Thankful Thursday

What are you thankful for today?

I am very excited and thankful about something, but it's not really my secret, so I can't tell you what it is. Maybe the person whose news it is will chime in in the comments!

I'm also thankful that I get to meet up with DebbieBoo today :) Talking of which, I need to head out the door very soon!

Challenge Check in

How is every one's work towards goal coming?

Victoria, are you writing in your journal?
Missy, are you drinking water between and with meals?
Christina, how's the late night snacking?
Bekki, did you make a meal plan and stick to it?
Jessica, did you clean on Thursday instead of Friday?
Debs, are you exercising? (Be careful!)
Brandi, are you meditating on the portion of scripture that you have meant to memorize?
Stephine, how's the H2O intake?

As for me, well, not near as perfect as I'd love to be but working towards my goals.
With that said, I must get off this computer in order to work on my habit change and my goals.

Candy Corn

A 500 word assignment

Pumpkin Soup

I agreed with my mum (Elly) that I would type this recipe up for her about 2 weeks ago (when it was the food Friday soup recipe thing!) and unfortunately never got around to it. She's coming back from a few days away today, so I guess I'd better type it up quick!

serves 4-6
cooking time: 35-40 mins
preparation time: 10-15 mins

60 ml Olive Oil
2 medium onions, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tbsp sage
1.25 kg pumpkin, peeled and deseeded
1 carrot, chopped
3 sticks of celery, chopped
Red chilli, finely chopped, seeds and all
Salt and Pepper to taste
1 tsp ground allspice
A pinch on cinnamon
2 litres water (we're not entirely sure about this - it ended up pretty runny, but then my mum isn't sure we had as much pumpkin as they suggested, so perhaps use your own judgement when adding the water!)

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan and add the onions. Sweat over a medium heat for 5 minutes until the onions have started softening. Add the garlic and sage, and cook for a while longer until the onions have started releasing their sugars and the garlic has started filling the kitchen with a lovely smell.

At this point add the rest of the aromatic vegetables, the carrots and celery, with the pumpkin, chilli, cinnamon and allspice. Season generously with a few teaspoons of salt and freshly ground pepper and throw in a couple of bay leaves.

Carry on sweating the vegetables until the pumpkin has started to soften. Pour over the water and bring to the simmering point.

Simmer the vegetables until they are soft, about 15 to 20 minutes. Blend with a stick blender to create minimal washing*.

We served the soup with a few roasted hazelnuts and grated cheese on the top.

* Be careful with the blender, because if you get distracted, disastrous things can happen. Not that we'd be talking from experience, or anything.

Missy's Late Challenge Goals

I might not be count now, but gosh-darn-it, I'll still do it with y'all!

By December 31, 2008 I will:
1. lose 8 pounds to get a few under 185
2. be consistently prompt (which includes posting in a more timely fashion!)
3. cook at least 5 evening meals at home each week

Reasons I MUST change:
1. to keep the pounds going down and breakthrough this 1 year plateau
2. to make plans that are solid but realistically flexible – stop overbooking or withdrawing: find a balance
3. to teach my children responsible habits
4. to be prepared, and yet surrendered to God
5. to find ways to save on the grocery budget so I can continue to be home with the kid

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. Drink water with every meal, and one glass between every meal
2. Eat only when I am hungry
3. Keep one calendar for the whole family and update daily
4. Take a moment each morning to plan the day
5. Take an hour each week to plan the week (meals, activities, shopping, etc.)

Tell me why.. I don't like Mondays

Hopefully your Monday will be better than mine. Actually, I don't think the day with be so bad, I'm just mad at myself for giving in to temptation and letting the diet go out of the window pretty much last week.
But today is a new day, a fresh start :)

How are you? Are you taking a fresh start, or continuing in a good groove? Where ever you are, go ahead and weigh in!

Cristina's Challenge Goals

By December 31st 2008 I will:
1. Loose 10lbs. I'm currently at 188, so on 12/31 I will weigh 178 or less.
2. I will read 2 books: The Shack and The Beck Diet Solution: Train Your Brain to Think Like a Thin Person
3. I will clean out my closet and my daughters closet.

Reasons I must change:
1. To improve my health
2. So that my daughter grows up with healthy habits
3. To reduce the clutter in these closets so that they don't stress me out
4. I've been wanting to read The Beck Diet Solution to see if I can really train my brain to think like a thin person; if thin people really think differently and I can learn to think like them, then I will be one step closer to leading a healthier lifestyle
5. To get closer to my goal weight

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my goal(s):
1. Quit the late night snacking (aka binges)
2. Journal what I'm eating on my blog
3. Set aside time in the evenings to read
4. Set aside time on the weeekends to clean closets
5. Make healthy food choices when eating out and over the holidays

Bekki's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will:

1. Lose a stone (14 lb).
2. Be regularly spending time with God each day.
3. Work through What Colour is my Parachute? by Richard N. Bolles to help me think through where I'm going in my career.

Reasons I MUST change:

1. I've been stuck around the same weight for months and it's time to shift it!
2. I've been trying to make myself happy with food and it doesn't work.
3. I want to have a healthy relationship with food where it isn't an issue or an idol.
4. I want to know God better.
5. I don't know what my next step in life is. I need to do some serious thinking about where next and not just drift along hoping that something will turn up.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):

1. Make a meal plan for the week and stick to it.
2. Stay away from sugar-filled cakes, especially flapjack. Replace them with healthy snacks (fruit, hummus and veg, low-fat cheese) or with water if I'm just thirsty or with doing something constructive if I'm just bored.
3. Plan time out from busy-ness, work, cleaning, shopping etc to spend just being with God, indoors or out, on my own or with others.
4. Plan time to read WCiMP and work through the exercises.
5. At least 30 minutes of exercise, 5 out of 7 days a week.

Today's the day!!

Yep! It's here! Our first official challenge here at Blogger. I really am excited about this one. Just to show you how excited I am about this one and to show you how much I would love for everyone to participate, you have through the rest of this week to post your goals. That's right, through Sunday night. Our 1 week check up will be next Wednesday though so for those of you that don't post within the next couple of days it will be more like a 9 week challenge.
Thank you so much Stephine, Jessica, Victoria and Brandi for challenging yourself. You all have some wonderful goals.

Jessica's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will:

1. Lose ten pounds and then consistently weigh in under 190.
2. Read the Torah portion each week before Shabbat begins and spend at least some time in prayer/meditation.
3. Go to the gym at least three days a week.

Reasons I MUST change:

1. I've got good momentum going with weight loss right now, and I don't want to get stuck in a plateau. I want to keep losing.
2. I need to continue to strengthen my legs and arms.
3. When I don't exercise, I enter a vicious cycle...I don't want to go to the gym because I don't feel good, but then I don't feel good because I don't exercise...etc, etc.
4. Reading and understanding on some level the Torah portion deepens my understanding of and connection to God.
5. I'm tired of going into Shabbat morning services "cold," without warming up spiritually. Knowing the Torah portion that will be discussed helps me warm up.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):

1. Bring my own lunch to work most days of the week, rather than eat the school lunch. (I'm a teacher at a private school that provides lunch--mostly healthy but not South Beachy--for students and teachers.)
2. Remember to pack a snack for after work, before I go the gym. If I forget then I tend to skip the workout because I know I'll be too hungry to bike home afterwards.
3. Remember to pack my exercise shoes on my bike on days that I plan to go the gym.
4. Clean on Thursdays, rather than Fridays, so that I can have a quiet time and study time before lighting the Shabbat candles.
5. Make an effort on Sundays to learn the name of the upcoming Torah portion so that it's within my consciousness for the week.

Tami's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)
1. Faithfully be spending time in scripture...not a set time but faithfully studying...digging deeper
2. Weigh 180 or less
3. Finish my current class for school

Reasons I MUST change:
1. To hide God's word in my heart
2. To not just accept God's word at status quot. To know and believe something because
I've studied and came to the conviction through studying
3. To be closer to being at a healthy weight...I don't want to become diabetic like all those in
my family
4. To feel better and to have more energy. I want to be a "Hot Mamma" for my husband.
5. Need to finish current class and move on.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. Faithful time spent in prayer
2. Less time at the computer
3. Conscience food intake. Purposeful food intake
4. Faithfully set time aside a minimum of 4 days a week to study my schooling
5. Faithful time set aside each day for studying God's word

Debs' Challenge Goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)
1. Weigh in at 200lb or less (currently at around 215)
2. Be exercising at least 3 times a week (hopefully more)
3. Tackle my confort eating - I realise that this is a biggie, but try to think about why I'm eating and do something more productive instead. I think this will involve some journaling too (sorry, this isn't a very specific goal!)

Reasons I MUST change:
1. To improve my health.
2. I've been stuck at this weight for ages, and it's getting boring!
3. Although I like how I look now, I know I'll like me even more when I lose some more weight.
4. I need the happy endorpines I get from exercise.
5. I've got really lax about eating and the weight seems to want to creep back on, so i need to get back into the right mindset.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. Schedule exercise into my day - write it in my diary, so that it has to happen!
2. Stay away from chocolate, at all times of the month.
3. Stay on the beach, even at weekends - that's my time of weakness at the moment.
4. Journal some (if not all) of what i'm eating on my blog to stay accountable
5. Keep checking in with people, especially when things have gone wrong, rather than wallowing and letting them get worse (eg comfort eating)

Brandi's Challenge Goals

Tami and Debs--thanks for making the challenge available to those of us who are no longer making weight-loss a goal. (However, please don't feel like you need to always make challenges appropriate for those of is at goal...I understand this is still a "weight-loss" site!) :-)

Specific Goals:
1. Memorize 5 scriptures
2. Use arm weights 4 times per week
3. Read the book, "Choosing Forgiveness" by Nancy Leigh DeMoss

Reasons I must change:
1. I want to hide God's word in my heart that I might not sin against Him (Psalm 119:11)
2. And so I will know the truth and the truth will set me free (John 8:32)
3. And so I can stand against the attacks of the enemy without having to take time to go look up a scripture...it will be in my head already.
4. I want to have shapely arms to help fight genetics...all my female ancestors have flabby arms :-) I want to look my best for my hubby.
5. I want to be a woman who is characterized by a forgiving attitude because the Lord makes it so clear in scripture that He wants me to forgive.

Accomplishments needed to reach my goals:
1. Meditate on my 5 scriptures daily and quiz myself at regular intervals.
2. Use my scriptures in prayer.
3. Have my children quiz me.
4. Do my weights before lunch.
5. Read a chapter per week...that will even give me a "cushion."

You guys did a great job! This challenge is cool! :-)

Victoria's challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)

1. Lose 10 pounds

2. Exercise 5 days a week for 45 minutes at a time
3. Journal everyday.

Reasons I MUST change:

1. To improve my health.
2. To be obedient to God in this area of my life
3. To be able to keep up with my children
4. To feel better (I have been struggling with asthma)
5. Fit into smaller clothes…can’t afford to buy new and bigger clothing.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):

1. Journal everything that I place into my mouth
2. Eat more at home/stay away from fast food
3. Exercise 5-6 days a week
4. Drink 6 – eight oz of water daily
5. Pray!

Stephine's Challenge goals

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)

1. lose 10 lb
2. exercise at least 3x/wk
3. Eat out less (maybe every Sunday after church only?

Reasons I MUST change:
1. health
2. put an end to personal destruction (mental)
3. to be able to keep up with my kids
4. I've got to lower my stress level
5. The eating-out bill is kicking our tail

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
1. exercise more (at least 3x/wk)
2. Stop stressing so much
3. drink more h2o, I'm aiming for 48oz for now, up to 64+
4. cook more at home.
5. being faithful and trust more that God will help me achieve my goals

Happy Birthday

to Missy!
Have a great day :)

Oops!

Where did this morning go? It's already afternoon and I haven't got the weigh-in post up.
Here it is folks. Weigh away!

Don't forget to check out the challenge (post below this)

10 Weeks to New Years Challenge

Yeah! It's time for a challenge. I am super excited about this one. Anyone is welcome to join in. Yes, Brandi, Jana, and Elly...even you maintaining super stars! Okay so here it goes. Debs and I really wanted to keep this challenge fair for everyone. Some of us LOVE to exercise, some of us...eh...not so much and some of us really can't for one reason or another. So, this challenge is a personal challenge. One that we create for ourselves. I am going to give y'all some homework and you have until next Wednesday (Oct. 22) to "turn" it in. By turning it in, you have to post your decisions/answers here on the blog. If you are not a member and/or can't post please email me at tlb81003 (at) normalonline.com (change it to @) with your completed homework.
This challenge will last 10 weeks. Dec 31st is report day. Now, I understand that some of us will be doing other things on New Years Eve (have fun...I'll be snoozing) so you have 1 week to post your results and in your post I'd love to I'd love to know how you're feeling. Did you experience growth, triumphs, have any wow moments, any realizations? Results must be posted or emailed to me by the night of Tuesday, January 6.

So, what's the homework? What's the challenge you ask. Good question. This challenge will deal with each one of us and wherever we are in life. Whether you want to focus on weight, spending daily time with God, procrastination...wherever, whatever you want/need.

By December 31, 2008 I will: (give specific/realistic goals)
example: “lose 12 pounds”

1.

2.

3.

Reasons I MUST change:
example: “improve my health”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

List 5 accomplishments needed to reach my Goal(s):
example: “drink a minimum of 64 oz per day”

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

Okay, now for the "prize". We're not going to have a prize with this challenge. We will have a gift package that I've lovingly named "Indulge This Year". I'm not going to tell you what it is but Bird, if you decide to join in you'll be playing for your lovely wife...maybe. :-) Hehe

In order to be eligible for this package you must accomplish 2 of your 3 goals. I think this is fair because it is the season for many unexpected things to happen and we all need to know that is is awesome to reach goals no matter if you didn't reach them all. If you reach 2 of the 3 goals your name will be thrown into the drawing. The name pulled will receive a yummy package from me. (You all are thinking food now aren't you!) Yes, I will ship overseas so all of our friends over there can participate.

Alright, so I think that's about it. If you are in on this challenge leave a comment and let us know. If you have a question, do the same. Remember, you have until next Wednesday to turn your "homework" in. We will do weekly challenge check in's on Wednesday.

Alright, off to put little ones to bed...it's way past time.

Hear ye, hear ye

Be on the look out for our first (for this web address) challenge that will get us through the rest of the year! I'll be posting the details tonight or tomorrow and it will begin next Wednesday. This challenge will last 10 weeks which will take us right up to Dec. 31st! Can you believe only 10 weeks left of 2008? Crazy!

I can't wait to share all the nitty gritty little details with you.
Oh, and the gift package involves indulging yourself next year.
See ya soon!

Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto

This recipe is from January 2001 Cooking Light magazine.

2 tsp olive oil
1/2 c. chopped prosciutto or ham (about 2 ounces)
1 c. chopped onion
3/4 c. chopped celery
3/4 c. chopped carrot
1 garlic clove, minced
1 c. water
2 (19-ounce) cans cannellini beans or other white beans, undrained
2 bay leaves
1 (15.75-ounce)can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 TBL minced fresh parsley
2 TBL sherry (optional)
1/4 tsp black pepper

Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat. Add the prosciutto, and saute for 2 minutes. Add the onion, celery, carrot, and garlic; saute for 2 minutes or until soft.
Add the water, beans, bay leaves, and broth, and bring soup to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer soup for 20 minutes.
Add the parsley, sherry, and black pepper; cook for 1 minute. Discard bay leaves.

Split Pea Soup

(vegetarian and a bit spicy)

Saute in large pot until nearly limp:

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

generous 1/3 tsp. Ground thyme

in:

I T butter

add:

8 C water

1 lb. Split peas

3-4 large carrots, shredded

1 ½ tsp. Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning

1/2-1 tsp. Salt

Bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Simmer, covered about 2 hrs, stirring occasionally. (A Crock Pot works well too.) It's done when the peas are mushy and falling apart. If too thick, thin with water, broth or milk. I usually serve soup with homemade bread. Enjoy!

Yum!

CLEARFIELD, Pa. (AP) — A chef at a western Pennsylvania Italian restaurant ate a 15-pound burger with 5.2 pounds of toppings in 4 hours and 39 minutes. Brad Sciullo, of Uniontown, is the first person to successfully eat the huge burger at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub, said pub owner Dennis Liegey.

The burger — called the Beer Barrel Belly Bruiser — include a bun, lettuce, tomatoes, cheese, onions, mild banana peppers and a cup each of mayonnaise, ketchup, mustard and relish.

When asked what possessed him to eat a burger that big, the 5-foot-11, 180-pound Sciullo said: "I wanted to see if I could."

Some days, I feel like doing this myself. Read the whole story here. 

Black Bean Soup

2 cups fat-free chicken broth
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup onion, chopped
1 can rotel
3 cans black beans, undrained
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, minced

Simmer carrots, celery and onions in broth until tender. Add remaining ingredients. Cover, simmer 20 minutes stirring occasionally.
Serving size= 1 cup, 1 WW point per serving

Howdy Y'all

Yes, I'm so super late with my intro post BUT better late than never, right?

If you didn't guess from my title, I'm in Texas, Dallas TX.

My name is Cristina and I have been a part of OWOA since February 2007, I think that's when I stumbled upon the site.

I'm married and have a 4 year old daughter. I also work full-time outside of the home as a software developer.

Before I got pregnant, I had lost quite a bit of weight, approximately 70lbs, by following Body for Life. Towards the end of that journey, I switched to South Beach because I had hit a plateau. Then I got pregnant, had my daughter, struggled to get back into a routine and ended up putting on more weight. I was finally able to get back into the groove and figure out how to juggle home, husband, daughter, work, friends, life, etc.

I originally started on Weight Watchers weighing in at 252.5 I then switched to Body for Life, did a little South Beach, met with a nutritionist and now I just do my own thing...a combo of Body for Life/meal plan from nutritionist.

My problem is not lack of exercise, I LOVE LOVE LOVE to exercise. My problem is food. I love food...sweets to be exact. I do fine all day and then the sun goes down and my sweet tooth comes out.

Well, that's about it for now....OH! one last thing...my sister Claudia recently became on OWOA-er. :)

Yay for exercise

I just did 20 minutes on the treadmill, and it was the best minutes I've spent in a long time. (I was given the go ahead by my physio friend)
Actually, I think that it's helped me to get back to walking normally - I've been limping, but trying to get back to walking properly, but it's quite hard. On the treadmill you don't have time to think about how you're walking, you just do it. When I got off my walking was better than when I got on. Definitely a reason to keep it up. My mood was better too :)

Have you moved your body today?

Pssstttttt........

A little birdy told me that this Friday was Food Friday and so I'd better have a soup recipe on hand.

Last time Debs tried to get us to post recipes it was for SB phase 1 and it really was a no show around here. I'm in the...oops, I forgot group myself.

So, your challenge, should you choose to accept, is to post a soup recipe on Friday. It is really cooling down most everywhere these days. Parts of Utah and I believe Colorado have even experienced the first snow of the season. Wouldn't it be great to begin this fall and winter season with a stockpile of soup, stew and chili recipes? The soup pictured here is from Cooking Light and come Friday morning I'm running to the store to grab the required items for this recipe. We shall have it for lunch...Tuscan White Bean Soup with Prosciutto.

Shake your groove thang

Have you moved your body today? What'd ya do? If not, are you planning on it? Debs, I know you can't do any cardio with your ankle but have you thought about doing upper body stuff with some light weights? (I was just thinking about you that's why I ask...hope you don't mind)

Welcome

Good morning, Good Monday

How's things with you today?

Why not weigh in..

Happy birthday to Bekki today, and please continue to keep Kimmi and her daughter and the whole family in your prayers.

I cheated...

That's right, I blew it. First cheat in 3 weeks, and the scales went up 2 pounds in ONE DAY to prove it. And I blew it big time. Pizza... lots of pizza. And it wasn't even very good pizza.

I know why, though... I am so depressed. Please pray for my family. My oldest daughter has been admitted into the hospital, because of suicial threats and out of control rages. I miss her so much. I'm so worried about her. And the scary thing is that she really likes it there...

I'm not gonna cheat again right now... I know I need to stay strong. It's just that I'm having such a hard time drumming out the thoughts of "I just reallly don't care right now".

Hello out there....

Is anyone here in OWOA land with me today? I feel so lonely. Anyone? If you are, what are your plans for the weekend? Are you pumping yourself up to make wise food choices? Are you planning on exercising?
I must admit, since the 25th of Sept. I've missed 2 days on the treadmill and 1 of the days I "made up for" by exercising 2x the following day. This is hugely in part because of Brandi's challenges over at her blog. Any hoots, I don't plan on taking the weekend off either. I do wish the scale would show the difference. I've had too many carbs this week. Not in a gluttonous fashion (with exception to the cookies one day and too many biscuits yesterday) just too many. My body is weird like that. I have to be cautious of how many starches I eat. I've also been on guard because I've had some serious desire for the starches. This would mean that it's time to scale WAY back on them. Big stuff this week though. I threw away all of the white flour, brown sugar and sugar substitute a couple days ago. I made the biscuits with stone ground wheat flour.

Well, I'm rambling. Too much coffee I suppose.
I hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.

Tomato soup

I have an abundance of tomatoes. While most everyone I meet has complained about their lack this year, God blessed us with more than I know what to do with. I've frozen them (take them out of the freezer, place under warm water and the skin comes right of...takes the place of stewed toms), I've canned tons of salsa, I've canned bbq sauce with them and I've dehydrated them with plans of putting them in oil. Despite all of these efforts, I still have more. So, my dilemma was what else can I do. We're not big marinara people so that would be a waste. My solution, tomato soup. Now mind you, I used to hate the stuff but lately...complete love. I thought I'd share my recipe for it.
Cream of Tomato soup
2 c. chicken broth
5 c. diced and seeded tomatoes
1/2 of a large onion, diced
1/2 c. diced celery
1/2 c. 1% milk

Add all of the ingredients BUT the milk to a pot and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer. Allow to simmer until all veggies are soft. At this point I threw it into the food processor. I didn't completely puree it because I like a little chunk...makes me think hearty. Place the soup back into the pot, bring to a low boil and add milk. I continued to cook at a simmer for roughly 30 mins. This helped to reduce which creates a slightly thickened base. You could salt and pepper to taste...I personally avoid added salt. Also, basil would be a wonderful additive however I used dill this time around. I would say that this recipe makes 4 servings and when plugged into the calorie counter only comes out with around 67 calories. Not too shabby eh? This soup is paired up wonderfully with a salad and a yummy whole wheat biscuit. The soup is perfect for phase 1. My husband was out of town when I made this so I ate a bowl and then placed the other 3 servings in individual baggies and froze. It will be a perfect thing to pull out when I don't feel like cooking or when we forget to make Jeff's lunch.

I have a problem

I'm sitting down having a grand ol' time and then when I stand up, my jeans want to stay in the chair!

I guess it's not a horrible problem, but it's a problem nonetheless. I HATE belts and the only one I own is back in TX. I guess I can go out and buy one, but I don't even know how! And since my funds are extremely limited, I definitely can't buy new jeans.

What's a girl to do?

Thankful Thursday

What are you thankful for today?

I'm thankful for the beautiful sunny weather we've had the last couple of days.

I'm thankful for my friend who is a physio therapist and has been working on my ankle.

I'm thankful that God loves me and has a plan for my life.

[This is also an optional weigh-in]
[Boo, I hope I didn't jump on your toes by posting this!]

Better late than never?

Hello! I know there's probably been speculation as to my whereabouts, general health, etc., and I can't blame you. If I tried to tell you how crazy my summer has been, you wouldn't even believe me. Anyway, I'm finally getting around to my intro, so here it is!

My name is Jana and I've been around OWOA since the beginning. I started out at 212 lbs and in November of last year reached a final weight of 147. This summer I had my gall bladder removed and gained five pounds because I couldn't exercise or do much moving around at all. So now I'm somewhere around 149 and heading for that 145-148 area again.

It might not seem like much, but I am struggling. Struggling with exercising on a regular basis, struggling with not eating too much, struggling with eating the right things. A lot of this has to do with all the stress in my life right now - I homeschool, I'm teaching a high school level English class, and my husband is out of town (WAY out of town - in China) three weeks a month. Plus a lot of other stuff I won't get into. It's hard to sit down and plan weekly menus when I can't even find time to do a ten minute workout.

So that's how it is around here right now. I won't give up, but sometimes I do feel like I'm just hanging on by a thread!

What do you do?

So, after admitting to complete gluttony earlier today I told myself that I would not continue the same path for today. You see, typically if I over indulge...okay let's just call it what it is, if I'm gluttonous, (over indulge seems like such a fluffy word...a way to make it seem to myself that what I did really wasn't that bad) then I continue in that form for the rest of the day and tell myself I'll start again tomorrow. Today, I didn't do that. We can't continue in the path of starting again tomorrow. We must continue to walk on the right path whatever that path is for each of us (I'm talking food and exercise right now).
So you slip, you have some cake even though you're not planning on it or you have 5 cookies (or the dough ;-)), or you eat fried oreos, or you eat to much yummy Mexican goodness, or chocolate, or even too much roast and vegetables for dinner, the point is that as soon as we are aware of what we are doing, we stop. We change. For that moment in time we commit to not continuing down the path the rest of the day.

So, my question to all of you is what do you do? Are you like me and frequently tell yourself you start again in the morning? If you want to share with the group what you do then by all means please do. We are here to support each other. To lift each other up in prayer. To be each other's cheerleaders.

Alright, I'm off to Amazon to add a few books to my wish list, look up recipes for home made tomato soup (I have a plethora of tomatoes this year), finish my cuppa decaf chai and crawl into bed with my new chronological Bible.

Fried Oreos

Yikes!! I'm really going to have to make up for those...

Atleast we all had a fantastic time at the fair!

A weak moment

Um...I just ate a few cookies. Okay, 5. I'm sick thinking about the gluttony. It was a weak moment. A moment that I gave into the flesh but it's over. Onward and upward. Just because I blew it for those few moments doesn't mean that the day is shot.

Um, hello

Anyone else around?
Yes, I know lots of you weighed in, but you're allowed to write posts too ;)

How are things going today?
I am absolutely zonked. I cannot believe how tired I am. Hopefully I'll get an earlyish night tonight and that will help. Things are going ok dietwise - I'm still on the beach :)

Happy Birthday

to Jana :)
I hope you're having a great day.

What's your number?

It's another Monday, another weigh in. We can't change what happened last week, but we can make a difference to next week.
Put your number down, and look forward with excitement to another week.

Please also tell me if you're interested in joining a challenge/competition. And whether you'd be willing to pay a small fee to go towards a prize..
Also also, can I do a quick poll and ask you what diet/way of life.. you're using to lose weight.

*Edited to add: I'm getting the impression that a free to enter challenge is the way to go. I will hopefully get around to typing up a post this afternoon (If the kiddos nap at the same time...!)*

I fell off the phase one wagon today

in fact, I'm so far off it, I can't even see it.
It was cake. Birthday cake. I ate lots of cake this afternoon. I have a sugar headache, I don't feel good. I'm back to phase one from this moment on.
(and I have a feeling I won't like my weigh in tomorrow, but I'll do it anyway. Promise!)

Thursday was

my 2 year anniversary of starting this weight loss journey.
I've blogged about it here and here.
I will write a post on here (OWOA) at some point too (just life got busy all of a sudden!)

Food Friday! - The South Beach Phase One edition

Since I'm sitting eating veggie curry for breakfast and typing this post (yes, wrong in so many ways, but I only have 12 minutes before I have to head out of the door) I obviously need to link to my (in)famous veggie curry recipe.

However, unlike me, Nikki probably doesn't want to survive a couple of weeks on phase one just eating curry, so... what have you got?!

(I'll try to post another recipe later, cos I feel like this is a bit of a cop out).

Also, new competition/challenge launching soon (Once I've got my head around it!). There will be exercise stuff and other food/life/God related challenges. (Just to make it really confusing!)
Since I'm rules out of exercising at the moment, I'll be judge ;). I'm not sure about the entrance fee/winnings side of it at the moment.
Leave me your ideas in the comments. Pretty please.

Hmm, 6 minutes left. Better get back to eating curry...

my intro...

So I'm sort of behind here... Sorry...

I'm Stephine and I'm a scrapaholic... oh wait, wrong site...right, I'm Stephine and I'm overweight.

There, the truth is out. I feel so much better already. :o)

I'm a mom of 2 brilliant little boys (1 daughter, if you count the cousin{16} I've taken into my home) wife of 1 very fun-loving, adventure seeking Marine. I'm a Tiger Cub Leader for our local cub scouts, an avid scrapbooker and cardmaker (as well as wood, chipboard, etc. Nothing is safe!), Music junkie, nature lover, and extreme procrastinator.

I never really had a weight problem until I started having kids. I gained {gasp!} 90lbs with my oldest son, thanks to a lovely case of pre-eclampsia. I lost 60 of it but never the rest but I was ok with my shape, size etc. Along came baby #2 about four years later, gained the recommended amount of 30lb lost all but 5lb of it within 6 wks. Over the next year I put all that weight right back on for no apparent reason other then lack of exercise. Here I am now. I've lost aprox 10lb and I have steadily remained between 160-165 for a few months now. I would like to reach a long term goal of 125-130.

My weapon of choice started with Weight Watchers. That didn't do much. I then switched to South Beach. My big problems are outside influence (read: my mom) and temptations in the form of Southern cooking that I've been raised on and LOVE. They make up a large portion of my issues but the biggest would be my lack of willpower. I find it extremely hard to keep with something longer then a week. I'm working on that.

There you have it. Any questions?

Sorry to overwhelm you with posts

but I just wanted to thank Bekki, Bird, Brandi, Christy F, DebbieBoo, Kimmie, Nikki and Tami for introducing themselves to us all. If you missed any of those you can click on their name and go to meet them. I'm there too.

Claudia, Cristina, Jana, Julie, Missy and Stephine (who I believe will be writing hers very soon ;) )
come out of the woodwork and share a little about yourselves. It'd be great if you could also share a photo of yourself. If anyone needs help with how to write a post or how to upload photos then I'm here to help!

Kellie and Mandi, where are you? You still need to accept your invites to be able to write posts on the blog :)

Psst, Nikki...

Kalyn has a post up which is a round-up of phases one recipes from around the blogosphere this past month. You might like to check it out.

Thankful Thursday/Optional Weigh-in

Good morning, and welcome to Thursday. I'm guessing I got here before most of you, and it appears to be set to be a good day! Why not share reasons that you're thankful, and while you're at it you have the chance to weigh-in too.

Hello, my name is Kimberly, and I'm...

finally getting around to my introduction! Sorry it has taken so long. This is a recent pic of me with my youngest daughter.

My name is Kimberly. I am 38 years old. I have 3 children, 2 girls and 1 boy. My son lives with his dad (my ex) in California, and the girls live with me here in Virginia. I am currently separated from my second husband. I just lost my job on Monday, so I am currently unemployed and anxious. I was an original member of OWOA, but I disappeared for a while. Debs never lost touch with me, though, and I'm grateful that she drew me back in!

My weight loss journey... Several years ago I did the low-carb diet, and lost a bit of weight. With marriage problems and comfort eating, I gained it back and then some. I got all the way up to 230. After the divorce I lost 50 pounds on the low carb diet, went off, and gained 20 of it back. However, I am proud that I kept 30 of it off. A lot of my recent gain has been because of an abusive marriage, that I am now out of. SO, the new OWOA board was a great time for me to start all over again. I do the low carb cuz it works for me. It helps with other medical problems as well. So, when our church offered an 8 week "biggest loser" class, a few of my friends joined with me. One plus is that my best friend is my worst sabateur for my diet, and now she is dieting with me and low carbing as well so this helps me stay on my diet. One minus is that the weigh in is at night.... YIKES! So it's always a suprise when you weigh in. It also means that my weight loss here doesn't match my weight loss there. I weighed in tonight and lost 6.8 pounds from the previous week. I met my goal plus a little bit more. My total 2 week loss is 13.? pounds.

Our biggest loser team won the first week, so as a reward we were given pedometers and a 10,000 step a day challenge. So my goal is to get 10,000 steps in a day. It might take a while to build up to it, but at least I have a goal. Can't think of anything else... Any questions? LOL!

Phase One Recipe

I don't know if you like curry, Nikki, but I thought I'd share the phase one recipe that arrived in my inbox this morning from South Beach Daily Emails.
Just click over to see the recipe..
Indian Vegetable Curry

Anyone else have a phase one recipe they would like to share? Let's have that as a theme for Food Friday this week. (I know not everyone is doing south beach, so please don't get mad at me, think of it as helping out a friend!)

(and even if the recipe has been shared before on the old site, you can share it again here, cos I still haven't finished tagging the recipe archive, so it's a bit hard to find recipes when you're looking for them. If you are trying to hunt down a recipe on the archives site, let me know and I can give you a hand)