Wednesday October 18

Weight 115.5, calories 916. The de-carbing is starting to work. The cravings diminished quite a bit yesterday, and I didn't feel hungry. 3 more days of that (16 more work days).

WFH today, then possibly going for Flu shots with DH this afternoon.

Have a wicked good Wednesday!

Wicked is a Boston adjective for great, btw.

Weight: 132.0
Macros: Cals - 1,745, Carbs - 177, Fat - 65, Protein - 98, Fiber - 33
Veggies/Fruits (goal 8): 7
Sleep (goal 8 hours): 6.0 hours
Exercise: Yoga class (75") and walking (30")

Yesterday I got back on track with my eating via higher calories and 7 V/Fs in the form of sweet peppers, Portobello mushroom, avocado (a whole one), spinach, tomatoes, strawberries and blueberries. BTW, I just noticed that one avocado contains 10 (!) grams of fiber, in addition to its other high nutritional benefits.

Today I'll pack for my 50^th college reunion this weekend. So odd to contemplate seeing people I now know little to nothing about. I have changed so much, so I assume they have, too. Could be interesting.

To be honest, I'm a little nervous about leaving hubby home alone, but he swears he'll be fine. And he will be, but I know he'll miss me.

Today's theme:

Good Morning All ! Happy shed day !! Next big decision will be stain or paint !

I have my initial/annual physical with my new primary tomorrow. With the doctor I absolutely LOVE four hours away, I need a local PCP to deal with emergent issues. This will be a shift from a woman to a man, which I admit is an adjustment for me. I'm in the ME TOO category, even though I haven't joined the FB disclosure movement, and trust can be hard. When I think of all of the time I spent finding doctors I really respected and trusted... I'm considering retaining my specialists and strategically scheduling appointments to minimize traveling. I would like to find a bariatric practice out here, with an active support group. I would like to remain accountable and "give back" to the process of preparing for VSG and the process of successful maintenance afterwards.

You all got to me.... I have a crock pot of chili simmering on low. I threw in some of my greenish tomatoes I needed to pick before our recent frosts. I am making the conscious decision to skip the corn bread, a real trigger for me, and add more veggies and the promise of Halo Top after.

Have a positively active day !!

You are right about the corn bread, at least a whole pan. My local grocery offers single serving corn bread with their ready to go foods. Maybe something like that? Or not. The chili will be awesome either way. I find that the "I want...." is all in the anticipation and rapidly disappears once the meal is served.

I love corn bread, but I can resist it after a small sliver (not so for many other foods). DH loves it so I have to make it for him (he used to make it all the time).

Had a good eating day yesterday. Now just to string a bunch of them together! Weight responded by going UP a half pound but I know that can just be daily fluctuation! Got a 20 minute walk in on the treadmill on my lunch yesterday too. Better than nothing!

Hmmmm, we eat tortilla chips with our chili. I made 4 cheese tortellini soup with tomatoes and spinach with garlic bread for dinner last night (special request from DS#2). Yummy even if it was light on the protein. I got my protein in during the rest of the day!

Might work for 1/2 a day today. Need to call in to see if they still need me.

Obviously, I didn't start my de-carbing like Liz. Need to come up with my protein bar replacement first since those alone have 23 grams!

Happy hump day you all!

Yea, Paula!

Liz-love the Boston flair today! (PS it would be cool if we all had profiles stating where we're from. Guess I need to pay more attention!)

Ann-What a fun weekend! Enjoy the reunion

Diane O.-sorry to hear about your anxiety with Doctor transition. For me it's nothing male related, but I just hate getting any amount naked in front of anyone but my husband. Even as a little kid. Just lots of shame about weight and body image. So while yours is much more traumatic, I understand the hesitation of building that trust with a new person. hugs Chili sounds so yummy. Tis the season for it! I love it in its proteiny goodness. In my effort to eat more veggies, I'm going to research vegetarian or nearly-vegetarian (aka tons of veggies) chilis. PS you could make a jiffy box of corn MUFFINS and freeze the extras. That might work?

Paula, David, Devon-You are all such an inspiration! I know you've all mentioned wrangling weight gain, and initially I think it's so easy for those old tapes to replay, the panic to set in. If there's one thing I've learned, and am still learning, is that (at least for me!) this is a very natural part of the weight maintenance process, the life process. Be kind to yourself. Be proud of yourself. Persistence will pay off!! And though you may not see it now, you will probably feel MORE accomplished and MORE confident because you've done it again. We are here for you!

Weight 166.4. I'm now nearly my high weight for the year, and post-surgery. But not too shabby considering I'm closing in on 20 weeks pregnant. Along the lines of maintenance and regain and loss above, in a lot of ways I'm thankful I gained some weight and lost it prior to becoming pregnant. Because I know I can lose it! there is a little bit of anxiety watching the scale tick up and not being able to do anything about it. What a totally weird situation to be in now.

Dinner last night was spice-rubbed ribeyes with chimichurri sauce, TJ's green chile mac and cheese, and roasted carrots and brussels sprouts. Chimichurri--omg y'all--why haven't I been eating this all along? My restriction has been really tight, so I ate very little dinner. Bad news is that means I'm hungry just a couple hours later--and my snack eating is not nearly so balanced.

Greetings Wicked Ones

Using the word in the Boston sense of course.

Down a half to 139.****ting that big number really has me going and motivated. Shrimp and sautéed peppers last night. Maybe soup tonight. Still some shrimp left but DH can eat it.

BB I want to come eat at your house. You always make such good sounding stuff. Can you buy that sauce ready made or do you make it? Ditto Ann. DH doesn't like mushrooms much. I once had a dinner entree that was a marinated portobello served like a steak and it was great.

Hey Dave, so what does the pea protein powder taste like? I have gotta up mine some how and I just gag on the whey now.

Liz thanks for the flu shot reminder. I mean't to get one before I traveled and didn't. Lucky I didn't come home with some germ from the airplane. Flying petrie dishes as my brother says.

Gallery duty this am. Its cold and it will be slow. Gallery will be chilly so I have to pack on clothes. A window was replaced recently there (100+ year old house) and for awhile it was patched over and drafty.

Yep Paula lets get back to low carb days. Thats where I run off the rails when traveling. Here at home I have no bread and such but its parties and travel that do me in.

Planning for our annual Halloween party and have got to get carpets cleaned. I am only going to buy candy I hate like Skittles and Sweet Tarts. Even the fat me would not eat those. Also circus peanuts. Remember those horrid things!

Can anybody contact Carbon on Facebook or pm?

Well enough rambling. I will spend the morning at the gallery contemplating new maintenance strategies and why I have let my good habits lapse over the last year or so. As Devon says, figuring out why is part of the solution. The fat lady hasn't sung yet. And there is no fat lady in this house. Diane S

Ooooh I have a Halloween Party too! Don't you just love this time of year?! Pretty fancy if having carpets cleaned!! We are actually holding off on putting down wood just so that if carpets get hurt at Halloween, they get ripped up the next week.

The chimichurri is pretty easy. Idk if you can buy it. But I have a mini little grinder/food processor so it's really a zip. I didn't use filets because, well honestly I didn't want to overshadown beautiful filets. I think this would pair well with less expensive cuts of meat like sirloin, or go well with shrimp or pork or chicken. Honestly I just loved the sauce. I froze the leftover so we'll see how that goes. I had a couple thin ribeyes I used, and rather than the spice mix, I sprinkled each side with Lawry's and some fajita seasoning. I made the sauce the night before. So dinner was as easy as heating TJ's mac (says it serves 2, but with our light carb portions we make it go for 3...but I can see some people would eat the whole thing!), reheating leftover roast veg from previous night, and just grilling up the steaks. Oh, one more word on the sauce. I put just a small handful of mint, maybe 1/4 c. and that was plenty for my tastes.

For the Spice Rub

• 1-1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1-1/2 teaspoons ground mustard (also called dry mustard)

• 1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper
• 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

For the Chimichurri Sauce

• 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 1-1/2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar)
• 1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, from 1 lemon
• 2 small garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 medium shallot, peeled and roughly chopped
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1-1/2 cups stemmed fresh parsley
• 1 cup stemmed fresh cilantro
• 1/2 cup stemmed fresh mint