Weekly Workout Thread 15th Jan till 21st Jan

[TravelingGal]

I'm still throwing that fairy dust your way Rod!

Kimberly, I'm with you. I am using the packets I get from costco, and they are very small portions. Even the oatmeal only (no flavors) is 100 calories.

Mara, the oatmeal doesn't keep me full either. This morning I supplemented the oatmeal (apple and cinnamon - 130 cal) with an egg white omelette (60 calories plus 10 cal for the bruschetta sauce I put on top). That 200 calories was able to tide me over for a couple of hours easily.

I went for a noontime walk today...parked by a giant hill and walked up and down that hill for an hour. Boy, I was pooped!

Dinner was great! I'll post this in the recipe thread, but I would recommend this dish. The rub for the chicken sounds like it would be very sweet, but it was just a hint of sweetness (I could definitely taste the cumin though). The chicken came out a lovely golden brown as well. This one got a "YummEE" from TGuy. At only 300 calories for 6 oz chicken breast and three tablespoons of the guac sauce, it was very filling! We had a salad on the side.

Sauce:
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (I used cilantro as I thought it would go better with the guac theme)
1/4 cup fat-free sour cream (I used "light" sour cream...same calories as fat free, but just a bit more fat. I hate fat free stuff)
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 ripe peeled avocado, seeded and coarsely mashed

Chicken: (you can halve this if you are only making two chicken breasts - I did make all the sauce above though...I could always eat it with something else!)
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 (6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Cooking spray

To prepare sauce, combine first 8 ingredients; set aside.
Preheat oven to 400°.

To prepare chicken, combine sugar, 1 teaspoon cumin, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon black pepper; sprinkle evenly over chicken. Heat a large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add chicken; cook 3 minutes or until browned. Turn chicken over. Place pan in oven; bake at 400° for 10 minutes or until done. Serve chicken with sauce.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 breast half and about 3 tablespoons sauce)

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 301(27% from fat); FAT 9g (sat 1.5g,mono 4.8g,poly 1.3g); PROTEIN 41.6g; CHOLESTEROL 101mg; CALCIUM 76mg; SODIUM 575mg; FIBER 3.6g; IRON 2.1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 12.5g

(note: depending on your oven, maybe just over 9 minutes might be OK. at 10 minutes, my chicken was a little high on the temp side when I inserted my meat thermometer to check).

 

[Mara]

yay congrats rod...hopefully your tampa place sells really soon!!!

i have been daydreaming about some houses we found in NC over in wake forest...but apparently only 20-30 min from raleigh triangle area so kind of the outskirts of WF closer to raleigh area...they are by bergen custom homes and divine!! the one i love is 2900 sq ft and stunning, on an acre of land bordering a forest with all wood floors, beautiful granite and cherry kitchen, the highest most awesome ceilings, lots of windows, etc. for 380k! lol. we could sell our place here and buy that and only have a 100k mortgage basically..which we could pay off within 3 years (i already researched salaries and jobs for us as well). so tempting. anyhow...we definitely want to check it out this may. the idea of moving is somewhat heartbreaking for me but we have to think about ourselves and our 'family' and what we need for the future...to have the best quality of life. we could afford to do so much more if we didn't live in such a backbreaking expensive place, esp as we think about starting a family. so we'll see.

anyhow, we just ate dinner, yum. i kept craving greg's cornmeal crust so he gave me an extra crust, lol and i gave him some of mine.

i seriously want to know what kind of oatmeal DJ is eating. unless it's like 1/4cup which is TINY. i can't imagine staying full for hours on that.

TG that recipe sounds yummy. so fun trying all these yummy recipes..i love food experimentation!

 

[CrownJewel]

I just saw that you guys started a TJ''s thread, and there is one in Manhattan, but so far all I know about TJ''s is that they have a nice $3 bottle of wine, of which I have bought cases. I guess I''ll have to go explore the food on Saturday!!!

Mara do you live in Burlingame? And yes absolutely, next time I visit, I''ll page you and we''ll explore the restaurants!! I''m not too familiar with the Bay area but it''s just beautiful. Half Moon Bay (La Grenada) is amazing, and the fact that they sell fresh fish and crabs off the fishing boats makes my heart pound.

For dinner a friend of mine cooked a Kosher strip (skirt?) steak with just some basic seasoning and a mixed mesclun salad with a champagne dressing. It was very simple, but yummy. I''m guessing that my caloric intake is about 500 for dinner and about 250 for lunch. I missed breakfast this morning. Oh and I had a brownie for dessert (about 150 calories). Not bad.

I''m looking for more steak recipes, as healthy as possible. I have no idea how to cook steaks of any type of meat...so please post recipes! The only cuts of beef that I know well are filet mignon and skirt steak...but I don''t really even know how to cook those.

 

[jadeleaves]

Ok mara I finally got around to making your mac & cheese. When does the truffle oil go in?

Is this like the ''mushrooms'' in the turkey lasagna?

I added the oil into the cheese mixture, and it is now baking in the oven.

I also made both your banana berry muffins and buttermilk blueberry muffins. They are a big hit at mother''s group today.

Yoga was great today, but I didn''t do any cardio before the class because hubby got home late and I didn''t get to the gym in time for cardio.

I will make up for that tmr morning!

 

[Lorelei]

sending out a TON of fairy dust that the super cool condo in Florida sells fast so you can buy the SCC in NC!!! I did an hour cardio yesterday which went very well. I have put on a new tight fitting jerseyish fabric polo neck shirt this morning and I am delighted at how it looks on me - makes all the work worthwhile!

Rod - how is Sakai?

 

[scarlet16]

Date: 1/17/2007 6:48:47 PM
Author: TravelingGal

Date: 1/17/2007 6:46:20 PM
Author: Mara
rosebud, if you JUST gained there, you might lose it!!

nejarb, maybe i will regular noodles next time. i am a just a bit paranoid to use them since they are super thick compared to the no boil and what if they end up hard? i hate hard noodles!!!

Hm...but it makes sense to me that this may work...

But I wonder if they have more calories? The no boil ones were so thin....

We had the lasagna again last night...and my typically slow as a turtle eater of a FI totally gobbled his down so quickly!!! Anyways, about the water. I didn''t add the extra water to the sauce (I think I just forgot). Mine did not seem that wet. And the noodles were fine (in fact they were pretty yummy last night). But again, I used the Ronzoni no boil sheets.

I may try the regular noodles next time as well...I kinda like the thickness of regular noodles.

 

[turtledazzle]

Well, I did end up working out yesterday. Thinking about posting my workout in this thread was very motivating ~ so thanks to all!
I left work a little earlier than normal and went to a 45-minute step class. It was pretty good ~ the instructor is older (I''d guess in her 50''s), but she looks fantastic! She''s very toned, and I want to look like her when I''m her age! Then after class I did 30-minutes on the treadmill at 4mph and a 6 incline. The estimated calorie count was 215 calories -- so about 100 calories less than the Cybex machine for the same amount of time. The Cybex machines weren''t free yesterday, but now I know to use those if they''re free. After my cardio I did some leg presses. I''ve not used the weight machines too much recently, but I''m supposed to do the leg presses regularly for my knee pains. So I did those and then I did some push-ups, back extensions, and ab work on the stability ball and finished up doing a series of planks. It was a really good workout day!

For dinner I made baked ziti (not the absolute healthiest thing, but as I said before I need to go to the store! I did make it with lower fat mozzarella, lower fat ricotta and Barilla Plus pasta, though) and more spinach salads.

Today I woke up super-early for some reason, so I suspect I''m going to be tired later this afternoon. If I don''t work out, I won''t feel too bad as I worked out yesterday when that is usually an off-day. But hopefully I will still workout ~ today is a step circuit class. My super-early breakfast was a packet of low-sugar apple cinnamon oatmeal (Quaker -- 110 calories for those who have been talking about oatmeal calories) made with soy milk, and I added some sliced almonds for a bit more protein. When I make oatmeal this way, it keeps me fuller for much longer than if it were made with water (and I like making it with either soy milk or skim milk as it is creamier). Lunch is the leftover potatoes au gratin from a couple of nights ago, and for snacks I have some baby carrots and a small piece of zucchini bread. Dinner plans may be with my mother ... so that will mean a restaurant somewhere. I''ve been craving hummus lately, so maybe we''ll do Mediterranean.

Hope everyone has a good day, and that those in cold areas stay warm! I just saw on the news that it snowed in Malibu -- crazy! All of this cold weather in CA is going to really affect availability and prices of produce this spring, so the news is telling me.....

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 1/18/2007 8:01:18 AM
Author: scarlet16

We had the lasagna again last night...and my typically slow as a turtle eater of a FI totally gobbled his down so quickly!!!

Hey, turtles aren''t necessarily slow ... tortoises are the slow ones! hahahah

Seriously, with the way everyone has been raving about this lasagna, I am tempted to try modifying it by making it with soy crumbles (I don''t eat turkey). Hmmmm, maybe that would work. Should add it to the never-ending grocery list.

 

[Rosebud8506]

Kim: thanks!! I''m hoping with a little dedication, I can shrink a little in that area!

Mara: i''m going to try the lasagna to make today and sit in the fridge for us for dinner tomorrow. We like to spend the most time at the gym on Friday nights since its pretty dead. I want to try to go, but we''re supposed to get a snow & ice mix here in the mid-west.

Another question that may have come up in previous posts, but what all do you take in terms of vitamins? I only take a one a day multi vitamin. Just curious.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Mara, my oatmeal is the regular plain Quaker oats in the blue and red package. It''s NOT instant oatmeal. But if you put 1/2 cup in a bowl with 1 cup water and microwave it for 3-1/2 minutes it cooks just fine. So really, with all that water, you end up with 1-1/2 cup of food. I used to put brown sugar and slivered almonds on it but I discovered that I like it plain the best.

I''m up 1-1/2 pounds since Monday so it''s a good thing the happy hubby is leaving today for skiing so I can be very good an night foodwise as well as working out!

 

[nejarb]

turtle, what are soy crumbles? I don''t eat alot of meat, and I usu put tofu in my lasagne. I break it (extra firm) up and saute it w/ onions and garlic and seasoning, and this gets some of the moisture out. Then I add it to the sauce, but you could also mix it w/ the ricotta or cottage cheese.

this step of the lasagne production is the most labor intensive and time consuming part. maybe I should try these soy crumbles instead.

about the noodles: maybe the regular ones do have more calories. that makes sense, b/c they''re thicker. that''s why I tried the no boil once, I liked how thin they were. but the finished product just didn''t compare IMO. Mara, the reg ones don''t come out hard or anything like that if you use the right amt of liquid. I never used a recipe to make it, so I''m not sure what that amt is, but you just have to think "if I were a lasagne noodle, how much moisture would I need to reach my full potential?" it''s about 1/2 -3/4 cup of water (or broth) depending on how many layers, thickness of sauce, etc.

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 1/18/2007 9:35:15 AM
Author: nejarb
but you just have to think ''if I were a lasagne noodle, how much moisture would I need to reach my full potential?''

LOL!

 

[royalasscherlover]

DJ, i eat regular old-fashioned quaker oats too, but my box says that 1/2 cup dry is 150 calories, not 75. are you only making 1/4 cup? i don''t know how you get thru the workday on so little food, i think i would pass out at my desk, lol. i tend to eat about 700 calories during the day and then 500-600 for dinner.

Rosebud, i take a packet of emergen-c every day. it''s mostly just vitamin c, but has a few other things mixed in as well, and it seems to help keep me from getting colds and such. my friend turned me on to it - she''s an elementary school teacher and swears it''s the only thing that keeps her heathy among all the little germ machines in class!

i went to yoga last night right after work and that seemed to stop my food binge - i really wasn''t hungry at all afterwards and just made myself half a grilled cheese sandwich as a snack. i figured if i didn''t eat anything i would wake up ravenous this morning. hard boiled egg white with berry muffin for breakfast, black bean soup for lunch, strawberries and a small skim latte for a snack, and probably leftover lasagna for dinner. today is just a strength training day, no cardio, although i''m thinking about doing a pilates video at home.

have a good day, everyone!

 

[Dee*Jay]

Date: 1/18/2007 9:55:12 AM
Author: shortblonde
DJ, i eat regular old-fashioned quaker oats too, but my box says that 1/2 cup dry is 150 calories, not 75. are you only making 1/4 cup? i don''t know how you get thru the workday on so little food, i think i would pass out at my desk, lol. i tend to eat about 700 calories during the day and then 500-600 for dinner.

Hmmm... I don''t know. Unfortunately we buy it at Costco and it comes two bags in a box so once the first bag is gone I throw out the box (it''s so BIG) and just keep the other bag so I don''t have anything to refer to at this point. But I guess I will count it as 150 until we get another box and look then.

OH NO--another 75 stealth calories sneaking into my diet!!!

 

[royalasscherlover]

lol at the stealth calories! the good news is that you''ve still been losing weight, so the extra 75 calories probably aren''t that big of a deal.

 

[sumbride]

Sounds like it''s a good week thus far!

I got 40 minutes on the elliptical in last night, plus 5 minutes on the incline elliptical which I have discovered I DON''T like. I think it''s built for shorter people. The range of motion just seemed really awkward to me. My stride was all sorts of jerky. I didn''t feel comfortable at all. I was thrilled when the regular one opened up! Plus it has a fan on it.

 

[TravelingGal]

Off to a music convention today! Being proactive and going to avoid convention hall food. Have carrots, pineapple, and a chicken salad all packed up...

Have a great day everyone!

 

[ammayernyc]

Well, I''ve been good with gym this week -- gone every day so far! The eating has been okay but not great. I''m so hungry in class but I''m good and don''t eat the cookies and cakes we''ve been making. However, I''ve been binging a little on the nuts we''ve been using. Not perfect, but better than chocolate!

 

[Mara]

okay yes 'regular' oatmeal even plain out of the canister is 1/2 cup with absolutely nothing else is 150 cals. that is why i was like WOAH where is this special 75 cal oatmeal, i want some!! i love oatmeal but i hate the calories it carries....esp since it does not keep me THAT full. i can eat a big bowl of fiber one plus for those same cals and stay full longer. but oatmeal does taste so good. DJ it sounds like you have the calories to spare anyway, but where did you calulcate 75 cal from? all the online things say 150.

well now that the mystery is solved, lol. i did find dreamfields lasagna pasta noodles last nite at the store which i was SO excited about. i think i have mentioned this before but dreamfields is a special type of pasta that diabetics also like, the pasta is processed differently but it tastes i swear like regular ole pasta. it's not wheat but it has more fiber than typical regular white pastas. and it's really good. my girlfriend who is a total pasta and italian whore swears by it. so i have found the penne at the store before but not the lasagna or anything else. i really want the macaroni one too. basically it just adds a ton more fiber and less sugar (pasta has a fair amount of it) than typical pasta so it makes the dish healthier and it's still really yummy. since i don't really like pasta in general anyway, i am all about adding more nutritional value to it in order to eat it. and the calories are like 10 more than 'regular' pasta per serving. so really not a big deal. jazzed because now i can try it with the lasagna which we'll make next week.

tonite i am making crockpot chili but i'm bummed because greg forgot he had a rehearsal for this upcoming symphony thing (he was super apologetic and offered to take me to this fave restaurant of mine tomorrow night, BEFORE he told me he had this secret rehearsal, i was like honey are you okay, do you have a fever?...lol..because this place is pricey and we don't go there *that* often and certainly not just for fun hahah..we tend to take out of town guests there and stuff. anyway, now that i will be all by myself again tonite...(so bored!!) i was like well crap maybe i don't want chili. but i think i should still stick with my 'plan' anyway and make it. though i'm thinking maybe i should make a half batch since i really don't want leftovers....since we are making the chicken soup this wkd (saturday) and i WANT leftovers from that. hmmm. we shall see. i got up a little earlier today so i'd have time to brown the meat.

anyway, breakfast today was nutrigrain waffles with some flax seed and syrup...YUM...i've missed my yummy waffles. i am taking 1/3 cup oatmeal for a 'snack' this morning with brown sugar and syrup. then lunch is chicken and rice soup barring any unfortunate cravings. then for snack i am planning on popcorn, a baggie of fiber cereal mixed with honey bunches of oats, and a banana. we'll see what else tries to sneak in. tonite is chili with some low-fat SC and 2% shredded cheddar on top.

miss amanda, you shouldn't be hungry in class, that is a recipe for disaster! can you change your schedule to eat right before class? not being hungry definitely helps with cravings. or can you take a snack to class with you? think proactively..what might work to keep you full or satiated during class so you aren't starving and also aren't tempted? a tiny piece of super dark chocolate?

everyone keep up the great work!! i am living vicariously through everyone's workout and fitness stories. i did manage to do some leg work last nite (just some squats) and have been doing toe lifts every time i am doing something like brushing my teeth etc..just trying to keep my muscles 'awake' and not let them atrophy into the ground during this time. tonite i am going to attempt another 3/4m walk with portia. that's all kids...have a wonderful day!!

oh and JL..the truffle oil, lol, yes i am not so great at getting ALL the ingredients into the dishes am i? hehe. i added it right into the mixture before it went into the oven but i meant to add it while i was mixing up the cheese into the roux. so really anytime i would imagine, it's just a little oil for flavor. let me know how it comes out! mmmm mac n cheese.

 

[Dee*Jay]

OK, well now I'm feeling like some special kind of stupid because I can't make sense of this...

I went to calorieking.com and typed in "oatmeal." From the choices I picked Breakfast Cereals, Cooked: Oats, regular & quick & instant, cooked, no salt. For 1 cup its 147 so for 1/2 cup it's 74 cals.

But does that mean 1 cup of the *cooked stuff* is 147 cals? If so, then wouldn't 1-1/2 cup be 220 cals?

I just assumed they were using the dry oats to calculate since water has no calories.

Never mind... I'm eating fiber one from now on!!!

 

[Mara]

Date: 1/18/2007 11:10:17 AM
Author: Dee*Jay
OK, well now I'm feeling like some special kind of stupid because I can't make sense of this...

I went to calorieking.com and typed in 'oatmeal.' From the choices I picked Breakfast Cereals, Cooked: Oats, regular & quick & instant, cooked, no salt. For 1 cup its 147 so for 1/2 cup it's 74 cals.

But does that mean 1 cup of the *cooked stuff* is 147 cals? If so, then wouldn't 1-1/2 cup be 220 cals?

I just assumed they were using the dry oats to calculate since water has no calories.

Never mind... I'm eating fiber one from now on!!!

I dunno but that is seriously wrong. Check it on calorie-count.com. Or better yet...the Quaker Oats site has all their nutritional information on it. I have spent some time surfing it and I don't think I found anything less than 150.

I have instant in the pantry. It's 150 for 1/2c. I have organic oats non-instant in the pantry. It's 150 for 1/2c. At work I have instant organic and it's 150 for 1/2c.

I also bought steel cut oats yesterday (man is that container heavy) and it's 1/4c for 150! I read that they cook up to be more filling and larger in size than the rolled, so I guess that's why the serving size is 1/2! I want to try them out and see if I even like them and if they help keep me full longer on a smaller portion. Might totally not work.

ETA here you go: Nutritional Info for regular ole Quaker Oats, non instant:
http://www.quakeroatmeal.com/qo_ourProducts/quakerOats/product.cfm?productid=3

 

[Dee*Jay]

Geez, I have NO IDEA where I came up with this!!!

I know it's only 75 cals, but it makes me wonder what else I'm screwing up... Fortunately a lot of what I eat has the cals on the package so it's not just me going out on some website and trying to figure it out, but still!

 

[KimberlyH]

Morning All!

DJ: I hope you get your Oatmeal calorie counting straightened out! That would be very frustrating.

CJ: I''m digging around for a steak (beef tenderloin) recipe for you that I''ve made a few times with great results. I''ll post it as soon as I find it. I am a steak lover (I am anemic and it''s a great source of red meat).

Rod: Fairydust headed your way. The house we have in escrow is being appraised today or tomorrow and then we''re good to go, so we have dust to share now!

Tonight we''re going out to dinner, if I am feeling up to it. We haven''t been out together in quite some time between illnesses and my being out of town so it will be nice to have a little date.

I''m going to hop on the elliptical this morning and see how long I can hang. I''ll be happy if I burn 1500 calories this week.

Happy day all!

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 1/18/2007 9:35:15 AM
Author: nejarb
turtle, what are soy crumbles? I don''t eat alot of meat, and I usu put tofu in my lasagne. I break it (extra firm) up and saute it w/ onions and garlic and seasoning, and this gets some of the moisture out. Then I add it to the sauce, but you could also mix it w/ the ricotta or cottage cheese.

this step of the lasagne production is the most labor intensive and time consuming part. maybe I should try these soy crumbles instead.

Hi nejarb! Soy crumbles are a nonmeat substitute for ground beef and the like. I''ve seen a few different brands, but the ones I usually buy are Morningstar Farms Grillers Recipe Crumbles or Boca Ground "Burger". I haven''t made a lasagna with them yet, but I do like to use them in chilis and pasta sauces. My FI who is a meat-eater likes them (though I know he''d rather be eating the "real" thing

), so they''re a good way for me to get extra protein in my diet (I do not eat meat other than fish).

I need to start cooking with tofu ... for some reason I have a mental block against using it. Hmmm, another addition to the ''ol shopping list.


Also, I posted earlier that I made baked ziti last night. Well, I actually just calculated the nutrional info, and I''m happy to report that it is fairly healthy! It is about 330 calories per serving with ~19g protein and 8.6g of fat. I posted the recipe in the WWT recipe thread.

 

[KimberlyH]

turtle: That definitely qualifies as healthy! Thanks for posting.

 

[turtledazzle]

Date: 1/18/2007 12:02:56 PM
Author: KimberlyH
turtle: That definitely qualifies as healthy! Thanks for posting.

You''re welcome! Happy to contribute! Since the baked ziti doesn''t have any veggies (well, other than what''s in the sauce), I try to always pair it with a nice salad. We''ve been on a spinach salad kick for the past few months. Of course, I must admit we also usually have a small portion of bread (but I now choose wheat!) with a bit of margarine as well ... bread just goes with pasta. (FI is part Italian.)

 

[KimberlyH]

Date: 1/18/2007 12:07:52 PM
Author: turtledazzle

Date: 1/18/2007 12:02:56 PM
Author: KimberlyH
turtle: That definitely qualifies as healthy! Thanks for posting.

You''re welcome! Happy to contribute! Since the baked ziti doesn''t have any veggies (well, other than what''s in the sauce), I try to always pair it with a nice salad. We''ve been on a spinach salad kick for the past few months. Of course, I must admit we also usually have a small portion of bread (but I now choose wheat!) with a bit of margarine as well ... bread just goes with pasta. (FI is part Italian.)

You''re so cute confessing to your bread! I love bread and incorporate french into my calories once or twice a week because I just love it. We eat some sort of salad (fruit or greens) every night, it''s just part of dinner.

 

[sumbride]

Just wanted to say I love Dreamfields pasta! I actually made some last night and FI had no idea it wasn''t "regular" pasta. We also use Barilla Plus a lot.

We were running a little late on starting dinner last night as it was 8:30 when we got back from the gym. I''d been contemplating turkey meatloaf and a WW recipe for "creamed" spinach but just didn''t have the time so I did my latest quick dinner... It''s not really a recipe, and I don''t have counts, but it was delish, fast, and made enough for like 8 or 10 servings.

1 package ground turkey, cooked with italian spices and garlic and smidge of olive oil
2 cans diced tomatoes
1 box frozen spinach
1 can canellini beans, rinsed
1 box dreamfields penne, cooked and drained
dash of kosher salt and a little more garlic
about half a jar plain tomato basil pasta sauce to make it juicier

We both brought it for lunch today too and we''ll have more for tomorrow. He loves it when I improvise but I was really impressed by the taste and color of this dish. And LOTS of fiber!

 

[CrownJewel]

Kimberly

!!! I was over in the recipe thread and saw your beef tenderloin recipe and I was like, "oh my gosh this Kimberly and on the same brainwave!!" I didn''t know you had already seen my request for steak recipes. And I saw your note at the end about adding the cornstarch to make a sort of "french onion gravy"...mmmmmMM! Sounds perfect! Thanks for posting that! I just have to go find some beef consomme. This week is going to be a Kimberly inspired cooking week. Tomorrow is the lasagna and Saturday or Sunday will be the beef tenderloin. I''m so happy we started a recipe thread!!

Yogurt and coffee and a rice cake for breakfast this morning for 178 calories. (By the way, I sometimes shop through FreshDirect.com and I noticed they have a lot of great nutritional information. I''ve been using that website to calculate some of my calories).

I find myself craving sushi ALL THE TIME. I think I need to take Rod''s lead and schedule sushi once a week. Maybe that will stop my cravings.

 

[Ellen]

OK, I am finally getting back in the swing of things. I was all ready to start and got a bad cold, so it was delayed.

Stocked up at the store over the weekend and am building my minutes up on the treadmill. It feels GOOD. Been away from the healthy side too long.

I am following a different approach than most of you. To try and make a long story short, over the years I'd tried different ways of eating/losing weight. I tried Atkins, and while I loved the results, my inner self knew that type of eating style wasn't right, as far as limiting fresh fruits and veggies. I finally bought Suzanne Sommers book: Eat, Cheat and Melt the Fat Away. It made sense. I picked the ideas I liked from her book, plus previous experiences, plus things I learned from my mom, who's been a health nut for years.

Basically, in a nut shell, it's cutting out fast food, white flour, and white sugar (but there's more to the whole thing), NOT cutting out fat. Suzanne also does some food combining, which I applied to a certain degree, but not as drastic as she is.

I ate that way for a year (and still cheated), and with very little walking (basically in spurts), I dropped about 2-3 sizes. In her book, are testimonials from people who followed her eating style and not only lost weight, but found relief from high blood pressure, high cholesterol, Diabetes, and possibly others I can't think of off hand.

(Another interesting book is The Makers Diet, written by a guy who was near death and basically healed himself through diet. The philosophy is pretty much, the more natural, the better. He gets kind of fanatical in my opinion, but there are definitely points to be taken from his book)

About 6 months into it, I suggested hubby try it. He had high cholesterol, and the doc wanted to put him on meds. I was adamant he not take them, as many have side effects worse than the original problem. Some are down right frightening. I finally convinced him to try what I was doing, saying it couldn't hurt and it might help. He started in July. Every Dec. he has blood work done to check Cholesterol levels and Liver profile. That Dec. his doctor called and immediately asked, What have you been doing? Hubby was like, what do you mean? Doc said, Cholesterol level was down 46 points, other two were where they should be, and his Liver profile was spot on, the first time since he started getting tested. When hubby told him basically what he'd been doing, doc said keep it up. That convinced us that this was the way to go.

I didn't say all this to convert anyone, just throwing it out there, in case someone's reading and thinking, I can't deal with counting calories. There are options.

I don't have a weight goal, but a size goal. When I fit in the clothes I wore two summers ago, I'm done. I'm guessing around 8 lbs.

Off we go....