gkashmira

i also like this 3 point breakfast: 1 Dannon Light & Fit Vanilla Yogurt (the 60 calorie kind w/ no added sugar not the 90 calorie kind) 1/3 cup low fat granola Stir together and it's simple but very delicious - the yogurt makes it feel very creamy and rich. Plus granola, while high in calories normally, is actually great in small portions because it's high in fiber and also very tasty! Snacks: Handful of cherry tomotoes (0 points) small green apple (1 point) 2 1/2 cups light cheddar popcorn (air-popped) from trader Joe's - (3 points) baby Bel light cheese (one circle ) - 1 point Polly's light string cheese - 1 point Green salad w/ fat free/low fat dressing (depends on dressing) Progresso's low sodium vegetable soup (3 points per can) (Can you guys tell how much I love cheese?) Anyway that's how I'm surviving these days. Tomorrow is my weigh in day so keep your fingers crossed! (and I'll purposely wear very light clothes) -K

Great ideas Meaghan! I am definitely going to try that sauce - sounds like it would be delicious on the fake chicken (quorn) I like to eat too! Here's something I've recently cooked up for dinner: Creamy Chicken (fake) Polenta (or pasta) cooking spray (0 points) 3 oz. pre-cooked basil polenta (2 pts.) 1 quorn naked breast (or you can use chicken) (1 pt.) 1/4 small onion chopped and some garlic (0 points) a few sundried tomatoes - chopped (1 pt) 1 cup Trader Joe's Pomodorro sauce (1 pt) (or some other lower calorie pasta sauce OR crushed tomatoes and season w/ salt, pepper, garlic and parsley) 1 oz. reduced fat cream cheese (2 points) Saute the the first 5 items together until cooked through (use olive or canola oil cooking spray) add in pasta sauce and cook until simmering. Lastly drop in clumps of the cc and stir until it melts. You get a BIG plate of food (you can also use 1 oz. high fiber pasta instead of the polenta) for only 7 points. If you do pasta instead just boil in on the side and stir it in last. YUM!

Tammy - I feel you! My workplace is normally a bastion of baked good, and junk food! Actually it still is but at least people (boys too!) are trying to eat healthier. It IS hard to work out when you see everybody else (and the pups!) snuggling all cozy onthe couch... Sarah - WOOO-HOOOOOOO! Conratulations! That is so awesome - you must feel wonderful.. and think of all those little calories you burned away. The beauty of the work-out is you'll continue burning extra calories fora few hours after you stop.. yay added benefit!

Hilton only has one wedding per day as does the Sheraton (I think). the Presidente Intyercontinental could have more than one but I don' tthink they do a ton of weddings so it's a good AI to consider.

What about going down with a friend of yours instead of Gavin - just for the tasting? It won't be as romantic of course... Or you could go down and Gavin can just meet you later... I don't know if that helps though.

FYI: Emeline at the Hilton has medium size sound systems where the iPod connects for $245/night! And if you want to hire someone to run it i'ts only $40/hour.. a lot cheaper than the DJs...

Well I feel a little better after I came into work today and weighed myself for a group "Health Challenge" that we're doing at work. I was expecting it to have gone righht back up to where I started but it's stayed the same (even after my off-plan weekend) so I'm going to make up for it by Thursday to get that loss! I don't need much - a simple pound will make me smile Anyway here's how th Health Challenge works if anyone is interested in doing it at their own workplace (or with friends/ family etc...) 1) Friday morning everyone who wants to participate weighs themselves on the scale (there should be one scale that everyone uses - we happen to have one in our office... It sounds weird but it makes sense. Tell ONE other person of your choice what you weight currently. 2) Set your weight loss goal. The minimum is 5 pounds to lose. Typically people try and lose about 4% of their body weight, so if you weigh 125lbs then 4% is losing 5 lbs; If you weigh 150 lbs then your goal is 6 lbs; If you weigh 175 lbs then your goal is 7 lbs. You can try and lose more if you want, but 4% is pretty doable for a month. Write your goal on the sheet that will be posted next to the scale (you don't have to post your weight just the amount you planon losing) 3) Lose weight! You have a month, and lots of other people around to support you, eat lunch with you, and exercise with you. 4) On November 20th (or whatever the date is 4 weeks/30 days after you start), weigh yourself on the same scale and tell your ONE person the number. If you have not met your posted goal (as verified by your witness), you pay $50 into the communal pot. If you make your goal, you split whatever money is in the pot with the the other folks who've also met their goal! So that's the deal. What's nice is I'm suddenly surrounded by health conscious co-workers who a week ago were bringing in home baked cookies and cakes!

Not yet - but I plan on going down there one time between now and my wedding in June. A friend of mine who stayed at the hotelk a few yuears ago said the food in the restaurants was great... I'm keeping my fingers crossed!

I like the tiki torches idea too... Home depot's gotta have them! Are you still thinking you're goign to do the small table? You may be able to just plop a few candles on it of different heights, sprinkle some flower petals (no one ever said they had to be roses) and just let the beautiful blue sea be your background. I'll try and think of some other ideas too...

I 5th the strap vote! But I think the dress is beautiful no matter what!

Me too! I think that sounds like fun!

Thanks Sarah! I especially appreciate the cheer! Today i ate exactly my points so let's see what the scale says on Thursday... And by the way YAY FOR YOUR 3 POUNDS LOSS!!! I think it's great and you should be really proud - great job!

Ok, I JUSt ate some bread (pre- reading your post) BUT I am headin gto the fridge for a big glass of water right now!

Good point ladies! Thanks for the encouragement I just need to be really diligent for the rest of the week (and beyond of course) so I can lose even just a pound...

I ate way more than I should of this weekend. On friday night I used up all my flex points and then today when I counted up ther points I realized i was way over! Anyway - what can I do now for the rest of the week to try and still have a loss on Thursday? Any ideas? I guess exercise might help... which I should do anyway. I feel sad about it because last week I lost and I felt so about it. It's like I'm subconsciously sabotaging myself! Sigh... any advice from those who maybe have gone through it before? ineed to stop myself too because that isn't helping anything either.. thoughts?

Great list tammy! I wish I had it when I went on my scouting trip! This will be SO useful to newbies who are starting to contact people - they can even just email ti to them and ask them to respond.

And I'm in LA getting married in Cabo (as well) so I'd be hgappy to help! Cabo really is priced about the same as Cali in many ways it seems. Puerta Vallarta is suppose ot be great though I myself have never been there. Outside Cancun on the Riviera Maya is also suppose to be beautiul. Wherever you decide I know you'll find out a lot of great info here! Welcome!

Tia, I'm sorry I don't know because I didn't stay there myself but my fruend had SUCH a good time that she actually went and emailed every person she knew about this place... so in my opinion you should definitely contact them through their website if you're interested because it sounds like it's such an amazing place that it actually made my friend mass email everyone! And for people who don't usually send spam that is really saying something!

Good point! What about asking around at some of the beach restaurants like Tabasco's and Baja Cantina? I bet a lot of places offer this - might be fun to couple with a beach bonfire!

Tammy don't feel bad! The point that ANY tme is okay - 8 months out, 8 weeks out, 8 days out... well 8 days might be cuting it close but not really. I mean how far advance are people making cakes anyway!

You can and should defintiely ask. And if they say no I think you should really push. You're doing a lot of the leg work yourself - the least they can do is hold onto the table! (and set it up). Plus I dont' think you'd want to wait to buy it until the day before the wedding anyway - you never know if they'll have it in stiock... though you could always "borrow" one from your hotel as someone suggested earlier!

TammyM - I didn't visit the Fiesta Americana but it sounds like you got the info you needed. I have the Sheratons' buffet/dinner menus but I don't know if you would need that since you're having such a small menu/ Send me a PM with your email address if you want me to email it to you! It is a gorgeous property. It feels very intimate when you're there because it's not one huge building it lots of smaller buildings. For us it was a close second behind the Hilton and the only reason it was behind is because it was a bit more expensive.

You also have so much time that you could just ship one down there using UPS (and include whatever else you want to send down and not have to carry with you)

Absoluetley! There is a store on the main drag from the airpiort to the hotel areas... let me see if I can find it... BTW I LOVE the idea of the green table cloth (and yes there are TONS of standard size round clothes for these and then you could put a tiny vase of flowers in your other color (was it maroon? purple? I can't remember honestly but it would be SO pretty!) There's a store called MEGA or MegaStore but I'm not sure if it's a supermarket or like a Walmart... it looked like a walmart type and I read elsewhere that it is. There's also a place called SORIANO's that keep popping up in my search online - you may want to ask your WC about this place too. And of course Costco!

Here's a map I found on the Hilton wesbite that i thought might be good for people trying to find local activities close to their hotels...