LOSING IT

This has been an awesome week. Ray has lost a total of 30 lbs and I have lost 23 lbs. Ray had to buy new pants because all his pants are beginning to look like skirts. He has gone from a 42" waist in pants to a 36" waist, and they are not tight. I have gone down a couple of sizes also, but fortunately I have a lot of smaller clothing. I have purchased a few blouses. My tummy is flat. I am working on my backside and legs. I have been trying to walk more, but this RA makes it difficult. I went walking around in Tuesday Morning yesterday. Not a good idea for my budget, but I purchased a few Christmas presents. Of course, I got one for me.

This past week I have been starting to incorporate veggies. I bought LARGE frozen stir-fry package at Costco.
I also bought our favorite, Roasted Chicken. We were able to use that chicken for 4 meals so far. Actually, we had left-overs last night that we will be eating tonight. I put EVOO in a pan and sauteed onions. When they got clear looking, I added a good helping of the stir-fry veggies. Then I put in the rest of the roasted chicken that had taken off the bones. I put in a little butter when it was done, stirred it again, and plated it up. We both had a nice helping and felt full. I think the reason I love this diet so much is that we get to use real butter.

We bought some Price's Pimento Cheese and Chicken Salad at Sam's Club and finished it up yesterday for lunch. You can get Chicken Salad if it does not have raisins/apples, I usually make it myself.

For breakfast, I have been having cottage cheese and a scrambled egg. That is pretty good. For lunch, we mostly eat roll-ups. I take turkey or ham and put a little mayonnaise or mustard on it, top with a slice of cheese and then roll from one end and put together with a toothpick.I usually eat one and Ray eats two or three for lunch. We snack on sugar-free jello. It is really as good as the one with sugar. Neither of us are big fans of Jello, but right now we think it is pretty good.

Neither one of are big on exercise; we could probably lose even faster if we were. I hope you are having a healthy day.

See the fist "wasted time"; don't waste your time. Get a mammogram this month. It doesn't make any difference if you are a man or woman, do it soon. Men can get breast cancer too.

Love to all, Barbara

GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME!

National Breast Cancer Homepage

GOOD NEWS

Ray has lost a total of 26 lbs and I have lost about 23lbs. I am really excited by this. I am trying to be creative with our diet so we don't get tired of eating the same thing all day.

Last night we had dinner at Angelo's Steakhouse. Ray ordered meatloaf and green beans. I tasted his meatloaf and it is my considered opinion that it had more bread crumbs in it than necessary. It looked almost like sliced dark bread. I told him he cannot order that any more. When I make meatloaf at home, I don't use anything but real ground beef and pork. He probably had his carb load for the week.

I was very good and ordered 2 eggs scrambled with bacon. I said no bread, but ended up with toast that I did not eat. Why can't waitresses understand, that when you don't want bread, don't bring it? Why make it more difficult for us? Sometimes it seems like people are trying to sabotage our efforts. I know that in the past, even though I told people I was on a diet, they still offered me other things, like chocolate pie, cake, etc. "Just one bite won't hurt." Who are they kidding? In the Bible somewhere I read that it is a sin to eat in front of other people that could not eat like you do. I will find it again and let you know where it is.

We went to North Carolina to be with my daughter and family this past weekend. It was my birthday. I love spending it with them. Jesse cooked steaks on the grill and we had salad. Rhonda even fixed orange sugar-free Jello with fat/sugar free whipped cream. I insisted on no candles. I wasn't sure if their fire insurance was paid. LOL!

Even the children are supportive of our diet. No one wanted to eat anything we couldn't eat in front of us. It was very nice.

I have found that we can have chicken salad and pimento cheese. I buy water chestnuts, bamboo shoots, mushrooms, french cut green beans, garlic, and onion to go in my beef stew. Actually, I buy the Steak-Ums to make soup most of the time. Or I roast pork or chicken in the slow cooker with onions and garlic. I even use those same veggies to make chicken soup. Sometimes I mix in greens like mustard, turnip greens, spinach. I buy the big cans and only use half. I put the other half in a jar and keep in the fridge. For the chicken soup, you can use real chicken and boil or you can use canned chicken. Sometimes I will crack a few eggs, whip up in a bowl and drizzle into boiling soup. It kind of makes noodles. You can season to make it taste like Mexican or Italian. At times I also throw in a can of diced tomatoes.

The main thing is to eat as low carb as you can. Exercise. Just remember, even though this may seem the be all and end all diet, it isn't. Of course, after I got over the craving for cookies and ice cream, I seem to eat less and less often. I  chew gum for a snack instead of eating 5 or 6 cookies.

On top of all of this is the warning:

CALORIES DO COUNT!

So don't eat a whole pot roast or chicken.

Good Monday

Wow! What a weekend. We are doing so well. We helped with the Lions Efforts at Denbigh Days selling Deep Fried Tornado Potatoes and Twinkies. The good news is, Ray and I didn't eat any of them. They looked so good. Oh, well, I must confess, I did have a small bite of the Tornado potato, but not enough to mess up my carbohydrate intake.

Ray is getting so thin. He has lost around 20 lbs and all his clothes are too big. Looks like I am going to have to get the sewing machine out and tailor his suits. He is singing 2 solos at church next Sunday so I better get on the ball. His waist has gone from 42 inches to a 36-38 inch waist.  I am so proud of him.

He was walking behind me at COSTCO the other night and he said he could really see that I was losing weight too. That tells you where I put on my weight. LOL! I have lost a total of 17 lbs. I am really beginning to see it in my clothing. I actually fit back into a black suit for church yesterday. I needed  something nice because I was Lead Deacon and had to say the offering prayer. I had so many people tell me how nice I looked, I was beginning to get a big head.

The wonderful thing about this diet is that it works quickly and you feel so good. It is a modification of the Atkins diet. I have been researching all kinds of books and finding things we could eat and continue to eat forever. I really don't miss sweets. Friday, Benita went to the XYZ luncheon at church. We needed to take a covered dish and I didn't have time to fix one. Anyway, we went to COSTCO and I let Benita pick out what to take. She chose a double chocolate cake with extra chocolate all over the icing. When we got to church, I cut it and put on plates. Benita had a piece but it was so huge that we ended up having over half of it left. I left it in the fridge so the kitchen crew could have some. When our Lions went to cut fruit for kabobs Friday night, the didn't eat any. So, I took it home, cut a couple of pieces to send home with Benita, and then preceeded to cut into small squares to serve tonight at the Lions club meeting. I covered them good and put in the freezer. So we will see if they get eaten tonight. I hope so.

I will be fixing chicken vegetable soup for the Lions dinner tonight. It is all thawed out and I will be adding onions with a little olive oil and let it roast a while. Then I will add about 3 chicken boullion cubes and water. I will add chopped bamboo shoots, water chestnuts, green onion, 2 tablespoons mixed greens, and any other veggies that are low carb to the mix. I even put in 2 tablespoons of butter for flavoring. I beat up about 4 eggs and when when the soup is almost ready, I slowly add to the pot when it is in a rolling boil. This gives the illusion of noodles and actually adds a great flavor to the soup. You can also add 12 cup sour cream or 2 oz. cream cheese to the pot to make it more creamy. Then you can serve it. Or, if you like put it in a blender and have a really creamy soup.
the calories are not bad and your carbs are really low.

I hope that someone is reading this. I would like comments too.  Love to all.

Well, here we are on a Monday. Ray has reached 173 lbs. His goal is 165. I think that is too much, but that is what he wants to do. When he went to the doctor, he told her that he hadn't had any of the diabetes medication in over 3 weeks. She was amazed and very supportive of the Atkins plan that we have been on. She told him as long as his blood sugar remained low, (average 96) he shouldn't take the medication any more. He is so happy. This means that we are going to have to go through his clothes and see what he can wear (probably out-dated). That is what he wants to do. To me, it means that I get to make some decisions in what he will be wearing from now on. I am telling you, he will be much more fashionable than he has been in the past.

As for me, I have lost 14 lbs. I don't get as much exercise as Ray does. I cannot do the treadmill. Sometimes when I do my bicycle, my knees swell up. I try to walk whenever I can. I find that too much exercise of any kind hurts me for days. I took last Saturday and cleaned my kitchen from top to bottom. It took me all day, because I have to have frequent rests. I hurt all day yesterday and my feet are feeling like mush today. Benita and I went to get my blood checked for my Rheumatologist appointment tomorrow. I have to go get a bone scan at 1:30. Oops! better look for my order. I will write more later. I have to put a great soup recipe that I dreamed up on here for everyone.

Our New Life!

The first paragraph is copied from my blog, Thoughts of Pink

Ray and I started on the Induction Phase of Adkins Diet on Monday, August 8, 2011. Ray has diabetes and was afraid that they were going to increase his medication if he didn't get his blood sugar down. I had gained about 20 lbs because of the steroids that I am on and if I wanted to get into my fall and winter clothes, I need to lose some weight. I have been very inventive and will be chronicling our venture on one of my other blogs, along with recipes. I will let you know when I get it going. We both lost weight by day 15: Ray, 15 lbs - Barbara, 12 lbs. I am so excited. Ray didn't realize it before but he was out of his medication that morning when we started. He had to call it in to Express Scripts and to took 3 days for delivery. His blood sugar stabilized between 93 and 110 so when his medication came he didn't take any. He still hasn't and his blood sugar is still between 93 and 110. He is so happy and feels so much better. I am trying not to weigh in every day. I get a PT/INR test every 2 weeks and they weigh me, so I am being weighed at the doctor. We do have a good scale here, but I figured that was "official." I cannot cheat on that one. LOL! (Not that I would.) I will periodically mention the diet on this blog and carry a link to the other one. I did see an article yesterday that I think everyone should read.

The induction phase includes 20 grams of Carbohydrates a day. I went through some Atkins books, but I also looked at other books and came up with very low carb foods. Looks like you can eat just about any kind of meat. I find that it is good to find low carb but you can never forget the calories completely. The really good news is that eating lots of protein fills you up.

I have been very inventive. Of course, we have the meat and cheese wraps. You can even add a little mayonaise. Ray loves these. I started by going to Sam's and stocking up on eggs, lunch meat, and cheese. Remember to keep your calories in control. About 1200 per day for females and 1500 for males.  Eat small meals more often. If you eat a little more or a little less, don't beat yourself up. The most difficult part was getting off the carbohydrates. Here is a link to an awesome article."146 Reasons Why Sugar is Harming Your Health." I will be adding our Life-Plan on Atkins, hopefully, on a daily basis. I may not adhere to all their things, but this article actually confirms my "no sugar" attitude.

Here is to your good health.

SweetTweets on the O2 Breakthrough - @ZnaTrainer (Twitter)

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I was on the O2 Breakthrough from Body by Zna for 3 glorious weeks. It was really working for me, but my one-on-one time with Zna has run out. I couldn't get anyone to talk to her or sign up. It was really a good deal for me. I feel stronger and pain free. I did take notes and have done it by myself today. I think I will be fine. I am going to follow the Vegan diet and continue to do the exercises.

I am so thankful to Zna for all the time she has spent with me. She is so generous and she has such a lovely spirit. When she says: "Beautiful Body by Zna Love cures people~both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it. Dr.Karl Menninger *My heart wants to know you. *YOU* are my priority, your youngest, yummiest you yet as healthiest, wealthiest, richly deserving of abundance. Your dreams come true!" she means it. 


In the course of 3 weeks, I lost 7 lbs and gained lots of energy I haven't seen in over a year. I lost 4 inches off my chest, 2 inches off my waist, 3 inches off my hips, 3 inches off each upper thigh, 2 inches off each lower thigh and 1.5 inches off each calf. The inches are what really mattered to me. 
This is my update for my Life Plan. I am going to start looking for more updates.


Like I recently volunteered to work at the Chesapeake (Virginia Baptist Homes). So, we will see how that goes this week.
My daughter was here and she organized, labeled, cleaned my shop, upstairs and down. And, she cleaned the garage. Something about having everything in order, relieves stress for me. What relieves stress for you? 
Tell me about yourself.

Starting the Week Right

• Hello, I got up and fixed my coffee this morning and drank it while I was getting ready for church. Once all that was done, I made my egg in the microwave, then put salsa, cottage cheese and some shredded cheddar in a bowl and warmed it up. When it was all done, I put it all in a Ramakin. They are not very big and I know that that is what I can eat every day. 

• I did a lot of walking at church. I am the Lead Usher and I have to make sure that everything runs smoothly so the service won't be disturbed. We have an 8:30 and 11:00 a.m. service, so I do a lot of walking and talking. Ray calls me his "Walkie-Talkie."
• When we arrived at home, the crockpot was cooking away. I made a beef roast and I put a package of mixed veggies in before we left this morning. I Threw in a little rice and broccoli when we got home. I made a salad, measured the meat, and 'voila' dinner. It sure was good. We ate sensible portions and will have either more salad or fruit snacks later. Meat is a once a day thing. Ray has those Morning Star Farms veggie sausage. He really seems to like them. 

 It would be nice if one (or more) of my Twitter buddies would get on the bandwagon and help me out. Maybe I could even help them out. I was President of  Parents Without Partners Chapter 275 in Newport News for 3 years about 20 years ago 9250 members). Ray tells people he had to marry me to get me out of there. Anyway, I was a member for almost 5 years and worked with singles every Wednesday night in a program called We Care. It was very nice. Members could come an have their Wednesday Therapy. I facilitated it nearly the whole time I was a member. I learned so much and I also took classes on psychology at our local community college.

• At our church, First Baptist of Newport News, I facilitated a Celebrate Recovery Program for people with drug and alcohol problems for over 2 years. Both programs allowed me to observe people and I read about the psychology all the time, not to mention that people would call me almost every night and I talked hours on the phone with them. From talking about the perils of being a single parent to how to tell if their spouse was cheating. The advice always was well received and I don't remember giving bad advice. 
• I am an ordained Deacon and I will pray for any who needs prayer. I know it has worked for me and it can work for you.