Burgundy - chicken kabobs (sp?) are healthy and yummy and taste awesome on the grill. I make mine with chicken, yellow pepper, red pepper, pineapple, cherry tomatoes and purple onion...mmmm....mmmm..mmm. Just thinking about it makes me hungry. Im excited for you about your vaca. I am down to 2 weeks and can hardly wait.

Ok, so you know how I wasnt sure if TOM was here the past few weeks. WELL - he is definately here as of this morning and man oh man am I feeling the side effects. He got here this morning and I am DYING with cramps, seriously...DYING!!! Ugh. I feel like crap (yet, still in a pretty good mood today - considering), but I am doubled over in pain, I will be taking some Midol shortly. As always, I am craving super salty foods, one of my absolute favs - CHEEZ ITS!!! I had a small snack size bag already but am trying to stop there. I had Oatmeal (real, homemade) for breakfast with a small bowl of pineapple. For a snack I made baked cauliflower (sp?) and an apple. At home, because I go home for lunch, I have a soup I made yesterday, its healthy, in fact, Ill give you guys the recipe.

1 lb. of spicy chicken sausage
1 small bag of lentils (or whatever bean you like - I actually used red beans yesterday because I forgot to soak my lentil beans).
1 carton of low fat/low sodium chicken broth.
1 bag of kale.

SO EASY. I cooked up the sausage before hand and cut it into little pieces. Then I threw the sausage in with the broth in a large pot. I watered the broth down a little too. Then I added the beans and let them all sit on the stove for like an hour. I then added the kale at the end so it didnt get too soggy (it will be soggy for left overs but its ok, it still tastes great). The longer you let it sit, the tastier it is.

Anyway, wish me luck on journey of not binging today, I think I can....I think I can....I think I can. Ill check in later.

Lindy- Yummm Cheez It's! Years ago I would take the box and devour it in one sitting. They are so addicting, as it Cheetos - gosh I could eat a large bag of that in a day! I love both of those, which is why I can't buy them....LOL....I'm an addict. I don't know if it is the cheezy flavor or salt - probably both. Those kabobs sounds wonderful - I will have to cook some up! Oh, I am so sorry Tom is so bad right now. I hope your feeling better soon.

Burgund - You are doing awesome too and I know you will catch up, as it's only a couple of pounds and I will hit a plateau here soon. I am excited your getting a much needed break and vacation! I forgot where are you going and for how long? Don't forget to pack Jillian! LOL.......


Well, no working out for me today, unless I go swimming. If so, I will do some laps. I am going to try to finish cleaning out my kitchen cupboards and possibly do the windows around the bottom part of the house. The upstairs ones are nasty, but I don't have any way of getting that high to clean them......UGH. Oh well, I'll just shut the draps! LOL.........

Have a great day all

HELP!!! I am trying everything in my power to not binge eat, I am so dead set against it but it is so hard. Normally on Friday's I go out to eat with co-workers but because of my cravings, I put my foot down and went home. I did ok for lunch, I had my soup that I stated earlier and a bowl of birschmuesli (granola, dried fruit and yogurt). It is only 130 and I am STARVING. I have drank 12 cups of water already to try to keep myself so full that I feel like upchucking...gross...I know. Anyway, how the heck Im going to get through the rest of this day is beyond me. I have a busy evening so maybe that will help. The girl is coming to look at the room today and I have a hair appointment at 7 p.m. The bad thing, the salon is right next to one of my favorite places...chick fil'a and man oh man does a lemonade from there sound good. Grrr...ahhhhh...damn TOM, please go away already. The cramps have semi-subsided with a little Advil but the cravings are atrocious (sp?).

Mygrits - I have not cleaned my windows in FOREVER. Its the least likely thing I ever want to do and god, if someone came in to do an inspection I would fail miserably. When I get home I have to do a quick over with the mop before the girl gets there.

Oh and Mygrits...mmmmmm......Cheetos <drueling>, lol. Why did you have to put that in my head?! Who am I kidding, it was already there! LMAO

UGH!!! I did it, I ate a Mr.Goodbar - 250 calories!

Oh well, I was heading out the door to Publix to get my favorite cake for 600 calories for 1 slice so I guess thats better? Who am I kidding. Today is just such a rough day, please let it be over, I want to sleep through the rest of it.

Hey you guys. Sorry I have been MIA. I have been keeping myself busy these last few days that I have been off. Not in a good way though. I basically have eaten whatever I wanted when I wanted it. I'll get back on track starting RIGHT NOW. I haven't weighed myself and do not want to. I know I have gained a lot. I feel bloated. Ugh... Not good. Anyway, I have to get ready to go to work. I'll catch up more later. Talk to you guys later. Bye!

today was better than i've been doing. breakfast was sausage, eggs w/LF cheese and hashbrowns. since then, i've had a LF cheese stick and 1 square of thin crust cheese pizza at the bar (people i work with went after work for 'last friday we all work together' drinks and someone got a pizza) along with 2 drinks.

i got 2 lbs. of lean ground beef and chicken breast tenders on sale today (bout $6). i just found a recipe for home-made sloppy joes. so i think i will use 1 lb of the beef for that and have it on ezekial bread (praised by jillian herself). i also have some fresh corn on the cob i have to cook and maybe another steamed veggie...oh, oh! salad, i have salad in the fridge. i LOVE http://allrecipes.com/Default.aspx for finding recipes. dunno if you all are familiar with it or not, but it's great!

oh, also, i now have 30DS - woo hoo! so as soon as i 'make' the time, i will try it out...sheesh, i'm scared after what all of you have said about it...LOL! AND, i rented a yoga video from my library that is cool. you can pick which level you are at and i have apparently lost all of my flexibility. oh! but it felt sooooo good once i did it. i could breath better and it woke my butt up-got the blood flowin. it's downstairs, but i will post the name next time for anyone who is interested in it. i know staccie has been talking bout the yoga for a bit now.

neesy - don't worry bout the bad food, shoot, have you read what i've been doing? haha! back on track like you said. that's how we all keep moving 'down' instead of up with the pounds! never give up!

nicole - tom usually gets us all. sometimes we just have to give in and get it out of our system. hope the rest of you day went good for you with food-you did so good the early part of today, so it's not a total blowout. i know i've done bad on my vacation, but it could have been worse. many times i've told myself, 'do you want to stay fat and eat crap that makes you feel bad, or do you want to lose weight and feel good about yourself'. maybe this will help if you can stop and think of it. this has stopped me from making a TOTAL mess of each day. also, the chicken kabobs sound deeeelish! i think i'll do that with the tenders i bought today. mmmm!

sandy - yay on your june goal! fantastic! if only i had a garden, then i could drop all kinds of weight like you! j/k- i know that's not all that you have done.

burgundy - vacation, vacation, vacation...hehe! enjoy it and live in the moment!! i didn't do anything for memorial day either, but boy some grilled burgers do sound good.

Neesy - good outlook. Its done, its over with, mistakes were made - move on and just try not to make a habit out of it.

Kelly - your grocery list left me salivating. Althought, I think anything can make me salivate at this point, Im so darn hungry. Sounds like you did pretty reasonable today and with Jillians 30DS, we should start seeing your ticker go down very soon. YAY!!!


The rest of my day, hah...well, honestly I only consumed about 1500 calories and I burned 150 at the gym today (not much but its something), so although I didnt do great food wise, my guesstimation on food calories is very reasonable. I had a Mr. Goodbar in the afternoon, and another bag of Cheez its and thats it. I got home, met my new roomie (WHO I LOVE - shes so sweat!), got a new haircut (Ill post pics on Sunday) and now Im home and getting ready for bed. I shouldnt have but I skipped dinner and now its was too late to eat (I dont eat after 8 EVER). So that helped me stay in my calorie range. I will be weighing myself on Sunday and remain optimistic that I will see some sort of drop, even if its a pound because honestly, I did poorly today but I have not gone over 1600 calories at all. Im not "Counting" in detail but guesstimating (its just force of habit). Anyway, gotta go to bed. OH - wait - I almost forgot! I went through McDonalds on my way back from the salon at 820 p.m. to get her a milkshake and didnt get myself anything! Despite being hungry! WHEW_HOO, this is huge and I am really proud of myself. YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!

Hi Ladies - Happy Friday!

Lindy - Awesome about the room-mate!!! I am so glad that is going to work out. You sound like your doing great maintaining or being below 1600 calories. Thats not alot of calories when your active, and you are active, your a MOM! LOL.......Kids don't let us sit still! I know Cheetos - I have been thinking about those little orange wonders all day......so cute, tasty and crunchie......yummmmmmmm.....

Take-a-Deep-Breath - Oh, how I wish I had a garden. You know it can be depressing knowing you go to the store (produce section) to get veggies and fruits you love, trying to eat healthy, right? Ugh, then you read about how they are loaded with pesticides (poisoning). I swear it ticks me off. I have learned the coding on the stickers though. If its a 4 digit number, beginning with #4 - its sprayed many times over. If its a 5 digit number, beginning with a #9 it is organically grown and healthy. If its a 5 digit number, beginning with an 8, it is genetically engineered (whatever that means). So, I guess organic is the way to go when you can afford it, or hit up the local growers. Here in Deland we don't have much in the way of organics. Thanks for the compliment, but as you know 'it ain't easy'...LOL.............

Ok, today I was lazy, except I did get another area of the kitchen cupboards cleaned out. I swear when you start taking things out of cupboards the stuff multiplies. There is alot of crap in there! I thought this would be a two day job, but it seems like it might be more like a week!!

Lindy, I got my hair cut too! LOL my first thought was to wonder if I had lost a pound! I cut ALOT off. Probably 6-8 inches.

Wow everyone was talkative today. Oh man, I worked in my sisters yard this morning and came home finshed raking the grass out of my garden, used the weed eater around the house, mowed some of the yard, hubby did some mowing too. Then took the dogs on a 3 mile walk. I am beat. I just want to go to sleep and sleep all day tomorrow, but I cant. I have LOTS of veggies to plant in my garden, yay. Then I have to work at 4.

Lindy-the kabobs sound YUMMY, but change of plans since I have to work, no cookout. Oh well, we have all summer right. I am sure we will grill on vacation with my mom and sister. TOM-the joys of being a woman. I am like you though, never regular and never know when its coming, but when it does, my god, horrible. The soup sounds yum. Doesnt sound like you did too bad with your binges. Staying around 1500 calories is good. Sounds like the room mate is gonna work out.

Mygirts-yep, you better watch out, I am gonna catch you, lol. Windows, ew. Mine only get cleaned a few times a year. I hate it. You sound like you are staying busy. I just cleaned out my cupboards a few months ago. It does take a while. I found stuff I forgot I had. Oh and I am going to Alabama.

Neesy-maybe you just feel bloated but havent gained so just move forward and get back on this wagon with us.

Kelly-I love sloppy joes. What is ezekial bread? You are gonna love 30ds, even though Jillian will kick your butt. Yoga sounds like it did some good for you. I want to try it more. I want to try pilates too. I have a Pilates for Dummies dvd, I should dust it off. And thanks, I will definitely enjoy my vacation, havent seen my mom, sister and niece since October.

Lindy and Tiff-I want to see the new haircuts, I have been thinking about cutting mine, I used to keep it really long(my husband loves it) but the last couple of years I have been cutting it. I havent cut it in a while and kinda want to now. My mom is a hair stylist. BUT I have curly hair and if I cut it too short I will end up looking like Bozo. I love my hair straightener!!!!

Ok talking to my sisters and then off to bed, have a good night

Burgundy - I know what your saying about your husband liking long hair, mine too. In fact, I had got one of those cute bobs (long in the front, short in the back) last year and got a million compliments, even from strangers and he hated it because it was just too short. Anyway, my hair is like a freakin chia pet, lol. I can cut 6 inches off and it grows back in like 3-4 months, its insane. Ill take a pic tomorrow and post it. I got about 2 inches cut off, frames around my face and had it thinned out (because its horse hair thick), seriously, Im convinces if I WAS thinner, I would have been a shoe in for those Pantene commercials, lol (before thinning it).I like it. Isnt it funny how you LOVE your hair when you leave the salon but when you get home and wash it and try to style it yourself, the love turns to like. Yeah, thats me today. Its still nicer than it was but not nearly as nice as yesterday. Anyway - Im babbling, surprise-surprise. Garden, what are you putting in your garden?

Tiff -send me a pic of your new hair! I want to see, thats a lot to get cut off.

Mygrits - I have been thinking about cleaning out my cabinets. Especially since I am getting a new roomie and I have to make space for her things. Are you going to be out in the sun this weekend? I AM!!! We are going to the pool today and tomorrow, I did all my cleaning on Thursday so now I can just sit back and relax - I love it.

Ok, so I got some good news, but I am not going to make it official till tomorrow but I am down to 193!!! Woot-woot, "pull over that girls too fast", lol - this is actually a song - if you know it, that would make sense. Anyway, this is pretty good considering TOM is here. Lets see if I get that same number tomorrow...fingers crossed.

Ill try to check in later. Have a great day!

nicole - another lb.- AWESOME! you passed on the shake and anything else at McDs. sweet! it's so hard to do that especially when you're hungry. great job! hope the new roomy works out. does she exercise, maybe you could have a new work out buddy? did you color your hair yet? blond right?

sandy - step away from the cheetos...yes, they are good, but they are full of crap. snap out of it! LOL!

tiff - did your hair weigh a pound, that is so funny! omg, how long was your hair? that's a lot to cut off. that calls for a new pic!

burgundy - ezekial bread is organic and can be found at health food stores and probably at trader joe's if you have one close. i got the sesame bread (yummy!) and it cost bout the same as other bread, $3. here is the link. ezekial organic bread

staccie - i got a look at your blog pics. wow! you're abs are smiling you look so different, keep it up!

this sucks, i woke up with my tummy growling and i just can't start eating when i hit the floor. i have to have coffee first, and lots of it. i could eat left-over sloppy joe's..mmm! but should probably have fiber one cereal with a banana. wish i had some fresh blueberries to go with it, but none have seemed sweet yet. and i really want some raspberries, but if you can't smell them, they are still sour-at least that's my experience. i would like to grill chicken kabobs today, but will need peppers, onions and tomatoes. nicole, you started something here...haha!

ok, the yoga video is...yoga conditioning for weight loss. i didn't check it for the 'weight loss' per say, but because i figure with the different fitness levels, i can do modified poses and work my way back into it. there was another yoga video that's out of 'print' (plus-sized) that i wanted a couple years ago. but in looking, i just found recommendations for 6 plus-sized yoga videos...oh goody! if anyone is interested in them, let me know and i'll post them or send a note to you.

i also got my hair cut on thursday. it's shorter than usual, but i tend to get it shorter each time i go. i love my hair short. it's straight as a poker, thick and i have to wash it every day cause i have oily hair. i can't do anything with it long except a bun or pony tail. i promise...once i can get a decent pic i will post it, but i don't have a camera.

oh yeah, it's my birthday today. yah me! haha! i think my friend has something planned, don't know yet. a couple of days ago he asked if i was doing anything on saturday. for a minute i was like... umm, let me think, saturday, saturday. i don't think so. oh wait, it's my birthday...duh! LOL!

i'll check in later, unless i'm partying!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!!! GO KELLY, its your birthday, we gonna party like its your birthday...lol.

Hmmmm...I cant remember if it was Kelly or Burgundy that commented on this but no, I havent died my hair blonde YET, I will be later today. Oh...I am so excited. I love haircuts, even if I cant style them like the stylist, lol. I feel so cute.

Anyway, were heading out the pool now, Ill check in later. I ended up going to the farmers market and had a zuchini and feta french quiche (sp?). It was yummy but I imagine, pretty fattening and bad, so time to be good for the rest of the day. I think I am going to have a bowl of my soup for lunch, I love that stuff!

First of all...HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!!! I hope you have a blast, but don't party too hard!

OMG! I am soooo excited right now. I just got on the scale and it said 295.4!!!! Ye sterday it said 300.2! I drank 12 cups of water yesterday and stuck to my calories yesterday and I guess it flushed EVERYTHING out of my system. I had to pee 5 times last night throughout the night and we won't even go into #2 details cause thats just way TMI. But 5 lbs. in one day! Thrilling!

I haven't been able to take a good picture of my new do yet. Don laughs at me because I have to take anywhere from 20-50 pictures to like even one of them. So I have taken 5 so far and none have passed the test. I looked like I was high or half asleep (the latter might have been true). Plus its rainy and humid today, so that is not doing nice things to my hair.

Lindy, YAY for blond! The lady that did my hair last night told me I just need to go out in the sun and my hair will be super blond and I won't need highlights. Right now, my hair is like dark blond and I am going back and forth between wanting to get highlights or not. I am just one that never maintains hair color and it looks like crap like two months later. I think I may just make a point to get out in the sun more. Oh and great job on the 193, you are getting farther and farther from 200 which makes it more likely you will never see that number again! Oh and that soup recipe you gave...I need to make that for Don. He LOVES Carraba's lentil and sausage soup, so if I could make that at home he would probably be thrilled.

As of this week, we have both given up soda. Mygrits, you have inspired me with your whole foods/ eliminating chemicals and processed foods. So I talked to Don about it and once we move (and can unpack all of our cooking utensils) we are going to start taking small steps towards a whole food lifestyle. The first step, and really the only step we can take with EVERYTHING packed, is eliminating soda. So that's what we are doing. Any advice you can give since you are much further along would be greatly appreciated.

Eeeek! It looks like a hurrican out there and the lights are flickering! better post before the internet goes out!

Burgandy, if I did that much yard work here in this weather, I would just be one big pile of sweat. It is sooooo hot here now like 80% of the time and the other 20% of the time its raining and/or 100% humidity. I am starting to remember again why I wanted to move from here. During the winter I forgot why I wanted to move because the weather is pretty much perfect. It never rains (we were in a really bad drought) and it stays in the 70's every day with the occasional cold front to the 60's. I totally understand why people come here for the winter and go north for the summers. The best of both worlds. When I lose more weight, I really want to try out some yoga classes. When I was at the University of Miami, there were yoga classes in the health center (gym) and I went to one once. It actually really hurt my lower back, like strained some muscles. But after reading more about it, either I was doing the move wrong or it was strengthening those muscles. Supposedly it is really good exercise for people with bad lower backs. Mine is really weak and I can pull it really easily. I did once just painting. So maybe once I lose more weight and feel more comfortable doing yoga, I could go to classes and strengthen my lower back. Back problems must be genetic because my grandma (dad's mom) has always had back problems since she was young and my dad has a really bad back too. He has already had two back surgeries and he's only 45.