All,
SeeMyFeet for getting back on track! And inspiring to hear the wt is coming off and lifting your mood. btw WF stands for alternatively Whole Foods or Walden Farms 0 calorie dressing (better living through chemicals, lol). I think coming up with all of your guesses is a sign of high intelligence
Congrats for wearing out your swimsuit! Did you order a new one? My feeling with anything athletic is 'at least I'm doing it' even if I don't look like a model. I went to the pool yesterday to test my snorkel stuff and was happy that I could still fit my swimsuit--barely. It seemed everyone else there was teensy & muscular, nothing jiggling. no co-workers tho

Jacqui Thanks! The pumpkin festival sounds delightful!!!! Bourbon Chicken & pumpkin Burgers, oh my!

Wild Blue Hope your shoulder is continuing to improve.

Carol Oh my goodness the crusted butternut squash turned out AMAZING!!! I did eat it all up, there was simply no way it was going to survive the night. This is going to be my Carb Day treat! There is something magical about the texture of the squash--everything bakes into it to make it so tasty and soft.

I'm on the homeward stretch for trip, just in 13 days to finish packing, lol. I am planning to pre-treat my clothing w insect repellent but the thought of it grosses me out. One thing is certain, I will be getting plenty of daylight

Yesterday was my usual menu, along with a lot of Crusted Butternut squash, and picking at the parmesan cheese and bread crumbs all day long before actually making the recipe. I'll resume weighing tomorrow no matter what.

Have a great day!

SeeMyFeet, I took my stats off a while back when I decided I was going to just aim for eating healthy and not care about weight loss. I'm hovering around 200 give or take, and have been there for the past couple years. Never needed to change anything. I WANT to lose weight, but it never seems to happen, or stick around long enough to notice. I haven't exactly given up.......

Jacqui, pumpkin doesn't turn me on a lot. The only time I eat it is when I'm making pumpkin pie for DH and I eat some of the pumpkin puree straight out of the can. Tastes similar to mashed sweet potatoes.

Although I like cats, I am highly allergic so can't have one. Both of my step-children got cats after they moved out of the house. I'm not sure what that message was. LOL

Just saying hello

Rennie!

Oh! Whole Foods! Duh! (We don't have one here--not on my radar.) Yep, I ordered a new swim suit. And boy howdy, it can not get here too soon. Let's just say, the old one will not be laundered anymore . So jealous of you n your trip, Mars!

Hey, I made split pea and tomato soup and it looks kinda orange....does that count? (It's pretty tasty. 137 calories per cup, 26 carbs.)

Oh WannaBe, how frustrating! Hopefully all your hard work will pay off soon.

I cannot believe I'm still awake. I left work early (5:30) to go to DS's soccer game. On the way there, I kinda decided that I would skip swimming because I was so tired. Must be the RA meds. (Did my 3rd injection...feeling far from a pro at this!) The beautiful weather at the game perked me up a bit, and proud to say, I went swimming afterward (in my threadbare suit ). Not a tough workout--practicing keeping my head low, which I have been reluctant to do on accounta all the eye surgeries. My new goggles sure help. I'm pretty good at back stroke and side stroke, but I want to be a strong free style lap swimmer. I'm just happy to have a fitness goal. ok I sleep now.

Rennie, so glad to see you! I hope all is going well!

Carol Sue, lol on the step-children and cats! Since you're not particularly fond of pumpkin and I'm not fond of sweet potatoes, it looks like you'll have to stick with your orange food and I'll stick with mine, haha!

Mars, oh yes, the festival is lots of fun and yummy too! Are you getting excited for your trip or is it still too far away to seem real yet? It just seems so amazing that you are going to CUBA!

SeeMyFeet, I know I say it too much, but my word, you make me laugh! Yay on the swim cap and new goggles! You are doing such an amazing and dedicated job at swimming! And congrats on the loss! Way to go on getting that scale moving in the right direction again! Yep, split pea and tomato soup counts as orange food, haha!

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--176.5
10/20--
10/21--
10/22--
10/23--
10/24--

Today's Meals
Breakfast
2 fried eggs
A slice of ham
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Hot green tea
Mio Water

Lunch:
Kroger fried chicken with the skin removed
Steamed broccoli and cauliflower
Mio water

Tea Time:
3 cups of hot vanilla black tea

Dinner
Salami and sweet pickle roll-ups
A handful of almonds
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
About an hour walking around downtown

SeeMyFeet! Actually what I mean is for getting in your swim when you had several good excuses not too! Must be that tomato-split pea soup--Orange Power!!!! I hope you got the reward of a good sleep after your busy day!

Jacqui Looks like you are on a post-Pumpkinfest downhill trajectory I don't know if I could get myself to remove the skin from fried chicken!

My weight is lower today and I'm surprised at how relieved I am. I'm veering between low carb moodiness and high carb moodiness. Goldilocks.

Cuba is right around the corner and I'm either super excited or a nervous wreck with planning & thinking & shopping--this is me before a trip. I know it will all come together soon, once I establish that everything fits into my suitcase. I'm very challenged in the 'staying organized' department, and we are moving around quite a bit to get in a variety of bird areas, 8 hotels in 13 days. I invested in some small lightweight luggage organizer cases. I'm feeling more used to getting up at 3am.

Yesterday...
B mushroom/sauerkraut omelet whey shake/coffee
L salad, veggies, chicken, beans, Wild Female, oops, make that Walden Farms sugar free Balsamic
S apple
D turkey chili with the last of the black mole powder, roasted cauli & brocc
S picking at veggies, a bite of chicken, a tsp or 2 of coconut oil, 1/2 whey shake, tiny white potatoes
2 L cinnamon spice herb tea, no exercise
WI 167.4

SeemyFeet I would love to see your Tomato Split Pea soup recipe.

Recipe? Oh, Mars, you give me way too much credit! Here's what I did.

--2 16oz bags of dried split green peas, washed and checked and cooked per package directions in a quart of chicken broth and just enough water to cover.
--After they'd boiled enough to soften the peas a bit, I added 2 28oz cans of Hunts diced tomatoes (store brand tomatos are gross)
--Add one whole chopped big red onion toward the end of cooking, sautee beforehand if you add them too late
--1/8-1/4 cup chopped garlic, same as above
--Salt, Pepper, other spices to taste
(I forgot the bay leaf!)
--don't forget to wear your witch's hat while stirring

I used one of those hand homogenizers to puree it to baby food consistency, but leaving a few chunks 'cause I like the chunks. If I were feeling fancy, I would serve this hot with a dollop of sour cream on top. Made over 3 quarts.

I make my own broths and freeze them in the quart-size egg drop soup containers. I also buy in bulk, chop and freeze things like garlic, ginger and other spices--makes it handy to cook in a rush. I usually make something like this in the crock pot using ham broth and bits of ham, with no tomatoes and no puree-ing, but I don't have as many meat eaters in my house now.

I hate swimming. Actually, I never really learned. When I was a kid I went to the Y for swimming lessons, but halfway through the program my father died and I never finished. I love going to the beach, to walk along the shore and smell the salt air, but not to get wet. Never go in a pool. I hate to get wet and I take showers rather than baths. DH and I have a joke, every time I say that I hate being wet and never take a bath. He says don't let anyone hear you say that! LOL

My mother used to make the most delicious split-pea soup. I've never tried making it, because no one else would eat it. Occasionally I will buy canned. Not the same!

Mars, I'm glad you liked the crusted squash. I am going to make it one of these days, before my little squash goes bad.

Carol Sue, I don't like to get wet either. Well, no, I have to qualify that. My issue with getting wet boils down to my not wanting to get my hair wet. It's such a bother drying long hair. It just seems to take so much time and a lot of energy out of me. But I love to be submerged up to the neck in warm water. It feels good to my joints. I rarely go into a pool but I will put my hair up and go into a hot tub. I won't take a shower unless my purpose is specifically to wash my hair. Instead, I'll put my hair up and take a bath. I used to have to wash my hair every day, but since I've gotten older, it's more dried out, so I can wash it every other day now, thank goodness!

Edited to Add: Carol Sue, it just occurred to me what you actually said, and I am so sorry you lost your father at such a young age. I know you got through it, of course, but still, wow.

SeeMyFeet, lol, that's definitely a recipe, and a good one! My idea of making tomato soup or split pea soup is opening a can of Campbell's, haha!

Mars, congrats on your lower weight! Oh, no, the pumpkin festival isn't over; it's just getting started! We are walking down tonight to have some bourbon chicken, yum! I've been trying to prepare myself, telling myself that I can have my favorite pumpkin dessert, pumpkin doughnuts, any day of the week all year round in my town, so I don't need pumpkin anything this week until Saturday! Believe me, I don't like having to remove the skin from the fried chicken, and if it weren't breaded, I wouldn't!

No drop today. As I was eating pickles and salami last night, I wondered if the sodium would cause me to retain water. I drank a lot of tea yesterday so I hoped that would offset it, but apparently not. I don't know if I'll have any better luck tomorrow with eating concession food tonight!

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--176.5
10/20--176.5
10/21--
10/22--
10/23--
10/24--

Today's Meals
Breakfast
2 fried eggs
A slice of ham
Fage Greek yogurt with Mio
Hot green tea
Mio Water

Lunch:
Protein bar
Mio water

Tea Time:
2 cups of hot green tea

Dinner
Large order of bourbon chicken and spicy red beans
Mio water

Today's Exercise:
About 2 hours of walking around town

My exciting menu today:

Break - McD's sausage burrito w/hot sauce, Coke Life
Morning - large iced tea/Stevia.....need caffeine
Lunch - 1/2 serving Cajun pasta/chicken/peppers leftover from Sunday night
Dinner - 8 Grilled spicy wings and two light beers (no potato products!)

Oh my gosh, walking around downtown was fun but SOOO tempting!!! Before we made it to the bourbon chicken stand and finally got our bourbon chicken (20-minute wait in line!), my mouth was watering from all the smells and pumpkin foods in sight, not to mention all the other concession foods I like! I was dying! I got a LARGE order of bourbon chicken and red spicy beans, lol!

Your menu looks good, PrairieQueen!

Jacqui that bourbon chicken sounds sooooo good right now. I think me is going to look up a recipe for it ...... preferably a slow cooker version. I have a nice bottle of Kentucky bourbon that has been sitting around for two years just waiting for the right occasion