Battle with the scale.

Hello all. I decided to make Wednesday my weigh in day, instead of Mondays. I made this change last week. I know, I'm playing a game with the scale, but weekends are usually the worse time for me, and if I slip up, then I feel like a failure if the scale doesn't give me the number that I want. Wednesday just seems like a good day to get the most accurate weight for me. That's my plan and I'm sticking to it!

I'm just starting out again on this journey and I am trying to keep all things in perspective. Weight fluctuates at different times of the day and month, and even with the salt content of food eaten. The scale doesn't know it's weigh in day, and just because the weight isn't what you want on _______ ( insert day!), doesn't mean that tomorrow the scale won't say something different. I like to think of my weight like the stock market graph. There are fluctuations up alittle, down alittle, but the important thing is the direction you want to be heading. That would be up for the stock market and down for the scale!!!

I have tried all sorts of tricks in my complicated relationship with the scale. I have a family member who has  weight to lose and she put the scale away because she said she just didn't want to know what the number was. She said she knows she is losing weight by the fit of her clothes and her bra and clothing  size is decreasing. For her this is working. So I tried that method for a month. I hid the scale. Well at the end of the month I was the same weight. I felt like had I known this sooner, maybe I could have made adjustments to my eating plan. I need to keep a check on my weight more often than that.

So I moved the scale into our other bathroom. I have to walk down the hall to get weighed and can't jump on it several times a day as was my habit in the past. I'm not perfect, but I try for only once a week. I have found if I sneak in a weight and I am down before my official weigh in day, I sometimes get alittle cocky and loosen up on my eating plan.

So today, I went into the bathroom, weighed myself and was shocked that I hadn't lost more. I picked up the scale, walked into my bathroom down the hall, got naked and weighed myself three times. It was over a pound less than when I was in the other bathroom. Same scale, different weight. All three times in my bathroom I was the same weight exactly, and I am taking that as my official weight. So it has been three weeks and I have lost 3.9 lbs. I'm not breaking any records here, but with my trip to the ranch, and alittle  more wine and carbs then I should have had over three weeks, I am happy with that. Don't mind the cat, he's 17 years old and he hides upstairs from the dogs and is amused by any activity these days. This weighing in stuff was highly entertaining to him!

The point I'm trying to make, is that we get so obsessed over weight, but we have to keep in mind that there are fluctuations occuring constantly in our body. You are losing fluids, holding onto sodium & waste material. Our bodies are contantly putting out and taking in. Ironically, my slim son weighed himself before I moved the scale, and then again when I brought it back to his bathroom, he weighed himself again and had lost 4/10 of a pound! Why does that always happen to skinny people? But even his weight changed in those fifteen minutes. Oh, and by the way, I made sure the scale was level on the tile and not wobbling on the tile seams, and it is a  fairly new digital scale.

So I am going to approach my difficult relationship with the scale just like I approach a difficult relationship with a person. Accept it for what it is, realize I can't change it, but I can change my behavior, and only visit it when I have to! Hope you day is going well. Until next time!

Thought for the day:
The scale is only one instrument used to measure our progress. Don't give it too much power or let it influence our feelings. There are many others things that show us we are headed in the right direction. Keep on that path.

Back in town!

Hello all. I'm back from my whirlwind trip to Oklahoma. In case you didn't read my previous blog post, I also follow Ree Drummond's blog, Confessions of a Pioneer Woman (www. thepioneerwoman.com). It is not a dieting blog, and most of the recipes don't fit on the BFC, but it's a great blog. Very popular too. I read it was rated on of the top 25 blogs by Time magazine. Anyway, I entered a contest on her blog and won a weekend on her ranch in Oklahoma. We were allowed to bring a guest, so I brought along my  mom. There were three winners and their guests, and cookbook author Pam Anderson and her daughter. Pam has a new book out  and the weekend was to learn some great recipes for stress free entertaining.

I was alittle worried because of the small group, and what I would eat, but I don't think it turned out too bad. I'll see how bad the damage is on Wednesday when I weigh in. We stayed at the lodge which is a guest house on the ranch. It's beautiful and was redone a few years ago. All of it was chronicled on her blog. When we arrived we were greeted with mason jar glasses of some sweet wine, fruit concoction. I sipped it, so I didn't appear rude, but boy was it sweet and syrupy tasting. My low sugar diet often makes things taste too sweet to me.Then came the homemade pizza.  I had two small squares as it was a rectangle shape. Lucklily it was also topped with arugula, chicken, fresh mozzarella and/or proscuitto, and with all the talking I really didn't have time to go back and get anymore. We were exhausted so we headed to bed. Great....eat dough and then go to sleep!!!

So morning comes, and so do the fresh homemade cinnamon rolls. These are a popular Pioneer Woman recipe and Ree made them at her house and had her daughter deliver them to us at the Lodge.They were tiny, and I had two. Again, they tasted  sweet and sugary., but were very good, warm and gooey. I didn't need anymore. When everyone woke up, her chef helper arrived and put out hard boiled eggs, cheese sticks, fruit, cereal, juices. It was great because the cheese stick and hard boiled egg were just what I needed.

The morning progressed and Pam did her cooking presentation and made us lunch. It was a wonderful salad with deviled eggs, some roasted fingerling potatoes and salmon with a wonderful fresh herb, caper topping. So fresh and healthy tasting. Lemon cookies were the dessert, and they were tiny little balls dusted with confectionary sugar. I had just one, as they passed around.Very good and just enough of a little sweet after the great lunch. Then the masseuse and manicurist came and stayed until 8 that night. We all had massages, pedicures, manicures. Of course I had my mani/pedi done right before I left, so I didn't need another, but but the massage was great. They were doing gel or regular manis, so it was a real treat for the other ladies. Rees dog Charlie ( she wrote a children's book about him) just hung out with us all day!

We all made dinner together which were recipes from Pam's new cookbook. The menu was beef carnitas with onions peppers, and a cabbage, radish slaw. The appetizer was a delish shrimp, avocado dip. I think it fit in fine with the BFC. I don't eat meat, so I had a carnita with the veggies, and sour cream in a small flour tortilla. Pam made a delicious flan for dessert and she was passing it around. I had a small

piece. It was such a delightful texture and taste. Some flans can be almost too slimey, but this was perfection.

All in all it was a fun weekend and really except for the desserts, there were no sugary or processed foods, no breads or junk food. The ingredients were fresh and seasonal and delicious. I so enjoyed all the wonderful women I spent the weekend with. I hope our paths cross again sometime!

Hope you like the photos. I'll post more on facebook! Bye for now!

OOOOk-lahoma, where the wind comes sweepin' down the plain!

Howdy everyone! Getting in the spirit of things 'cause I'm headed to Oklahoma tomorrow!  I won a weekend at the guest house on Ree Drummond's (aka The Pioneer Woman) Oklahoma cattle ranch. There were three random winners and we all get to bring a guest.  I'm taking my mom Harriet. I wrote about that in a blog post May 19, 2011. I had no followers then, so no real excitement expressed by anyone.  Besides all my BFC blogs, I also like to follow the Pioneer Womans's blog. She's funny, has some good recipes (most which I can't eat...carbs and sugar prevail in these recipes!) and gives an interesting glimpses into life on a ranch. She has three books out, and a cooking series coming soon and I heard somewhere they are making a movie based on her book, "Black Heels to Tractor Wheels". Her website is http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ if you want to check it out. I think she will be posting phots of the weekend.  This just goes to show you how a little blog can explode into something big over a few years!



So this is going to be a cooking weekend. Cookbook author Pam Anderson is coming. I like Pam's cookbooks, and my favorite one is called 'The Perfect Recipie for Losing Weight'. It's not an instructional weight loss program, but a book with some good insights as to how Pam lost over 40 lbs and some great recipes that she came up with. She was the former editor of Cook's Illustrated, and as a food and recipe inventor/tester, she often has to test several recipes a day.  She gained alot of weight over the years and figured she couldn't keep going like that and keep doing the job she loved. So she came up with a plan that worked for her, and she can still have foods that she loved, but lose weight. She also took up running, which she credits in large part to her transformation. So Pam will be there, along with one of her daughters. They have a food blog called ''Three Many Cooks". Her recipes are great too. I am looking forward to meeting her and Maggie, her daughter.



In true Philly spirit we are taking Phillies and Eagles sports stuff and Tastykakes as gifts for everyone. Many of you don't know what Tastykakes are, and it's probably better that you don't! They are delicious individually wrapped snack cakes ( peanut butter kandy kakes are my favorite) and are unique to this area. Once you try them you are hooked and many of my relatives who live in different parts of the country always beg us to bring or send some. So I have been looking at them on my kitchen table, remembering my youth when they were packed in my lunch, or summers as a child when a frozen Peanut butter kandy kake was always the best treat. Strangely enough, looking at them and the memories were enough. I wasn't really craving them. That's the most amazing thing about the BFC, cutting way back on teh sugar really does stop that roller coaster crazy sugar surges in your body and the cravings really do go away.
This is my first attempt at adding photos to my blog. I think I did okay, but need some more practice!

So I'm off to a weekend where I feel that food is going to be largely out of my control. I'm going to try and do my best and just look at it as a challenge to try and eat the BFC way. There will only be 9 of us, so it won't be easy when sitting around the table to pass things up, but I am going to try my best to stick to the plan. Just stick to the plan and no one will get hurt!!!! I'll take lots of photos and try to post them when I get back.

I want to thank you all for the great comments you made yesterday. I learned something from each one of them. If I'm to be honest, I think I do overdo the cheese and nuts, and I'm probably a little to liberal with the mayo, butter and sour cream. Going to try and be more conscious of this going forward. I hope you all have a wonderful weekend. Until next time!

Calories in....calories out?

Good morning friends. Checking in on a cloudy, rainy Wedneday here in Pennsylvania. My mood feels cloudy too. I weighed myself today and I'm down just alittle in my weight. So I'm feeling a bit blue about that. I guess that weekend did more damage than I thought.

A few years ago, I decided I needed more than just my regular gyn annual check up. I was feeling tired all the time, my skin was breaking out, my hair changed from soft and fine, to coarse and somewhat frizzy. I had no energy and I had gained a few pounds a year over the last several years and I found myself more overweight than I had ever been. The old 3 F's ( Forty, fat and female) had happened to me. I would get the kids on the bus in the morning and literally think about going back to bed. I never did, but it was weird to even think about it at 8 in the morning. At times I would drive to the gym and sit outside in my car, trying to get the energy to go inside. Thoughts of depression started wondering through my head. Is this what it feels like? Do I need professional help? Maybe I'm depressed I thought, but I don't have any reason to be. Was it peri-menopause? No indication of that either. I have always been high energy, probably a little hyper by some standards. I had never been this down and dragging before.

So I found a good family Dr. and made an appointment for a check up and physical. My husband is a Dr., so I never really had the need to go to anyone for the occassional sore throat or sinus infection. He took care of that.  He's not a family dr, but a specialist, and he can handle those things. I did my regular mammograms and pap smears with my gyn, so I was good in that area. But I hadn't had blood work, an EKG and a good hands on physical for as long as I could remember.

So on the day of my physical, my Dr. felt a lump (nodule) on my thyroid. She did some tests, scheduled some more blood work, and that day, my life changed going forward, for the better. My thyroid was so out of whack, and my blood levels were so off, that she started me on Synthroid ( thyroid hormone) immediately, even before I could get an appt. to see an endocrinologist. I always tell her ( my Dr.) that she changed my life that day. The difference in the way I felt on the medication was unbelievable. It was like a cloud, or fog had been lifted from me. That tired feeling went away, and I started feeling like I did many years ago.

So fast forward several years, one biopsy, and many drug dosage adjustments and here I am today. Still with the lump (we ultrasound regularly and watch for changes), still on the synthroid (dosage changes based on blood work) and still overweight.

Today I had an appointment with my endocrinologist  Dr. which lead to my choosing the post title that I did today. I never was one to get right to the point! So the nodule has grown alittle, my blood levels are off alittle and I'm about the same weight as last visit 6 months ago. I asked her if my medication and blood levels are somewhat regulated, would I be able to lose weight like everyone else. She said it can be harder for a patient with hypothyroidism to lose weight, but it is possible. "Calories in, calories out is what it comes down to" she said.  Boy have I heard that one before! She did suggest adding another thryoid drug called Cytomel, to what I am currently taking. I have been doing some reading about it, and some people have felt better, more energetic and report faster weight loss after taking it along with their Synthroid. I am going to try it and I'll see her again in three months and she will check my blood work, ultrasound and see how things are going. I know I'm not a perfect eater on the BFC, but I have changed so many habits, and I just had hoped to see more progress with my weight loss.

So my question to my fellow BFC devotees is this: Do you think calories matter on the BFC? Can you be following the 15/6  S/C daily totals and still overeat? My breakfast today was 2 slices of ezekial bread, topped with some reduced fat cheddar cheese, chia seeds and 2 poached eggs, some almond breeze and benefiber in my coffee. That was nearly 500 calories. When I'm hungry for a snack,  I grab some cheese and almonds, both high in calories. When I  track what I eat on fat secret (which I love by the way) I can measure four things. I pick sugar, carbs, fiber and calories. I noticed my calories are often nearly 2000, even when I am within the S/C range for the day. I'm wondering if I need to cut back the food to lose at the rate that some of you are losing. Let me know your thoughts! Goodbye for now!

It was the best of times! It was the worst of times!

Good afternoon everyone. I am back from a weekend with the family. It was the best of times, it was the worst of times! It was the best because all of my boys were there with one fiance and one girlfriend. We laughed alot, read on the beach, watched movies, drank a little too much, and ate alot. Those last two items lead to the worst of times part of the story.

Having everyone together was wonderful. Planning, preparing and serving all that food turned out to be a little too much for me. My boys love to eat and they like good, plentiful food. Luckily they have inherited my slim husbands genes and they don't have to watch their weight. I'm pretty sure they will stay that way because my husband still has the same size waist as when we were married and it's 31"!

I think I've told you  that I like to cook and entertain and so I did. I grilled chicken for sandwiches and panini's. Carmelized onions and peppers for the hot sausages. There was some homemade pesto, grilled shrimp and peach skewers, filet mignon wrapped in bacon, salad with fresh lettuce from my garden, pasta with fresh tomatoes and basil in olive oil and on it goes. Sure you might say there was plenty of things that I could eat. I don't eat red meat, but there was shrimp, chicken and the salad . So what went wrong?

 I had my regular BFC breakfast everyday, but then started on that slippery slope. I managed to hang on pretty well until happy hour.  Then it happened. A few crackers here with the cheese, some tortilla chips there with the homemade guacamole and salsa, a scoop of pasta with the grilled shrimp and I think you get the idea. I even let a slice (albeit very small) of cheescake ( heaven forbid!!!) inadvertently cross my lips. I swear I didn't mean for it to happen.  I really  didn't secretly plan for it to occur! I was chatting, and slicing, and serving, and I just sat down and ate it without even realizing it. I really felt like I had the sugar thing under control and I wasn't even craving it. It was just an old habit that reared it's ugly head! Serve everyone else, then serve yourself!

So Monday dawns and I say, when you know better you do better. I got right back on track and I put the past behind me. It's the only thing one can really do.  I went in the wrong direction, and I don't want to go that way. Get back on the path I tell myself, with the plan, and head towards my destination. It may take me a little more time but I want to get there and so I will. Put one foot in front of the other!

I hope all of you had a wonderful weekend. Until next time....Work hard, play nice, be kind. Go to your destiny! Fear nothing! ( except maybe pasta & tortilla chips!!)

Thought for the day:
"We have to do with the past only as we can make it useful to the present and the future" - Frederick Douglas

What's exciting me today:
*Took a long walk with Roscoe. We both needed it!
*My son helped me with my office paper work so it lightened the load.
*My pepper plant has baby peppers!
*Saw a robin enjoying the fountain in my perennial garden.
*Enjoyed watching my grown boys laughing and reading some of their handwritten elementary school stories from their keepsake boxes.

PS: Helen, where did you go? I enjoyed your blog and went to get your protein shake recipe today and you were gone. Come back!

A picture is worth a thousands words!

Good day all!  I forge on and again thank you for all your positive comments. Checking in on a daily basis really helps me. Had a few rocky days where I didn't plan well, but I hope it hasn't derailed me too much and as another day dawns, I start fresh.

You know when I was searching the thousands of photos of have stored on my computer, and trying to find a good one of me for this blog, I was having the darndest time finding one I liked, one that made me look "good", or at least my version of good. This one made my neck look wrinkled, that one made my face look puffy, or God forbid, this one made me look pregnant (or wait maybe that was just the shirt I tell myself!). Hundreds of photos and very few made me happy.

People used to always tell me, way back in the day, that I always took a nice photo. I think I was just lucky, but I did have some nice shots of me with family and friends, at weddings and picnics. What happened?  I can't blame it on the cameras. They have gotten better over the years and capture eveything in digital clarity. Can I blame it on the photographer? Are they supposed to tell me, step aside Pattie, you won't look good in this one! Who would do that? So I can only say that what you see is what you get. I look the way I do, because I look the way I do. If I'm not happy about it, a better camera, more cooperative photographer or even artful editing ( I'll just cut the photo off at my neck!) isn't going to give me the photo I want.

Three years ago, my mother lost over 40 pounds on weight watchers. It worked for her and she has kept it off. I have my desktop computer in my office on screen saver. It flashes through my photos and  many moments in my life. I see a happy vacation to Italy with a large family group, pictures of birthdays, weddings, and graduations and just everyday glimpses of wonderful family memories. However, time and time again, I see photos of my Mom pop up at her larger weight. I can't believe it's her. She looks soooooo much better now, younger, happier more vibrant. It never fails that when I see a former photo of her, my mind has a hard time remembering her that way. In three years my memory and perception have changed so much. She seems so tiny now. Where her wrists always that small? Didn't she always have big boobs? So much has changed about her, and for the better. She's happier too. I see lots of great photos of here beaming with her family.

So from here on in, I want every picture of me to look better than the one before. This will be another bonus benefit of losing weight, and I won't feel embarrased to see myself on someone elses facebook wall or screensaver. When my son walks down the aisle to get married next July, I am going to seek out that photographer and get some wonderful family shots that I can be proud to be seen in. Ready, set, smile!

Have a great rest of the week everyone. I'm heading to the Jersey shore early Friday ( no, not the 'Snooky' and 'Situation' Jersey shore. Our town is  very small and much quieter!) so I may not get to post until Monday. There may be no time with all the reading, dozing and relaxing I'm planning to do on the beach! All of my boys will be down, along with one fiancee and one lovely girlfriend. It will be the last time I see my oldest until August as he is leaving next weekend to continue his internship in Chicago. He has been in New York the last three weeks, so thankfully trains run between New York and where we are.  Planning to cook alot this weekend, and although all the boys in my house, including my husband, are long and lean, they all try to eat healthfully and work out. Planning on grilling lots of goodies that we can all enjoy.

Goodbye for now. Work hard, play nice. Go to your destiny! Fear nothing! ( not even the cameras!)

Thought for the day:
"Picture" yourself in a better place and at your ideal weight!

What's exciting me today:
*Had a good time out out with friends  last night. It's usually sushi Wednesday, but we're switching it up this week and going for tapas Thursday. Lots of small plate choices so I can follow the BFC and I promise no paella this time!
*My gardens are beautiful and dewy this morning after a long rainfall last night. So pretty and fresh. Picked lettuce and herbs this morning for the weekend.
*Getting away for the weekend to see the ocean and smell the salt air!

Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery!

Good afternoon everyone. I hope wherever you are the weather is as beautiful as it is here. I've had a hectic day today, but I really want to try and write something everyday if I can. I have so many thoughts in my head, and this is a great place to let them flow freely.

I know I've told you how so many of you BFC bloggers inspire me and give me new ideas. Ideas about what to do, how to think, how to act and of course how to eat! I am trying to glean as much of this advice and ideas, and incorporate them into my life. I am paying attention to what you are doing right and trying to imitate that.

 Today Helen, on her blog, took alot of time to fill me in on a few things that her other followers already knew about her routine. She explained cardio on autopilot and her breakfast shake and I just know she will tell me what glok means soon! Rosalie has shared so much information and Katy, Dawn, Kay have inspired me too. Forgive me if I miss anyone. I am so appreciative for all the advice, kind words, genuine caring that I am feeling through this blog and your own blogs. It's a beautiful thing when strangers can reach out and help others, lend support and show concern. Okay, I'm getting sappy now, but I mean it.

I started thinking today about why every magazine cover, every diet book, or television show about dieting features real people to make their point. It's not just the nutritionist or book author giving you their plan for success, they always feature real people too.  It means something more to me when I see a real person featured with their story, because now everything is believable and real. When an ordinary person  changes their life, you realize that you can too. ( and ladies you are anything but ordinary, but I mean non celebrity or movie star when speaking here) . Jorge can write all the books he wants, but seeing his plan working in the lives of real people is what really sells me on the BFC way of life. Plus I feel better too with all the sugar and artificial stuff out of my diet.

 So I'm realizing that  if I pay special attention to what another person is doing right, and imitate what they are doing, things may go well for me too .  I hope to imitate all of you "losers" and be the ultimate copy cat!

Bye for now - "Work hard, play nice, be kind. Go to your destiny! Fear nothing! (well maybe sugar and artificial sweeteners!;)

Thought for the day:
Program yourself for success. Be willing to work for what you want!

What's exciting me today:
* Gotta go with the weather again!
*Watching my dog twitching and moving while he's asleep. What dreams he must be having!
* Realizing that I had too much going on today to have my in laws over for dinner so I didn't invite them as I   had wanted to this morning. Rather than feeling guilty ( and tired after preparing a special meal), I feel happy that I gained some time for me. I can have them over next week!
* my scale was down anothe pound this morning. Not an official weigh in, but still excited me!