Tamsin is finding maintenance tough

This month, Tamsin interviews a NutriSystem counselor about maintaining her new weight...

Help! I’ve hit a snag in my NutriSystem maintenance and gained 4 pounds in the past week! This really bums me out but, in truth, I know exactly where those 4 pounds came from: Summer snacking! A fruity cocktail on the patio here, a handful of low-fat chips there… it adds up.

I called NutriSystem to chat with a Nutrition Counselor about getting back on track. I explained my horror and Counselor Donna asked me questions about to get a sense of my typical day of eating.

I told her that I really love the NutriSystem breakfast and lunch bars, and that I usually have the dessert with my afternoon coffee because that’s when my sweet tooth moment hits. Then I sheepishly described some of my favourite snacks for unwinding on the patio at the end of the day. Ah-ha! That’s the culprit right there. Donna was very supportive. She told me, “Sure, it common sense that it’s important to avoid resorting to old habits that may have contributed to your original weight gain, but knowing that doesn’t make it easy!”

Tamsin: How many NutriSystem foods do you recommend during Maintenance?

NutriSystem Counselor: How often you use NutriSystem foods depends on you. During your maintenance, you decide which NutriSystem foods you want to help maintain your weight loss. Some people, like yourself, stick wit the bars for breakfast and lunch because they are convenient. Many NutriSystem dieters choose NutriSystem foods for 2-3 complete days per week.

Tamsin: How many calories are required for maintenance?

NutriSystem Counselor: Donna explained that the number of calories I need to maintain my weight is determined by my activity level, weight, age and metabolism.

Tamsin: How long do NutriSystem dieters stay on maintenance?

NutriSystem Counselor: Donna told me that maintenance time is a personal choice. On average, dieters stay stick with the maintenance program for a year. At minimum, Donna recommends 6 months. She’s met many NutriSystem dieters who stayed on the maintenance program for 2-3 years.

Tamsin: What does NutriSystem recommend for alcohol consumption? Is it OK to have a cold beer or icy mojito on a hot summer day?

NutriSystem Counselor: NutriSystem recommends no more than 2 alcoholic beverages a week, including during maintenance. Donna reminded me that those tasty sweet cocktails are often loaded with calories.

Donna emailed me some guidelines for following the NutriSystem Maintenance Plan, which is available in the U.S. Getting back on track is my new 4-Day Goal! The bright side is that I have loads of NutriSystem food and motivation to get back on track.

Weekly Wish – a decent affordable department store in Toronto

With news today about NRDC Equity Partners purchasing The Hudson Bay Co., the national retail landscape is about change, especially where designer fashion is concerned. NRDC purchased Lord & Taylor in 2006 – the historical U.S. fashion department store chain – and it seems to be thriving under their ownership.

I for one was very disappointed when The Bay moved into American hands a couple years ago but since it’s already there, I have no problem with it being in the hands of a company that has the potential to provide fashion-conscious shoppers with options at affordable price points. Speculation is it will give Holt Renfrew a run for its money. Could be interesting...

I love the purple merino sheath dress (pictured) Lord & Taylor is showing for fall and it seems like good value at $144. There’s also speculation about Fortunoff - also part of the Lord & Taylor-NRDC family joining the mix in the Great White North.

As for whether or not they should change the name to Lord & Taylor, I’m not sure. The Hudon Bay Co. represents such an imporant part of Canadian history, I’d hate to see it go.

Whether or not I’ll get my wish, only time will tell. What do you think?

Black studded cuff bracelet: a real steal

While Mr. B was in line at Banana Republic paying for two great casual summer shirts at 60% off, I found this amazing chunky black studded cuff bracelet on sale. It originally sold for $65 so for $12.99 (that’s 80% off), I couldn’t resist.

There are some incredible bargains this time of year. Have you had any great finds lately?

Just One More Book celebrates episode 400!

Just One More Book is a wonderful podcast about children’s books. Husband and wife team, Andrea Ross and Mark Blevis (two of the co-organizers of Podcasters Across Borders) have been sharing their passion and knowledge for 2 years. Today they reached 400 episodes.

Andrea and Mark record four episodes each week from their favourite Ottawa coffee shop, discussing their favourite books for kids of all ages, including a weekly interview with a different children’s book author.

It’s labour of love and an excellent free resource for parents, teachers and anyone else who wants to expand their knowledge of children’s books. Just One More Book has exposed me to new titles and authors and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

Congratulations Andrea and Mark for your generosity and support of literacy in the community!

Check it out and let us know what you think.

Tip of the Week – Check out out miniBookExpo for free books

Looking for something to read this summer?

Wanna choose a great book or two for free? It’s easy. All you need to do is check out the miniBookExpo. The rules are pretty simple, basically, you choose a book and agree to blog about it within a month.

Last year I read The Manny and so far, I’ve selected 2011 by Richard Laermer this year. Stay tuned for my review.

Don’t have your own blog? No problem. You can submit your review to Alexa Clark, the wonderful woman who conceived the miniBookExpo three years ago. She’ll post it for you.

Photo credit: lexnger on Flickr

Weekly Wish – a new cell phone (and so much more)

When it comes to the digital world, I’m pretty comfortable. Sometimes the computer keyboard feels like a natural extension of my body. I’ve been living online since 1995 and loving every minute, even in the days of dial-up (yawn!).

Okay, I have a confession to make. There’s one big exception. When it comes to mobile technology, I’m still a bit of a luddite. I don’t have a Blackberry but I know how to surf the web and tweet with one. I have a plain old utilitarian cell phone. And, guess what I use it for? That’s right, making phone calls. I barely even use text. If I do, it’s usually because one of my friends has sent me a text message and they know better than to expect a reply. Shh! Please don’t tell anyone!

I’d love a mobile device with all the bells and whistles but I’ve never paid more than $30 for a cell phone. I got my current one for free as part of a 36-month plan. It has another 13 months left and I don’t want to pay the penalty. Besides, the monthly charge is only $20!

Well, old habits die hard, but with the launch of the iPhone in Canada tomorrow and Samsung’s Instinct next month, I’m wishing to get in on all the fun. Both these devices have all kinds of great features and are much easier to carry around than my treasured MacBook. I’m having a great time chatting with @theinstinct on twitter too.

As much as I’ve been an Apple lover and owner for almost 20 years, with the lower data rate plan, The Instinct seems like more of a bargain but in all fairness, I want to see for myself by comparing it with the iPhone and decide which one offers the best value. (I’ve decided not to bore you with the details because they’ve been posted all over the ’Net and you can read about them elsewhere.)

Will you be lining up for the iPhone tomorrow? Waiting for the Instinct? Doing neither? Leave a comment and let us know what you think.

If the shoe fits… Buy it online

Note: I hope you enjoy this guest post from my twitter friend Kelly Rusk who loves shoes almost as much as Carrie Bradshaw.

Being addicted to beautiful shoes AND frugal is a tough combination. Add in living in a city that’s not exactly considered fashion-forward (Ottawa), and you’re in big trouble.

While I make do, I had been tinkering with the idea of buying shoes online… Actually “obsessing” might be a more accurate word. But after shipping, taxes and duties, it looks to be a big rip-off for any Canadian. And what happens if you have to return them? A scary thought. However, my first online shoe buying experience was nothing but pleasant. Was it sheer luck? Maybe. But I like to believe I had a solid strategy behind my purchase, which has inspired this guest contribution to Bargainista.

First, before you start buying online I suggest going out and trying on A LOT of shoes. Heck, buy a few pairs while you’re at it! Basically you’ll want to have a good understanding of what styles look good, which brands are comfortable to you, etc. I went with this stunning pair by Chinese Laundry because I’ve had a few pairs of varying styles and each has always been one of my favourite pairs of the day.

For Canadians, buying anything online can be a little scary. However, I believe shoes are probably one of the more high-risk online fashion buys. Any shoe aficionado likely knows you buy probably 5 pairs of shoes for every one pair you really love and wear all the time. When purchasing online, you pay extra for shipping, duties, taxes etc., so you want to be sure you’re getting the right pair.

I bought my shoes from Canada.zappos.com, which was an excellent experience except for a few quirks:

1. Shoes include an “import” tax, which you don’t see until you’re checking out.

2. If you want to return your shoes, Zappos makes it super easy BUT it costs $15 and (correct me if I’m wrong) you don’t get the import tax back either. So you’re looking at around $ 40 to return.

3. Shoes are all priced in US dollars, which isn’t a big difference right now, but still it all adds up.

So, my shoes, which were listed as $73, I actually ended up paying $108 for, however, they were worth every penny. They successfully survived (err, I should say my feet did) a night on the town, and I’m looking forward to many more.

Note, I honestly tried to find other recommendations for stores to buy from, but in terms of selection, price, quality and service, it just keeps going back to Zappos! I definitely won’t argue it’s fantastic, but I’d also love to hear any suggestions for other online stores.

The NutriSystem Challenge: two months later

Wow! That's all I can say. I’ve been off the Nutrisystem Challenge for just over two months now and not only have I managed to maintain my weight and svelte new figure, I’ve actually lost another few pounds!

Here’s what I’ve been up to:
• Two conferences
• Major family party weekend
• Eating lots of ice cream and cake
• Drinking martinis and beer
• Little exercise - I’d love to ride my bike and try Wii Fit but I have a bit more healing to do

How I’ve been managing?
• Smaller portions
• Maintaining similar eating habits as when I was on a more rigid NutriSystem routine
• Following Nutrisystem as much as possible for breakfast, lunch, snacks and some dinners
• Drinking lots of water and eating lots of veggies, fruit and protien, while shunning the carbs
• Minimal after-dinner snacking

Thanks NutriSystem for keeping my cupboards fully-stocked with your food. ;) When are you starting the maintenance program in Canada? I want in!

How do you maintain your weight? What tempts you? How do you manage when you’re away from home?

Helping Dave Delaney, Keith Burtis does it again

Last night I learned my friend Dave Delaney unexpectedly had to give up his MacBook when he made are recent career change. Dave is on the verge of starting his own consulting biz and without his laptop, well...

Dave was given a special card from a magician in honour of his 8,000 tweet (or message) on twitter. As you may remember, Dave is a creative guy so last night he started an auction on eBay to raise money for a new MacBook.

Not one to stand by on the sidelines, Keith Burtis decided to help out. Tomorrow night, he will be doing some woodturning and auctioning his wares on BlogTV at 9 p.m. EST sharp. All money raised will be handed over to Dave for his new MacBook. You can read all about it on Keith’s blog.

What would you do to help out a friend?

Dear Bargainista #15 - buying a laptop bag

C. from Montreal writes:

I’m hoping to get over to Queen West to see my old place(s) and go shopping for a laptop bag when I’m in Toronto next week. You’d be appalled (simply appalled!!) that whenever I go out I just shove the thing in an ancient tote bag. I heard Crumpler was good. If you have any inside tips, I’m all ears!!

Take care. Hope all is well there!!
C.

•••
Dear C.,

I bought my first laptop (a macbook) in November and it doesn’t leave the house much. I just got a new laptop bag so I’ll be able to take it with me to events. (Yay!) I cheated though. Kate Trgovac gave me a two laptop bags that she reviewed on Squidoo.

Check out her Squidoo laptop bag lens. It held the number #1 spot on the entire site for quite some time and is still one of the top lenses.

The one I use one most often is from Flicka. It has big pink flowers and the black background. It’s great for conferences because it has a front pocket I can use to hold all the stuff I would otherwise carry in my purse.

I also have another laptop bag (that doubles as a sleeve) from Skooba Design. Check out Kate’s other Squidoo lens about laptop sleeves. Until last weekend, it was a blank canvas. Now it has a wonderful illustration on the front and some other interesting stuff. Stay tuned for an upcoming post with the details.

Dear Bargainista would love to hear from you too! Have a question about shopping, fashion or food? E-mail us.