Hey folks, I'm checking in on our quiet thread!

Life is basically the same, still eating the same way, still trying to cut down on the drinking days (my BFF and I drank wine last night to celebrate her 34th birthday, eek!), but all in all no changes. I don't know if my motivation is just not there or what the heck my problem is.

I swear one of these days I'm going to wake up and feel that crazy adrenaline knowing that "this is the time" but it doesn't seem to come. I really did love that one year of my life that I got down to a low weight. It was an amazing feeling to put on jeans and tees and not feel like I needed to be overly dressed to make up for my body, but I hardly ate and worked out like a fiend to get there. Maybe I'm meant to be in the top normal BMI instead of the low or middle...maybe that's just an excuse.

Checking in too. Today was weekly weigh-in day and I'm down another .6 lb. Not real significant but certainly better than going in the other direction. Ran some errands yesterday with DH and he suggested lunch at Applebee's (he's been paying attention to food commercials again.) I had a shrimp pasta dish and enjoyed every glorious garlic-y moment. Made sure for dinner that we had a big bowl of Miracle Weight Loss Soup (basically WW Cabbage Soup) with one corn muffin and enjoyed that, too.

Summer fruits are arriving at my supermarket, yay! I bought something new to me, a "Santa Claus" melon. It looks like a cross between a cantaloupe and a football. Haven't tried it yet so I have no idea what it tastes like. None of the checkers on duty had ever seen one before but I figured since it was the same price as cantaloupe it was worth a try.

I also bought frozen okra a few days ago so I have to dig back in this thread and find that recipe for baked okra ...

Ladynredd, how was the melon?!


I'm just making sure our thread doesn't die - it's so quiet here lately. I'm still on the grind, still pissed off that summer "suddenly" came and I have "nothing" to wear, and no changes. I guess this will be another year of absolutely zero growth. SIIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHH

Just wanted to share a recipe I plan to make soon - it looks awesome!

Ground turkey and spaghetti squash curry

That recipe does look good, Munchy. I've pinned it but will have to locate green curry paste before I can make it.

Unfortunately my Santa Claus melon got too ripe -- it was actually fermenting when I cut it open! It smelled like it would be close to a cantaloupe but I think from now on I'll stick to cantaloupe as I know how to tell if they are ripe. I did NOT like having to chuck a 2-lb. melon in the trash!

Good morning, all. I'd like to introduce myself. I've just begun my most current weight loss journey. I had never heard of Volumetrics until Mrs. Snark, another member on this forum, suggested it to me. This way of eating sound exactly like what I am currently doing. I went to the doctor on May 21 and he put me on an 800 calorie per day diet. In order to keep from starving, I accidentally started my own Volumetrics diet plan. As of this morning, I am down 18 lbs. I plan on going through this entire thread and taking advantage of your wonderful experiences and recipes. It's very nice to meet you all!

I have a recipe to share. As a child, I always enjoyed it when my mother made sauerkraut and weiners. This is the recipe that I adapted to fit my new diet.

1 10 oz Can Shredded Sauerkraut
1 Bell Pepper sliced
1 Onion sliced
3 oz Hillshire Farm Turkey Smoked Sausage
1/2 C Water

Combine all ingredients and bring to a rolling boil. Then, reduce to simmer for 20 minutes.

Lots of food for only 265 calories. You could add a dash of hot sauce if that's your flavor, or a pinch of Splenda if you wanted to tone down the Sauerkraut flavor, but to me it is not overpowering.

Edit: I drain the excess water off before I eat it so that it's not like a soup.

Munchy: I know you have veggies and dip everyday. I came across a delicious new salad dressing from Trader Joe's...parmesan ranch. Only 30 calories for 2 tablespoons!

PS. Did you ever try the roasted okra?

Welcome to our little thread, HeeHaw Honey!

I love Hillshire Farms sausages. I'll have to give your recipe a try.

Found this recipe this morning for Spicy Cauliflower Stirfry. I haven't tried it yet but it sounds good!
http://completerecipes.com/-Spicy-Ca...ml?back_url=./

Ahh, I completely forgot to pull it out from the depths of my freezer - I'll do that soon. I plan to stop by TJ to grab some kerrygold butter, so I'll buy the parmesan ranch at the same time - thank you!

Welcome HeeHawHoney! We love to have more participants in this thread, especially because it basically is an easy tool of pretty much any diet - WW, calorie counting, low carb, paleo, etc.

The recipe you shared looks amazing. I'll have to try that one too! I have a raw fermented sauerkraut that I really want to use up before it goes bad, and so I can get the digestive healing properties.

Hi all, I'm back!

Great vacay and lost a bunch of weight thanks to all the walking and Euro eating. I have to say that I really attribute a lot of it to staying in an apartment-hotel where I could cook and keep vegetables and fruit on hand. Next to impossible to find restaurants that served a good amount of veggies. Where we were in Marseille and Antibes, they focus on the protein and carbs. Not even a side salad to be found.

Hope everyone is doing well. When I have time I will check up on all of your posts. Missed this board a lot. I have some great food ideas to share with you.

Peace & Hugs

Munchy: Sending you energy and motivation vibes --------->

Is there something non-weight related in your life that you aren't satisfied with? You don't have to answer me, I'm just saying because that's what happened to me. I discovered that there is something in my life that wasn't making me happy and that directly affected my attitude, thus my weight. Since then, the switch was flicked and I have been losing steadily as my motivation for many things is back.

Your recipe is on my meal plan for this week!

ladynredd: Oh, that's happened to me. I don't like to throw away food either, but sometimes the timing is off - way off. lol I'm going to try to find that melon and will report my findings.

I hear what you said about it being easier to make sensible choices with few cravings. On this trip I was faced with my carb demons (cruel France! lol). I had little trouble taking a small taste of something and putting it down - still feeling satisfied with a taste. This saved $ too! lol

HeeHaw: Welcome & nice job! Nice to meet you too! I love turkey kielbasa. I love that the meat has so very few WW points. The flavor really satisfies, doesn't it? Going to have to make this soon.

Larry: So sorry that you have to deal with this disease. At least you are already on the road to better health in other areas to slow the process. I love Hungry Girl. I am going to make that cauliflower 'potato' salad recipe as it sounds de-lish!

Absolutely - despite having two promotions back to back, I still feel like I'm not at my full education/work potential. I'm much more financially comfortable than I was and I finally got some things done that really were nagging at me, but I don't feel the anger and burn to work hard to change my body. I'm getting complacent as I enter my mid-30's. As a 20 year old, it was easy to find time and effort because I was so ANGRY. I compared myself to the "sorority girl/bikini spring breaker" and I was so hurtful to myself. Now that I'm older and I'm a parent, it's much easier to put everyone else ahead of myself and just let myself go.

I don't want to be just good enough, I want to be a better version of myself, and that means health should be a priority! Making my body do what I need to is difficult for me. It's like a roadblock that I just can't figure out.

I'm trying to concentrate right now on portion control -- noticed that I was beginning to slip into the mindless snacking habit -- a dozen almonds here, an extra squirt of salad dressing there -- and my rate of weight loss was getting slower and slower. That frustrates me and when I get frustrated enough, I quit.

Last time I went grocery shopping I picked up some very cute little eggplant, so today for lunch I chopped up 3/4 of one of them (a whole one would not fit in my Stone Wave crock) and zapped it for 5 or 6 minutes, then added a spoonful of Prego and a measured amt. of shredded mozarella. Added a green salad with an entire tomato (all mine, all mine!) and it made a very satisfying lunch. A big chicken breast is defrosting and will become chicken stir fry (for two) for dinner.