Good Morning everyone,

Where is everybody at? I hope that everyone had a great weekend and is ready for a terrific week. I went and weighed in today after about 2 1/2 weeks being off plan. I was up 8 lbs. I was not surprised. I have slipped into a state of depression over our situation at the moment and the victim was chocolate over the weekend. I am going to try to get back on plan today and stay there. One of the interviews my DH went on last week is supposed to let us know something by the end of the week and he has an interview tomorrow. Please keep us in ya'lls prayers. I told DH if something doesn't come up by the end of the week that I was going to find a temporary job. I'm not sure what we will do with the kids but I don't want to get any further behind than we are. Well, enough about that.

I just wanted to check in and see how everyone was doing. I will try to check in later.

Dionne, Just get back on plan and those pounds will be history soon. Usually if I have been off plan, I will gain 4-5 pounds just from salty food and retaining water, so it might not be so bad after you get back on track. With all those interviews, you DH is likely to find something soon. You haven't been back from vacation all that long. It is so quiet here lately.

I've been just allowing myself way too many exceptions to the plan, and it has gotten out of control. I'm doing a TO just trying to get my focus back. I don't know what it is about holiday weekends that makes me think that those calories don't really count.

Morning everyone!! Did you all have a good 4th of July?

Hey there Dionne!

Will definetely be sending along good thoughts, prayers and vibes... I know what it's like to be in your DH's position.. Every day can be tough, but you can stick it out..

I know it can also be easy to lose focus on staying on plan during times like these, as many of us are emotional eaters.. I still catch myself wanting to hit a drive through after a tough day.. Totally normal reaction, believe me.

But you have to think "big picture" when it comes to stuff like that.. After indulging on foods we shouldn't during times of stress, will that momentary joy really make things better, or just add to the depression we're feeling?

Eyes on the prize as it were.. Take those small dietary victories to help get through the days when things seems somewhat bleak... YOU CAN DO IT!!!

Hope you all had a great weekend.. It was too fast for us, as always, but we had a great time hanging out with the neighbors on the 4th, watching the older kiddos set fire to things!

Have a great week and stick to it!!

Hi Everyone!

I hope that everyone had a good 4th of July. I spent my weekend out on the boat and I feel like all I did was eat. I managed to only gain a couple of pounds and end up where I started. The only thing that saved me was the fact that my boyfriend walk at least 3 miles every day if not more.

Now I just have to get on track! Does anyone have any suggestions on how to stay on track? I love ice cream and chocolate, so I have a hard time saying no. In fact, I try to use my bars as my chocolate fix for the day. Unfortunately, sometimes that just is not enough to curb my cravings. Even harder, I do not have a COD anymore. My COD was great, but I needed for someone to "yell" at me so I would stay on track.

Help!
Heather

Ok Heather.. First you have to nail down how you get your chocolate fix.. Is this something you have laying around the house in the pantry? If so, get rid of it.. If it's in the house, you'll eat it..

Or do you just give in and run to the store on an impulse and buy it? If so, CUT IT OUT!! You're wasting gas and giving in... Visualize how good it will feel to drive by the gas station or the store without stopping for a fix.. It's a great feeling when you go by without stopping...

A little ice cream, as long as it's fat free with no added sugar is ok, but don't buy a big bucket... As for chocolate, there are sugar free brands you can buy and eat on occasion.. Just don't go through the whole bag at once.

Ok.. So you let it go over the holiday.. Let it go and get back up on the horse... If you dwell on screwing up, you'll just end up feeling like crap... Don't beat yourself up, just do better...

This can be done without a COD.. Mine shut down 6 months before I reached my goal.. If I can do it, anyone can!

Good Morning and Happy Tuesday!

Dan...Thank you so much for your help! I don't leave chocolate, ice cream, cookies, etc. in my house because I will eat it. Instead, I will run to the store if I am having one of those cravings that just won't go away until I just eat it. I am going to get back on the wagon today! I have been eating the Luna bars, but I think I need to find a bar that has more of a chocolate flavor for my afternoon bar.

Well, I have to get ready for my second day of summer school. I am teaching math for the next weeks to a group of 27 seventh graders. I love what I do, but I will need what little is left of my summer vacation by the end of summer school. I will check in later today!

Heather

Hi again!

Really quick before I hop in the shower, does anyone know how to figure out the if a recipe is a starch, veg, protein etc? I have all of my old cookbooks and my favorite recipes, but I would like to know what the breakdown is.

I am planning to make dinner tonight and I have a recipe for chicken enchiladas, but I don't know how I would translate that into LAWL.

Any suggestions?

Thanks,
Heather

Morning everyone! I hope you are all having a good week. Last night of freecycle I got a set of twin bunk beds for my girls' room that look brand new. How great is that?

Hey all. good to see everyone had a good holiday. I am going to my cod in a bit around lunch time... gulp. I had an okay weekend, my main goal was to stay on water and I did that. My birthday is coming up next week... good thing I'm not a cake girl - never really cared for the stuff- but we are going to Red Robin... I will need to sit away from the bottomless fries without a doubt. lol.
have a great rest of the day... off to get some actual work done. yay.

Morning all... Well, all of you who are here...

Heather.. Post your recipe and I'll try to break it down for you... Enchiladas are dangerous territory and I've basically had to give them up.. The problem isn't just the ingredients, but the portion size.. Without seeing how you prepare them, I'd venture a guess at 2 starches, 1 fat, 1 protein..

The way I would do them is to not fry the corn tortillas (or just use reduced carb, wheat flour tortillas), use ground, LEAN turkey instead of beef and natural cheese, rather than processed cheddar. The natural stuff is more expensive, but in the long run, a bit better for you.

Are you making them with a red or green sauce? Here in New Mexico, making our own red or green sauces is a fact of life, but in other places, I would bet it's not as easy.. The sodium content in the canned or jarred sauces can be a killer.. So if you must use it, drink lots of water with dinner..

Oh, and regarding bars.. Try the South Beach Living High Protein Cereal Bars.. The chocolate version is very good. They have 140 calories 10g of protein. Also, Zone Perfect makes a really good selection of chocolate flavors..

Dan - Please share your recipe for your homemade green and red sauce.

hey everyone. just checking in quickly. i bought some new clothes this weekend and actually fit into a pair of size 12's. i was pretty shocked. and i also fit into a pair of size 15 juniors. so needless to say, i never thought i could, but it made me pretty happy. and i've gone down a few jean sizes since i last bought a pair in feb, so that's good too.

other than that, not much else is going on. just continuing with my workouts and trying to keep myself busy. i'm still stuck at this weight that i've been at for a while now and am pretty comfortable, so if i lose more that's great, if not, not a big deal. i guess i've got this whole maintaining thing down?!?

ok, i'll check back in later.
hope everyone has a good day!

You want it, you got it....

Ingredients

1 tbsp of canola oil - I use Enova Oil
half a large onion, diced
3 chopped garlic cloves
1/3 cup of flour
2 tbsp of ground cumin
1 tbsp onion powder
1 tbsp garlic powder
1 tbsp salt (can be adjusted to taste) - I use about a teaspoon of Morton's lite and compensate with other spices
2 cups chicken broth - Obviously use low sodium and/or use 1 1/2 cup of broth and 1/2 cup of water
2 cups of fresh/canned(NEVER!!) green chile peppers. NOT GREEN BELL PEPPERS!!!


Directions
Start by heating oil in a large sauce pan over medium heat. When it shimmers, add the onion. After a minute or so, add the garlic. When the onion starts to become translucent, add the flour, ground cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt . Cook until the flour has browned. Add chicken broth, and whisk to mix in the flour. Bring to a boil, and then add the green chiles. Stir and allow to simmer until thick. Test thickness by dipping a spoon in the sauce, and then running your finger across it. If the sauce leaves a clear line where you whiped, the sauce is ready.

Makes 8 servings of slightly more than 1/4 cup.

Red Chile Sauce

1 tablespoon oil (Enova)
3/4 teaspoon Morton's Lite salt
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 - 3/4 cup Red Chile Powder
Oregano to taste(optional)
2 cups cold water
1/2 teaspoon of crushed corriander

1. Heat oil in a medium saucepan on medium heat. Stir
in flour and cook for 1 minute.
2. Add chile powder and cook for an additional minute.
3. Gradually add the water and stir, making sure that no lumps
form.
4. Add seasonings to sauce and simmer at low heat for 10-15 minutes.

Truth be told, I have much more luck with the green chile sauce than the red, but you really have to try these a couple of times to get it "just right"... Keep in mind that both will taste different than the stuff you get from a can or jar.

If you can find your own dried red chiles, you can grind your own powder, but it will be probably easier to find it already powdered outside of New Mexico. I would imagine that speciality food markets will have some kind of a Spanish or Mexican food isle... Our Wal Mart has a ton of items, but that may just be because we have a lot of Hispanics/Mexicans in the state.

Hi everyone! I had a great weekend! Not so great food wise but you can't always be perfect I went to COD today and I was actually down from my last WI .2. WOW! Awesome! I was pretty happy! So now back to the grind. UGH!

Dan, always love hearing your advice even when it's not for me it always hits home!

Hi Katie, Deb, Heather and oh yeah Jillian! Great job maintaining!

Just thought I would check in real quick!

Have a pop day!

Dionne, you know Barbara is right one week on plan will do wonders!