Ags - I had thought of that actually. When it comes down to it though, it helps with the migraines. I'd down a whole salt shaker if it would get rid of the pain. I try to avoid it and only drink a small diet soda if the migraine persists for more than 8 hours and other meds aren't touching the pain. I can't really have more than the 20oz either because I'm not used to caffeine anymore and it gives me wicked bad shakes. I usually only have an 8oz bottle and that's enough to help with the other meds. You know it's bad when you can't even put your head on your pillow, you know? I've been having them a lot lately with being sick and all. Hopefully tomorrow will better. It's supposed to be warm and rainy, so that's a plus. I hope you feel better in the morning. Get some good rest tonight!

Misty - That's a bummer about the aspartame. Sugar free everything is kind of my go to because my husband is a diabetic, as were both his parents. Well, there's 2 more suggestions I have if you find you want to be chewing something. You could try either ice chips or frozen berries. It will take you time to work through a frozen berry and make you feel full because you've been at it for awhile. The other, and its going to sound odd, is a toothbrush. I have tmj and whenever I over stress my jaw, I put a toothbrush between my teeth, and usually it results in a decreased appetite for me. We actually have to buy them in bulk because they get icky fast and I go through them a lot. Jojos sound so good right now. I haven't had much potato in the past year and as an irish girl, you've got to know that's hard.
Okay, my workout wore me out big time, I think I'm going to bed early. Early for me that is. Have a fabulous Monday everyone!

Good Morning Ladies...

Well, I got to work this morning and received the news that I was hoping to not hear for awhile yet that I have been dreading but today was the day that I was told that my last day at work is this friday so next week I will be on the lookout for a new job and this weekend will be spent revamping my resume and looking for jobs but the positive out of all this is that I did not turn to food like I normally would in a stressful/bad news situation I stuck to what I brought for breakfast and lunch and my husband got paid today and he knows that we are going to have to just have his checks starting after next week ( my last paycheck will be March 11th) so we are going to go out to dinner at Golden Corral tonight because we know this will be the last time that we will be able to go out to eat for awhile but I plan on sticking to my diet and I am going to have salad and some jalapeno seasoned tilapia that he said he saw advertised and I may let myself have one small slice of red velvet cake if they have it cause I will be working out tonight when I get home and I am not going to let this throw me off track with my diet. The way I look at this is that yes it is a horrible thing that I have to be unemployed once again but my 2 jobs will be looking for a job and working on losing weight so I have all my ducks in a row.

Well, gotta run for now talk to all you ladies later
Hope everyone is having a great day
Heather

everybody!..I've been really busy..trying to work out,get some rest and enjoy life..not much time for all the IE sites i post on but you guys are always in my thoughts things have been good! still pushing on..better now that I've worked out my caloric deficit and ratio


Happy Belated Birthday Shannon May you Have Many More Your best years are ahead of you! you've done an awesome job..90 lbs hope the date was nice and I bet you looked great great job on that positive thinking in the end


Susan,sorry you couldn't make it to Florida but you will eventually.Glad you're feeling better! great job on the weight lost great to see you're keeping your focus,drive and determination take care of yourself


Linda,see you haven't posted since Friday,hope things are well


Goodness learn,reading all you did made ME tired-er glad you're liking the low-carb way of eating! those bad carbs are killers(causes the craving for me) but there are so many good carbs It's all a learning experience and you learning about that WOE should really help a lot!that weight is gonna fall off now!!


Ags,great job on all the success you've been having lately I'm really happy for you! You're doing it Ags


Misty,keep fighting those battles cause you're doing great!After a while the fight won't be so hard Read something in cakes post about you wanting something to chew on if it's any help,how about sugar free gum..I Chew it (SF cough drops too) but still count them Thanks for the pictures.Molly is a cutie


Honey,great job on the lost ain't nothing to it but to do it


Cake,nice to meet you



Have a good Evening everyone

Good evening ladies..............

Going to change my name to '1# a week Linda'............one whole pound. Again - I know it's better than a gain.....still........it's just so aggravating with so much weight to lose...................

OK - I'm done with my pity party.....I did manage to stay POP, so that's good.

Ags - You have such a beautiful attitude.......Thanks for the encouragement - I always smile reading your uplifting posts......You are a rock and duck butter, sweet meat and oh so many monikers - but the best is 'internet friend'.

Learn..........whew - I'm pooped just reading all you accomplished through the day - and with a smile none the less..........You are a lady on a mission. You're another one - great attitude all the time.............always cheering us on. I've been on the low carb plan for the whole month of Feb. I was cheat free. Yeah............now - to stay with it.

Ona......bless your heart - you're such a ray of sunshine with your posts. A gentle, calming voice. I appreciate your posts a lot.

Shannon...........I'm sure you looked absolutely wonderful for your date. Hope you had a terrific time - lol - keep thinking of Lily and her take on Mom and Dad time. She is such a cutie. So, let us know how the big night out went. You've lost so much weight this past year - and I know how proud of yourself you've been. You'll find your way to keep right on doing it - it's just not an option to go back to that 'other place' of gaining weight. Remember - you hae the water park this summer - and Nov for Disney World - you really have excellent things coming up in your life - all that fun with Lilybug......She's worth it - and so my dear are you..................

Heather.............if I remember correctly - wasn't your job supposed to end the end of last year? It was so nice that you were able to stay there. I'm sure you will find another soon - and now - you have a very recent job to put on that resume. You're doing the right thing - keeping to your schedule - exercising...........You really are an inspiration with all you do.

Susan...................where are you? I see you flying by - but no note - you must be posting on the biggest loser or now I don't remember the thread. Hope all is well - I'm sure you are back to the gym now - zumbaing your booty. You go -..................and doing new recipes I'm sure....You're really good at that.

We're doing taxes..........if you see smoke rising from the area of Ohio - think nothing of it...........we're playing the Bickersons..........Geesh - I don't even remember them - have just read about them..........We never get through a tax season with snipping/snapping...........Be so glad when they are done.

OK - positives................We didn't blow away, had terrible rain and lightning early this morning, tornado warnings about 10 mile north of us.

Going to stay on my plan...........finished my last closet............

Stay well everyone......................Linda

Linda,Great job!!Don't be frustrated So when you analyze everything.. you know you're doing something right,you know you have a plan that works for you,you know that you can have control of your eating habits and that you can lose weight. So if you're frustrated and want more of a lost then have you tried analyzing,researching and reviewing what you eat(and your movement) daily against your daily weigh-in(or whenever you weigh).There's not much more you need to do cause you have a plan in place to lose weight and it's working..it just needs a little more tweaking,Like more water, moving more consistently,etc.. when i compare my weigh-ins against what I've eaten the day before there's always something i see(that i could do(couldn't have done) if I've gained, that can help. But really a pound a week is not bad at all

Bake-tastic Butternut Squash Fries 2.0

PER SERVING (1/2 of recipe): 125 calories, <0.5g fat, 158mg sodium, 33g carbs, 3g fiber, 6g sugars, 3g protein -- PointsPlus™ value 0*

Getting baked butternut-squash spears crispy in the oven can be a bit of a challenge. This newly improved recipe will show you the way...









Ingredients:
1 butternut squash (about 2 pounds -- large enough to yield 20 oz. once peeled & sliced)
1/8 tsp. coarse salt
Optional: additional coarse salt

Directions:
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Slice the ends off the squash, and then cut it in half widthwise. Peel squash with a vegetable peeler or carefully with a knife. Cut the round bottom piece in half lengthwise and remove seeds.

Using a crinkle cutter or a knife, carefully cut squash into spears/French-fry shapes. (For exact nutritionals, measure out and use 20 oz.) Pat spears firmly with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. Sprinkle evenly with salt.

Lay spears out on a layer of paper towels, and let stand for at least 5 minutes, to allow the salt to draw out any excess moisture. Then pat with paper towels again. If you like, sprinkle with additional salt.

Spray a broiler pan, a baking rack placed over a baking sheet, or a baking sheet with nonstick spray, and then lay spears flat on it. (Use two pieces of bakeware, if needed.)

Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, and then carefully flip spears. Bake for about 20 minutes longer, until tender on the inside and crispy on the outside. Enjoy!

MAKES 2 SERVINGS

I will be back in a few to make my post, but wanted to share this and oh yeah it is one of my positives for the day.

Ags
Sorry the pictures did not show up.

Hello everyone. I'm in a time crunch tonight so I can't do personals but I will catch up in the morning. My positive today is despite having an icky day and wanted to just give in and order take out, I instead had a nice dinner of steamed veggies, salad and a smallish turkey burger. I'm glad I didn't cave in there because I imagine I would have regretted it. I got a lot of stitching done today and did a little house cleaning. I'm probably going to go for a long walk in a little while, get some fresh air. The bleach fumes did a number on my asthma today. Hope you're all well and omg I want to make squash now Ags!
J

Hello lovelies, I'm not gonna do personals today.
Everything well here... So far so good as for not going over my calorie limit. Trying to get in those veggies... ate a big bowl of salad for lunch/dinner/snack... Made some more potatoes for the last bit of food for the evening. Drank me some tea... Tension Tamer from Celestial Seasonings. I like peppermint and Tension Tamer. Been drinking some Green Tea also... heard it helps boost your metabolism while you sleep if drank before bed. Um... My sea monkeys are big enough for me to spot without leaning in and actively looking. Pleased they are all still alive. haha Still think this is the best batch of eggs i've ever purchased. I've had a good day. Watched some Inuyasha, which is an anime show... not much for anime but i like this one. Saw it on TV one night a while back and thought it was interesting and later found out they have all the episodes on hulu. Niiice. Bonus that it's in japenese... that means subtitles... which i have on anyways when i watch stuff. So rare to find shows on hulu with captions/subtitles. Merlin wasn't captioned... I had to have headphones on and the sound up REAL LOUD because you know they're all brits and if it's hard for me to hear english... imagine real english. lol Glad you guys enjoyed the pictures of my mutt. She does a good job posing... with her head turned away from the camera. Only way to get her to look at me is to use exciting words that she knows like Car Ride and Treat. I have a channel on youtube if anyone gets bored and wants to check it out. Same name: Mistycrow. Anyways I have videos on molly up there and other such things. Would love to see pictures of your pets as well... don't make me be the only one sharing.

Well that's enough babble from me. Have a great day girls and I'll be back with a smile later.

~Miss Crow~

P.S. I made a thread called "Something i heard on facebook" i want you gals to check it out.

Mornin' gals! I'm going to do some personals, but please forgive me in advance if I forget anyone!

Learn, glad you had a good visit, and great job keeping on track with it. EWWW, toilet problems!!!! You are just movin' right along, aren't you!!! And I'm jealous that you are already in Spring and getting your yard going! I despise yard work, but I am itching to get out there and get things in order.

Misty, great job getting those veggies in! So glad you have joined in the positive thread. I'm a stranger here at times, but it really is my home here at 3FC and helped me SO much those first few months. Maybe I'll post a pic of my doggies for ya!

J, I don't think we've been formally introduced! Sorry to hear about your asthma, but it sure sounds like you are on track!

Ona, Hey girl! I love how you are always mixing it up, and like Linda said, I do hear a voice of calm and reason when you post. You know I love you!

Linda, I was wondering what that big cloud of smoke was over to the west -- you guys doing your taxes! hahaha That big ol' thunderstorm was something! Ahh, Spring's a-comin!!!! Try not to get discouraged by those one pound losses. We just have to keep chipping away at it, that's all there is to it. Rome was not built in a day and all that! It can be so frustrating, but I really do try to think of this as the behaviors I'm doing instead of what the scale is showing me. That's why at the beginning I was only weighing once a month. That scale can really actually LOSE focus on what I'm doing if I get too weird about it!

Heather, sorry to about the job, but I agree with Learn that this job will look great on your resume. I know you'll find something good soon! Keep up the great work with your plan!

Susan, your picnic with Nigel sounds absolutely divine!!! Well, I'm assuming "man of my dreams" meant Nigel! hahaha I hope you are feeling just so much better!!!

Ducky, you are doing SOO GREAT!!! I am so inspired! Those recipes sound really great, especially the squash one. I love, love squash. You keep taking care of you, because you are more than special to all of us!

Darren and my date night was out of this world! We had SUCH a romantic time, that sweet man of mine really played along. He looked very handsome in his suit, and couldn't say enough about how great I looked. He opened my car door for me, led me around on his arm, just really treated me like a lady. He always does, but he went all out! Then when we were telling Lily about our night, he said, "Mommy and me looked like we were ready for the Oscars!" hahaha The restaurant was gorgeous and they sat us right next to the fireplace, nice relaxed service, time for a couple glasses of wine, some delicious food, and lots of talking about everything EXCEPT the daily grind. I think it was JUST what we both needed. Because now I feel so sweetly toward him, which makes it ever so much easier to deal with the irritating crap he does on a regular basis (and I'm sure he feels the same way! ). A success, and I must say, I'm enjoying being 40 so far. I'm super excited that I have 10 whole years to be in my 40s! They are going to be great!

Thanks so much for all the well wishes, you ladies always know how to lift a person up when they are having a little bit of a confidence crisis!

Misty, here you go...Simon (brown) and Gypsy (black). The sweetest, most adorable doggies in the world!!!

Sorry for the fake-out Ducky! I didn't take any pictures of us in our Oscar-ready outfits. haha I actually thought about it, but I was too scared that if I didn't like how I looked it would spoil the sparkle I had going. I really need to get out of my own head sometimes, but I try to give myself a break because I am TRYING to get my swagger back. hehehe Baby steps, I s'pose.