7 inches of waist and 6.5 inches of hips?!! holy smokes! and wow!

Loved your happy moments story! :)

Thank you!!! Trust me....I still have plenty of booty to lose lol...I have more than my fair share of trunk space


and ty! it was quite a happy moment!!

Down another 1.2lbs...total of 54.4!

I seem to have fallen into a cycle of a "higher loss" / "lower loss" cycle every other week. Oh well...

DOWN is DOWN

Just excited to say that my husband and I have lost over 75lbs together since April....Words can not even begin to explain how happy and proud I feel.

When I started my weight loss journey I did it as MY journey, not expecting my husband to make it with me. He had a bit of a tummy but really wasn't at the stage I was at. (He is one of those with perpetual Chicken Legs). Most of his tummy was from his soda drinking. He doesn't smoke or drink alcohol and hey, we all have vices so I didn't mind at all.

A few weeks into my Optifast diet he started calorie counting/portion controlling. When I asked him why he decided to change his diet he said, "Well, if you aren't eating....the least I can do is try and eat better! This way when you are back to eating and have to eat healthy, we can have dinners together. You are making a lifestyle change and I want to make one with you. Our children are going to grow up in a healthy household so that they don't have to go through this in their futures."

You can imagine how loved that made me feel. One of the main reasons I started my journey is to have children...

I started at 5'3.5 and 265lbs. He started at 5'8 and 217 lbs.
I am down 54.4lbs and he is down 20.8lbs!!! Woo-hoo!!!!!!
I am about halfway through what I want to do (55 lbs...want to get down 100-120lbs) and he is halfway through his (down 20, wants to lose a total of 40lbs).

Can't wait for the next stage of our journey :val2:

Had a good week!
Lost 4.8lbs! 59.2 total! Weight is 205.8 now!!

I am almost in the one hundreds!

Thought I would share a few of my favorite Modified meals, foods, and dressings.

First disclosure....I hate all things fish, seafood, etc...if it lives an aquatic lifestyle I won't eat it.
Second....my husband and I are pretty plain when it comes to eating.

Meats I can have on the program have to be lean or extra lean. Minimum of 93%lean. Serving size is 5-6oz, weight after cooking.

Meats -
* Basic is plain grilled Chicken, steak, pork obviously.... I really love putting tinfoil shaped in bowls with wood chips in between the burners of our gas grill so that the meat gets lightly smoked too. Makes it taste ahhhhh-mazing!! I lightly spray the chips down with water so they take a bit to heat up. I cook the meats on low (I like steak med/rare) so that by the time it starts smoking the meat is nearly done cooking. I turn up the heat to med and keep a squirt bottle ready to spray out any flames that grow too big. We have fun experimenting with different types of wood chips and different meats. Hickory and Oak are awesome on steak. Apple and Cherry are our favorites on pork. The chicken doesn't pick up that much flavor, you just get a bit of smokiness.

* Buffalo Burgers. Yes...burgers. Well, kind of. I take a lb of 93% lean ground beef and separate it into quarters. Two of the portions I put into a bowl and pour some Franks Hot Sauce on to it. I mix it well into the meat with my hands then form two burger patties with it. My husband doesn't like buffalo so the other half of the meat is formed into two regular burger patties for him. While he is doing his magic on the grill, I am dicing up tomatoes and gently separating leaves of iceberg lettuce so they stay huge and whole. I weigh my patties, trim off any extra weight so that it gets to be my allowed range of 5-6oz then I crumble it up with a fork. I use the giant leaves of iceberg almost like a taco wrap and stuff it with tomatoes and some beef. It is delicious!!! I generally use 1-2 whole tomatoes and 8 leaves of iceberg. It's meaty, buffalo-y, crunchy, juicy...just incredible :D

* Turkey Chili.
A lb of extra lean ground turkey. I was hesitant to use any canned tomato products as I don't know how they are preserved/sodium content/hidden extras etc. I used 4 tomatoes, 2 bell peppers, an onion, 3 cloves garlic, kidney beans, a summer squash and a zucchini. Some chili powder - maybe 1-2 teaspoons - I just pour it in. My husband hates chunks of veggies so I puree the veggies (except the beans) with my magic bullet/blender. I cooked the zucchini and squash in the oven to soften them while I chopped all the veggies and cooked the turkey in a pan. The pureed veggies made a great sauce. Dumped the pureed veggies, cooked ground turkey, beans, and chili powder into my crockpot and let it go for a few hours. So good. Even better the next night when it had time to settle and thicken. Now I cook it a day ahead and it is perfect.


These are some that have become regulars in my household and when I go out to eat that is when I usually do a straight grilled chicken salad, no cheese/croutons/dressing etc from the restaurant. I bring my own dressing.

Which brings me to the dressings I have found that I love!!! Some dressings that are "diet dressings" I think taste awful...these are the two I have found that even non-diet people love.

My program says we can use dressings that are under 25 calories for 2 Tbsp (not easy to find!!!) and zero grams of fat.
Maple Grove Farms of Vermont to the rescue! Found them in Shaws and Stop&Shop. Two of their flavors (that I have found) fit the requirments. (Most, if not all, of their selection is also gluten free - in case any of you need that)
1) Fat Free Balsamic Vinaigrette.
For 2 Tbsp - 15 calories, 0 grams of fat, 120mg Sodium, 3g Total Carb, 2g Sugars, 0g Protein.
2) Sugar Free Raspberry Vinaigrette. (Their "Fat Free" Raspberry Vinaigrette had too may calories to fit the requirements.)
For 2 Tbsp - 5 calories, 0 grams of fat, 180mg Sodium, 1g Total Carb, 0g Sugars, 0g Protein.

Hope this helps someone.

60 lb update pictures.

Me in my workout gear (excuse the bit of sweatiness, these were post workout)

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...810_202839.jpg

http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...810_202950.jpg

Still have a tummy and a whole lotta bum but I am happy!!! Not quite the spare tire and trunk I was lugging around before!

Thank you for the modified meal post! That's sure to be very helpful to those of us who are following in your footsteps, so to speak. :)

and just look at you!!! you've come so far ... and I spy a new haircut! :)

You're awesome! Go nibog!! :cheer3:

I am touched that you noticed! I grow my hair so I can donate it ever 2-3 years to Locks of Love

I just donated again a few weeks ago, my fourth donation. Now if I could only get my sister to do it....she has the most incredible, thick hair!

Even with the time of the month I had a good week.
Down 2.6lbs. Total of 61.8!
Weight is now 203.2lbs

Willpower is being tested today.

Hubby's 30th bday party is today. House is being filled with the smells of yummy things cooking - that's fine.

It's the $300 cake hidden downstairs that is taunting me. I commissioned the same baker who did our wedding cake to do a Bat Mobile cake for my husband. She is a goddess with pastry - I am going to resist but it is killing me. Especially the free cupcakes she gave me also. One of those could disappear and no one but me would be the wiser lol.


I will be strong - I will be strong - I will be strong - - - just going to keep chanting that all day. I will probably freeze a piece of the cake for myself to have a bite in a few months after I am weaned off Optifast.

Bday bash was a blast!!! And I stuck 100% true to the program. :carrot:

I'll be honest, yesterday morning I was having a teensy bit of self doubt - TOM lowers my willpower.


I also want to say I ROCKED my Batman dress - I was panicking because I ordered and XL and a L came in - It fit! Wore some leggings for bending over security and I had so many compliments on my weight loss- really showed off that I am getting the hourglass shape I was aiming for!!

Here is my husband Steve and I
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...12153548_n.jpg



And his amazing Batmobile Cake
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...00776087_n.jpg
http://i1213.photobucket.com/albums/...76530507_n.jpg




Now today is a resting day. My legs are absolutely killing me today from all the running around I did yesterday in my heels (hard to tell in the pic but those are wedge heel sandals) - Great for walking and work, but I can feel it in my thighs today from all the stairs I did

Congratulations on your weight loss and the cake looks incredible :)

Gee nibog, you went all out for your hubby's birthday!! The batman outfit is really cute and looks great on you. I'm sure your hubby thinks so too! :) The cake is perfect ... very impressive! I know you are proud of yourself for not eating those empty calories though. Good for you for having what it takes to stay on plan! :bravo:

Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!
Holy flipping cow!!

I lost 3.4 lbs... .. Total of 65.2lbs!!
My weight is 199.8!!!!!!!


I'm in Underland!!! I could cry I'm so happy!