good morning! :) the whoosh seems to have stuck around a little bit today, weighed in at 208.6 which is up a little but still broke through that 209 that i sat at FOR.EVER....hope it sticks...little son is still asleep this morning but two of the kids are already here for childcare today...raining hard outside today, with fog down to the bottoms of the mountains...

i make rhubarb pies and rhubarb upside down cake from the rhubarb and am making a big cake today...i'm sharing half of the cake with my SIL who gave me the rhubarb, which leaves enough pieces of cake for us and for the teenager to come have a piece...i told him i would save him a piece for his 18th birthday today...he tries to come across as "gangster" but he's really not that tough...he talks tough and has been in some fights but he's really not that bad...he just adores my younger son and is always on good behavior when he's around...he has ADHD like my older son, which contributed to his dropping out of high school...his parents didnt care and didnt let him have his meds and werent involved in his education so he just kept failing classes, getting into fights and eventually dropped out...i was able to get him set up to get his GED though and he's almost done with that...he got his learner's permit now too and i told him he can use my car to take his license driving test in

Happy Monday everyone!

Weighed in at 195.8 this morning. Not as low as my low, but close enough to make me happy. TOM is rapidly approaching, which doesn't mean as much for me weight wise as it does for other people, but sure does make me emotional and grouchy.

I slept terribly last night and was fortunate that my husband called me at 7:00 am after dropping my son and parents off at the airport. I'd hit snooze so many times that the alarm clock had given up on me! :D But I got to work on time just the same. I felt fine most of the morning, but it's hitting me now, despite all the coffee I consumed this morning.

I need to get to the store. All those veggies I have are great, but I need something to go with them to turn them into meals. Any suggestions for parsley? I have a lot of it. I occasionaly use it in soups, but it's not soup weather. How about beets? I like them OK, but my husband doesn't. Maybe they can be part of my lunches. Suggestions are eagerly welcomed!

Zoodoo, fresh parsley makes me think of chimichurri sauce. I fell in love with it in Costa Rica. Most recipes call for lots of parsley, some cilantro, olive oil, garlic and onions. It is made into a paste/sauce and you use it on top of meats. Yum.
Beets, I don't like them, so I have no idea.
I am a cilantro lover, so when I get extra or it is on sale, I wash and dry it, take it off the stems and then flash freeze it on cookie sheets, then put it into freezer bags to use for later. Maybe you could put up some of your parsley that way too?

:woohoo: way to go this week and I think it is 6 1/2 pounds! Wow! I would love to have a week like that right about now! Maybe I need to go low carb... Hats off to you!

:balloons: celebrating with you! :balloons:

Well, one kid is healthier and the other is getting sick. Good grief, I just can't win. That with getting stressed with our upcoming trip and how to handle that. Life sure does like to get in the way sometimes, doesn't it?

Weight holding steady and ovulation is just about here. So my plan of holding steady has actually worked!

So this was a difficult weekend for me. First DH and the kids want pizza for dinner on Sat, which I agreed to and that started it all. I was good and had a platefull of salad first to help fill me up and then had 2 normal sized pc. pizza. Not too bad, but I know I was over on my calories, it was a mental struggle for me to stop at 2 pc, but I did. Then yesterday, made great choices for breakfast and through the party, was ham sandwiches and salads and such. I had 1/2 ham sandwich and about 1/4 cup tuna salad and fresh veggies. Not too bad. Even dinner was okay, 1 pc. bbq chicken, green bean almondine and a smidge of mac-n- cheese. BUT, then DH decides we need to make some drinks and it all went downhill from there. Fresh raspberries, fresh strawberries, smirnoff, barcardi, need I say more? Oh, and lets not forget the bottle of wine we opened too. And of course that led to the muchies and we snacked through a bag of micro popcorn and some pringles. Ugh. I had to text my friend at 7 this morning to tell her I couldn't make it. So not only did I make some awful choices last night, but I didn't even get out to walk this morning. Had some appointments at 11 and 12, so here I am, just eating my breakfast and no exercise in. I feel terrible. It is so hard because DH is in vacation mode, wants to eat and drink and be merry. I know I have made better decisions than I would have in the past, but why do I feel so guilty when I indulge even a little bit? Didn't weigh early this morning, but got on a little while ago and am up 2 pounds. Hoping most of it is water weight, but know I will probably have to work to lose at least 1 pound of what I have already lost about 3 times. Grrr.
Off to work on the garage sale prep in the 90 degree heat, double ugh.

Ooh, I'm intrigued by this cilantro technique! Is it still as good as fresh? I'm a cilantro lover as well.

And I'll look into the chimichurri sauce. With those ingredients how could I go wrong?

just finished cutting up a HUGE bag of rhubarb....my hands are sore again lol...put a rhubarb upside down cake in the oven...used sugar-free strawberry jello powder and splenda instead of sugar...but it's still got more sugar and flour in it than i care to have...had some bites of the batter and my tummy hurts...have GOT to watch what i eat of it later...luckily i'm giving most of it away...i just love cooking/baking things to give away :) it's more fun than just cooking the same old stuff for everyone here...anyone else feel like that?

Absolutely! I'm a baking addict, and now that I don't eat any of the things I typically bake I've been giving them away like crazy. I get so much happiness out of watching other people enjoy the food I make. It's almost as good as eating it myself! ;)

Hello all,

Today I had the following;
breakfast: weetabix, skim milk, 1/2 tsp sugar
lunch: salad including 50gms smoked salmon, lettuce, red peppers, 75gms new potatoes in extra light mayonnaise with onion and chives
dinner: lean steak sandwiches in wholemeal toasted bread, with sweet corn, red peppers and lettuce, 50gms oven chips
dessert: low fat ice-cream, strawberries and raspberries and a sprinkling of cooking chocolate
cup of hot chocolate as a snack made with skim milk.

Calories come to about 1300. Great!

Didn't make it to the gym though - tough old day. Getting exercise right is my next big challenge, but today I'm impressed with myself for doing 4 days straight on track with food.

Oh - I've also started reading a book called
"The Compassionate-Mind Guide to Ending Overeating". I'll let you know how it goes.

As it so happens, I work as a Clinical Psychologist, and compassionate mind approaches are really developing well in the treatment of emotional disorders. It makes a lot of sense to me to apply compassionate approaches to overeating, given the role of shame in maintainence of overeating (certainly for me).

Anyway, I'll update again tomorrow. Cheerio all!

Syz

thanks all for the warm welcome!

Hi everyone! My computer has been down, so I'm jumping on my DH's laptop just to check in. I miss you all! Things have been good here. I'm still stuck at 168, but I'm doing all the right things so I'm thinking the heat is just making me retain water like nobody's business. I've gotten back into the gym routine, which should help tremendously. Hope you all are doing well, and I'll hopefully be back soon!!

I binged bad this past weekend. I feel like crap both physically and emotionally. Back on track today.

Mamakat Congrats on the 6+ pounds! That's fantastic!

Stacy Berry and I can tell you about the taco seasoning. :lol: That stuff will jump on you! It will be right back off in no time, though.

Shishkeberry Congrats on the scale being down. It's just me, DH, and Magnum and I feel like I am always cleaning and straightening up. I can only imagine if you have little ones, too. :hug:

LGW Hi :wave:

JuhiR Hi and Welcome! :wave:

Roadbikerchick Hi and welcome back! It's good to see you.

SMess Congrats on the .8!

Vixsin Hang in there! You will beat the 188/189's! You can do it! Nothing will stand in your way!

Alaskanlaughter I am glad your whoosh stayed!

Zoodoo Do you think you slept badly due to pending TTOM? It has that affect on me.

Berry I hope the family gets back to good health soon. :hug:

Jomatho Your post made me laugh. I saw myself in your post. I used to drink wine on the weekends. One glass would lead to a whole bottle. I haven't had alcohol much since starting on my plan. I realized why when we went out of town at the 4th of July. :lol: I get the munchies like it's no ones business. DH and I shared a fruity mixed drink at the restaurant. I started eating at dinner and it was crazy! When I tell you I can put away some food, I mean, I can put away some food! I ate everything they brought to me. So it's best for me to avoid alcohol unless I am taking a day off or vacation, etc.

Syzygy Hi and Welcome! :wave:

Still Hi! It's good to see you. Great job on getting back to the gym!

Abbysue Today is a new day! You can do it.