Christin's Journey to the Beach

[Maralian]

More than 4 inches lost in one week , CONGRATULATIONS! that is a great achievement and your attitude is fantastic, keep going girl!

[ladybugmom]

Thanks! I was stunned to see that many inches gone since last week. I had to recheck my measurements, twice! I really didn't believe the number I was seeing!

Oh, and I know it is silly, but I had to check, I am still where I was yesterday! I kept thinking fluke, random, weird fluke. But nope still there, or should I say still gone!

Had an awesome day yesterday! Took my Grandma on all of her errands and picked up some fresh zucchini, chips here I come! Then I took the kids out on a walk, about 40 minutes at a decent pace. They were pinging off the walls yesterday! Was a little better after walking them all around town. Plus, I behaved and planned ahead for a busy day, I put a roast in the crockpot and supper was waiting when we got home.


Then, had a major munchie attack last night. I have found a new addiction. I like to keep flax bread/muffins on hand. I took a piece out and drizzled a little SF chocolate- what is it, Torani?- over the bread, heaven. It was really moist, sweet, and chocolatey. Fixed my munchies without sliding down the path of no return! I feel like I need to be in CA sometimes--Cookie-holics Anonymous! Hi my name is Christin and I am a recovering Cookie-holic! Whenever I get the munchies like that I always want cookies, but no willpower, none, nada, zero. And, I refuse to put a number to how man cookies I put away on those binges.

Kiddos want pork chops for supper tonight, can't decide how to fix 'em. I am trying really hard not to fix the same thing over and over again. When I first started, my menu was spartan and plain, effective, but kinda crappy in the taste department and lacking in longevity. I restarted and really concentrated on enjoying the process and taking pleasure from the different foods, didn't really lose anything. I am trying very hard to combine the best of both experiences into a workable, sustainable, enjoyable plan just for me. Tweaked my ratios to get a little closer to what worked for me before, but adding in better food and recipes so I enjoy it and can stay with it. I feel a little like a dingbat for not putting it all together before. I know I could have been at a healthier weight ages ago if I would have. Oh well I am a little slow, but I can learn from my mistakes, eventually!

I have also noticed since tweaking my ratios, I am not hungry all the time. I always had the munchies when I was on my previous plan. Constantly reaching for something to nosh on. This morning I had a couple eggs, a bit of zucchini and some turkey bacon. I was always starving less than an hour after a breakfast like that. Feels really good to be satisfied still a couple hours later. Goes without saying, but I will anyway, today will be great, even better than yesterday!

[ladybugmom]

Saw a fantastic quote, "Thou shalt not weigh more than thine refrigerator." I love that! Plus I found a list of pound to object examples. Like a pound is a guinea pig and 5 pounds is a chihuahua! And since I am holding steady at 175, I have lost a chihuahua! And that 5 pounds was just as annoying to me, so the correlation is apt! Wow, I might even lose 2 more of the yappers before Christmas! I would post the list, but some of it was a little, risque might be a good term. But it was funny!


Made a cheesy flax breading to put on the chops last night. I really enjoy mixing my seasonings, a little cheese, and some flax meal in the food processor. It gives it the right texture and consistency to really stick to whatever I am cooking. Piled broccoli on the plate to go with, just wonderful.

Then the munchies. I am not surprised. I went through a period recently where whenever those would hit, hungry or not I would have chocolate or make cookies. I was full from dinner and did not need anything else. So instead of engaging in such stupidity last night, I had a nice hot cup of peppermint tea. That was my last bag though! Shock and horror! I really need to get some more, and maybe another box of honey vanilla chamomile. An even cup of tea is a much better option, but I actually have to have it in the pantry to take advantage of it!

Somebody I haven't seen in a few weeks commented that I look smaller! That makes me feel so good! Then brushing my teeth last night, I suddenly noticed how smooth my torso is looking! I hadn't really noticed before, I have more been paying attention to how I feel and making sure that the scale and/or tape correlate. But there is actually a visual difference! When did that happen?!?! I commented it on to Hubby, he laughed at me, gestured to his favorite parts and said he noticed! He loves me no matter what shape I am, but..... !!

Today I am going to make chicken something or another. But chicken. I found a chicken potpie recipe using egg white buns for a top crust. Sounds intriguing, especially since you know that scene in Fantasia? The one where the fairies dance across the fall leaves leaving them coated in frost? That is what it looks like today! For breakfast today, I think I am going to make hash-browns out of zucchini with my eggs. Today will be great, even better than yesterday!

[Chris55]

Thanks for visiting my journal! I'm determined to stick with it now or I'll be a blimp by Christmas. I love the imagery of losing a chihuahua!! LOL! You made me smile today

Is it already freezing over where you are? Luckily we haven't had a frost yet where I am in Maine, and the tree colors are a few weeks behind due to the warm weather. Not as bright as usual, either. But it's pumpkin and squash season, which makes me happy. I was very happy yesterday at a restaurant when they let me have fresh squash instead of fries. I could eat squash every day. Made a pot of pumpkin black bean soup today - yum! Even my son wanted some - guess I'll have to start making bigger batches 'cause I'm used to having it all to myself!

[ladybugmom]

Morning Chris! Yeah, we are frosted over in the mornings in the Midwest already! Almost all of the leaves have fallen too, but they were beautiful while they lasted. And yes, squash is wonderful. I have some butternut squash soup in the freezer, I pull a portion whenever I am in the mood!



Happy Monday! I cannot believe October is nearly over! What happened? It just started, come to that, school just started and I already have a report card!

Dinner turned out awful last night, did a flax based crust, just, ew! But the potpie filling was wonderful! Oh well, don't know until you try. Then watched the newest episode of The Walking Dead. I am loving having the series back, but boy did I have some messed up dreams! I also got in a full one hour workout yesterday!! Go me, I usually only get 30 minutes in. I am at 2/3 for my exercise for the week.

Dinner tonight I am trying Beef Tenderloin and Dijon Greens. Looks yummy and I have all the ingredients already, well for the most part. I will have to use a different vinegar, but hopefully that won't make too much of a difference.

Here is part of the list I found. I love looking at things differently like this. Have fun today!

1 pound = a Guinea Pig
1.5 pounds = a dozen Krispy Kreme glazed donuts
2 pounds = a rack of baby back ribs
3 pounds = an average human brain
4 pounds = an ostrich egg
5 pounds = a Chihuahua
6 pounds = a human’s skin
7.5 pounds = an average newborn
8 pounds = a human head
10 pounds= chemical additives an American consumes each year
11 pounds = an average housecat
12 pounds = a Bald Eagle
15 pounds = 10 dozen large eggs
16 pounds = a sperm whale’s brain
20 pounds = an automobile tire
23 pounds = amount of pizza an average American eats in a year
24 pounds = a 3-gallon tub of super premium ice cream
25 pounds = an average 2 year old
30 pounds = amount of cheese an average American eats in a year
33 pounds = a cinder block
36 pounds = a mid-size microwave
40 pounds = a 5-gallon bottle of water or an average human leg
44 pounds = an elephant’s heart
50 pounds = a small bale of hay

[ladybugmom]

Yesterday went really well. Got in some more exercise, at 3/3 for the week, but boy do I dislike that Zumba disc! Everything was in Spanish at the beginning, so by the time they got around to translating it was time to speed up and I was lost! I did stick with it to the end, but I had to keep rewinding to get the steps after finally being able to understand the instructions.

On the agenda for today is housework, housework, and more housework! I cannot believe all of the things around the house that need cleaned out and reorganized. The pantry, the closets, the storage area, and the playroom. You cannot find anything in that playroom. But the kiddos get to help with that chore! Maybe I will find all of the missing socks today. There are no matching socks in the kids' dressers. I have finished the laundry and no socks! They have to be in the toy box or something. Otherwise I am literally going to have to pick more up!

It is supposed to get up to 84 deg today! We have been covered in frost every morning, and now 80's, gotta love the weather. But, as a last nod to summer I think I will do a picnic style dinner. Fresh coleslaw, baked beans, maybe oven fry some chicken or make egg salad or something along those lines. We can spread a blanket and have some fun. Today will be great, even better than yesterday!

[JeffInJax]

Zumba starts in spanish? That's interesting...hmm

Glad to see everything is staying on track and housework is always fun (sarcasm) but needed, i actually steam cleaned all the carpets over the weekend, always leaves the house with such a fresh smell. Not to mention seeing all the dirt transformed into muddy water makes me want to do it again as soon as the carpet dries. Glad things are going well for you! Stay strong!

[ladybugmom]

Morning Jeff! I am so happy we don't have any carpet! I always hated steam cleaning.

Well, I slid under the 175 mark today, down to 174.6. Kinda nifty.

The kids really enjoyed their picnic yesterday, unfortunately we had to have it inside! We had 32-35 mile and hour winds for most of the day. It was crazy. You could see dust devils comprised of leaves swirling down the street on a consistent basis. So indoor picnic with a game, still good.

Today is rainy and about 40 degrees colder. Might pull out the trusty crockpot again for supper tonight. Today will be great, even better than yesterday.

[ladybugmom]

It is cold! That brief warm spell definitely didn't last. I was really happy to have a crockpot meal waiting yesterday. Then made some stove-top hot cocoa with milk, a little cocoa powder, and some Torani SF chocolate syrup. It was the perfect finish off to the meal and no late evening munchies.

Stepped on the scale this morning and......173.8! I have dropped 6.2 pounds since the end of September, or one guinea pig and a chihuahua! I may actually make it to 15 gone by Christmas or one house cat and an ostrich egg! What is scary is I eventually would love to lose the weight of my four year old, 40 pounds. I know I can, but it really does help to look at it in small increments. Only 8.8 to go seems much more achievable than 33.8!

Today is girls scouts and the intro to cookie time. Should be really different going around selling cookies. But if the troop sells 135 boxes each, they get to spend the night at the planetarium! All of the girls are really looking forward to that! And, on the plus side, being GF really comes in handy sometimes. I have no interest in eating the cookies, can't even handle anything other than the sealed boxes! Built in willpower!

And I am so proud of my Hubby! He used to weigh about 265. We did this together and he went all the way down to about 230ish, some days a little under, some a bit over, but it was his happy point. He has put about 10 pounds back on, too many sandwiches for lunch and munching Butterfingers for a snack. He caught himself before it went too far, and we really talked about what he could do differently. Like popcorn with that seasoning stuff for that buttery, crunchy snack, and changing his lunch up. All he has to do is have oatmeal for breakfast, a loaded salad at lunch, and whatever I am making for dinner, popcorn, fruit, or yogurt for snacks, and the pounds fall off. Yay for him, but kinda drives me batty!

I found a nifty new recipe for cake! It is not perfectly beachy, but is a much better alternative to a standard GF cake. Instead of about 350-500 calories a slice it only has about 85! It is a little high in fat but low in carbs, calories, and SF. And it is small, only 8 pieces, so even if we all have 2 slices and polish off the cake, it isn't tragic. I always justify having a piece of cake at birthdays, but it really derails me. I have to try this out sometime, and hopefully won't be able to tell the difference.

Plan on making meatloaf for dinner tonight with lots of veggies and either a parsnip or cauliflower mash, can't remember what all is in the fridge right now. Plus my Hubby pulled all of our winter clothes down so extra laundry and ironing, yay! I really despise ironing! I am always a little jealous of the Jetsons. Push a button and it is all done!

Off to start my day and my to do list. Today will be great, even better than yesterday!

[ladybugmom]

It's Friday!!! Hopped on the scale this morning, 173.2!! Down 6.8 pounds since the end of Sept! That is major for me, 6.8 pounds in around 4 weeks, woohoo! Plus I have lost an 7/8" this week, that is 12" total since the end of Sept!!!

Yesterday was really busy. Did some stuff around the house, then headed to my folks. Handled their paperwork and arranged bills and whatnot. Then had to go to the store and get their groceries, stuff my Grandma needed, and pick up some odd and ends for us. Delivered the stuff to everyone, and made it home just in time to pick monkey up from school. Got her started on her book report she has been ignoring all week and had to get dinner going. Just had time to eat, clean up the kids, and time for scouts. Home just before bed time, tucked the monkeys in, and went to go unload her backpack so I could wash lunchbox stuff, and what do I find but homework! Had to get her out of bed to do that. Put her back to bed and finally got to stop. By that time, I was ready to head to bed! Long, weird day.

Today is fairly calm in comparison. Yay!!! No clue for supper tonight, maybe fajitas. Today will be great, even better than yesterday.

[ladybugmom]

I just received a call from my Hubby. Our nephew was killed this morning in an accident. Please, please, please always wear your seat-belt.

[Kyan]

Oh I am SOOOO sorry!!! (((((((((((Big hugs))))))))))

[lakegran2]

me too .

[ladybugmom]

Thanks, it has been a hard week.

We had to travel about 5 hours to get there and stayed for a couple days. It made it a lot easier being around all of the family and saying good bye. We all saw the truck and where the accident happened, left flowers at the crash site. It was one of those roads that it looks like someone followed a drunken snake to make it. It was the middle of the night when it happened and he swerved to avoid something in the road, we think it was a deer. He over corrected and caused the truck to flip and roll. He hated seat belts, and because he wasn't strapped in, was thrown out one of the windows. We were told that they think he was killed instantly, so at least he didn't suffer. It was so hard to see his kids at the funeral and goodbye letters written in bright pink marker. His youngest just turned a year old and slept through the service.

After the funeral hubby and I were supposed to head out of town, stop for lunch, and get going. Everyone asked us to have lunch with them instead. Very small town, one little restaurant, no grocery store, and a gas station. We let the waitress know that I have a gluten problem, she talked to the owner/cook. The owner had never heard of it, didn't want to know what that was, and would not accommodate anything for me to have at all. Not even making sure nothing was on their hands for me to get a drink. I admit, I was a wuss, really just wanted to cry because it was right after leaving the cemetery, and it was just a bit too much. Hubby ate then kept forgetting that I hadn't because he was good and wanted to see the crash site and stay a little longer. I ended up having to wait until around 6 in the evening to get something, after having breakfast at 4:30 that morning. There was just no where to grab anything.

Not doing a weigh in until next week. Hopefully this week will be better.

[Kyan]

You need another hug!!! ((((((Christin)))))))

I think it was very insensitive of the lout not to even make a little effort!! AND - for the record - I WOULD have cried!! It's very stressful to be in that situation and you are already down for the count - and then you are hungry and you feel like you are kicked!

Hopefully you will have a peaceful week and that will help!