Hi everyone.

It's so weird how someone named Gina joins this group, because thats the name of my best friend's sister who passed. Ugh, I just can't get death off my mind, it's so depressing. Anyway..

Thank you to tanyamoniq, moogiesue13, biggestloserfan, renastar23, singing_girl, and jansa5 for your support. I truly appreciate it.

I haven't logged my food for the last two days, but I'm going to attempt to get back on track today. Yesterday I didn't eat breakfast and I paid for it, I felt nauseous throughout my whole day.

I just need some motivation, someone to push me to the gym, someone to shove vegetables in my mouth, and someone to pour water down my throat. I haven't been to the gym since last Saturday, bah.

Hope everyone is doing well, looks like it from what I've seen in your posts.

<3 Jenn 

Soooo .... how much weight did I end up losing for week #9 of my diet? Eight ounces. One-half a pound. One glass' worth of weight. The size of a pretty nice cut of sirloin, sizzlin' on a plate in a nice restaurant.

Oh well, at least it was a loss. And not a gain. And it IS the week before my period where -- last month -- I lost only one pound. And I have been working out on my new treadmill, so I am building muscle. And, this was the week I got my over-the-top-fantabulous blood test results.... plummetinng cholesterol, sinking triglycerides, and dropping blood sugar.... ALL proof-positive that something I am doing must be working.

Today I shall be a turtle, repeating to myself "Slow and Steady Wins the Race" .... "Slow and Steady Wins the Race ...." and I shall keep my focus on the prize.  We are heading out of town today up to the mountains where there's a great small town just outside of Yosemite where we like to explore. The challenge will be to stay on track when we go out to lunch .... but I am pretty confident I can make a reasonable choice.

Have a great Saturday, peeps .... enjoy the Autumn!

=^..^= MOLLY

I'm so far behind on posts I'm beginning to think I'm ahead. My condolences on your loss Alldolledup.

I don't have time for a long post but I wanted to encourage all of you and remind you that you are all people of infinite worth. I hope that each and every one of you is blessed beyond measure today. 

Molly - you know the best thing about only losing .5 pounds when you've been working your butt of all week? The week after your period when you get that one huge drop and it all goes away! Keep looking forward to that day...it's a coming.

Gina - I'm down 66 pounds at the moment, the most weight I've ever lost in one go and I think the biggest difference this time around is exercise. It makes a huge difference and also allows you more flexibility with the number of cals you can eat. Don't worry so much now about how much you can do, you'll be surprised how quickly you go from feeling like you're going to die to just feeling a little winded and wanting to push yourself more. For now, look for modified push ups and sit ups until you're strong enough to do more advanced ones. When starting out I found that just setting aside time to do it was more important than what I was doing. Try committing to 3-4 days a week or a certain number of minutes a month (there are great tickers on here and challenges to help keep you motivated.) Just make it a habit you can stick to and you'll be working out like crazy before you know it. My other tip is to try to find a form of exercise that you actually enjoy. I take a dance class once a week and it helps me remember that exercising isn't just a chore. I look forward to it and it actually feels good to be up and moving, dancing to music, or outside on a hike. I'm just realizing that all those people in full bike gear out riding on Sunday afternoons might not be crazy after all, they're on to something!

Hi all,

I went to the gym today, was there for just over and hour. It felt alright to let off some steam. I still have a bunch of school work to get caught up on, and it's making me irritable and easily annoyed. I'm just now getting some done, I don't have class on Mondays, so I'm going to do it tomorrow as well. I'm just worried that I'm going to fail, lol.. so worried.

Anyway, time to get to it.

<3 Jenn 

Love this!  I need to join!

1. Starting Weight (& day joined):  250 - Oct 21, 2007
2. Highest Weight EVER:   Probably about 260
3. Mini-Goals: 1st Goal Weight:   225
4. ULTIMATE Goal Weight:  149
5. Plan: Walking, eating 1800 cal/day max, relaxing more, not taking everything too seriously.

Munching with Molly ...

BREAKFAST

2 toasted Thomas' English Muffins (200 calories)

4 tablespoons of Spinach Hummus (64 calories)

1 medium tomato, sliced (22 calories)

5 squares of laughing cow mini bites cheese (35 calories)

* and I sprinkled garlic powder on top of the tomatoes!!!

LUNCH

1 toasted Thomas' English Muffin (100 calories)

2 tbs fat free cream cheese (30 calories)

Smoked Salmon (123 calories)

2 dill pickle spears (11 calories)

1 can of Progresso Light Soup (spicy Southwestern) (120 calories)

* I added garlic, lime, chili and onion powder to the soup!!! Ay yi yi yi!!!

DINNER

2 salami-cheese sandwiches made with fat free cheese (60 calories), Gallo light Italian style salami (120 calories), and 4 slices of organic, sprouted flax seed bread (200 calories)

* I put some zero-calorie Balsamic vinaigrette on the bread ... yum!

garlic-butter steamed broccoli (100 calories)

spicy Spinach-tomato-radish salad (chili-lime!) (60 spinach, 19 radishes, 31 tomatoes)

** I added garlic, lime, chili, peppers and onion to the salad ... oh so good!

TOTAL FOR THE DAY (snacks not included): 1310 calories

VEGGIE SERVINGS: 14 (61g FIBER)

Depending on how my blood sugar is doing this evening, I will select 200-250 calories' worth of snack this evening ... probably a 100-calorie protein shake w/ice, and something crunchy like Quaker mini rice cakes with mini bites of laughing cow cheese!

=^..^= MOLLY

hey all,

well i have arrived in England and everything is just a little weird!  What is really strange is not having the brands of foods i like at home and know the calories of.  i might have to put a post up about UK diet foods and see what products are popular.

I dont have any scales yet, but am still sticking to my cals so hopefully i will be pleasantly surprised when i finally do get some (im usually one of those junkies who weigh themselves every morning so for me not weighing myself in 4 days is weeeiiiirrrdddd!  Hopefully the airline food wont have derailed me too much.  i was good and didnt eat the cheesecake served with dinner, but i did eat the cheese and crackers.  A girl can only put up with so much before she goes mad on 28 hours worth of flights.  

Anywho, must be off.. but ill be around from now on. yay! i have missed the inspiring posts!  

Hello Everyone. I hope everyone is having a fantastic Monday. I want to say Thanks to all of you for your warm welcome. Thank you Moogie for your post. I will be looking into a challenge for me because I feel that I tend to stay more motivated when there is a challenge or goal in mind.

Yesterday was a bad day for me. I wasn't feeling very well after my exercise due to a lot of stomach problems and unfortunately, I used it as an excuse to snack on way too much caramel popcorn as I lounged around on the couch. I did weigh myself and have lost 2.6 pounds.

However, I am not sure that I didn't pack it back on during my relaxing day with caramel popcorn yesterday so I got up this morning determined to have a better today. By 10am, I have had breakfast, done 8 sits up, walked 10 minutes on the treadmill, and did 15 minutes of calisthenics. I posted an entry in my journal. I also have had 33 oz of water so far. 

Best Wishes, Gina

Wow Gina, you're on a roll! Good job!

So, I went to Ryan's yesterday... but I planned for a big meal. All in all I didn't do too bad I don't think. I was conscious of everything I ate, but honestly it wasn't too hard for me because I'm not a big fan of theirs (compromise is the root of all relationships). I tried to eat some fried shrimp, mashed potatoes and fried okra but I took about a bite of each and that was that. I ended up having a garden salad and a taco salad with crunched up corn chips. They have fabulous yeast rolls, of which I ate too many, and fabulous potato logs, of which I also ate too many. I allowed plenty of padding on the number of calories I estimated so don't think I went over my calorie goal. I even went for the chocolate cake, that looked so good... but tasted like it had been taken out of the freezer to thaw and then served. Yuck. Oh well! I didn't need it anyways. I weighed this morning and was down another pound to make it 10lbs lost so far! I couldn't believe it. Anyway, my point in this really long and drawn out post is that you can still have what you want. Just pay attention to what and how much you're putting in your mouth and be accountable for it!

Hope everyone had a good weekend. And from one loser to another, I hope you have a great week! 

My taste buds were screaming out for a spicy~savory dinner, so I headed to the kitchen, happy to oblige!

First up was one-half an acorn squash (86 calories).  I cut my half into halves (that would be quarters, for those of you as math challenged as I am!) and seasoned both sides separately. Both sides were generously spritzed with I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray and poked with a fork. Then, on the SWEET SIDE, I sprinkled pumpkin pie spice, and cinnamon-Splenda. One the SAVORY SIDE, I sprinkled lime juice, chili powder, garlic powder and lemongrass powder! yum yum yum yum .... just 5 minutes in the microwave and they were FABULOUSO!!!

Next up was 2 cups of brussell sprouts, halved. (76 calories)  I liberally spritz them with ICBINB spray, then I sprinkled on onion powder, curry powder, and Mrs. Dash lemon pepper. 4 minutes in the microwave, followed by additional spritzing with ICBINB spray, then I toast them lightly in the toaster oven. Who knew Brussell Sprouts could be so good, and so heart-healthy?

The main dish was OVER-THE-TOP SCRUMPTIOUS! I took and diced a large red onion (63 calories), one package (8 ounces) of fresh mushrooms (50 calories), and then I added one can of S&W diced tomatoes with peppers. (105 calories). I also added in some minced garlic, chili powder, lime powder, garlic powder, a splash or two of Ponzu sauce. Finally, at the last minute I added in 200 calories of already-cooked lean chicken which I'd been marinated for an hour or two in lime juice and garlic-chili powder.

TOTAL DINNER CALORIES: 580 CALORIES

TEN SERVINGS OF VEGETABLES!

=^..^= MOLLY

(Mini rant)  As many of you know, my DH was out of town ALL last week in Arizona. Well, he got a call at 6pm tonight, ordering him to Sacramento (4 hours north of us), to assist with coordinating air efforts related to the emergency responses for the southern California wildfires. (Good thing I did laundry today, huh?)  This just gives him enough time to eat dinner, pack, get a few things done around the house, kiss me goodbye .... and leave again.

(sigh)

=^..^= MOLLY

Tanya - it may have not been the chocolate cake it may have been that your tastes are changing and as you are more conscious of your behavior you may find this reoccuring.  Great job on keep everything in mind and accounting for everything.

alldolledup- You need to take it just one day at a time especially during times like these.  Just take your time and talk with your professors about your homework and I am sure that you will be fine and not fail.  You need to take time for yourself and to grieve otherwise things could turn detrimental to your health and your well being.  Please take the time for you!

Destiny (Gina) - The main thing about really succeeding is to keep coming back for support even when we have bad days.  As long as we keep coming back we are committed to our weight loss journey.  I think it is great that you are doing what you can exercise wise.  I was really having a hard time because I was doing my elliptical for 60 minutes and doing a workout DVD for 30 to 45 minutes but then had a setback with my asthma and was unable to do any exercise.  I have slow worked back up to doing 30 minutes on the elliptical with light effort.  So just hang in there.  I can't do the situps right now because I have two herniated discs in my back but plan on joining on the push up sit up bandwagon when they are healed. About weighing I weigh myself daily because I want to see the fluctuations but if you can't handle the up and down of the scale I would recommend you only weigh weekly.

Pattikins - Welcome to our little group.  I hope that you find the support that you need and we look forward to conversing with you and getting ideas.  Don't hestitate to ask questions if you have any.  We will try to answer all of them or help you find the answers.

Jelly - I used to work at a bookstore and it really is a lot of walking around and keeping busy.  I really enjoyed it because it kept me busy and I never once thought about food while I was there.  Plus the hours went by so quickly that a four hour shift only felt like an hour because of how active I was.  You will eventually get used to it but definitely invest in a comfy pair of shoes.  You feet will thank you!!

Well I ended up bypassing the cold/flu feeling so I think I was just down or something for the past two days.  I am feeling better and was able to do the elliptical yesterday and today for 30 minutes without any major problems.  I wasn't able to on Saturday because I was still feeling under the weather.  It is cold here and right now only 39 degrees so time to cuddle up in baggy sweatshirts and blankets.  I like this time of year before it snows but it can be so cold in the evenings. 

I have eaten well but the scale is up.  I know that this is just muscle gain and that the scale will go down soon.  Some of it is water retention because I have the chipmunk looking face from the prednisone (steroid) for my asthma.  I know that it isn't fat gain because I have gone down two pants sizes this month so that is a plus.  I am so excited but still don't want to buy any new clothes as of yet.  However, my pants are falling off so I am going to go to the second hand store to find a few pairs of jeans until I can afford to treat myself to new clothes.  Hope everyone is doing well and keep eating those fruits and veggies to stay healthy and strong.

Nothing seems to drive our cats crazier than bouncy blue jays! Sure, our cats love to watch moths and sparrows and doves and even mousies -- but there is just something about bouncing bubbly blue jays that always draws a crowd around the closest window or screen door! Lately, one perky jay has discovered that we have dried cat food in a feeder on our front porch (for a 2-legged neighborhood feral cat we affectionately call "Limpy"), and has boldly taken to landing on the front walk and then just BOING-BOING-BOINGING over to the cat food to grab a kibble or two! Our cats watch, they eeek-eeek-eeek, and Fuzzball even climbs up the security screen door! And Mr. Whiskers has been known to LICK the screen door when he sees a close-by birdie! hee hee hee

We first noticed "Limpy" about a year and a half ago. Clearly, he had two injured paws because he was bouncing around on just two. One night, flashlights in hand, we gave chase --- determined to help him once we caught him. That has to be the fasted 2-legged cat in town! After chasing him around the entire block, we gave up. A few nights later we tried again ... no luck. And, of course, Limpy now hops off when he sees us. (sigh) From that moment on, we started keeping fresh water and a well-stocked kibble feeder on our front porch, primarily for Limpy (who visits frequently), and to the great delight of other cats, the resident mousies, and at least one perky blue jay.

Last winter, I worried about the weather and Limpy, so we installed on our covered, protected front porch a cozy, fuzzy, squooshy cat bed inside a rubber dog house .... and Limpy slept in it (warm and dry) all winter long! We put it away in March. We recently brought it out again for Limpy -- with some improvements! My DH lovingly spent an hour this past weekend lining the interior of the dog house with silver, heat-reflective insulation which should help reduce drafts and which should help provide more warmth for Limpy. We also added an insulated pad under the dog house for the same purpose. Already Limpy has been using it -- which confirms for us that it's the warmest spot available for him. (We get cold winters in the 20s and 30s, and lots of rain ... but our porch and the dog house are protected from rain and wind!) Now I don't worry so much about Limpy.

It's still a bit chilly out there this morning -- 54 degrees at 9am -- and our two little doglets are snoozing cozily beside me as I sip my morning tea and ponder my day. Our front door is wide open (the security door is closed) ... and I can see the sun shining and a flurry of birdies zooming around the feeders on our front pear tree. One of our cats is silhouetted in the doorway, watching for jays. And I am thinking and praying about Limpy, and my dear husband, and those fires down south.

Bounce ... bounce ... bounce ....

Speaking of DH, I miss him ... and he's only been gone 13 hours. (What a noodle I am, huh?) Last night, he proposed my not getting weighed again until Christmas Day .... two months from now .... so as to keep my focus OFF the scale and ON eating healthy and being healthy. (He sees how sad and discouraged I get when the scale is non-cooperative.)

What do you think? Should I say yes?

=^..^= MOLLY

What could feel more Autumn-y than making up a savory batch of healthy, diet-friendly mildly spicy pumpkin soup!  I created this recipe all by myself, and just taste-tested it on me .... yum yum yum!

one 15oz can of no salt added canned pumpkin (145 calories)

two cups of low sodium chicken broth (30 calories) 

one small yellow onion, diced/cooked (29 calories)

one tablespoon minced garlic/cooked (9 calories)

one-half a small sweet red pepper/cooked (10 calories)

1.5 tsp curry powder (more for VERY spicy)

.5 tsp coriander (more for VERY spicy)

.5 tsp chili powder (more for VERY spicy)

(Optional: salt and pepper to taste)

SUBSTITUTIONS:

Dried minced garlic and dried chopped red sweet peppers may be used in lieu of fresh; vegetable broth may be used in lieu of chicken broth.

PREPARATION:

Chop and cook the onion, garlic and pepper.  In a blender, combine the pumpkin, broth, cooked veggies and all spices. Blend very well. Transfer to either a bowl for microwaving, or a saucepan for simmering 20-30 minutes over low-medium heat. For microwaving, microwave 4 minutes, stir and let sit, then microwave an additional 3 minutes.

SERVING SUGGESTION:

Garnish by sprinkling some paprika on top, or fat free sour cream, or fat free plain yogurt, or fresh cilantro. (Or some combination thereof.)  It is excellent with a toasted english muffin, or toasted bread, or some crispy crackers.

CALORIES:  223 FOR THE ENTIRE BATCH

=^..^= MOLLY

Today was a hard day because I was scheduled for my orientation at the local college. The kids bus was running late so I ended up missing my orientation. I had been waiting on this appointment for three weeks so I was really bummed to say the least. I decided to go get my glasses fitted, and run a few errands that was neeed even though I really just wanted to go home and go to sleep. I even took the stairs instead of the elevator because I knew I had missed my morning exercise routine.

Then My husband wanted to have lunch. Of course, He wanted the fish fry place down the road. I wasn't sure what was high and low in calories. I ended up eating a large french fries, 4 hush puppies, and about 4 oz of shrimp with 16 oz of sweet tea. At that time, I thought it wasn't so bad. Then I just added my daily calories up and am already at 1,592. Remind you that I am trying to stay under 1800 calories. So, Now I have to determine what I am about to eat for dinner knowing I am only 208 calories away from 1800. 

Best Wishes, Gina

1. Starting Weight (& day joined):345 10/23/07 
2. Highest Weight EVER:   345
3. Mini-Goals: 1st Goal Weight: 10 lbs 
4. ULTIMATE Goal Weight:  139 lbs
5. Plan: fruits, vegies, multigrains and less red meat.  I know I need to do this but some days I can't seem to keep food out of my mouth, so if I must eat I plan on eating vegies  Am concerned about know how and where to find good protein sources.  Still doing research. 

**