weigh in

Weighed in last night - and lost another 2.8 lbs. Now before you think that is some greatness, I must admit that I've been sick for a few days and haven't felt much like eating. Likely, my loss will be less next week.  :)

Hmmmmmmmmmmmmm, advice for this week.....................

Just keeping going. No matter how daunting your weightloss journey seems, just keep at it.  Days turn into weeks turn into months.  And even if you only lose a pound a week, after a year, that is 52 pounds!

Here's a challenge.  Try to get through ALL of halloween without eating even one piece of candy.  Not even one.  Candy (for me) is a horribly slippery slope.  It is very hard to stop at just one and each teensy tiny candy bar your children bring home packed to the gills with fat, calories and sugar.  Check this out: http://calorielab.com/foods/candy-bars/108 and I promise you will have no desire to sneak into your kiddos treat bag.  :)

Have a great day full of good choices!
Stacy

My week...or, the best laid plans...

So much for a craft a day!!  This week has been full of busyness and sickness at our house. The kids have been busy, and I've been sick.  We've done only two more craft projects for Halloween.  I might get to a few more this week, and if I do, I'll post them. 

Here's what we've done so far:
First, I found this gem here: http://www.dltk-holidays.com/halloween/msodajack.htm   We read this book first:

With our newfound dieting selves, we didn't have soda bottles, so we used water bottles.  It fit better with the book anyhow - which was about a little bumpy pumpkin.  This bottle was little and bumpy!  We also used tissue paper for the face, as it seemed to conform better to the bottle.  I think they came out adorable!

 The next book we read was this one:
It's about ghosts who come to dinner, and whenever they eat something, their body turns the color of the food they ate.  My kids have loved this book for years!

When they were done reading, I had them color in a ghost who had eaten their favorite food for dinner.  They also had to give their ghost a name.  Here is Jake's:

and Miss Bee's:

And Lex's:

Pretty simple crafts for a sick mama.  I hope to rally a bit in the next few days and do a few more crafts for Halloween, but we're two crafts behind in our Mexico study for Social Studies - so we'll see what we actually get done.  I'm hoping to be well again soon - being sick really slows me down!

Stacy

p.s. Oh, yeah - I did weigh in last week, and lost another two pounds.  I'll be heading to tops again tonight and will hopefully report tomorrow with another loss!!

Weigh - in Wednesday

Last night was good - I lost another 1.4lbs.  Nothing to be over the moon about, but a loss is still a loss, right?  At my weight loss group last night, we all brought in low cal, easy recipes to make.  I'm excited to try a few new ones. 
Let's see - words of dieting wisdom this week....um....um...I guess I'd just say keep on keeping on.  When you don't feel like it, when you do feel like it, when you have a great day, when you have a bad day, whethere or your kids are awesome, or your kids are being punks...just keep at it.  The weight will slowly come off.  It isn't a race, by any means, and it's taken me seven long months to figure that out.  I can't believe some days that I've stuck with it this long - it's really because of the awesome ladies at my TOPS group. They encourge, they are always there, and they want me to do as well as I want me to do.  That's vital.  I also have a best friend who calls me and encourages me, and tells me I can do it.  I am so thankful for her in my life.
Keep on, keeping on my friends,
stacy

Weigh-in Wenesday and a Milestone moment!

Last night's weigh in wasn't anything spectacular.  I lost 1.6 lbs - but I hadn't gone to TOPS the week before, so really that one point six was over two weeks.  I guess I should be thankful that I lost anything, considering it was Bee's birthday weekend, and we ate ourselves silly on pizza and then Olive Garden.  :)   Back to it today, though - with vigor!

Here's a photo from the party of me - since I've lost a little over half the weight I'm aiming to lose. As of last night, I've lost 67 pounds.  :)   I know some of you who know me in real life are dying to see a shot, and I'm finally at the stage where I'm not embarassed to show one.  So, here's me and the birthday girl at her party this past weekend:

And our milestone...my baby turned 10!  Eek!  Double digits!  I can hardly believe it. I don't know how the time as flown so quickly.  Here are a few fun shots from her special day:

I hope you all have a wonderful Thurdsay!  The sun looks like it is finally considering to come out today.  Looks like we'll spend some time outdoors soaking it up!
Stacy

Weigh-in Wednesday ... and a promise??

I weighed in last night, and lost another 2.4lbs.  Happy day!  I'm feeling great, and jogging on our newly aquired treadmill (thanks again Theresia and Ed) in the morning and at night. My goal is a total of one hour a day.  I'm finally at the point where I am feeling my body change - which seems silly at nearly 70 lbs of weigh loss - but it is finally happening.  I am feeling tighter, more toned, etc.

Let's see - no weight loss advice today, but I did run across a new favorite protein bar.  My regular favorites went out of stock at our local Wegmans, and I can't seem to find them anywhere, so I've been shopping around for a few weeks.  I finally found bars at Walmart that are similar in protein content and calories called Balance Bar Gold.  There is one that tastes (with a bit of imagination) just like a snikers bar. Really.  It's good.  I can eat one of those for a breakfast or a lunch and feel really full until the next meal.   Anyone out there in blog land have a protein bar that they like that is around 200 calories?  I'd love to try it out.  Lots of the ones made for men have much higher calories, because they are looking to bulk up.   Seeing as I am on a quest to bulk "down" I'm looking for lower calories.  :)

Okay, here's the promise - I am now FOUR new hairstyles deep on my camera. I am going to post as many of them as I can in the next two days.  One I was brave and made on my own - the others were copies I found online. I'll be sure to share the links.

I hope you all have a fantastic day.  Think skinny thoughts, and if you are homeschooling, smile at your kids today more than you frown.  It makes everyone happier!
Stacy

weigh-in Wednesday

This is from last week - I hope to have a bunch of posts today as a sort of catch up.  Now that school has started, and our crazy schedule, it is going to be tough to carve out time to blog.  I will, however, make an effort.
So..my first post is to update my weight loss.  Last Wednesday, I lost 2.6lbs, for a total now of 62.8 (I think - my book isn't in front of me at the moment, I might be off a tenth of a pound).  I am half way to my goal, and I'm feeling fantastic.
My hubby has lost just over 20 lbs at this point, and I can really see a difference. Way to go, Stevie D!!

As the weather is turning colder, we've moved our workouts inside, thanks to the help of some friends from church who GAVE US a treadmill.  We were willing to buy it, but they wanted to bless us.  What amazing people!   We've each been jogging on the treadmill each morning and night as often as we can.  It is so much fun to be able to workout indoors.  This morning I jogged for an hour, and went just shy of four miles.  Not too fast, but I'm getting there. It felt good to be able to jog that long without getting winded. I only walked for the first five minues, and five minutes in the middle.  Soon I hope to be jogging for a solid hour without stopping.

Okay, off to clean my house and download some photos. I finally have a few new hair posts and a couple from school this past week.  Life here is good.
Stacy

Weigh-in Wednesday

So...you might have been wondering - why hasn't Stacy posted about her weight loss in a month?  Did she "fall off the wagon"?  Is she gaining weight back?

I'm happy to tell you that no, I haven't.  I'm on track and going strong.  We had a very busy month, and it happened that for four Wednesdays in a row I couldn't go to my weigh loss meeting.  I didn't write my losses here, because they weren't official.  Now they are.

Drumroll, please....tonight I had lost 5.6 lbs, for a grand total of 60.2 pounds!!  Woot!!!  I've hit the sixties ladies and gentlemen!   Doing a happy jig right now, that you can't see, but I promise is jumpy and excited.  :)

So, there you have it. I'm still losing, and looking forward to continuing to lose so that I can get fit into a whole new wardrobe my Christmas.  Speaking of Christmas, I think I'll actually be in the family shot this year.  Won't that be something??

Stacy

Weigh-in Wednesday...on Friday

Life has been busy, and children hoarding the computer because it's been hot and rainy...  I finally have a moment this morning to write.
This week I lost another 1.6lbs, for a total loss of 54.8lbs.

This week at Tops, we talked about our attitudes reguarding out weight loss (or lack there of in some cases) and how it all boils down to our internal dialouge.  How often do we convince ourselves that because of a bad day, or naughty children, or frustrating life circumstances that we might as well consume whatever we feel like?  How often do we decide that we aren't really worth the effort?  We say things to ourselves like "I might as well give up", or "tomorrow, I'll start again tomorrow", or "this is too hard, and chocolate tastes too good", or "I hate how some women can never gain an ounce, it's unfair!".

This week, try to think of a few catch phrases that you can tell yourself again and again with that quiet voice inside your head.  When I first started dieting, mine was, "I don't know if I can do this forever, but I know I can do it today".  Then I switched to, "It's just food, and you are in charge of it, not the other way around".   Others that I say include:

Nothing tastes as good as being thin feels.
You are worth the effort you are putting in.
You deserve to be as good at this (dieting and losing weight) as you are at everything you do for your family.
One day, you won't be fat.  I say that one a lot lately, but the ending is always different.  One day, you will run three miles without stopping to walk.  One day, you will compete in a 5K and place. One day, you will hand in your Lane Bryant card and tell the cashier that you'll no longer be shopping in their store (looking forward to that one).

It might sound a little weird to talk to yourself like that, but it really does work.  Each time you start to think something negative thoughts about giving up, hating your body, or thinking it's just too tough, start to think a positive thought.   Then another. Then another.  Pretty soon, the positive with outweigh the negative.

Think positive this week.  You can do it!!
Stacy

weigh-in Wednesday

I lost another 3.2 lbs tonight, for a totaly of 53.2 lbs lost in all.  Woot!
No words of wisdom tonight - just the update.
:)
Have a good night!
Stacy

Wednesday Weigh-in

Big, exciting, jump up and down news!!!   I lost 2.6 lbs last night, bringing me to exactly FIFTY POUNDS lost!! 
My tip for this week is going to seem to fly in the face of what I said last week about accountability - but somewhere in the depths of my mind, it makes perfect sense.  Last week, I said how important it is to have accountability.  I totally believe that.  Someone, somewhere needs to ask the tough questions, see the numbers and encourage you during your dieting.
That being said, I also believe that you will never lose weight until you are ready to stand on your own two feet. I say this from my own experience.  I tried for ten years to tie my weight loss to another person.  Meeting friends at various gyms, pools or parks to take walks. Joining WW together, eating together, etc.  This is what I realized this time around.  No one is going to do this for me.  Big news, right?   But seriously, only I can decide what goes into my mouth.  Only I can get my butt out of bed in the morning and jog or walk.  Only I grocery shop for my family and plan what meals come into this house.  And there was something really empowering about finding and joining tops on my own.   I didn't have anyone hold my hand.  I just did it.
And each day, I choose to do it again.  Each day, I make the choice that I am worth it, all by myself.  There are days that this is still so difficult.  And I have friends and cheerleaders in my corner to champion me along when I feel like giving up. I feel like I couldn't do it without them, but at the same time - this time around, I know that I can.  Because finally, I'm doing this for me.
I'd love to hear how you are all doing on your adventures.  Drop me a line!
Stacy

Weigh - In Wednesday!

Woo!  I said last week that I'd work harder this week, and I did it!!  I just got home, and I lost 3.2 lbs tonight, for a total now of 47.4 lbs lost.   That is so much fun to write.   I feel so great!

My dieting tip of the week is: Accountability!   Yes!  I have tried dieting on and off in the past ten  few years, and what has stopped me every time is lack of accountability.  When another person (in my case, it's two people at TOPS) knows how much I weigh (yes, the actual scary number), and each week can see if I've lost or gained (because I've stepped on a scale in front of them)- and GASP!, writes it down in a little book...I do better.  Because now I'm not just lying to myself that I'm doing better when I'm really not - now there is proof...each week at TOPS we have to say our name and whether we gained or lost that week.  It's humbling, yes - oh, so humbling....BUT it works.  It really, really works.

So if you are in a rut -and find you aren't losing like you want to be, find someone to hold you accountable.  Tell them how much you weigh, and ideally weigh in with them in the room with you.  Ask them to write down your weight for you each week.  Seriously.  It sounds crazy, but it works.  You know why I think that is?  I'm almost always willing to disappoint myself (what mom isn't?) but I won't disappoint someone else.   Like right now at TOPS, the big deal for me is that I've now been there for 14 weeks, and I've lost every week.  After I weigh-in, there are all these eager faces waiting to see if I've gained or lost.  Granted, I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that if I gain one of these weeks, they will be encouraging and loving.  However, I also know myself, and I know that I'll move hell or high water not to let that happen. 

Want more information about finding a local TOPS chapter where you live?  It's very inexpensive (only one dollar a week) and the accountability is totally worth it.   Check out this site: http://www.tops.org/default.aspx there are lots of useful tools - including a meeting finder.  Let me know if you join, I'd love to add into your encouragement!
Stacy

Weekly Weigh-in

I weighed in last night, and lost another 1.2 lbs, for a total of 44.2 lbs lost.  I'm hoping for a bigger week next week, so I need to dig in a little and work harder. 
At this point in my diet, I need to shake things up a bit in the workout area.  My daily three mile walk/jog has gotten easy, so I found a nearby hill that is one mile straight up.  It's a killer to walk up, and equally as difficult to run down.  However, I feel fantastic after I've done it.
I think this week, I'm going to alternate the two routes, and see what my results are.   My eating will be a little better too - the fourth of July goodies are out of the house- so my goal is to be down at least three pounds next week.  I know I can do it.
I did have something exciting happen this week, though.  For the first time in TEN YEARS (yes, I'm shouting that), I was able to take off my wedding band and engagement ring.   I'm taking them this weekend to be cleaned at a local jewler.  That milestone felt fantastic!!
Have a skinny day!
Stacy

Weigh-in Wednesday

I have nothing exciting in the world of dieting to share, other than to move, move, move!  We had Alex's birthday and Father's day this weekend, and went out to eat twice!!  But...I moved "extra" on those days to makeup for the sinful calories (and soda!!) I consumed.  I found this crazy big hill right down the street from where I live that I can walk up and jog down.  It is two miles total (one mile up, one mile down) but I think I got a better workout on those days than I did with my "normal" three mile walk!

Tonight, I lost another 3.6lbs, bringing my grand total of weight loss to 43 pounds so far!  Woo!!  I'm seeing numbers on the scale that I haven't seen since before Jacob was born.   So, I guess I've finally lost Jacob's baby weight, and now I'm on to losing Alex's.  :)  After that, it will be on to Bridgette's...and then I'll be back to college weight.  Woah. Can't even imagine that.  Let's hope I can keep this up with the Lord's help and my family's encouragement!
Thinking Thin Thoughts,
Stacy

Weigh-in Wednesday

Actually ON a Wednesday. I know, I know, hold your applause.  :)

I lost 2.6 pounds tonight, and am about a half pound away from losing 40 lbs total! 

I don't have any great words of wisdom tonight, so I'll quote one of my dearest, best friends, Jeni, concerning weight loss.

"Shut 'yer pie hole!"

Silly, but great advice. Sometimes, we just need to choose not to eat. Now before I get comments from people thinking I've gone off the deep end, I'm not talking about your main three meals, or even healthy snacks.  But if everyone is going out for....coffee, icecream, pizza, soda, etc. doesn't mean you have to as well.  Go along, have fun - even carry the conversation, but shut 'yer pie hole, and don't eat!  The less non-essential snacking, the faster you'll lose.

Are any of the rest of you dieting? I'd love to hear from you!
Stacy

Weigh-in (not so much on a) Wednesday

So the name "weigh-in Wednesday" sounded so cute to me, and I do weigh in on Wednesdays - so the name will stick - even if I can't get to blog about  it on a Wednesday.

Last week, I lost another 2.6 lbs.  I have officially lost a total of 36.4 lbs.  Woo hoo!

Remember my last weigh-in post about the apple cider vinegar?  Well....yuck.  I couldn't stomach it after the first try.  I felt sick, it tasted horrible, and I couldn't fathom doing it again.  I researched some more, and found that the entire purpose of the vingar was to clean your liver - and that somehow aides in the digestion of food, and thus you lose weight faster.

I also learned that ACV can be bought in tablet form.  I hurried to my local wegmas to look for ACV in tablet form, but they didn't have any.  Then I found another all natural pill called "milk thistle"  http://www.herbal-supplements-guide.com/milk-thistle-benefits.html   and after reading about it more, I was hooked.  It does exactly what the vinegar does for you body, with added benefits such as squelching "free radicals" from your body.  I don't know what that means, but doesn't it sound wonderful??  :)

So, if I have a tip for the week, it is to go buy some milk thistle suppliements.  They weren't too expensive, and the benefits are fantastic.  Even if you don't have weight to lose, don't you want a cleaner liver?  I had no idea how important it was to have a clean liver until I read more about it.

My other accomplishment this week is that I've started to jog.  I walk just shy of three miles each day, and now I do about a half mile of that jogging (I know, it isn't much, but it's a start!).  I think I had written about my new sneakers, the Reebok Easy tones?  Yeah, um. Don't buy them.  I should have heeded the warning bells that went off in my head when I was offered a one year warranty for $30 as I was buying them.  I turned them down, of course.  After one and a half months of walking three miles each day, and then wearing them around the house, etc. the souls of the shoes had worn down so much that the "balls" at the bottom cracked out and deflated.  :(   I loved them, and what they did for my workout, but I returned them today. Thankfully I was still in the 90 day store warranty, so I returned them and went back to my favorite running shoes, Nikes.   No warranties needed there!

I hope your day is fantastic.  Get out and enjoy the weather with your babies!
Stacy

Weight Loss Wednesday (a day late...)

I lost two pounds last week - I've lost about 34 at this point!   Diet is going well...I didn't really do much different this week on that front.  I did, however, change my workout a little.  Instead of walking one mile each morning, I am now walking three.  I like to listen to music or podcasts by Andy Stanley while I walk.   It makes the time go faster - and walking for an hour doesn't seem so daunting when I have something good to listen to.

Last night at our tops meeting, a kops (someone who has lost all their weight) suggested this (her idea, but I found this on a website):

Apple cider vinegar and weight loss

It helps to detoxify the liver which plays an important role in weight loss. There are historical facts that Egyptians took apple cider vinegar for weight loss. Some claim ACV speeds up the metabolism while some claim it burns the calories to reduce appetite. To lose weight just take 2 teaspoons of apple cider vinegar, mixed in water, before every meal.

ACV is also available in tablets and capsules. According to some nutritionists the combination of apple cider with kelp, vitamin B6 and lecithin is much more effective for weight loss than ACV alone.

Although I'm not into taking pills, etc. to lose weight (I'm trying to do this this old fashioned way with diet and working out), I think I might give this a go this week.  I mean, what could it hurt? It has been a little over two months since I've started this diet, and I'm in the mood to change things up a bit.  I'll let you know if it works. I would love to know if any of you have ever tried it with success.  In the mean time, I'm going to continue to do my 1,000 calorie a day diet, workout and drink water like I'm a fish.  :) 

Have a great day, everyone - think skinny!
Stacy

UPDATE - 8:37 a.m.  Just drank two teaspoons of ACV in 8 oz of water.  YUCK!  I had to hold my nose to get it down - and then I ate breakfast right afterwards (carbrite bar) to get the horrid taste out of my mouth. I'm committed to try this for a week, but I might puke in the mean time...it is so horrible!  Maybe next time I'll dilute it a little bit more...I'm fully open to suggestions on this one!

Feeling a little discouraged

I weighed in tonight.
I lost another 4.6 pounds.
That's a total of about 32 pounds that I've lost so far.
In two months.

So why am I down?
Everyone around me keeps telling me that I'm "doing it wrong".
Even tonight, at my weigh-in meeting.
My menu happened to get pulled from the basket (we pull one out each week, and that person shares their "best day" with everyone).   I shared, and they immediately asked me how many calories I had consumed that day.  Mind you - they know I'm counting calories.  It was within my personal goals for the day - but they all kinda jumped on me for how little I ate.  Now before you go on thinking I starved myself - this was my diet for that day:
yougurt with bran buds
grilled chicken wrap with romaine lettuce and mustard
apple slices
ribs (the ones from the last post)
asperagus
It was around 950 calories for the day.  And when I was done eating, I was full! 
Why is it that the american medical association came out with this magic number of 1,200 calories a day being the ideal number for weight loss?  Can't we all be a bit different?  And I get that statistically speaking the faster you take it off, the more likely you are to put it back on.

Each week someone asks me this question: "What will do you do when you go back to eating normally?"
Here's the deal.   I can't.  Period.  I have to eat like this for the rest of my life if I want to be thinner and healthy.  It doesn't mean I'll never indulge - for Pete's sake I ate ribs that day!  But I'm tired of people telling me I'm doing it wrong. Obviously I'm not doing it wrong for me if I'm losing weight.

So here I was, the "biggest loser" of the week, and sorta made to feel like garbage for it, because they all think I'm losing too quickly.  Ugh.   The woman sitting next to me was so sweet, though.  At one point during this time of talking about me (oh yes, they did this for like 20 minutes), she leaned over and said, "don't pay any mind to them. You're doing great.  Keep up the good work. They're just jealous."   It made me smile.  

I'm not going to give up, and all I can do is prove them all wrong. That I can take off the weight and keep it off.   The process in the meantime is going to be long and hard, but I'm up for it.  I've done it for two months now - what could possibly stop me now?

Thanks for listening....or reading...or whatever.
I'm going to bed.
Stacy

Weigh-in Wednesday

I truely love this book:

Really, I can't say enough good about it.  Because I've finally found a diet that is working for me - one that doesn't have horrible restrictions, or deprevations...one I can live with.  I'm learning to cook leaner, which is where this book comes in.

This week, I tried this recipe:

Um, can you say YUMMY???  I know, I know, ribs aren't exactly the healthiest choice out there.  But these ribs were only 400 calories per serving, and one serving was huge.   ( I was only able to eat a half portion) I had never made ribs before, let alone healthy ribs, so this was all new to me.  But the book said that ribs at Outback were over 3,000 calories!  That's more calories in one meal than you should have in almost three days!  Yikes!

I'm calling these the "miracle ribs" because of what happened at my house after they were cooked.  You see,  I have two (out of the three) very picky eaters.  For Bee, it's new textures that make her not like foods. For Alex, it's anything new in general.  Jake eats (almost) whatever I put in front of him. Anyhow, these ribs looked a little freaky to them - with their bones sticking out, and having to eat them with their hands. But when they started to try them - this is what happened...

First, Jacob tried them:

Then Bridgette, upon seeing Jake's reaction gave it a go:

Finally Alexander caved and tried one:

 

This was the reaction from ALL THREE KIDS:

and the end result?

They ate every rib I cooked!   For me, if it is healthier, tastes great, and kids like it too - it's a winner that must be repeated.

As icing on the cake, if I'm able to eat ribs and still lose this week (I'm typing this early in the day, and my weigh-in isn't until tonight) - I'll shout it from the rooftops. I'll update to this post later tonight with how I did at my weigh-in.  I've been working it this week, so hopefully it will be great!

Enjoy the sunshine if you have it, we do!

Stacy

Spring - Warning LONG post - but does include a hair style, I promise!

Ah, spring.  The lovely weather, the flowers, the warm air returns from the south - such a lovely time of the year.  For our family, it also means:

Putting on our game face (their coaches have them practice this face - it cracks me up):

For T-Ball practices and games:

Going on Field trips:

With our best friends:

Lots of playdates at the park (this was actually the same day as the previous photos - because I don't usually take my camera every time we go to the park...):

I've found that when I'm busy and set my kids to learning on their own, they come up with things like this:

And somewhere in the past few weeks, my daughter has musically become a 'tween:

And dance practice, and gymnastics, and weight loss meetings (I'm down a total of 28 lbs as of last night's weigh-in!), and church, and picnics, and swim lessons, and a girls weekend, and a trip to Buffalo for Bee, and hanging with these guys:

And lots of adorable hair styles that I just haven't taken the time or effort to photograph and post here.  Sorry about that.  Here is one I did last week which turned out so cute.  You can find it here:  http://dostochoose.blogspot.com/2010/03/quick-and-easy-barbie-bun.html

We made our bun sock a little bit smaller - but here are our results:

I thought this was so pretty - but it was a one day 'do.  By the next day, it had mostly fallen out.  So pretty though, for the day it was in!

I guess this is all to say that we've been busy. Good busy. I'm not complaining - not even a little bit. I'll be the first to tell you that my life is a blessed one.   My hubby is good to me, and as we joke, I'm a "kept" woman.  I've just had less time to blog the past few weeks. Here's to hoping that we get back to it!

I hope your spring is just as exciting and fun filled as ours has been!

Stacy

weigh-in Wednesday

Holy cow has our life just opened up with activities!  Swim lessons, t-ball, dance, gymnastics, smallgroup, playdates, field trips, church activities.  YIKES!!  All good stuff, and not complaining an ounce. I'm thankful to live in a country where I can stay at home and love on my kids, and do all the fun stuff I'm doing. I'm a blessed woman.

Anyhow, here's my dieting tip for the week.  I just discovered these: http://www.carbritediet.com/store/html/category.cfm?id=45 They are sooooo yummy!  Don't freak about the price.  You can buy them individually at your local healthfood store or grocery store (I get mine at Wegmans).  Buy only enough for one week (like one a day) and it is less than ten bucks. I don't think that is too bad considering what I used to pay for takeout, restaurants, etc.

They taste really great, are low sugar, low carb, low cal and really high protein.   Here's the part I love the best - about twenty minutes after you've eaten one, you are full.  I mean really, really full.  Almost like you've eaten too much kinda full.  And the full lasts for hours!  This is a big deal for me, as sometimes my meals and snacks have to be spread out due to our running here and there and everywhere. 

And, drumroll please....at weigh-in today, I lost another 5.2 pounds!  Loving this diet - loving the way I am feeling.  I just may conquer this beast after all.
-Stacy