Huzzah! Again lol, I feel bad because I can't really glom on to doing personals here much but I read the thread and am definitely a golden girl.

But really enjoyed the recipes and also to Maryea, got a lot from your post on the readings. Everything discussed applied to moi.

I am working today from home office to clear stuff getting in my mind mentally from the job as I start the real estate classes on Monday, which has to be done onsite and will really eat into my time for six weeks, but it has to be done lol.

Woot to all! Have a great day!

Bobbi, instant yeast is yeast that does not have to be proofed or risen separately and can be mixed directly dry into the flour. It's very fine. It may be sold as bread machine yeast, also. It's usually sold in packs of 3 next to the traditional style yeast. When I mix my bread or rolls in my mixer I mix from start to finish as I have quite a powerful mixer. But, it is quite all right to mix until stiff and then finish by hand.

I just blew almost all my calories for the day and there's one more meal to eat. I have a large container of cherry tomatoes that may make up the remainder of my calories at supper time.

I'm holding out in the bedroom as the downstairs is like a war zone with the cupboards torn out and everything in disarray. They found a few unpleasant surprises when the cupboards were taken out on one side. There are pipes, hoses and a stairway bulkhead that was all covered up above the cupboards. That's got them rearranging their plans. They now expect to find pipes on the other side that they hadn't anticipated. I hate the mess and would rather crawl in a hole until everything's done but I have to appear every now and then and lend a hand or appear to lend a hand. DH is in his glee and DGS is scooting around with his little hammer and any little tools he can handle "helping" his daddy. DS is trying to get as much done before he starts his university summer job in the middle of July.

Anyway, I'm gone to watch a movie on YouTube.

Just got home from the gym and am sipping my mocha while resting. I haven't been drinking as many mochas recently and think that's probably a good thing although I have been eating more bread. See, I tend to do everything in phases..but bread is surely healthier than my mocha mix. The bread is only 80 cal a slice and is whole wheat.

Slmn11 - Again we are alike...I never forget to eat. Even when sick I usually eat and the few times I couldn't eat I still wanted to and didn't forget. To lose I have to stay below 1500 calories too and recently I haven't been doing that so I'm just maintaining. Hopefully today will be better.

Isabella - I hate when I use my calories up too early in the day!! I hope you can stick to your plan. I usually can't when I do that. These days I keep thinking of that book excerpt that said, protect your plan at all costs!! I still can't always get myself to do it though. Whe you said the workmen found unpleasant surprises in your kitchen my first thought was that it might have been like one we had...once when a serviceman came to check my old range he lifted the top up and he found a very unpleasant surprise! There was a little mouse head, just the head...I felt sick! It must have happened recently because I would clean under there every once in a while, but we had no idea!

Hi! to all I missed.

From 100 Days of Weight Loss by Linda Spangler (paraphrased somewhat)
Morning Affects Evening
If you have problems with late-day eating, take a look at what you did earlier in the day. Often struggles with hunger, fatigue, and food cravings in the afternoon or eveinng relate to how you ate in the morning.

When you routinely skip breakfast, your digestive tract stays dormant until you finally give it food. If you surprise your stomach one morning by unexpectedly eating breakfast, it secretes more digestive acid than the food requires, causing hunger pangs to linger for several hours. Don't skp breakfast in an attempt to avoid this struggle with hunger. If you eat breakfast every day, you'll eventually retrain your stomach to manage food better in the mornings. It may take time for your body to adjust but after a week on your new schedule your all-day hunger will disappear.

You also may need to evaluate the timing of your fuel stops and begin to eat more often. If you don't give you body enough fuel during the early part of the day by late afternoon it starts screaming for food. Worst yet your system may have a hard time catching up. This can make you keep nibbling all eving even after a huge dinner.

Are you often famished and exhausted when you get home from work? By this time of day, fatigue and hunger can easily ruin your judgement about eating. To manage this late-day high-risk time, always eat a snack sometime between 3 and 4 o'clock in the afternoon.

Look for healthy fuel sources that include both protein and carbs. Like and apple with mozzarella cheese stick or combine a few slice of deli turkey with some raw vegetables. Many of the energy bars contain a good balance of both nutrients. The protein slows down the digestive process giving you a long-lasting energy boost from the snack.

If you wish you can split your breakfst into two mini meals and eat the second one mini-morning. (I usually do this). Plan late-afternoon snacks.

If I Am So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight? by Brooke Castillo

She continues on about feeling your feelings. You don't have to necessarily physically react to your feelings (like when around others). You can allow yourself to feel anger and notice that you want to punch your boss but you can stand quietly and be fascinated by this without taking a swing. You can use the feeling as a way to look inside yourself. You can look at the anger and wonder why it has come up, you can look at it from a kind persepctive, acknowledge it and care and no one else needs to know if you don't want them to.

She further explains that by exploring but not reacting to the anger you allow your mind to come of with creative ideas that would appropriate and useful for you. You can stay calm why evaluating the anger. Fresh anger wil not overwhelm you if you don't fight with it. Buried anger may be more challenging as it has festered in your denial of it.You still allow it to come up, work through the feelings don't allow it to run you around. BTW, there is a worksheet in her book to use for working through the feelings so if this is an issue for you, you might like to read the book. In a few cases there is an upside to expressing and displaying anger, but she is here letting us know it does not have to be public. However what she is describing here is the balance of not denying or stuffing it down nor reacting or acting it out. It is right in the middle and is called feeling.

A perfect time to ask yourself what you are feeling is when you are at 2+ on the eating scale. Put your fork down for a full minute and check in with your emotions. Notice your feelings, be fascinated, get to know it, allow it without judging it. This is the first step in taking control of your emotional life. It is important to allow yourself to feel your feelings in order to be connected to your body and realize how much feelings and avoidance of feelings is running your life. By fighting our emotions we give them power over us. They dictate how we exercise, how we risk, who we talk to and when we stop eating! The anxiety comes and we fight it by eating, the sadness comes and we react by not working out, the fear comes in and we decide not to take the risk. All these emotions become dream stealers dictating how we will live and how much we will weigh.

She goes on to say you will have negative emotions, but you're in charge. You listen to them and respect them but you definitely have the final say in the action you take. She calls this emotional strength. Use your feelings/emotions to know yourself better then you decide how to live inspite of them or in honor of them.

Hi everyone from rainy alaska. its been a busy couple of days here. we took some$ from our retirement account to play catch up. i restocked my pantry and freezer. my dd and i went shopping and filled her car. ive always had extra of the things i use as we live rural and if the weathers bad esp in the winter its nice to not have to run to the store. i have never spent that much at the grocery store befor. it was fun but kinda mind boggling. my dd is fixing the car and truck,and building a wood stove and installing it. we also decided to pull up the carpet(too many pets) and put ina wood floor. so 2 big projects soon to start. my dh is a welder(professionally so can build a wood stove as nice as u could buy) i dont know why we havent done this befor as our big house gets chilly in below zero weather and the power goes out alot in the winter. we alos had our satellite tv go bonkers so had it fixed and an upgrade and then the repair guy is coming back to install tv and receiver in the bedroom ( now we can each watch what we like without arguing ) i feel so bad for all the folks that are facing fires and bad weather. glad you all are ok. maryea wanted to thankyou for the diet tips,they are so helpful and appreciated. i tried not to buy foods that are my triggers like chocolate and bread, and desearts. it is easier just to not bring them home. hoping you all have a great day, my dd and i are going to play bingo tonite. i used to play once a week but living on a fixed income stopped that,and i havent played since last summer. hope im a WINNER but will be fun for sure. good thing there isnt a casino here as i would be in real trouble. ttfn rosey

Hey everyone. Don't have time for personals but wanted to drop in. I'm getting my head back on straight after that snickers cake episode. It took the wings out of my sail for sure. I was getting so frustrated. I also discovered looking back on my plan from when I started until now and I think my problem is all the little sauces I'm adding to my foods that I'm not allowed to have. I guess I'm getting bored with the same foods all the time. So goldies I'm going into this plan 100% like I did the first 3 1/2 months. I hope I can do this.

Thanks to each and everyone of you for being there for me.
Cajun.

Good morning GG's,

Two days down, one to go. The last couple days have been nice ones, but yesterday ~ even though nice ~ ended up being a late one (got out 2 1/2 hours late).

I have not been able to have time to do more here than to quickly read the posts. I am hoping maybe tonight I will get out on time and be able to get to the personals.

Haven't been doing very well with the eating or the exercise. Gonna have DH help me this weekend to move a little TV to the room where the treadmill is, so I can watch while I walk. That seems to help best to make the time fly.

Hope you all have a nice Friday.

Take care

When I went to my DIL's birthday picnic I had a hard time finding something healthy to eat. On the grill, I found a foil pan containing something I didn't recognize, but I saw corn and what looked like other veggies so I tried it. OMG! I couldn't stay away from it. I asked and received the recipe. I tried to look up this name online but it didn't show up anywhere, but I did find a similar recipe called "Zucchini Corn Salad." All the veggies were cut up very small, about the same size as the corn kernels. It was served warm and I don't think it had the cheese in it. It's perfect for a picnic or bar-b-que!

Calibaita

4 small zucchini-diced
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ears corn, kerneled
2 plum (Roma) tomatoes diced
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or feta (opitinal)
( I add Roasted Red pepper and Olives, chopped)

1. Place diced zucchini in colander set over a bowl. Sprinkle with salt; toss and let stand 20 minutes (this draws the excess liquid out of the zucchini)

2. Transfer zucchini to a kitchen towel and pat dry. (This step is optional but worth the time. Drying zucchini prior to sauteeting it keeps it from becoming watery, and I think this step removes its occasional bitterness)

3. Heat oil in large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic; saute 3 to 5 minutes until soft do not brown. add pepper if I don't have roasted

4. Add zucchini and corn kernels. Saute 6 to 7 minutes until veggies are almost tender.

5. Add diced tomato; saute 2 to 3 minutes until softened and zucchini is tender. Remove from heat and stir in cheese if desired.

Tip: I love adding levover calibaita to scrambled eggs in the morning for a breafast burrito. Add a dash of hot sauce roll it up in a toritilla and hit the road

The same girl gave me a recipe for home made apple butter. Although this is not a "diet" recipe, I have had her apple butter and it is far better than what I bought at the farmers market. Doesn't look too hard to make. I don't know much about canning other than tomatoes. Does anyone know how this can be put up in jars to last a long time?

Apple Butter

Fill Crock pot with 3 different kinds, of cored and peeled apples (mines heaping)
1/2 c.brown sugar
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
Pour 1 c. water or apple cider over apples
Set temp on low, leave the lid ajar, and let cook over night.
Don't scrape sides, stirring only when needed.
Place paper towels around pot (but not to close) to catch splatters
12-16- hours depends on apples

[FONT="Comic Sans MS"][COLOR="Navy"]Hello Lovelies!

Sorry, no time for personals. I am headed out for parts and getting the boat ready for the lake tomorrow. Lots to do. Have a great day!

This is a view of the entrance to the canyon. You can see the marina where I will launch the boat in the center of the picture.

Just got home from the gym and am tired. Think I'll take a little nap. Nothing much going on here. It's a beautiful day.

Rie - Such beautiful scenery in Montana! Be safe but have fun!

Slmn - the recipe sounds good! I added it to my recipe program.

Glynne - You're doing good, there will be days like that, but you keep trying that's the main thing.

Cajun - Your heads back in the game!! GFY!!

Rosey - Did you win? Hope you did. The wood stove sounds great esp for where you live!

Now for my nap.....

I'm back with the book comments. Dh went fishing and I'm feeling very lazy. My little nap ended up being almost and hour and a half! So far I'm on track with my calories although I did have a mocha a little too close to lunch which I'm sure messed up my bs! Should have read this excerpt first.

100 Days of Weightloss by Linda Spangle (paraphrased by me)
When you feel stressed or sad or lonely food does seem to make you feel better. At least initially it calms your anger or anxiety and lifts your spirits, but how long does food keep working? As you know the first few bites have the most impact on your taste buds, but they are also the only ones that have any emotional power! So to summarize this chapter, when you know you are eating for your emotions, just eat two bites and throw the rest away.....it may be difficult but beyond the two bites, it does nothing for you any way (except make you fat!) and actually once you throw it away you'll realize those two bites were satisfying.

If I'm So Smart, Why Can't I Lose Weight? by Brooke Castillo (somewhat paraphrased by me)
How many times have you said that you feel fat? As if fat were an emotion or a way of being. You can have fat on your body but you cannot feel fat or be fat. Your true being is weightless. You cannot just be your body. You cannot be your fat. Fat does not reside as an emotion in your psyche. Fat is merely tissue, stored potential energy.

The author says when you feel fat you are really feeling something else. Fat is another decoy emotion. Its a good substitute for what's going on inside you. Go deeper, look inside. Go beyond the fat, it's a cheap substitute. What are you really feeling? She tells you to look at the emotions table in the book and notice fat is not there and encourages you to find the one that you are really going through. Instead of eating, allow the feeling to come and feel it. Explore the cause, the belief system that presents it, and understand that you can feel it without eating. Whatever it is you can live through it. You can survive it and come out healthy and strong. There will still be life after the feeling. Peacefully meet it head-on. It's just a feeling, not a state of being. Know that your feelings about your weight and the feeling you create from overeating or depriving yourself are engaging you in a decoy struggle. It gets you thinking about food or your weight instead of what is really going on under the surface. Most of us former dieters are afraid of being deprived. We believe to lose weight we will be deprived of joy, connection, foods we love, or a sense of belonging. Many diets restrict us from eating in a normal way and exacerbate these feelings. We can't join in with cocktails or dessert in order to stay in control of our diet. We may have grown up feeling disconnected from people around us in our families or our schools. We use diets to repeat this pattern and isolation ensues. We believe deprivation feels awful. Deprivation from food is one thing, but deprivation from love and connection is worse. Most often, we deprive ourselves of our own love, time and nurturing. Each time we try to feel, we rebel, playing this rebellion out by overeating. This is good for immediate gratification but bad for our long term happiness. This great drama can fill our minds and keep us distracted quite well.

Your real work on this planet is not your weight or your fat. The fabric of your emotional journey is not about deprivation and overeating. It is about love and fear and manifesting the magnificent person your already are. It's time to pay attention to your real life. Find out what you are feeling and feel it. It is then that you can find the way to who you really are. I promise you , it is not just fat.

Life is not supposed to be about feeling positive emotions all the time. Negative emotions are part of life --plan on them coming and willingly experience each one.

Me - Wow, I hope you read this one carefully as it is powerful! Some of it hit home for me. All this works so well with the more spiritual approach I am trying to use myself. I think of the book of Psalms in the Bible, where the author (David but also others) pours out his feelings to God. Feelings are part of being human and I agree with the author that we need to acknowledge them in a positive way rather than covering them over by eating which really just gives them control over us. I also liked yesterday reading where she says that after going through the feeling we can then decide on action (or decision?) either inspite of or in honor of the feeling.

Hi everyone. im having a lazy day. been reorganizing my books. i like to keep them esp the diff authors series. some are missing the suns shining today,but im tired. i have been waking up really early lately like 4 am and cant go back to sleep. i had so much fun at bingo last nite. the last time i played i was in a wheel chair. all the regulars where so excited to see my progress. i got lots of hugs and attention i won what i spent so it was a free evening.. hoping to go again soon. if i play one of every game it costs $25. hoping you all are having a sunshiney day rosey