LCFS week of Jan 18th
 

A new week, Hi everyone,
I've lost 5 lbs this past week. I'm really enjoying this more than ever before.
Today, I cleaned the house and took a break from exercise, I know, housecleaning is work, but not the same as exercising.
Our weather has now plunged below zero. Last night, all the doors froze shut on the car that DH took to work. He had to catch a ride home with a coworker. Is is still super cold where you are?

Lynn, I hope your trip goes well. At least you have lots of relative there, so that will make it better. Stay safe.

I better get ready for bed, take care, Nikki

Thanks to NiKKic & Anne D & Aleka
 

NiKKic & Anne D & Aleka: Thanks for taking the time to answer my questions. I am going to keep plugging away on my Gazelle and hopefully I will start to see results soon. Thanks :df:

Good morning,
It looks like we're out of the deep freeze for a while at least. But, I think we're back into some colder temps tomorrow, but not as bad as last week.

Well, guys, I've made a decision. Tomorrow I'm joining WW again. I just can't stick to something on my own. I need the accountability of a weekly weigh in because I really want to get this weight off, if I don't do something I'm only going to gain even more weight. They have this new fast track program that you do for 2 weeks. I saw on WW website that you can do the program either high carb or low carb. So, thought I'd take a stab at the low carb way.

lynn, have a safe trip and a nice visit with your family. Good luck to your DH on his Dr. appt.

nikki, congratulations on your 5 lb. weight loss!! :bravo: :cp: :cheer: That is really impressive. The best part is that you liked the way you were eating.
I can relate to the below zero temps you're having. How long is it supposed to last? Have you ever made Suzanne's egg crepes? She was on HSN all last weekend Somersizing. Last night I fell asleep listening to her, and she said that you could fill her egg crepes with taco fixins and eat like a taco shell. On one hand it sounds ok, but on the other hand, :p I really wish her stuff wasn't so expensive. She was selling blueberry muffin mix. Compared to Atkins muffins, his works out soooo much cheaper. I was surprised at the blueberry muffins because I always thought you always had to eat fruit by itself.

ANNE, hope you had a nice relaxing weekend. Are you still in the deep freeze?

Pookie, your welcome. I know you're going to love the gazelle. I made the mistake of not flexing my feet and my toes got numb. When I wiggled them they were fine.

Later this afternoon we have to travel down to Massachusetts. DH's uncle (by marriage) passed away last week. We're going to just make an appearance at the wake then come home.

Have a great day.
Aleka

[B]Goodmorning Ladies: CONGTATS!!!!!!!!! Nikki. That is great. I don't know what I have lost. I have 3 pairs of jeans that are my guide. A pair size 12, size 14, Size 16. I diet when I get to the 16 and stop when I get to the size12. Nuts eh? It works for me espically when I hit the plateau's. Except when I got to the 12 this time I went nuts. I have been doing this for years the size 12 jeans are 14 years old! Hven't worn them in years but they are my guide. If I hang on to them they will be back in style soon. My daughter has a scale that does body fat etc. I will be battling with myself the whole time I will be there. When I get to the 12 I will weigh myself and find out my body fat. Well another blizzard like conditions out there today. Should be a fun trip down. must go the DH just got up, Will talk to you on Wednesday. Lynn

Goodmorning again: Just killing time for DH to shovel the driveway. Aleka I hope you are going to stay here on this site. I would miss our conversations. I forget to mention that I went to the chat room last night and there were 3 people. very very weird people. It appeared to be 2 ladies and a man. I followed , or tried to follow the conversation for about 30 seconds and got out of there. I guess you have to make arrangements to meet people there. Well nye again Lynn

lynn, I'll still be around because I've made some wonderful friends on this thread and I would miss you all. I'll still be low carbing and counting my points. I basically just want someplace to weigh in every week to keep me on track. If I do it on my own and I want to cheat, I do. But, if I weigh in each week, I have second thoughts about cheating. I want my clothes to fit right again. ;) How much snow did you get? We got a couple of inches and DH was out plowing and shoveling. Again, have a safe trip.

Aleka

Hi Aleka: Still here!! Dh still shoveling. We got about 5-6 inches, and another 6 to come. My son just emailed me and there is nothing down in Mississauga. What a differance an hour north makes. We are going to head out and if it's to bad we will turn around. You have a safe trip yourself and talk to you later or sooner as the case might be LOL Lynn

Good morning,
First, Pookie, your welcome and you can join our thread if you want to. We love people.
Lynn and Aleka, have a safe trip. Aleka, my sympathies to your family on the loss of your DH's relative.
Lynn we called our thread LCFS, which stands for Low Carb Free Style, because we do experiment with our woe on occasion. But, we still want a home base to come back to, so this is it. I think that having a support system is essential for weight loss, at least it is for me. Aleka, I think WW not only gives you a place to weigh in, but also, a place to be accountable and to get more support. I like ediets for that reason, the online meetings are great and there are several support groups, but I"m not thrilled with their Atkins plan, I'll tell you more about that later.
Lynn, I've never been in the chat room. There are unusual people all over the internet, arent' there? I live in a little town in Iowa, and even though I worked at a psych hospital for almost 20 years, I never realized how strange some people are, until I got on the internet.
Aleka, I still haven't made the egg crepes, I don't know why. When we have taco's, I just make myself a large taco salad with all the stuff I'd put inside on top. It actually works out to a lot more food, but less carbs.
I don't understand how Suzanne can sell blueberry muffins, it doesn't sound like somersizing to me.
On that note, some disturbing rumors on the other bb's about Atkins. They say they saw a news report that Atkins will come out with a new book that says to limit your fat intake and to control the portions of food you eat. I haven't heard this yet, but what I do know is, on the ediets site, this is how the plans are set up. I called to complain and told the customer service guy that I didn't think their dieticians had read the book. He said that their plans are made up by Atkins, following the most current ideas of theirs. He told me not to follow the book, as it is out dated, but to follow their plans. (Oh say it isn't so!) Anyway, their diets incorporate a lot of turkey bacon, turkey sausage, soy products, soy sausage and Atkins products. I'm wondering, if this is true, if Atkins is trying to become more mainstream or if possibly they are afraid of the FCC or some government agency, coming down on them, like they did with Body Flex? Whatever the reason, I know Dr. Atkins didn't believe in this. He specifically said in his book not to make this into a low fat diet or to limit your portions. The reason being, after awhile you get use to it and limit yourself naturally anyway.
Well, time will tell. I know the current way I'm eating, according to Atkins book that is currently available, is working very well and I haven't felt this good, with this much energy, for a long time.
Got to run, Nikki

nikki, thank you for your condolences. I would say stay with what is working for you. I sometimes wonder why they change things when something is working so well. :?: It just hit me, I'm wondering if that could be because of South Beach Diet being so popular. I forgot to tell you. Last night while listening to HSN, someone called in to talk to SS. She said that she entered a chili contest and used Suzanne's jalapeno chili and won first prize! :encore: Isn't that a kick?

Gotta run and eat lunch, we'll be leaving in another hr. or so.
Talk to you later.

Aleka

Well, that story was a big fat lie. I went to the Atkins site and here is what they had to say about it

http://atkins.com/about/recentnews/A...otChanged.html

I think some people were taking what Dr. Atkins wrote out of context, then turning it around to fit their news story.
What a relief, I've been ticked off about that all day. Guess I shouldn't take things like this so personally, but when you want to believe in something, like a woe, you don't need for it to change all at once.
As far as the ediets plan goes, I've read lots of posts from other people that think it doesn't go with the book. They don't use butter or cream in any of the recipes I've seen. They use nuts the first week of induction too. Besides, it's just too hard to use, for me anyway.

Aleka, in which book is Suzannes Jalepeno chili?

Good Morning Everyone:
I had a restful weekend but now its back to reality :stress: These last
few days at work I don't even have a chance to eat my lunch :o Its my
own fault though, because I prefer to use my hour to walk around the
city and vent to my friend :lol:

Nikki, five pounds way to go!!! :hat: :cheer: :cb: You are doing great!!

Aleka, when you count points with low carbing how much do you get to
eat {roughly) in a day? Example how many points is tuna or chicken?

Our weather is still freezing. You really feel it walking around the tall
downtown buildings.

Talk to you later.
Anne.

Good morning,

I got back from my WW meeting a little while ago. It's amazing how the meetings motivate me and I'm raring to go. :lol: :strong:

nikki, glad that you got the true story about the Atkins Diet. I was watching GMA this morning, and evidently yesterday morning they reported that Atkins was starting to go low fat, portion control, etc. Well, someone from Atkins was supposed to be on this morning to straighten things out. I taped it, but haven't watched it. I'll watch it later and tell you what he said. You wonder why someone would start rumors like that. The Jalapeno Chili recipe is in Eat, Cheat, and Melt the Fat Away. I am definitely thinking about making it.

ANNE, it has gotten colder here too. I just wish the wind would stop or at least settle down a bit. The point value of chicken depends whether it's prepared with or without skin and bone. A 3 oz. chicken breast cooked (broiled or baked) without skin and bone is 3 points, cooked with skin and bone, 7 points. A 1/2 cup serving of canned tuna in oil, drained, is 5 points, a 1/2 cup serving of canned tuna in water, drained, is 3 points. You have a set point to reach each day, and that set point depends on how much you weigh. The higher your range of weight, the higher your set point. Once you reach a certain weight you have a lower set point. Mine is 22, and when I get below 150 lbs. it'll go down to 20, and they stress not to eat below 20 points. I can eat just about anything I want as long as I don't go above 22 points. Then on top of that we get 35 extra points to use or not to use. This is for little emergencies like when you go out to eat or whatever.

lynn, hope your DH made out ok with the Dr. and that you're having a good visit with your family.

Take care and have a wonderful day.
Aleka

Hi,
We're running up to the big city to get DH some walking shoes for the treadmill. He does 3 miles 2 times a day, so he needs good shoes. I plan on getting into GNC and looking at low carb food.

Anne, hope your day goes better. Glad you had a good weekend off.
Lynn, hope your trip is going well.
Aleka, those extra points would be especially handy for birthdays and holidays. I feel the same way about being motivated with my diet, because of ediets. It helped me to get commited again to my weight loss program.

I better run, Nikki

For some reason yesterday I could not get warm. I was wrapped in a blanket most of the day. DH was the same way. Our computer is downstairs and it was brutal down here so that you didn't want to stay very long. We couldn't understand it because we're not in the frigid temps like we were last week. :?:

nikki, did your DH get his walking shoes? That's wonderful he's walking 6 miles a day. DH said he will do WW with me, but I'll have to count his points for him. :rolleyes: It's bad enough I have to count my own! I watched the interveiw I taped on GMA yesterday afternoon, and he said basically the same thing you read in the Atkins site. Today they're going to see if the new low carb menu at the fast food restaurants is all its cracked up to be. That should be interesting to see.

ANNE, hope you had a good day at work on Monday and that the :devil: didn't bother you too much. Have you decided when or if you'll be having lunch with her?

Hi lynn, hope you had a safe trip home.

Have a good day everyone.
Aleka

Good morning everyone,
DH got some New Balance shoes, he's like a kid at Christmas time with them. He sat them on the coffee table last night to admire them. Now he's on the treadmill with them. He says they are the most comfortable shoes he's ever owned. I know they are the most expensive. He got a gift card from his son for Sears, so that is what he got with them.

Yesterday, I made the best turkey breast I've ever had. It's so quick and easy, it's hard to believe how good it was. DH and I ate the whole thing :lol:
This is how to do it-
After thawing the turkey breast, put it in a large bowl, cover with water and add 1 tbs salt. (Or less/none if your watching your salt intake). Let set in fridge over night. The next day, drain, and sprinkle on garlic powder and paprika. Put in the crockpot on high for 4-5 hours, til done.
The bones fall off, so you do have to watch out for them. I strained the juice (because of those little bones) and made a very wonderful gravy with it. If you do, don't add salt, it is a little on the salty side, or just right if you love salt.

Aleka, I know what you mean about the not getting warm thing. For some reason, when it seems like the temps outside are warmer, I feel even colder inside. I wonder in our case if it's because when its' colder outside, our furnace runs nonstop. Tonight, our wind chills will be below zero again. I hate when that happens.

Hi Anne and Lynn, talk to you all later, Nikki

[B]Hi Everyone: Well back here to another 6 inches of snow. It looks so beautiful but I guess it is time to get someone to get on the roof and get some of the snow off. Chapters phoned and my Dr. Phill book is in so will go and pick it up tomorrow. Nikki what Dr. Atkins book do you follow. I want to get one of his. Aleka, I have that SS book with the chili and it does look good. I am going to make some up to try later this week. MY DH appointment went good. He doesn't have to go down for another appointment untim the middle of Feb. Here I go again my problem with short forms, what is GMA and GNC? Had a great visit with my new grandson, He actually smiled at me. Brought back my step-fathers dog so he could go on a holiday. It is a little lap dog and has to be with somebody constantly. It takes some getting use too. She is 9 years old and has never been left in the house alone.My mothe never went out except to my house the last few years she was home.Now that he (my step-father) is alone he realizes what a problem he has on his hands, but at 9 it is to late to change her. He is really tied down. She is on a old sweater of my mom's right beside the computer. Well I guess I should go my DH has decided he is going on the roof! proving once again "no fool like a old fool". Will be back later Lynn

[B]Hi Again. Nikki How do you make your "legal" gravy? That sounds good. Lynn

lynn, glad you had a nice visit with your family, especially your new grandson. How old is he? He sounds adorable. That's the way our dog is, she's my lap dog. She does keep me warm though on these cold winter days. ;) GMA is the TV show, Good Morning America, and GNC, I think it's General Nutrition Center. If you don't have any where you are, it's a healthfood store with all sorts of vitamins, suppliments, nutrition shakes, protein bars, etc. We're supposed to get some light snow tomorrow, but I heard probably some substantial snow next week.

Aleka

Hi,
It is a lovely 39 degrees. The sun is shining, I was outside without a jacket for awhile, but a person should wear one really. I even have my front window open. It's a little chilly, but it's great to have some fresh air in the house. I won't have it open long of course, the cats are loving it though.

Lynn, glad everything went well. Old dogs and old cats can be really set in their ways. When my dad died, I inherited his dog. She was a great little dog, but really spoiled. I tried to keep her in the house, but after a few years, I made her stay outside. She was a cocker spaniel and had such an aweful odor, no amount of washing could get rid of it. She was pretty pissed off about having to be outside all the time. But, she had a good life out there too.
I made legal gravy using ThickenThin not/Starch thickener. It is from www.expertfoods.com It has 2.3 fiber carbs and if you subtract fiber from the carb total(Dr. Atkins says you can) then there are 0 carbs. It is made of different vegetable gums and is a powder that has no taste. I bought this 8 oz bag over a year ago and I still have at least a 1/4 of it left. I don't use it often. It was expensive, compaired to cornstarch, but worth it to have some gravy sometimes (to me anyway). I found out about it on Suzannes website, from some other Somersizers. Some will not use it, since Suzanne doesn't endorse it or make it. I see nothing wrong with it myself, it's perfectly legal on Atkins. It works well, but if you use to much, you get really thirsty, I guess it thickens up your saliva too :lol: But used correctly, it doesn't. I learned that the hard way over Thanksgiving. Boy, everyone was thristy that meal :o

Tomorrow is my oldest DD (dear daughter) 26th birthday. She wanted a cake from one of the bakeries, I made a cheese cake today for myself. I tasted the cake batter and it is very, very good. Can't wait to have some. OHHH, I almost forgot, I got some liquid Splenda today that I ordered. It has no carbs and is really powerful. 4 drops equals 1 tsp of sugar. I used that in the cheese cake, so the carb count is really reduced now. I'll post the web address for the cake, it is an interesting website for recipies, I don't know if I posted it last week or not.

Later, Nikki

Here's the link to her recipe page. If you want the cheesecake recipe, scroll down to classic cheesecake on the right. I left out the crust to save carbs.
http://www.trulylowcarb.com/Recipes.htm

Lynn, I forgot, the Atkins book is Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution. You can also go to their website and the plan is all there, with a lot of information. I think it's www.atkinscenter.com or just www.atkins.com either one will probably get you there. It's always good to have the book too though.
Nikki

Hi Everyone:

Another cold, snowy day. It is snowing as I post. As you have probably
guessed I have been absoulutely swamped at work. One day is just
blending into the next :dizzy:

Aleka, I have not decided about the lunch. I don't want to go but I really
don't know how to get out of it. As much as I don't like :devil: I don't
want to hurt her feelings either. I hope she doesn't smoke :p in the
restaurant when we go. :devil: is pushing us for a date to go so ........

Nikki, I like the sounds of those shoes!! Feet are important. As is I never
wear high heels anymore. I also dress for comfort. Thats great your DH
is working out!!! I wish mine would get motivated again. He is up to
195 :o

Aleka, I should really look into the points program. I have the actual sheets
someone copied for me a few years ago. It would probably help me control
what I eat. My big problem is the evening. After work is when I do most of
my eating. Worst time of day I know.

Well, I hope you all have a great evening.
Anne.

Goodmorning Ladies: Another snowy day, the nice big fluffy flakes that are so beautiful. It has also warmed up so I will go for a walk later. Nikki I had a cocker spanial for 18 years and I didn't have a problem with odor. My present dog is a welsh springer spanial and she is 16 years old. I would of thought it would have been to cold outside for a spanial in the winter in Iowa. I will be checking out the sites for the recipes for the cheesecake. Sweets are not my problem I can go months without any but as soon as I start low carbing I CRAVE sweets. Is there a reason why I wonder? Aleka, my grandson is 2 1/2 months old. Our first grandchild and maybe our only as our daughter has no interest in having children. He is so beautiful, looks just like his father, (just a little prejudest do you think?) I wish there was spell check here. I can see a few words that don't look right. Oh well I guess you get the meaning. Yesterday I made a low carb pizza I saw Mollie Katzen do on TV. The crust is zucchini and cheeses, spices egg, and she put 1/4 cup of flour in but as I'm following SS I omitted that. She didn't squeese out excess moisture from the zucchini but I did asuming that the flour was for that purpose. Anyway add your toppings and voila! I enjoyed it, a nice change for lunch. I will have some for breakfast for a change. Well I'm off to check the atkins site. Talk to you later. Lynn

Hello~

We're supposed to get some light snow today then back into the frigid weather again. :censored: :lol:

ANNE, sorry you're swamped at work. Is it normal for this time of year? If :devil: smoked it would bother me too. That is something I have to stay clear of, any kind of smoke because of my sinus problem. Do you have the same strict laws about smoking that some states do? A few of the states around us have banned smoking altogether in restaurants and it's very pleasant to go into them. We tend to go to restaurants in NH that are smoke free. Personally, I need calorie control to lose weight because my metabolism is so screwed up from many years of yo-yo dieting and starving myself to lose weight. So, the points work for me. You could try counting points to see how it goes or just use their portion sizes. Their fat portion is rather skimpy. If you do count points, let me know how it's working for you.

nikki, DH & I always get New Balance walking shoes. We absolutely love them. They are really comfortable. A very HAPPY BIRTHDAY to your DD. :hb: :gift: Thank you for the low carb website. I went into it and printed out the recipe for the cheesecake. It sounds delicious.

lynn, how is your step father's dog doing? I'm sure the dog doesn't know what's going on being in a strange environment. Have you read any of Dr. Phil's book and have you decided on Atkins or staying with SSizing?

Hope you all have a great day.
Aleka

lynn, I think we were posting at the same time. :D Your zucchini recipe sounds good, I think I will try it. How much zucchini, spices, cheese, do you use? I have seen some SS recipes where you use hamburger and cheese for the crust. Do you add meat to your pizza? If not, maybe you could substitute whole-wheat flour or something they call winter-wheat flour (it's whole wheat flour but it's white) for the white flour. I did find the winter wheat in the grocery store recently. If you don't eat a lot of sweets and crave them when you low carb, it could be because you're denying yourself from having sweets. It's human nature that when you deny yourself anything, that's what you crave. The sugarless desserts should help you out with your cravings. Your grandson sounds adorable. They are so cute at that age. Congratulations. Your D may decide to have children, you never know.

Take care,
Aleka

Goodmorng Aleka: Trixie is doing prety good. She seems to be adjusting not to badly. What people to to pets in the name of love. She has stopped shaking so that makes me feel better. Has been a little nasty with my dog but my dog so far is okay with her. I guess she (my dog Coco) is to old to care. They have had some battles over the years. I have read a bit of Dr. Phil's book but want to read Dr. Atkins also. If it is going to be a life style change this time I want to pick the plan that is the best for my lifestyle. Oh Aleka and Nikki I forgot to tell you I am losing weight! At christmas I left a pair of slacks at my brothers and just got them back AND they are much looser! I might get brave and try on medium jeans. I will count laying on bed to get zipper up lol! Talk to you later. Lynn

Hi Again: Yes we are posting at the same time. Go to www.molliekatzen.com/show/zucchini_pizza.html I left out the flour in crust. I used partchment paper instead of the flour and oil on pan. I used a jelly roll pan for a crisper crust and used a bit of spaghetti sause instead of fresh tomatoes. So play with it to suit your taste. Enjoy and let me know if you enjoyed it Lynn

Aleka: I also used just egg whites Lynn

Good morning,
I have to run like a rabbit today to get everything done that I want to. But, I have to start my day off with you guys or I feel like I've missed something.

Lynn, it does get cold here. That dog had a bad skin problem that caused the odor. We tried lots of different treatments, but it never got rid of it. She had a dog house, lots of fur and a heating pad. When it got down to the single digits, I always brought the dogs into the garage with the cats. It's heated by a wood stove. The cats hated that and the dogs had a lot of fun chasing the cats all over. But they all knew each other for years and sometimes, I'd find the cats sleeping in the dog houses with the dogs, so they weren't that afraid of them. All my dogs are gone now. I would like another, but DH says we have enough animals, we have 4 cats and I'm always taking in any strays that wander up here.
Congratulations on your weight lose. You are doing great. Doing your homework about eating plans is for sure the way to do it best. It is much easier to stay committed to a program if you like it and think you can do it for the long term. I love meat, eggs and fish. I have no problem with a high protein/low carb program.

I think Aleka is right about craving something, just because you can't have it. Try making something that is sweet tasting.

Aleka, thanks for the birthday wishes for DD. She is off today, so after her birthday, she is coming over for a movie and dinner. I'm making chicken kiev and some low carb veggies.

Anne, smoking bothers me a lot now too, since I quit anyway. People can still smoke in restaurants here, but many have voluntarily banned it. It is disgusting to eat with people smoking next to you. In work relationships, you need healthy boundries. You said before that you try hard not to get too close to your co workers, so I"m sure this is making you uncomfortable in more ways than one. Besides she is the :devil: If you have to go, just to keep her happy, then go and think of it as a business luncheon. When I'm in uncomfortable situations, I usually start a grocery list in my head, just to distract me enough to tolerate the situation.

Take care, Nikki

lynn, thank you for the site. I went into it and printed out a copy of the pizza recipe. I will definitely let you know how DH & I liked it. It really does sound good. Did you reheat it for breakfast? If so, how was it? AWWW, the poor dog shaking like that. She has had a lot of strange things happening to her that she probably just does not understand. She's probably not used to sharing space with another dog, but I'm sure she'll be fine after a while. I had forgotten this, when DH & I were SSizing every once in a while we would get really bad sugar cravings. DH would go to the store and buy a bag of cookies and we would sit and devour the whole bag. That never happened before, like you, I really don't eat sweets.

nikki, enjoy your chicken kiev. I went grocery shopping today and bought a broccoli and cheese stuffed chicken breast at the meat counter in the supermarket. They are really big and DH & I share one. That's what we're having for dinner tonight along with a 1/2 sweet potato for me and 1/2 regular potato for DH, plus veggies. I bought a pkg. of Atkins Cranberry Orange muffin mix at Walmart. Can't wait to try it.

ANNE, hope you're having a good day at work.

I don't know if any of you have ever done this. I cut up some cukes, placed them in a bowl along with some cut up bell pepper strips and grape tomatoes. I poured some balsamic vinegar over them and some salt & pepper. It was so good. :T I used to make this a long time ago but for one reason or another got out of the habit.

Enjoy the rest of the day.
Aleka

Hi Everyone:
My new office puts new meaning in TGIF :o Nikki, its funny, as you know I
too am a former smoker, I can't believe what I use to put people through
now that I am on "the other side of the fence" :eek: Our restaurants have
gotten pretty strick here too. With my luck she will want to go to an
establishment that allows it.

Aleka, I think this office will always be busy. I was use to working accross
in the Finance office where I was not being interrupted by patients. This
is a real adjustment for me.

I am going to set my goal to be below 200 by my 47th BD in March. If I stay
away from the nuts and watch portions I should be able to do it. Its less
than 10 pounds and I have 2 months. Aleka, I will pull out my points info
over the weekend and have a look see. It will give me an idea of just how
much I eat. I am great at keeping off the hundred pound loss but its hard
for me to get beyond this point.

Its brutally cold here. Makes walking outside at lunch really unpleasant.

Have a great night everyone.
Anne.

Goodmorning Ladies: Today is a winter wonderland. It is encrediably beautiful. We had approx. 13 inches yesterday and last night and are to receive another 10 inches today. The ski lodges must be very happy. Nikki and Anne I read your comments about smoking with interest. I to am a former smoker (heavy) and quit 3 years ago this month. I am always apoligising to my kids about what I made them breath for all their lives at home. My DH still smokes but I just can't take the smoke anymore so he smokes outside now. Smoking controlled my life, eg. were I went so I could smoke. I have often wondered if I am a compulsive personality. When I eat, I eat too much,I smoked to much. My husband was to start Zyban at xmas. He took 2 pills and was in the Dr.'s office about another problem and had 2 seizures. Off to hospital he went and a few tests later they have decided he is in that very small percental that can't take zyban. I guess he will be smoking for a while longer he just doesn't seem to want to quit. Spent a lot of time on the Atkins site yesterday. Still toying with the idea of Atkins.Aleka glad you remembered the cookie incident I'm still craving sweets even though I'm not a sweets person. My poor dog is having a rough time of it. Her arthritis medication isn't holding her in this ertreme cold. Called vet and he bumped up the dosage hope it helps soon. Well guess I should get on with the rest of my day. Talk to you all later

Good Morning ladies,
Lynn, I have that obssessive/compulsive thing when it comes to habits. I smoked (too much), drank too much, ate too much, spent too much. I just never tried to control my behavior very well either. The way I quit, having tried several times and all the ways (nicotine gum, patch, zyban, etc) was I made up my mind that I was stronger than this habit. I knew I could change my life. I believed in myself and the power of my own stubborn nature. It wasn't easy, in fact sometimes I still want to now and it's been 3 years for me too. I remember some one said, "If your going to dock a dogs tail (cut it short) you don't cut if off joint by joint. You cut it off all at once. The same thing for cigarettes. If you try to slowly cut down, all your doing is making the pain last longer." That was true for me, I just quit all at once. I'm sorry to hear your DH still smokes. I wish I hadn't put my family through my smoking either.
I had an old dog that had arthritis. It is just painful watching them, I know. If you can get a doggy heating pad for his bed, that is helpful, if you don't already have one. I found some at Walmart for around $20. I use them for the cats.

Anne, I know you can lose that weight by your birthday. Keep up the BF and the walking. Enjoy your weekend off too, you sure do deserve it.

Aleka, about those sugar cravings. Yesterday, DH asked me to bring him home some leftover birthday cake. He hates cake, but was wanting some sugar. Funny, huh? He has never been a sweet lover either, but since we've been doing low carb eating, he is getting the most incredible urges for sweet stuff. I saw that Breyers has low carb ice cream in Walmart now. I think I'll get some for him and make some ice cream floats using Diet Rite sodas. I can get all the flavors, but the tangerine is my favorite.
The cheesecake saved my butt yesterday. I really wanted some of that birthday cake too (I've had this incredible urge to eat icing). The cheesecake was great and satisfied me.

Better get on with my day, Take care, Nikki

Good afternoon everyone,

I never smoked. I did try it when I was in high school, but I didn't like the taste it left in my mouth so never took up the habit. Both my parents smoked, and when I was 12 or 13, my mother gave me premission to smoke. She said that she would rather me smoke in front of her than behind her back. Well, I guess she took all the fun out of it for me. :s: One of my friends smoked for years, then she stopped. She is worse than I am about people smoking.

ANNE, I know you can reach your goal by your birthday. You have really come a long way already.

lynn, many years ago we had a Boston Terrier that had arthritus in her spine. This was before there was any kind of arthritus medication for animals. We had to give her 1/2 aspirin a day and try and keep her quiet. Hope the higher dose of medication brings some relief to your dog.

nikki, I wonder what it is about having sugar cravings? We used to wonder why before SSizing we could buy a bag of cookies and eat 2 or 3 cookies and be satisfied, but while SSizing we'd practically eat the whole bag. Since I started eating more of the good carbs I don't have any cravings. I'm wondering if your body is trying to tell you to feed it more carbs. :?:

Enjoy the rest of your day ladies.
Aleka

Aleka, that could be, or like you said before, it could be more psycological.
I'm having no sugar cravings, except for that darned icing and since I ate some cheesecake, I'm over that. DH keeps on eating carbs, like potatoes, sometimes he sneaks a few Krispy Kremes or DQ. He still wants a lot of sugar too. I just decided to keep all that stuff out of the house and if he wants it, he can eat it away from here. But, I do have potatoes and bread for him and he eats them every day. He's trying to avoid sugar, but he's not as committed as I am.
I heard the difference between being involved and being committed is like a bacon and egg breakfast. The chicken was involved, the pig was committed.
:lol:

While rummaging around the internet tonight, I found this recipe, it looks good and uses simple ingredients. Thought you all might like it

Bacon Cheeseburger Quiche

Ingredients:
1.5 lb. very lean hamburger
1 small chopped onion
4 slices crisp-cooked bacon, chopped in bits
3 eggs
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup cream
8 oz. shredded chedder (I prefer the 4-cheese blend)
garlic salt to taste
black or white pepper

Brown hamburger in skillet with onion. Remove and mix in bowl with bacon pieces, breaking up any larger clumps with a fork or pastry mixer until you have a fine mix. Drain well of any excess grease and press into the bottom of a deep-dish pie pan. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Combine remaining ingredients in mixer bowl and whip well. Pour mixture over beef "crust" and bake 40-45 minutes until top is browned and "set". Cool 15-20 minutes before slicing.

They said it was good with mustard and dill pickle on the side or on top of the slice.
Think I'll try it for supper in a couple of days.
Nikki

Good Morning All:

Nikki, love the look of that recipe. I am going to try it this week!!! Great
timing I will be going shopping this morning.

Lynn, I quit smoking 13 years ago when my father( in his late fifties at the time) developed lung cancer for the second time. My dad is still living, he has had four surgeries for this beast and last year had a round of radiation.
I was 33 when I quit. I have five sons ranging in age of 14 year old twins
up to a 23 year old. Sadly, my 19 year old smokes. My brother also had
a 4-way bypass at 42. The doctor also said.....Cigarette smoking....My
brother too is smoke free now although he still chomps on nicorette gum.
I too am a compulsive personality. When I read Nikkis' description of herself,
I am her twin in every way :lol:

Hi Aleka, I am going to read my points info today. I am either going to go
that way or back to Suzannes plan. (love that one)

I had a real winner of day yesterday!!! :devil: came over to the cash office
using every 4 letter word :censored: you ever heard. She was furious
talking about Tanya. She wants to fire her and I don't think the higher ups
will let her. :devil: told me she has 3 job interviews next week. She claims
she is going to quit :cp: :bravo: :hat: :dance: :cb: If she does, I will
buy a bottle of champagne!!!!

Talk to you later...
Anne.

A good Saturday morning to you all,

In yesterday's post I meant to congratulate all of you for giving up smoking and being able to stay away from it for a number of years, but I had a blonde moment. You all accomplished a great deal by doing that and I hope you're very proud of yourselves. :smug:

It's back in the chilly temps again with wind chills. Hopefully this won't last as long as it did last week.

ANNE, hope you're having a nice relaxing weekend away from work.

nikki, thank you for sharing the recipe. It sounds so easy to make and delicious so I copied and pasted it. I love crumbled up hamburg and scrambled eggs. I occasionally have it. I add some cheese and whatever vegetable that's left over from the night before. It really is very filling.

lynn, How is you dog doing? We have to take our's to the Vet Mon. morning for her annual shots. She's a brat in the waiting room, barking and growling at the other dogs that are somewhat larger than her. :rolleyes: Good luck with your choice of Atkins or SSizing. I do have the Atkins for Life Book, thinking I'd follow one of the controlled carb plans without going through induction. But, I don't care for the taste of soy milk and am afraid to drink whole milk because I do have high cholesterol which seems to be under control at the moment. SSizing brought it down.

Another thing I forgot to tell you...another blonde moment :lol: When I went to WW last week I had to stay after the meeting so the leader could go over the program with me. Afterwards, we were talking and I told her that I had previously been doing a food combining, lower carb, WOE where you ate good fats, whole foods, etc. I then told her that once I gave up everything with a lot of sugar in it, like no fat products, and started eating good fats my cholesterol went down within the normal range. I could tell by her face that she didn't want to hear that because she very quickly remarked that someone told her that they had just come off of Atkins and their cholesterol went way up. Then I told her that everyone was different, but it surely worked for me. Then remembering what Fergie said on Larry King about not eating vegetables, I told her that when I was low carbing I never ate so many vegetables.

Have a good Saturday everyone! :balloons:
Aleka

ANNE, I think we were posting at the same time! :D That's wonderful news that :devil: is thinking about quitting. That would ease a lot of the tension in your office. Keep your fingers crossed that she gets one of the jobs she's interviewing for. :crossed: :crossed: I love Suzanne's plan too, especially the food. But, the food combining just doesn't fit with my lifestyle. What I am doing is doing a modified version of SSizing (no food combining) counting WW points. My favorite breakfast that stays with me is whole-wheat toast w/part-skim Ricotta cheese. I should be eating fat-free, but :p

I don't know if I've told any of you this, but my mother died of lung cancer, from smoking, in 1979, a month shy of her 64th birthday. Two of my uncles (my mother's brothers) smoked they both died of lung cancer, one being my age, 55, when he died, the other was in his 70's. Two of my aunts that smoked died from other causes, but they both were starting to get lung cancer when they died. I have 2 cousins that smoke and I asked one of them if she wasn't afraid to smoke given our family history. She just shrugged and said no. :shrug: :?:

Bye again,
Aleka

Goodmorning Ladies: Aleka my email just said I had mail as I was reading your posting so I checked your time and we are posting at the same time again. Another short night? The dog is still very stiff hopefully we will see some improvement today. the problem with increasing her meds. her appetite increases also. Now we are talking about a already over weight spanial so extra weight increases the pressure on the back legs a catch 22 situation but I just want to see her comfortable. My DH said maybe we will have to go south to get her comfortable.LOL, He just wants to go golfing. Anne smoking does affect so many areas of our health. With your family history I wouldn't tempt fate. I am a cancer survivor and still see a Dr. at Princess Margaret Hospital. I strongly beleive that once cancer is in your body it stays there, it may be dorment for years but you have to "help" it stay in that state. What hospital do you work in? I also go to Mt. Sinai on occasion. I consider not smoking the best present I ever gave myself. Aleka you are sooooo lucky you never started. Thank God my kids are death against smoking. Aleka I just stopped to read what I wrote and had to correct the spelling of your name 2x. My DD's boyfriend of 7 years is named Aleks so if it slips by me you will know why. Nikki the recipe looks fabulous and something I think my DH will like. I often have to cook seperate veggies for him (Doesn't like any green except peas, wants potatoes or rice every meal). He also doesn't need to lose any weight. He has high cholestrol and is on medication for it. Some days I have a hard time planning meals. It used to be worse my daughter follows low fat when she lived at home. Well the Dh just arrived back with the Saturday papers and that Canadian institution Tim Horton's coffee. You all have a great Saturday and I will catch you later.