Good afternoon! I've been MIA for a few days but I have been doing pretty well with my eating. I was really craving food last night. I don't think I was hungry but I felt like eating a bunch of cheesy pasta, what a weird craving! I am more of a chocolate and pastries kind of person.

My weight has been around 214-215 for about a week but then I saw the whoosh a few days ago and it's kept going. Today I'm 211.8. I'm expecting TTOM in a couple days, so I might feel a little bloated again.

Sum I hope you feel better soon!!

Jacqui Way to go!! Woo hoo! You've getting so close! What are you going to do to celebrate getting to 164?

Jacqui wow!! Way to go.......how exciting is that. I think you should order an Instant a pit to celebrate when you hit 164 :)

My calories have been in deficit mode since Sunday, but those dang yummy carbs. It's wreaking havoc on my digestion. So what do I eat tonight...mashed potatoes in my shepherds pie. I will not learn, but is was good.

Today's food...

Break - chicken/cheese burrito
Lunch - 1/2 portion of Mongolian beef w/brown rice, carrots, and broccoli
Dinner - shepherds pie

Bro texted today about how he is getting almost zero rehab services at the supposedly new and "great" facility. That was part of the reason he's depressed...it's like they just forgot about him (and he has insurance, which shouldn't matter). Mom and stepdad managed to get meelting with management and were guaranteed that things would change immediately. He hasn't even been taught/given exercises for throad/swallowing or muscles. He has to initiate any walker trips, etc. I'm so frustrated...I wish I was down there, because you don't want to mess with me when I'm on a mission! And all of my missions are successful :)

Official weigh-in day. I lost 2.8 pounds in a week! Quite happy about it.

Plan for today

Meals

BFast ~ Zucchini ja sweet potato cakes, 2 sausage links, clementine
Lunch ~ Going out with a friend. Cobb salad with shrimp.
Dinner ~ Butternut squash soup, salad
Snacks ~ TBD

Exercise

Walk ~ 2-3 miles

Weight
166.6

PrairieQueen, the fact that your brother has good insurance could be more of a reason he's not receiving the rehab he should be getting. Sometimes when they know they will be getting a steady payment they want to stretch it out. They rush to get the people out who aren't supplying their income. Someone needs to be making some noise!!!

You can have my serving of shepherd's pie. Not my thing. I'd take the mashed potatoes, and even the vegetables, but mix it together and I don't like it. Go figure!

UpandAway, cheesy pasta would be high on my list of cravings! LOL

Sum, good job on the weight loss! Has the puffiness in your face gone away?

Sum sorry about the swelling hope it goes away fully, soon :hug: You are doing very well, but you always do. Once you set your mind to something you get'er down, GO YOU :high: I have the Yogi detox tea. It was recommended in the book 10-day Green Smoothie Cleanse which I'm trying to get on board with since my huge hiccup on this journey. Today is day one all over again :) I also have the roasted dandelion root tea by Traditional Medicinals not bad. I need to buy some cranberry juice and try your way. Does it help with the bathroom which you all know has always been my issue.

Carol Sue so glad to hear that you are staying away from the 200's I know that has been your goal and you are doing. Way to GO :high: Carol Sue I don't buy the cocktails because they are made up of water hence the much lower price. I don't like the bitterness of cranberry juice so if I'm gonna drink it it has to be real juice :)

PrairieQueen, sorry that your brother isn't getting the therapy that he should but we all know if you don't make your presence known and they feel no one is watching they will do little to nothing. Good for your parents on stepping in. Where is he? You said down there. Are you able to get to him sometime soon. I need to look up your Instant Pot. It sounds like my kind of appliance :)

Jacqui, hope you mouth is heeling and you can eat eat soon :hug: Look at you go. I see you have set a new goal of 147. What does your hubby think about where you are now? Does he mind you going lower? RE: consecration ... on 1/14 I weighed in at 166.9, my low for the year. Today I weighed in at 173.6 down .7 from yesterday. Tell me that's not crazy. I said I wanted to keep up with you and completely got off course. :(

upandaway, your craving was for one thing, I count that as a plus. :) and you knew what it was. I ate a mountain of junk (wide variety) yesterday because I wanted everything. But back on track today thank goodness. :)

Has anyone heard from Mars?

Hi Trish, I hope all is well :hug:

Rennie he lives in Florida with mom and stepdad .... Just moved from Ohio in August after selling everything and "starting over." He was still recovering from a serious fall at work when he had a tooth pulled. Dentist didn't follow protocol and pulled while it had abscess which in turn led to sepsis and infective endocarditis. Docs thought he was a lost cause, but we had a Christmas miracle and he is recovering in record time (except for the eating). He had oral surgery and two open heart surgeries (both five days apart). I may be able to get down next month for a long weekend, and I'm definitely going for my spring break end if March/first of April.

Today's out-of -control Friday menu....

Break - McD's sausage burrito
Lunch - last of Mongolian beef, brown rice, and steamed carrots/broccoli
Dinner - Donatos thin crust mozzarella trio w/two lite beers.

(TMI but I'm hoping the takeout pizza works as a "declogger" ..... It usually does and boy do I need it!)

Good evening!

Weight today 211.6 (down .2 from yesterday). I need to do some grocery shopping asap. I had turkey chili for breakfast and dinner because I have no other meat in my fridge. Anyone have good chicken marinade recipes?

Rennie I think I heard Diana from another thread refer to that as "bottomless pit syndrome". I've been there, I've done it because it's soooo hard to resist!

Prairie Queen, I'm so sorry about your brother's care. I hope their meeting with management was productive, and your brother sees some changes asap.

Sum, great job on your weight loss! woo hoo!

Carol Sue I still want cheesy pasta today! lol But I'm going to blame the craving on TTOM.

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

Up this is be of my faves....
http://www.food.com/recipe/steak-or-...-fajitas-63786

Carol Sue, I'm going to go after a bonus goal of 147. If I don't reach that number because my body decides to stop losing somewhere along the line, that will be fine, but I'm going to attempt to get there! :crossed: I don't know why it didn't occur to me to buy Diet Ocean Spray. That would work!

Rennie, that jump up on the scale just means you started eating normally again. It's nothing to be alarmed about and certainly nothing to beat yourself up about! :hug: If you cut way back on quick carbs again, you'll lose those lbs quickly again. They really are just water. I finally came to understand that our bodies are most comfortable when they are holding the water weight lbs that we shed so quickly in the first couple of weeks of a diet. Holding that water is its safety reserve, and once we go off our diets, the body quickly builds that reserve back up. All we have to do is start dieting again and those lbs will fall back off! :yes: I figure I lost 15 lbs of stored water weight at the beginning of my diet. If I decided to eat "normally" again, not overeating but just adding in quick carbs, bread and pasta, etc., each day, I'd quickly regain those 15 lbs. (My body tries to do that after each Carb Day, but I immediately go back to slow carbs and it has no choice but to let go of the water it began to store.) If I stopped dieting and my body regained that 15 lbs of water weight, it might level off after that, but there's no doubt that 15 lbs is a given, just as quickly as my body can soak up enough water to refill those reserves. When I finally realized that's how the body works, that's when I knew there was no turning back, unless I was resigned to being at least 15 lbs heavier. That why my maintenance goal is to stay on the Slow Carb Diet. It's a healthy diet and there's no reason why I can't make it a permanent lifestyle change, so that's what I've decided to do! You hear people say "It's not a diet, it's a lifestyle change," but for most people what they are doing really is a diet. For it to be a lifestyle change, there is no coming back off of it. It's a permanent change. (That's why my permanent lifestyle change needed to have an allowed Carb Day! Otherwise, I couldn't do it!) Anyway, don't be upset. Just jump back on a lower/slower carb plan and you'll lose that water weight again in no time! :yes: Nope! No word from Mars. She logs her progress over on the monthly weight loss (Chicks Up for a) challenge , but that's it. I think she's just super busy. I wish she would drop in and say hi. I don't think she realizes how much we miss her! :dunno:

Sum, look at you go! You are not messing around! Great job! :cp: Is the swelling in your face better now?

Up and Away, I was just planning on buying new underthings since mine are saggy now, haha, but now I really want to go with Prairie Queen's suggestion to get an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker! :yes:

PrairieQueen that's an excellent suggestion! Now I just have to talk DH into it since he thinks I already have enough cooking vessels, lol! :stir: I'm so glad your brother is going to start getting the rehab he went there for! :yes: And I have no doubt you could get real "no nonsense" if you were there! Most teachers have a knack for flipping that switch, lol! :lol:

Trish and SeeMyFeet, how y'all doing?! :wave:

It's officially Friday wee early morning, but during this post, it still feels like very late Thursday night to me, so I'm reporting Thursday weight and meals right now! :dizzy:

Still at 165.5! :dancer: It might have been a tad lower but I kept munching on those doggoned pecans! I had to absolutely stop myself from doing that tonight!

Week 34: High 170.5, Low 167
1/3--169.5
1/4--169.5
1/5--170.5
1/6--170
1/7--169
1/8--167.5
1/9--167 Carb Day

Week 35: High 169.5, Low 166.5
1/10: 169.5
1/11: 168.5
1/12: 168
1/13: 168
1/14: 167
1/15: 167.5
1/16: 166.5 Carb Day

Week 36:
1/17: 167.5
1/18: 166.5
1/19: 168
1/20: 166.5
1/21: 165.5
1/22: 165.5
1/23:

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch:
Protein bar
Mio water

Snack:
Pecans

Dinner:
Kroger Fried Chicken (I didn't bother to remove the skin. I don't know how heavily they bread it, but that could come back to bite me for tomorrow's weigh-in!)
Diet Dr. Pepper

Today's Exercise:
None

EDITED TO ADD: Wow, I have to do A LOT of editing when it's very late night, lol! :lol:

My swelling is almost gone. I don't know what it was.... For some days, I kept drinking a lot, and barely going to potty; it was like my body was a sponge.

Today will be hard to stay OP. Having some dinner guests and there will be the temptation to have wine. We'll see...

Plan for today

Meals

BFast ~ Egg muffins, clemetine
Lunch ~ Salad w/ left over roast beef and veggies
Dinner ~ Fish stew, salad
Snacks ~ TBD

Exercise

Walk ~ 4-5 miles

Weight

165.4

Nice to meet you upandaway42!

Jacq you are making great progress!!

PrairieQueen I am so sorry about your brother. That is terrible what he has gone through!

Wannabehealthy Shepherd's pie is one of our favs :)

Hi Rennie :cheer:

Jacqui, the 15 lbs of water weight is just that. Water. It seems that everyone who decides they are at goal has a bit of a regain. I guess the key would be to go lower than your goal to allow your body to settle in at goal. I don't think you will ever be able to fight that. Now, I know that saying that is going to make you more determined to prove me wrong! LOL I think if you set your mind on 147 you will do it!!

Hi Rennie! Good to see you! Sounds like Consecration did your body good!
Hope you're safe and warm in this snow storm.

I don't know if we have anyone use from our group in the snowbound area.
We got 8 1/2 inches. We've had that before and it's really no big deal. It's supposed to go into the 40s on Monday and melt it all.

Right now DH is snowblowing the deck and part of the back yard so the dog can go out and pee!

A flyby.

Welcome to the Newbies.

My weight only bounces so making more changes today. I've decided to use 2 of the whey protein shake powder each day. I'll have a shake in the morning for breakfast and dinner will be like a treat I saw on a low carb site somewhere. It uses Greek yogurt, plain and ricotta cheese and cocoa so I decided to make it with a serving of the whey protein powder. It is really a delicious. Then I will have the one carby meal with DH.

I joined a CAD group on FB. Some of them do the CM and RM differently than the book and are losing weight. I figure I can do it with moderate lowcarb. I heard that one of diet ads on tv advertises using shakes. Someone told me they use them to jumpstart weight loss so I've decided that I will try it and see what happens. If it works I will use it to get my weight down and then consider if I want to change a shake for a low carb meal.

I'm mostly reading/lurking lately, but I'm still hanging in there.

Hi all! Just sitting at kitchen table waiting on the apple pie to come out (I know, I know) and the carnitas to finish in the new Instant Pot Jacqui.....

I collected this year's freezer piggy and visited a new-to-me jersey dairy today not far from my house. They sell non-homogenized, low-temp pasteurized milk and chocolate milk to the public on an honor system. I got a gal of white to make yogurt in the IP tomorrow and a pint of choc just to try. I'd really like to start eating yogurt again but refuse to eat what's available at the supermarket....too processed.

I've going to have a half piece of pie after dinner and then we're headed up town for a drink and music.

:wave: all

What a week! Work demands have picked up as they usually do this time of year...I'm expecting to be crazy/busy for several months and not much slack until August. Over the past few days, I haven't been able to keep the (unreasonable) exercise schedule I set for myself, but am still hoping I can adapt and get back to it.

Had a good few weeks of weight loss (Fin-a-lee), but that all crashed into a wall, and I'm struggling not to gain, even though the calories are low. Stress. And not pooping, ha. Oh, and "things" just keep breaking...now it's my computer at work. I'm getting a new one, so Yay! something I can rely on, but Boo! to getting used to a new operating system, loading up all the old programs, re-setting preferences, etc., and all the time required for that. Hope I can recover all my files.

I hope your bro gets the attention he still needs in rehab PQ. He still needs it. I've been missing my bro a lot today; still comes over me in waves some times. Guess I'm too tired and stressed....speaking of which, I have to get back to work :(.

No music, but had a few drinks at home watching DVRed American Pickers.

Today's eats...

Breakfast - 1/2 portion sheperds pie
Lunch - salami wrap, pickle
Dinner - carnitas w/peppers, guac and sour cream (no tortilla), 1/2 piece apple pie
Snack - 2 lite beers

I've been dying to come on here all day and tell y'all my news but I haven't had a chance until now! I MADE GOAL TODAY!!! :woohoo: I was shocked to see 164 on the scale! I kept moving it and stepping back on it, lol! And yep, 164! That means I am "officially" no longer overweight according to the BMI chart! :goodscale: Only, today was Carb Day, so by now I am overweight again, lol! I ate a lot tonight and it was pasta so I imagine I'll be up by quite a bit on the scale tomorrow, but hey, that's just water weight! My real weight is 164! :dancer: We went out with friends to the casino to a new restaurant that opened there called Brew Brothers (I think it's a chain restaurant), and the food was really good! I had too much spaghetti with a humongous meatball and garlic bread, and then I shared a hot fudge brownie dessert with my DH. The dessert was way too sweet for my taste, but that didn't stopping me from having 5-6 bites of it, lol! :hungry: Anyway, I am still on cloud 9! :cloud9:

I'll write personals tomorrow. I am just much too tired tonight. :wave:

Week 34: High 170.5, Low 167
1/3--169.5
1/4--169.5
1/5--170.5
1/6--170
1/7--169
1/8--167.5
1/9--167 Carb Day

Week 35: High 169.5, Low 166.5
1/10: 169.5
1/11: 168.5
1/12: 168
1/13: 168
1/14: 167
1/15: 167.5
1/16: 166.5 Carb Day

Week 36: High 168, Low 164
1/17: 167.5
1/18: 166.5
1/19: 168
1/20: 166.5
1/21: 165.5
1/22: 165.5
1/23: 164 GOAL! Carb Day

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch:
2 pumpkin doughnuts
Mio water

Snack:

Dinner:
Spaghetti and giant meatball
Garlic bread
Hiot fudge brownie dessert
Redd's Apple Ale
Sweet tea

Today's Exercise:
None

PrairieQueen, why don't I understand what this means?


Jacqui, congratulations on reaching goal! That must really feel wonderful. I think I would celebrate with a plate of pasta, too, and enjoy every bite! DH has not wanted pasta lately and I'm dying for some.

I am celebrating too, today, but I'm celebrating officially becoming elderly. I turned 70, or will, at 2PM this afternoon. I think I heard somewhere that elderly people forget to eat. Wonder when that will start? LOL

SeeMyFeet, glad to "see" you here. I was wondering where you were. Hope you adjust quickly to your new computer!

Good afternoon all!

SMF I so feel for you. I just can't imagine...

Great news with the weight loss! Just keep on doing what works for you.

Carol Sue we get an entire smallish hog from a local farmer every January. This is our third one. The first year we only got a half, but it wasn't enough for entire year. We also get a side (1/2) of beef from a different farmer every June. That's been going on for almost four years (we moved to farm country 5 years ago the 31st of this month.) Since I cook just about every meal, we use it all. Plus, there are holiday dinners and family picnics at our place in the summer. I do think I'm going to have beef left this year as for some reason I got a half from a larger steer. When it gets closer to June I'll have to do a donation to the kids and/or have a cookout. We seem to have a lot of ground beef still.

Jacqui congratulations! I'm jealous :) what an accomplishment. For a large boned gal my height, I need to be below 141 to not be overweight. However, I'm considered small-framed.....I don't even know exactly where that puts me. I'll check once I hit the 141 mark. Again, I think you should celebrate with an IP. I'm making yogurt in mine today.

Hi Rennie, Sum, Patty !

Carol Sue, :bday2you: I hope you have a fantastic birthday! Are you doing anything special to celebrate? :balloons: And thanks! :D I think you're right on the water weight. If I make it to 147, I'll consider that my 15-lb leeway, because I really am content here at 164. So if I if lose more, I'm good. If I don't, I'm good. If I lose and then regain to this weight, I'm good. 164 may not be as low as the height and frame chart says I should weigh, but I kind of like it. It's comfortable. I find I'm happy with the way it looks and I like the way it feels. :yes:

PrairieQueen, homemade yogurt sounds wonderful! How do you like your Instant Pot so far? What's your overall review for it? (Ammunition to convince DH I need one, lol!) :lol:

SeeMyFeet, yikes! I hope all the important files on your old computer can be saved! :crossed: And I hope you can work out your schedule so that you can keep exercising. It's so good for you! :swim:

Trish, keep hanging in there! :flow2: I hope you find that combination which will work ideally for you!

Sum, I'm so glad the swelling has gone down! And thank you! You are making FANTASTIC progress! :cp:

Hi UpandAway, I saw on another thread you made your monthly goal! Great job! :carrot:

Hey Rennie! How are things going? :wave:

Only a 2-lb Carb Day gain, not bad! :spin: Hopefully, it will fall off in the next couple of days! :yes:

Week 34: High 170.5, Low 167
1/3--169.5
1/4--169.5
1/5--170.5
1/6--170
1/7--169
1/8--167.5
1/9--167 Carb Day

Week 35: High 169.5, Low 166.5
1/10: 169.5
1/11: 168.5
1/12: 168
1/13: 168
1/14: 167
1/15: 167.5
1/16: 166.5 Carb Day

Week 36: High 168, Low 164
1/17: 167.5
1/18: 166.5
1/19: 168
1/20: 166.5
1/21: 165.5
1/22: 165.5
1/23: 164 Carb Day

Week 37:
1/24: 166
1/25:
1/26:
1/27:
1/28:
1/29:
1/30:

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch:
Protein bar
Mio water

Snack:

Dinner:
Sue Bee boned chicken over steamed broccoli
Mio water
Diet Dr. Pepper

Today's Exercise:

OH PQ, you said it first! I'm so jealous of Jac, too! And UpandAway, 'cause she is losing so fast!

The scale went down this morning, whew. Don't know why it wouldn't...calories have been 1100 or less this week, and I have not been over eating or nibbling. But I know from past experience that stress turns me into a plant--capable of synthesizing fat just by inhaling air. I'm trying not to stress out this weekend about workplace insanity, but the emails just keep coming....

OH! HAPPEEEE BIRTHDAYYYY, CAROL SUUUUE!

Jacqui Congratulations for making goal.:cp::bravo::cp:

Carol Sue :bday2you: HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

Happy birthday Carol Sue! Sorry I missed it first time I posted.

Today's menu...

Break - fried egg, ham, hash brown
Lunch - 1/2 portion carnitas, no sour cream or tortilla, 1/2 piece of pie (again), cranberry water
Snack - glass chocolate milk
Dinner - small steak salad, cranberry water

Happy belated birthday Carol Sue!

Thank you Jacqui and SeeMyFeet!

SeeMyFeet I hope work stress isn't too overwhelming this week! Good job on the loss! Woo too!

Hi Trish, Sum and Rennie!



Today's weight 210.4 (down .4 lbs from yesterday).

I'm so excited that I'm ~10 lbs away from One-derland! Really excited to be getting close. Although I'd like to get down further, I really want to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight of 190. We have plans for me to get pregnant again later this year, so I'll be heading up the scales again, but hopefully I'll have better eating habits the next time.

I went to Costco yesterday, bought a huge pack of chicken breasts and made some yummy thai marinade. I'm going to have some tonight and freeze the rest. I have to cook another batch of chili tonight. Still having that for breakfast and loving it during the cold cold Canadian winter.

Have a great week everyone! :)

Hello Everyone :wave:

Looks like everyone is doing great. Congratulations to each of you.

I think I've finally found my way of doing this. I heard that the new WW Smart pts is low carb friendly. So I joined online for 3 months and I have to say that it really is. At first, I thought why did I do this because everything was so confusing to me at first, but I've spent the money for 3 months so I decided that I might as well get my moneys worth.

I'm glad that I joined it. For one thing, I am learning portion control. Another thing is that it encourages eating more protein and less starchy/sugary carbs. It also encourages eating less saturated fats. Just what I needed.

My weight has settled and I've stopped gaining. I hope that means that my body is adjusting and I will start losing. The problem that I had on MFP was the sodium in red. Psychological problem for me. I know that on low carb you don't have to worry about the sodium that much, but I kept trying to stay under their recommended amount.

I can do more of a South Beach Phase 2 type low carb and use WW for my portion control. On days I may eat a little higher carbs, I can do it with out ruining my diet plan. I believe this is going to work for me.

Sharing an example of how this plan has helped me. This morning my best friend and I were going to meet at Bojangles before we headed to the beauty salon for her to do my hair. I had planned to eat, but when I checked to see what would fit within my Smart pts. I couldn't find anything so I quickly made me a low carb type of breakfast and just had coffee with my friend. This helps me realize that this is going to work great for me.

Evening all! Congrats Up!

Bro update: he's starting to improve a bit w/swallowing. He may go home at end of week. I sent him swallowing exercises from a stroke experts website....very simple but potentially very helpful. He's still down...I can hardly get much out of him. Hoping things are better when he's home. He's looking forward to my visit :)

Sum I didn't make your tea, but I did incorporate my unsweetened cran juice into my daily routine....4 oz juice to 12 oz. seltzer water. It seems to be doing the trick as well!

Today's food...

Break - hash brown, ham slice
Lunch - carnitas
Snack - 1 tablespoon yogurt
Dinner - pasta w/steak and mushrooms in light cream sauce, spinach salad

Jacqui I made yogurt in the IP and it turned out great! I was thrilled. Tomorrow night I'm don't peanut butter granola so I can start having it for breakfast.

I'm going to try to start posting everyday because you guys get busy on here and I can't keep up. LOL

Using the WW SP is helping me keep my Moderately Low carb woe where it should be. Scale actually moved down 1 lb, but no drum roll because it is a recycle lb. One more lb down and my ticker will be accurate. Today DH and I are going out to eat at McAllister's Deli. I was able to look things up on WW and see what I can eat. I wanted a baked potato (been hungry for one of those), but changed my mind for a lot less pts. I'll have to plan a small one here at the house where I can control the portions and pts. So the good thing about this is that it is helping me to know how much I'm eating so that I can stay OP. FBS has been the same the last few days I've been on this too. Still higher than I want it, but it is improving.

Breakfast Oatmeal, blueberries and Greek yogurt
Lunch - McAllister's Deli Original Reuben sandwich and fruit cup
Dinner- Ham/Kale/cheese roll ups

P.Q. Sorry your Brother is down. I hope he perks up when he goes home and I'm sure your visit will be good for him.

I'll have to do some catching up on reading here. I need to see Sum's tea recommendation. :)

upandaway42 :carrot: I will be so thrilled when I can get into onderland. You go girl.

Tomorrow is our 13th wedding anniversary and DH is taking me out for steak at Texas Roadhouse. Looking at WW I will either be bringing home half of the food or using some weekly pts.

Y'all have good one and I'll catch y'all tomorrow.

Thanks for the birthday wishes. It was quiet, but nice.

Prairie Queen, I'm so glad to hear that DB is improving. He is such a miracle! I think he will improve greatly when he can get home.

I am having a new problem with DH that he doesn't want to eat meat that has been in the freezer, especially ground meat. I have done this for years. I have a Food Saver and I wrap everything well so it doesn't get freezer burn, but he now wants meat fresh from the store all the time. I have a 6 cubic ft freezer in the basement that is practically empty because of this. Over the holidays I had it full with all the baking I did, but now the turkey is gone, the cookies are gone, and if I don't buy more meat I will have to shut it down and stop using it.

Sum, I was googling because someone mentioned to me that Green Tea was not compatible with the Metformin that I take for diabetes. I didn't find anything, but in my search I found that I SHOULD stay away from Dandelion Tea. So that kills that idea for me! I'm glad I saw that before I spent the money on it.

UPandaway, don't do what I did. I was so excited to get below 200 that I just stopped dead. I just can't seem to get the weight loss to continue now. It's depressing. I lose a couple pounds and then go right back up. I am happy to be in Onederland, but would really like to see lower numbers.

SeeMyFeet, stress effects different people in different ways. Some people can't stop eating when they are stressed, and cortisol doesn't help. Other people completely lose their appetite. I know if DH makes me mad, I automatically run to the refrigerator and eat something. Makes me feel so much better. LOL

Jacqui, I am rooting for you and the 147. Why isn't it 145? 147 is an odd number, but so was 164. I tend to think in multiples of 5. LOL

Trish, it's good that this plan is teaching your portion control. That's more than half the game, I think.

Come back Rennie, Mars, Chickadeee!!!

Carol Sue you can tell him that a lot of "fresh" meat at the grocery has been previously frozen and most all of seafood has been unless you live on either coast. I think chicken is frozen a lot as well. You should research the chain you purchase from unless you have access to a butcher that cuts his own meat from fresh. Groceries also sprinkle nitrate-containing chemicals on their ground meat to pink it up. I was a food scientist at a meat processing plant before I was a teacher.

You know that, and I know that, but I don't want him to know that! LOL It's hard enough feeding him as it is. He has so many quirks about food. When he cooks eggs, he has to remove that membrane that is in the whites. I told him that they don't do that for him in restaurants but he says it's OK as long as he doesn't see it. He will not eat eggs that I cook because I won't take it out. And that's Ok because he cooks breakfast for us every morning. He stands in the kitchen and watches me cook half the time. I asked him why he doesn't do that in a restaurant and he says he would if they would let him. Maybe he thinks I'm going to poison him. LOL

New weight low finally this morning, but Tuesday is pub night so I imagine it'll be back up tomorrow for a day or two.

Menu...

Breakfast - yogurt
Lunch - egg salad/ham wrap
Dinner - grilled wings, Saratoga chips, lite beers
Snack - tablespoon of granola (taste testing), cranberry water

Good evening. :)

W 210.4 (same as yesterday)
I finally have a ticker! Yeay! :carrot: hahaha I don't know why that makes me so happy.

PQ great job! Hope pub night doesn't set you back too much. Glad to hear your brother will be going home soon. I imagine there is a still a long road ahead for him, but hopefully being at home around family in familiar settings helps him.

Carol Sue thank you for that advice. I feel like in the past, when I have dieted, I start to plateau when I reach the first few mini goals (and then of course I regain!). Glad to see you maintaining, and hope you can break through and go lower!

Trish I'm so glad the new WW is working for you. How did the outing to the deli go?

I can't believe it's the last week of January! Hope everyone is doing well!

The last couple of days I've weighed 166. I had hoped it would drop this morning, but it is what it is and that's okay. I'm in no hurry! Today, I've been hungry and I've overeaten, not on wrong types of foods, but I've just had too much of the allowed foods, so my weight will be even higher tomorrow, no doubt! :hungry: Well, I'm off to bed, y'all! I'll try to get to personals tomorrow! :yes:

Good evening ladies!

Carol Sue my hubs has so many quirks I wouldn't know where to start. I tell him he's the nut job in every corny British sitcom.

Up thank ou for the words of encouragement. I'm hoping to get down to Florida next month. I have a school holiday and personal day. I think it will do him and my mom some good.

Jacqui you are so rockin' the weight lost! Keep it up. I went a little overboard the last two nights but ended up still being at my normal deficit last night and almost tonight. I need to do my stairs for awhile to get on target.

Today's chow.....

Break - yogurt w/granola
Lunch - beef vegetable soup
Dinner - Philly cheesesteak (no mayo :( ) cranberry water

I was surprised today when I looked at my ticker and weight on my avatar here that I my ticker was correct yesterday and this morning I was down another .2 lb. My fasting blood sugar is coming down too.

DH took me out to Texas Roadhouse for dinner for our anniversary and I got steak, salad and steamed veggies. DH decided to eat half a roll and I did too. So I used some of my weekly pts.

I rode my 25 minutes on the stationary bike this morning and then we walked for about 45 minutes total after dinner. I tracked my exercise on WW and I earned 12 pts for today. So I had more than enough exercises built up if I wanted to use them, but I don't.

It appears that my body totally loves this way of eating and I am totally enjoying it. I ordered the new books and calculator so I can look up and figure some of the foods allowed. I can definitely live with this way of eating for the rest of my life.

Trish, I'm so glad you have found a plan that's working for you. It sounds like you are definitely on track and staying there. Good for you!! I wish I liked WW like you do and I'd join you. Seeing the commercials with Oprah makes me want to do it but I know I don't like counting points so I won't waste my money. That's why I have that Oprah quote in my siggy.

I'm glad you did well at Tx Roadhouse. We went there yesterday, too. It was a belated birthday dinner for me. I went off plan, but it was planned and I enjoyed every bite. I have been waiting a long time for this and this was the treat I wanted. We got a free Cactus Blossom with a coupon, DH had steak and I had ribs with a baked potato and steamed veggies. I rarely get a potato, but it was part of the plan. I ate half of everything and the rest is here for my lunch today. I did not have a roll. That's the biggest problem I have with blood sugar so I skipped it. Oh, and I also had a beer. That's another rarity. I usually take a sip of DHs beer but this time I had my own. I am up a pound this morning, but I'm not surprised and it was well worth it. My blood sugar is up 20 points, but still below 200. It seems I judge both my weight and blood sugar as below or above 200. Neither readings are good, but just better.

Prairie Queen, I can't tell DH that he has quirks. He thinks he's normal and everyone else is wrong. I just roll my eyes.

Upandaway, there's something about getting that ticker that makes you feel that you belong! Congratulations! Some people join but don't stay long enough to earn the ticker.

There's definitely something about a plateau. It really takes determination to break through them.

Jacqui, you are so close I can understand your being patient for those last couple pounds to leave. One of these days you will wake up and they will be gone! I hope they don't come to PA!! I don't want them!!

Someone explain this to me. When you lose weight, where does it go? Those pounds take up space when you have them, so what happens when you lose them? Does the air around you just take up more space? And wouldn't that make the air thin out?

I have a new low today. My weight is down 1.4 lbs making it 227.8. YAY Looks like this is the right way of eating for me.

Finally, a moment to myself! Lol! :comp: Well, after I over-ate a couple of days ago, I've been stuck in the 166-167 range. It would help if I weren't constipated! I may have to drink some Smooth Move tea. I don't like to, not because I don't like the taste because I do, but because the couple of times I've tried it, I felt like it threw me off for the next few days, but since I'm constipated anyway, I'm already thrown off, so that doesn't make a whole lots of sense, lol! :dizzy: I may have to break down and drink some tonight. :coffee2:

Trish, thanks! :D Congrats of being down 1.4 lbs! :cp: I'm so glad you've found what works for you!

Carol Sue, thanks! :D I chose 147 because that's the highest number the weight/frame chart listed for what I should weigh, being 5'8" and medium-framed. I'd love to weigh 145 but if I can just make it to 147, I'll be happy! :goodscale: I am getting a little concerned though. Having lost as much as I have, I now have wrinkles across my forehead which I've never had before, and more wrinkles are not okay with me, lol! I may rethink this if I see any more! :chin:

PrairieQueen, thanks! :D I need to get back to the gym, but I have been staying so busy with buying, pricing, and organizing for the booth and babysitting grandbabies that it's all I can do to sit down and post here! It's not that exercise is 2nd fiddle, but well, yeah it is. It's more important to me to come here. Y'all keep me on track! So when I get time (and energy), I will get over to the gym. :exercise: Yay on your yogurt turning out yummy! :T I eat yogurt, a lot of it, every day, so that's another reason I need an Instant Pot, lol! :lol:

SeeMyFeet, thanks! :D You'll get to your goal too! Just keep going! That's the magic key! :wizard:

UpandAway, how exciting that you are so close to Onederland! You can do it! :cheer: And it's even more exciting that you want to have another baby soon! :goodluck: And I like your new ticker! :spin:

Sum and Rennie, :wave:

Okay, so it may be too soon to do this, but I decided when I was at the grocery store today that I am going to try an experiment. (I love experiments, lol!) I am going to add citrus fruits and berries to my diet. Some people who do Slow Carb can eat them, so now that I have made goal (even though I should probably wait until I can hold it steady, but I'm not going to wait, lol), I'm going to give it a try! I really miss clementine oranges (cuties) and blueberries. I could probably do without all the other fruit but those I really want to add back in. So today I picked them up at the grocery and I had a cutie for lunch. Yum! It was like a ray of sunshine in my mouth, lol! :sunny: Maybe the extra fiber and water from the fruit will help with constipation too! :crossed:

Week 34: High 170.5, Low 167
1/3--169.5
1/4--169.5
1/5--170.5
1/6--170
1/7--169
1/8--167.5
1/9--167 Carb Day

Week 35: High 169.5, Low 166.5
1/10: 169.5
1/11: 168.5
1/12: 168
1/13: 168
1/14: 167
1/15: 167.5
1/16: 166.5 Carb Day

Week 36: High 168, Low 164
1/17: 167.5
1/18: 166.5
1/19: 168
1/20: 166.5
1/21: 165.5
1/22: 165.5
1/23: 164 Carb Day

Week 37:
1/24: 166
1/25: 166
1/26: 166
1/27: 166.5
1/28: 167
1/29:
1/30:

Today's Meals:
Breakfast:
2 fried eggs
2 slices of bacon
Fage yogurt with Mio
Mio water

Lunch:
Protein bar
Cutie
Mio water

Snack:
Pecans
Diet Dr. Pepper

Dinner:

Today's Exercise:

Nice drop Patty!

Carol Sue hubs used to think that too when he first came here and still does to a point. Lately, he's began to embrace being the eccentric Brit in town.

SMF, Rennie, Jacqui, Up :wave:

Evening all! What a busy week....hair appt., dinner out, three labs for students in three days, hubs gone last night so all chores on me (they usually are anyway :) ), shopping at Fresh Thyme, and a test to write tonight. I've been "starving" before 3 the past few days, but have been pretty good. I'm cautiously optimistic that I'll have a whoosh soon, although I have a scheduled visit from Aunt Flo soon. Fingers crossed. It's supposed tobe in the 50s Saurday to Tuesday here in southern Ohio....hoping to get outside to do a few things.

Today's food....

Break - 1/2 Dagwood sub w/mustard, no cheese
Lunch - other half of dagwood
Dinner - Cincinnati chili w/spaghetti and cheese, cranberry water

My mom and stepdad found a new rehab center for bro, and he got moved earlier this evening. This time they went and visited a few places and got to see the staff in action. The old place was nice and pretty and was arranged by hospital, but mom said the staff was totally unorganized and lazy. It was long-term and rehab with the focus on long-term, very little rehab. They're thinking he'll be home for my visit next month.

I over did it with my exercise yesterday and my knee was bothering me a bit. Going into Target it almost buckled under me a couple times. It's funny because I felt so good when I was doing it and I was wearing my knee brace. I put ice on it and rubbed on some Biofreeze at bedtime. It was mostly the swelling, rather than pain. I will have to take it easy and do more strengthening exercises. We will be going to the casino this weekend and I'm considering wearing my knee brace, which I usually only wear for exercising. It limits my movement, but gives my knee good support.

PrairieQueen, glad to hear bro is in a better rehab facility.

Jacqui, I am not a big fruit eater. It's not that I don't like it, but it's just not my first choice. Maybe I think about it raising my blood sugar and that's what stops me. The funny thing is that they say that fruit sugar is handled differently than regular sugar and doesn't raise BS, but they lie. If I would buy those 6 packs of little fruit cups they aren't too bad because they are small portions. Recently DH has been eating oranges and when he peels one he gives me a couple sections. It's just enough. And blueberries are supposed to be up there with kale as far as nutritional value. Occasionally I buy those little frozen cups of them and eat them once in a while. I don't think you will have a problem with them if you start out with small portions. I never heard of anyone getting fat from eating fruit.