Happy Tuesday

Got to the gym last night. Then DD and I went down to the basement and was fooling around with the exercise ball. I do mean fooling. We laughed more than we worked out. I kept falling of the ball. I never quite looked the the pictures of the exercises.

Got up this morning and got 1 mile on the :whoops: Hopefully I can do that a few morning a week plus the gym 3 nights. The scale is down 4 today. Lots of water.

BF; Protein smoothie with 1/2 banana and strawberries (I need the banana as my potassium levels are low)

Lunch, salad, turkey, cheese, egg, bacon bits, no cal balsmic dressing. Apple
Dinner, meatloaf, butter beans, aspargus.

Ken, welcome back and congrats on your new son. Can't wait to get all the info.

Tech, I think Kyle has had some influence along the line, maybe from Derrick???? I know what you mean about the trigger foods and the license to eat. Once I start, it's downhill all the way until I come to my senses (usually the number on the scale does it). We have to find a way and whatever works for you.

Cindy, Hi, where have you been. Come on back.

Dripping, how neat to have GD face on the mac & cheese box. I fix a salad with strawberries and a balsmic dressing. Delish.

County, don't worry about those 2 lbs, the wagon is coming around and I think it's going to be pretty full. Jump on in. How is your FIL doing?

BOB, hoping you are feeling good today.

Thin, A new store is always exciting.


Got to run. Have a great OP day.

Solly: You may be right about that...Derek is the one that taught Kyle to grab my fanny and say, "Hubba, hubba, baby..." And...THANK YOU for posting about that salad. It inspired me and now I have a gigantic salad with ham, cheese, carrots, chick peas, green peppers and cukes, topped with fresh ground peppercorn and blue cheese. Its the best salad I've had in a long time...not quite as good as the sugar cookie meltdown I had yesterday, but I'll wear this better.

I wish we had a Trader Joes here. The closest thing we have to it is a natural food store called The Mustard Seed. But, it's pretty small and pricey as I think its privately owned and the only place in town, so they can pretty much charge what they want.

Okay...gotta go eat my salad. I have some green tea in the iced tea maker. I've been drinking it by the gallon!! Sooo good.

C-yas!! Kris

Morning ladies.

As far as the velveeta goes, I remember checking it at the store and it didn't have any starch listed. The light version did though. I got an 8 oz thing of it. I knew I wouldn't eat it before it went bad if I got one any bigger.

I need you guys to be thinking of and praying for me. My husband and I have been going through some rough times and last night he mentioned divorce for the second time in 3 months. We had a long talk last night and so far nothing has been decided other than the fact that I want us to go to counseling and try to make this work. Needless to say, this has not made it easy for me to stay on plan since I've missed several meals and then make up for it by pigging out on whatever's around.

Nicolee- So sorry about your situation..prayers, thoughts and good vibes coming your way!!!

Tech-Your husband sounds so much like mine it is not even funny! He gives Rachel a hard time about dancing with her "ghetto booty" and shaking her "money maker" She slapps him and yells at him, but it doesn't help!

NIC: I will definitely be praying for you. I am sure counseling will help. I am also sure that eating off plan does NOT help you feel better emotionally. Be strong, my friend. You deserve it.

THIN: Ok, I am not sure what to say here. Adolescent girls get a lot of their confidence and acceptance, and body image from their daddies. My husband is really wonderful in that area, and my older daughter, who is built like me, has incredible confidence and acceptance of her body - better than many smaller girls her age. Even teasing lovingly can erode Rachel's confidence. Would he relent if YOU talked to him privately? Rachel needs to have the most important man in her life treat her like she is worthy, beautiful and acceptable. You know?

I just got in from the store and need to go finish a few chores before I head over to the school, then to the church for a meeting with the pastor.

I didn't mean that it upsets her, I think she knows he's kidding her. She does have some issues with her weight etc. but it seems to be better now than in the past. She has lost 5 lbs and gotten taller this last year as well as moving up to a new level of dance. The girls in this level are 7th-9th gaders with the exception of Rachel who is in the 6th. They all have the "curves" showing up as she does, and are not "stick thin" like most of them in the younger group were. She would complain that she was the fattest one in there. I think even though she is the youngest one, she feels more accepted in this group. The teachers have started emphasizing nutrition more and she sees that there are others that while thinner now, are not eating as healthy as we are. I have not heard any "self conscious" comments in a while. Also, I noticed while looking at pictures of the costumes that are being used this year there are none of them that are middrifts. I dont' know if someone complained or what, but it is definently OK with us.

Nicolee-Will keep you in our thoughts and prayers.

Hi everyone,

Its a beautiful day here in Louisiana. Kinda cool but the suns out and its wonderful!! Yard needs mowing but the mower will not say a word...lol Hubby will not be back until Thursday next week I think I might just go buy a new mower before he comes home. By the time he gets home the yard would be a jungle...lol
My step-dads brother just got diagnosed a diabetic and he wants me to email him some recipes and the name of our SB book. I will be glad to do it! I know quite a bit about diabetics beings my hubby is one and it runs in both sides of both our families.

Hope everyone has a wonderful day!!!!

Back from Cincinnati. It was a good trip and we brought back several pieces of folk art. Solly, we totally did not know about that town east of Lexington (name starts with an "M", but I forget it right now) that is a center for folk art. Next time we are in that area we will check it out.

Amanda, I'm so sorry to hear about your difficulties. I hope you both will totally buy into counseling. The only people that each of you can change is yourself, and I am confident that with that action and with the right understanding of marriage, your marriage will become a totally wonderful one. Good luck and God bless.

Happy birthday to the birthday girls, whose birthdays I missed.

And now, in honor of Monet's birthday here is an article on Leptin, to which I'm sure she will add an "amen." I saw this article in Eating Well and you can read the entire article online at http://www.eatingwell.com/profession...stay_lost.html

Here is the first part of it:

"Helping Lost Weight Stay Lost--Uncovering the role of leptin

"Nobody said losing weight is easy, but keeping it off is usually harder: more than half of all successful dieters gain back the weight they lost—sometimes with interest—within 3 to 5 years. While no one knows why this happens, researchers at New York’s Columbia University may have found one piece of the puzzle, in determining how reduced levels of the hormone leptin—a key player in the complex system of weight regulation—triggers the body to regain those hard-lost pounds.

"Leptin, which is made in fat tissue, tells the brain how much energy (a.k.a. calories) is stored in the body. When you lose weight, you have less leptin than your body is accustomed to. That signals the body to burn calories more slowly and increase food intake. The new findings suggest that the brain interprets a new, lower body weight as a signal of leptin deficiency—and works to increase leptin levels by setting off metabolic changes that promote weight regain.

"In the study, researchers measured the natural leptin levels of ten people—seven of them obese—then put them on liquid diets that caused them to lose 10 percent of their body weight. For five weeks afterward, the subjects continued on a liquid diet, with calories adjusted to their new weight’s requirements—plus daily leptin injections to restore their leptin to pre-weight-loss levels. During the study period, none of the subjects gained back any weight—and most even continued to lose a little more: in effect, the leptin reversed the metabolic shifts that would normally have fought the body’s new, slimmer self.

"Without the leptin, the pounds would likely have crept back, explains lead researcher Michael Rosenbaum, M.D., because a body that has lost weight is more efficient at using calories than the the same-size body of a nondieter. . . ."

The article adds that leptin is something that you just don't go out and buy a supplement for, and that further testing is still being done. I know that Monet has read a book that tells how to keep the leptin level up, even though you are losing the weight. The other suggestions from her book are also excellent and common sense practices for losing weight:
1. Do not eat in between meals- eat three meals a day with five hours between meals. This gives your liver the opportunity to recharge for the next wave of digesting. 2. Eat protein for breakfast. ( this sets the pace for the day) 3. Do not eat large meals. 4. Cut down on carbs. (you are already doing this...) 5. Don't eat after dinner...allow three hours after dinner before you go to bed.

I have gotten my walk in today and also did my weight training. I have been slacking off on the walking during the wedding preparations, and also during Dec. and Jan. when I had that miserable cold that would never leave. So now I have to get back into practice. We are going hiking in the mountains in July, so need to get into shape for that.

Have a lot of French to study, so will sign off for now.

Nic, sending prayers your way that you and DH work things out. I'm sorry you are going through this.

Gator, would that town be Midway? Not sure I knew anything about it. Glad you had a good time in Cincy. Sorry the weather was so bad.

Thunder, trade you. It's snowing here.

Tech, glad you enjoyed your salad.

Hi everyone,

Thanks for all the welcome back. This board is as friendly and warm as I remember

Chris is 6 1/2 months old now and he is doing very well. He has been teething for a while now and just about getting his 2 first teeth. He is such a happy baby. He is a lot like his sister as they are both very active, loves "playing" and hates the same baby stuff like bouncer, swings, carseat (doing better in it now) etc. They both love their exersaucer and loves food as well. We started him on some solid food (cereal, veggies and fruits) at 4 months and he loves them. Jess is great with him. They love playing with each other and often burst into laughter just looking at each other. Must be some sort of siblings connection game...lol.

I am doing well but a little tired since Chris sleeping pattern is still very unpredictable. It seems that everytime he hits a milestone, his sleep changes as well. I am still doing SB but not as well as I like to be.

I will slowly ease into posting whenever time permits. Sorry I couldn't do individual post right now but thank you all for your open arms

Here are some pics of my kids. Chris actually look more like me but when Jess was about 6 to 9 months old, she looked quite like Chris (at 4 months) only that she had a slightly darker skin tone.

http://pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/kengjw...w_sb/my_photos

Julia

Julia-you have beautiful children and so precious! I was also off and on for the last 3 yrs with my eating after I had Ashley but now I'm back on track and back at the weight I was when I had Ashley. But am going lower...lol

Bob-I have some but have not gotten them developed yet. Ashley will be 4 Aug the 18th isn't that unreal. And starts Pre-K next school year....yyyiiikkesss.

Solly-Send some snow we haven't had a good snow in years!!!