  Yep my black eye pea soup is made with some of that leftover bacon grease.  We use the grease to sauté the onions in.  We ate that with some homemade braided Italian bread.  Yep bread, I love bread, bread with butter and warm.  Ugh....... I love bread.  After lunch I spent a couple of hours spring cleaning one of my rooms in the house.  When we were done my daughter made us some coffee for an evening snack.   I had just one cup.  Then later I went to church and someone at church said they specifically made US some coffee.  So not to be rude I had another cup of coffee.  For supper we had taco night.  As you see I did not skimp on the meat nor the toppings.  Before the sun went down I went and cut a little grass.

I want to talk about those taco's.  My mom made it with ground turkey.  I put all those ingredients in my diary.  Through conversation my mom wanted to know how much fat and calories the turkey saved me.  I said let's see.  So I entered the usual ground meat I buy from Sam's which is the 90/10 grade.  Well look at what I see.  The turkey is 173 calories and 13g of fat.  The 90/10 ground meat has 150 calories and 8g of fat.  Then later I also compared the 80/20 ground meat and it had 210 calories and 18g of fat.  We were surprised to see that the low fat ground meat we usually get was actually a little more heathier than the turkey.  We also saw that the turkey and the low fat ground meat was healthier than the higher fat ground meat.  So depending on what you have money for either get the turkey or the 90/10 grade of ground meat. 

I finished the day with a total of 1438 calories for the day.  I was over by 108 calories.  I am hoping all that work I did today off set those extra calories.   If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Truvia Sugar Blend

Saturday September 24, 2016 Menu

Well I had a busy Saturday.  My daughter fixed me breakfast and I was doing some early morning chores and I forgot to eat.  Now yesterday I found this Truvia Sugar blend.  I tried it in my coffee this morning.  It tasted like the fake stuff.  Nothing like the Stevia sugar blend.  Ugh.... I need try something different.  I would like a few more extra calories so I can have just a little more for breakfast.  I will find something.  We had committee training at church and they served us pulled pork sandwiches, chips, brownies and lemonade.  I picked a pork sandwich, brownie and a glass of water.   Then I helped stay after to clean up the church for Sunday and didn't leave till 5.  Around 3:30 I was hungry.  All that was left was the brownies and chips.  So, I opted for a bag of chips for a snack.  When I got home I cut some grass and finally made it in the door around 7:00.  We had a quick meal of some parmesan encrusted tilapia, I got from Sam's Friday, and a box of Betty Crocker potatoes I had found in the cabinet.   I finished the day with a total of 1156 calories for the day.  I was under 174 calories.  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Shrimp and Crab Gumbo

Friday September 23, 2016 Menu

I wanted breakfast and I wanted it to be something like breakfast, but not.  So what did I choose?  Yep as you can see a BLT sandwich.  Well of course I entered in those foods in my diary after I ate breakfast.  Oh my! Between the coffee and the BLT I already used 500 of my calories.  I really need to find a sugar blend that I like.  I don't like fake sugar and that Domino Stevia sugar blend was better than other fake sugars I have tried.  I was digging in the cabinet today looking for some spices and I found a Truvia sugar blend in the cabinet.  I will try that one in the morning.  In the mean time I have to watch my calories for the day.   I felt hungry before lunch and ate a GO Big yogurt.  I firmly believe that if we feel a little hungry to eat a bite of something.  For lunch I brought the leftover Lima bean soup.   Then around 3:30 I kept looking at a little bag of sugared popcorn.  Ugh....... I ate it of course.  My sister invited us over for supper.  Oh my am I going to ruin my diet?  Well when I got there she had hamburgers and shrimp and crab gumbo.   I sat down for a moment to figure out what I was going to do.  I got it!  I would eat the hamburger patty and eat the gumbo.  Oh was that seafood gumbo good.  Ok I got home and figured out my calories.  I finished the day with a total of 1293 calories for the day.  That put me under by 37 calories.  Looking at my daily diet, it could have been a really bad day.  I did good choosing the low calorie bean soup for lunch.  I did excellent not making a hamburger.  See if I had the hamburger I would have added cheese, mayonnaise and bread to it.  I am learning to make good choices.   But, lawd I can't wait till I am in the maintaining stage so I can have snacks guilt free.  lol  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Biscuits and Southern Sausage White Gravy

Thursday September 22, 2016 Menu

 

My mother made us a wonderful breakfast.  Homemade biscuits and made some from scratch sausage white gravy.  Ooh la la la la.  I really could have hurt myself eating this.  But I only got 1 3" biscuit, spit it in half and put just 1/4 cup of gravy on top.  I also decided to get some mini moo's creamers to save 5 calories on my morning coffee.  I have been looking for the Domino Stevia blend to replace my sugar.  In case you missed that one, I went to a family members house that had it and it tasted just like sugar.  Can't find it at Wal-Mart nor Albertsons.   But at least I will be saving 5 calories for now.  Some days those few extra saved calories count.  I was a little hungry before lunch and I had a yogurt drink for a snack.  Then for lunch I finished up the leftover baked potato and meatloaf.  I went exercise for 40 minutes doing cardio.  For supper my mom surprised me with a fresh pot of baby Lima bean soup.  This is so tasty and so low calorie.  It was only 121 calories for the whole bowl.  I had so many extra calories left that I got me a slice of the leftover cool whip cake.  I finished the day with a total of 1031 calories for the day.  That put me under by 299 calories.  I am trying to stay real low because I gained 2 pounds from eating out and going over this week.   If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Captain D's Batter Dipped Fish Dinner

Wednesday September 21, 2016 Menu

Well for breakfast I was hungry for some red beans.  I found a small 1/2 cup serving bowl in the freezer at work.  Yea, I ate red beans and rice for breakfast. lol  For lunch I went meet my mother for lunch.  She wanted to eat at Captain D's.  While ordering I argued with the cashier that they have a 2 piece fish with one side.  Well she insisted they didn't.  She would only sell me a 2 piece dinner that included 2 sides.  So I got french fries and extra hush puppies for my daughter to snack on tonight.  My mom got a salad as one of her sides.   I told the cashier I needed a to-go box. As you see from my plate of fish I ate 2 pieces of fish, 2 hush puppies and half of my mothers salad lightly drizzled with ranch.  I boxed up the extra hush puppies and fries as you also see in the other photo.  OMG I got back to the office and put the lunch in my diary.  The little bit of food I had on my plate was 626 calories.  I could have done without all the  hush puppies, but that is one of my favorite things to eat.  When I got home from work I went work out for my 20 minutes of cardio and the other 40 minutes weight training.  Well for supper my mom agreed for us to eat light.  I had leftover chicken thigh with one red potato and what was left of the Lima bean soup.  I finished the day with a total of 1335 calories for the day.  I was over only 5 calories, YAY!  Looking at the end of my day it could have been a really bad day.  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Shrimp Steak Chicken Fajita's

Tuesday September 20, 2016 Menu

Well this day was not so good.  I started off great having just a slice of bread with one breakfast sausage on it.  Then I went to work and meet with a store owner to review records at Shipley Donuts.  Well of course he tortured me with a donuts and I ate one.  Then by the time I finished a friend was driving through from Shreveport and wanted to eat out for lunch.  Well I  thought I was eating light picking the combination fajita's.  That meal was estimated to be almost 800 calories.  We didn't eat the chips and dip. Ugh......  I pretty much didn't have any calories left for supper.  I sure wish I had my bean soup with me.  I brought it to work for a leftover meal.  Ugh.... So I ate a quarter of a potato and a slice of the leftover meatloaf.  I didn't have time to exercise too.  Ugh.... I finished the day with a total of 1571calories for the day.  I was over 361 calories or more.  There was a couple of things I just didn't get to enter like the beans.    Well I guess this is my treat/cheat day!  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

 

Meatloaf Baked Potato

Monday September 19, 2016 Menu

For breakfast I had scrambled eggs with a slice of ham thrown in it.  Quick and easy meal.  For lunch I choose from my many leftovers.  I picked the leftover beef roast and sweet potatoes even though it was a little high in calories.  I could eat the extra calories since I knew what I was eating for supper.  I entered in my breakfast and supper in the food diary and that is how I figured out what I would be eating for lunch.  Supper I had a quarter of the leftover baked potato with a meatloaf my mother cooked in the crock pot.  She basically made the meatloaf and wrapped it and cooked in aluminum foil.  I saved a few calories using the low calorie sour cream.  I went exercise that evening and did my 20 minutes of cardio and the rest of the time weight training.  I finished the day with a total of 1164 calories for the day.  I was 166 under my calorie goal.    Another great day!  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Homemade Biscuit's

Sunday September 18, 2016 Menu

For breakfast my mother made some 2" round biscuits for me.  Oh la la...  I just had to have 2 with an egg of course.  Oh wow, my food diary said this was a 400 calorie meal.  Well I already ate it.  That means I need to control the rest of my day's meals.  For lunch I had a leftover steamed chicken thigh with a 1/4 cup of rice.  This was quite low calorie.  Later that evening the kids had youth group.  I got 6 meatballs.  I couldn't control myself and went back for 3 more.  When I got home my mom made us some baked zuchinni and yellow squash.  That was just a perfect end to my meals.  Well if I wouldn't have went back on seconds for the meatballs I would have been just fine with my calories.  I finished the day with a total of 1374 calories for the day.  That was 164 calories over my goal.    Lesson from today, DON'T GO BACK FOR SECONDS!!!!!   If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Birthday Cake

Saturday September 17, 2016 Menu

Staying at my family's house in New Orleans I found a couple of light menu items that I quite liked.  I think I will go buy some of that sugar stevia mix to give me an extra 50 calories to eat.  Also the turkey sausage I had for breakfast tasted just like the regular Jimmy Dean Sausage.  This breakfast was 127 calories compared to the same breakfast with my regular ingredients and sausage is 304 calories.  Wow I could eat just a little more for breakfast each morning with that kind of savings.  My daughter and her friend had a surprise birthday part waiting on them.  For lunch I just tried 2 of the Cheetos's chicken fries just to say I tried it.  I was saving my calories for the birthday meal.  For the birthday meal I had 1 hotdog with chili and a little of each chip they had.  Then as you see from the photo I had 2 choices in cakes.  One was traditional buttercream (rainbow cake) and the other was a cool whip iced cake (pink cake).  I saved a bunch of calories eating the cool whip cake.  I finished the day with a total of 1134 calories for the day.  I was 76 under my calorie goal.    Another great day!  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity. 

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

 

New Orleans Beignet and Italian Haoagie

Friday September 16, 2016 Menu

When we woke up for our New Orleans trip we know we wanted to eat at Cafe' du Monde.  We spent the day modeling and ended up at the Café where we had our beignet breakfast.  We could of each got an order but we decided to get 2 orders and split it.  We each got 2.  Looking at the calories on the food diary it was a good call.  The 2 I had was 480 calories!  As you can see from the photo that it was loaded with sugar on top of fried bread.  I'm from the south and my daughter had never experienced Cafe' Du Monde.  Her thoughts were "it tastes just like granny's!"  Of course it does I tell her.  We did a lot of walking and touristy things in between.  We took the ferry back to our car and drove back over the river to a old local Italian deli called Stein's Market and Deli.  I was on the hunt for Mortadella baloney.  This family has been here for generations.  So we had to try at least one of their menu items.  My daughter and I split an Italian Hoagie.  It had mortadella, Molinari genoa, Molinari hot coppa, aged provolone, lettuce, tomato, onion on an amoroso hoagie with garlic vinaigrette.   It was GOOD!  I got me some Mortadela to go to make an Italian dish later at home.  We drove back to my family's house and she had supper waiting for us.  She had made shrimp fettuccini.  I fixed me only 1 cup.  I really think I am learning how to portion my meals correctly.   I finished the day with a total of 1121 calories for the day.  I was 89 under my calorie goal.    Another great day!  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity.

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Fried Crawfish Tails

Thursday September 15, 2016 Menu

I had a meeting at the Paragon and I knew this would be a day I would have to eat out.  I ate very light and had an egg.  for lunch we went eat at Roxy's Diner.  I wanted either a shrimp poboy, Monte Christo or fried crawfish.  The portion sizes for the sandwiches are so large that I decided to eat the fried crawfish appetizer.  This came with thin onion rings.  I will save the other 2 for a day I can share with a friend or be able to have takeout.  When I got off work we were heading out for New Orleans for a little trip with my daughter and her best friend.  My mom had made a chicken and gravy.  I ate just a piece of chicken before leaving.  We arrived in New Orleans around 9pm.  I was a little hungry and opted to eat a ham and turkey sandwich.  This whole weekend I ate on the fly.  I can't properly add to my diary from my phone for some reason.  Now that I am sitting here entering all of my foods I am learning how to portion myself a lot better.  I finished the day with a total of 1154  calories for the day.  I was 56 under my calorie goal.    That was a great day.  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity.

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Pork With Garlic Mashed Potatoes & White Chocolate Bread Pudding

Wednesday September 14, 2016 Menu

I had a meeting at work today and I just know we are going to eat out.  For breakfast I had a little lonely egg.  Of course the meeting lasted extra long and I had to have something to eat.  All I could find was this little brownie.  Ugh that little brownie was 146 calories and I only ate half, a 2x2 inch piece.  Dang if I ate the whole thing it would have been almost 300 calories.  Watch out for those little snacks.  For lunch we went to the Word of Mouth Café.  I got the plate lunch of pulled pork.  I split my plate with a little friend.  I gave her half my pork, potatoes and green beans you see in the photo.  I gave her all of my corn.  Of course it comes with white chocolate bread pudding and I ate all of it.  I really didn't have time to enter my food diary, but late that evening I figured out that half was still 678 calories! OMG.  The bread pudding was almost 400 calories! I went and did weight lifting and 3 hours of cleaning.  For supper I ate the other half of my leftover Sunday dinner.  I did not eat the sweet potato nor the cole slaw.  I just knew that the lunch meal was over.  I had a quarter cup of ice cream just because it was sitting on the counter.  My darn mom.   I finished the day with a total of 1411 calories for the day.  I was 201 calories over my goal.   Like I keep saying it is hard to eat out and stay on track.  This week will be exceptionally hard, because I will be eating out again Thursday, Friday and possibly Saturday.   If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity.

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell

Women's Church Dinner Baked Potato

Tuesday September 13, 2016 Menu

For breakfast I choose a light meal.  One egg over easy with one slice of bacon.  For a snack I brought an apple to work.  I grazed on it most of the morning.  For lunch I had the last of my leftover crawfish ettoufee and catfish.  Then of course someone at work just had to bring a cake to the office.  I tried really hard to not eat it.  I felt tortured just to have it.  So I cut a very small sliver just to get a taste.  When I got home I did 20 minutes of cardio.  I sat down to see in the My Fitness Pal diary how my calories were going.  I still had about 600 calories left for my evening meal.  We had a women's dinner at the church.  They served us a HUGE baked potato, see photo.  You had almost every topping available, including chili.  But I kept it simple.  I put butter, sour cream and cheese.  I skipped the desert's.  The potato was so large I knew I shouldn't eat the whole thing.  I ate half.  WOW later I found out that just half was right at 400 calories.  So if I had the whole potato I would have went over and if I had a desert I really would have went over.  Remember that just because it's there we don't have to eat it all.  I finished the day with a total of 1297 calories for the day.  I was 35 under my calorie goal.    Another great day!  If you like my meal ideas just check out my diary for a list of ingredients for that meal.  And yes! I measured and weighed everything.  A crucial part of everyone's dieting is will power. The second part is portion control with good choices and third is physical activity.

It's how southern women diet!

Happy Eating
Angell