Oh, a question for Misti and others who cook big meals on the weekend for the week: I'd like to start doing this. Any suggestions for meals?
Well here is one of my favorites and soooooooooooooooooo easy. I don't measure though LOL although I am sure I posted this recipe (with measurements) in the Recipe section if you want to go look it up.
But take about 3 pounds of boneless skinless chicken breasts and put them into a crock pot. Add two quart jars (approx.) of sauerkraut (drain the juice) and a small bottle of fat free Russian dressing (which can be hard to find, and Catalina works great too). I turn it on high for an hour or so and then down to low until it is done. Makes wonderful lunches!!! Or dinners either for that matter.
Why was the other thread closed so soon after it was opened? I have been trying to access it for 30 minutes and I keep getting an error message that says:
Error 504 '' Gateway Timeout. Try reloading the Web page.
Retype the address in your browser.
Check your computer's Internet connection.
Yet everything else (any other thread I look at) is visible
KATT, Yes, isn’t it wonderful when you can FEEL your endurance and strength increasing? I’m looking forward to having that feeling again soon! I’m glad the lambs are securely employed and probably dedicated to their work.
AYANNA, great that you got out and walked, even if the place was closed. Sounds like you’re making wonderful choices in changing your diet!
JILL, actually it does help to think of the 2000 that way. For today, I’m at 1400 so far, but I’ll try and take that leap and have a bowl of chili at least. I just wish it weren’t so late – 8pm. What would Oprah say? (No food after 6 is one of her rules, isn’t it?) I KNOW you’re right about not having wiggle room later. This is why at some point I stop journaling and go with the ‘These are things you can eat and those are things that you can’t eat’ method. But to get back on track and be totally bread/sugar/pasta/etc. free, I need the journal to get hold of it – to look at that commitment at the end of each day. Today for instance, there’s one ugly little item: “icing 100 cals.” My housemate made a cake for a picnic and left it sitting in front of me for too many hours. Sigh. It was german chocolate. What can I say?
To be honest, and I just realized this as I was typing, I have a fear that I won’t be able to lose weight, now that my BIG EXCUSE of being on the truck is gone, what if I fail??? What if I don’t hold myself strictly enough to a high enough standard? What if I let myself down again? I feel kind of in a panic to get this thing under way again. I have to get past the fear of food again. I did it last year when I was losing the first 50, and I can do it again, right? It’s just so important. Like Heather said – Stage one is CONTROL, and I don’t feel like I have it right now, not yet, not enough. Perhaps that’s why another reason why I feel I need to keep the cals down. I’m listening to you all, though, believe me. I know you’re right. I’ll make a serious goal of 1800, promise.
AMMI, I knew Annie was moving, I just didn’t know exactly when she’d be in her new place. I miss her. Thanks.
JEN, I hope your poor poochie baby is better soon. It hurts to see them hurt and not be able to do anything about it.
OK, PATTI – Here we all go! One for all and all for one, and all that jazz!
Just a quickie to let you all know I'm still hanging on here and doing fine. I just haven't had much to say these last few days I think. I have no prob staying OP and doing what needs to be done which is really good. I've been reading up on everyone's happenings and sounds like we're all doing pretty fantastic as usual
Today I made a wall chart to hang on the door for my weight loss tracker. I made a spot for each week and I bought some big and small happy face stickers. Small ones for half pounds and big faces for 1 whole pound. I'm going to put my numbers on the wall each week for a bit of extra fun and motivation.
I bought a new pair of sneakers (runners, walking shoes, whatever everyone calls them where they live) on the weekend. My last pair were getting pretty nasty feeling. Also I bought 4 new t-shirts and I'm going to start throwing out some of the old ones and keep a few to wear as I get thinner. My pants are starting to get pretty loose and they are dragging a bit on the ground, but they aren't so bad yet that they need replacing.
Yesterday was 'relax' day but tonight after dinner hubby and I will go for a nice walk. There is a great walking trail near our house and I like to go there but NOT alone, because there are regular reports of cougars being seen around here. I CANNOT out run one of those right now.. if I even could if I was thin...?
Why was the other thread closed so soon after it was opened? I have been trying to access it for 30 minutes and I keep getting an error message that says:
Error 504 '' Gateway Timeout. Try reloading the Web page.
Retype the address in your browser.
Check your computer's Internet connection.
Yet everything else (any other thread I look at) is visible
Yogini- I'm not seeing that error that you mention. As for the threads closing, I believe we try to keep them between 30-40 posts to prevent slow loading times, but I could be wrong about that.
Xena- I haven't taken her to the vet as I'm pretty sure nothing is broken. She lets me touch her leg and shoulder, and move her leg around, so I think she just twisted a muscle. She is starting to get older (7yrs) and is a big dog (80lbs), so it is taking her longer to heal then when she was a pup.
Misti-Thanks for the quick recipe! Any others? I LOVE sauerkraut, but it sure doesn't love me.
Angie- I think we are about the same in terms of weight loss goals, starting weight, and height. My pants are getting a little too long as well, which sucks as I can't hem for the life of me.
I also love one called Hamburger Heaven and thought I got it here but can't find it. But basically mix up a bunch of veggies in the crockpot and mix in cooked ground beef (or you could use ground turkey). I dump cans of Del Monte basil/garlic/oregano tomatoes over it. Then just cook until done.
Also... try this one
Crockpot Sour Cream Salsa Chicken (3 Points)
4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves
1 package reduced-sodium taco seasoning mix (Note: I didn’t use reduced-sodium)
1 cup salsa (Note: I used medium-not hot)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup light sour cream
Spray the crockpot with cooking spray. Add the chicken breasts. Sprinkle with Taco Seasoning. Top with salsa. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. When ready to serve, remove the chicken from the pot. Place about 2 Tablespoons cornstarch in a small amount of water. Stir well. Stir the cornstarch mixture into salsa sauce. Stir in 1/4 cup of sour cream.
LOL I love this one because it is by "Sue Powell" -- that's me, only not me. (That's my real name but the site is not mine of course.)
Also...this one is BAKED rather than crockpot but I love shepherd's pie. I mix up fresh and frozen veggies and pour the basil tomatoes over it in big deep baking dish. Then spread cooked ground turkey over it and top with mashed sweet potatoes. YUM!!! This also freezes well and is SO good. Sorry, I don't use recipes much; just toss stuff in and cook it but this should not be too hard to figure out.
2000 just petrifies me. I don't know where I got that notion, but it's pretty firmly ingrained. How bout 1800? I'll try that... taking a deep breath and stepping off a cliff....
Valerie -- Jilly made (another) great point about 2000 cals/day. But we'll be here to catch you IF you fall! But if 1800 helps keep you on track and doesn't overly terrify you, then great!
Jill --WTG on the exercise -- sounds like you had FUN!!!
Misti -- Ah! About the avatar. I was refering to the little picture insert you included -- last thread? Tho, we'd seen that before, hadn't we... now I recall!
Ammi -- WTG losing weight in London!!!!! be proud!
Jen-- Suggestions for meals during the week: chili, any kind of soup... grill up chicken breasts.. eat hot one day and have cold for salads/sandwiches later in the week, red beans and rice... I make a "skillet chili mac" too
Val (again... you all have been busy) -- For me the control kind of came in waves or stages, and in some senses isn't fully there. For instance, if I go out to dinner and the waiter brings a bread basket, I would rather he or she not leave it on the table as it may "call" to me. The control is in saying no initially, as if it's there, I will likely have some? Know what I mean? ANd I don't think I could have cookies or ice cream in the house without some issues.
But there are other things I AM able to have better control over now. I generally tend NOT to overeat most of the food in the house -- that's where writing everything down helps me. I know I have to record it, so I'm less likely to eat it.
So, don't think you have to have all control all the time. I think it's about knowing your limits.
As for failing, I was and AM STILL terrified of that. I just finally figured out it was no reason not to try!
And remember, the goal is to figure out what works for YOU, not what works for the rest of us. We can give suggestions and you can give them a try and see what happens!!!
And thanks everyone, no more apologies for my rambles!!!
Wow- I stepped away for a few hours and look what happened- a thread and a half! I'm sorry- I just don't have the time to do personals right now (took me a lot longer to read than I expected)
Just wanted to do an end of the day check-in (for some reason I just feel better if I start and end my day here!) Today was a really good day. I got a lot of cleaning done and laundry is almost there. Also got a lot of homework done, and played some SIMS2. I also finally saw the movie Walk the Line about Johnny Cash and June Carter. I LOVED it. Although I couldn't help but notice that every movie I see about a singer (RAY-for example) there is a lot about drug abuse. Do all our stars really do that trash!! My fiance says "how else do you think they stay so thin?" never thought about it, although once I considered doing drugs (never did them) just to lose weight. And then I thought "how pathetic am I?" maybe I'm not the only one whose thought that way- maybe some people really do it. Okay...and I'm rambling...I get caught up sometimes
So it hit me like a truck today why I've been having so much trouble with food temptation- TOM is here- and has been for a day- don't know why it took me so long to get the connection, guess i'm just too busy to think! It makes me feel a lot better about not being able to keep as good control, though! I just hope my weigh in Friday is kind
Just a quickie...
VAL hun ... I know what you mean about losing the weight now that you arent doing something that you felt was the reason why you got away with putting on the weight .... until June I was all day every day working in our gift shop and I kept on using that as a reason why I couldnt exercise or why I couldnt get my meals right and healthy ... and the take out was just down the road or over ther road lol ... so I had decided when we sold the shop that for the rest of this year I would be focusing on losing weight ... took me a few weeks to finally start doing it ... and then I started on an actual program .. scared me how much I was supposed to eat tho! And yet I seem to be losing ... so there must be something to it Im not goin to the 2000 cal tho ... at least not often lol ... but its nice to know I can go up to that when I want to treat myself Keep up the great work and remember the only way you can fail is to not try at all ... Huggies
Luan, late **BIRTHDAY WISHES** well done on keeping active & not eating 'naughty' stuff. xxxx
AMMI!!!!! I was worried that you'd not been online as you were upset at gaining, HOW WRONG COULD I BE!!lol. I am so pleased for you xxxx
Valerie, it won't be long now til you will be in Gabe's saddle, eh? On the scared of failing, oh I'm always there! When I was pregnant I was so fired up about losing weight once I'd given birth, but once I had, the idea lost it's appeal! Fear and greed got in the way! We just have to keep trying and never give up trying. xxxx
Heather & Misti, you are both very inspiring and I don't count it as rambling at all. xxxx
Xena, thanks for missing me and WELL DONE on being OP, every day OP takes us that much closer to health AND smaller clothes! xxxx
I don't have time for more replies but I hope EVERYONE has a good, OP, day.
xxxx sharon
and doing fine. I just haven't had much to say these last few days I think. I have no prob staying OP and doing what needs to be done which is really good. I've been reading up on everyone's happenings and sounds like we're all doing pretty fantastic as usual 
xxxx
I am so pleased for you
xxxx
Fear and greed got in the way! 
We just have to keep trying and never give up trying.