WI: No WI
GW: 125
Exercise: 15 minutes
Calories: On the low end today

Stomach is not doing to well. I feel like BLAH. I also have a dinner date tonight with some friends IDK..how well that is going to go
Hope everyone is having a great Friday!

We're doing pretty good, so far, with the storm.

Question: Next week is our ladies church meeting. The focus this time will be healthy eating/lifestyle. I am wanting to make a shrimp salad and serve it in endive leaves. I have several recipes. I can make it with a lower calorie mayo made with olive oil, Greek yogurt, or a combo of the two (mayo/Greek yogurt). Any thoughts or ideas on which would be better? TIA

HI Everyone!

FYML Enjoy your favorite meal. Good luck with your weigh in tomorrow.

Flower Thank you. So far we haven't had any problems from the storm.

Chunkahlunkah Congrats on the 140's!

MonteCristo Enjoy your time off.

Golda Hi I hope you had a great day!

Fat in Hong Kong Sending good thoughts for your dog. I hope she is feels better quickly.

Kelijpa I like those rephrases. It's truly amazing the calories/points in some of the foods we eat/used to eat.

Nicoley Hi and welcome to the check-in.

Nicholsfamily I hope you feel better and it doesn't hang around the entire weekend.

Waving HI all around! Enjoy your evening!

Total Approx 1675 Calories +

Breakfast (400 Calories + coffee)
spritz olive oil in pan
XL egg 80 cal
egg whites from carton 60 calories
300g. Mediterranean Blend Veggies 90 calories
14 g. Organic Valley feta cheese 30 calories
1 T. tomato paste 10 calories
1/2 Rudi's 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Flatz 45 calories
1 T. pumpkin butter 25 calories
juice equivalent to 60 calories
coffee w/sugar/stevia blend and cream

Lunch (700 calories)
salad w/grilled salmon & BHF's ranch 700 calories

Dinner (275 calories)
Rudi's 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Flatz 90 calories
2 slices Applegate Farms Black Forest Ham & lettuce 50 Calories
Laughing Cow spreadable cheese wedge 35 calories
1 Apple 100 calories

Snack (300 calories)
air popped popcorn 300 calories

Exercise
None

Hi everyone, hope you are all doing well today!

Thanks so much for your comments, advice and support. I've decided to get off my pity party bus about my hair. There are many people in this world that are dealing with far greater challenges than I am, so I should be grateful for my life and the health I do have. I've addressed the issue by taking supplements, increasing my calories and not doing bad things to my hair (like heat tools, highlighting, ponytails), and plan on going to the doctor to make sure it is not a medical problem. That's all I can do and the rest is beyond my control.

Having said all of that, I did do web research and found that hair loss has been observed by many people when they lose weight. Some one referred to it as the nasty little secret about weight loss that no one tells you. One woman was eating 1500-1800 calories a day, she lost about 25 pounds in a couple of months and she lost half her hair. It regenerated later, but she was mortified at the time. Anyway, I've said enough about the hair issue. On to more positive things...

After lots of consideration, I've decided to gradually transition from the pre-packaged diet food plan to regular food. I'm going to do it slowly to see if I can manage the freedom of choosing foods and portions, the time it takes to prepare them, and still continue to be happy about my results.the results. I'm looking for suggestions on high protein, moderate carb snacks. So far, I'm looking at string cheese, nuts, cottage cheese, Greek yogurt, hard-boiled eggs. I would love to find a good protein bar that doesn't cost too much, but that has good nutrition. My roommate said he would help me cook and shop, so that is very helpful.

Hong Kong - Congrats on your 4 pound loss! That is great! Keep up the amazing job! I hope your dog is doing better. I have 3 and they are everything to me.

Diana - Glad to hear you are doing okay with the storm. Great job on your food and exercise videos!

FYML - you deserve a treat after all of your success. Great job with the exercise! Hope you feel better.

Monte - enjoy your long weekend! Glad the increase in carbs is helping you. Regarding your calorie counting question, I did it with WW a long time ago, but I found I was using all of my points on carb heavy foods. Didn't lose much. Now, I think I have a better idea of what my calories need to be made up of to be successful.

Golda - thanks for the tip regarding silica gel. I've never heard of it, so I'll definitely need to check it out. Sorry you were not feeling well and hope you get better soon!

Kelijpa - glad you are finding success! I love sugar free Popsicles, can beat them for a 15 calorie treat. I really like your suggestion to give thanks, rather than apologize. Thanks for the suggestions for recipe websites.

Nicoley - welcome! Looks like you've got a good plan and goal. Good luck!

Nichols - sorry not feeling well. Hope you feel better soon.

Daily update - WI 208.2, down 1.2 from yesterday. Cal. 1,331 (and that includes two oz. of vanilla vodka I plan on having tonight!); carb 101g; fat 41g, protein 113g; sodium 1,883mg; sugar 35g.

Exercise - 45 minutes of cardio, burned 230 calories, and 5200 steps so far. 20 minutes strength training, lower body. 15 min. Stretching. I'm getting more fit. I've increased the resistance, incline and speed on all of cardio machines to keep me in my target heart rate range.

Thanks, everyone, for supporting me! Have a great long weekend!

I'm MIA --- in Kentucky with family!
Always interesting.
Won't be home until Monday.
Hope to check in on Tuesday.

to you all ... and I hope you have a terrific weekend-

Today was on point as per what I had planned. Total calorie intake was 1,015 today. I had my cheat meal of a grilled chicken burger with cheese, bacon, mayo and gravy with no top bun and a side caesar. I also did something today that I haven't done in 35 consecutive days... I took a rest day from my workouts because I feel a cold coming on! I did get in 12,000 steps today though! I am hoping I can avoid a cold as I have 3 days off and wanted to accomplish a lot this weekend before I am back to work! I wanted to make soup, chillli, granola bars, and broccoli salad this weekend

I have my 2 week weigh in tomorrow morning and I am expecting to still be at 194. I am happy as long as I am 194 or less

hi all. not going to say much now.

Golda good to meet you. Love your name

Nicholey Great to meet you

Diana I vote for combo of low calorie mayo and yogurt. In the south do you ever use seafood sauce ( catsup mixed with horseradish)?

Today I was pretty good. I think the total calories were around 1100. I didnt exercise much. But did some work in the garden and the bit of house cleaning. Plus those 260 stairs.

Tomorrow if off plan day. I know some do not like the way I write that. but it works for me

I hope you all have a lovely Saturday

Hi Everyone,

We've been so busy for the past few weeks with holiday, then a houseful of visitors, and we were busy last weekend. It's the first weekend for ages that we've had to ourselves ... so looking forward to a nice quiet weekend, just the two of us!

nicoley73 ~ Hello and Welcome!

Chunkahlunkah ~ Teaching in Asia when you finish your Masters sounds like a great plan! My son is now a fully qualified teacher and currently teaching at an international primary school in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia ... he's loving it! Great lifestyle, and lots of places to visit in Asia very cheaply! There are numerous opportunities for people to teach English throughout Asia, so you wouldn't have any problem finding work! Good luck if you decide to do it!

Diana ~ I'd go with the combo of mayo & yogurt too. I usually add a squeeze of lemon juice and freshly ground black pepper to mine ... Yum!

Zoniegirl ~ I think it's a great plan to gradually transition to regular food ... it shouldn't be so costly, and it's something you can continue to do for life. Having a room mate to help with the cooking too is a great help!

Flower123 ~ I'm all for an 'off-plan' weekend! I like to stay on plan (as much as I can!) during the week, but when it comes to the weekend I do like to enjoy cooking a nice meal (or go out to dinner) and enjoy the odd bottle of wine with hubby! However, knowing that I've been so good and kept to my plan throughout the week, I do still tend to make better choices so that I don't undo all my good work! At the end of the day, we still need to have some enjoyment in life, yes? For me, being too restrictive, just leads to me giving up, so I'd rather know that I can still enjoy my weekends, without going overboard of course!

Today's Food ...

Breakfast ~ Overnight Oats with Grated Apple, Sliced Banana & Cinnamon
Lunch ~ (On the go!) Avocado and a Nectarine
Dinner ~ Char-Grilled Tenderloin Fillet Steak, Char-Grilled Asparagus, Roast Butternut Squash, Garlic Mushrooms and Dauphinois Potatoes
Beverage ~ Wine (a few glasses!) And possibly a G&T to begin!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Good Morning, Everyone!

Last night I did: Debbie Siebers Slim & Limber and 10 minutes of legs up the wall
This Morning: Oxycise in the office 1

Calories for yesterday: 1675 +
Weigh In: 172.8
No Change <--This is good with the higher calories

Zoniegirl Great job with the 1.2 pounds. Sounds like you have some very good ideas already.

BelovedWarrior I hope you have a nice visit with family.

FYML Good luck on your weigh in.

Flower Good job with your calories. We call that sauce cocktail sauce.

Fat in Hong Kong Enjoy your quiet weekend.

Flower & Fat in Hong Kong The dressing for the shrimp will have dill in it. I think the combo mayo/Greek yogurt will give it that creamy texture that we all like.

Have a great day!
Today's daily devotion: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/5277603-post261.html

Yes, finally dropped to a new low in this weight loss trip! I'm at 149.1 today. I hope Labor Day weekend doesn't bump me back into the 150s, just because it's nice seeing some progress in the numbers. But I'll live either way.

Diana - Mmm, that shrimp dish sounds delicious.

Zoniegirl - Good plan! Another possible snack is beef jerky. The drawback there though is price. I've been interested in making my own. I saw some low temp, slow roasting recipes online that looked promising.

Nichola - Congrats to your son! A placement at an International School is excellent! So funny that he's in Malaysia. For the longest time, teaching there hadn't been on my radar, but last week one of my professors mentioned that to me as a great option so I added it to my list. It's encouraging to hear from someone who knows someone doing this and is having a positive experience. Thank you! I don't intend to stay long enough (just a year) to be an appealing candidate to an International School, but who knows, life has a way of not always going exactly to plan.

9/2
Weight: 146.0
Calories: 1294
Exercise: 13,454 steps

We are going to a fancy resort tomorrow with friends. I'm really not great with self control, but I'm going to try to stick with low carb but not calorie count for the two days. And not drink too much...

About the hair loss, it happens to a lot of women in their forties and above. I went through a terrible bout of it a couple of years ago. I do believe that most of it is hormonal and there is not too much to be done in terms of supplements. But everyone should go to their doctors and get their iron levels and thyroid checked. Both of those are proven to affect hair loss and regrowth. The one thing I did find helpful was topical melatonin. You can buy it on Amazon and just spray it on your head before bed each night. It definitely helped with my shedding.

Zoniegirl Yeah definately take a look in to the gel. Glad to hear you're taking supplements as well!

Diana your food that you ate sounds amazing!!!

Had a pretty good day at work. Got up early and roasted some red peppers and had that with chicken I cooked with harissa. Mixed it with some salad leaves so that was a nice lunch!
For dinner I had some smoked salmon.
Walked for about an hour in the evening on the way home from work
Hope everybody has a great weekend!!!

zoniegirl I almost went bald from my Ideal Protein diet. But it all grew back. Can you feel any stubble on your scalp from new growth? I recall it took a few months.

Diana I will keep praying for Brandon.

Nicholsfamily Hope you're feeling better.

kelijpa I cracked up reading your post about not apologizing Makes sense though.

Flower, MontCristo,Chunkalunkah,BW, HongKong and everyone I missed! Welcome to the Newcomers, Welcome back Treasa, Good to see you!

It's hard to type on this tiny phone. I was about apologize but instead I'll say thanks for overlooking typos etc, and for reading this

Well, I made it through my night time desert winding mountain road experience. I did not collide with grazing horses, I did not meet up with drug smugglers or hunan traffickers, did not encounter flash floods or micro bursts, no drunk drivers on the 2-lane highway. Watching the sunset over the Sonoran desert from 7000 ft & then seeing a gazillion stars was well worth the anxiety! It was exciting to see nebulas & Saturn through a telescope.

Relaxing now in a lovely casita B & B. It's far from any atore, but they make a sumptuous breakfast & leave fresh baked pies & cookies out. I brought some prepared salads & roasted chicken for dinner. Strategy is to enjoy the breakfast while omitting the fruit, yogurt,muffin,OJ. I may taste the pie if necessary to avoid feeling deprived. But I'd rather get my wt down sooner than later. I don't feel comfortable at my current size.

Have a good weekend everyone!

Hi Everyone!

I feel I need to share something. I'm not sure how I am going to feel in the next few days so I might not be able to workout, etc, so I might as well explain what I have going on. A couple weeks ago I did my thyroid labs. At the same time they did a urinalysis. When I went to get my results, the labs were all good but the urinalysis showed a slight amount of blood in my urine. I have never had this before. I told the Dr. about my phantom TTOM's and she thought that might be the reason for the blood. The Dr. wanted to do another test immediately. It also showed blood. So she wanted to wait a week to see if there would be a difference. At that time I didn't have any symptoms of anything. This week, I started having some discomfort. Yesterday I went to have the test done, again. It still showed a problem and the Dr. wants to send me to a Urologist. The pain has increased since yesterday. I don't have an appointment with the next Dr. yet. Hopefully they will set that up this week. I'm not in severe pain, but my pants are uncomfortable. I am almost thinking that I need to call the Dr. office or go to an outpatient place this weekend. I am not a happy camper right now. I never get sick or have anything wrong. Of course, those who know me, and have heard about my family history, know that I am scared of the big C word. That's automatically where my thought goes to. Of course my weight isn't an issue when it comes to my health and this type of situation. I'm not sure about working out, I'll see how I feel.

I'm not going to do personals tonight.

Total Approx 1360 calories +

Breakfast (260 calories + )
Organic Valley Vanilla Shake fuel 260 calories
coffee w/cream, sugar/stevia blend

Lunch (350 calories)
Salad from Panera w/BHF's ranch 350 calories

Snack (200 calories)
small slice of banana bread from friend 200 calories

Dinner (550 calories)
Amy's cheese ravioli w/sauce 380 calories
Greek vanilla yogurt w/blueberries 170 calories

Exercise:
KCM's Cardio Pump workout 2 w/15's
I got some cardio from shopping with a friend. We walked around for most of the day. It wasn't like my usual mall walk (not as fast) but it was for a much longer period of time.