kara- Oats don't have gluten unless they are contaminated. That's the only reason I can use it. My son and I both have Celiac's disease. Quaker oats and almost all that you can get in a regular grocery store are contaminated from being processed in facilities used to process wheat, so I pay a small fortune for certified gluten free oats. There isn't enough in contaminated oatmeal to act like wheat gluten, but there is enough to make someone with Celiac's sick.

I do add xanthum gum and dough enhancer if I'm making bread with it- but also use a flour mix including garfava bean flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, and rice flour. Without the lighter flours and starches, oat flour is quite heavy and crumbly.

Pat- that sounds GOOD!

Mel

Red Line Update - came in at just under this morning! That would be great, but I would really like to have more than a 1/2 lb. leeway, you know?

Pat - sorry, I must have confused you...I haven't made the cake yet. I was just trying to calculate the calories to make sure it was okay. 40 calories seemed so low but yes, 70 is still fine with me. Reminds me of these WW cakes that are sold. I think they're 90 calories each (small square with a little icing) but they're only 1 WW point because they're fairly loaded with fibre, given the size of the square. I might try it this weekend and I"ll let you know if I do. As I said, I'm afraid I'll eat too many!

Hey everyone - put the snacks down! ;)

Megan - I'm with you at least on the peanut butter & chocolate solving the world's problems. Really...is there anything better? I can take a spoon full of peanut butter, squish on some chocolate chips and I am in heaven! For an extra special (rare) treat I recommend Trader Joe's Peanut Butter and Chocolate Covered Malt Balls. sigh...I'll stop now.

:D

Maintenance continues...this is good!
 

Another week? Seems like time is flying. This week has been uneventful. Last week was a bit tough because I decided to have popcorn at a basketball game. Sodium and I do not get along! My husband had the same thing--he gained 0, I gained 2 lbs! It took me almost 4 days to get that water retention out of my system yet I love popcorn. Guess I just have to realize what the result of that kind of decision will be. Finally, yesterday, the scale went down almost 3 lbs. In the meantime, I'd tried giving up various things. Now, I think I know that it was water retention. No way to deal with it except hot lemon water. YUK! I continue to exercise every morning though I am starting to be bored by it. Time to change it up. I'm thinking of working more on ab work along with my usual work out and need to get more practice time with Zumba. Also, thankfully, continuing to see great value in writing everything I eat. I actually am starting to enjoy and look forward to salads. That is SO SO SO unlike me! Guess I'm starting to get it.
Hope you all are doing well too. I'm headed out of town for a few days which means packing food and hoping I have what I need. Think I'm going to invest in a magic bullet as I've become addicted to Kefir smoothies in the morning and don't want to pack my huge smoothie making machine. Since I can't buy any more clothes, I have too many now for my closet to hold because of my love of a smaller size, I can now move on to small appliances! :)

Megan, I hear you on the constant battle between the angel and devil inside you. I haven't found a solution for permanantly banishing the devil yet, but if anyone has, I'd be happy to hear it!

Lily, here's hoping you all are feeling better soon!

Pat, hope you get some rest in!

Mel, thanks for the explanation! They had suspected Celiac's for my son, but then figured it wasn't the case since oats were fine for him but rice bothered his system. I'm glad you've figured out good ways to make substitutions!

Elisa, great job getting under your red line! I am also working on putting a bit of a cushion between mine and my current weight. We'll get there!

Goal, good luck looking for a portable smoothie machine! You made me laugh!

I'm off to start my day with a run. Then, it's a bunch of on-plan meals. Does anyone else feel like their day revolves around food? I'm just so focused on it that everything else seems to take second seat. Oh, well, as long as it's making me successful, I guess. I'm just waiting for it to become second nature.

Kara

I set my alarm to get up at 6:00 to do some cardio this morning, and I must have pushed a few buttons wrong and set my clock 2 hours forward. When the alarm went off, BF asked "why are you getting up at 4:00???" I was so confused, but I got to sleep 2 more hours until it was really 6:00. I only did 2 miles of powerwalking and a little jogging, so I'll do more cardio with weights later. I was just trying to get ahead since my parents will be here for dinner tonight. I really tried to make my body run but the devil won this morning.

Kara, sometimes I'm constantly thinking about food and exercise, but it has gotten a lot more second nature. Before I lost weight I spent too much time thinking about food anyway - when I would get a snack, or how I could sneak another piece of that birthday cake or pizza without people noticing... I figure at least now I'm being a lot healthier for my body. Besides, I do genuinely enjoy learning about the nutrition and physiology aspects of food and exercise. It's the biologist dork in me. :D

goalsuccess, way to warm up to salads! I hope your trip goes well - good for you for having your food all packed & ready!

Elisa, way to be under the red line!!! :carrot: I'm sure given a few more days you will be more than 1/2 lb. under.

Pat, yum, that recipe sounds delicious! I will have to try it sometimes. Thanks for posting it!

Lily, goodness, sorry to hear you and DD are sick again. Feel better soon. :hug:

Elisa - congrats on getting below your red line! :woohoo:

Goal - I know the feeling, one salty meal puts me up about three pounds too, and it takes 3-5 days for it to come off!

Megan - I sometimes think ice cream and cake (and tub frosting) can solve the world's problems too. :o Glad you're feeling better!

Kara - sometimes I feel like my day revolves around food and exercise. I mean, the first thing I do in the morning is weigh myself, then I have my healthy breakfast, pack my healthy lunch and snacks for work, tally up my calories from the previous day, go to work, take a walk on my lunch break, eat my healthy lunch and snacks, go to the gym, go home and cook my healthy planned dinner, and spend the rest of the evening convincing myself I don't need to eat any more. :shrug: You're not alone!

I stayed at 140.2 this morning. I'm really hoping 139.6 will show up again tomorrow though and the last of this water weight will come off. Today we mailed in our application and payment for a CSA! After reading about Pat's CSA boxes so much I couldn't resist. We are planning on growing our own veggies too, but I doubt our yields will be high enough to feed us all week since we have a limited amount of space for a veggie patch. I told my DH yesterday that if we do end up having high yields at home, we'll just become vegetarians for the summer! :lol:

I think the Cymbalta is working! At least, my knees have not been hurting for a few days, and my wrists feel a little better. Fingers crossed that it will continue to improve...

Jessica, I'm so glad you're not in pain any more. Hope the CSA is wonderful - ours in California was terrific!

Megan, great job getting up early (holy cow early!) to work out! I'm sure you'll have a great time with you parents!

Kara

Lily~so sorry to hear you are sick and that your daughter was hospitalized. I hope you both get better soon.

Jessica~I hope that med keeps working for you! Good luck.

Red line update for me: still way above my red line (145) and hoping to be below it soon.

Hi and thanks everyone. I did learn that if anyone gets the Flu, the Tamiflu really has helped me (even though it's a little expensive). I feel better today and am now keeping a little bit of food down. I weighed and have lost 3 lbs. since being sick, but I'm sure I'll find it again once I'm well. My stomach muscles feel like I've done a zillion crunches from all the wretching.

Our weather here is crazy. Several days in the 70's. Now it's snowing and sleeting.

Lacy is hoping to be completely well by Saturday cause that is Prom night at her BF's school. She is still pale , but is doing much better. She has a release to return to school on Monday. I'm sure this weekend will be spent helping her get all her missed school work caught up.

I've spent the morning paying all my bills. My first thought this morning was about starting to paint the hallway and computer room. But, by the time I walked the dogs and had a coughing fit, I came to my senses. I doubt fresh paint smell would help mine and Lacy's condition at all right now. Duh!

Hi maintainers,


Lily, I hope you and lacey get well soon!

Pat, how are you doimg on NRWL ???

Red line update: I'm still way oer mine but i noticed I am going up since NRWL started, AND my pants are getting the tiniest bit looser. Maybe i am gaining muscle ????

Anne, Keri - how are you doing ???

Just flying through...I'm non my way to a busy day.

Have a good one everyone,

Rabbit

A

Apologies for a quickie post ... we're having a party tomorrow night and there's a lot to get done today (and all of it involves calories). :dizzy: So sorry to hear about Lacy and you, Lily, and :crossed: that she can make it to prom. You need to take it easy since you don't have a prom to go to!

Congrats to all the red liners who are doing so well getting back under the line. I had a string of about 13 good days till I came home very late from a doctor's appointment for DS and fell face first into the carbs. :o Tired + hungry is the worst possible combination! The scale is up a pound today but I'll be right back on track. And I vow not to do any sampling today!!

Hope it's a wonderful weekend for everyone! :carrot:

Lily- Hope you and Lacey are feeling better and that she makes it to the prom- what a disappointment if she doesn't after all the dress trauma!

Rabbit- I'm betting that you are gaining muscle :bravo:

Meg- What's for dinner? I can be there by 7. :) You know how fast I drive, especially if there is a meal at the end of the turnpike :D

Clothes are fitting :carrot: If I get on the scale, I sabotage so I'm going by the "tight jeans" method lately.

Mel

Ah...the scale! I know weighing most every day comes with its own pros and cons so I'm not too worried but I skipped the scale Monday due to fear. From Tuesday to this morning it went like this: 131.0, 129.5, 128.5, 129.5. Why? I don't kow. It's still below the red line but doesn't give me a lot of hope for the weekends which are notoriously tough for me. That crazy scale! ;)

Mel - love the tight jean method of weight updates! I think I need more quatitative facts but it's probably smarter your way!

Meg - good luck with your party.

Lily - I hope you and your daughter are both feeling better. I know that my first year in high school, I hid the fact that I had a fever of about 103 from my mom just so I could go. Probably not smart but it seemed huge at the time!

:D

My parents arrived for their visit last night. As I mentioned my Mom is trying to follow weight watchers. When she got here she noticed I've lost a few lbs since she saw me at Christmas and wanted to talk about her diet with me. I told her about Mel's protein pancakes that I make for breakfast. Last night she ended up copying that recipe, several of Meg & Mel's protein muffin recipes (also asked "who's Mel? why does she use ground oatmeal in everything! who's Meg?"), and started reading New Rules of Lifting for Women, and actually has already tried to steal it. This from a woman who despises cardio and the only weight she's ever lifted is like a pink 5-lb barbie dumbbell. I might have a convert!

We also had grilled shrimp, grilled veggies, and oysters last night. Delicious and healthy! A bad storm woke me up at 5:30 this morning and I've been up ever since. The weather is nasty and they are looking forward to laying around and reading all day, so I think I will go to the gym for some cardio and then try to roust them for...something! It is nice to finally have vacation days for work!

Lily, hope you and DD are feeling better today.

Meg, tired + hungry is a terrible combination. Sounds like you're right back on track! :carrot: Ooh, what kind of party? Have fun!

Rabbit, sounds like you are gaining muscle! I've definitely gained some in my 2 1/2 months of NRLW so far and I also love the program! Woohoo! :strong:

Have a great Friday all!

Lily - hope you and DD are feeling better and that she's okay for her prom!

Elisa - my scale is crazy too. From Sunday through today, my weights were 139.8, 142.4, 141.2, 140.2, 140.2, 139.8. I only use my Friday weigh-ins as my "official" weight though, so if you look at it that way my past four weeks were 141.6, 140.8, 139.6, 139.8, so I'm counting this week as a week where I didn't lose but at least I maintained.

Mel - yay for clothes fitting!

Meg - good luck with the party!

Rabbit - it sure sounds like you're gaining muscle to me!!!

Nothing new to report here. We're planning a weekend at home doing our taxes, so luckily I will be avoiding restaurants and temptation. I did an UBWO yesterday, including back and abs, and with that and the HIIT the day before, I am feeling kind of sore! I'll be hitting the gym again today though for HIIT again if my muscles aren't too sore by then.