When I look at how far you have come I am so impressed! I don't need to say you can do it because you ARE doing it!

Just remember you deserve to eat healthy and be healthy

Dedikayted ~ Thanks for the encouragement!

H82Sweat ~ Thanks! It's funny how my tastes have changed since the start of my weight-loss journey in 2006. I used to crave McDonald's and Burger King, and now I am craving brussel sprouts and cheese sticks! It feels good to eat healthier, that's for sure!

WI: 170.8

Breakfast: Two slices whole-wheat toast with natural pb and fruit spread and topped with banana slices (237)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken Carbonara & slice of wheat bread (315)
Snacks: FiberOne bar (140), Almonds (100), Sugar-free pudding (60), Gum (5), Sherbet (140)
Dinner: Baked chicken w/laughing cow cheese wedges & brussel sprouts (433)

Calories: 1430
Exercise: Eight hours on-and-off working on deck extension

Another day working on the deck! We both have the day off and we set a time limit of four hours. At least this won't be as strenuous as it was over the weekend. The majority of the "hard" labor for the deck is done, so now it's cutting boards and lining them up. It's beautiful outside...70 and breezy...took the pooch for a walk and ready to start my day. Edit: The "hard" labor on the deck extension wasn't done...buh!! Hopefully it will all be completed this next weekend.

I am going to try experimenting with the 1400-1500 calorie range to see what happens with that. I looked over my calorie intake since January and I started around 1700-1850, and then moved down slowly from there. I've been doing 1500-1650 for quite some time now, so I'm going to shake it up and bit and see what happens. I've broken away from my traditional cereal plus muffins breakfast and I found that I can save a lot of calories in the morning just by eliminating cereal or doing an either/or kind of deal. My "usual" breakfasts were around 361 calories and today's was 237, so I can still eat how I eat normally the rest of the day by just cutting down a smidge on my breakfasts.

WI: 170.4

Breakfast: Two slices whole-wheat toast with natural pb and fruit spread and topped with banana slices (231)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Meatloaf & Mashed Potatoes & baked cheetos (380)
Snacks: Yogurt w/kashi (97), Gum (10), Brussel sprouts (150), Pop-Secret snack-size popcorn bag (100), cheese stick (80)
Dinner: Three-cheese stuffed rigatoni (250), sugar-free jello (60), slice of sweet potato bread (wowsa...delish!!) (202)

Calories: 1560
Exercise: 1/2 mile walk with the pooch

Yeah, I'm not feeling especially active today. I am going to go home and make tortilla pinwheels for a potluck and then make sweet potato bread...never made it before, so we'll see how it turns out. It's weird because I can bake and make things all day and not be tempted to eat the entire thing (sure I'll try it to make sure it tastes good, but I don't go into "overeating-drive"), but when I'm somewhere else and someone brings goodies I can't keep my paws off of everything!

Update: Made the sweet potato bread (2 loaves) and it is so delicious! I cut off the harder end pieces and had one. I'm sending one loaf with hubby to work tomorrow and I'm bringing a loaf for the people I work with.

WI: 171.2

Breakfast: Two slices whole-wheat toast with natural pb and fruit spread and topped with banana slices (215), smidge of sweet potato bread (50)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Herb-Roasted Chicken & baked Cheetos (300)
Snacks: Yogurt w/kashi (97), popcorn (100), bowl of choc cheerios w/skim milk (163)
Dinner: Bowl of cinnamon cheerios w/skim milk, whole-grain english muffin with natural pb and fruit spread (356)

Calories: 1281
Exercise: 45-minute yoga class

Oh, the elusive 160s...where are you?!? My official WI day is tomorrow and I'm highly doubtful I'll see 169.9999, so I am pushing for next Friday!

Yesterday I posted how I can bake and bake and not be tempted to give into things when I am making them for other people. Then I got online and found something that I wanted to make for me and just for me. Last night I was looking at recipes on a blog that I just started following and there was one that I fell in love with...it's a dark chocolate raspberry ganache cake...and there were pictures...and it woke up my binge monster. You see, I love to eat decadent, rich desserts. Sure, I'm a sucker for cakes and cupcakes as those are my kryptonite, but I'm talking rich, smooth cheesecakes, or dark chocolate tiramisu...anything that is "different" and that you don't come across everyday. And once I see a picture of something like that, I go into overdrive. I imagined going to the store, getting the ingredients needed (since I was in a baking mood last night anway), and making this delectable, delicious, divine dessert (how's that alliteration for ya?! ). I imagined making it and then eating slice after slice of it over the course of a day or two and savoring every single morsel of it. But then I fell back into reality knowing that I was not going to do that because I just wasn't. I guess this just goes hand-in-hand with being a previous binger and being an emotionally eating work-in-progress. It seems sometimes that my mind runs and runs with all these ideas of binging, but I don't act on the binges (which is good), but I have mental battles with my mind so often. It's such a pain in the butt and I really wish food didn't have such a hold on me sometimes.

Oh, and my goodness, I was looking at my calorie pattern compared to weight loss and, yeah, it's definitely time to hone in it and keep calories closer to 1350-1400. I've been stumbling between 170-172 for almost 20 days so it's time to step it up a notch. I'm hoping to get to my goal by the end of July (or in the first few weeks of August), so I gotsa get it in gear!!

WI: 169.8

Breakfast: Two slices whole-wheat toast with natural pb and fruit spread and topped with banana slices (222)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken & baked cheetos (370)
Snacks: Yogurt (80), Popcorn (100), Gum (10), Cheese stick (80)
Dinner: 3 Ground Turkey Tacos (515), FiberOne brownie (90 and totally not worth it)

Calories: 1467
Exercise: 2.14 mile walk

Wow, I actually squeaked into the 160s on my official WI day!! I had a dream last night that I was at my sister's graduation and we were getting big slices of cake covered in an insane amount of frosting. I got a white piece and then started cutting a chocolate piece and in my dream I remember saying to myself, "I am so disappointed in you...you were doing so well with your calories and now you are going to ruin it." Guess I've been thinking about cake a bit too much.

Hi Emme! I make 1 serving low cal cakes in the microwave. Here's how:

3/4 cup reduced cal white or choc cake mix
2-3 tbsp water - sprinkle on and mix until cake is proper consistency

• spray a glass muffin sized dish (or coffee cup) with bakers joy
• pour in cake mix
• add 1 or 2 pieces of your favorite chocolate (white or dark) & press into center (or press in a few chocolate chips)
• place cup on dish and "bake" in microwave for 1 minute
• top with fat-free cool whip and yum.

Um, Gwen, this is absolutely amazing. You are a goddess for posting this.

WI: 168.6

Breakfast: Two slices whole-wheat toast with natural pb and fruit spread and topped with banana slices and blueberries (270)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Chicken w/Basil Cream Sauce & piece of wheat bread (285)
Snacks: FiberOne bar (140), Cinnamon Cheerios w/skim milk and blueberries (160), gum (5)
Dinner: Baked chicken w/laughing cow cheese and brussel sprouts (294), slice of lemon blueberry bread (150), white russian (212)

Calories: 1516
Exercise: Nothing...the heat index is 105 today and my treadmill isn't looking appealing

My new favorite quote: "When your personality comes to serve the energy of your soul, that is authentic power." So, when your personality (the energy you give off to others based on the way your soul feels inside) matches what your soul is aching for you to portray, then that is true strength and power that no one can take away from you. I think, too often, that our weight, our obesity, our layers of fat hide who we really are. I know that when I was 100 pounds heavier I was a much, much different person. My personality was not in line with how my soul wanted me to be. I am a very, very friendly person by nature, very easy-going, outgoing, very relaxed, but the layers of fat caused me to be insecure, extraordinarily shy, nervous, suspicious of others, and always on guard. My soul's personality didn't shine through. So, my wish for everyone is that we all find our authentic power if we haven't already. We are all beautiful, smart, caring people...our authentic selves should be bursting out of us!

Emme - You are getting so close to your goal and I'm so excited for you I love your quote and it is so true for me too! This excess fat has really changed my personailty and I'm ready to have my old one back! I hope you have a great day!

GettinFit ~ Thanks...it's weird being so close to goal. Yesterday was tough because I really wanted an extra slice of lemon blueberry bread, but I told myself no because I already had a piece and I wasn't hungry...being close to goal is keeping me more accountable, it seems.

WI: 168.4

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast topped w/pb, fruit spread, bananas and blueberries (269)
Lunch: Dragonfire chicken w/broccoli (437)
Snacks: Pack of almonds (100), Two slices of lemon blueberry bread (308), leftover chicken w/brussel sprouts (147), Gum (5), Sugar-free pudding (60)
Dinner: Lean Cuisine Salisbury Steak w/Macaroni & Cheese (260), Cheerios w/Skim milk (140)

Calories: 1726 Higher than my range of 1300-1400, but I don't feel bad about it...I was super hungry today. Not sure if it was because of my early morning major rollerblading session or what, but I feel satisfied now that I've had a bowl of cereal. That seems to have filled me!
Exercise: 2.5 miles rollerblading

We are going to lunch today at TGI Fridays, but their menu has some lower calorie options that are nice. I'm going to have the Dragonfire Chicken which comes with broccoli (I usually order extra broccoli, too), so hopefully that will keep me around 600...or if I don't order extra broccoli that will keep me around 440.

I keep thinking about getting to goal and then rewarding myself with food...which is pretty opposite of what I should do. Don't get me wrong, I truly enjoy calorie counting (except when I have frustrating, whiny "why can't I just eat that" days!!) because I can still eat foods that I love, but I just eat them in smaller amounts and in moderation. My head is telling me that once I reach goal it means that I can start eating whatever I want...which is totally wrong. I have to keep working on my thoughts and emotions in that regard. Once I reach goal I am still going to calorie count. It helps me feel like I am in control of my emotional eating and binge spells that I haven't encountered since I started calorie counting. It's really been a blessing for me.

Sidenote: Rollerblading! Gosh, I forget how much I love to blade. For my golden birthday when I was 15, my dad told me he would buy me a pair of rollerblades, so we went out and got the coolest kind (made by Rollerblade) that have the built-in brakes so when you push your right foot forward a certain way, the brake engages and slows you down. I love them and I have had them for 17 years now and I have only had to change one wheel. I really should get the rest replaced, but I'm too lazy. There's nothing like the feeling of rollerblading...I'm not a runner because of my knees (and I just don't care for running), so rollerblading is the next best thing for me. You go so fast and it's such a peaceful time for me...it clears my head, clears my thoughts, makes me feel alive. Three years ago my calves wouldn't fit into the blades and that was traumatizing. I couldn't believe that I had gotten that big. It was so sad, but it was one of the wake-up calls that I needed along my journey.

WI: 166.0

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast topped w/pb, fruit spread, bananas and blueberries (276)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken (240)
Snacks: Two Gatorade G2 drinks to replenish my body from dehydration...tried slamming water, but this has done the trick! (90), FiberOne bar (140), Gum (5), Almonds (100), slice lemon/blueberry bread (150)
Dinner: Hooters grilled cheese sandwich w/half serving of fries, fried pickle chips (1409)

Calories: 2310

Don't let the number above fool you...that is not an accurate representation of my weight this morning. I had a major case of food poisoning last night and was in the bathroom all night, and I had the chills, so I went to bed with sweats on to sweat out whatever was inside me. I'm so wiped out this morning, so I don't think I am going to be doing any exercising in the form of cardio today. Just going to lay low.

Went to Hooters last-minute with my husband after leaving the movie theater and they have no nutritional information, so I couldn't look it up until I got home tonight...959 calories for a grilled cheese sammich?! I believe it. Two huge pieces of texas toast and two huge hunks of cheese in the middle. It's my favorite sandwich from Hooters and I haven't eaten it since last September! I probably won't be getting that again for a long, long time!

WI: 168.4

Breakfast: Two slices whole wheat toast topped w/pb, bowl of cinnamon cheerios, coffee (316)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Glazed Turkey Tenderloins (250)
Snacks: Gum (10), Yogurt (80), FiberOne bar (140)
Dinner: 3 ground turkey tacos (525), 2 slices of pumpkin cream cheese bread (424)

Calories: 1745
Exercise: Cleaned house for an hour...good enough for me!

Ok, my weight is back to normal after a horrible bout with food poisoning. That was not fun and I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy!! I am going to make a conscious decision to stop weighing daily. I have three pounds left before I am at goal, and on average I lose about one pound a week, so I am going to weigh in on July 29th which is the last Friday of the month. And, since Fridays are my official WI day, it just seems fitting. I am going to focus on my eating and how my body feels and not on the numbers I see on the scale. I'm starting to weigh myself at night now to estimate how much I think I'll weigh in the morning, and I think that is becoming a little too obsessive for me. It works for some, but I am starting to focus too much on the number. So, I might weigh in every Friday, but I might not. I'm thinking I am going to stick with weighing in on July 29th. It's only in a few short weeks, anyway.

[QUOTE=Emme;3916195]WI: 169.8

Breakfast: Two slices whole-wheat toast with natural pb and fruit spread and topped with banana slices (222)
Lunch: Lean Cuisine Baked Chicken & baked cheetos (370)
Snacks: Yogurt (80), Popcorn (100), Gum (10), Cheese stick (80)
Dinner: 3 Ground Turkey Tacos (515), FiberOne brownie (90 and totally not worth it)

I agree 100%, those FiberOne brownies are not worth it!

Also congratulations! Only 3 pounds left! I am sending all my thin thoughts your way!

[QUOTE=k15g15;3921335]Yes, those FiberOne brownies did not taste like I wanted them to taste...might take them to work for people to take!! Thanks for the thin thoughts! Sending them back your way, too!