From Centuries, to Decades and on to Goal--2009 part 2

[Teresa123]

It's Saturday afternoon already, man this weekend is going to fly by.

I've worked about all I can handle for today so I'm going to go try to get all my errands and shopping done so that tomorrow I can just clean and cook. In a sad way I'm actually looking forward to that because my little world just seems so out of whack lately, it will be nice to get it back under control.

Where is everyone today? Hopefully you are all having a good weekend!

[kathy76]

Out of whack life.......I can relate!!!

I just picked and cleaned 5 lbs of green beans from the garden. I am going to do something with them for the family reunion tomorrow. We have picked 105 cucumbers out of the garden in about 2 1/2 weeks time I am keeping all family members supplied with them....I can only eat so many

I hope everyone has a nice, on plan weekend

[Teresa123]

Morning--this weekend is flying by.

Kathy---yum, fresh green beans sound good--love them sauteed with lots of bacon grease! Have fun at the reunion.

Had fun shopping yesterday. Made it to Big Lots and they had a ton of different Yogi teas. I bought 1 of each so 10 boxes. Well, actually I didn't buy the one for lactating mothers--didn't really think that was necessary. They have a peach detox tea w/dandelion root and a bunch of other stuff--very good. Several of their teas have dandelion root, and none of them are roasted thankfully. Also went to Penzy's and got stocked up then the Half Price book store where I bought....drumroll please....DANDR. Since I no longer have the one Atkins book that I used to have, and I've never read this one, thought it was about time. It also will come in handy in case I have to do induction soon! Also bought a book on peri-menopause by Anne Louise Gittleman. I looked at the symptoms in a ton of books and I really don't have many if any of them--but something is hormonally off and it's only a matter of time so I figured it couldn't hurt to start reading up.

Have a good day ladies and come check in--I'm bored!

[kathy76]

Good Morning Teresa

I am going to cook the green beans with bacon....yummy!! I haven't been to Big Lots in a long time, I need to go check it out and see if we have the Yogi tea. My tea selection is getting pretty bare. Spencer has to go to the dentist tomorrow and that is close to a Big Lots

Tuesday we are going to take Brooke to a place in Ft. Wayne called Turnstone. They provide different kinds of therapy, and have lots of sports teams for the disabled. We took her to order some new parts for her wheelchair recently and the guy there is one of the coaches on the power soccer team ( they use power wheelchairs and a 20" soccer ball) and he asked her if she was interested. So we are taking her to observe and she will probably sign up. They provide the power chairs so she won't be beating her chair up It will be a good opportunity for her to meet other people in wheelchairs, the team ages are 5-???? currently like 40 yrs old. They also have a teen night like once a month.....she is really excited about this

[Teresa123]

Wow, the power soccer team sounds great, I hope Brooke loves it!

The teas were only $2 each which is about half the price of getting it at the store. And, they don't expire until 2011. I had the peach detox last night and it really is tasty. I had the super antioxident green tea this morning and it was kind of blah so I'll have to mix another flavor with it but it has lots of great herbs in it. I think I need a cabinet just for tea--they are currently taking over my kitchen.

Also--look for low carb ketchup. They didn't have any at mine but apparently some of them do. Probably because they changed the 'packaging' again. We have another Big Lots in a different part of the city--maybe I'll try there next weekend.

Lisa--I bought a new spice in your honor at Penzy's yesterday. It's called Trinidad. It says it's a lemon garlic marinade which I'm going to try on some pork tenderloin today.

[realityjunkee]

Hi girls!

Kathy, glad you have such an abundance of fresh veggies! That's exciting for Brooke, I hope she absolutely loves it!

Teresa, glad to see you got DANDR. I've had them all and read them all but probably need to read again to get myself recharged.

Not had a bad week food wise, just nothing spectacular, which seems to be status quo anymore!

See ya'll soon!
Kim

[kathy76]

Have you started your baking yet? I have been in the kitchen making mini brownie muffins.....High carb/sugar/fat of course for everyone else to eat. My green beans smell really good

Did they have your favorite flavor of tea? the spicy one? The peach one sounds yummy....Brooke would like it too

[Teresa123]

Hey Kim! So, are you planning a spectacular food week this week? Were you able to change your flight to Jacksonville? When are you planning to arrive/depart from there? I still need to get tickets.

Kathy--nope, no cooking/baking yet. Spent the morning cleaning and re-organizing the bathroom, linen closet, etc. Still not done with that but it's as good as it's gonna get for now. Moving on to cleaning up the kitchen so I have room to get busy!

They didn't have my favorite Yogi tea--I still can't find that around here. Luckily my sister stocked me up at Easter so I'm set on that one for a couple more months. Hopefully I'll find that one around here soon. They did have an Indian Spice and a Chocolate Spice tea so I got both of those--maybe they will be similar.

I need a nap! I'm going to go veg for awhile before attacking the kitchen.

[realityjunkee]

No, I haven't changed it yet. It's going to cost so much to change it I may be better off to just make a new reservation and lose the $188.

Food week--I need to have a better one. I'm trying to focus because I really want to be 160 by the cruise. That's about 34 lbs or so.

[Teresa123]

Morning--it's Monday.....somehow I don't feel as grumpy as I usually do on Mondays, not sure why but I'll take it.

Kim--you can absolutely be 160 by the cruise--that's like 5 lbs per month. But I know, easier said than done. Have you done anymore checking with insurance, etc. for a tummy tuck? I think that is what is starting to get me motivated again, I know that the smaller I am when I have my next round of surgery, the better the results--so I want to lose at least 5 before I have some consults and 10 before surgery. Now--to get my buns in gear!!

That sucks on the flight thing. Let me know when you get a new reservation--maybe we can meet there the day before and have some fun before the cruise!

Well, another long crazy week I suspect. I'm really tempted to take a day off this week or next. I got started on a lot of projects (read cleaning/organizing) this weekend and want to finish at least some of them up before I lose the momentum, but the weekends are just never long enough to get everything done.

[kathy76]

Good Morning

I really need to get my butt in gear with the tummy tuck thing.....between DD's surgeries & DH's gall bladder surgery our maximum out of pocket has been met for the family. So if I could get something approved and done in the next 5 months that would be awesome......my luck never works that way.

Today should be interesting....Spencer hates going to the dentist. Last week he asked me for a pencil so he erase Monday so he didn't have to go to the dentist. I'm sure a lot of people would like to erase Mondays

[lcq]

Just want to say bye and see you around Aug 11-12.......I land on the night of the 11th so I am just being realistic here

[Teresa123]

WHAT?? I happen to know that there is internet access in Florida!

Have fun...but you better check in before the 11th or 12th--no excuses missy!

[Teresa123]

Kathy--I'm with Spencer, let's just erase Mondays! Hopefully his appt wasn't too traumatic.

Gosh, if insurance would pay for my p.s. I would be all over it! If you want it done, this definitely sounds like the year to do it. The holidays are just a matter of months away so if you want to get it done before (so you can get all the appts, healing, hassels, etc. done) then you're going to have to get your buns in gear!!

Val--where are you?? Just because you're staying off the scale, doesn't mean you should stay away from us.

[kathy76]

The dentist appt was ...mmmm.... terrible!!! But, no cavities so that is a good thing He says he will better next time & there will be no x-rays only a cleaning so it should be better.

I actually didn't weigh myself this morning so tomorrows weigh in should be interesting I haven't had beef in over a week now.....just what the DR. ordered....just 7 months after the fact. I am going to wait another couple weeks and go in and get my cholesterol checked again.

I never did make it to Big Lots Spencer's appt took almost 2 hours....not including the 20 minutes it took me to get him in the building DH and I are going to the outlet mall this weekend to get some school clothes for Spencer...the Oshkosh store is having a big sale Brooke will be a little more difficult to shop for....I'm sure it will be a day disagreements in the store

Vee~ How's it going?

Lisa~ Have a good vacation

Kim~ Are things still going good? I think your cruise goal weight is doable, but you look great now so don't let it stress ya out

[Teresa123]

Morning!

Good thing he didn't have any cavities, that would be a nightmare!

TOM started--just for my records --so that is 25 days I think from last time so pretty normal for me. My hands are swollen today but the rest of me doesn't feel anymore bloated than usual. Hopefully a little whoosh fairy will come to visit me tonight!

[kathy76]

My TOM is just ending......somehow we got off track. I think mine came early a couple months back....extra stress from DD's surgery I think. Hopefully my TOM weight will have left my body by morning!!!

I have been checking out the SB Diet thread....I have mixed feelings about this....part of me feels like...WTH are you doing & part of me feels like this is what I should be doing I will be just fine as long as I stay on "A" plan and don't say "F" it

[Teresa123]

If you have mixed feelings, why not just do Atkins as written and 'climb the ladder?' It all ends up in the same place except Atkins doesn't promote low fat products, you simply drop the fat natually as you add in other things but stay with whole foods. I think South Beach is a good plan for a lot of people, but definitely not for me. I've come to realize that processed foods are something my body can't process--and the result for me is increased hunger, fat and disease. But that's OK cause I like my high fat foods!

[kathy76]

OK...so if you are gonna naturally drop the fat on Atkins...what do you top/dip your veggies in? I am eating lots of veggies and still having my big bowl of berries & yocheese in the morning....I am just using the Dannon lowfat (3.5g fat) instead of the full fat. I am not using any SB commerically produced products...but I am not drenching my veggies in butter either.
I like your idea of lowering the protein....I get that...but I am just reaching for more veggies when I am hungry instead of eating more fat to satisfy my hunger. So far it has been working and I do not feel deprived....I'm keeping my fingers crossed

[vee716]

Hi everyone! Sorry I've been MIA, it was girls' weekend and then Monday I was quite busy. We have an internal auditor from head office auditing all our internal controls. He's here until the end of business Wednesday. Cross your fingers for me! LOL! We are a tiny sales office of six people and our internal control are lacking compared to how they can do things at the big plants & corporate office. We'd know in an instant if anyone was embezzling money because they couldn't hide the new cars or flashy clothes, but we can't *prove* it!

Anyway, food has been awful! I did that carb refeed Wednesday. Thursday was back to normal dieting. Friday was good until the evening and the start of girls' weekend. I didn't go crazy with the drinking or food, but there were chipnuts! Have you guys ever heard of these? I never had. Peanuts covered in a potato chip shell! Insanely addictive. I ate higher carb, including some snacky junk food. Monday was back to normal dieting (but no extra carbs, after all the carbs on the weekend). And, I did get on the scale this morning and it's much lower than I expected, so I don't know what the heck has happened. I'm sticking with the lower carb version of my diet today, too. I have no clue what tomorrow's weigh in will bring!

Kathy - I kind of figure that my current eating (well, not this last week, but before the carb refeed & weekend debauchery) is kind of like South Beach. Leaner proteins, lots of veggies, low fat dairy, limited oils & other fats, only one or two servings of starch, whether it's grains or starchy vegetables like sweet potato. I even allow myself a little treat each day like they do, though I don't limit mine to a set number of calories, as long as it fits within my calorie allowance, so I have jello pudding (SF,FF) or a SF, FF fudgesicle, or sugar free chocolate. It works for me, usually. I'm off the high carb rollercoaster, but with the calorie counting, I'm sure I'm within range of losing weight, too.

Lisa- I know you are gone, but I hope your vacation is good! See you on the 12th!

Kim - I think getting to 160 by the cruise is do-able, too, but even getting into the 170s will make you feel a million times better. At least it does for me, there seems to be a line in there somewhere for me, between 170 & 190 where I cross from feeling okay about my weight into feeling uncomfortable with it again.

Teresa - any predictions for tomorrow? Are you feeling the 149?

[kathy76]

Vee~ your plan sounds very similar to what I am doing...except I don't have the treat. I have been eating some SF jello or 1/2 an apple for a treat...or I have been eating a cucumber out of the garden. To me the cucumbers taste slightly sweet and I can just peel/slice & eat them straight up I am also using Kraft light Italian or Red wine vinegarette for my salads. I have also been making a lot of chicken taco salads with gobs of salsa on top & some LF sour cream w/LC pita chips on the side.

I hope to be back in the 150's before I go for my yearly girly check up at the end of next month. The Dr. said he was very happy with my weight loss....the last time I was there was when I had DS and was 300lbs....BUT he said don't get too confident and gain it back I want to show him that I am maintaining I am pretty sure I was 161 at his office last year....even though my scale at home said 165 that morning.

NEVER heard of Chipnuts....and hope I never see them either

[vee716]

You don't want to know about chipnuts! LOL!

Don't you love the "support" we get. Now don't go gaining it all back. Is that supposed to be motivating?

[kathy76]

That is just the way he said it too!!!! I hope that he remembers me & that comment he made to me. I am hoping he will refer me to a PS for some help with my stomach. He has all the records of me being 308lbs and hopefully he mentioned my complications with my C-section scar and rashes..then & now. I feel like he is going to be my best bet at helping me with insurance.....my current family Dr. has only known me for about 8 months.

I just made some marinated cucumbers with vinegar/dill/stevia. I am gonna make a salad also to go along with the pork loin I am making for dinner. We have to go to Brooke's soccer thing tonight and will be late getting home.....I want to have dinner ready so I don't have a "F" it moment.

[Teresa123]

Val---I totally want to know about chip nuts! Actually, not a huge fan of either so I *think* they would be safe with me. Glad you had a fun weekend with the girls!

I don't think I will get to see the 140's tomorrow, unless the whoosh fairy is incredibly kind....but next week for sure! I just started cutting back on protein yesterday, but I'll have to say I already feel better. Might all be in my head but if I start sleeping better in the next couple of days I'll be very happy--whether it's all in my head or not!

Kathy--when I started increasing my carbs I initially modified what I was eating, rather than looking for low fat subs. Unfortuately I went to the low fat subs and in the long run I think that's where I went astray. But--as far as modifying to reduce the fat, here is an example.

My favorite meal was mahi mahi w/tons of homemade tarter sauce, cauli/green bean casserole and a pumpkin muffin w/cream cheese. I changed that to salmon that was well seasoned, some type of long grain or healthier rice, cauli/green bean casserole but with half the amount of fat added (seriously, 1 cup of cream and 8 oz of cheese are not needed to make it taste good!), and maybe a rhubarb or apple crisp--which I still used butter, almond meal and CQ but just made maybe 3/4 the amount instead of the full amount.

Once I get the rest of this weight off, that is likely how I will go back to eating however I won't reduce the fat nearly as much and I'll keep the grains and starches to about half of what I was eating during that time period. I pretty much had a starch or grain at every meal--which just wasn't necessary for me.

As far as what to dip your veggies in--well it depends on what you were dipping them in before! I know with salads that I love a ton of dressing so initially I bought the Maria's or some other kind in the refridgerated section that was very thick and yummy--then water it down. It is seriously too thick for a salad for me so that worked well. Unfortunately I fell into the lure of the SB Ranch and those kinds of things--the 'more is better' mentality, instead of focusing on what really made me feel good and satisfied.

Shoot--gotta meeting--bbl.

[vee716]

Chipnuts - at least they are made by a Canadian company so you probably don't have them in the States. You will be safe from temptation.

The problem with *not* paying for off plan eating with additional pounds on the scale is that you get cocky. I talked myself out of the mixed green salad with goat cheese, grilled chicken & strawberries and got the butternut squash ravioli at lunch today. Bad move. At least I went to the gym to try to work it off. And I have hill training tonight with my half marathon training clinic, so I'll pay twice for my sins. I'm going to try to take it easy on the calories tonight as well. I'd like to see a nice weigh in tomorrow morning.

I hope your doctor is helpful with the plastic surgery stuff, Kathy. It really does make a difference, getting that tummy tuck.

Teresa - I'm glad you are feeling good on your lowered protein!

[Teresa123]

Val--yep, that cocky thing is bad. Soon after I hit my lowest I had a day where I way way way overate--snacking throughout the day which just isn't me and eating more than usual at meals. Anyway, the next day the scale was down. Well--that was the beginning of the end. Overeating or eating the wrong things can lead to binging (not pigging out but actual binging) for me--and I think the scale going down reinforced the overeating and bad choices and the next thing you know--I was in bingeland....and I still haven't recovered. Blah.

Kathy--hope the soccer thing works out to be something Brooke wants to do--I think that would be very fun!

I can't believe your Dr was so rude! Even if it was with concern and good intentions--seems there is a much better way to convey that. I'm glad to say mine has been totally supportive and encouraging with the weight loss....he now calls me 'skinny' when he sees me. Unfortunately he hasn't been all too helpful with the hormone problems so I'm in the process of finding a new one.

So I stopped at the store tonight because I was told they had 4 lbs of strawberries for 5.18. Unfortunately that deal apparently ended yesterday. But, they had a cart of fancy oils that were originally $14-$36 for $3.00 each---and they don't expire for a couple years. I'm guessing they are planning on not carrying them in the future, not sure. Anyway, I got a light olive oil, evoo, peanut oil and grapeseed oil. I have never used the peanut or grapeseed but I figured at that price it's time to check them out! I may go back and see if they have any left because I go through quite a bit of olive oil and I definitely can't beat that price--even with a lesser quality olive oil.

[Teresa123]

Morning--blah. I got 3 hours of sleep last night, I'm bloated, crampy and very grouchy. I will however go get the hump day hotties for your viewing pleasure....maybe that will liven me up!

WI--150.2 so down .6, and overall down .4 for the month. Not too shabby I guess considering I had a couple weekends of overeating and/or eating a few not so great things...but I really hadn't intended this to be a maintenance type month.

So, not only am I bloated and crampy and lacking sleep--I also have a nice (NOT ) little zit on my chin. I didn't have any of these issues when I was doing lower protein/higher fat so if I stay with it hopefully next cycle will be better. In the mean time, I have to figure out where I put that Midol that I bought a month or two ago...and I need to figure out which of these zillions of teas I have in my office have caffeine in them--cause I really need it today!

I'm very tempted to get on the scale in a couple of days when the bloat is gone because I *think* I will see the 140's....but, not getting on the scale has been working out so well for my overall mental health (i.e. not ending up with the "f-it" attitude) that I probably shouldn't press my luck.

[Teresa123]

I'm back already....too tired to do any real work.

Anyway, I keep meaning to ask you guys what the weather is like in your parts of the world. I keep hearing people talk about horrible heat and humidity. We have had very very little of that. Actually, it's a bit cold overnight and in the mornings (actually need a jacket or at least long sleeves some days) but during the days is has been awesome--low 80's at most, sunny, nice breeze, no humidity. I keep wondering when summer is actually going to hit--or maybe this is what it's going to be for us this year? It's definitely been very weird weather for us--usually well into the 90's and unbearable humidity by now with little relief until late Sept. This is definitely a welcomed change!

[kathy76]

We have had some humidity but the temps have been about the same as yours. Of course my DH refuses to open the windows and turn off the air...........so I turn it off in the morning and then before he gets home from work I turn it back on.

Brooke's soccer thing went ok, they offered to put her in a powerchair and practice with the rest of the group but she just wanted to watch. I told her next time she needs to get in and actually do it. It is about a 45 min drive each way and the practice is 2 hours long so it will pretty much consume the whole evening.....she will need to enjoy this
They gave us some tickets to a baseball game today but there is a chance of rain & not sure if I want to take the kids to the new huge stadium downtown by myself or not.....I need to hurry up and make my decision....it starts in 2 hours. There was $15 dollars worth of concession stand certificates with the tickets, if I don't take the kids today we can all go as a family at a later date and use them then. They say they are good all season.

[vee716]

Our weather this year has been much cooler than usual. As a matter of fact, we haven't turned on the AC yet this year! Now, admittedly, we've used fans and our house is extremely shaded so it takes a few days of fairly hot weather to heat the house enough that it sticks around and gets stuffy, but I'm happy to not deal with the AC energy bills this year! Yesterday was warm, but today is overcast & rainy so it will cool down again.

162.2 lbs this morning! I'm stoked! I kept calories within check yesterday (even with the restaurant lunch) and I had a double workout, so that must be what did it. That's 18 lbs down overall in 9 weeks. Sure, I know about 8 lbs of that is probably water, but that's still 10 real pounds. I'm not going to complain about that at all! I'm just 3 tiny pounds away from hitting "normal" weight on the BMI scale. That's my next big milestone.

Teresa - You are so close to those 140s! You are stronger than me, I'm not sure I'd be able to stay off the scale for a week being that close, but you are right, the "awfukit" that comes with the scale frustrations is really dangerous. Mind you, I am always, without fail, up on the scale when I don't get at least 7 hours sleep. I could see giving you special dispensation to have *one* additional weigh in the next day or two after a good night's sleep and substituting it for today's.

Busy day today, period end reporting and a presentation from our internal auditors on their internal control audit this morning. Oh, joy!