Misc. ramblings -

Thanks for the suggestions, Jan.  I've already got protein bars packed, and we're taking a case of water and a case of Diet Lipton Green citrus-flavored tea.  I also have a bag of soycrisps and will probably take some pretzel snaps.  I eat the pretzel snaps 1/2 oz. at a time and find them very satisfying.  I had forgotten about jerky - will pick some up before I go - very chewy, satisfying and portable!!!  Hadn't thought about peanut butter crackers - I usually eat my peanut butter with a banana or apple, but may give the PB crackers a try.  What brand do you like?  My girlfriend and I often share meals - it's pretty common for us to share one appetizer and one entree, and she's really good about ordering something that's good for me.  When that doesn't work out for whatever reason, I often order an appetizer and a side salad or a bowl of soup.  One of the other great things we discovered in Madison last year is that many of the restaurants actually serve reasonable portion sizes!  (In Cleveland, you can often feed three people from a single restaurant entree - it's pretty ridiculous...)   Thanks again for the suggestions; it's appreciated!!! Kellie

My surgeon suggested peanut butter crackers for travel, or the peanut butter celery packs, love those.  I honestly don't eat the PB crackers often, only have them aroud now for low blood sugar drops. I bought some of the individual packed Ritz bitz because they were less calories than the 6 pack of crackers (like from Walmart). I swear I live on jerky! I made up my own trail mix this weekend, put in almonds, walnuts, dried unsweetened cherries, raisins and blueberries. Then I measure out 1/4 cup into individual bags, I'm one that has to have portion control. I froze most but will keep a bag or two at work and in my purse.

I think we have a couple snack packs of the mini Ritz w/ PB at home - if we do, I'll add them to my snack collection.  Love the idea of peanut butter celery packs, but haven't seen them at my grocery.  Could do my own version with sandwich bags and some of the small reusable containers...  And maybe take a few raisins too...   Thanks for the additional info -  Kellie

CRACKERS? DID I HEAR CRACKERS? LOL AWWWW.... OK MARGE SETTLE DOWN....IT IS HARD TO ME TRAVELING AND BEING AWAY FROM HOME AND GETTING IN ALL YOU NEED WATER WISE OR PROTEIN WISE... PROTEIN BARS AND SHAKES HAVE ALWAYS GAVE ME A FIT WITH CONSTIPATION FROM TIME TO TIME... DONT KNOW WHY.... SO WITH US GOING TO THE BEACH ON THE EIGHT AND STAYING A WEEK ALMOST I HAVE ALL MY LIST READY TO PACK. ITS A FAMILY THING WITH FIVE DIDNT FAMILIES AND BELIEVE ME, AINT NONE OF THEM HOLDING BACK ON FOOD LOL.. THEY EAT LIKE I ALWAYS DID BEFORE WLS.... BUT..... NOW THINGS HAVE TO BE DIFFERENT IN MY LIL CORNER. WE ALL HAVE SEPERATE MOTEL ROOMS ON THE BEACH AND I WILL PACK WHATEVER I EAT AND FOR DH ALSO. I AM BRINGING WEIGHT CONTROL OATMEAL FOR THE TIMES FOR WHEN I WANT SNACKING OR SWEET TASTES OF CINNAMON.(BANANA BREAD KIND). BUT JUST BEING ABLE TO HAVE MY YOGURT, COTTAGE CHEESE, LUNCH MEATS, AND OTHER THINGS I EAT DAILY WILL HELP ME ALOT WITH THE EATTING... SALT IS ALWAYS MY DOWNFALL TO... I HAVE ALWAYS HAD A HABIT OF TASTING (AFTER) I SALT LOL..I DONT DO SOFT DRINKS SO TEA AND BOTTLED WATER WITH FLAVORS TO CARRY WILL BE WHAT I DRINK ALL THE TIME EXCEPT WHEN SITTING ON THE DECK WATCHING THE WAVES WITH MY JAVA LOL...I LOVE JUST PLAIN OLE LIPTON TEA WITH EQUAL AND PLAIN OLE COFFEE WITH EQUAL... NEVER GOT INTO THOSE FLAVORED ONES TO MUCH... BUT I DO CAFFEINE PRETTY REGULAR... BUT OH WELL... I TRY TO LOOK AT IT LIKE AT LEAST IT AINT ALL THE OTHER GOODIES I USED TO SUCK DOWN LIKE A ESCALATOR. LOL HAVE A BALL AND TELL US ALL ABOUT IT WHEN YA GET BACK! HUGS MARGE

Sounds like we've got a similar plan, Marge - pack it up and take it with us!!!  On my past couple vacations, I've intentionally bent the rules and eaten differently than I normally do.  This trip, I'm going to stick as close as possible to my regular food plan, but still enjoy myself a little bit.  The "thrill" of eating things that aren't so good for me no longer seems to outweigh how bad I feel when I step on the scale when I get home.  I sort of wondered when this would happen, and it seems like it's finally becoming real.   I look forward to comparing notes with you when we both get back.  Enjoy the time at the beach with your family - sounds like a blast!!!!   Kellie

Thanks, Kix - I plan to have as much fun as possible without getting arrested In terms of your trip to South Dakota, my suggestion is to just have a plan.  I tend to get in more trouble when I try to wing it; if I think through what I'm going to do when faced with different situations, I tend to do much better.  I think that's been part of my problem with traveling until now - I've given my permission to do whatever I wanted.  This time, I'm giving myself permission to follow my regular food plan except at dinner time, and even then I still plan to choose a lean protein as my starting point, paired with some veggies and perhaps a bit more carbs than usual.   Enjoy your trip to South Dakota - can we expect pictures from your trip to appear in your profile??  I sure hope so!!!  I really need to figure out how to add pictures to my profile someday... Kellie