I guess it is the same item..One photo shows only one weight and the other two. So, the weight of 12.5 max per db is ok for this challenge?

I think you will quickly outgrow that, as that was my experience, even going from starting as a non-exerciser. I thought it went to 25 lbs each dumbbell, not in total. For things like deadlifts and squats, I am already up to 35 lbs each side and I don't feel like I'm uber-strong or anything.

this is my thought also. more reearch needed ;)

Are you eating it plain?

I don't think it's anti-BFL to add some cinnamon, or some SF cocoa powder or something to make it more palatable

cottage cheese and pumpkin with spices should qualify as a protein and carb.

I'm not sure how you would classify SF Jello pudding mix, perhaps that would be a protein and carb serving as well (and a very tasty one at that)

I know people who love to mix a packet of Ranch Dressing mix with their cottage cheese and use it to dip fresh vegetables in or use it to top a salad.

Their are also all kinds of SF syrups that can be mixed in.

Don't choke it down! Cottage cheese has a lot of great qualities but a way of eating should always be enjoyable.

It's definitely the taste that's getting me, not the texture. I feel like I'm eating a milk soaked towel, a few days old. I was thinking after I use up the container I'm done with it and replace it with egg whites. ANd then I had the egg whites. Easily tolerable, but not too exciting. The cottage cheese is just so salty too, and I'm really noticing the sodium taste more since I've been trying to cut it out. I've been hoping it would grow on me like some other things have. We'll see what the end of the week brings. Thanks for the suggestions.

Fran - DePalma's suggestion is great, and if you blended your CC, it would be just like pudding! I think I'll get some on the way home.....

Food today is pretty much on my plan, though a little carb heavy due to the leftover pasta salad I need to finish. It had a goodly amount of chicken though.


B - cheerios with strawberries and walnuts (.5 oz) and skim milk; slice of ww toast
S - ff latte
L - leftover satay chicken pasta salad
S - lemonzest luna bar (10g protein; 26g carb; 180 cal)
S - cottage cheese with strawberries (they were going by fast)
D - grilled salmon, broccoli, spinach salad

Exercise: 30 min HIIT cardio

Food for today:

M1 Protein Oatmeal, coffee, water
M2 4 oz Turkey breast, 1/2 med. sweet potato, 2 tbs hummus, veggies, water
M3 1/2 cottage cheese blended with 1/2 c ff vanilla yogurt, strawberries
M4 Flank Steak, 1/2 baked potato, salad
M5 1/2 c cottage cheese with small apple, 1 tbs peanut butter (if needed)

35 minutes of ss cardio on bike. It's snowed quite a bit last night so I opted not to venture out to the gym at 5:00am this morning. Tomorrow is round two of the snow plus the excitement of ice. Could be another at home day or if it is a false alarm I'll go in for a later workout at 9:30am.

I got your snow Lydia (and snow w/ice tomorrow). Must be a big front if we're getting the same thing at the same time.

Today's exciting agenda includes:
B: 1/2 c Oatmeal (made with 1 c ff milk, so kill me that it's not water!), 2 egg whites in solid form
S: Cottage cheese with dry cheerios mixed in - WOW!!
L: Turkey s'wich on 1 pc bread; raw broccoli w/ranch
S: Lean ham slice w/yogurt
D: Grilled chicken, brown rice, steamed broccoli
S: (if needed, as it will be pretty late at 8-9 pm) Egg scramble in w/w tortilla

Yesterday I was starving from afternoon snack onward so ended up having snack 6 at like 9 pm. I knew I wouldn't be able to sleep w/o it. It was a smallish chicken breast with a slice of cheese on it. Woke up hungry, so there ya go. That ham, cheese on a pita was awesome yesterday! I toasted it in the toaster oven to make it a melt and it was to die for. Of course, after my cottage cheese encounter, what wouldn't have been?!

M1 -- 1 egg, 2 eggwhites, .5 c home baked beans with very little sugar added in the recipe...
M2 -- .5 c. CC w/splenda and vanilla with yogurt, 2 tsp flax oil
M3 -- oatmeal and eggwhites

sportmom -- if you cream your CC with a hand blender or blender add vanilla and splenda it taste like pudding... Also when I eat it plain I add a lot of pepper to offset the saltyness of the cottage cheese...

Yesterday -- I made protein pancakes with 1/4c CC, 1/4c oatmeal and 1/4c eggwhites, Splenda and vanilla to taste, make smooth with hand blender and cook like a pancake... :hun:

Ilene: :wave: Nice to see you!

Fran: I tried something new with the cc today. It's a lot like everyone else is suggesting. I put .5c of cc in the blender with 1 container of FAGE. Added lots of cinnamon, splenda, and almond extract I then grated an orange peel over the top. This is a fruit dip. You could use ff yogurt as well, any flavor you like. I got this with from the Eating for Life cookbook. They suggest using strawberries for dipping. From the photo it appears to be five big strawberries. Just trying to think of some new things for you.

Thanks guys! I have to pick up some cinnamon at the store as well as sf choco pudding. I'm not a big fan of cinnamon (unless on a roll with icing!), but am willing to try new things to get thru this.

Today I put cheerios in my cc and it wasn't half bad. OK, 40% bad, but much easier to tolerate. The strong oaty taste and smell of the cheerios helped cut the pungence of the cc. I will try mixing with some of my vanilaa yogurt tomorrow. Mixing it with fage would not work for me as I couldn't stand that either. Trying not to use splenda, I put organic brown sugar in my oatmeal but it seems silly to season my cc with alot of sugar to eat it - like I should just find a more tolerable protein source or another way to eat it, kwim?

Okay, I tried the CC with pudding mix. First, my poor little immersion blender bogged down, so I thinned things out with some water. That worked better. Next, I tasted it. Nice and chocolatey but ewwww, the artificial sweetner taste of SF pudding. SHudder. I'll eat it, because I hate to waste food. I used 1 cup of cc with 1/8 c of sf pudding mix. If AS doesn't bother you, this is a good combo.

Speaking of which, I just opened my cc with fruit to eat for a snack, and though it didn't smell or look bad, the cc is definitely "off." I guess I'll eat a Luna bar from my desk stash instead. Hmmm, I wonder if the cc I made with the pudding last night is also bad. It was from the same carton. Luckily, I bought a new carton at the grocery this weekend.

M1 - oatmeal with flax seed, .5 oz walnuts, few raisins, skim milk; ww toast with laughing cow light
M2 - now a Luna bar :)
M3 - trying DePalma's stir-fry veggie mix with a pouch of tuna, heat with curry sauce.
M4 - apple and cheddar cheese
M5 - either salmon or chicken (we have both leftover, so we'll flip for who gets which :lol: ), veggies
M6 - ?? Maybe eggwhites - in a solid form (love it Fran!)

My poor kids....for 2 days out of school they've been opening/closing the fridge/freezer and hanging out at the pantry repeatedly, as if something will have changed without us leaving home. I finally asked, after hearing we have no food, and reciting off how much we DO have, what would you normally be eating that is not there now - and asked them to make a list. I won't list it out here, but 2 secs after they finished they both said "...junk food." Yep, pretty much. As they say it, they're really not liking "Body for Life - Kids" :lol3:

My kids are not young adults 18 and 20, and I STILL get that, I've rarely bought junk food in the last 8-10 years, and they can't get used to it :rolleyes: ... I can't wait for them to be on their own and start gaining weight, because a lot of my weight problem is genetic, I don't us it as an excuse, but it is a LOT harder to lose weight...

Food today:

M1 -- 1 egg, 2 eggwhites, .5 c home baked beans with very little sugar added in the recipe...
M2 -- .5 c. CC w/splenda and vanilla with yogurt, 2 tsp flax oil
M3 -- oatmeal and chocolate protein shake
M4 -- 1/3c peanuts, this is all my mother had for eating, the first choice was cookies :rolleyes:
M5 -- 3 oz beef, shredded cabbage, romaine lettuce .5 tbsp ceasar dressing, .5 tbsp parm cheese
M6 -- post workout chocolate shake

Just an FYI, the veggies with tuna and curry sauce was actually - not bad. I think I'll use a little more curry sauce next time. It certainly kept me full anyway.