Sugar Shakers - Sugarbusters Weekly Support Board 8/1 - 8/7

Welcome to Sugarbusters!

This is the Sugarbusters support board, where anyone following, or interested in following, Sugarbusters is welcome to come for discussion, and support. We hope you will become a part of our great group!

We try to have different themes for different days of the week.

MONDAY: MMM, or Metal Monster Monday, is when we weigh in, and post our progress. This is voluntary.

TUESDAY: Is tip day- we try to share a tip, or two to help each other.

WEDNESDAY: Is Wonderful Wednesday. On Wednesdays, we share something wonderful about our selves, or our lives.

THURSDAY: Is Thirst Day! A reminder to drink your water! Its a good day to share a recipe too! :)

FRIDAY: Is FF, for Friday funnies. Everyone needs a laugh on Friday!


You are welcome to post questions, vent frustrations, whatever, but please be respectful of others and their beliefs.


Please take some time to check out our extensive recipe boards. Our RECIPE BOARDS can be located at the link below:

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/for....php?forumid=89 (http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=89)

Look for our QUARTERLY RECIPE BOARDS to post your favorite recipes and to see the most recently posted recipes. Recipes from the quarterly boards will be archived in proper categories at some point.


We have SEVEN INFORMATIVE BOARDS!!!! Please take a few minutes to visit them! New information is continually being posted, so please make sure you visit them often!!! The boards are listed below as well as the link that will take you to the boards:

THE RECOMMENDED READING BOARD
THE TOOLS & TIPS BOARD
THE FOOD INFORMATION BOARD
MOTIVATIONAL & INSPIRING THOUGHTS BOARD
MY FAVORITE SB LEGAL FOODS
SB 2002 BIO BOARD
SB 2001/2002 PHOTO ALBUM BOARD

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/for....php?forumid=87 (http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?forumid=87)

We also have a SB WEEKLY EXERCISE BOARD that you can log your daily/weekly exercises on which is located on our weekly support board:


http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62575



NEWBIES: To post a reply, please hit reply and NOT new thread.

Weekly Challenges:

1. Set a goal for this week. Something like finishing up a project you have been procrastinating on....or cleaning out a drawer, or measuring to see how far you have come...

2. Take some ME time, and do something for yourself.

3. Make an exercise plan and just DO it! (and POST it! :s: )

Good Morning! The scale finds me up 1.5 this morning. Not sure what that is all about, but it is. Last night,after church, we went to a place called The Loop, which is a Chicago pizza place. (the Loop being the downtown area in Chicago...the area 'looped' by the elevated train, or L as its called) I got a Greek salad and did not eat the croutons. It had feta and kalamata olives, and balsamic vinegarette. Maybe it was too salty... :shrug: Tom started reading my Rosedale book and pointed out that he says in the first couple of chapters that some people with serious leptin problems might not lose for the first three weeks. This is week three, so Tom is encouraging me to continue with it another couple weeks. In the meantime, I have the second book, called Mastering Leptin, to read. Its still discouraging. I hope MMM is better for everyone else.


I am trying to knit a scarf by 11 am, as I am going out to lunch with a friend who had her 50th birthday Saturday. I better go and get going on it...I am almost half done! :)

:wave:

I'm trying to get in early this week, so I won't be AWOL.

I had a quiet weekend, but this week looks anything but quiet. I don't really have much to report--still plodding along. I hope everyone is doing well and has a great OP week!

B-1 WW english Muffin, 1 tsp (yes, I measured) Natural PB and 2 tsp SF blackbrry jam. Black Coffee.

Susan

Hi everyone--
I'm baaaack!
Our trip to visit my DS and BIL and then spend 4 days in the mts. was great. Not great food-wise, but really fun and good to see my family. My BIL still struggles with the effects left from his cancer and my DS needs a break.

We walked like crazy in the mts. We spent all 4 days at an inn in Townsend, TN which is right outside the Smokies Nat. Park. We hiked almost 8 miles one day and another 6+ miles. My DH's boot came apart at the end of the second hike, so we had to switch to hiking in our walking shoes, so the paths we chose were then much easier: 3+ miles. The day we left we went on a 3.5 mile hike to an old school house out in the woods. It reminded me of the old school house on Little House On the Prairie. I tried to eat pretty carefully, and figured all the hiking would be some help, but actually, the extra calories burned were only about 300-400. :( I took my box of Shredded Wheat 'n Bran, and had 1/2 peach on it for breakfast. But for dinner we had a nice meal, and twice we had a fondue dinner (cooked in bouillon) which was served at the inn. It finished with a dark chocolate fondue dessert, which was Yummmmy! And my sister fixed yummy meals, but not low cal, so I added a couple of pounds. :( So I'm back to strict plan today.

We went to an art and craft fair in Gatlinburg while we were there in the mts. and found out about a folk art show held twice a year in Cincinnatti. We love folk art, so we are looking into going to the March show next year. We bought a painting done on an old tin ceiling tile, and it is now hanging over our bed. Speaking of our bed, it is really comfortable, and it was good to snuggle up into the soft "memory" foam, which is more comfortable than what we were sleeping on during our trip.

We brought back 1 1/2 bushels of peaches, and I plan to make peach/apple conserve and put it up in jars. It is a yummy dish and worth all the work to make the conserve. The peaches still need to reach the peak of ripeness, so probably won't do it until the end of the week.

I checked the board a couple of times last week when we were with my DS, and posted one time.
CINDY--My deepest condolences go out to you and we keep you in our prayers. I know you have been through a lot. All of us on this board love you and care about what is happening and are here for you.

BOB--Hope you are feeling better.
I see there was some posting last week about meat loaf recipes. Here's my contribution:
Use Maverick ground beef, which is lower in fat and has no hormones, steroids, or antibiotics. Separately, chop a slice of WW bread in the mini processor and add to the crumbled beef. Then in the mini or regular processor, chop an onion, a carrot, parsley, dash of no-sugar catsup, any left-over veggies in your fridge, a spash of milk, salt and pepper. Chop to a chunky "sauce" or "paste" and add to the meat. Add some chopped cheddar cheese and mix all together. Form into a mounded loaf and top with some more NSA catsup. Bake at 350° for 30-40 minutes or till done. The maverick beef does not need to be cooked as long as regular.
The cheese makes it especially yummy, as does the addition of the veggie chunky "slurry". You can adapt to any other meat loaf. Sometimes I hard boil and egg, peel it and shape the loaf around the egg. Looks pretty when sliced.

Re. the salad dressing, I do the same as Monet, using the Good Seasons dry mix, Italian. But I reverse the proportions of oil and vinegar, so it is about 25 calories per T.

Pancho--How did your test go? When do you get your results? I hope that they find nothing major and just tell you the same as they told me.

I have a ton of laundry to do today, and lots of chores, grocery shopping, etc. Also, need to get out there and walk, and want to wash my hair. So I better stop. Will try to post more later. Have a great MMM day and hope everyone has better numbers to post than Monet and I.

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;44;126;0;1/c/171/t/120/s/173/k/99f4/weight.png

Ok, I'm back. I"M GOING TO STICK WITH THIS!!!

Last week was a down week emotionally. I just need to get focused. So I'm going to the library to get the SB book. I got in a new order of my shakes, which I had run out of. I've gained back everything I lost. You wouldn't believe the crap I ate last week!!!

So, my brother is in town with my nephew. He is in the middle of a really nasty divorce. It's heart breaking. He lives in Kansas city and drove out for a week. It's so good to have him here.

I had my appt with the homeopathic Dr. All of the testing was pretty interesting. It shows that I have an autoimune thyriod disorder. And that my liver and kidneys are under strain. He works up this whole personalized detox for you. I'm excited about it.

Saturday was supposed to be our first family day in weeks. Trav woke me up and said he had to go int o work for jsut a few hours. He left at 8am and didn't get home until 5am!!! 18 hours!!!!! I'm so disappointed. although, I know the money is going to make a huge difference. He said he made something like $550!!


Jake is screaming. I'll be back to reply later.

Good morning everyone!!! Well I stayed the same this week. Which is okay with me. Hopefully this week will be better since I've started Phase 1 of South Beach. Just going on it for two weeks to get myself away from the bad stuff I've been eating and back on the Sugar Buster track. Hope I can do it. Nope wrong word I can do it is better!!! I've started out the day with 2 cups black coffee, a juice glass of skim milk and 2 scrambled eggs eggs with onions, bell pepper, mushrooms and a slice of homegrown tomato in it. So my tummy is nice and full. Now to get started on my water!

Monet- I'll bet thats water you're retaining from the olives etc. Hang in there gal!!! Your knitting sounds so wonderful, what a great thing to have so much talent. I'll bet your friend is so proud of her scarf...

Fillise- Morning lady you're on here nice and early. Its a great way to start the week isn't it?

Gatorgal- Your vacation sounds so wonderful. What beautiful surroundings you were in. We have to go over the Smokie Mtns. to get to the kids house in South Carolina and its breathtaking. I can't just imagine your walks and be envious.

Talitha- I'm so sorry you had a bad week but can so understand. But you sound as if you're ready to go again. Rereading the SB book can help give you a boost. So go for it.... And heres wishing you luck on this week.....

Time to go start my day. Be back later....

Hi all, I'm new to this thread and happy to hear what you all have to say.
This morning I'm down 2 lbs, thankfully. Camped all weekend, watched what I ate and walked, walked, walked. Hope this morning finds you well! :flow2:

Talitha--Welcome to the club!! That's the same thing Monet and I struggle with re. the thyroid. My holistic dr. calls it Hashimoto's disease and my regular MD. says that after a while you can get rid of it. I wonder, and hope the MD is right. I take Synthroid (which, I think, is a mixture of T4 and T3) and cytomel (which is all T3) to rev my body up. I still lose Veeeeerrrrrry slowly and gain almost overnight if I am not watching like a hawk everything I put into my mouth. Monet and I send our sympathy your way but know that you can get this under control. We're wishing you the best. :balloons:

Welcome, Brenda. Have you read the Sugar Busters book? How long have you been "sugar busterin' "? Where did you camp. I just love camping, but my DH (dear husband) no longer likes to sleep on the ground, on an air mattress, or on a camp cot. So we have not camped in a long while.

I got my walk in but it was hot, partly because I didn't get out there until after 11.

Happy MMM.

I'm sorry to report I'm not going to be the one to post good knews for MMM.
Weekend eating was pretty ugly. Of course, it is Monday, time to start over. Why do we do these things to ourselves :?:

I limped away on the TM this morning for 18 minutes. It actually felt better to jog some. I decided it was going to hurt and I couldn't wait forever to get back on there. The week is less busy this week so hopefully I will be able to get all my exercise in.

I'm back to counting calories and journaling. I need to go to the store and get a good food scale. Even though I should know how to "eye-ball" things as long as I have been doing this.

bf: 2 hardboiled eggs, coffee.
snacK: 30 pieces of cashews (I counted)
Lunch, 1 pc wwbread (45 Calories) chicken salad, peach
Dinner, Big salad with either steak or chicken.


Monet, hope next week you really lose and you will be able to keep going on his WOE. The fun fur makes a pretty scarf. Hope your friend likes it.

Susan, have a good week and I hope you can get on here some.

Gator, what a lovely trip you had. Glad you had so much fun. But also glad you are back. I'm confused on the oil/vinegar dressing. Oil (olive oil) has 120 calories in a Tbls. How do you only get 25?


Talitha, you are not the only one that ate crap last week. Join the club. Let's get focused and have a better MMM next week. Have a nice visit with your DB. Sorry about this divorce.

Toni, Yes you are right, you CAN do it. Good luck this week.

Brenda, welcome. SOunds like you are off to a good start with those 2 lbs. Walking is great. Post away and ask any questions you may have. Is this your first time doing SB? Let us know more about you.


Got to run, have a great day.

Jackie--Re the salad dressing--If you use the Good Seasons salad dressing bottle, or follow the recipe on the Good Seasons Italian dressing packet, it calls for 1/4 Cup vinegar, some water and 1/2 cup of oil. I reverse it, and fill the bottle up to the vinegar line with oil (1/4 cup), add about half way up to the oil line (the top line) with red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar (that's about 2/5 cup or slightly less than 1/2 cup), add the Good Seasons Italian dressing powder, and then finish off with enough water to reach the top (or oil) line. It makes about a cup of dressing and with only 1/4 cup of oil in the whole batch, you only have only 400 calories of oil, and the salad dressing powder = 40 calories. That is a total of 440 calories per cup, and 440 divided by 16 tablespoons (16 T = 1 cup) that is 25 calories per T. I sometimes use olive oil, but normally use Canola oil, which is also high in monounsaturated fats. I keep my dressing in the fridge, and olive oil thickens a little and gets cloudy in the fridge, but the canola does not.

Re. the scale, I got a really good one through King Arthur's Flour, their Baker's catalogue. It has a platform for setting bowls on, etc, and converts from oz. to grams. I use it often for measuring flour, etc. for baking, as it comes with a chart. It cuts down on bowl usage and is indispensible for keeping track of how much cereal in my bowl, amount of meat on my plate, etc. It has one of those things where you can zero out, even when there is a bowl sitting on the scale. That way I can get a precise measurement.

Hey everyone! I just got in from lunch with my friend. We went to Red Lobster, and I got grilled salmon, steamed veggies and salad. I did not even eat a bite of the cheddar cheese biscuits! I was pretty proud of myself. I did get the scarf done and wrapped for her gift. I don't know if she liked it or not...guess I will see if she wears it ever! :) Her family gave her a kitten for her birthday, so we stopped at Petsmart to get a collar and tag for it. I picked up a golden snail for my fish tank, which is all covered in algae. I hope the poor snail likes it in there, and cleans off the algae!

TALITHA: I will be interested to hear what your homeopathic doctor says about the detox and thyroid issues. I got my leptin book over the weekend, and read a bit on thyroids. The doctor who wrote the book says that Leptin problems are what cause the thyroid to slow down. Of course, if yours is autoimmune, it might be different. I have an autoimmune disease, but its not a thyroid one, but Lupus. I suppose it might effect the thyroid too....

GATOR: Glad to see you back! Sounds like you had some awesome walks up there!

TONI: How's it going with no grains and stuff? The knitting is easy and fun. Do you do any crafts?

FILLISE: I had wondered what happened to you last week! I hope this week isn't as bad! Are you up for a trip this way? We could meet in Fayetteville and see Julia, if you are interested...

BRENDA: Welcome to Sugarbusters! We are glad you are here! Jump in and join us! My husband and I like to camp, well, he more than me, but oh well! How long have you been sugarbusting?

I need to go get some stuff done, so I will be back later, I hope. I have a meeting tonight, so I need to have dinner ready and lunches for tomorrow at least planned out! :wave:


Everyone please fill out a new bio form located on the main page, up in the sticky threads!

We "camped" at a place in Monroe Michigan called Harbortown RV Resort. When we go with my dad, we use his motorhome. My husband preferred the old fashioned tent stuff as do I. I've been sugar bustering for a few months. I am borderline diabetic and just getting my feet wet in this.

Hi everyone:

I don't have time for personal replies, but hope to have time to tomorrow. We are going to go see Madagascar and some point tomorrow and go drop off some bags of donations to the charity store.

First of all....MMM, I was at 123#, but am not surprised; TOM hit hard and I am not feeling too great. The kids made cupcakes yesterday and I ate 2, as well as some other non-SB foods. I was also going to get to the gym early today but didn't; I was too tired. Lane had a coughing fit last night that caused her to throw up in her bed, so I had to give her a bath and change her bedding late at night.

We have been getting some awesome monsoon storms at night, with quite a bit of rain..I am so happy to see it.

Today we had swim lessons, and then to Costco to get a pizza and to my sister's house. We had a good visit. I guess my parents have decided that they never want to resolve the issues with me and they want to retire out of state in a few years. They said they want to keep negative sources out of their lives. It's so pathetic; I can't even begin to explain my feelings on this entire ordeal.

I don't know if I ever told you all about a drink I found called Izze; they sell them at Target for $2.99 for a 4-pack. I found them today at Costco; two twelve packs for $9.99. They are 8 oz cans of fruit juice mixed with sparkling water and a little carbonation. They are so refreshing. The only sugar in them is from fruit concentrates. I guess they sell 12-oz bottles as well, but that's too big for us. The kids love them, and so do I. I have been trying to cut out caffeine, due to the heart arythmia issues, as well as artificial sweeteners, so it is wonderful! They have blackberry, pomegranted (sp?), grapefruit, clementine, blueberry, etc... You should try them. If nothing else, they are a great alternative for the kids.

I really gotta go get dinner ready; I hope to do personal replies tomorrow.

Gator: WELCOME HOME!!

Take care,
Nat

Not much time for replies...will do so tomorrow. MMM has me at 160 and holding today. Eating has been very, very bad...but as I may have mentioned, I'm officially maintaining for the summer. I'm eating sensibly, but allowing a few illegals is all. Once the kids go to school and the potato salads, etc, etc are gone...I'm planning on a week or two of NO carbs to jump start myself and then be normally Sugar Busting my way into a size ten before my birthday in november!! My size 12's are holding their own!!

So...I just had to tell you guys about the awesome thuderstorm we had. It was purple on the radar!! We never get that!! So, we positioned ourselves on the front porch so I could fold a basket of wash and watch the lightning. The kids were with me, as was Junior. So, I noticed that the lightning was getting a little close and the thunder a little loud, so I said, lets get off the porch (it's enclosed) and go in the living room. I no sooner said it, got the kids off their duffs and headed in the door when there was a HUGE flash and an instant KABOOOOOM!! And we all screamed at the top of our lungs and ran in and sat on the couch and dyed laughing!! Mostly from nerves!! So, then the wind came and it was pouring rain...we got an inch in my rain gauge in about 15 mins. So, I went around afterwards to check on my trees to be sure none of them were hit and the neighbor that borders my backyard said one of his trees was hit. Anyhow...I loved the storm. My best friend laughs at me and says if I lived in Hurricane Alley, I'd probably strap myself to a palm tree and enjoy the storm. She may have taken it a little far, but she's almost right.

Today, in between storms, I tackled my DD's bedroom. Found her Christmas stocking...with old candy in it!! AND her Halloween bag...with old candy. Her room is soooo gross. I ask her and ask her to take care of the mounds of 'stuff', but she always puts it off until I get in there. So, she washed dishes twice and did a few household chores for me in return...but it's nice to get her room under control.

Okay...gotta go brush out Junior...he had to have a bath after being in the mud after the storms...

Talk to you guys tomorrow!! Kris

Good Morning! I am sorry I was missing in action yesterday. After lunch, I took a nap, and over slept. Tom got home and I had not done anything I was supposed to get done before the meeting last night. I made chicken salad, and then ran out to the meeting. The meeting ran longer than it was supposed to, and after it was over, I stopped at the store and got a few essentials we were out of. Once I got home, I still had to put together Tom's smoothies and lunch, so I did not crawl in bed until pretty late. Then, I slept like poo...my back is really achy and very sore this morning. So, I can predict there will be a nap in my future soon... I feel like I am on a merry go round and nothing is getting done. :(

Dinner last night was on the run: some chicken salad, and a few almonds. I ate strawberries at the meeting and had a cup of decaf coffee. Then I ate a few nuts when I got home last night. I have been trying to eat less as to Pancho's advice, so yesterday I blew it and ate too many probably...
I also am going to try and limit my diet sodas. I have had way too many now that there are so many good choices of sodas with splenda. I love the 7Up, and diet Coke.... but it may not be a good thing to have too many, so its back to drinking more water.

I will be back later...I need to go get Laura moving and see if James can be gotten up! :rolleyes: They were up most of the night watching a movie.

:wave:

MOnet: I could hear your knitting needles clinking from here!! ;) Hope you find your mystery plateau breaker! How frustrating it has to be for you...

:wave: Hi Susan!!

Gator: It certainly sounds like any inconsistencies you had with food were more than countered with the hiking!! Sounds like a GREAT time and I hope you get to the folk art festival.

Talitha: Emotions/stress definitely has a lot to do with weight/losing/gaining and being able to stick to a diet. I'm 100% convinced that you and you doctor will come up with a plan to get you under control weight-wise. Sorry to hear about your brother. What a bummer to have to watch someone go through that.

Toni: Once I'm done with my summer break from 'losing', I'm going to do the Atkins phase one (which is the exact same as South Beach phase 1) for a week or two to sort of flush my system of the bad carbs and sort of "jump start" again. I'm maintaining my weight at the moment, and yesterday I was 160, today I was 158-159. So, I'm doing well, too...but I'm looking forward to losing again. I think it's a good thing to let my body get used to this weight for a little bit...it feels like the right thing to do...'specially when I go to my mom's house and someone's made Ambrosia and I say...just a small plop, please....which is the real reason I've decided to maintain for the summer :lol:

Brenda: :wave: Welcome to the boards!! We're happy to have you!! I LOVE camping...

Jack: I'm 100% convinced you'll get back on track. You're right, Monday is a day of starting over on many levels... :lol:

Pancho: I'm so sorry for you with your parents! What a bummer! At least you have your sister? I'm the opposite...my sister treats me like I"m something stuck to the bottom of her shoe and I get along fine with my parents....until my sister comes to town and then I'm non-existent. Family is sooo frustrating.

I was watching the weather last night and that storm we had with the lightning put out a tornado about an hour southeast of here!! Sooo exciting...especially since it wasn't in MY neighborhood.

Okay...gotta go drum up something for breakfast...happy tuesday, everyone!!

Today is my first day at my new weight training place. I have a 10:30 appt. with the trainer there. I slept until 8 this morning, and did not go for my usual walk. Don't know if I will even get a walk in today because I have SOOOO much to do. I have about 130 peaches sitting on my counter getting ripe, and I have 50 apples in bags waiting for me to cook our special peach-apple conserve and then put it up into jars. I may get 20 or so jars of something that we just love. No fat, no sugar and just yummy. But I have French class tonight and a bunch of homework for that, and have to work tomorrow morning, so am still trying to figure out when I will get all the work done for the conserve. It will take about a day getting it all done.

Menu yesterday:
Breakfast--shredded wheat 'n bran with 1/2 peach and skimmed milk
Lunch--1 slice WW bread topped with 1.5 oz. melted Fontina cheese
Snack-small handful of sesame sticks
Dinner--5 oz. tilapia sauteed with a crust of crushed shredded wheat, stir fried broccoli, 20 cherries.
I did not drink enough water.

Won't get any replies right now. Have to crack my French book.

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;44;126;0;1/c/170/t/120/s/173/k/2337/weight.png

Good day!

We will be leaving here in a few hours to see the movie. I then might take the girls to Macaroni Grille; Britt has a free meal coming there and we need to use it up before it expires. I will then get something to share with Lane, and it s/b pretty inexpensive.

Monet: My goal....to rest from completing a project over the weekend that we have been procrastinating on. We tore everything out of Britt's closet and put shelving and drawers in there. We got so motivated doing that that we did our own as well, including a shoe rack that holds 32 pairs of shoes. Boy, things sure add up quickly. We will be taking a good bit of stuff to charity. It is so nice to have nice clean orderly closet. It will be so much easier for Britt to keep her stuff clean and organized now. I don't know what to do about Lane's closet; it is so tiny. Sorry you were up for MMM; maybe Tom is right....give it a few more weeks. At least if you don't lose anymore, once you get back on SB...it might shock your body into a loss since you'll be cutting out the higher fat foods. You were so good at Red Lobster; you s/b proud of yourself. I know that when I drink Diet soda that it gives me sugar cravings; and I also know that too many of the artificial sweeteners can't be good for you. I read an article the other day in the USA today section of the newspaper about diet -vs- regular soda, and weight gain. They followed several men and women, with very similar diets (with the exception of drinking diet -vs- regular soda) over a very long period of time (10-15 yrs). The ones that drank diet soda gained almost double what the ones drinking regular did. They contributed it to the brain looking for those calories that weren't in there and craving foods after, as well as people thinking that it is a free food and drinking more than s/b. Also, people ate more of other foods thinking they had the diet allowance to do so. It was pretty interesting to read.

Fillise: Good to see you. Don't work too hard this week.

Gator: Sounds like a fun trip. I am sure your new bed felt wonderful after being on a trip away from home. I haven't heard back on the echo yet; some preliminarly findings are sinus arrhythmia, bradycardia, tachycardia and possible supraventricular tachycardia. Most of them are not harmful, but the last one can be. The cardiologist is not back in town until mid-August, so I will discuss everything with him when he returns. Thanks for asking! Good luck today with your new trainer! Let us know how it goes.

Talitha: Sorry to hear about your brother. I hope the new detox program works well for you. If you find a good, qualified homeo, they can be of great benefit. Brittany sees one for her esophagus disorder, and she has made significant improvement over the past few years. Sorry your DH had to work on a family day, but I know you can use the money (can't we all?). I am going to sign up to be a consultant for Arbonne, just to get the product at a discount. I really love the way it makes my face feel.

Toni: I think I need to put myself on a strict regimen again to get myself back on track, especially before the holiday season rolls in. I think once I get back into exercising on a regular basis, everything else will fall into place as well.

Brenda: Welcome aboard; I am glad you found the board, and we look forward to seeing you here more.

Jack: Sorry you had a bad eating weekend. It is a new day, new week, new month....let's go! How do feel after your treadmill workout yesterday? Is the foot hurting again? I hope not!

Tech: I loooove the storms too. We had a huge thunderstorm the other night with really loud thunder boomers and a beautiufl lightning show. It then poured really hard for about 40 minutes and then continued to lightly rain for about two more hours. It was so beautiful and really cooled the air off. Luckily, we don't get the tornados or hurricanes here. At least your DD didn't eat all that candy. At Halloween, we put the chocoate in the freezer for everyone, and I let the kids pick some of the other stuff to put in a community pot, and then we donate the rest. Santa and the Easter Bunny have been instructed not to bring too much candy anymore...just more toys and books. I recently threw away candy from Christmas, Valentine's day and Easter. It is sad....family should be anything but frustrating. I still find myself in total awe that I haven't talked to my parents or my niece in 4 months. It boils down to my niece lying about something, and me mentioning it, and my parents not wanting to believe that she would ever lie, because "she is the most honest person on the face of the earth." They raised her since birth, and she still lives with them. Anyhow, I can't keep harboring resentment over it....I've gotta accept it and move on. The truth may come out someday and they will realize that they made a big mistake. They are missing out on very important years in their grandchildren's lives. Enough of that!

I better go get some stuff done around here.

Take care,
Nat

Well here I am again. I told myself as I deleted the links that I was gone and that was that. NOT *smile* Of course I've paid the price of not having accountability and irrational eating. Not as bad as it could be. I'm holding at 164 but my clothes are TIGHT. I've continued with my walking but because my partner is a tad older and a bit slower I've used it as an excuse to not push myself. I started yesterday back on plan with eating and walking. I walk a little bit before I pick her up and she and I walk about 2 miles.

It will take me a while to catch up with what is going on with everyone but it's so good to see familiar names and faces.

Love and hugs,
Crystle

Whew what a day!!

I left the office at 9:50 for a appt in the "silver saddle" I also had to get an ultrasound on my ovaries since I am on the Tamoxifen so they would have a base line. Well, that was an appointment from H*LL. I knew the tech was only there on Tuesday's mornings, but didn't realize that every pregnant patient would be there with their entire families. The waiting roomw as packed as well as the hallway. I finally got to see him after 2 1/2 hours. He informs me that he doesn't do gyn appts on Tuesdays just OB. They scheduled me wrong. He was frazzeled and put out. The tech that did the ultrasound was not very nice at all. I should have told him. So after waiting 3 hrs I was not very satisfied with my appointment.

Drug myself out of bed this morning and got on the TM. I didn't sleep well and got up at least 4 times to potty. :mad: But I knew I wouldn't do it tonight so I got up and did it. My foot still bothers me but I can't wait forever for it to get better.

I have to run out for a birthday gift tonight and make a meatloaf for tomorrow night after dinner so I may not get my wts in again. I hate it when there is so much going on.

Gator, thanks for the info. Is canola better for you than olive oil? I thought they were about the same. I will check into thescale on the King Arthur's site. How was the new wt place?

Monet, WOW that was some sillpower to pass those cheese bisquits. They are to die for.

Nat, glad you had a nice visist with your sister. At least you have her in your life. Macaroni Grill has some items made with ww pasta. To answer your question, yes the foot still hurts. I'm limping along.

Tech, Don't you just love storms? I can't beleive Jr was afraid.

Country, You CAN'T delete us. We would come looking for you. We would miss you. Glad you found your way back and back on track.

Got to accomplish something today. Have a great evening.

I am seriously reading this new book, Mastering Leptin. So far, it is rather eyeopening, and almost scary! How I wish I had been able to read it 15 years ago, but then, Leptin had not been discovered yet! GATOR, and JACK, I think you two would definitely find some useful info in the book, if you read it.

COUNTRY: What a delightful sight for my sore eyes... BIG hugs... Why ever would you delete us? Were you mad at us? :(

JACK: Stick with olive oil. There is some controversy about canola, but none about olive. If I can find the info, I will give you the links...

PANCHO: I think diet drinks must be addictive... I am really struggling to NOT have any! I hope it gets easier!

Wow I'm finally posting. What a day. Had to go have blood work today. Next week I see my heart doctor so he will have the results of my cholesterol etc. When I got home there was no electricity! Someone had hit the power pole and it was off for over 4 hours. It was getting warmer by the minute here. I was starving when I came home cause my blood work was fasting so I had 2 boiled eggs and a small can of V8. Then lunch had to wait till after 2 o'clock when we finally got some power. But I ate a South Beach dinner. And it was rather disappointing. It sounded so good but wasn't very tasty. But the main thing is I'm making it through day 2, I'm hungry for some reason. Maybe I'm not eating enough. Tonight we're grilling steaks so maybe that will be better. Well better run and check on my sweatshirt on ebay....

Jackie--
Re the oils, it depends on whether you want to keep your dressing in the fridge. I prefer the canola because it doesn't "harden up" in the fridge like the olive oil does. My holistic doctor recommended both canola and olive oils highly. I'm not aware of any new special controversy over canola oil. It seems like these days there is controversy over just about anything: salmon, tuna, water, peanuts, organic vs. non-organic, supplements, jogging vs. walking, etc. etc. So just go with the one that works for you, and for me that normally is the canola. I use the olive oil in pretty much everything else: cooking, directly over lettuce, etc.

The work-out place was fine. Since it was my first time I think he has to get used to how much weight I can lift. I was doing 220 lbs. each leg on the leg press, and he moved me down to 100 lbs. with some pre-fatigue stuff. It was still really easy. Same for some other machines, and I told him it was pretty easy. So it should be interesting. I will go there for about 4 months and then will decide if I will keep going or look for another place. I guess results are what matter and so I'll look to see what results I get.

Re. the calories for the salad dressing, I refigured the calories and see that the number should be more like 33 calories per T. I was figuring the oil at 100 per T. but it is really 120. So that ups it from 25 to 33 calories per Tabs.

I went to buy a new dryer today. The old one no longer does the automatic drying (hasn't in years, actually), no longer has any temp. control--everything is HOT, and has a squeeky belt. With almost everything gone awry, my DH said to get a new one. I am getting a $249 model, I think it is Admiral, with automatic drying, 2 temperature selections, something to put in the dryer for drying shoes or sweaters, a buzzer when finished, a light, 7 cu. ft. and is made by Maytag, who now owns Admiral, or whatever brand it is. It was almost the cheapest, and I think I am getting a rebate on the delivery and set up charge.

Gotta get back to finishing my French homework.

Jackie--Here is a scale that is similar, not exactly, like the one I have. It is not cheap, but I use it almost every day and it measures everything, even flour, sugar, or anything that calls for cups of a certain ingredient. They have a bigger selection in their catalogue, and perhaps you can either call them to send you a catalogue, or search the web for what you want. I find my scale (it's white) invaluable and worth every penny I spent.

http://shop.bakerscatalogue.com/detail.jsp?id=4204&pv=1123017504514

No way, I'd never be angry at you guys. Ya'll are awesome. I just went through a phase which I do from time to time. The why am I struggling so hard to get no where fast poor pitiful me place. I think this time it was kind of a crossroads for what I wanted to do diet wise. By deleting all my links to the board I could eat anyway I wanted and there was no one to "see" me messing up.

Love and hugs,
Crystle

JACK and GATOR: Here is an excerpt of an article on Canola oil. In the book I recently read, Ron Rosedale MD says to use olive, almond and avocado oils. While the 'problems' with canola are not really bad, why take any chances when olive is just as good, if not better? Gail, I put my olive oil salad dressing in the microwave and zap it for five seconds to warm it up if it has become too solid. Either that, or hold it under my arm as I set the table! :)

"Canola and regular rapeseed oils are extracted from the seeds of several of the brassica plants - the same family of plants from which we get vegetables such as Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cabbage, kale, mustard greens, and several other vegetables.

Of course, there is not much fat in these vegetables; but what fat there is in some of them, e.g., mustard greens, is as much as 29 percent erucic acid. Also, since glycosides (typical are stevioside and other flavonoids) are basically water soluble, I would not expect to find much of them in any oil. Those glucosinolates found in rapeseed meal after the oil has removed from the seeds are the same goiterogens that are found in the brassica vegetables. One problem with canola oil is that it has to be partially hydrogenated or refined before it is used commercially and consequently is a source of trans fatty acids; sometimes are very high levels.

Another problem is that it is too unsaturated to be used exclusively in the diet; some of the undesirable effects caused by feeding canola can be rectified if the diet is made higher in saturated fatty acids. "

Mary G. Enig, Ph.D.,



COUNTRY: Well, all I gotta say is I am very glad you are back!

Hey, guys! Boy, Country it's great to "see" you. I also have been having the same problems. I do good for a few days and then blow it to heck and back(which is what I did yesterday). But then I manage to come to my senses....to bad I don't STAY sane,lol...maybe I would be able to wear my clothes again! So here I am again back on the wagon....BTW- Nice pic of you and your son. Here was my menu for the day:

BF- scrambled eggs and veggies(1 whole egg, 3 whites, scrambled in 1 tsp olive oil, mushrooms, onions, bell pepper)and a white peach

Snack- grapefruit and yogurt

Lunch- open-faced turkey cheeseburger(1 sl bread, mustard, sf ketchup, 1 sl 2% cheese, onion, tomato)cuke and tomato slices on the side and a medium granny smith apple, diet coke

Snack- a few bites of boiled chicken and another diet coke(yea, I know)

Supper- A HUMONGOUS(really) salad made with chicken, baby spinach, lettuce, mushrooms, onion, tomatoes, brocolli, parmesean cheese, and Casear dressing...oh yea, I also ate a few bites of squash sauteed in olive oil

I had 2 workouts today and felt pretty good. Hope I feel as good tomorrow. Yesterday I was "sick" with this sinus thingy and did NOTHING but lay on the couch and eat everything that wouldn't eat me. Gotta quit doing this!! I've been saying that for months, I know...maybe this is the time(fingers crossed). Alright, my Melatonin is starting to take effect...sweet dreams!

I never got back on yesterday to post my menu. :^: Here is what I had yesterday: B- chicken salad, water S- latte from coffee shop next to credit union, L- sauteed eggplant in olive oil, S- chicken salad, D- two very small poblano peppers from the garden, stuffed with organic ground beef, baked in a homemade fresh tomato sauce, salad with olive oil/balsamic vinegar dressing, water. I was SO pleased with myself...I actually made it through the day with out having any diet sodas!

My back is better this morning, as I slept a little better last night. Its still sore, and I wish I knew why it was sore to begin with. I am debating going for a walk. I know I should, but I don't know it if would be better to rest my back or work it....

I will be back after breakfast.... but the old stomach is growling....

Morning everyone. Just got done eating breakfast which was 2 boiled eggs and a small can V-8 juice. Had my two cups of coffee and guess I'm set to tackle another day. I sure have been having craveings.... My body is yelling for sweets. Hope this passes soon. Each day is a struggle for me. But I'm doing it so far. Got to figure whats for lunch and dinner yet. Country its great to see you back. I've sure missed you.

Just finished breakfast: 1.5 scoops of whey protein, 1 cup of water, and 1 cup of mixed berries revved in the blender. It was pretty tasty! :) I am debating whether I need to make myself some espresso....probably, but not just now.

Off to get some stuff done around here!

Happy Wed.

I feel like crap today. My foot is killing me (I could only do 15 minutes on the TM today) and my back is killing me, sending shooting pains down my butt and leg. It's **** to get old. I am alternating a ice pack between my back and my foot. Ugh!

Nothing else going on here. (thank goodness)

bf: 2 eggs, coffee
lunch: 1/2 Amy's ww pizza, peach
dinner: meatloaf, butterbeans, broccoli.

Monet, Thanks for the info. I guess I'll stick with the olive oil.

Toni, :cheer: for making it day 2. I'm right there with you. How were those steaks.

Gator, thanks for the info. I use an canola spray. I don't refrigerate my vinegar or oils so would I need to refrigerate the dressing? Hope the workout place works out. :lol: I hope he gets you back up to your normal level quickly.

Country, I'm afraid I would blow up quickly w/o this board to keep me straight. Glad you are back with us.

Laurie, are you getting your energy back. I saw where you did 2 workouts yesterday. Hang in there.

Got to get busy. Have a great day

Hey, everyone, I want to highly recommend this book I am reading. Its called Mastering Leptin, by Bryon Richards. He explains in very clear terms how Leptin functions, and man, does it explain a LOT! Have you lost weight, only to binge and regain some? Do you struggle with cravings and wonder why? Do you stick to a diet, but never seem able to lose? I think this book will shed some light on your situation. Do you have friends who seem to eat twice as much as you, but never gain a pound? Do you wonder why your husband can stop eating, say he is full, and walk away from half a cupcake, when you lick every bite off the plate? Yep, I think you will find some answers in this book. It starts off kind of slow, with a bit more 'fill' than I like, but his writing style is easy to follow and he explains stuff very well.

I am going back to reading...will be back later! :wave:

I AM SO EXCITED! A new yogurt/ice cream shop opened down the road from us, and they sell Only 8 yogurt. If you haven't heard of it, it is supposed to be the healthiest yogurt out there. It has no fat or cholesterol, it is calcium fortified, low, low calores (only 32 for 1/2 cup), all natural with no preservatives, sweetened with fructose, safe for most diabetics and lactose intolerant, has 4 healthy yogurt cultures and has "a great taste that won't go to your waist." It has 7 grams of sugar per sevings (fructose) and 1 gram of protein, 40 mg sodium, 0 fat, 0 saturated fat, 0 cholesterol.....and it tastes delicious. I had a small chocolate marshmallow flavor with sliced almonds on it. They apparently sell quarts, so I am going to check into getting some for home.

I got to the gym this morning, and it felt awesome to workout again. I plan to take the girls with me tomorrow, and then to go by myself on Saturday. That will be 3 days this week. I'd like to get 4, but I'll probably be sore for a few days, and should ease back into it.

We went to see Madagascar yesterday; it was cute, and not too long (75 minutes). Lane can't sit through anything much longer. We then went to Macaroni Grill, and the girls got cheesiolis (cheese raviolis), and I got a strawberry chicken salad. It was not legal, but it was so hot outside, and a salad just hit the spot. It was spinach with arugola and radichio with sliced grilled chicken, feta cheese, red onions, strawberries and some strawberry dressing. I am sure the dressing had a lot of sugar in it, but it was so refreshing and delicious. For dinner, I had rotisserie cornish hen, fresh corn on the cob and tomato slices. This is the only time of year that I eat corn. The fresh Olathe, CO sweet corn is finally in the stores, and I love it!

So far today, I have had 1 cup of grapes and a 6 oz cottage cheese. I'll have to eat something else here soon as I am hungry from working out.

Country: We'd be so sad if you left us. We accept you here, shortcomings and all. That is what "support" is all about. Sometimes it feels good to just let it all out...we are here for you! Don't ever forget that. I love your new avatar!

Jack: Sounds like a huge hassle at the dr's office....I'd be fuming mad! I'd complain about that tech; that is his job. I can understand your frustration being there that long, but that is his job and what he gets paid to do. I hope your life slows down a bit so you can take time to breathe. I hope your foot and back get to feeling better soon.

Monet: I, too, think that diet sodas are addictive...just like regular soda. Great job not having any yesterday. I haven't had one for about three weeks, and don't plan on bringing anymore into the house. I might get an occasional one while out, but not too often. I also quit drinking Starbucks over two months ago. I don't need the artifical sweeteners, the caffeine, or to spend $4 per drink. I bought some decaf tea that I will drink occasionally, as well as some hot tea that is decaf. I also bought those Izze drinks, and I usually have one of those per day. I also have bought some of the Le Nature waters that are flavored (just a splash of flavoring, but no added sugar or sweeteners). They are nice for a change too.

Toni: What do you see a heart doctor for? Good luck with the lab results....I hope you see the numbers you are hoping for. Sorry you had to be without power, but am glad they were able to get it back up when they did; it's too hot to be without power.

Gator: Glad you liked the workout place fine. 4 months will give you a good feel for whether you want to stay or go elsewhere. Enjoy your new dryer; I think we will be due for one of those soon too. We bought a Maytag washer a few years ago, and have been very pleased with it.

Heart: Good to see you....you keep posting, even when you don't feel like you should be. We'll get you back on track in no time :lol: .

I hope you all have a fantastic day!!

Take care!
Nat

Hey, guys. Another day...Pancho- we haven't seen the movie, but Boogie is playing(right beside me) the Madagascar video game(PS2). It's a rental, so it has to go back today. Today, I don't have that bloated/puffy look, just fat:). I have to take the movies back to the store and run an errand in town, I may also go to the thrift store and might tan. I've only been tanning about twice a month, just not into it like I used to be. Wish I had my dh or the kid's complexion and I wouldn't subject my skin at all to it. Besides that, not alot going on. JACK-K- My energy isn't like it used to be but I think the vitamin B-12 might be helping just a bit. I made myself workout twice yesterday to conquer guilt. I always hate working out, but feel a sense of accomplishment when I'm thru! Just like this morning, I wanted to quit several times during the workout, but I made myself hang in there. MONET- After all this time, I thought Monet was your real name! I don't know if I could bring myself to call you Ellen,lol. That reminds me it was probably almost a year being here that I realized BOB's name was Narda. Alright, here's my menu for the day:

BF- was late after working out(almost 10:30)- had 1/2 grapefruit, 1 ground turkey sausage patty, 1 whole egg, and 1 cup 1% milk

Snack- hmmm, guess I should have this before I leave(before 12:30)..other 1/2 grapefruit and yogurt

Lunch- I don't know because I won't be getting back in time...it'll be legal though!

Supper- grilled chicken, green beans, salad with everything(and macaroni for everyone else).

I've already had a diet coke with splenda. I'm going to really try and not drink anymore today. They are addictive. I wish I could just give them up totally. One thing at a time...I'll check back later!

OK, this will be a quickie. I worked this morning and then went back to Home Depot where they finally got my bill for the dryer straightened out and I finally bought it. Hope to have it next Tuesday.

I am gonna start on the peach/apple conserve this afternoon and it will take a lot of work. I need to get the kitchen in order before I start so that everything will go smoothly. About half the peaches are R-I-P-E !! so I can't put it off.

Got my walk in this morning b/f work and have almost 9000 steps so far today. Will go over that with all the work in the kitchen this afternoon.

Food today:
Breakfast: cooked oatmeal with skimmed milk and dried cherries.
Lunch: One whole fresh peach, one open face melted cheese sandwich
Dinner will be fresh wild salmon cooked some way with a salad. I'll need to figure out how to add a few more calories, because I'm too low right now.

Monet--Book sounds interesting. I have one point to raise, though, just for discussion and for discovering truth. So many diet books say almost the same thing that you quoted in in your post today at 10:53. "Do you suffer from cravings, can't lose weight?" etc. And then they offer their solution for how to solve the problem. Why is this book on leptin any more right, or any less wrong, than any of the others? Why didn't the SB doctors have a discussion on leptin? Is this just another "idea" that some doctor is offering as the "magic bullet" for weight problems, meanwhile he is reaping in big bucks? Is the bottom line still calories vs. energy expenditure? And does SB still help us do that without staying ravenous if we follow the plan? I'm not challenging what you said, as I respect what you have to say. I'm just throwing out some questions that might be good to consider.

Country--It's good to have you back. You might have deleted 3FC from your "favorites" but we definitely did not delete you!! :)

Panch0--I sometimes eat fresh corn in season, when it is crisp and delicious, even though it is not OP. I just try to keep it in moderation and with a meal otherwise OP.

Teensy--Where are you?

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;44;126;0;1/c/169/t/120/s/173/k/0fac/weight.png

Monet--I PM'd you.

GATOR: In the spirit of discussion, I will reply some here as well as in your PM. The difference in this book is not that he says, "do this, and all your problems will be solved. Twenty dollars please!" The difference in this book is that it is explaining research that has recently been done in the field of metabolism and most specifically, with the hormone Leptin. Leptin was discovered in 1994, but it was not at all understood. Since then, research has been going on to figure out just what its role in metabolism is. Well, researchers are being blown away at what they are discovering. Leptin has a bigger, more powerful role in the metabolism than insulin. In fact, Leptin, to a degree, controls insulin! The book, I think, is not so much a diet book as it is an informative book, written in layman's terms, to help people understand the part Leptin, and its imbalance, plays in obesity, cravings, weight gain, and disease. He footnotes his points to a bibliography in the back of the book to show the research. So far, the book has been mostly factual, with the exception of his opinions on the shortcomings of western medicine and its dependency on drugs. :) Its a fascinating read. It really won't give you a new 'diet' to follow, but may give you principles that will help tweak what you are doing and make it more successful. A few things I have noted with interest so far have been the Leptin connection with insulin resistance, and his explanation of how to exercise to take advantage of optimum fat burning times of the body's cycle. I intend to incorporate the ideas and see whether it helps me or not.

HEART: You can call me Monet... I never was that fond of Ellen anyway.... :lol:

Oh, GATOR, one more thing...the author's wife is pictured with him on the cover. She looks about 30, but is in her 50's! As for him reaping big bucks, at least he is not selling "Leptin Diet" pizza, crackers, and candies... As far as I can tell so far, he is not selling anything. He has a clinical practice, and wrote the book so the obese American public would hear the truth before the sluggish medical community ever got around to getting the word out....which might take years... if ever.

Howdy ya'll. Thanks for the warm welcome back. So far so good this week. Between walking by myself and with Joyce I got an hour in yesterday.

Monet...it sounds like a very interesting book. Especially if it enhances the things we already know.

Gator...thank you so much. :)

Heart...((hugzz))

Jack-K...Sorry your foot is giving you fits. My back is aching and my precious hubby tells me I'm getting old...LOL Bully! :) What did you do to your foot?

Poncho...WTG getting to the gym. It does feel so good when we push through. How long before your little one goes back to school? We let this kids have this week off. We are going to start back full time on Monday if I can get them motivated.

I am dragging some major behind today. Guess I'll get and lay down again.

Love and hugs,
Crystle

Hey everybody. I haven't been on much b/c I've been spending so much time with family. Reggie is doing better than I expected. It's really hard, though. Travis and I had a huge confrontation with my parents about my Dad's anger. He borders on being physically abusive and is definitely emotionally abusive. There have been a few instances where he has snapped with Selah, the last one of which left bruises on her back from his fingerprints. I was devestated. We basically told them that he needed to get counseling and start working on anger management, or they will not be able to see our kids anymore. He took it much more humbly than I've ever seen him before. He cried and asked for forgiveness, which we willingly gave. But forgiveness doesn't mean that we can leave our kids there again. It was really stressfull. He has changed so much for the better since I was a child. I hope that this helps even more. We are still spending time with the whole family, but I am watching very carefully. I'm really just waiting for the next blowup. If he makes one move that I don't like, we will stop all contact until I have proof from a professional that he has made progress. I don't know if we should threaten to report them. I jsut don;t know how far to go with it. Compared to some of the sick stuff out there, he's pretty mild. I have no doubt that he loves us all. He's just never been taught how to deal with his anger. I still worry about my younger brothers and sisters, and I absolutely will not let him hurt Selah again.

Soo.. Eating had been Ok. Not amazing, but a good improvement. The detox includes taking about 30 supplements a day. With all of the water I'm taking with that It almost makes me full.

I found a recipie for Ezekiel bread on the net, and I think I may try it. Has anyone ever made it?


Monet- I'm knitting some dishcloths for my cousin's wedding. They are really pretty natural cotton.

Country- Welcome back. I love your new pic!!

Gator- I would love to have your recipie for the peaches.


Jack- I hate back pain. I start physical therapy back up next week. I'm really hoping it will help this time.

Everyone else :wave:

Well, I'm just taking a break from my conserve making. I have done about 1/3 of the peaches and about 1/2 the apples. I will need to buy more apples tonight to finish the conserve. I was so tired from standing so long that while the "brew" is cooking, I thought I'd sit down and check in with my SB friends.

Talitha--Here's how I make my conserve. I don't have any particular recipe, but just add the right ingredients in the amounts I like.
I take some really good tasting peaches and peel them. I do this by dipping them in boiling water for 1 minute. The peel comes off really easily. I chop the peaches up into chunks, probably about 8 to 10 chunks per peach. Then I take an equal amount of apples--good cooking style apples, and ones that won't turn to mush easily. I use Granny Smith. This time of year I can get peaches but apples are not "in season" so I have to buy them at the grocery store. If you live in N.C. you might be able to get late season peaches and early apples, but I don't have that luxury. Anyway, I wash the apples and leave the skins on. Then I chop the apples into about 12-14 chunk per apple, since they are larger than peaches. I cook them together until the apples get soft, starting to turn into applesauce. The peaches tend to keep their body. I add sweetener to taste (I use splenda) and ascorbic acid (Vit. C. granules) if it needs any tartness. Then several handfuls of raisins. I also add a small dab of nutmeg. When done to my liking I pack this into sterile jars and process in a pressure canner. Yum.

Monet--I saw the picture of the wife. Yes, she was a babe.
Actually, I think Richards does have some product to sell. Check this out.

"LeptiSlim™ and Leptinal™: Breakthrough Formulas for Improved Thyroid and Leptin Function!

New products for naturally balancing the hormone leptin have encouraging thyroid and weight loss benefits. Formulated by leptin expert, Byron Richards, CCN, these supplements may be the answer to difficult weight loss. "

Here's a website where I found this. The price for one of them was about $44 and the other was $25 or in that neighborhood.
Anyway, we are really interested in your experience with this and hope that it is really true at working great. :)

http://www.ugamedia.com/news/004.html

Gotta go get back and stir the pot.

Gator- you are making my mouth water!!

Monet- If it works for you then I am happy about it! I know how hard you try to lose and simply don't or gain when you shouldn't. I hope that it is your breakthrough. I know that everyone is not the same and what works for one doesn't work for another. I KNOW that I can loose weight IF I stay on plan, and if I was to stay on plan, I actually loose at a pretty good rate, so I know that there is a solution for me if I follow it. But it must be even more frustrating for you when you are following the plan and you don't see results even after an extensive period of time. I honestly believe that ANYBODY can lose weight, but it's harder for some than others and some have to spend time trying to find out what their body will say "okay" to. So I wish you the best of luck!

Okay, my menu for the day changed. I did eat the snack(yogurt and grapefruit) before I left, around 12:20. I'm glad that I did even though at the time I didn't really want it. It definetly helped with my hunger. I was in town longer than I expected. Around 2:30 we stopped at Wendy's. I was only a "little" hungry, so I had a small chili with 2/3 a pack of sour cream..oh yea, and a diet coke(sigh). The kids also had small chilis but ate a couple crackers with theirs. When we came home, Ashley and I did the kid's workout and I worked up a sweat which I didn't expect. Boogie couldn't do the workout, it was too much for him. DH came home and I started cooking. I made salads with chicken for everyone. Mine had about 1 1/2 bs breast, some 2% cheddar, lite 3 cheese ranch dressing, and a huge amount of salad that included lots of veggies. I still wanted something afterwards, so I ate 2 sf gel cups(5 cals each)topped with cool whip(25 cals). That hit the spot. I was probably a little under for the cals today, if I had been at home I would have ate more for lunch and had an afternoon snack. But I got my "fill."

Talitha- I wish I could tell you what to do, but I'm not in your shoes so my advice might not be the best. I do feel ya when you say that if he does it again to sever(sp?) all contact. It would be totally different if it wasn't your dad. I pity the person that ever lays a finger on my kids, but if it were my parents I don't know for certain what I would do because I'm not in that situation. I haven't helped much now have I? BTW- Supplements or not, your body needs calories and certain amounts of fat,etc...even if you have to make yourself eat at times(feeding the metabolism).

Alright, off to check email!

OK, I got 7 more quarts canned and have probably 20 more to finish off tomorrow. Boy, am I tired.

Talitha, some more thoughts on the fruit conserve. Be sure not to scorch the fruits as it will ruin the whole batch. I use a heavy bottomed pan, actually my pressure canner. You can also freeze the conserve rather than canning it. My sister does that. You could experiment with other fruits, also. I just happen to like this combination of peaches and apples.

Monet--I forgot to tell you that my holistic doctor also feels that the MD's rely too much on meds and don't get to the real cause, often an inbalance somewhere. So I hear ya. Again, I am hoping this will be the magic ticket for you--the breakthrough you have been looking for. I agree with Heart, that it is so very discouraging to stay on plan and not lose. BTW, did you ever find another doctor who is as good as the one you had? I get all my blood work done the end of this month for my holistic doctor, the one who handles the thyroid stuff. Then a couple months later get more blood work for my MD yearly physical.

Rest of my food today:
Snack: 1 slice WWSG bread with 1 T. p-nut butter.
Dinner: 4 oz. wild salmon glazed with balsamic reduction over a bed of cooked spinach that I doctored up with garlic and nutmeg. Green salad with avocado and tomato, 1 T lo cal dressing. Taste of the fruit conserve.
Walking today, I got over 12000 steps because I was on my feet so much doing the fruit. I ate about 1100 calories today.

Talitha--You are very wise to protect your children from your dad, even though he is your dad. You would hate yourself if you did not, and any good child protection person would give you a big pat on the back.

Teensy--Wheeerrree are you? We miss you.

I could not sleep, so I finally got up and came into Tom's office to play on his computer until I feel sleepy. :( I have played an online game, and looked at yarn online. I can't bring myself to order yarn online, because its a tactile experience for me...I have to touch it before I know I want it. Am I weird? (yes, I am..so don't answer that! It was a rhetorical question!)

GATOR: I am actually kind of worried about Teensy... her dog had a tumor that did not look good, and she is very attached to her furbabies. I hope all is ok, but I fear not. She has not been on the LCC forum either...which reminds me, CindyLCing has not been on lately either.... I will have to check over there to see how she is.

TALITHA: Do you still want to try to get together next week?

FILLISE: Where are you? Is it another busy week? <insert my usual whine about you coming to Atlanta here>

Guess I will go explore more knitting links. What I OUGHT to do is get my knitting and knit...but its a complex pattern and I am afraid I might count wrong! :lol:

Eating was pretty good yesterday. I'm getting back into the groove. I'm on my way to the mom's play group at the park. Looking forward to some adult interaction. Iwas home all day yesterday doing nothing.
Jake has been working on his first tooth. It finally popped through this morning. He's been miserable all week. Thus, so have I...

Monet- I'm going out of town on Wed for my cousin's wedding. Totally forgot about it. I doubt that I'll have tiem before that. How about when I get back the next week?

Gator- I think I'll try it, but freeze it. I would love to get into canning. Is it expensive? We are so broke that it's not an option now but who knows in the future...

Heartmom-I'm still eating. I just gorged myself all last week, so I'm feeling much better about what I'm eating now.

Good Thursday Morning Ladies

I have the creeps today. Had a horrible dream about my DH dying. It is hard to shake the feeling.

It's going to be a slow day here so I will probably be back.

Tonight and all this weekend we will be at my DD's packing up her house. They got word that they could close in 10 days so we better get busy. Once we get a definite closing date we will move all the stuff into storage.
I made a pot of chili for dinner. I know chili in the summer??? :dizzy:
But my SIL wanted it and we need to eat in a hurry tonight and leave so I figured it was cool in the house so what the deal.

Eating has been good so far this week. I did have 3 individual serving bottles of wine at the Elks last night, along with water.

bf: oatmeal with walnuts, skim milk, coffee
lunch, salad with cheese, almonds, mushrooms.
dinner: chili


Monet, I may have to check into that book, it sounds very interesting. I was thinking the same thing about Teensy and her dog. Hope nothing has happened. Missy has been missing awhile too. Guess those boys are keeping her busy. She did email me some pics, but did not reply to my return email.

Nat, I love frozen yogurt. Right down the street could be dangerous.Take it slow at the gym, you will be very sore.

Laurie, I find I have to talk to myself while working out when I get the notion to quit. I just push myself another minute, then another. It always works and you do feel better when you are done that you stayed with it. Youw ill gain more energy the more you do it.

Country, looks like you are doing great with your walking. My fott is a combo of the RA and neuropathies from the chemo. (My diagnosis). I'm trying B6 before I succomb to another pill.

Gator, your conserve sounds delish. But a lot of hard work. I betyou are glad it's done.

Talitha, Sorry about your Dad. That has to be so hard. But you are right to protect your children from him and to confront him. How young are your sisters and brothers?

BOB, how are you feeling? I think I have tickets for the UK/TN game, are you still coming for it?

Have a great day.

Morning! I was sleeping FINALLY after Tom left when the phone rang. It was a young man selling Cutco knives who had gotten my name from a lady who used to go to our church. She had emailed me, and asked if he could call me, and I had emailed back and said NO! I have seen their presentation a number of times and have all the knives I can afford right now. (three of them are Cutco!) So she had actually given him my name before she emailed me. I thought that was rude of her. I thought it was rude of him to call so early...it was like 8 am! I hope I did not bite his head off too harshly...but after I hung up I could not go back to sleep, so now I am crabby. :mad:

JACK: I think you will find the book interesting, and helpful. Especially since you are seeing lower thyroid function, and difficult weight loss. I started trying to use a combination of both books ideas yesterday. I ate good fats, no grains, lots of veggies, and nothing inbetween meals. Today, the scale is down some, though I can't tell exactly how much as I had already eaten breakfast. I had ekked up a few more pounds, even with how careful I was eating. If timing is important, then I have been eating all wrong, and should see marked improvement. I will keep you posted!

TALITHA: You did mention you were going to a wedding... We can just keep to the DeKalb Farmer's Market plan we made the other day. OK? Congrats to Jacob with his first tooth! :)


I need to go light a fire under James. I want to go walk through the yarn department at Hobby Lobby after I drop him off. I had wanted to go last night, but they close at 8! I was so mad! I thought everyone stayed open until 9!

:wave:

Jackie--I think that my BIL suffers from maybe the same thing you are going through with your feet. He has to take pain meds for it and hey are gonna try some sort of nerve inplant to help him deal with the pain. He also has the same thing in his derrière.

Talitha--To save money, one time I was able to go to a produce stand that sold a lot of peaches. They had a big bunch just thrown in a basket that they had culled out because of bad spots or bruises. I Asked them if I could have those, and also talked them into culling out some more. I got a much better price for them than normal. We don't have many fruit stands around here any more, so have not been able to pull that deal any more. As for the apples, they probably are the most expensive because this is not apple season. Just look for the best deal you can get on good quality apples. You could also save money by freezing it in Zip Loc bags--the Freezer kind.

I am still working on the conserve. I canned 14 quarts yesterday, and will have about 20 more quarts today. However, I have a hair appt. at noon, and a good-bye luncheon for someone at our office that I will drop by for. Also have French tonight, so will really be rushing. I probably will do the last batch tonight.

At that, I will go, and hope to post more later.

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;44;126;0;1/c/168.5/t/120/s/173/k/f3ae/weight.png

Howdy everyone. I can't believe its Thursday. This week has been hard doing Phase 1 of South Beach. I miss having fruit and bread. But hope I'm getting rid of the sugar and carb cravings. If so it will all be worth it. Of course I'm tired and dragged out but this will pass too. B- was a chocolate milk shake made with cottage cheese, skim milk, cocoa powder, and vanilla. L- Is a leftover hamburger cabbage casserole and sliced tomato D- I think will be grilled chicken, zucchini and a salad. The lady is here to clean so I have to go.

Pancho- I have coronary artery disease. I've had a triple bypass and 5 stents put in. I also have heritary high cholesterol. So have to see the heart doctor every few months. Thanks for asking.

Better run.....

Hello all! Well, I must report that I have been cheating with the scale. Basically, it didn't last but a couple of days before I started weighing again. But I'm glad I did look because it shocked me Monday morning, it said 179!! I was very puffy and bloated so I expected it to be down a couple the next day, Tuesday...it was more than I expected. Yesterday I was down 8 pounds(!) to 171. Talk about some fluid retention. Today I am at 169. So that's 10 pounds in 2 days. Too bad it wasn't 10 pounds of fat,lol. I'm still wearing my elastic, except today I have on my 1 pair of jeans that I can just barely fit into. I had to do some squats to try to loosen them up when I first put them on,lol. Maybe another 5 #'s and I'll be able to start wearing some of my regular clothes. 159-160 is my previous weight, so I still have a "weighs" to go. One thing I have noticed that I'm doing differently than ever before, is I'm eating more fruit daily than I ever have. I always was under the assumption that fruit could cause you to stall with your weight,etc...it seems that when people have problems with losing or a stall the first thing they do is eliminate the fruits and starches. I've been doing this thing that is based on an article I read in Woman's World. It's SB, but you eat fruit with your meals, eat lean protein, lots of veggies, no more than 2 whole-grains daily, and get at least 3 servings of dairy(calcium) daily. And I have recently read that it's better to have some fat from your calcium souce, like instead of skim milk you should try 1%, something about the fat in it helps with the weight-losing. Oh, and you should get a couple servings of the good fats daily as well(like nuts and olive oil). I haven't stuck to it to a "T" but it is helping with my hunger, energy(I think), and the loss. And you eat like 5 times a day to keep your metabolism going. Just thought I would share for those of you that are stalled or have gained, it is helping me. That said, here's my menu for the day:

BF- was scrambled eggs and veggies(4 whites only, mushroom, tomato, onion, bell pepper), 1 ground turkey sausage patty, 4 strawberries, and 1/2 c of 1% milk

Snack- will probably be a white peach and yogurt

Lunch- taking the kid's to McDonald's so I will have the Grilled Bacon Ranch salad with about 1/2 a pk of Casear dressing, diet coke

Supper- I'm grilling fish(YUCK) with lemon and butter, legal homemade coleslaw, and some legal barbecued baked beans(pinto beans with bell pepper, seasoning, onion, Carb Well barbecue sauce, sf syrup, etc..


I have to take Boogie to the school to for registration in just a bit, I waited to the last minute. Then afterwards I'm taking them to McDonald's to eat and play and then to the Ultimate Fun World. I haven't told them yet, it's going to be a surprise. Check in later!

Toni- I see your doing SBD, have you tried the Fudge thingy, it's where you take a sf fudgepop(melt in microwave for about 15 sec)and scape it off the stick, add a tbsp PB, and 2 tbsp cool whip, mix well and put back into freezer until frozen(about 30 minutes). To me, it tastes like a big peanut butter cup.

ROLL CALL.....KEN, TEENSY, THUNDER, MELF, BOB, SEF, TECH...ABSENT! Where are you all? Did I forget anyone?

Things are good here. I took Britt to the Christian store yesterday to get her NIV bible for school and a bible cover. I also bought the girls a little cross for their pockets that say, "GOD LOVES YOU!" It is a nice reminder for them, especially when they are away from home. We then went to Costco, and then to get some yogurt. It was yummy; I got chocolate cherry.

We plan to go to the gym today, and then maybe to Pizza Hut; Britt has a coupon that she got from a reading program last year; she has a lot of them that we haven't used yet.

My eating was horrible yesterday. BF was fine, but then the rest of the day wasn't. I ate all the samples at Costco, and then tried everything we bought when I got home. We bought some of that granola that I think Monet has talked about. It is delicious, but doesn't have the nutrition facts listed, just the ingredients. I am sure there is a fair share of sugar and fat in there, even though some of the sugar is natural from fruit. We also bought some Aussie bars; they are like little brownies but are made with whole wheat flour, butter, coconut, apricots, golden raisins, honey....they are sooo good, but not legal, as one of them has 9g sugar. I ate two of them. I then ate two taquitos for lunch. Today has been good so far; I have had a legal cereal with soy milk.

Heart: That's funny....I thought BOB was the only man on the board when I first started posting, and that Kate was "his" wife. I don't know how long it took me to realize "he" was a she. I guess once she started posting the "men" jokes, I realized it (ha). What kid's workout tape do you have? Is it the beachbody one? My kids love that one. I have been eating a lot of fruits this summer since that is when they are in season. It hasn't seemed to hurt me. I have only worked out 3-4 times in the past month, and I have stayed between 121-123#. There are so many health benefits in fruit, and wouldnt' be a good thing to avoid altogher.

Gator: I am glad you got the dryer sit. straightened out; I hope you enjoy it. It sounds like you have been busy with your canning; the recipe sounds delicious. When I include corn-on-the-cob with a meal, I make sure it is SB legal as well. Sometimes I eat the corn by itself in the middle of the day. It sounds as if you have a busy day today.

Country: Britt starts school on the 22nd, and Lane will start after Labor Day. Good luck gettting your children motivated for another school year.

Talitha: What an unfortunate situation to find yourself in. Life is never easy, is it? I would definately never leave my children alone with him if you don't know when he can snap! I really hope he looks into some anger management classes so he doesn't miss out on precious years with those he loves. I really enjoy my Mom's Club outings too; it is so nice to have the adult interaction and good for the kids to socialize as well. Our Mom's Club is going bowling next week; Britt will love that.

Jack: Those dreams are tough to shake. I had one about dying myself more than three years ago, but it was so real that it still haunts me sometimes. I think that I have read in dream analysis books that dreaming of death is not bad, but good. I don't remember the symbolism, but had something to do with new life, or renewed health or something....but I do remember it wasn't a bad thing. So, if that is any consolation. You can throw that chili on a bed of lettuce with a little sauce and sour cream and make a summer meal out of it.

Monet: How terrible of someone to give your name/number without your consent; that would irk me too. I hope you are well rested today and ready to tackle that tough pattern you are working on.

Toni: Sorry to hear about your heart troubles. How long ago was the surgery. How, other than cholesterol checks, do they monitor the situation? I know that I am at risk of developing high cholesterol. My last reading was questionable, and everyone on my mom's side of the family has high cholesterol and high blood pressure. We'll see.

Cindy: How are you doing????

Well, I gotta run and get ready to scoot soon.

Take care,
Nat

I'm just checking in quickly! It's the first week back to school here and we haven't quite gotten back to "normal" yet. My body is NOT telling me to get up this early in the morning! :lol: We switched to a modified calendar this year with a week off in September, all of Thanksgiving week off, 2.5 weeks at Christmas and one week off in both February and April. We still get out Memorial Day weekend. It's nice and I like it, but I wish I could have a long summer and the breaks! ;) Well I'll go now, got some filing to do!

Monet was a bad bad girl! She spent two hours drooling over yarn at Hobby Lobby today. When she walked out, she had $30 worth of yarn, needles and 'stuff'. :yes: Will her husband be mad? :yes: Will he find out from her? :sssh: Not likely!

I got cotton knitting thread to make holiday dishcloths with. This is something I can easily make for presents, and since its small, I can carry it just about anywhere I go. I can make them for my sisters in law, and make an afghan for my mother in law. They will make nice gifts! (TALITHA- tell me about the ones you are making for wedding gifts!)


Breakfast was a strawberry/blueberry smoothie made with 1 cup water, the berries, and 1.5 scoops of whey protein. Lunch was a bit of left over chicken stir fry with broccoli, and three or four slices of deli chicken with a dab of mayo and fresh sprouts, rolled up, a wedge of laughing cow light cheese, and a cucumber from the garden.

THIN: Its hard to believe the summer is gone. Are you in Forsyth county? I did not know they were on that kind of a schedule now. Gwinnett starts next Monday, and Fulton the week after that.

PANCHO: Its hard to pass those samples by, isn't it? I do love how Costco has so many. We used to go there 'for lunch' all the time! :lol: Now, I walk by and never have any. If I had one, I would cave...

HEART: Ten pounds of fluid in two days is a lot! I am glad you are back on track again.

GATOR: You sure have been a busy bee! The conserve sounds divine!

TALITHA: The DFM has case prices on peaches and apples, if you are looking for a good price, I kind of doubt you will find better.

TONI: The first few days are the hardest! I bet the cravings start to subside soon.

JACK: I hope you are feeling better after being creeped out by that bad dream. I hate it when I get something like that... Is your foot better today?

Well, as usual, I have run up against a wall in the energy department and must take a nap to function.... :( I will be back later!

Monet-I'm in Cherokee County. :)

Just thought I would check in a minute.

Laurie, Congrats on getting to 171. I know exactly what you are talking about with all that water loss. I always eat my fruit with a meal, unless I use it for a snack. Never bothered my wt loss. I have an idea for you. Since you can't "get into" your clothes, use that as motivation to stay op. Lay out a pair of jeans, pants, etc that you want to fit back into. Any time you are tempted to binge, try them on first. I bet it helps. Think I'll try that myself.

Monet, we have a beauty supply store that closes at 8 and the GNC cloes at 7:30. Drives me crazy. I think I would have been mad at the friend too. My foot feels better (see my note to Gator below).

Toni, Well you have made it 4 days so that is great. Are you only doing it 1 week instead of 2? I would miss my fruits too. I could maybe go w/o the starches but I get tired of salads all the time.

Gator, My feet are not that bad. Many years ago (10 or so) I had the Morton's Neuroma in both feet and had it cut out. It was probably the arthristis then too. I took a Celebrex last night and it seemed to help. I am supposed to take 2 a day but I have been taking only 1 as I haven't needed it and I hate to take them if I'm doing ok. I guess I will stick to 2 a day and see if that helps. Hopefully next week I can get back on the TM.

Nat, you can afford to mess up eating wise as low as you are and with all your exercise. You get back on track pretty easily. I think tonight may be an icecream night for me too.
The pizza hut coupon brought back lots of memories when my girls used to get them for reading books. Such a good idea.

Thin, I think the modified schedule is a good thing for kids. It helps them retain the info longer. Hope you adjust soon. In 2 weeks school will be back in session here. All I have to deal with is the extra traffic.

Do any of you play Texas Holdem? I didn't know if it is a craze everywhere or just here right now. We are going to a friend's house to play Sat. I have been in the iternet trying to learn. I am addicted to watching it on ESPN.

Have a great evening.

Jackie--I had a morton's neuroma on my right foot and the podiatrist just removed it after I dealt with the pain for a while. I was playing a ton of tennis at the time and it really hampered me. I have bunions on both feet, have had a stress fracture of one of my metatarsils and also a stress fracture in my heel, for which I had to wear a cast for 6 weeks. I just have bad feet. Hope yours get to feeling better.

The scales have taken a small downward move...hoo-ray. Eating has been light and exercise on track.

Heart...wow 10 pounds is a lot in two days. It's hard to believe the doctors can't find a reason you retain so much water. Cool on the loss though. I hope the scales continue to go down.

Monet...I haven't crocheted in so long. My sister asked me the other day to make an afghan for her and her partner. I told her if she got the yarn. It amazes me how much yarn has gone up over the years.

Talitha...I'm very sorry that your daddy left a mark on your little one. I know how much that must have broken your heart. You are very wise to speak up for her and keep it from happening again. Too many times families don't want to cause conflict and allow the little ones to be hurt.

Gator...I shared your recipe with mama for the conserves. My son works at the store and they had a case of marked down peaches for only 1.99. I think the best deal was the cantaloupe...10 for .25. They may have looked a little ugly but they sure tasted good.

Thin....Will they have any summer vacation at all? Since we home school we work year round taking a week off here and there. It really seems to help keep the kids focused compared to having a long summer off.

Jack-K....I hope the Celebrax kicks in and your foot begins to heal. It's no fun to walk in pain. ((hugzz))

Poncho...I agree with Jack-K. You are doing a great job and yesterday won't hurt you. You've maintained this loss for a while now haven't you? I can't believe I have been on SB for over 4 years now. I can honestly say it's the longest I've ever stuck with any way of eating.

Toni...I am dragging some major hinney also. Praying your engery level improves and your cravings go away.

Guess I'd better get and check on dinner. We are making a whole wheat lazagna in the dutch oven. We started using the dutch oven instead of the oven in the house and it's been wonderful. The food is very tasty and the house stays cool.

Love and hugs,
Crystle

Good afternoon:

I got to the gym...two days this week.....Saturday will be my third! Yeah!

I ended up getting a personal pizza at Pizza Hut with everything on it. I was not at all in the mood for a salad...I will have one tonight. I also ate one breadstick; it came as a meal. The girls ate the other two. I also got a non-diet caffeine-free root beer. It sounded so good, and I drank only half of it. I am making turkey burgers tonight, and will have a salad with it....I probably won't even eat my bun.

Country: I am glad the scale is moving in the right direction.....keep up the walking and good eating. I have maintained my weight for nearly two years now. I started SB in March/April 2003, and reached my goal weight in September of that year. So, I have been doing SB for nearly 2 1/2 years, and have maintained my weight for 2. Wow, 4 years of SB; I'll be there before I know it, because I will always follow this woe, for the most part. I will have my splurges from time to time, but I will always use this as a basic eating structure.

Jack: I think the key is knowing how to get back on track, which I usually do fairly quick. This is the longest I've gone, but seem to have gotten my metabolism in a good working order, since I haven't gained much. Now that I am back into working out, the eating will fall into place too. Hope your back didn't give you too much trouble last night and you got some sleep.

Monet: I can think of worse things you could have spent your money on. Just convince Tom how much $ you just saved on holiday presents ;) . I know what you mean about Costco....I could definately have lunch there without going to the snack bar. It is a great way to try things though, and have bought many things over the years that I have tested there first. The concept works. The kids love it!

Thin: Good to see you; I think I missed you on roll call :lol: . It is going to be tough to get back into the swing of things here when school starts in a few weeks. Even though we are up early every day, we aren't rushed to get ready and out the door at a certain time. Your new school schedule sounds pretty nice. It's great for visiting those vacation destinations when no-one else is there ;) .

Have a great evening. I will check in tomorrow a.m.

Take care,
Nat

HEY EVERYONE!!!!

I'm here, but no time to post today...will get on here tomorrow afternoon and explain why I've been so quiet this week!
Love and hugs to each and all!

BOB

Just a quick fly by... I had a meeting at church tonight, so I had to rush through making Tom's smoothies, and lunch. Thankfully, Laura decided to treat the boys and herself to dinner to celebrate her huge paycheck. I missed out! :( Maybe I can talk her into taking me out for lunch one day next week! :s: I have been knitting and am half way through one dishcloth. Its cute. I got a variegated red, green and white for Christmas.

Dinner tonight was on the fly: A handful of cashews, almonds and pecans mixed, one cucumber, one organic chicken sausage cooked in fresh tomatoes, a handful of cherry tomatoes. I am starving right now, but its too late to eat anything, so I will just go to bed hungry and hope the scale rewards me! :lol:

Sweet dreams everyone!

I like this new school calendar. My husband gets four weeks of vacation a year and cannot take it all in the summer. He is lucky to get one during the time we were out. Now he will be able to have a better chioce of when to take off. We are planning to go to Florida during our week in September, barring any hurricanes! If we can't go there then we will go visit my mom on the Atlantic side again. Either way we will hit the beach somewhere! :beach:
I am an elementary school nurse and I work 8am-2pm. Both of my kids are in middle school, but I am able to run them to band practice, dance or whatever. Our school superintendent says that he will not go to year round school. He wants to save some summer for four weeks of summer school and so those who go also have a break before we start the new year.

Well, I got all the conserve made (for now) and all the jars I owned are now filled with it. I ended up with 34 quarts and about 8 pints and half pints, which I probably will give away as little gifts. I have about 18 peaches left and about 20 apples, which would make another full batch of 9 quarts, but since I don't have any more jars, and no more room to store it, I'm thinking about making the batch and freezing it in quart bags. I debated about just eating the peaches fresh, but I already had 14 of them in the fridge for eating on cereal, etc, and the conserve is so addictive that I think I'll go ahead and just use all the apples and peaches in one last batch. Probably will do that Sunday afternoon.

Monet--There is a slim chance I may get up to Hotlanta September 27 and stay for a couple of days. My DH is taking a course up there, at the Grand Hyatt in Buckhead. Maybe we can get together during the day if I end up coming. The course starts Monday, but I probably wouldn't come up until Tuesday afternoon. The course goes through Wed. and we'd come home Thurs. morning.

Food today:
Breakfast: Shredded wheat with one fresh peach, skimmed milk.
Lunch: 1 sl. SGWW bread with 1.5 oz. melted fontina cheese. Small spinach salad, about 1/2 cup peach conserve.
Dinner: WW spaghetti with 1/2 cup spaghetti sauce (with meat) and 2 T. grated cheese. another 1/2 cup peach conserve. (See, it's addictive)
Probably not enough protein today, but plenty of dairy. This was about 1100 calories. I am not going to bed hungry as the spaghetti was very satisfying.
I did not get my 10000 steps today because I was on my feet all day in the kitchen, save for the time I was getting my hair cut. I had the spinach salad at the luncheon that I dropped by to say goodby to the honoree. They had all kinds of goodies: small chocolate cream tarts with whipped cream, a delicious pineapple upside-down cake (one of my favs), all kinds of yummy sandwiches, chips, etc. But I stuck to the salad and just a bit of the conserve, which I brought.

Tomorrow is my second time at the new workout place with the new trainer. I actually was a little sore around the torso/ribs area, and also in the "glutes". I did a rotary exercise on Tuesday there that was very hard and then about 50 reps on the leg press machine until it finally got hard to do. So that is why I'm sore. I think tomorrow will probably be an upper body day.

Pancho--I think that is so funny that you thought BOB was a guy. I can see how that could happen. Maybe BOB should be B.O.B. But that's too hard to type. I'm happy for you on getting to the gym. Doesn't it make you feel better!

Cindy--We miss you and hope you are doing OK.

Thin--Keep hangin in there. You can do it.

Country--Congrats on doing a good job with your eating. See how great it is to be back here. Good things happen!

Teensy--We miss you and hope you are doing OK.

Well, it's gettin on to 11 so I'd better sign off.

Checking in...the good news...another OP day done, the bad news...I've had more than my share of salt today and it's already starting to show(angry sigh), my eyes look a little puffy(and it's not even the next day yet) and although I've had 3 or 4 glasses of water since eating supper, I haven't peed! Not good. I would hate to see a gain right now, especially with barely being in the 160's(169). I ended up eating 2 plates at supper, which just added to the salt situation, but it was sooo good. My beans were awesome, tasted soooo illegal, but weren't and my coleslaw was just right(kinda sweet but tart), the fish, well I guess it was okay just too fishy,lol.

Jack-k- I already have a couple pairs of pants sitting on my quilt rack in my bedroom as a reminder. Even though I might see a fluid gain tomorrow, I'm not going to let it sabatoge what I'm doing here, I'll have to keep reminding myself that it's only fluid and will come off with another fat loss.

Check in tomorrow..

Hi all. Sorry Im lagging again. My sister arrived Wed from Colorado and weve really been on the run since she got here. Im sure things will be hectic up until Sunday night. Wed night we stayed up until 1:30 am working on a huge poster of pictures of my dads life ( friends, hobbies, family and such). We also decorated 3 memories books for people to write in and filled two small photos albums. Yesterday we went through more paperwork of Dads, drove down to the place thats holding the ceremony on Sunday and talked with them, came back and my sister started working on producing some more of dads Cds that we will have out on Sunday and I working on more paperwork. Today will be about the same. We have people arriving from out of town starting tomorrow so Ill be running like crazy then Sunday will be just a blurr Im sure. So maybe next Monday my life can get back to somewhat normal and I can get back to my routine.

The good thing is Ive gotton my exercise in , maybe not as many days as I did before but Ive added the gym in there and actually got more intense workouts but fewer of them. We have gone out to eat way too many times just for lack of being at home and on the run but Im proud to say I hit a new low this morning ( only 1/2 pound loss but Im claiming it).
So everything is actually going pretty good. Im doing much better at handling my loss of my dad. Its getting easier each day. Now I can have my memories and smile instead of cry.

I havnt had time to read the board for a week or so ,, so I hope everyone is doing well ! (((hugs)))

Good Morning! I peeked at the scale this morning...looks good! I was back down to my last low point, and I usually weigh even less later in the morning, so I feel encouraged. I am probably eating a lot less, since I am not eating snacks, but my meals are the same. I will be increasing the amount I eat at meals to balance it and to try and keep from getting too hungry between meals. I slept better last night too, so overall, I feel like there is something good for me in the principles of this book. Unfortunately, my back still is bothering me. Otherwise, I think I would feel pretty good.

CINDY: Thanks for stopping by and letting us know how you were! I hope the ceremony on Sunday goes well. :grouphug:

GATOR: If you come up here, let me know. I will drive down to Buckhead and pick you up and we can go play. Want to see the DeKalb Farmer's Market? :) Its not too far from there.... Right now, I don't know any reason why we might be out of town. Since you don't have room for all that conserve, make sure you bring a few quarts with you to Atlanta.... :s: :lol:

HEART: Have you ever tried an herbal diuretic? I wonder if that might help your water retention. You ought to stay off the scale since you know it will be up and just frustrate you anyway...put the $&$^ thing in the closet for a week....

THIN: I wondered about summer school...what do systems do that are year round? I guess if a kid fails, there is not opportunity to make it up in the summer! I took classes in summer school for fun a few times. They offered extra art classes and stuff. I remember taking a drama class, which was fun, if not a bit over my head. (I think I was the youngest kid in there) How are your kids liking school this year?

Time for me to make some espresso! :wave: Be back later!

Oh, today is my volunteer day at the church office, then I am meeting a young woman from church for lunch (I will have salad) so it will be later this afternoon before I can get back, probably! Forgot all about it being Friday! (duh!)

I have time to hop on here again, and post my breakfast: a smoothie made with 1 cup water, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1/4 cup fat free ricotta, 1.5 scoops whey protein, 1 T sweet almond oil, 2 T cocoa. (it actually was really good!) Espresso with cream.

Later! :wave:

Happy Friday :wave:

I am really dragging and no too sure I am looking forward to the weekend. We went out to DD house last night (40 minute drive) and started packing. After much discussion we have decided to move them on Sunday instead of next Saturday since SIL will be on-call at work. So tomorrow we will head back out there and pack up what we can and Sunday move most of it to storage.

Tonight we are going to SIL's parents for dinner for his birthday. I think we are having steak. I heard broccoli casserole and potato casserole. Hope there is a salad somewhere in there. I will pass on the cake for sure. I wish I had time to get out to Sam's (like Costco) and get some BBQ that is legal to take out there, but there is no time. Around 9 or so tonight we have to meet some friends and their son. It is his 21st birthday and he wants to start out celebrating with the adults at some bar. Then we will go to the Elks CLub. It is karoke night.

bf: protein bar, coffee
snack: clementine
lunch: tuna, SB crackers, clementine
Dinner: steak ......


Gator, sounds like you have a olot of feet problems too. The problem with that is you have to walk and it hurts. Nothing worse than your feet hurting. I thought your conserve was like jelly to spread on bread. I see my your menu you are just eating it as is????

County, you said eating has been light, what are you doing? Glad it is working for you.

Nat, way to get back on the exercise road. I think I may have to switch my TM until the evening since my foot seems to bothe me less as the day goes on. But it is hard to get it in at night with dinner and other things popping up all the time.

Thin you have a good job for a mom with kids. I think kids need time off in the summer, that's why I like the modified schedule. Hope all those sick kiddos don't give that stuff to you.

Teensy, hope things are ok with you and yours.

Laurie, that's the ole attitude. Good way of thinking. Can't let that stupid scale ruin all your good work. Have a good OP weekend.

Cindy, so glad you are doing better. Time is a healer of many things. Enjoy your family this weekend. Congrats on the loss and getting in your exercise.

Monet, :cheer: on the loss. It seems this is working for you. I'm glad.

Bob, hope nothing is wrong.

Be back later. Things are slow here today.

Hi guys. Just checking in briefly. I've been eating like a :ink: ...taking a really long break from watching what I eat. I won't get into my menu...but what I wanted to mention is the good news is that I haven't gained any weight! I haven't lost any, either, but why I'm mentioning it is that I'm confident that when I go back to losing after the kids go back to school and summer picnics are over, when I get to my goal, I'm really sure I won't gain the weight back. I mean, I'm not planning on eating pie every day, but being sensible. I didn't even want to mention this on here because some of us are having a hard time with gaining when they're dieting like crazy here I am saying, "oh...I'm eating like a pig and not gaining any weight..." BUT, this weight gain of mine a few years ago has played such a huge role in my lack of confidence, it's ruined my sex life (because I don't feel sexy enough to have sex) with my husband, and there've been times I won't go out in public because I think I'm too fat. BUT, now that I've lost the 25 I've lost and am half way to my goal...I'm eating 'normally', like occasionally having white bread or potato salad or a bowl of illegal ice cream...and the fact that I'm not gaining it back has been a test of mine, of sorts, to see if the weight is truly off for good...kind of like sniffing someone elses cigarette smoke after quitting to see if you still crave it or if it makes you sick, telling you that you are truly a non-smoker. So, this tells me that my weight gain in the late 90's was truly caused by stress and that it's gone for good. Does that make sense? I just keep weighing myself every single day to be sure I don't go past 160. And I haven't! Someone also told me that this isn't a bad thing, either to let my metabolism get used to my new weight before I lose the last 25 to my goal.

Just a couple more weeks of being 'bad' and then I'm going to go Atkins Phase 1 for a week to jump start my diet and to go 'cold turkey' on the empty/bad carbs. A little ketosis never hurt anyone for a short span...then it's back to Sugar Bustin!!

Okay...off to wash breakfast dishes. I'm bound and determined to play some games with my kids today. It's been oppressively hot for weeks on end here. I cannot stand it. But today it's 74, the air is clear and there is a glorious breeze coming in off the lake/river. My mom invited the kids to stay over tonight, so I'll be getting out the blender again for pina colada with my hubby! He's been out of town in VT for so many weeks this summer...it's so nice when he's home!! He told me he'll take me out to dinner. I'm pushing for Red Lobster...we'll see where he feels comfortable...he doesn't really like going out for dinner.

TTFN!! Kris

Well, I got on the scale this morning again, as I've been wanting to see how I would do with those 3 pounds I gained on my trip last week. Happy to say that I am now back to where I was before we left. :)

Monet--I'll be happy to bring some conserve if I come. :)
So is it true that his 5 key steps are to l. not snack, 2. exercise 3. eat breakfast, 4. don't eat sugar and junk food, and 5. I forget. (Maybe something to do with protein)?

Jackie--No, the conserve is like very chunky applesauce. The peaches are in chunks and because I leave the skins on the apples, they are more chunky also. Some of the apples cook down and there is a smooth applesauce-like consistency that holds the chunks of apples and peaches together. The chunks are very tender. The peaches I used were very tart-sweet, and the Granny Smith apples were also tart/sweet, so I added about 1/3 cup Splenda to the 12 quart mixture in the pot and added about 1 T. of nutmeg to the mixture too. That flavored it just perfectly, and it tastes rich and sweet with just the right amount of tartness. It's perfect just served cold by itself, maybe as a dessert or perhaps as a side dish. I am guessing that it is about 50 calories per 1/2 cup, just like unsweetened applesauce. It probably has more fiber than applesauce, because of the apple skins.

I'm having my DS and his "family" (live in GF and her 2 kids) over for dinner to celebrate the start of school next Monday. Sort of a party for the kids, as we are trying to be so nice to their mother and our son. So, the menu is: ta da
Hamburgers on the grill on regular hamburger buns, with all the trimmings
Potato chips
Baked beans
Fresh peach shortcake, with ice cream and Cool whip and biscuits as the "cake"
That is a SB nightmare! I am gonna make sure my hamburger is legal, on SGWW bread, and will have a small salad for myself. I will eat the fresh peaches, but I LOVE!!!!! shortcake. I'm gonna have to think about that one and mull it over to see how I will handle that. Any suggestions for having a LEGAL shortcake??

I'm gonna go walk now. It is 10:30 and hot, but I want to get my steps in and this is the time I have.

http://tickers.TickerFactory.com/ezt/d/3;44;126;0;1/c/168/t/120/s/173/k/2000/weight.png

O....M......G..... I'm having the most fabulous sandwich I've ever had (well, there was that Rueben sandwich in Tupper Lake... :s: )...I'm only telling you guys about it because it's legal, legal, legal. Suddenly, my tomato plants have been pumping out red-orange tomatoes to beat the band...so I just made a tomato sandwich on sourdough bread and two slices of london broil roast beef (from the deli) and low cal mayo. I don't know what it is about this sandwich, but it is soooo good. The combo of the tomato, beef and twang of the sourdough..everything is playing together beautifully. Darn...I wish I could have home-grown tomatoes all year!!

Kris

Good Morning everyone:

I am doing piles of laundry....how does it add up so fast? :lol: . That reminds me of an e-mail I rec'd that I will put in a separate post, so this one is not too long. We have nothing to do today until tumbling, so I will do laundry and clean up the house; the toilets really need cleaning, but I keep putting that one off.

I am also gathering up some stuff to take to a local food bank. The St. Mary's food bank here lost a lot of food due to storm damage earlier in the week.....they got a huge hole in the roof and rain flooded in and destroyed a lot of their inventory. I sent an e-mail to all the moms in my Mom's Club to try to get a sizeable donation to take there.

I was at 123# this morning, so I've gotta get back on the eating right bandwagon. I am going to keep up with the exercise as well, now that I am back on track.

My DH and I are going out on Saturday. It has been thirteen years since we went on our first date back on August 7, 1992 after meeting at the gym. I'm not sure what we will do, probably just go out to dinner or something....I'm hoping for PF Changs.

BOB: Hope all is fine!!

Thin: I'm sure you'll get spoiled with that school schedule. What a nice job for you to have with young children; how ideal!

Gator: Wow, you have been busy. What a nice gift idea. I think BOB should just change name to BOBO; that is how I always type it in when I am doing replies :lol: . It feels great getting back to the gym, and I am not as sore as I thought I'd be. I'm glad you have dropped that vacation weight; way to go. I say, if you are good all day and eat an otherwise SB meal...then have a small slice of cake with your fresh peaches sliced up on it.

Heart: Fish taste too fishy? :lol: Why I have never heard of such a thing! Your dinner sounds good. Sorry you are so puffy. Stay away from the scale until MMM. AND, be a good girl this weekend!! Maybe we can get some motivation going for the weekend....maybe give ourselves a $ in a jar for each day we are good over the weekend, and then after a few months, we can go buy a little something for ourselves. OR, we can get real competitive on here....any ideas?

Cindy: Take the time that you need! We have just been thinking about you and wondering how you've been holding up. Glad you have your sister here to help you with everything. Exercise is a great stress buster; glad you've been able to make time for it during these difficult times.

Monet: Good think you didn't eat anymore last night; it paid off on the scale today. Have a great day and a fun lunch. You stay so busy.

Jack: Gheez, you are one of the busiest social butterflies I "know." It's so hard to exercise at night...it's tough to get motivated anyhow, and then with all the distractions, it's not an easy task. BUT, you've gotta take care of that foot and do whatever you have to.

Tech: I hear what you are saying, and I understand...but trust me, it does eventually catch up to you. I have been maintaining my weight for over two years now, and I can eat whatever I want for weeks on end, and then one day I get on the scale, and I am waaay up; it's like it catches up overnight. I think that once you meet your goal, that you can have anything you want, in moderation. I think moderation is the key. I don't NOT let myself have anything that I want anymore. Although, when I first started this woe, I was 100% OP and didn't allow myself ANYTHING I shouldn't until I was very close to goal. I also weigh everyday, and once I see those numbers start to go up at all, I get right back on track. I've worked way too hard to let the weight come back on. I am sure that you gained the weight due to where you were in your life at the time. My weight gain was due to pregnancy, but didn't come right back off when the babies came. I was 152# 8 months after Lane was born, and knew it wasn't going to come off on its' own. I don't think I'd get back up to where I was before without getting preg. again. BUT, I do know that I could easily gain 5-10 pounds without too much effort. You also seem to be pretty active, and stay busy, and that helps keep the weight off as well. It's so nice that your kids stay with Grandma so you and DH can have some much needed quiet time together.

Gotta go check on laundry. I will post the e-mail that I got here in a minute.

Have a great OP day.
Nat

O.K. I know it is Friday Funnies....and this would be a better entry for Wonderful Wednesday....but I thought it would be a good way to start the weekend. I rec'd this on e-mail yesterday, and although the premise is simple, it is really something to think about on a daily basis.

I AM THANKFUL.....

For the wife who says it's hot dogs tonight, because she is home with me and not out with someone else.

For the husband who is on the sofa being a couch potato, because he is home with me and not out at the bars.

For the teenager who is complaining about doing the dishes, because it means she is at home and not out on the streets.

For the taxes I pay, because it means I am employed.

For the mess to clean after a party, because it means I have been surrounded by friends.

For the clothes that fit a little too snug, because it means I have enough to eat.

For my shadow that watches me work, because it means I am out in the sunshine.

For a lawn that needs mowing, windows that need cleaning, and gutters that need fixing because it means I have a home.

For all the complaining I hear about the government, because it means we have freedom of speech.

For the parking spot I find at the far end of the parking lot, because it means I am capable of walking and I have been blessed with transportation.

For my Huge heating bill, because it means that I am warm.

For the lady behind me in church who sings off key, because it means I can hear.

For the pile of laundry and ironing, because it means I have clothes to wear.

For weariness and aching muscles at the end of the day, because it means I have been capable of working hard.

For the alarm that goes off in the early morning hours, because it means I am ALIVE!

And finally, for too much e-mail, because it means that I have friends who are thinking of me.

Have a great day!!!
Nat

Hey everyone! I am back from lunch. I had water to drink and a salad with grilled chicken. It was really good! It had avocado and cheese, tomatoes and cucumbers diced in it. I used all the herb vinaigrette they brought me, but it was thankfully not sweet, and supposedly made with olive oil. (though I am not too sure!) I had a wonderful time talking with the young lady I was with...she is talented, beautiful and so sweet! Not only that, but generous too, as she insisted on picking up the tab!


GATOR: No, his five points are: 1. Never eat after dinner 2. Eat three meals a day, NO snacks. 3. Do not eat large meals 4. Eat protein for breakfast and 5. Eat less carbohydrates. Several of them are common sense, like eat smaller meals, and less carbs, but the second one, no snacking, goes against the popular stance of eating numerous small meals a day to keep the metabolism revved up. His explanation about how the insulin/leptin system works shows that it better to let the body have a break that is long enough for it to do the things it needs to do...like the liver needs to replenish its glycogen stores and that takes 4-5 hours! I think for someone like my husband, who is a body builder, the more frequent meals are good, but someone like me, with insulin problems, the break makes sense. I will give it a few weeks, and we can judge from how I do if he knows what he is talking about or not. :)

PANCHO: Oh! Happy Anniversary of your first date! Ours is the Tuesday before Thanksgiving...and the anniversary of our first kiss is January 14! or was it the 16th? :lol: Have fun! And you are one to talk about someone being busy! :)

TECH: Have fun tonight, but don't over do it on those PCs! I love Red Lobster! Its so easy to stay legal there! Just watch out for the cheese biscuits! If I could pass them up, you can do it too! :yes: Just don't get the Italian dressing...it was so sweet!

JACK: Have fun at the birthday party! Could you feign a headache and let everyone else do all the moving over the weekend? :lol: Please don't over do it! I hope your foot continues to improve.

I am going to go knit.... later! :wave:

Me again,

I've been so bored today, I have been on line playing Texas Hodlem. I won 3 hands too!

We had a strange storm here. It thunder so loudly, and at the airport it stormed severely. We are building a airline hangar and the winds blew it down and mangled the steel. Sounds more like a tornado to me. But we never got a drop at the office and we are only 5 miles away. Strange.

Almost time to run home. Not looking forward to dinner with SIL's parents, but it is one of those things you have to do.


Tech, I'm glad you "vacation" from SB is working for you. Good analogy with the smoking. I'm off plan 1 day and gained 5 lbs. Lucky you. Just be careful it appears all at once. Have fun with DH tonight and the pina coladas. Have one for me.

Gator, now I understand how you eat it by itself. I saw some SF angle food cake at Krogers. it was a little coarse, but it worked as short cake for me. Congrats on getting back to pre-vacation wt.

Nat, enjoy your anniversary dinner. We are getting a PF Changs here in a week or so. Can't wait to try it. The girls at work say the same thing about my social life. Cute email.

Monet, you had a lovely lunch and free to. Wow what a day. Those are some good points. Common sense, but then we don't use much sense do we sometimes?

Bob???? I'm going to miss your reason for not being on here.


Have a great weekend, talk to you Monday.

Monet--Those were all good points. The one about eating small meals reminds me of the SB book where he talks about serving yourself enough to only fit in the middle of the plate, the flat part, without anything hanging over onto the raised edges. That would certainly be a small meal. If one just followed those 5 steps, they would certainly lose weight simply for the reduced calories. Three small meals a day is not very much, if you are eating whole foods, veggies and fruits.
Your lunch sounds delicious. How nice of your friend.

I bought some "back to school" gifts for the 2 boys: some glue, pads, markers, pens, etc. I tried to get each boy age specific stuff, and I got each a pad to write down the books they read this year. If they read enough good books, I will give them a prize at the end of the year. Now, I'm off to make placemats. I think I will just use newspaper and write stuff on it with magic markers. We probably will use plastic plates and cups--I have some really colorful, multi-colored ones. Then will fix the shortcake and beans.

I bought some light SF ice cream and I think I will have my peaches on that, maybe with 1/2 of a shortcake biscuit. It will be a little off plan, but only the biscuit is not legal. Hope everyone has a great Friday evening.

Pancho--Congrats on your "anniversary." You all should go to the gym for a workout to celebrate where you met. Thanks for the "funny." It was good.

Cindy--Thanks for checking in. We are all thinking about you. I know the service for you dad is going to be wonderful. What a special thing you and your sister are doing. Those good memories are precious, aren't they.

Evening everyone... I sure need to get on the board more often. I'm so behind and can never reply to everyone. Did my grocery shopping today. So I restocked on healthy stuff. I'm still hungry shortley after eating no matter how much I eat. Hopefully I'll get over that. Does anyone know what causes it? B- 2 boiled eggs, V8 juice, snack- nuts Lunch-leftover hamburger and cabbage casserole, sm. salad. D- grilled chicken, salad. snack-fudgebar. I can't believe I've made it this many days. One more week of this and then back to Sugar Busters where I can have fruit and some ww bread. Our town has a big trail ride with people coming with their horses and campers. Well it starts this week end and theres supposed to be 9000 people in town. They always have country singers and this year its George Jones. Our little town of less than 600 will be packed. Glad I live out in the country away from town. Hope everyone has a great evening...

Forgot page 4 and went back and read it. Heartmom thanks for the recipe, I'd forgotten about that one, I'll have it next week. Jack-K- I'm going to try and do this two weeks. I sure hope I can. I'm already sick of salads. Thank you everyone for the encouragement....

EVENING EVERY BUDDY!!!


Well...here goes.....I think I told y'all that we were getting a new CEO and she is not only a woman, but a nurse too! So far, everything is geared toward the nurses, and those of us who bring in the money so the NURSES can work! We have yet to meet her and she's been here since May 15th!
All of her President's Page memo's are directed toward the Nurses and never a mention about us.
WELL....Tuesday, the tapping on the shoulders started~! They did 63 lay offs and 30 empty positions that won't be filled.
We lost a very good worker because they did away with her job (Lead Scheduler) and sent her on her merry way! Both she and her husband really need the medical coverage and I don't know how they will handle everything out of their pocket!
It's been a very somber week and although we've gotten a lot of work done by being focused, we just are MAD AS ****!!
On the bright side, our Manager (the new boss) has said that she will hire her back just as soon as she can. She will probably have to take a small pay cut, but at least she will have her benefits!
SO...BOB along with everyone else...well...let's put it this way...on Tuesday, we had a new person start in scheduling and in the same breath, laid off Connie! Doesn't make sense! :nono:
We've heard there will be more in about 4 weeks, so now we have to sweat until then! Please, keep your fingers and toes crossed that we don't get hit again....I've got a feeling in my gut and it ain't pretty!

Sorry, once again I just don't have it in me to post replies...BUT...I'll get some in over the weekend.

BOB

BOB--We are all keeping our fingers, toes, arms and legs crossed for you.

Toni--Hang in there. Maybe you can just add more veggies, larger salads, a little more oil, to keep you satisfied.

I didn't do all that great at dinner tonight. My husband was way late. His plane from the capitol was delayed and he got here close to 7 rather than 5 like he had planned. So we were all hungry. Everyone but my DH was here by 5:45, so I broke out the chips for munching, and succummed a little myself. Not whole hog like I used to do, but probably a couple hundred calories worth. I did stick with my little hamburger on WW bread, and had a salad, but had about 1/4 cup baked beans. They were good. Then I had 1/2 biscuit topped with some peaches, NS ice cream and a dab of lite cool whip. Normally I would have had real whipped cream, but my DS and his "family" prefer the cool whip. So, not too good, but not horrible either. I kept the peaches, but gave away all the chips that were left over, as well as the cool whip and the white hamburger buns. I still have the ice cream, and thought it was pretty good. It was Breyers. I think it was made with Splenda.

Have a good weekend, everyone.

BOB: Wow...sounds like a horribly stressful week for you...I hope you are taking LOTS of Vitamin C for that... BIG hugs...I just don't know what to say! :(

TONI: Inappropriate hunger is caused usually by too much insulin. Once you get off the sugar and starches for a few days, it SHOULD calm down. Drink some cold water, and it might help. Protein and good fats are helpful too. You might want to have say three egg whites, and a one whole egg, skip the V-8, and have some berries, or even some veggies for the fiber, and add in there some good fat, like olive oil. The V-8 is just juice, and while its veggie juice, it has no fiber to help you feel full.

Here's a SATURDAY FUNNY for y'all!!!

A MAN WITH ONE ARM


There was a man who lost one of his arms in an accident. He became very depressed because he had loved to play guitar and a lot of things that took two arms. One day he had had it. He decided to commit suicide. He got on an elevator and went to the top of a building to jump off. He was standing on the ledge looking down and saw this man skipping along, whistling and kicking up his heels. He looked closer and saw this man didn't have any arms at all. He started thinking, what am I doing up here feeling sorry for myself, I still have one good arm to do things with. There goes a man with no arms skipping down the sidewalk happy and going on with his life.

He hurried down and caught the man with no arms. He told him how glad he was to see him because he had lost one of his arms and felt ugly and useless and was going to kill himself. He thanked him again for saving his life and he knew he could make it with one arm if that guy could go on with no arms. The man with no arms began dancing and whistling and kicking up his heels again.

He asked, "Why are you so happy anyway? "

He said, "I'm NOT happy; my arse itches."


BOB

Just a flyby... Breakfast was a smoothie made with 1 cup water, 1/2 cup frozen blueberries, 1 T cocoa, 1/4 cup ff ricotta cheese, and 1.5 scoops whey protein. I had two cups of espresso...one before breakfast, and one with neighbor while we visited at a coffee shop near here. Lunch was a can of tuna made into a salad with homemade mayo, celery, and dill relish, and water to drink.

I am about to run to Costco and Harry's for milk and frozen chicken and strawberries. :)

Later! :wave:

Hello everyone.... I think I've had enough of phase 1 on South Beach. I'm going back to Sugar Busters. I did get rid of the sugar cravings like I wanted to. But need to eat some fruit and grains. I hope I've done well when I weigh in. You ladies are right I need a little more fat and stuff in my diet. Hopefully this has put me on the right track... B- 2 eggs, 2 turkey bacon S-a little bit of mixed nuts L- Low carb soup S-String cheese D-loin pork chop and salad then later a fudge pop. sweetened with splenda. We had a heck of a storm here today. I'm just now getting on the computer, we lost our power even! But boy did we need some rain.

Hi all,
I'm still hanging around...lol. I have been so busy I haven't had time to post. I will be able to post in a few days after hubby goes back to work. We have just been so busy with running here and there and have been busy at church. Eating has not been pretty with all the running around. Drank to many diet cokes to. We are fine. Will be back on track as soon as the dust settles.....lol. Everyone have a great weekend and take care of yourselves.

Back from Costco and Harry's...just went swimming, before the big storm hit! Now its raining pretty hard and all dark and gray out. Dinner is almost done: pot roast made in the pressure cooker with onion celery and mushroom gravy, and roasted asparagus. I slipped up and ate four or five olives as I was putting stuff away when I got home...but I am not going to worry about it. :)

Later! :wave:

Ok, dinner was a hu-giant serving of pot roast, roasted asparagus, a spoonful of mustard greens, about 1/4 cup ww noodles with mushroom gravy from the pot roast and I splurged and had a diet 7up.

I feel thinner...which is probably crazy, but I do! I am actually looking forward to MMM to see what the verdict for the week will be! :)

Sweet dreams!

Okay...well...so THAT was fun. My weeks of chaotic eating are OVER. I'm up to 161. That might not seem like much, but the little puffiness in my upper abs, just below my bra line, is coming back. Can't have that. But, I'm glad I had this time...it lets me know a little about what I can get away with...how fragile my weight is now that I'm knocking on 40's door. My body definitely can't take what it used to when I was 20-something, that's for sure!!

So, today I'm making my last potato salad and then it's Atkins/South Beach for one week to give myself a jump start and then it's back to only legal fare for me!! I was kind of hoping to not have to do this until after the 21st....I have TWO family reunions...one on my mom's side of the family and one on my dad's...on the same day and there will be dozens of illegal dishes there. Last time I went to one of these, I was on Atkins and sat there with a hot dog with no bun and that was IT!! We'll see how I feel by then. I may just stay legal for the weeks till then and then have one day of reckless abandon at the buffets. :lol: I'm definitely not going to just sit there with a naked hot dog again, THAT's for sure!! :s:

Anyhow....I'm jealous of you guys with the storms...we had the one last week. Did I mention that storm produced a tornado about an hour southeast of here? And a microburst-type straight-line wind about 20 mins away? I knew it was 'otherworldly' when it came through here. Very powerful!!

Okay...off to go get more coffee. Happy Sunday, everyone!!

Kris

TECH: I would not wish the storm that went through a closer in neighborhood on anyone... Some friends of ours were pulling into their driveway after a going away party for the friend who was riding in the back seat when a huge sweet gum tree was struck by lightning and fell on the car, crushing the rear end. The roof caved in on the young woman, and she is probably going to have to have surgery to stabilize her spine. She was supposed to leave for graduate school Monday.... guess that is not happening now! Thankfully, that was the most serious injury. I am sorry you were up and had to put the brakes on the free eating. Maybe you could just try a few of these five Leptin principles, and see what they do for you?! Like no snacking, no eating after dinner, and eating protein for breakfast.

Monet: Wow...I definitely don't like storms like THAT!! Bleh...that's really messed up! And very scary. You guys definitely have much stronger storms then we have up here. As much as I love the looming darkness and drama of an incoming storm, if I experienced a storm like they have in the south...or saw a tornado for myself...I'd have to be taken to the hopital for the heart attack I'd have :( Did I mention that we had a tornado in my neighborhood when I was in 4th grade? I didn't actually see it, but was in school when it hit, around the corner from my house. The tornado went between my house and my school. I've had tornado nightmares ever since. Less so as I get older, but when I was little, I used to have dreams of actually being hunted down by a tornado and being terrified. Tornadoes are very, very rare in NYS...we maybe get one all summer...maybe two. And they are very small and short-lived. But when they happen, it's big news, that's for sure!! Even if it's hundreds of miles away. I'm way up by Canada, but if Binghamton gets a tornado...which is by Pennsylvania...it's big news even up here! Whereas, I get the impression that if I lived in Kansas, it would be like, "oh, yeah...there was a tornado a couple blocks over...did you hear?" The biggest deal we had was in 2000 a small tornado hit the NYS Fair in Syracuse...thankfully, I think, before it was open or something, because no fair-goers were there, just some vendors and one man was killed. Imagine, being the one man killed by a tornado in Central New York...some luck! Same as a picture I saw of a house about to be obliterated by a tornado in Germany. Imagine THAT person's luck...as far as I know, I don't think that Germany is exactly known for their tornadic activity!!

Oh...and how was this for protien for breakfast...three pork sausages and two poached eggs on WW toast! Also, I rethought my 'no carb' week for next week. I looked in the fridge and have way too many yummy things like strawberries and grapes and legal plain yogurt that will spoil if I don't eat them this week...so starting tomorrow, it's legal sugar busters fare...not necessarily no-carb fare. Produce and other food is to expensive to let it go to waste.

Okay...enough rambling...have to go wash dishes...Kris

Howdy ya'll. Eating has been pretty decent this weekend. I love that we weigh in on Mondays now. That makes me think twice about what I put in my mouth over the weekend. When we were at Krogers yesterday and they had Pringles on sale. I'm like Pavlov's (can't spell) dog...my mouth started to water. But my sweet husband knows I am struggling with the chips and told me the other night to just not have them in the house. Which is awesome because I think I would cave. I feel bad not having them for him and kiddos but I'm happy to not have them around.

Monet...I am praying for that poor girl hurt in the storm. That is just terrible. Awesome on feeling thinner! Weight loss is way more than just pounds. It's pounds, clothes and how you feel.

Kris...WTG keeing an eye on yoru weigth and not letting it get out of hand. Trust me, at least for me they are much harder to get off each time we put them on. I agree about not letting the fruit and veggies go bad. I think your body will show you good results just being SB legal.

Toni...I would have a hard time following Adkins. I'm a veggie freak. My friend told me that she couldn't eat tomatoes when she was on Adkins...I think they can eat them but sparingly....I wouldn't make it..LOL I eat whole tomatos at a sit. I hope your hunger gets better this week. I've increased my water and it's helped me a lot.


Bob...praying you dont' lose your job.

Love and hugs,
Crystle

Howdy all and Happy Sunday. Just having a good ole lazy Sunday. I am doing a couple loads of wash and a few things around the house but other than that its pretty laid back here. I collect baby dolls and have been looking at a few sites I like to go to. And trying to not spend a bunch of money. Well for B- 2 scrambled eggs, 2 turkey bacon, V8 juice. S- Nuts L- South Beach frozen dinner S-String cheese D- Barbequed pork tenderloin and a green salad. Dessert fudge bar.

GOOD SUNDAY AFTERNOON ALL YOU BUDDYS!!

It's a dreary day here on the West Coast of FLA....it's raining (which we need)
and I'm doing laundry (as usual) and watching the two hour opening segment of BEACH GIRLS on Lifetime. This will be on every Sunday for 5 weeks..so far, so good....anyone watching???

My nerves are at their worst, so I've broken out the Flexeril to take the edge off. I didn't sleep at all Friday night...I just can't get Connie off my mind, plus the worry of the next 4 weeks.

Once again, THANKS TO ALL MY BUDDY'S!!! ...what would I do without all of you!! :grouphug:

BOB

Flying by before church... Lunch was a bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwich on ww bread, and a diet 7up, with a handful of olives. That is the first bread I have eaten in a month. It sure tasted goooooood! I LOVE BLTs. I figured its tomato season and I was not going to let it go by with out at least 1 blt! I packed up about 15 pounds of tomatoes into small bags to give out at church tonight. :) I feel like the tomato fairy or something....

:wave: