Surviving going out for dinner,grandkids and a birthday party.

I hope I'm not coming off as a big know it all.  That is not my intent.  I'm just sharing what works for me, and I hope others can benefit from my experience.
This past Friday we were taken out to dinner by a really good friend.  We had oysters for appetizers, which should give you a clue where we went.  We had wine with the meal and I had swordfish with a double vegetable.  However I had  a roll and a half with butter and took a few bites of  chocolate lava cake yum!  So I figured out on my food log that I over did by 200 calories.  So Saturday and Sunday I would have to eat
200 calories less.  100 less on each day(including drinks!)

Saturday, I did pilates and went to a fabulous yoga class at the Masjah Center on Rt.
137 in E. Harwich right next to consigning women.  I had to leave a bit early to get lunch at Stop and Shop.  I got salad for me and a small turkey sandwich for my hubby.
I got chicken and a little feta on it for protein and had a handful of veggie crisps.  We
(The O'DeMellos) played music at The Orleans Community Center from 2-4 to help promote The Rowley Art Gallery and the artist Peg Reynolds who is very good!  Also,
hopefully promote ourselves.  We had a great time and got home by 5, unloaded and started to cook hamburgers and hot dogs for the grandkids.  I made a salad and the kids had burgers and dogs and I had a burger with a little cheese and  a big salad.
We made s'mores inside under the broiler(carefully!)  I had some slow churn ice cream in a Dixie cup. 

Sunday was  a breakfast using egg beaters, spinach, peppers ,mushroom and cheese
omlette with toasted pita bread for me.  We went to church and had a light lunch of salad with cottage cheese and half a cheese stick for me and a small handful of veggie chips.  We went for a walk (about 40 min.) and stopped at a pub to watch the Patriots and wet our whistles. I had a Bloody Mary.  Then it was off to a birthday party.

We arrived to kids carving pumpkins which was fun!  There were crackers and dip which I did indulge in with control and pizza.  I had one piece and some fruit with a few more crackers and dip on the way by.(those carbs get you every time!)  I drank water and coffee (lucky for me there was no wine!)  There was cake(pound cake)  I
had a small piece with a little chocolate ice cream.  The birthday girl got another
American Girl Doll(Laura I think), rainbow bands and a loom!  It was only a two hour party, but I was pooped!  We stopped at Market Basket on the way home and had a nice relaxing evening!

The Weekend

Well I did my usual weigh in on Saturday am and I stayed the same, Yeah!  I added an extra 20 minutes on the elyptical on Friday and cut down my calories by 100,  thus making up for the fried food I had at Rock Harbor on Thursday.  Delicious and worth every calorie!  I did my usual pilates on Sat. and went for a walk on the bike trail for probably a mile and a half.  Then I did regular shopping and cleaning chores.
We had a quiet evening at home by the fire which was nice!
Sunday was church and later on we played music at a musical tribute for our friend Paul who passed away this summer.  In between, we went to a wake of one of my former clients.  It is not the most fun thing to do, but I was glad I went because there were not that many people there.

Afterwards, we took a mile walk on the beach and went home.  I made some gingerbread which we had with slow churn mint chocolate chip ice cream(yum).

I made up for that by taking an hour walk with my friend and cutting down on the calories again.  Don't forget about my exercise class at Harwich Community Center at 5:30 on Wednesday this week!

How to Stay in Shape While on Vacation

My husband and I just recently returned from a road trip to Canada.  It was a 600 mile trip and it took ten hours to drive there.  In case you’ve ever wondered how to stay in shape while on vacation and doing so much sitting, here’s how I kept fit.  We started out at four in the morning.  My husband drove the first leg.  We stopped at the end of the Mass. Turnpike for breakfast at McDonalds.  Now you may think “YUK!”, but it actually wasn’t that bad!  I had an Egg white Mcmuffin for only 250 calories.  All the nutritional information was on the wrapper.  It had only 7 grams of fat, 18 grams of protein and 32 carbs because of the English muffin.

We stopped at 9 for a pit stop and to change drivers.  I had water with me, but tried not to drink as much as I usually do for obvious reasons.  I drove into Canada and we went through Customs.  You have to have a Passport and the guard asks you where you are visiting and for how long.  I drove over two bridges (a real accomplishment for me because I’m not a big  fan!)  They were single lane and quite steep!

YIKES! But I made it!  I drove to Kingston, and we found a place for lunch.  We both had Caesar Salads (mine with the dressing on the side).  It came with a Scotch egg which is an egg which is hard boiled and deep fried.  Anyway it was an egg and it had protein!  I also had a well-deserved glass of red wine and 16 ounces of water.  We took a little walk after lunch for about 15-20 minutes which gave us a little exercise.  We got in the car and drove another two hours.  My hubby finished the drive.

We arrived at our destination at four  in the afternoon.  We got ourselves settled at my cousin’s house and sat to chat before dinner.  Let me point out these are my Irish cousins and they have potatoes at most meals!  The good thing is my cousin sets up buffet style so you control your portions.  I always took the smallest potato.  Now I could have not taken any at all, but I’m Irish and really like potatoes!  I did watch my wine intake and had a few more than usual which I noted in my food log in the morning.  I keep a food log and note protein (60-80 grams), carbs(60-80 grams), fat(20 grams), and fiber(20 grams).

We went out for breakfast every day and after the second morning, I did poached egg and toast.  We skipped lunch a few times, which I know isn’t the best, but it worked out calorie wise.  We also walked two days for a half hour the first day and 45 minutes the next.  They had a party in our honor on Saturday and I did behave and had a small piece of blueberry pie with fresh picked blueberries yum!  I try not to eat sweets, but I do treat myself every once and a while.

On Sunday, we went for breakfast again and I did a poached egg and toast.  Just two pieces (my hubby always has the other two)!  We did some sightseeing and saw some beautiful foliage and three Blue Herons!  Really cool!  Dinner again had potatoes, but I picked a small one and had plenty of veggies and salad!

Monday we headed for home and had a good breakfast.  I had one egg, a few fried potatoes and toast, We drove 8 hours through a horrendous rain storm, but made it to Massachusetts by 4PM.

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Dinner that night consisted of swordfish, double broccoli and a salad.  I was almost home and back on track eating correctly.  I weighed in on Saturday and had not gained weight!  So that’s how I manage my life and weight.  I hope this helps someone out who may be struggling,

Mary Ann DeMello, MaryAnn’s Exercise

Check out my Aerobics/exercise ball class this Wednesday at Harwich Community Center on Oak St. across from the High School at 5:30 pm. Also, don’t forget to visit my website at www.maryannsexercise.com