I go over there often. I usually check out the recipes section. I'm particularly fond of a chicken recipe that is so easy and tasty. Chicken breasts, topped with salsa, put in the oven for half an hour, add a little cheese and let it melt and voila! Dinner so easy. Just add some veggies. It actually works with the plan I'm on--Medifast.

Silver, have you checked with a doctor about your energy levels? If you are tired despite getting enough sleep it could be something medical going on (thyroid, etc.).

Twynn, good job getting the healthy breakfast!

Allison, can you point me toward that recipe?

I'm trying to figure out what to do to lose weight. I'm kind of conflicted. On the one hand, I am exercising a lot more, but pretty much eating the same. I'm not sure whether I need to eat MORE to fuel the workouts in order for my body to lose some fat or I need to eat LESS since when I'm not working out I'm pretty much sedentary. I haven't been tracking calories but my estimate is that I've been eating 1600-1800/day this week. Before I had to drop to 1400 to lose weight. I had thought maybe playing with the composition of my diet would possibly change the numbers, but so far the gluten-free diet has not magically dropped any weight.

I just realized that so far today I've basically eaten fruit and dairy. I had yogurt + nectarine + a little bit of flaxseed, oats, and granola for breakfast, then had a banana + milk smoothie for a snack before my bike ride, then had cottage cheese + grapes for lunch. I think dinner is going to need to involve a lot of veggies.

Jessica~The recipe is somewhere on the South Beach recipe forum, but here it is as I remember it.

Boneless chicken breasts (one per person--expand as needed)
About 2-4T salsa per chicken breast
About 2T grated cheese (Jack, pepper Jack or Mexican blend) per chicken breast

Cover a jelly roll pan in aluminum foil (for easier cleanup). Spray with Pam. Place chicken breasts in pan (I've used frozen, unthawed breasts as well as thawed both with success--frozen is great if you've forgotten to defrost earlier). Put salsa on top of each breast. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (Perhaps a tad bit longer if frozen, although I haven't noticed a need for that). Put grated cheese on salsa, return to oven until cheese is melted. Serve.

I love this as the chicken stays really, really moist.

Thanks for the suggestion, Jessica. I try to steer clear of doctors, mostly, as my experience has shown them to be frequently clueless and often dangerous.
My tiredness is normal, I'd say: 'sandwich generation', work for myself (feast or famine), SO on the point of several breakthroughs, me on duty without time off most of the summer. And you know I'm seeing the physio. I haven't been able to do 'proper' exercise for ages. So I think I'm OK but I could do with a break, some well-paid work and a properly functioning back, core and knee. Ideas???

0.25lb up this morning.

Fresh inspiration - a good afternoon browse!

http://blogs.babble.com/family-kitch...o-inspire-you/

Hi Everyone,

I have been lurking here for a while and I am ready to jump in. I lost 33 lbs last year and gained 13 back this summer. I realized that the problem was that I jumped into "normal" eating again. With some health issues in the family and relatives visiting, the scale went up without me noticing. Somehow I magically thought that once I get to my goal, I will be able to eat as I used to.

This time, I am smarter. I think that the key for me is to have meals that satisfy me completely and then have days when I stay under my calories. I have been weighing my food pretty rigorously this time around and I am amazed how many more calories there are in seemingly innocent foods (creamy soups are my weakness).

So, I am at 132.6 this morning and my goal is 125.0. 7.6 lbs to go.

I enjoy this friendly place to keep me at it. So, thank you.
Vera

Road taken, Glad to see you join in!

Yes, the calorie shock of some foods is really something, isn't it? Check out some calorie counts for chain restaurants sometime--most have nutrition information on their websites these days. It's appalling what they pack into some foods.

Good luck on redefining "normal eating"!

Jay

SB, it's so hard to balance it all....and you do it with such grace. Congrats on the .25!

Jessica, how are you handling the gluten-free diet?

Twynn B and Road Taken, welcome to the coolest corner of the entire internet!!

Allison, I'm sending that method/recipe to DD at college. She bought a bag of frozen chicken breasts and needs ideas!

As for me, keeping on keeping on. Actively avoiding the scale and doing 2 steps forward, one step back with food and activity. I realized I need to drop some pounds in order to exercise the way I want to. My knees are yelling at me.

Come in, kittycat! Come in, kittycat! /over

We haven't heard from KC recently. Although my grasp of North America's geography is weak, I think she lives in Irene territory. So hoping you and the boys are OK, KC!

roadtaken!

Midwife, thank you. You've made me blush! It is very hard at times, as you know. Very good to hear you're trying. Two steps forward and only one back is, overall, moving in the right direction.

My Sunday report

Sleep: quite good but only 7.5hrs. I need more than this. I read too late last night. It was something for myself after a day of reorganising, cleaning and ironing. (SO made all the food & did all washing up. And is doing so today as well.)
W: +1lb
E: moved lots of kindling as part of clearing up after the painter and getting ready for winter. Sawed up an old plum tree.
F: passable. Too many crackers as part of lunch. And a bowl of muesli for supper. I feel rather stout.
Other: just two cups of coffee as part of breakfast at the kitchen table. I'm not sure whether too much caffeine triggers carb eating in me but it's worth investigating. So far, I've been eating many more cracker-type things plus muesli (possibly in an attempt to keep going) but my thinking is that this should even out when I get enough sleep under my belt.

Per FB, Miss Kitty et al. weathered Irene in one piece (pun intended!)

Thanks, midwife! I'm going to clean my teeth and turn out the light. SO is still washing up. He is a good person.

Thank you for all the warm welcomes. On my morning run, I was thinking about this forum and about how my family responds to me when I say that I want to lose some pounds. They start telling me I am thin enough and that I should stop or I'll die or something like that. I should add that I don't and never had an eating disorder.

I wondered if you all have similar experiences and how you respond. I'd like to empathize since I've been learning Nonviolent Communication but I find it challenging. My sense is they feel threatened at some level that they are not thin enough or something. Regardless of the motivation, it sounds very invalidating and yucky inside. Any thoughts/advice?

Other than that, for the last week or so, I have been making myself little containers of food for the following day (I love the idea of bento boxes). I know exactly how many calories are in each and at the end of the day, I subtract what's left over and prepare food for the next day. That way, I know exactly what I am going to eat and it is all in one box in the fridge. It has been so much fun to eat that way. Has anyone tried it?

Hey again, Road taken.

Do your family members have any cause for their concern? You don't list your height and weight, nor do you have to--just wondering where you're at with BMI, etc.

In my experience, I did have a friend caution me about losing too much when I was at my low weight, which was 147. Now that is just not too low for me! No way!

I think that what happens is that one's face, legs, hands and arms tend to become thinner looking while there is still plenty of fat on the torso. And since those are the places that people can see, they judge from that. I was looking thin in the face and had bony hands at 147, even though I was thick in the middle.

Jay

Roadtaken, I don't tell anyone as I don't think it's their business. As I'm like this about lots of subjects, friends and family are used to it. Not sure if that's at all helpful to you.

Monday

Sleep. Torrential rain woke the SO who woke me. Or did it wake me who woke the SO? Either way, it was a poor night even after I'd shut the window because the noise was so loud. We are like the living dead now.

W. -0.25lb

E. Have seen the physio who thinks I'll be fine in a fortnight and won't need to see her again. This flare-up is quite understandable following the kind of summer I've had, she said.

F. Quite good. No supper which is my usual m.o. so getting back to normal.

Other. The symptoms, niggles and complaints of the last few days can mostly be put down to an impending (now arrived) period. I can't wrap my mind around this conundrum: how is it that I forget, regularly, the signs and even the possibility of something I've known for over 40 years? Is it something deep and psychological? Midwife? Anyone? Is this a known syndrome? "The Blank Period Syndrome", for example. Well, it's a fact in my life, certainly, so do remind me of it next time things seem a bit odd in silverbirch country.

Well, I think it is hard to be objective about subjective experiences and when we are in the middle of something, it's hard to say, "well, "X" of course!". Retrospectiveness provides lots of answers. Of course, I am so done with periods anyway!! Psychologically done with them. So I do tweak my birth control to keep them rare. It helps me a lot.

I am goofy though. Right now I am hugely forgetful of many many things and I'm not sure what's going on. Trying to simplify with hopes that will help my failing memory.