Today's menu...

Breakfast - McD's sausage burrito w/coke life
Lunch - Amy's organic cheese burrito
Snack - Skinny popcorn
Dinner - homemade pizza

Jacqui, I'm so sorry to hear you had to put your doggie, Mac, down. That is always hard. We have had to do that with 4 dogs so far, and another one died on her own. It is so exhilarating to have your pets so happy to see you. This dog we have now jumps all over me when I come home, even if I've only been gone a hour.

I don't remember, but how much did you weigh before you left for your dad's?

Mars, I think our bodies love the phytonutrients in the orange foods, with the exception of the pumpkin donuts. LOL I am going to post a recipe for butternut squash that you are going to love! I have a small one sitting on my counter waiting for me to cook it.

Mars, and Wild Blue, I would much rather have a big butt than the big belly I have. Maybe I could have that fat transferred. LOL

PrairieQueen, I am going to have to try a McDonald's Sausage Burrito after seeing it on your menu each day. I love McDonald's breakfast but I usually end up with a Sausage and Egg McMuffin. I think I had a burrito years ago when they first came out. For 8 years at one job I stopped at McDonald's for breakfast every morning. After I left that job there was no McDonald's on the way to my new job and I thought I would lose weight. No such luck.

SeeMyFeet, I'm sorry to hear that you are feeling so discouraged. I get that way many times. I have been a member here for 4 years and still weigh the same. I lost 20 lbs once but it was a result of surgery and I gained it back eventually. I don't know if I will ever lose, but I'm still hopeful, most of the time.

Here is the butternut squash recipe.

Crusted Butternut Squash Wedges
(Original recipe was made with pumpkin wedges)



1 ½ lb squash (Pumpkin) skin on)
1/2 C grated parmesan
3 tbs dried white breadcrumbs
6 tbs finely chopped parsley
2 ½ tsp finely chopped thyme
grated zest of 2 lemons
2 garlic cloves crushed
salt and white pepper
¼ c olive oil
½ c sour cream
1 tsp chopped dill

Preheat the oven to 375. Cut the pumpkin into 3/8 in thick slices and lay them flat, cut side down, on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper.

Mix together in a small bowl the parmesan breadcrumbs, parsley, thyme, half the lemon zest, the garlic a tiny amount of salt and some pepper.

Brush the pumpkin generously with olive oil and sprinkle with the crust mix, making sure the slices are covered with a nice thick coating. Gently pat the mix down a little.

Place the pan in the oven and roast for about 30 min, or until the pumpkin is tender; stick a little knife in one wedge to make sure it has softened and is cooked through. If the topping starts to darken too much during cooking, cover loosely with foil

This is the best thread on the forum, or at least the busiest. What a chatty group! We are almost at 500 posts again!

Yayyyy us! I sure look forward to reading everyone's news. I took a class last yr in $ management for women. The teacher was a VP at a big brokerage. She tried to recreate the cameraderie of her mother's sewing circle; women earning pennies doing piecework for a major clothing co, gabbing away & sharing their tips & wisdom. This isn't meant to leave out men, just acknowledging the tradition

Jacqui Hope you get outside often to walk Ichabod down Main Street! My cat used to punish me for going away. Once she ran away, poor baby. Then she would turn her back on me for a while in the most deliberate way.

Carol I think I am going to try that recipe tomorrow-thanks! As soon as I read the word 'crusted' in the title, my mouth started watering! I'm ready to ramp up the orange foods now. I'm using the tiny white potatoes like medicinal carbs, but will start looking out for tiny sweet potatoes.

btw, make no mistake, I have plenty of extra padding on my ab, but I think it's proportional. If I look straight in the mirror, i have an hourglass shape, but sideways, those abdominal fat pads are plenty visible, and yes available for a transplant, lol!

Wild Blue Yeah, denial is often my thing too. Sometimes it's not such a bad thing. County Fair sounds delightful! Ours tend to be in August; Oct. sounds like a beautiful time for a fair. Are there harvest things? rides? I have to avoid milk too, tho I can have a little. When it's for a clear cut health reason, I don't feel deprived, as opposed to say, a self-imposed thing like no sugar that just makes me want it Hope you enjoy a good rest from work!

SeeMyFeet How's it going?

I was going to skip posting today because I have no rationalization for yesterday's off plan eating. Won't elaborate the gory details but it was things in the lounge at work. I am going to have to avoid the lounge from here on out through the season if I am to maintain, let alone lose. It was a combo of stress & just plain ole 'I want it!' choice. My stress is just getting organized & packed--a lot to do with that.

Work is asking a little more of me than usual--wouldn't be a big deal any other time but my mind is on all the travel things. And SAD is kicking in. For this, i'm going to have to have enough carbs to make serotonin, and that means super careful with controlling appetite. Last year I tried to fight this by lowering carbs and I ended up in a scary mood. When I got into a shouting match at a mall parking lot, I knew I had to stop doing low low carb/cal (like 30-40 net).

If not for the moodiness, I would love to eat super low carb as it totally controls my hunger. Next lifetime, I want to come back with longer legs, straight hair, and more serotonin. There, that's settled!

everyone else!

FRIED CABBAGE WITH SAUSAGE (great for low carbers)
This is a quick and easy dish.
1 stick butter or margarine
1 small head of cabbage, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1 pound smoked sausage, sliced into round pieces (I use turkey)
1 (15 ounce) can diced tomatoes or rotel tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
Melt butter in large skillet. Add cabbage, onion, and cook on medium high for about 5 minutes stirring to keep from sticking to pan. Add remaining ingredients, cover and simmer for 20 – 25 minutes.
Makes about 8 servings. Only 4 g net carbs per serving.

Chickadeee, I saw a similar recipe made on TV but it added cooked pierogies to it, probably to stretch the recipe. I made it for my family once and I only ate the cabbage, onions and sausage and left the pierogies for them.

Mars, I can't wait to hear how you like the Crusted Butternut Squash. My DIL got the recipe from a magazine and has made it at 2 family gatherings so far. Last time she was putting it in the oven, DH was standing behind her saying "That paper is going to catch fire!" LOL He doesn't understand parchment paper.

Hi everyone!

Wannabehealthy the only reason I get the sausage burrito is that I know how many calories are in it, it's about the least amount I can function on until lunch, and it's the only place open that serves food on my drive to work (not counting gas stations).

Today's menu:
Breakfast- toasted bakery sourdough slice w Irish butter and homemade pear/limoncello "butter," Coke Life
Lunch- 1 slice of leftover pizza (peppers, onions, turkey pepperoni, andouille sausage, 2 cheeses)
Snacks - pear, Skinny popcorn
Dinner - 1/2 slab baby back ribs, 1/2 cup Mac and cheese, 2 light beers

Hi Folks,
Well I'm back for more weight loss, so I thought I'd check in here too.

I am 172 and gonna go 0 carb till Wednesday to shake things up a bit. Hopefully a few pounds will drop....

Yesterday
B mushroom/sauerkraut omelet, whey shake coffee
L salad w veggies, chicken, beans, WF balsamic dressing
D turkey chili, cauliflower, broccoli, butternut squash
S apple B-up bar
2L herb tea, no exercise

Looking forward to making crusted butternut squash, with no parchment fire

FinallyFree, I hope your zero carb works for you!

Chickadeee, yay! And yum! That recipe looks delicious...and simple enough that even I could make it, lol!

Carol Sue, thank you! Dogs are just so sweet and loyal and good. They are always so happy to see their people! I am more of a cat person, but I love dogs too. It's impossible not to! That butternut squash recipe looks wonderful! Of course, it might be a little beyond my ability with the zested lemon and having to check it for doneness without burning, etc., lol! The day before I left for TN was a Saturday, and before I started my Carb Day eating on that Saturday, I weighed 177. The next morning, still on my scale, I weighed 179.5. I agree, this is a great, and chatty, thread!

Mars, definitely take care of your mood! I know if I had to choose, I would rather maintain my weight the whole winter and keep my mood stable than lose weight and feel depressed, aggravated, and anxious! I keep trying to walk Ichabod in my yard on Main St., but I don't think I'll try walking him DOWN Main St., haha! (Can't you just see me strolling down the sidewalk with a cat, bent over holding him up by the tail the whole way? ) I think I am getting more exercise than Ichabod though! I saw a cat walker on YouTube that I would like to have made for him. It's different from a cat wheelchair which lifts the back legs off the ground out of the way. The walker keeps all four legs on the ground and encourages them to use the back legs. He needs one of those!

PrairieQueen, on a morning when you are not on your way to work, if you have a Taco Bell close by, you should try their breakfast sandwiches. YUM!

Oh boy, I had a heyday with pumpkin doughnuts on my Carb Day yesterday! And although I drank water throughout the day, I didn't drink enough. It was just a few sips, instead of bottles like usual. I was down to 175 yesterday morning (which I added it to my ticker), but I am back up to 177.5 today! And this week is going to be so trying! My town has a huge pumpkin festival this week that lasts all week, so there will be pumpkin treats of every kind imaginable and concession foods everywhere! This is going to be the biggest test I've had yet and I don't know if I have that kind of willpower! If I can only make it to Saturday! Wish me luck!

Week 23: High 179.5, Low (175)
10/4--179.5
10/5--(177 w/pjs, which would have been 179 fully dressed)
10/6--(176.5 w/pjs, which would have been 178.5 fully dressed)
10/7--(175.5 w/pjs, which would have been 177.5 fully dressed))
10/8--(177 fully dressed)
10/9--(176 fully dressed)
10/10--(175 fully dressed) Carb Day

Week 24: High 177, Low 175
10/11--(177 fully dressed)
10/12--(176 fully dressed)
10/13--(175.5 fully dressed)
10/14--(175 fully dressed)
10/15--(174.5 fully dressed)
10/16--176
10/17--175 Carb Day

Week 25:
10/18--177.5
10/19--
10/20--
10/21--
10/22--
10/23--
10/24--

Yesterday's Meals
Breakfast
3 pieces of Nestle's Thin Mints Candy
Pumpkin doughnut
Mio water

Lunch:
Half a ham and cheese sandwich
Pumpkin doughnut
Mio water

Snack:
Pumpkin doughnut

Dinner
BBQ slow cooker meatballs and lil smokies
Cornbread
Pumpkin doughnut
Mio water

Yesterday's Exercise:
Yardwork--I did more squats than I ever do at the gym, lol!

Today's Meals
Breakfast
2 fried eggs
A slice of ham
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
MioWater

Lunch:
Kroger fried chicken with the skin removed
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Hot green tea
Mio water

Tea Time: (I'm changing this from "Snack" to "Tea Time" because I'm drinking more tea now that it's getting colder and I can always include a snack with it.)
2 cups of hot green tea

Dinner
Field greens and veggies salad with leftover fried chicken (no skin) added and ranch dressing
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
20 minutes on Weslo Cardioglide at home

Thank-you Jacqui for the sound advice. I'm going to stick to my (mostly) sugar-free eating and up the healthy carbs. I love the cat-walker idea for Ichabod. Leaning over to do the tail-walk sounds like a core muscle workout for you! Your Carb Day looks delish!

I am feeling a little calmer today, having knocked off some to-dos. I have the ingredients assembled for Crusted Butternut Squash, but might make it before work tomorrow so that I don't at it all at once.

Jacqui you're only an hour's drive from me....I always wanted to go to the festival, but always forget about it. If I ever have a grandchild I will definitely be traveling there for it.

PrairieQueen, oh you should! It's just so small town, but really fun if you aren't expecting something more than just a small town experience. (Well, except for Saturday if it's pretty out or Thursday night if the Ohio State Band is playing, because then we're talking crowds of over 300,000 and that doesn't feel so small town!) Oh, the pumpkin foods they can come up with, it's amazing! The only thing I've ever tried that I don't like is pumpkin pizza. It was like thin mushy pumpkin pie with melted cheese on top and it was nasty. But some people just love it. I don't know why! Yuck! All the other pumpkin foods make up for it though! Every kind of delectable dessert that can possible be made with pumpkin is here, and I'm pretty sure I've tried them all! I even like the non-dessert pumpkin burgers, which are like sloppy joes, Besides the pumpkin doughnuts though, my favorite food here is the bourbon chicken (no pumpkin) at this one booth. Everyone knows about it though and the line is always long, but it's worth the wait! There's more to do than just eat of course. There are carnival rides and games, and of course parades twice a day, and there are lots of craft booths and a craft exhibit. I really enjoy the shopping, haha! My DH calls it the week he goes broke. It's not as bad now that the kids aren't living at home. They still come home for it, but he no longer has to pay for them, lol!

Mars, I'm so glad you're feeling better! Yes, exercising Ichabod is quite a workout, lol!

Hey all! Quick read-through, though I’m sure I missed things. Doing fine, Mars, thanks for asking. I got back on track after the 2-day (banana bread and apple pie) furlough and the weight seems to be coming off again (whew!!) which has improved my mood; the exercise helps a lot as well…..OK…hmmmm....I’m feeling a bit dense…what’s a “WF” aisle??...Women’s Food? Weight Free? Watermelon Fest? …..wait! wait! I’ll get it! ….Wwwwarm & Fuzzy? ….Is it in a grocery store? ….Worm Factory?....idk??

Goodness gracious, people…..I can deal with all the talk of pumpkin thin-n-that, but could you PLEASE stop talking about catfish??? (been a looooong time since I’ve had good catfish, mmmmm)

Hey WildBlue, good luck joining the 20’s. Been stuck in this region for some time. Nice to have some company, but let's not stay too long.

Sorry you’ve been stuck for so long, Carol . I don’t see your stats posted, but I hope they are much better than mine! You need several gold stars for sticking with a healthy lifestyle, that's for sure .

For knocking off the to-dos, Mars! My list is waaay too long. Getting things done is a great way to fight off the blues.



Hey, I got to move my weight ticker Finally! Only 0.2lb down from that time in May when I was trying hard to lose weight. I love playing the Move-the-Ticker-Down game.