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!