Sizzling Slimmers July Challenge

[Aprilmag74]

Thanks for the replies! Yes. I'm on my last 10 pounds. I'm doing good so far today... vacation tomorrow!!! Curious, a question for you 'short' ladies like me, how many calories do you eat. I know that we are supposed to not have to count but that really scares me. Also, do you weigh-in every day? I normally do.

[Aprilmag74]

[QUOTE=Serena11;15783481]Hi, All--

Welcome, April! I have just started this week, and I love this WOE. I have lost 3 lbs. already, which is a lot for me. I am short, too, so I know how hard it is to lose when the portions are designed for larger folks. But the great thing is this is an easy way to eat out. I just cut down on protein, eat fat, and some low carb veggies.

3 pounds is a lot! I hope I can lose like that at least once. Congrats!

[JMCM1]

Cindy I've never tried those, but I had a netrition order to make so when they come I'll let you know!

April I think calories do count. Particularly when you are on your last 10, as you are. I think it's the high fat that makes it easier to eat fewer calories - in my case anyway. But I think that's why people are drawn to this. The fat is so satisfying you quit looking around for other food, maybe. I keep very close track on ****** - free account.

Buffy you get to do what you want when you want! I don't think any of us gets motivated until we are ready, right?

Debby I have only read enough to know that if your thyroid isn't OK or you are taking medication for it to be OK, you won't lose weight (if you're hypo).

Hope you all are having a good day.

[CarolynF]

Hi..

Thanks for the kid compliments..They had a great time at the wedding catching up with KSU friends and Beth and Shawn..I think they had brunch at Julian's this morning..near Waldo.

Have to look up those Sea Tangles..

Hi April...

Gosh, those last 10 pounds are really hard to lose..It takes diligence and keeping on track, I think..

[TuscanGirl]

Originally Posted by Buffy45

MK, all my friends are raving about Fifty Shades, you might as well order the other 2, from what they say you will want to read them the minute you finish the first one!

'

DD28 sent them all to me electronically!!! I don't have to carry a library book and can have the other 2 if I love the first one!

Originally Posted by Aprilmag74

Curious, a question for you 'short' ladies like me, how many calories do you eat. I know that we are supposed to not have to count but that really scares me. Also, do you weigh-in every day? I normally do.

When you're "fun-sized" every calorie counts. I can only eat 1200 or less to lose weight. Sad isn't it! But you're younger than I am so you may have more leeway!

[CindyCRNA]

Originally Posted by CarolynF

Hi..

Have to look up those Sea Tangles..

..

I looked at an on-line review of them and they scored better than the tofu noodles.

[Serena11]

I have not heard of those--are they gluten-free and fairly low carb? I like seaweed in Japanese sushi, so I would probably like the kelp noodles.

Mary Kay, I am glad it cooled down for you. Talked to my folks in Indy today and they said it was still sweltering there, so I hope the cool weather moves in their direction.

April, I am not counting calories yet, but I imagine I am eating around 1400 or so. I realize I may have to start counting when I hit the inevitable plateau. I do weigh every day; I'm scared not to, but if you're gutsy enough to just eat on plan and go by how your clothes fit, you might find it less frustrating.

Buffy, I had high blood sugar for awhile and I still have to watch it. They said I had type 2, but I did not want to take the Metformin, so I went low carb, which helped; but the thing that worked the best for me was to go for a walk after meals, or get real active doing housework. Are you able to walk or do some kind of exercise? Have fun in Austen!

On Sundays dh and I have lunch out at our neighborhood Greek restaurant. I had salad w/feta and 1/2 a serving of moussaka sans the potatoes. I don't think there's too much flour in bechamel sauce is there? Like bacon, bechamel sauce makes everything better.

My grandaughters (ages 9 and 12 going on 20) are here to spend the night. I'm lucky I got my laptop back!

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

Typical day today - gym, library, mom visit, grocery, doc appt and foundation board meeting.

[CarolynF]

Hi gals..

I love "fun sized"..how appropriate for our little ones..

Netrition carries the sea tangles..Next order I will get them for sure..Thanks, Cindy.

Greek food and moussaka is my favorite..sans the taters, of course. Have fun with your dgds, Serena.

akkk..I am up to 153..I had popcorn at Spiderman..True confession time, but I have been good since then, just have to be perfect the rest of the week..

For breakfast I had a Raspberry Scone, using George Stella's recipe..Easy..It is on the Recipe page here...

[sjl330]

142.2 today
142.2 30 days ago
142.2 60 days ago
140.0 90 days ago
156.4 1 year ago

I thought it was interesting that I was the exact same for those months because I have a LOT of fluctuations in between times. Like a see-saw.

I slept in a bit today and it felt good! I have a meeting at 1:00 but that's about all that's on my agenda. Tomorrow I'm going to the lake for a couple days with my DD and DGD. Then I'll come home and the rest of her crew will come to join her. It's a double birthday in the family and they wanted to celebrate them at the lake. The camper is full so it was either tenting or come home. I would choose the tent, DH chose home, lol. I think the heat has him running scared, lol. I'm sure I'll be done after a couple days myself. We'll see.

[JMCM1]

Sandy I'm so glad you posted those numbers - I think it's interesting, too.
I have been on so many different weight loss programs, as long as I'm honest I am not so worried about the numbers. But the long-terms numbers really tell the tale - as you've shown.

I hope it will be the 10+ degrees cooler for your lake trip. It's always cooler at the lake anyway, right? Have a great time.

Serena your dg's sound like fun!

Carolyn I must admit, popcorn is the one thing I have not found I could replicate. When I lose another 10 pounds, I can promise you I will at some point enjoy some popcorn! I made your chocolate chip bars yesterday for a gathering tonight. Only 2/3 of the recipe will be going to the gathering because dh and I thought they were quite delicious.

I am going to try my hand at your scoopable ice cream, too. I put my little freezer liner in the freezer last night. I will let you know how it turns out.
Hope everyone has a great day.

[sjl330]

When I made that ice cream I used a regular ice cream freezer that you use ice/salt with. It never got firm but was very tasty. It didn't even get firm when I put the leftovers in the refrig/freezer. I'm going to try it again with less glycerine and see if it at least gets firm enough to scoop instead of ladle, lol. It was delicious! Now I need to try those bars I guess.

[JMCM1]

So you don't have to look too far...

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bars
________________________________________
1 cup finely ground pecans and walnuts (may use almond flour)
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 stick of butter, melted
2/3 cup of Splenda (I used 1/3 cup Splenda, scant 1/3 cup erythritol, 3 drops liquid Splenda and 12 drops liquid stevia - we had no idea this was artificially sweetened [Judy's notes only])
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs, beaten
Sugar Free Chocolate Chips (1/2 cup or more) Carbwell Chocolate chips - don’t think they make them anymore (or chop up 85% Lindt choc bar )
chopped nuts (1/2 cup or less)

Mix all ingredients in a medium bowl.

Grease an 8 x 8 pan and pour in cookie bar mixture and bake at 350 until done. It will take about 20 minutes or so.

Cool and serve. I kept mine covered in the fridge. - Carolyn F.

[TuscanGirl]

Sandy - that's awesome!!


Judy - thanks for the recipe!

[JMCM1]

Well full disclosure: I've never made ice cream until this afternoon/tonight.
It was delicious as Sandy and Carolyn said, but mine never got hard, either.
I have to say, though, not one person who ate that ice cream soup knew it was sugar free.

So I'm keeping the recipe, but like Sandy, will tweak the glycerin? What would happen if I added more xanthan? I think I used 1/16 tsp.

And I did "cook" the eggs. I had powdered erythritol (which seemed to break down immediately in the liquid), so there wasn't much need to cook the milk with that, but I did. I added the cream into the milk/sweeteners and brought to smoking, but no boil.

I needed to cook the eggs because people were present with possible immunity problems. I placed 1 Tbsp. of hot milk mixture into the eggs, stirred, repeating until 5 Tbsp., then slowly put the egg mixture into the hot milk and stirred like crazy. I heated that up to about 160 and stuck the whole thing in the freezer to cool.

It's definitely worth doing again because the taste was so wonderful. It was a texture-only problem.

[Serena11]

Wow, you gals are industrious! I wish I had some of your energy! I'm beat after one day w/the grandkids, and all I did was take them to lunch and fix them a couple of hotdogs for dinner. Chinese food for lunch, hope that doesn't mess up my weight loss. Mushu pork maybe not the best choice, but at least it has a lot of vegetables and not too much protein. You can count on Chinese food to be high in fat, though! Unfortunately, carbs too.

One of the things I want to do when I lose all my weight, and I am dreaming here, is to go to a matinee and down a huge carton of popcorn drenched in butter.

[TuscanGirl]

Morning!

I have a few errands today, including a massage and then we'll head to St Louis after work.
Flight leaves for Aspen in the morning! I can't wait to see DD!

[sjl330]

Have a wonderful time Mary Kay.

We ate some of the ice cream soup that evening but then I froze the rest. It was a tad firmer but still soft. Not soupy but pretty soft. I really think it's the glycerine. Glad everybody liked it though. Nice for an occasional treat.

[JMCM1]

Grandchildren are simply wonderfully exhausting, Serena! It's a good kind of tired.

Well if it's just the glycerine, I can just drop a dab next time. I also think the mixture itself was possibly not cool enough when I put it in the machine, but I have not checked this morning whether it is still soupy.

Mary Kay have a great visit with your dd! I have not been to Aspen for years - but I love it in my memory.
- - -
Edited to add:
After sitting in the freezer overnight the ice cream is the perfect consistency.
It is not rock hard by any means, but it is very scoopable, and not soupy.
That means the mixture should be made the day before, in my opinion. But only because I'm "cooking" the eggs.
It is a great recipe - thank you Carolyn!

[CarolynF]

Hi gang...

I need to make some ice cream...LOL.. I put my "cylinder" in the bottom of my chest freezer so it gets really frozen..Could that be the trouble I wonder? I process mine for about 25 minutes until it becomes soft servy..Keep experimenting..

MK: Hope Aspen is cooler for you..and enjoy your time with your dd...

Serena: Yup...popcorn and a movie is the best thing ever..They have to "watch" the salt on the popcorn...too salty is not good..

Sandy: Wow..you have done so well this year..Good for you..

Company coming tomorrow night..One lady..Don't know her, but will. My friend and I are taking her out to dinner instead of having my friend cook..Her dh asked if the men
were invited..We decided a big "No".. in a nice way.

[CarolynF]

Another ice cream question...Did you get your ice cream mix nice and cold before you added it the freezer?

[JMCM1]

Carolyn, no. I think you addressed both issues - I don't have a stand-alone freezer, but the insert had been in the freezer for WELL over 24 hours. Next time it'll be in there a week before!

And I am absolutely certain the mixture was not cold enough. As I said, next time I do this the mixture will be done the day before and I might put it in the freezer even after it's been refrigerated for 24 hours. After sitting in my freezer all night it is perfect! It was a fantastic breakfast!

[sjl330]

I don't have one of those ice cream freezers that you freeze first. I made mine with ice and salt and an electric turning ice cream freezer. Just like the old crank type, but elec does it instead.

Mine was much firmer the next day, just still not as firm as we'd like it so I'll experiment next time.

Thanks Carolyn! I think a lot of my success this year is due to DH's problems and now since he's always good it's much easier for me! He keeps telling me to have whatever I want; not to let his problems affect what I have. I think that's just guilt talking b/c of all those times he did exactly that! when I was trying to eat right, lol. Maybe he couldn't help it; he really was a true blue carb-addict.

[CarolynF]

Yup..I agree when two are being good, it is much easier to do LC.. Glad your dh is doing better, too.

Akkk..Beth's thyroid appointment is Sept. 17th at KU Med..It's a woman endo..I might get the name and pass it around to my KCity friends to see if anyone knows anything about her, k? Oh well....

[Serena11]

I wish my dh was doing LC. He can sit and eat anything he wants and never gains weight. Some people were just born to be thin, I guess. I got the short plump genes. Too bad the body isn't getting the message there's no famine coming. I hope there isn't. Now I am getting hungry.

What kind of ice cream maker are you using? Is it easy to use?

[JMCM1]

Hi all,
Yes Serena I wish my husband was doing LC also. He is sure happy at the food I'm producing. I would feel a lot happier with him eating this much fat if he weren't eating carbs. If he's going to eat carbs I'd prefer he eat lower fat.
But like your husband, mine is self-regulating. He is not overweight, but he has had bypass surgery. He's well right now and I'm thankful for that. And yet worried my higher-fat dinners are going to hurt him.

I made Linda Sue's Taco Bake last night for dinner. It was so enjoyable. I felt like we were at a church dinner (our favorite food - EVERYTHING with no regard to calories or nutrition!). I have cooked low-fat for so long I think the taste got taken out of everything. But the ground beef I used was the leanest, in a nod to my dh, and I used slightly less cheese. I am considering making items with more cheese for me and less for him.
I still like him and I want to keep him!

The ice cream maker I'm using was given to me so many years ago I had to dust off the box and thoroughly wash everything. I had never used it. It is electric, relatively small, and has a stainless steel insert that is placed in the freezer (probably has something like blue ice inside) before use.

The insert fits inside an all-plastic ensemble that turned out to be pretty neat. The machine turns the paddle. It would have been a lot better if I had cooled the ice cream mixture properly! Absolutely perfect the next day.

In my imagination it was not very expensive and I am *almost* sure I've seen some small inexpensive models at big stores. It was far less messy than the big ice cream makers we all know with ice and salt.

[Buffy45]

Morning!
Might be my last post for a while, leaving for NE tomorrow to see DD#1 and family, then on Saturday, she, my granddaughter and I are driving from there to Aspen to a vacation there. DD#2 has a condo rented there for July and I will stay on and help with Bobby 4 and Ava 2, did I say vacation????? They are a handful plus 10 these days.

Made the trip to Austin to see my littlest DGS Ollie, oh he is such a little sweetie, he was so happy to see me and was so much fun. DDIL colorored my hair and a co-worker cut it so I have a nice short summer bob that will be easy to care for. I really need to get a new picture up for my avatar, that one is now 10 years ago and I wish I looked that young anymore, but alas I don't.

MK, maybe we will run into each other in Aspen. Is there a show going on that your daughter has a part in? If so, I will try to find it and come.

Sounds like everyone is doing good and it is so fun getting to know our newer members, keep up the good work everyone.

Carolyn, you are a busy bee.

Hi to everyone, will try to post some once I get to Colorado!

[JMCM1]

Keep your avi Buffy! What's 10 years between friends?

[TuscanGirl]

Getting a connecting flight in Tulsa!
Then Denver and Aspen!!

[JMCM1]

Good heavens! All of a sudden I have a great urge to go to Aspen!