Hi all,

Eydie... I'll keep my fingers crossed for you. I REALLY hate that waiting.. that is just awful. Please let us know what you find out.

Today is Day One of a second 21 day challenge.. this one is to drink more water and to lose 3 more pounds. In the first one I set out to stop eating compulsively and to stop eating sugar on a daily basis.. and I was successful at both! There are certain times, like Christmas, where I know I want a desert.. and I plan to have one.. its the cookies everyday at 3PM that I wanted to give up.

I can't keep track of where everyone is and what your challenge is... but I wish everyone the best!

Elaine
NYC

215/209/120

Hello everyone :wave:

Eydie – any word yet?? I’m thinking positive thoughts for you!

Kaylets – Yep, time to find a new hairdresser… It doesn’t sound like they’re going to win many of the old clients over. I hate looking for someone new… I finally found someone I like but it took 5 bad haircuts before I did!

Elaine – Same here, water, I haven't had enough by far… I think that, combined with an extraordinary amount of smoke right now, is the main culprit in my recent headaches.

Mini unplanned victory – my Mom’s birthday was Monday and I didn’t eat ANY of her cake. Nope, not a crumb… I went home before they had any on Monday, forgot about it on Tuesday (yes, I forgot about cake) and today it’s gone. Wooohooooooo!!!! If I keep this up my goal of getting into the 220’s just *may* happen!

That’s all for now, time for lunch!

Terri :moo:

Teri,

You forgot about CAKE! That is really impressive! I haven't had any sweets for 22 days now.. and it does get easier.

Congrats!

Elaine

Hi all! My gosh I don't know what amazes me more, someone could forget about cake or someone who hasn't had sweets for 22 days, I don't think I could survive!! I am a huge sugar-holic!

Eydie, we're keeping our fingers and toes crossed for the best possible news. What's that old song, "The waiting is the hardest part". amen, sister!

This sounds too terrible to admit but I cut my own hair, and I have for years. I started because I was too embarrassed at how I looked when I was so overweight. The last time I went to have my hair cut I kept thinking my face looked like a big balloon with hair. I managed to cut it successfully after that and just kept on doing it. Now I'm actually afraid to let someone else do it, for fear of that 'bad haircut'. I figure I can butcher it myself for free!

Punkinseed are the fires under more control now? I can see where ice cream would cut through that smokey haze, good luck on the water though.

Speaking of ice cream, has anyone tried the Silhouette or the new WW ice cream cups? I saw an ad in the July/August issue of WW magazine for the new 'soft serve' cups for only one point. They look delicious. I read on here someplace where the Silhouette sundaes won't be back in production until sometime later this year. The ice cream sandwiches are my mainstay, but funny thing when I tried the WW ice cream sandwiches, the big ones like the Skinny Cows, they upset my stomach really bad. Strange.

Warm wishes and cyber-hugs to everyone.

upandaway
10/9/2

Evening-Royal Blockettes!
 

Ladies,

I'm glad to hear my little joke brightened your day.

Eydie: Keep us updated on your after-surgery progress. You are in my prayers for a speedy recovery.

Pumkinseed: Glad you're still doing ok in the Smoke-covered hills. I meant to tell you, my nickname as a child was pumkin. I used to hate it so much-but it doesn't bother me anymore-its kind of a nice memory from childhood. Way to go about the cake by the way-can you send some of that willpower this way??

Feeling a little bummed myself today-snapped at the boss. Sometimes I just don't think he listens to me. Well have to be more patient. It would be easier if my "friend" didn't drive me outside the house to eat everynight. I can't stand being here-she's angry or crying or both. Can't wait until move day. I haven't been able to talk to her yet-because she keeps avoiding me and shutting herself up in her room. At least its been quiet-but the tension is there.

I want to stay friends-but I can't think of why. This person sabotages my diet, yells at or ignores my husband and throws things when she's mad. Why did I ever decide to be friends? and why can't I change my mind? She was a good person once and probably still is. Is this my fault? I guess the only solution is time apart. Oh well, enough whining. Have a good evening ladies.

<Wave wand. Disappears>




:D

Thanks, everybody, for your positive thoughts. I still haven't heard and it's making me slightly crazy. I'm calling the office in the morning. I got back to working out today though and that felt SO good--did an entire 1/2 hour on the bike and some dumbell exercises and a little yoga!
A friend came to see me today and she came bearing cinnamon rolls so I indulged but I didn't let that defeat me for the rest of the day like I usually do. I did well with getting in a decent quota of fruit and veggies!

Upandaway, I love the skinny cow sandwiches too--the weight watchers ones just aren't the same.

Cindilier, I hope you find some resolution with your friend soon. Sounds like it's bleeding over into other parts of your life. That must be so stressful having that kind of strangeness in your home. I kind of know what you mean about loving your friend but wondering sometimes why you stay friends. I'm dealing with that now with a woman I've known for 25 years and at times it's so confusing and exhausting I wonder why I bother. Karma, maybe?

Suddenly sleepy---good night, all!
:)

THE RIBBON IS MINE!!!! :D

Down a total of 10.8lbs. Just had to pop in to share!

Hey everyone!
Eydie- thinking about you too! Good luck tomorrow and keep us posted...

Wildfire- COngrats on getting that ribbon! Now you can concentrate on the second 10...all down hill from here :)

Cindilier- sorry about the tension you are feeling-- that must be so hard! Don't beat yourself up though-- you will get through it and either stay friends or not. Either way it will work out for the best for both of you. Try not to turn to food (I know easier said than done) and :::::breathe:::::

Teri and Elaine- good job with giving up the cake and sweets! I need a little I think to be successful...otherwise I think I would be bingeing big time...

Hey to everyone else!!

I'm having a great week so far. Tomorrow will be day 4! I've had awesome workouts (so key for me) everyday, lots of water, fruits and veggies and only minimal treats. Feel like this could be on the way to 21!! :D

Well, have a great night all :wave:

Thursday am
 

Just realized I called my other post Wed am but who's looking ?? :dizzy:

Maybe, maybe, maybe, I could learn to cut my hair, altho, I wonder, as I have a couple of cowlicks and need lots of layers because my hair is very thick and heavy. But for sure, I am not interested in learning how to highlight my hair. I am too clumsy and don't have the confidence. I never even learned how to do the Farrah Fawcett blow back wings!! Wore my hair poker straight down my back for years and only learned how to put up a couple different type "buns" Now its short but like I said, I do not have the talent-


Ok, our 'try one new thing" a week challenge was "5 herbed tofu"
I am not a fan of ginger unless its ginger snap cookies and
will not be eating that kind of tofu again. Perhaps if they made 4 herb and dropped the ginger.

Did better getting water in during the daylight hours although I guess I just have to mark down when I'm refilling the bottle because I just lose track--

Today's word gem:
Everyone else is just doing the absolute best they can with everything they are dealing with!!!


I forget which one of your graces mentioned STEELY DAN-- I love them too- was rereading the "Bathroom Reader" -- They seem to think STEELY DAN 's name was lifted from a not so musical source.
I probably the last one on the planet to know this. Sometimes I wonder about me.......

Last night's commute-- THE PRETENDER album by Jackson Browne-- I am starting to look forward to the commute!!


Just one more thought as I sign off--

" This too will pass" -- Just how do we want to be able to remember how we handled it??


Hey, be careful out there!!!!!!!

Wildfire,woo-hoo indeed on winning the ribbon! You're the queen!

Kaylets, have you ever considered getting a flowbee to cut your hair? I'm sure you remember those from the infomercials: the thing you hook up to your vacuum cleaner and it cuts your hair? It's an awful image, I know, but it works great! I've had one for years and I get compliements on my hair all the time; I have an ultra-short cut [but it cuts hair of any length]. I'm telling you, it's foolproof! I like it so much that I own an extra one as back up when my old one dies, and it's still going strong after 10 years. It's saved me thousands of dollars and no, I don't work for the company! Just a thought.... :)
Oh and by the way, I know the origin of the name Steely Dan too! I read about it somewhere, I don't know from experience, .;) :lol:

Keep going, Jelyn--youre doing great!

Hello all :wave:

No, the fires are not under control - actually they've gotten worse from what the headline of the paper says this morning ("We're Loosing the War"). Now, THAT isn't going to help me sleep tonight...
The fire north of us combined with the fire southwest of us - now the ranch where I live is bordered on 2 sides by wildfire. They claim it's 65% contained on one side. Honestly though, unless they get a serious handle on this I'm going to have to cancel my vacation in 3 weeks. I could NOT leave my home and go 500 miles away now. Our ranch officials have been notified of possible evacuation orders if the fire jumps out of control. Right now it's heading west, away from us. Keep your fingers crossed and say a prayer...

Now, as for the cake. I can say 3 things made forgetting about it possible. 1, the cake is in my Mom's house, out of sight, out of mind. 2, stress. I'm so freaked out by the thought of possibly having to pack up my cats and leave that I occassionally feel sick to my stomach and can't eat. Finally 3, I have a much easier time avoiding "bad" food if I can assign ownership to it. It was my MOM'S cake, my DAD'S cookies, my NEICE'S candy. It's not mine, I won't touch it 99 out of 100 times.

Cindelier - My Mom insists that it's "Punkin" - no 'm'. I came out with red hair and have been called her punkinseed ever since. Why the misspelling?? I donno'... my Mom can be an odd duck.

Wildfire - :spin: CONGRATULATIONS!!!!!! :spin:

Do you know I actually made my OWN ribbon last night because I remember working harder to get to each 5 pound increment. Let's see if it works....

I have no idea if I'm on a day. I think I'm doing ok. I'm following my plan the best I can given the amount of stress I feel right now. I'm sure in a week or so we'll see a light at the end of the tunnel - and it'll be a light someone won't be running to put out!

Terri

has anyone looked at this book?
 

I was exploring through MSN and found this. Has anyone checked out this book? I thought the last 10 things-might help me design a challenge. See below.

Wildfire--Way to go!!! I knew you could do it!!

Pumkinseed--I'm sorry about your vacation. Sending you positive thoughts and hoping the fires continue to go away from you or better yet-get put out.

jelynn-Thanks. I know I'm creating some of the tension too. I just wish I knew where to be fair and when to just get out. I believe that everything will happen for the best. Besides with the CPA exam course I plan to take-I just can't be staying there at the same time. I glad you're week is going great. Do something fun this weekend! I'm going to the Bristol Rennaisance Faire in Bristol, WI to hopefully pick up some clean songs for dirty minds!!

Everyone--else, have a great weekend-will post again Monday!

Still doing ok on the water/exercise 3x a week commitment. Hopefully I can avoid day one again. The article I found follows.

10 Ways To Lose 2LBS A Week!

by Kim Droze
eDiets Senior Editor

Are your weight loss endeavors continually crippled by uncontrollable cravings that cause you to sneak into the kitchen to snack on something sinful? Well, then you can probably empathize with the plight of an overweight chef trying desperately to pare down.

Just for a moment suppose your kitchen was the place where you worked, ate and played. Now you know the dilemma faced by famous TV chef Kathleen Daelemans.

Food Network fans know today's featured guest as Chef Kathleen, host of Cooking Thin with Kathleen Daelemans. She specializes cuisine far lighter and leaner than the rich dishes served up by her better-known peers Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck.

Today, Kathleen is the picture of good health. But it wasn't that long ago the TV chef battled her own dieting demons. Her love was food and her passion was cooking. The one-two punch led to an unflattering paunch for the culinary queen who at her top weight strained the scales at 205 pounds and wore a tight size 22.

Kathleen's career path -- and her health -- took a turn in the right direction when she was hired to launch a restaurant at one of the world’s most luxurious spas. In order to look the part of a spa chef at a Hawaiian resort, she shed 80 pounds and slimmed down to a slender size 8 -- and she accomplished her amazing weight loss by changing three things: the way she cooked, the way she ate and the way she lived.

Chef Kathleen admits that at the time she didn’t know the first thing about healthy cuisine. She'd spent her adult life unsuccessfully fighting fat with one fad diet after another.

"I tried everything out there from the cabbage soup diet to the all-brownie diet to diet pills," Kathleen tells eDiets from her Michigan home. "They worked for about one second."

The challenge: to not only cook healthily for herself, but also for the high-paying patrons who came to the spa expecting a gourmet meal that'd be exquisite on the lips but not heavy on the hips. Kathleen, 39, turned to her mentor and former boss Judy Rodgers, owner of San Francisco's world-renowned Zuni Café.

Judy’s simple advice: rely on the basics. Grill and broil food. Create the menus around vegetables, fruit, grains and legumes. Choose leaner cuts of red meat, chicken and fish. Use the freshest produce you can get your hands on and the food will speak for itself. Get advice from a doctor or nutritionist.

Chef Kathleen’s Café Kula restaurant proved a hit with spa guests, movie stars, recording artists and supermodels. The beautiful people flocked to the celebrated eatery for a taste of the low-fat fare that had helped Kathleen drop a whopping 80 pounds.

Since not everyone can afford to jet off to the Hawaiian Islands for a taste of spa living, Kathleen decided to share her recipe for weight loss success in Cooking Thin With Chef Kathleen (Houghton Mifflin).

You say you hate cooking and dieting? Then this book is perfect for you. Our guest diet expert has made the weight loss process a real no-brainer (much like the super popular and successful eDiets program).

Chef Kathleen has given meatloaf, onion rings, dark chocolate cherry cheesecake and many other homestyle favorites a healthy makeover. Sprinkled amidst the 200 yummy recipes are her proven tips for overcoming weight woes once and for all.

There are also tips on how prepare meals ahead of time and how to make recipes lighter. She also offers a bundle of timesaving tips like when cooking the broccoli and pasta frittata, make extra broccoli and pasta, toss it with a quick vinaigrette, and you’ve got a pasta salad for tomorrow's lunch!

You won't find any frou-frou foreign-sounding recipes in Chef Kathleen's hot-selling new book. A sampling of what you will find includes BBQ Chicken Pizza, Quick Oven-Roasted Potatoes with Rosemary, and Sweet Corn with Butter and Chives.

Many of the dishes you can afford to feast on every day and still lose weight. Yes, there are a few buttery treats that are best savored once in a blue moon.

"The recipes are very clean... unless there is a disclaimer at the top," says Chef Kathleen, who is currently starting the filming for her second season of Cooking Thin With Chef Kathleen. "I tell people the Split-Roasted Chicken and Potatoes is not an every night meal. These dishes get people out of the fast food restaurants and into the kitchen to cook."

Still having trouble making the commitment to good health? Chef Kathleen has whisked together 10 ways you can get cooking as far as lasting weight loss is concerned. When her suggestions are done in conjunction with an eDiets-like healthy meal plan and an effective exercise regimen, you'll be on track to permanent weight loss.

1. Leave a truffle-sized bite behind! Cut back a little. Attach an imaginary calorie count to each bite you don’t eat. Do the math. Think of it this way: If you don’t put it in your mouth now, you won’t have to figure out how to fit it into your jeans later.

2. Dump anything from your diet you’re not passionate about... just for the day! Don’t think of this "denial" as for the rest of your life. Before you dig into that box of cookies or bag of chips, make sure it is a food you feel you must have, not a food that is just part of mindless eating.

3. Eat three healthy bites before every sinful bite! Before you put that potato chip or bite of cheesecake in your mouth, eat three bites of something healthy. Think of it like this: you should be eating 75 percent "clean" foods (vegetables, grains, etc.) and 25 percent over-the-top decadent delights. It’s up to you to make sure there is always something healthy on your plate.

4. Do 5 minutes of exercise! It doesn’t matter whether you're just going to get the mail. Grab it and then keep walking full speed ahead. Five minutes plus five more minutes equals 10 minutes. Do that twice a day and you’re already up to 20 minutes. All you need to walk is your feet and a pair of shoes. You have to move to prove to yourself that you can get going.

5. Plan to cook the healthy meal tomorrow! Give yourself a whole day to figure out what you are going to prepare. Figure the steps in your head. Choose a recipe that is realistic for your life and time constraints. Try to pick something with ingredients you have on hand. Establish your window of time to get it done. You can be even more efficient by doing any prep for the meal ahead of time.

6. Have the confidence to cook! If you think you can’t cook, get over it. We can all make eggs. Start with a recipe that you are fairly sure of... something that you have eaten before and know how it should taste. Don’t start with a dinner party; start with something simple. The truth is anyone can learn to cook thin (quick, tasty and healthy meals).

7. Make a list of accomplishments you’re going to need to repeat until death do you part! Keep the focus small whether it’s an extra 10 minutes of exercise or drinking the recommended 64 ounces of water. Acknowledge in writing what you’ve gotten done. Then jot down your game plan for tomorrow. This teaches you to focus. The list is something to refer to when you get lost or sidetracked.

8. Identify or create a new source of support! This is a page torn from the eDiets book of weight loss. OK, so we don't have an actual book. However, we do have the world's most popular weight loss website here at www.eDiets.com. Get a mentor, sign up for a challenge or just peruse the countless support boards. Having that extra encouragement can only help you further succeed in your weight loss endeavors.

9. Get committed! Commit to repeating baby steps. Commit to doing the work. Commit to moving forward. Some days all you may do is get one foot in front of the other. That’s progress enough. Even if all you did healthy all day was drink 8 glasses of water, it’s a step in the right direction. If you don’t continue these new healthy new habits day in and day out it’s a step backwards.

10. Reward yourself! Do something for yourself during the day or in the moments before you get into bed. Read a book. Plant some fresh herbs. Keep something around that’s sunny and makes you happy. Take an extra long shower or bath (for water conservation). Or buy yourself a new CD. Also, make a list of the next three rewards you’ll receive and keep the list handy as an incentive.

TGIF Blockettes!

Eydie we're keeping our fingers crossed for good news.

Wildfire CONGRATULATIONS!! You are rockin'!

Kaylets, no you weren't the last on the planet to know about Steely Dan, I had to have it explained to me by my DH. Talk about naive. I love Jackson Browne too. Caught just a snippet of him on and old (old) Saturday Night Live rerun the other day. The songs still sound so good.

Jelynn, good going! I thought when I started this challenge I was setting my sights too high, but as it turned out it is exactly what I needed. You're doing great!

Punkin, yes you are definitely in our prayers. What a frightening situation to be in. How do you keep from worrying over it 24/7? I would be a wreck.

Cindelier, thanks for the ediets post. I've never visited there. I do love to watch Kathleen on Cooking Thin, she's terrific. Truth be told I love watching too much of Food TV! Rachel Ray on 30 Minute Meals is great. She has some wonderful recipes too that are easy and low fat. The only thing is she cooks with a lot of olive oil, more than I'm comfortable using, as it is high in points. I know I know it's a healthy fat, but it's hard to get my mind around how many points it adds to a dish. I cut an copied the 10 list, thanks again.

How's everyone else doing today? Hope you all have a terrific Friday and a wonderful OP weekend!

upandaway
11/9/2

Hello Friends!:)

I want to let everyone know that I heard from my doctor yesterday and it's not so good--turns out that the tumor was cancerous and it was devastating to hear that. Good news is it's a low-grade tumor and didn't seem to be attached to anything. I'll have to have more surgery to have the surrounding muscle biopsied and possibly chemotherapy. I have lots of support and a truly magnificent husband. My emotions are coming in waves--I go from panicked to angry to numb to calm and fear is always there. I have to keep telling myself that people survive cancer all the time. I wish with all my heart I didn't have to go thru this but feel there's a big lesson here.

Love to all and pray like crazy for me, okay?:)

Praying like crazy!
 

Eydie, I'm so sorry about your news, sorry you have to go through that. The prognosis sounds pretty good, but cancer is scary, and often seems unpredictable. People DO survive cancer all the time, and this sounds so much like a type that is typically not a huge problem. Thanks for letting us know, and please keep us posted, okay? You have a lot of people here who care about you.

My thoughts and prayers are with you, and I'm sending you all the love, strength, and peace at my disposal.

xo
babette