buslady

hI ALL, I hope it is mostly water and will magically disappear. I like the comment above about, no plan is a plan to fail. That is my problem, maybe. I am not on any kind of diet, just cutting back on portions and leaving the sweets alone. Just downloaded a program to my NOOK, hope to use it to help me. It tracks calories, exercise, etc. Looks pretty interesting. I CAN DO THIS!! There was some discussion earlier about the any different plans and and results. Story. About 25 yrs ago I went to weight watchers. Lost 45#. 2 yrs later it came back and brought about 20 of it's closest friends. So, about 8 or 9 yrs ago, I went on the Dr. Atkins diet and lost 75#. Again, it came back and brought even more friends. I'm tired of this party and I am going to win this battle!! I know that I will have to take much less high blood pressure medicines and less medicines for my arthritis! It is a winning situation. All I needed was to set my mind to it again, and the encouragement of friends and family. Thank You All.

Everose

Greetings everyone! I made it through without bacon. But it was hard. Love to have basted eggs with bacon for breakfast. Love the smell. Now I am going to make cooked cabbage with bacon for Mom this week. DH is out of town so will have some of the things that he doesn't like as much.

Pam, really would like to hear more about the stew. Love to cook big pots of things and then graze on them instead of always thinking of something to cook for supper. The cake also sounded wonderful.

Just came back from having an adjustment on my back. Must have pulled something while helping Mom or when I was pushing her wheelchair. Feel better but must take it easy today. Glad the laundry is done and the bedroom is cleaned. No I can find that book and sit and read while Mom is napping.

This picture is my wonderful hubby and daughter in Hawaii. Meg wanted to celebrate her 21st. with us in Hawaii. So I thought any child that wants to be with her parents, why not. I am now 15 # lighter and working on the next 15. Feels so good to be lighter, mentally and physically.[ATTACH=CONFIG]321288[/ATTACH]

purplemem

Wow! Love the pic in Hawaii, that is my dream location, I want so much to see the flowers.

I just had the most amazing lunch. I made a blackberry vinegrette dressing, ingredients are 1/4 cup mashed blackberries (I used s/f frozen), 2 T red wine vinegar, 1 tsp mustard and mayo and one sweetnlow or any sweetner to taste.

Salad was green leaf lettuce bed, then 1/4 c chickpeas, 1 ounce walnuts, 2 ounces tuna packed in water, cucumber and the rest of 1 cup of blackberries. Pour the dressing over all and enjoy. Was the best salad I think I have ever eaten.

Calories? 62 for blackberries 0 ww pts
182 chickpeas 0 ww pts
90 tuna 2 ww pts
100 walnuts 3 ww pts
30 mayo 1 ww pt
free cucumber and lettuce

so, 6 ww pts, 464 calories and very filling, was really awesome! 4 protein and 1 carb and 1 fat

meanmom

Buslady I think we have all been going to the same diet party with you. I have been gaining and losing the same pounds for years. And their friends keep coming to stay too. I am off the party this time and I wont allow any more pounds to stay. I am going to succeed this time.
Mj the salad sounds delicious. I will have to try it as soon as I finish my WW diet. I am losing but I am hungry. I have also made a white chocolate viniagrette that is really good.
Lets all get off this diet rollercoaster and Get rid of the weight for good.
Pat

purplemem

Pat,
If my recipe doesn't fit your WW diet then we definitely were on a different diet. The most challenging part for me is the self-discipline, not the menus. I find I get really lazy and pick up the first thing in the kitchen. Unfortunately, that is usually my husband's snack foods, not my healthy ones. I did put a bowl of apples in the middle of the table for munchy time.

purplemem

This may have been obvious to everyone else, but I just found this tonight!

If you mix Ranch dressing mix with fat free Greek yogurt, you have a high protein, fat free ranch dressing that is delicious and filling. I did this tonight and only used about 1/4 of the dressing packet. I like a lot of dressing on salads so this free-bie was divine for me.

Pam H

The ranch dressing sounds like a good idea. If only there was a ranch mix without msg....
Here's the recipe for the stew:

TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE STEW

1 1/2 cups=5 points +

1# ground beef or turkey
1 bag coleslaw mix
1-46oz can V-8 juice
1-28oz can stewed tomatoes
4-10oz cans Rotel (tomatoes with green chilies
3-15oz cans of beans (1 each of black,chili,kidney)
1 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic minced
1 pkg dry Italian dressing mix

Saute onion and garlic until tender. Brown the meat. Cook all ingredients in a large stock pot for 1 hour. To reduce sodium, use reduced sodium V-8 juice. To reduce spice, use diced tomatoes instead of Rotel. Freezes well.

I use store brand instead of Rotel - 2 cans spicy, 2 cans mild.
I use a whole head of cabbage instead of the bag of coleslaw mix.
I figure mine has 4 pts instead of 5 since the cabbage makes the kettle much fuller.

Maggiemay

I have lost & gained most of my adult life too, but mostly gained! I did lose 25 lb on WW 10 years ago & didn't keep it off all that long- 3 or 4 years. I have consistantly gained 3-5 lbs a year over the past several years & here I am. For my size (5'2") I should lose 40 or so lbs to be at a healthy wieght but I am taking that in small increments. I definately need a plan. I started out the 1st of this year trying to cut down & make better choices & that didn't really work for me. I started using MyFitnessPal & seem to do better when monitoring my calories. Is that what you are using Buslady on your Nook?

What a nice family photo Everose! I know what you mean about out kids still wanting to spend time with us! My daughter is coming home for spring break the first week in April & spending it at the beach with us. My older son is coming for a few days so it will be all of us- always a good time.

I just bought a carton of plain Greek yogurt so I'll try the ranch. I usually mix ranch with plain yogurt for a vegie dip & sust bought the some of the Greek kind. I never thought to thin it out & have it on my salad. I like a lot of dressing on my salads too. Kraft Fat Free Ceasar Italian is one of my favorites- really tasty & low cal.

Here is the Strawberry Upsidedown Cake I made this past weekend that Irishrose asked me to post- It sounds like the recipe you already have

2 cups crushed fresh strawberries
1- 6 oz package strawberry gelatin
3 cups mini marshmallows
1- 18 oz yellow cake mix, prepared as directed

Preheat oven to 350 & grease a 9 x 13 cake pan
Spread strawberries in pan, sprinkle with the gelatin powder & top evenly with marshmallows
Prepare cake mix as directed & pour on top of the marshmallows
Bake in preheated oven until toothpick inserted neat the center comes out clean- 40-50 minutes
Cool the pan for 15 minutes & run a knife around the sides to loosen & turn out on to a serving tray
Store cake in the refrigerator.

12 servings, 290 calories each. I made my pieces smaller so less cals!

This came out of the pan much easier than I thought. Make sure to mash the strawberries so they release some juice so the jello has something to work with. It was really good. I guess the marshmallows were to keep the strawberries from seeping into the cake- You can't tell they are in there after the cake is baked.

jlwheart

Hi all, I had success & finished my self-binding receiving blanket. I used Mo Star Quilt tut and it helped so much. Hardest part was getting to the project. I'll work on posting pic. Food's going well but struggling to get exercise in my day. I'm still not moving enough. Made a commitment to work out Wed am. Also found out about a special healing/movement group in Duluth working with form of Tai Chi. I'm going to check it out. I'm going to a retreat and they asked for homemade items for bingo prizes. I'm torn between mug rugs, mug caddies or potholders or ?. I don't want to make them too involved or expensive as I've crocheted a full size afghan for a prize already. I'd appreciate your thoughts on what might be best prizes. What would you like to win as a bingo prize? I'm truly stumped here.

irishrose

Pretty potholders would be my choice, though if I were still working, I'd like a mug rug.

That's my recipe exactly, though I have to leave out the strawberries and use just rhubarb. The person I make it for can't have seeds. I think the marshmallows are what gives it the pretty shine and they certainly add sweetness to the rhubarb. If I ever get this weight off, I'll grab a GF mix and make a strawberry one for me.

My weight loss story is different from most. Too thin as a child. Just right though on the slim side as a teenager, then years of having to overeat to maintain 123 pounds at 5'8". I was down to 106 after my first baby. I needed 8000 calories a day not to lose weight. They didn't do for much for overactive thyroids in those days. In my 30s, I weighed in the 130s which was just right - then the thyroid burned itself out and the weight gain started. I can only have minimal thyroid meds because of the lupus. 140s in my 40s. 150s in my 50s, then all h--- broke out. I was two years in a wheelchair with extensive foot surgeries, I blew several disks in my back and my now ex- husband took up gambling big time. I hit 201 pounds about the time I decided he had to go. 44 years of marriage down the drain and all but the last few were wonderful. We were everyone's ideal couple, though most our friends didn't want five children. I gradually lost down to 165-70, but with my health issues, that's too much, so I have fighting these last ones for quite a while. 20 down and 10 ish to go. For me passing 200 was a wake up call. When my SIL was dying 2 1/2 years ago, I worked mornings and sat in the hospital until late evening (or in the car - it was an hour drive) and my weight went up quickly, but life happens. I belonged with my daughter at that time. I was on steroids for an autoimmune skin disease then and those will put weight on me instantly and it's not weight that comes off quickly or easily. My story may be different, but the result is the same - excess pounds.

It's going to be 85 tomorrow - 40 degrees above normal. I'm not going to switch to the air because I know this will reverse soon. My big dog is suffering - she's such a drama queen - it's the Siberian blood. Tough.

Does anyone sew on more than one machine? I have been piecing on my 301 which threads right to left. I was using my Elna for the applique and I couldn't thread the needle - duh, it threads front to back. I made the HSTs on the 15 clone and it threads left to right. There's no hope.

It's almost three. I guess I'd better go to bed in case my neighbor wakes me up at 8:00 to borrow some dog food like she did today. Borrow, no, I won't see it but it doesn't matter. I wouldn't want her dogs to be hungry and I probably don't use the kind of food she buys. Lily and Moira aren't fussy, but I am. I wish someone would control my diet the way I do theirs.

Goodnight, all. I AM getting healthier and losing weight.