[Jody]

Our weather has been the pitts all summer.  Quite cool (low 70's) and very high humidity, both of which are very unusual for this area (southern Wisconsin.)  For weeks we've had nothing but rain and more rain.   [xx(]  Spring was very late this year, and now fall and winter are at least a month early!  [!]  We actually had snow fluries in early October.   []  I moved back to the mid-west 'cause I missed the seasons, but this is ridiculous!  Ok, I admit we had a beautiful weekend (mostly sunny and almost 70!!) but today it's cloudy again, 29 degrees and fluries.  Yuck.  (I wonder if they'd let me put a fireplace in my cubicle?  Hmmmmmmmm.....)

[sandballer]

Ok.  I've made the decision to change my bad habits, and to really work to be a healthier father and husband.  I have a couple of questions, though.  Is the orange and pineapple smoothie the same as the "fat ripper smoothie" that is mentioned in the food preparation section?  Also, I'm not a vegetable person, so if any of you can offer any good recipes for my vegetables, I would appreciate it.  I plan to start on Monday.  I've still got to go to the grocery to get everything I need.
Thanks in advance for all of your help.  I look forward to chatting with all of you through this adventure.

[moonfire]

Welcome Sandballer...that smoothie is good...but couldn't keep up with it...Veggies are an easy add to chicken and pasta dishes...Let me know and I can throw a recipe at ya

[Karen W.]

Big Welcome Sandballer!! enjoy the forum, there are many threads to dip your toes into, please feel free to explore!!

HELLO LORETTTTTTTTTTTA!!! I MISSS YOUUUUUUUUUUU!!!

 Hello everyone Miss you all TOOOOOOO!

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND EVERYONE BE STRONG!!

[Karen W.]

Alright if anyones interested, I posted me new piccy in the zeta thread!

[moonfire]

Yes, forgive me for writing in that posted area...here is where I should've said that...as that one is for pics...looking good girlie...I miss you too...

[Karen W.]

Miss you tOO loretta, How you Doing. Thanks so much.. I can't believe I did it! I reread the instructions.. The hardest part was finding my pld password for photobucket!LOL

[neilep]

Karen,

You are the mother of this thread and the inspiration to us all.

can I ask you, how do you combat the hunger ?

Were you a constant nosher before ?...do you still take the zetas ?..or is this down to will-power now ?

107 lbs !!...AMAZING !!!

[Karen W.]

Both, not like I should be but both,.. I have managed to take them before breakfast and lunch.. sometimes dinner, but lately the I have been more or less cutting back.. I still have them and am going to stick to it! I think I have managed to finally figure out the right portions.. that's the biggie..

How do I combat the hunger and was I a what snacker..oh nosher.. nope, but I am now... I have a snack like cashews or carrots and dip. or I just wait, and stay busy on here... I do however have way less Ice cream, as I love ice cream, chocolates my favorite, then Black Licorice!! Yummmy! I do not eat diet foods, I eat what I know is good healthy foods, just alot less then before.. that has been the hardest part!! Getting the proportions right!

You all are the reason I have made it this far.. You are a great support team!!! I love you all! I still have a long long way to go.. I figure 93 lbs give or take a couple depending on how I feel when I get there..

[moonfire]

Snacker now on healthier treats...dried fruits, dates, raisins, mangoes, pineapples, nectarines, blueberries, and trail mix....yep, easy to get to rather than a meal sometimes..

[kkeegs]

HAPPY MONDAY EVERYONE!!  Mine started out terrible.  I woked up about 10 min. late which got the kids up 10 min. late and my son had some homework to fix in Math (I didn't check it until after he was in bed last night - my mistake).  So we were really running late and I take them to school because it is only 3 mi. down the road from us.  So needless to say - we were hustling.  My son started getting kind of mouthy saying that we are late because I didn't check his homework sooner (which actually he was right - because he set it out for me at suppertime) and I got mad because he shouldn't be talking to me like that (he's 10) so I yelled at him and when I dropped them off - he looked so sad.  He did say by and that he loved me but I can't get out of my mind how sad he looked.  I now feel so bad for what I said to him - because I handled it wrong.  He should not talk to me how he did but I should not have yelled like I did - especially when I knew he was right - if I would have check it last night he would have fixed it before bed and we wouldn't have had a bad morning.  So now I'm sure he is laughing and fine at school and I will be thinking about it all day long!!!  Kids make you feel so much guilt don't they???

Anyway - thank you to everyone for sharing your weather with me.  I always wonder what it is like in other locations.  One of my sisters lives in New Zealand and their seasons are the exact opposite of ours.  Right now we are in fall and she is in Spring.  I just think that is so neat.

Carolyn:  Where are you from again?  I don't remember but it must be nice to have temps in the 70's.  I still have so much I need to do outside that needs warmer weather and we won't get warmer anymore. []

Josefina:  What are your normal temps for this time of year in Portugal?  Do you have a change of seasons?

Jody:  Where in Southern Wisconsin do you live?  Joy was from Wisconsin also!  I have been to Platteville, WI (sp?) a long time ago.  We had friends who got married and lived up there while the guy was going to college there.  We would take weekend getaways and stay with them.  It is right by the Iowa border I believe because we used to go into Iowa too.  It was a lot of fun.  Also - you made me laugh with the fireplace in cubicle thing!  That was cute!  We have a fireplace and I have been bugging my husband to get it ready - we have a gas starter and the pipe is shot so he needs to make a new one.  We usually have to replace it every year along with the grate that holds the wood because we burn so much.  Last year we basically heated our house through the fireplace but we are scaling back this year because it is so messy.  It has been cold enough on days here in Central IL that I have really missed it!

Karen:  It is so weird that you have frost and low temps in CA - I guess I figured you were really warm all year around!  Also - what a nice picture of you.  You look beautiful in that dress.  I can really see a difference - you have done great - and now your in the home stretch.

Sandballer:  Welcome to the forum!  We are here to support you.

Joy:  How are you?  I miss ya!

Well I guess, I'd better go - I have lots of work to do.  Mondays are the worst because I have to play catch up from the weekend!

Take Care!

Kelly

[kkeegs]

MONDAY MORNING WEIGH IN!!!!

Kelly:  11 lbs. (lost 3 this week!!!)





I almost forgot to post this.  It was a good week!  I have 51 lbs. to go.

[JOSEFINA]

Hi Kelly,
congratulations! You are doing good! Yes, we do have a change of seasons, right now we're in the fall. Temperatures have been higher than usual though. We don't get any snow in the winter, almost any spring now and very hot summers! Today the temp. is 18ºc.
Have a good week everybody!
Josefina

[Jody]

Good afternoon, Sweeties!  I did NOT have the nerve to get on the scale this morning.   []  I ran out of fentermine last week, and it took until Saturday for me to get anything else.  I had to settle for "Herbal Fentermine" due to problems with internet companies.  The first one from which I ordered prescription fentermine called my regular doctor to approve the order, which she promptly refused.  Honestly, if my doctor would write the prescription, why would I be paying a premium to get it on-line?  Idiots...   []  The second place I ordered from had their own doctor to approve the prescription, but were having "shipping issues" and didn't know when the order would actually get filled.  So now I'm working with the herbal stuff.  The jury is still out, but it's only been 2 days.

Kelly - I live in Racine, Wisconsin, which is right on the Lake, just a few miles north of the Illinois/Wisconsin border.  Where are you?

(BTW, I know I'm not spelling "fentermine" correctly, but it's the only way I can avoid that "black-listed URL" message.  Weird, huh?)

[moonfire]

The scales runaway from me when they see me coming...i think it is hiding in my closet

[kkeegs]

Josefina:  Thank you for your kind words and you have the change of seasons at the same time as we do it sounds like.  Our temps are also around yours with 55°F being an average temp in IL right now.  In the summer we get into the 90°F's.  In the winter - we used to get a lot of snow but now we don't get as much.  We used to have blizzards which we really don't get anymore.  I like winter when there is snow - it really makes it pretty.  I don't like winter when it is cold and dreary everyday - which is how it has been here lately.  No color because all of the trees lost their leaves.  We have a lot of farm ground in IL - a lot of flat land - which has now all been harvested so we really lack color.  Just dark tones.  I can't wait for either snow or Spring!! []

Jody:  I actually live out in the country - on top of a hill - with the nearest house being about a mile down the road.  Our nearest "towns" are actually villages.  They only have anywhere from 200-500 people! The nearest city would be Peru, IL.  I live kind of in between Chicago and Peoria with Peoria being closer to me.  It would take about 3 hrs. for me to get to Chicago and an hour to get to Peoria.  I've heard of Racine - I don't know if I've ever been through there though.  I'll have to look on a map!  The school that my kids attend is a consolidated one with all of the small "villages" in our county combined.  There are usually 3 classrooms per grade with about 25 kids/class.  So there are about 75 kids in each grade.  Kind of sounds like we are out in the middle of nowhere - doesn't it?  Come to think of it, the county I live in doesn't have any stop lights at all!  There are only stop signs!!  It's great because you get to places so much quicker than in "town"!  I love living out here though - I wouldn't trade it for anything.  We do put a lot of miles on our vehicles though.

Is anyone watching "The Biggest Loser"?  I just caught up on last week's episode and was so mad that Pam got voted off!  She was my favorite of the girls.  I cannot believe how much weight they lose and how quickly.  It surprises me because a doctor supervises them and you would think that they are losing so fast that they would have a lot of excess skin to deal with.

I have recently tried silken (soft) tofu in a smoothie.  I had heard that tofu takes on whatever flavors it is put with and that you cannot even tell it is in something.  My daughter is basically a vegetarian and I am always trying to get more protein in her so I made a Strawberry Banana Tofu Smoothie.  It has strawberries, a banana, tofu, apple juice, nonfat plain yogurt, I put splenda in it instead of honey and I added some frozed peaches along with ice.  It was delicious and low in calories too.  It is also really filling.  All of us loved it - even my husband!  I have a recipe for Alfredo sauce made with soft tofu that I am going to try - it really knocks out the fat and cals.  I was wondering if anyone has tried the firm tofu and what it is like?  I think I read that you can cut it into chunks and add it to dishes.  Does it take on the flavor also or what does it taste like?

I'm really having a hard time coming up with creative suppers that are low in calories and healthy.  I feel like we eat a lot of chicken.  I buy really lean ground round it is about 95/5 but I don't usually know what to do with it.  Any ideas?

Well, I'd better get started on my work for today! 

Have a Good Week Everyone!!!

Kelly

[Jody]

Kelly ~ The area where you live sounds like a fairy-tale.   [:I]  I'd dearly love to live there, but I'm an accountant (corporate, NOT tax) and there isn't much call for accountants in the country.  Since I like eating regularly and living indoors, I guess I'm stuck with "town."  [xx(]  I'm really jealous, though!

[Jody]

The scales runaway from me when they see me coming...i think it is hiding in my closet

Loretta, you are just TOO much fun!!  []

[moonfire]

Kelly, yes, tofu does take on the taste of many foods...it is a good resource for filling and protein...excellent  idea with the smoothie...I am trying to think of using it in an alfredo sauce...you have to whip that creamy texture smoothly to avoid clumping...hmmmm let me know how it goes...

Thanks Jody...I have weird thoughts that I have to share with all of you...oh, sorry I subject you too..hehe

[Karen W.]

HAppy Wed. Everyone!