Moving on!

Good morning everyone. It's been a hectic week...what else is new, right? My son left early this morning for his new life in New York. He moves into his apartment this morning. We are headed up tomorrow morning with our car loaded to the max, to help him get settled in. It has been a week of shopping, organizing, packing, and more packing. It's just an efficiency apartment, but when you are starting from scratch, you need everything from shower curtains, to salt and pepper shakers! It's been exhausting, fun, and expensive to say the least. I wish I could have been up there today to help him start to move in, but too much to finish up around here. It will be a full day tomorrow unpacking and getting his little place in order. He is so excited, and as a mother,watching him plan for his future really tugs at the heartstrings. Of course he is planning to come back next weekend with his friends to get some more things. He asked me to keep the pool open a week longer so that they can use the hot tub! Some things never change. As you can see from the photos I took this morning, we are packed to the roof. His SUV looks the same. It won't be easy navigating around Manhattan with only my side view mirrors!

Back view

Left side

Right side

I have done pretty well with my eating this week, in spite of all the craziness. Following the fast track pretty much through the day, but have had some coconut bread with breakfast and for a snack. That really satisfies me and fills me up. Jumped on the scale this morning and it was down a bit, even though it's not official weigh in day. I just want to see I'm headed back in the right direction. Many thanks to all of you for the kind words, supportive comments and encouraging posts you leave. I wouldn't be able to do this without all of you, and I mean that sincerely! Hugs to all of you!

Until next time!

Thought for the day: The greatest gifts you can give your children are the roots of responsibility and the wings of independence." ~ Denis Waitley

Hanging my head in shame!

Good morning everyone. Why is it that it takes so long to take a few pounds off, and it comes back so fast? Today is my weigh in day, and I am up again. Up by four pounds! Now I will rationalize and say that I am pre menstrual, I did have soy sauce with my sushi last night, and it could be some water weight. I'm sure it is. But I'm going to be honest and say that that might account for a pound or two, but not four.

How did I let that great weight reading I had on the scale a few weeks ago get away from me? How did it happen so fast?  Sadly, I know the answers. I didn't track my food, didn't write it down, strayed too much on the carbs, maybe had an extra glass of wine or two, ate too late in the evening, didn't get enough sleep, let my stress get the better of me and didn't take enough time for me. I know I need to blog to get my emotions and thoughts out. I need to check in with my blogging buddies. I know what to do. I have the answers! Doing it is quite another thing. There really is not alot of margin for error when you are trying to lose weight. Just a few steps in the wrong direction can undo all the previous good that you have done.

So, I'm getting right back up on the horse I just fell off of! I ordered the Fast Track book recently, even though I have the kindle version. Guess what was it was in the mailbox this morning? Is that a sign or what??  I need to keep that book visible on my kitchen counter. I made two slices of canadian bacon for breakfast and topped it with a little shredded cheese and 2 poached eggs. Drank my coffee and a big glass of water. So off to a good start. I need carbs, and I know that I could never be a long time fast tracker, but just to give me a boost this week, before I leave on vacation, I'm going to follow it as best I can.

I don't feel worthy to be in the same league as all those I admire who have succeeded ( Amber, Rosalie, Dawn, Kay) and reached their goal. I feel like a phony, and a failure. But one day I'm going to be posting about my maintainence. It may take me ten years (oh please God, don't let it take me ten years!!!!) but I have to do it. I have the tools, I have the support, and I have the knowledge. I'm not going to let a little slip, turn into a big fall.

On a positive side this week, I did bake cookies to send to my son at college and I had not one! Also I baked a cheese cake for my son who is leaving on Friday, and again I didn't have any! Last night at sushi dinner, I didn't eat  any of the batter fried banana and fruit plate they bring out at the end. The sugar cravings have left me. Now I have to control those carbs, the good ones and the bad ones. Also I have taken some steps to relieve some of my work stress and obligations. We have two very promising women who came to interview. I'm quite certain we will hire them in the near future. And lastly, in the
'look what I did that was positive' category, I went to the gym three times last week (early at 6AM ) and I walked the dogs several time. So it's not all bad!

Wishing you all a wonderful Wednesday! Until next time.

Thought for the day:  Everyone must choose one of two pains: The pain of discipline or the pain of regret. ~Jim Rohn

Thought for the day:

Feel good stuff!

Good morning everyone. I got up early to get some work done, but I had the urge to read your blogs and comments that were left on mine. I am so grateful for all the supportive words you wrote. My cyber buddies are there for me more than my real life buddies. I realized it's taking the time to check in, and that's the beauty of the internet. It would take alot of time if we all called each other every day. But a few comforting, uplifting words written in a comment section can really make the difference in one's mood, and let them know you are there for them. It's a beautiful thing!  It helps me keep my eating plan at the forefront, and just checking in with others who support me can make all the difference.

I realized with all the stress I am feeling these days, and a mile long too do list, that I have to find ways to check in daily with myself and my faith in order to keep life in perspective and realize all the good things that are going on. I have a few books on my kindle that help me keep checked in and focused on the real important things in life.  Those are not the piles of paperwork, the mile long to do list, or the slew of emails and phone calls I have to respond too. The real things are my family, friends, my health and the beauty and goodness of the world around me.

There are three books I have on my Kindle, that are daily motivational books.  I really try to take the time to read them daily. On the mornings I have to hit the ground running, I try to catch up at night. And on those nights, when I just fall into bed exhausted, I'll spend any time I can get, to catch up on the readings.

The first is The Book of Awakening by Mark Nepo. You may have seen this talked about on Oprah. It has a spiritual component to the daily readings, but is in no way preachy. It's deep at times, but gives you a lot to think about it a short page of reading.

I also have 2 books on my kindle by Joyce Meyer. One is called Starting Your Day Right, and the other is Ending Your Day Right. These have wonderful motivational daily sayings. There is a scripture verse at the end, but I don't feel you have to be overly religious to get the messages they give. I find them very comforting.

 Lastly there is a book, not for everyone, but Christian centered, that is called Jesus Calling. I love this book, and it is written as if it was Jesus talking to us in the first person. There is a passage for every day of the year. You would be amazed at how comforting this one is. I feel as if the messages are coming through those pages directed at me personally.Some days is is uncanny how the message seems to be written just for me and what's going on in my life.

This post is not meant to be a push on religious readings in any way. I'm just sharing  what comforts me. There are many books, music, meditative programs out there that will calm you down, bring what's important into focus and relieve stress. There are many ways to relieve stress and calm one's inner self. I wish I had time to do a full hour of yoga everyday,  get a relaxing massage, have the stress relieving end of the day hot bath, a nap in the middle of the day, or  spend some time in a meditative state.  It's not going to happen at this point in my life.

But I find I can grab my Kindle, even if it's while waiting for an appoinment, or during a lunch break, and read these daily passages that comfort me, and give me a moment to pause and focus on all that's going right these days! Just like checking in often with my cyber buddies, checking in often with these readings make me feel good!

Until next time, hoping you all find some time to do something that makes you feel good and calms your mind!

Thought for the day:  Our real blessings often appear to us in the shapes of pains, losses and disappointments; but let us have patience, and we soon shall see them in their proper figures.
- Joseph Addison

Hi....Remember me?

Hello to all my blogging buddies and followers. I feel like I have been away to some far away land without any way to communicate. In fact, that far away land has been my time consuming, reluctant job, as a practice manager for my husbands medical practice. It has literally taken so much of my time, especially this week, because one of my office workers was on vacation, and another recently left because the job was conflicting with all of her motherly responsibilites. So everything fell on me this week. I had my job to do (charges, checks, bills, dicatation, letters, problem solving), plus that of two others (front desk work, receptionist, appt. maker).  I was stressed before, but this week was really hard. So much to do, and so little time.

One positive thing did happen. I finally did what I have been saying I was going to do, and put an add on Craig's list for some part time office help. I was overwhelmed with all the responses. Out of maybe 125, I was able to sift through and find the top 20. I started interviewing on Friday, and really liked the first woman that came. Tomorrow I have two more coming. I feel hopeful that the one woman tomorrow will be just perfect and I can stop right there.We had a really good conversation on the phone and she is so over qualified, I'm not sure why she would want this job ( MBA from Cornell), but I really got a good vibe from just talking to her, and she could really handle the administrative stuff, probably better than me.  I am thinking of hiring them both, and then I can really cut back on what I do. It will be less money in my pocket if we hire two people, but I'm telling you, I am starving for some time to myself. I still pay all the bills, manage the homes, pets and cars, and run all the home stuff, so it's not like I'll be sitting around eating sugar free bon bons!

I tried to keep up with everybody through google reader. It's quick and puts all my followed blogs in one place, but the problem is that I can't comment. If I'm wrong about that, please let me know how to do it. I need all of  you and the support that we give each other. I really struggled this week, and I'm feeling frustrated because I just go from work, to bed, and repeat! I promise that I will not give up on me, my BFC or blogging. I feel a commitment to keep in touch with everyone, and I'm sure that will be the difference for me this time. But for the time being, I am just going to try and post whenever I can, and not put pressure on myself in that area too. Despite this being a crappy week, and coming home on Friday to find out that my cat had died ( he was 17 years old and in failing health so it was expected, but still hard to find him after a long day of work),  I find out that my son got a job in NYC and had to get an apartment ( I use that term loosely!) quickly. He needed us to be the guarantor, get forms notorized, get certified checks for his downpayment. This all needed to be done within 24 hours. He is so excited, and this job is with a big real estate company in New York. Yesterday my husband took him to get some suits, and a mattress. Today I took him to get all the household goods.  We still have more to do, but all of this couldn't have come at a busier time. But I just keep saying that in two weeks, I'll be sipping wine among the vineyards and will get some time to relax. Okay, then There, it's all out. I feel better already venting some of this. Sorry for pouring out all my frustrations.

In the weight department, I was up alittle, then back down now. Misssed my official weigh in on purpose because I didn't want to know or post it. I have to work on that because I have to own it to change it right? Still doing fine with the sugar, but struggling to stay within the carb limits. Yesterday I finally made time to make the lemon coconut bread. I love it for a snack, and I'm so glad to  have it in my fridge for this busy week ahead. I followed the way Rosalie made it, but here's just an example of how crazy I am right now. Her recipe calls for two tabs of cream cheese. This morning I found the container of cream cheese in the cupboard where I keep the cereal, sugar, stevia. In my haste I put it back when I put the stevia back. It should have gone in the batter, then back in the fridge!!! I swear I'm starting to lose it.

So this morning, after a much needed good night's sleep, I woke up and rememberd a recipe I used to make back in the day when I was following the plan Body for Life. This plan is not too different from the BFC, and it stresses frequent meals, an exercise program and eliminating sugar and white carbs. The main difference is to follow the plan for six days and then on the seventh day ( any day you choose), you get to have a cheat day and eat whatever you want.  The had some good recipes that I will fit right in with the BFC. You can find them on the web site if you google Body for Life.I used to love the power pancake recipe. I couldn't find my recipe card, so I looked it up online. It seemed alittle different, but I made it and it was so good. Here's how it goes:

1/2 cup oatmeal ( I used regular)
1/2 cup cottage cheese
3 egg whites
dash of cinnamon
vanilla ext ( I used 1/4 tsp)
stevia ( I used 1 pkt Truvia)

Blend eggs and cottage cheese in blender or food processor. Add rest of ingredients and process until smooth. Heat a large pan, spray with non stick spray. Pour batter in pan. Cook on low until bottom is set. Flip over and cook other side.

If you are not a pancake expert, I find the mistake most people make, is flip them too soon, and that makes a mess. With pancakes, you wait until bubbles form on the top, but it doesn't happen with this pancake. Cook over low heat and use a big wide spatula to flip. I got to be an excellent pancake maker as my kids wanted them most every morning. Then we moved onto Belgain waffles. I read that this batter will work in a waffle maker too. Some people also added protein powder.  Another thought is baking powder might make it rise a bit too.

Delicious seved with alittle butter and some josephs sugar free syrup.

This is an easier recipe I think than Jorge's recipe. So quick too. The s/c value would be 5/2 The oatmeal has 27 carbs, and the cottage cheese 6. The cottage cheese has 4 sugars and the oatmeal 1. It's very filling and was warm and delicious.

Well that's all for now. Thanks for listening. Until next time!

Thought for the day:  Absence makes the heart grow fonder!

Hello....my name is Pattie, .......and I'm a carbohydrate addict!

Good morning everyone! Thanks for all the great comments you leave. Don't you wish that like facebook, when someone leaves a comment, you could comment back and they would know that you did? Sometimes I leave a comment under the comment on the blog, but always wonder if anyone goes back to read those. If I've confused you totally, sorry!

So today is a rainy Tuesday here in the Northeast. Yesterday was beautiful, and as funny as it sounds, I would rather drive into work on a sunny day than on a rainy day. We were busy in the office yesterday, and it was a long day. We have so many patients with wonderful personalities, and it is nice to chat with them and meet new people. Even so, these 12 hour days are tiring. So today I work from home, handling most of the business stuff for the practice. There are checks to deposit, charges to mail out to our billing company, letters to type etc., etc. I spend most of the day in my home office, or as I like to call it "my woman cave!"

My woman cave!

Working at home can be great, but also a pain in the neck too. I can throw in a load of laundry or run an errand, but the downside is my work is always there looking at me every time I walk by. Ok, enough of the complaining. This week I have a goal to put an ad on Craigs list to find some part time office workers. It's either that or I'll be blogging from a mental health rehab center soon!!

So I have a confession.....I'm a carbohydrate addict! Are you surprised? Are you one too? The most challenging part of the belly fat cure plan for me is watching those carbs. Surprisingly the sugar limit is working just fine for me. I would have never thought it to be so. For most of my life,  I was the one running to the snack drawer foraging for something sweet to eat. It wasn't beyond me to eat a sweet in it's frozen form. Those extra Christmas cookies, wrapped snuggly in their little foil packet in my freezer, turned out to be a lovely cold, chocolate snack.  Who knew? I thought I had a sweet tooth. I couldn't resist sweet treats, nor could I control them. But I lost my taste for them somewhere along the way on this plan. Sometimes I can't believe it myself. I do enjoy my dark chocolate nut clusters ( see recipe on a prior blog) and I still like a daily sweet. But the difference is the control I have now. One or two pieces of chocolate is enough. Saturday I tasted a bite of my husbands apple tarte at little french bistro we like to dine at. It was good, but sweet, and one bite was definitely enough. Ok, sugar under control! Check off list. I got that one down.

Now let's talk about those carbs. This is where I struggle. Even with the whole grain BFC approved carbs, it's hard for me to limit them. I still dabble in the white stuff too. You know the ones that start with enriched white flour? Don't hate me, this is a confession after all!! Did I mention that little french bistro has the most amazing, hot, crusty, french rolls, served with chilled butter? My husband and I always turn away the bread basket when we eat out. The bread at most restaurants isn't usually worth it we say. But here, it is most definitely worth it. So, I mustered all the self control I had, and then I decided to have half of one. They are small rolls,  about the size of  a tennis ball, so it was two bites. I gave in, I caved,  but also did it the 'Kay way'. This is not a technical term, but if you follow my friend Kay's blog, she talks about not being BFC perfect, but cheating in a controlled way. Kay is at her goal and this has worked for her. I am not even close to goal, so maybe I shouldn't be doing this, but I'm looking at it in a positive way. In the past I would have had 2 whole rolls.I did it, it's over and I'm not proud. But at least I minimized the damage. Baby steps!

So I'm trying to really watch the  carbs this week. I have the new Fast Track book on my IPAD, and I'm trying to follow along with the menus. This morning I got up at 5 AM, went to the gym, stopped at the market, came home and walked and fed the dogs, and then made breakfast. I will be in my woman cave most of the day today, so I wanted to get a jump start on the day. While at the market I picked up a pack of canadian bacon. If I'm giving up the grains for breakfast, I need to add some substance.  Canadian bacon is lower in fat and a little healthier for you. I found this nutrition infor about it on the web.

Canadian bacon vs. bacon

Regular old bacon comes from the belly of a pig and is streaked with fat. Canadian-style bacon is taken from the back of the pig rather than the belly and is much leaner. Here's a comparison of the nutritional contents - comparing one ounce of each. So ounce per ounce, Canadian-style bacon has only 1/3 of the calories, a fraction of the fat and less sodium, making it the healthier choice. Here's an article explaining Canadian-style bacon, if you're interested.

Sources: Linked, and http://origin.www.nutritiondata.com/ for the nutrition facts

Canadian bacon, topped with cheddar cheese, chia seeds,
poached eggs and chives

So I warmed up the two thin slices of bacon in a non stick skillet, poached two eggs (see how to do this in a prior post). I topped the bacon with some reduced fat cheddar cheese, some chia seeds, the two eggs and some fresh chives. I missed my ezekial bread to sop up the yolks, but guess what? This was really good. Filling too. Try it. And for those of you who don't use fresh herbs to jazz up your meals, it is a really good thing to do. The flavor is subtle, but really enhances the dish.



That's all for today. Thanks for listening!

Thought for the day:   "When in doubt, tell the truth."  Mark Twain

Autumn breezes!

Hello everyone. Hope you are doing well. The weather here in Pennsylvania has taken a turn towards Autumn. The high temperature today is in the low 70's and the nights are cool in the 50's. I really like it, but what a fast change in just a few days. We were in the mid 80's a few days ago. It's great to turn off the AC, throw open the windows, and let the cool breezes blow through the house. We decided against a trip to the beach this weekend, and while I do love it down there, it's nice to relax here without driving back and forth. Autumn weather invigorates me. I think it is remembering school days and all the newness that the fall season would bring.

Last flowers of summer

I love all the different blog posts this week, and I have so much to talk about. I tried to have another blog going where I could just blab on about whatever, but just didn't have time to keep up with it. I am a nurturer and a sharer by nature, and I always love to share new tips, ideas, and thoughts about what's going on. I'm not sure if this blog is the place to do that, or if any of my 17 followers would want to hear about anything other than the BFC and our weight losses, or gains. So some days I don't feel I have anything special to say.  Some days I don't even want to talk about my weight. Last week I was up a bit, so I felt like a loser posting about that. I was so happy the week before, and then I am back up. I'm afraid to jinx any loss I have by talking about it. I'm creeping down again and made some changes, so hope to have a better result this week. I'm very busy with work these days, so I haven't been able to post as much.. All of you west coasters that wouldn't mind a job, I wouldn't mind having you for some help. That's my biggest issue right now. I really need to hire some part time people to help out in our offices. I'm doing too much myself and when I don't have time for me, I get grumpy. Real grumpy! Ok, so enough about that

So I'm going to broaden my horizons and talk about some other things on this post some of the time. I hope you will indulge me a bit, and I hope you might find something of interest..

One of the things that I'm really going to miss about summer is all the wonderful fresh herbs that I have available to me right out my back door. Since I travel during the summer weekends, and work alot of the week, it's hard to tend to a large garden. My husband has all my plants rigged up with a sprinkler drip system. So all my pots, hanging baskets, and urns are lovely all summer long. I have a large pot of perennial herbs right off my kitchen.  There are wonderful perennial ( they come back each year in case you didn't know) herbs growing, like thyme, tarragon and chives They all grow together, and come back bigger and better each year. In the spring the chives get lovely little purple round balls of color. So pretty. I'm getting ready to freeze some and I will post about that later.

I have been loving the chives in my scrambled eggs this week. They give the eggs a great flavor. They have a mild oniony taste, but fresh and not at all overwhelming. I just snap off a few strands, fold them over a few times and using kitchen shears, snip them right into my eggs.

I am pretty fussy about my eggs, and almost no one makes them the way I like. They have to be very moist and no brown spots from sticking to the pan. I pour them in a  non stick pan sprayed with non stick spray or if I'm feeling a little decadent, some olive oil. Pour in the beaten eggs, snip in some chives ( basil works great too) and then sprinkle in some reduced fat cheddar cheese. Cook them slowly because protein can toughen up if cooked to fast. They come out cooked, but still moist and creamy in texture, and the cheese melts in and makes them alittle gooey.

Plate them up, add a few slices of bacon, and you have a great BFC or fast track breakfast. This week, I'm trying to stay away from the grains, but any other morning some coconut bread or a few slices of ezekial with butter would be just great.

Wishing you all a wonderful and relaxing weekend....and maybe some scrambled eggs with herbs too!!

Thought for the day: " A true friend is someone who thinks you are a good egg, even though he knows that you are sightly cracked"  B. Meltzer

The New Fast Track Book!

Hello everyone! Yesterday I bought the fast track book for my kindle. I love the kindle, and I make the print bigger so I don't need me reading glasses ( damn you old age!!) to read it. It's kind of weird reading a book like this on the smaller screen, especially with the large print. Some of the food lists got cut off. I'm sure they would fit on the screen if I made the print size smaller.

I actually got up at 5:30 AM today, rolled over in bed, grabbed my kindle and started reading. I tried to read it like the material was all new to  me. I had to skip over some parts (easy with the Kindle, just click the button). Those were the parts about emotional eating and addiction. I agree with it all, but it was too much for my morning brain.  I loved seeing Amber featured, and I liked how he didn't attibute all her weight loss to just the Fast Track. Some of the other featured stories stated they lost their weight with Fast Track. I thought it was nice of Jorge at the end of the book to give acknowledgement to so many people. He thanked Amber and spoke very nice about her, but also touching was the last person he thanked, his wife ( or I suppose ex-wife by now), Heather. It was a very sweet message to her.

So I thought Jorge did a good job with this book. He didn't discount the original Belly Fat Cure, but instead said that the Fast Track might be good short term for some people and then they might want to return to the regular BFC. He also suggested some people might want to incorporate the Fast Track for longer time periods.

There are recipes at the end of the book. I was a little confused because the plan states to try and follow the fast track exactly as written for 14 days. Then there are all these recipes at the end of the book. It didn't clarify, but I think those are for the people that want to do the fast track program ( basically no grains) longer, but need some variety from the basic 14 day menu.

I thought the book had lots of good scientific research to back up all of  guidelines of the plan. There was a question and answer part that was good. Jorge addressed a question as to why now he is selling the Belly Fat Cure, when in the past he endorsed his Three Hour diet plan. He answered honestly that when he wrote those books, that is what he believed to be true, but as his knowledge grew, he changed his concept of how to eat. I can accept that.

In conclusion, I liked the book more than I thought I would. Having been exposed to the Fast Track premise prior to the book release, I didn't expect there to be any new information shared. There is some new information, some great looking recipes, and the expected Jorge enthusiasm that we have come to know and love! I think I may like a hard copy to keep handy for the menus and recipes. I tried to eat my meals today based on the day one menu. I did okay up until dinner, but then we went out for sushi.. I think it fit fine into the BFC plan, but not sure if it fit exactly into the Fast Track menu.

Found this great web site!

Hello  Everyone;

Just wanted to share this recipe that I found. The blog site is lowcarbrecipetransformation.blogspot.com. This mac and cheese looks great!

Recipe and photo by Cathy Ghavamian
1 - Head of Cauliflower
1 - 8oz Package Cream Cheese
4 - oz Pepper Jack Cheese grated
Salt, Lemon Pepper, Garlic Powder to taste

Break up cauliflower into pieces and boil until tender

Place cream cheese in a large microwavable bowl and microwave for 1 minute

Strain cauliflower and pour into bowl with the cream cheese

Add salt, lemon pepper and garlic powder to your liking

Mix with a hand mixer until creamy

Portion the mixture into individual Pyrex/casserole dishes or larger single and sprinkle the cheese on top.

Broil until cheese is brown and bubbly.

I served this with baked chicken for two people but if you have another side dish, it could easily feed four people. Great comfort food and really delicious with the cream cheese adding a rich tangy flavor.

Guaranteed to be the best cauliflower recipe you've ever eaten!!

605 calories, 10.5 net carbs - 2 servings

Carbed!

Happy Monday everyone. Back from the weekend at the shore. It was just beautiful, and the beach was empty, parking spots galore on the streets, and quiet, so quiet. We ate out every night, so I'm hoping to have a good scale reading on Wednesday in spite of that. I used to find it hard to believe that anyone could eat out almost every night of the week, but I have seen that happen in my own life. The kids are gone, and it's often easier after work to stop for a bite.  The beach town where we have our summer home, has many year round residents, so there is life after the Labor Day weekend. There are nice restaurants down by the bay, with live music and great food. I'm trying to empty out the cupboards for the winter, so there wasn't much to eat at the house. Except for breakfast we ate lunch and dinner out. Restaurant eating is always a challenge and I tend to overdo the carbs, even when I have the best intentions.

 I was leaving a post comment today on one of the blogs and the security word I had to type in order to comment, came up as "carbed". Can you believe that? Carbed....is that a real word? It should be! I am going out on a limb here and saying that this word means overloaded on carbs. Carbed up, Carbed out! What do you think? It can't be good, so this will be my new word when my body has exceeded what it should have had in daily carbs. I hope I don't have to use that word too often!

I made the lemon coconut bread Friday. I followed Rosalie's recipe, except I use 5 tbs. of fresh lemon juice and no lemon extract. This time I put Chia seeds and walnuts in it. I had to add a little water to the batter after the Chia seeds, because the batter was super thick. It was so good, and tasted almost like a lemon poppy seed bread. This coconut flour is really getting lots of good use by us BFC girls!

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

Thought for the day:  Middle age is when you're sitting at home on a Saturday night and the telephone rings and you hope it isn't for you. ~Ogden Nash

Just checkin' in!

Hello everybody. Thanks for all the kind words of encouragement on my little one pound loss. I'm happy though and it's a step in the right direction. I don't have alot to talk about today, but wanted to just say that I am thankful to have all of you to check in with now and again. I really think it makes a huge difference. I applaud your successes, feel bad when you do, and love to hear about what's going on in your neck of the woods. Our little group, and I hope it grows, is very important to me.

I'm going through alittle withdrawal today because I'm out of my coconut bread. I swear that lemon variety, smeared with alittle cream cheese and that heavenly nature's hollow jam, is so delicious. I was heating it up a bit in the microwave, but I think cold out of the fridge is best. For my lemon loaf, I didn't have any lemon extract, so I just used a bit more fresh lemon juice. It was so moist. Oh here's a tip for you that you might already know. If you have lemons or limes that look like they are going a bit south, juice them and pour them in  plastic ice cube trays ( just pick them up at the supermarket or dollar store).  I pour mine in one tablespoon increments. After they are frozen, pop them out of the tray and put in a ziploc bag and back in the freezer. Now when you need one or two tablespoons of lemon or lime juice you can just pull out a cube and use it in your recipe. Also works for leftover wine.....but who has leftover wine??? See my funny thought for the day below for alittle wine related chuckle!

So we are heading back to the beach this weekend. Will start to put things away for the winter, and enjoy a little time sunning on the beach. We have had a terrible bout of rainy days here in PA. Lots of localized flooding of streams and rivers. We are okay, but many in neighboring towns have been flooded and evacuated. What's that old saying...when it rains, it pours. Well that is so true right now. I am praying for alittle sunshine this weekend so we can all dry out a bit.

So happy weekend to you all. Talk to you next week!

Thought for the day:  Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.    Robert Collier

Funny thought for the day:  A real man is a woman's best friend. He will never let her down. He will comfort her after a bad day. He will inspire her to do things she never thought she could do. He will enable her to express her deepest emotions. He will enable her to be confident, sexy, and invincible ... No wait.… Sorry. I'm thinking of wine. It's wine that does all that. Never mind!!!

Wednesday weigh in!

Thanks for letting my show off my family a little in that last post. I like seeing the photos, because it reminds me how blessed I am. Sometimes we can't see the great things going on in our lives, even though they are right there before our eyes. For me, the obsession with losing weight sometimes casts a cloud over all the sunny spots in my life. Often I realize my mood and outlook are so dependent on whether or not I lost weight, or stuck to my plan. I can turn a perfectly good day into a moody one if I'm not where I think I should be.

When I got up today, I have to confess, I was already moody. I knew it was weigh in day, and I wasn't looking forward to it.I expected to see a gain on that scale. Let's face it, there were those white carbs over the weekend, too many glasses of wine, and too much of even the good stuff. So I hopped on the scale bracing for the results, and I was pleasantly surprised to see that I had lost a pound. Hallelujah! Praise God! Good for me!! My mood instantly changed. I felt happy,confident, and ready to forge ahead. I threw on my workout clothes, planned a good breakfast, and set my self up to face the day all happy and proud of myself. Yes I can do this I thought!

REALLY??? FOR ONE POUND!!! That's all it took to turn that frown upside down? So silly isn't it? If it had gone the other way, I would have done a exact opposite turnaround in my mood and my day. I may have skipped the workout, overate for breakfast and set myself up for a Debbie downer sort of day. And that may happen next week. I may be up in weight and down in the dumps once again.

So I'm thinking along with changing my eating habits, I have to change my mood ,and way of thinking too. If I'm on the right path, I'll get to my destination. I've said it before I know, but it's worth repeating to myself. I'm changing my eating habits not just for weight loss, but for better health. And I do feel better now that I have broken up with sugar. I've made changes, I have stopped using artificial sweeteners, and whole grains definitely are a staple in my diet. I've learned new ideas ( loving that lemon coconut bread), made new friends and have a good support system in place. Then there are all the reminders in those photos from my previous post ,of the blessings I have in my life. People who love me no matter what I weigh.

This is life. This is a journey. There will be good days and bad days, sunshine and rain. I'm hoping for more of the former though, and lots and lots of sunshine!

P.S. Shout out to Kay for reaching her goal!!! Congrats and happy moods to you!

Thought for the day: A cloudy day is no match for a sunny disposition.

Goodbye Summer!

Hello to all of my friends. Sorry I have been absent this week. Work has taken up so much of my time, and then we had this lovely four day weekend, and we were down at the shore house with some family. Just getting back from there, unpacking some stuff, and watching the rain pour down here.

I thought I'd share some photos and update you on what I've been up too. I celebrated a birthday a week or so ago when we were down for a week's vacation and also my 30th wedding anniversary shortly after that. All of my boys were home for my birthday which was nice. We spent some nice days on the beach together, and went out for some nice dinners.

This past weekend my middle son John was down with his girlfriend Eve. My FDL ( future daughter in law) Meg, also came down. Her fiancee, my son Ryan, has already started his final year of grad school in Indiana so he wasn't around. My baby Mike, also is back at his college in Connecticut.  We  had some other family down.  All in all I think I did ok with the eating. I skipped my usual Labor Day ice cream cone, but I did over do the carbs alittle. I also did indulge in a skinny girl margherita that my sister-in-law made and brought down to the beach. It is prepackaged, and I'm sure it had some splenda in it, although I never saw the bottle. It's not really my thing, because I am a wine or occasional beer girl. However I decided to try it and it wasn't too bad. Not sweet at all. I only drank half, and I think 4oz was about 100 calories.



We put each drink in a mason jar, and then in a cooler filled with ice. This was a great idea and would work with any beverage or just ice watef with some lemon or lime. No spills either.




Hubby and me dancing at the local bar after dinner. Fun night!




Labor Day weekend. Walking home from dinner with Meg and Eve.

 



Birthday dinner out with my boys and hubby.

 

My three sons!







John has gotten himself into a real hole!

   The weather this weekend was glorious and we had some wonderful beach days. We will probably be going down a few more weekends, weather permitting. Fall is such a pretty time at the beach. The crowds are gone, the weather is still nice, and the beach is beautiful. Then that will be the last of our visits.I don't really like it down there in the winter. Too gray and dreary. Plus, we have a trip planned to one of our favorite places on earth, California wine country, the first week of October. Can't wait for that. You know how passionate I am about my wine!




Still digging that hole.  I am in front of him deep into my book!

  

Late afternoon on the beach is the best time!

John and Eve. My nephew is to the right looking bored with the photo taking!

 I am going to try and catch up on all the blogs. I read some of them while on the beach, but it makes it so hard to comment on my phone in the sun. I usually take a break from the computer, but keep up to date with my smartphone. Loving twitter these days. If you haven't tried it, please do. I think you will really enjoy it once you get the hang of it.

So I didn't post my weigh in last week. I was down a little bit, only .2 of a pound. But trending down is still good. I am definitely a slow loser, and perhaps my choices perpetuate my slow loss. But I am going to work harder to make good choices this week, set smaller goals and tighten up with those carbs and fats. As Dawn said, "too much of a good thing is still too much!"

Lastly, I am loving the lemon coconut bread. I eat it like Rosalie does with some cream cheese and natures hollow preserves. Such a great combination. I almost feel like I'm eating cake!

Thought for the day: Summer is when laziness finds respectability!