It really depends on the eggplant - some can be quite bitter. And bitterness is a matter of perception. If you peel off the skin it removes a lot of the bitter . The biggest suggestion for grilling or sauteeing is to make sure it is dry before starting or it is prone to stick. Eggplant also is like a sponge at soaking up oil.

and happy Friday.

grannynancy: Thank you for letting us all know about Costco's large bags of riced cauliflower. I love it as well but purchase it at Trader Joe's since I haven't seen it anywhere else.

ange82much: Let us know how your eggplant turns out. It's not one of my favorites but I have enjoyed it when cooked by others, usually sauteed some way.

munchey: Your comment about baths and Epsom salt reminded me that I bought a bag of grapefruit scented effervescent bath salts on sale a couple of weeks ago and promptly put them away. I need to dig them out!
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TOM is toying with me this month. At 49 I'm not surprised. My cycles are mostly regular, every 28 days but some months like this one, it will be longer. It doesn't stop the symptoms though. As a result I'm bloated, cranky and my weight is up. Food intake has been mostly good this week with a few off meals. The weather here has turned absolutely spring like and with the longer days being outdoors calls to me. I need to do a better job at accepting the invitation.

Wishing everyone a wonderful weekend!

Down a pound this week! I stopped eating Quest bars and started using my own baking powder minus cornstarch. Baking powder is very easy to make: one part baking soda, two parts cream of tartar, one part tapioca starch.

With these two changes, my weight started naturally dropping again.

I made these brownies this week: https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/201...ve-ever-eaten/

Best grain free, cane-sugar free brownies I have made so far. These are satisfyingly chewy and sweet. The tahini reminds me of peanut butter (which is another food I no longer eat). I used 365 brand organic tahini and 70% dark chocolate chips from Whole Foods. If you have given up grains and sugar, these are divine!

Have a great week everybody!

munchey and curvy: I use epsom salts with lavender oil which I add to the bath when I have sore muscles or aches or feeling stressed. It really does help and I notice that when I'm sore after working out, it reduces the muscles soreness.

grannynancy: I'm going to look around for the rice cauliflower - thanks for that great suggestion. I live in Canada and we don't have Trader Joe's and I don't know if the Canada Costco stores carry it as I'm not a member. Do any of your supermarkets have it?

I went on an hour long trail walk yesterday. There was a very steep hill which was like climbing up the side of a mountain - tough workout. Got home and had an epsom salt bath

All the grocers here carry it in the frozen vegetable section. I know Whole Foods also carries it at reasonable price too.

Thanks grannynancy - I'll check whole foods.

Well, 197.4 absolutely no weight loss for the week.
I have been sick and daily intake has been 1098 calories which, theoretically, should have resulted in about a 2lb loss.

The new pattern seems to be lose one week and stay static the next. But I did not exercise much at all this week (daily step average was 3500) because I have been sick. If the weather clears today, I will start walking again.

I am going to hold the course, continue to exercise, and not make any diet adjustments until I go a whole month without dropping (and hopeful that will never happen). Too many times I have stalled, then tried all kinds of crazy things to break the stall, then ultimately failed. I believe that persistence WILL pay off.

munchey, could you please enter 161.5 for today's weight, the spreadsheet won't let me edit. Thanks.

I have epsom salts and baking soda by my bath. Yes it's great for sore muscles, to detox and a special spa time for me as well. It's taken me a week to catch up after my 2 week vacation. Part of this due to circumstances. I have two art show with paper week, one hanging Tues, and the other to paint by the end of March. Also I un-cleverly became VP of the local garden club with a spring district meeting in the works and P is winter absent. I am working at not feeling overwhelmed. What was I thinking? .

Will start food journaling and have a 30 min minimum for exercise for day, also to write down. Hope to get overeating under control and see results by next Sunday.

I am out of town until Thursday so i have to use my weight from yesterday which was up 1 pound. I am not sure why because i was on point with calories and exercise. Am very disappointed.

I'm down 1.4 this week. My week went fairly well as I exercised several days and for the most part stayed on plan. Going out for brunch today and will allow myself more freedom with my eating.

workinglikeadog - you sound very busy and sometimes it is hard to stay on plan during these times. I find when I'm really busy I tend to neglect myself and my eating and exercise take a back seat. Your plan going forward sounds great.

grannynancy - your persistence will pay off. I hope you're feeling better soon.

ange - congrats on another great loss this week

IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITIES:
I'm heading in the wrong direction. Gained a pound this week. I've been off the mark with my food portions, and my exercise has been down. I caught another cold (the downside of being around children at the riding center). Before I started volunteering, I went at least 3 years without a cold or flu. It seems like I've been coughing since early December. My cough was almost gone, before I came down with this cold.

I got in two active days at the riding center (Monday & Wed.), but no visits to the gym. Well, it's a new week with new opportunities. I'm still not feeling well, so I'll get in some activity at home today (and peak at the game).

WHAT WENT WELL:
Coffee Creamer: I had a few successes this week. I cleaned out a cupboard and found some powdered nonfat milk. I tried it in my coffee (to replace a regular coffee creamer), and actually think it's something I can live with and continue to use. It's half the calories of what I had been using. I tried some liquid, healthy options and wasn't quite satisfied with them. So, looks like I have a keeper.

Zoodles: I did a little exploring at my new Sam's Club location. I didn't find any riced cauflower, but I did find some fresh noodled zuchini (Zoodles). Interestingly, they were in a location that I usually wouldn't have explored. As I cruised the aisles in the frozen/refrigerator areas, I noticed how much fast-food/high-caloried options there were.

I prefer domestic produce, but I went ahead and bought the Zoodles, even though they originated in Mexico. I tried a couple ways of cooking it. First I tried the microwave, but guess I didn't cook them long enough for my taste. Then, I tried a sauce pan, with some Rotili tomatoes. I think I'll have to experiment a bit to get it the way I like it best.


I HOPE EVERYONE HAS A GREAT WEEK!

Flower1:
I use lavender oil as well. I'm glad the epsom salts and lavendar helped, after your trail walk. Hiking uphill can be a challenge, and sometimes downhill, with bad knees. There are a couple of hilly areas surrounding the Therapeutic Horseback Riding Ctr., that I have explored for exercise (when I'm not needed to help with a class). I've had to use the strategy of traversing from side to side a few times. Hills definitely test your fitness and ability to work around joint issues.

CurvyNotLumpy:
Thanks for reminding me about effervescent bath salts. I saw "Bath Bombs" featured on the Zulily Website recently and Googled it, as I was unfamiliar. I found a couple of recipes that I intended to try. Got to put a couple of ingredents on my shopping list and make a point of giving it a try. The child in me is always game for add a little fun to my baths.

Her are a couple of websites that I checked out, that have recipes for "Bath Bombs":
https://draxe.com/diy-bath-bomb-recipe/

https://drpompa.com/additional-resou...hange-your-day

GrannyNancy:
I'm sorry you have been sick. I hope you feel 100% soon!

Holding can be something to celebrate, especially when it is holding onto One-der-land. Your average weekly weight loss is 1.45 lbs a week (for the last 4 weeks). That's a good loss rate (5.8 lbs and 2.85%)

magistra17:
Congrats on losing a pound. Thanks for sharing your brownie recipe. It sounds yummy.

WorkingLikeaDog:
I made your entry on the "Weigh-In Sheet". Just to double check, you are trying to make your weekly entry on the "Weigh-In Sheet" for the week, as opposed to the Stat Sheet? The weekly cells of the Stat Sheet are protected from entries and the data feeds to those cells from the "Weigh-In Sheet".

I hope you are able to tame your schedule a bit and feel less overwhelmed. There is definitely a "sweet spot" for each of us, but many of us tend to be unrealistic when we schedule ourselves (Thinking we can handle more than we comfortably can). I have that problem, so I can identify.

Hope you have a good week!

heading off to the airport now, so until next Saturday i'll have no more weighing food, no more knowing what calories are in things, and no more control over when I eat, so lets see how this goes....! Well done to everyone who's still updating the spreadsheet and thanks again Munchey for keeping it going. Sorry to hear about all the illness going around (it seems strange to think you're all in winter!!).

Good morning

Ange82much - wow, girl, you are ROCKING IT. I hope this week carries you ok without your scale.

Flower and Magistra - congrats on your weight loss this week!

Munchey - I know being sick slows everything down. Bummer. Have you been checked for pnemonia? It can fly under the radar for a long time. I had it a couple of years ago and was just very run down with a chronic cough.

Stlrsgrl43 - You know. it happens sometimes. You can google "whoosh effect" sometimes it is simply a matter of holding onto water from fat loss.

Workinglikeadog - Here's to this week! Sounds like you are over-stressed. Remember YOU come first! Just remember you only need to "be good" one day / one meal at a time.

Me? Still the same as Sunday but no poo for a couple of days so hopefully that will nudge the scales down some. Not a lot but every bit helps. I am also starting to get back to walking after being sick for a week. I am still a bit snuffly and tired.

Couldn't get online last night - 149.2

Gotta rush off to work but have a great Monday everyone.... I wonder if any of you are dragging (as I am) because of superbowl parties last night!

Heidi58:
Just need to confirm that you lost 12.6 lbs in one week. Last weight recorded was 161.8, I'm thinking you may have meant to enter 159.2?