<p>I’m still eating carbs, just a whole lot less of them. For example, we were out for lunch today and I got a lovely chicken salad on a croissant. I flipped it, took off the bottom, and ate half the sandwich open face with the lettuce as the topper. OK, I did have some of the string fries, but only one at a time and nibbled.</p>
<p>One of my big fears when I joined this thread is that I would have to switch to foods I didn’t like in order to lose weight. 22 pounds later, I can confirm that was not the case. I am starting to run into “Danger Will Robinson” situations. DH went back east to see his mother who sent him home with 2 boxes of Mallomars, one of my very worst addictions in the late fall. (He refused to bring all 4 boxes - told her, “You bought them without asking; you can eat them.” My hero cause he knows I love them.) Then on Saturday we went to a birthday party for the wife of a couple in town for just a few days - they mostly seem to have come to Chicagoland to eat - and the husband got the cake and a big box of pastries from a classic Italian bakery. Danger danger indeed - I got out after half a small slice of birthday cake (with cannoli filling) and a quarter of a small chocolate bombe.</p>
<p>Friday night dinner with the family - no one said anything, although my 16 year old niece did seem to eye my body up and down. Maybe they’re afraid to speak! We’ll see at Thanksgiving, probably the next time we’ll get together. (Remember this is the vocal WW family; not a meal goes by without some mention of points.)</p>
<p>I am managing to start every morning with 20 minutes of aerobic on the Wii Fit. Absolutely no excuses since I don’t even have to go downstairs, let alone leave the house. And at the moment nothing in particular is hurting me - yay!</p>
<p>I can’t quite picture 22 pounds of butter but at this time of year it’s easy to visualize a 22 pound pumpkin - no longer attached to my body.</p>
<p>Marilyn – that’s great! And I really like the pumpkin imagery. </p>
<p>My MIL sends boxes of Sees candy. Which I adore. :(</p>
<p>Best solution seems to be to open it up before dinner guests arrive, pull out the two or three “must have” pieces, and then put the box out to be demolished by dinner guests. Or teens.</p>
<p>Tonight’s dinner was fresh scallops browned in a pan and tossed with fresh spinach, tomato and a bit of wine and lemon. Normally I would eat that over a mound of pasta but I had one slice of marble rye instead. H and I have pretty much subbed a vegetable for the starch in our dinner menus. Don’t miss them too much.</p>
<p>My husband likes to bring me back chocolate truffles. I eat them at the rate of one a day. </p>
<p>We hardly ever have starches for dinner - though sometimes I will cook two vegetables. What I find hard is not to have toast (or bagel or English Muffin) for breakfast. Mostly I do, but if I were more awake in the morning I could probably have a vegetable omelet.</p>
<p>I didn’t exercise today at all and feel guilty. I’m to the point of wanting to maintain my current weight. I’m really scared of gaining the weight back. But yet I know it’s not practical for me to think I’ll be able to get a walk in every single day,esp. with winter coming on. Anybody know what to do about baggy skin where fat used to be? My gluteus maximus is not as max as it used to be but it sure is lax. </p>
<p>Congrats Marilyn on the 22 pound loss. Since I work w/ preschoolers, I think of weight loss in child sizes. Just think, you’ve lost the equivalent of a toddler…a whole little person. If you had to carry around a kid that size all the time, think what a relief it would be to be able to sit it down. That’s how much happier your body is with that 22 lbs gone. Kind of cool to think of it that way.</p>
<p>I seem to have lost a lot of belly fat (3") and maybe eight pounds by drastically reducing starches. Several years ago, I gave up white rice for brown – huge deal for an Asian, but now I don’t mind too much. To lose weight, I substitute pureed cauliflower for the brown rice. I first microwave the cauliflower, making sure to vent the lid to dissipate the smell. Then I puree it in the Cuisinart, adding salt and a very small pat of butter. It looks like mashed potatoes, and when eaten with a tasty bite of something else, it doesn’t really taste like cauliflower. Since I’m not Irish or from another potato eating culture, my lack of experience with potatoes helps me pretend. However, when I tried ricing/chopping the cauliflower, the faux rice simply did not cut it for me! I must go through two or three heads of cauliflower a week so I have eaten more cauliflower in the past three months than I have in the entire rest of my life.</p>
<p>I KNOW it is difficult for me to stop at one slice of bread, and a small serving of pasta leaves me hungry, so I don’t want to get started if I can help it at all. . .</p>
<p>Regarding cutting down on pasta (my favorite meal is spaghetti )- i find that I can deal with LESS pasta and put on MORE sauce. If you make the sauce chunky - with either veggies or lean meat/meatballs/turkey sausage - whatever - you still get the enjoyment of the pasta, but also get filled up and satisfied by the veggies or protein.</p>
<p>Back from 12 days in Croatia. It was carb overload. They aren’t big on salads or vegetables. Ate lots of pizza, potatoes and bread. I am so ready to get back to my healthy food. I haven’t weighed myself but I can tell my mid section is not where it was pre-trip.</p>
<p>Packmom - I looked up an old record and DS was 32 pounds at 9 months (tall kid) so now that’s my goal for Thanksgiving - to lose as much as he weighed when he began to toddle. I do admit that I usually carried him on my hips which is where much of my fat went! Your post made me laugh because it reminded me of the young baggers at grocery stores who would put one bag’s worth of groceries into three bags so they wouldn’t be too heavy. One bag weighed much less than the kid I was carrying around - and bags don’t wiggle, whine, or beg.</p>
<p>Also re the baggy skin - I looked that up and I think it can take 6 to 9 months to tighten back up; there are a lot of factors that affect each individual. The articles do recommend staying well hydrated. Toning exercises can help the look but don’t affect the skin. I think my upper arms are a teeny bit firmer than a couple of months ago.</p>
<p>That sounds great, CCsiteobsessed! 3" is a lot. I have grown to love pureed cauliflower, too - and, what’s more, my kids like it as well. I add some low-fat sour cream or Greek yogurt and a little horseradish (at the suggestion of a poster here).</p>
<p>I am the horseradish advocate. Here in Lancaster County, we get fresh horseradish at market. Mmmmmmm. </p>
<p>I have eliminated simple carbs - but I do have pasta every Sunday night, but I use Barilla Plus pasta. </p>
<p>Baggy skin - I don’t know if it ever goes away completely, but weight lifting does seem to help as well as staying hydrated and taking EFA supplements. OH, and in the summer, self tanner gives the illusion that things are toned up.</p>
<p>Yesterday, I made one of my favorite side dishes</p>
<p>can of black eyed peas (drained and 1/4 cup set aside and crushed)
1 red onion chopped
garlic clove minced
1 can of artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 cups vegetable broth
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tsp caraway seeds
1/4 tsp salt
2 cups fresh parsley
1-2 tsp cider vinegar
1 cup diced smoked tofu</p>
<p>Saute onion, stirring often, 3-5 minutes. Add garlic, caraway seeds, and pepper flakes, cook stirring about a minute. Add artichokes and all the peas. Stir well. Add broth and bring to a simmer. Stir occasionally 10 minutes. Stir in parsley, vinegar and pepper. Add artichokes and tofu and simmer until warm. </p>
<p>After losing 25 lb rather rapidly, I looked like a Chanel bag - big flap of skin hanging from my belly. I was not even trying to worry about it, since I figured that this might never go away, and Spanx would take care of most body imperfections. Surprisingly, after sticking to weights and core exercises (planks, pushups) 3-4 times a week for 15 minutes, I noticed a huge improvement. I do not have “six pack abs”, but I no longer have to wear Spanx. I lost some more weight in the process. It took close to a year for my flap to disappear, so do not give up if you do not see results in a month or two!</p>
<p>Wnp, I looove horseradish! I had a chunk of horseradish cheddar cheese for snack today. Yummmm.</p>
<p>EPTR, at least one or two of those fall gourds should equal .5 pounds!!! Look at where you were a couple of weeks ago - off the track and in a slump - be so proud that you came back and got going again - and you feel great about it!</p>
<p>I’ll never look at a Chanel bag the same way again, Bunsen Burner!</p>
<p>Friday weigh in and I just weighed in at the top end of the next decade of pounds lower. 8pounds more until I am “merely overweight” according to the BMI charts.</p>
)- i find that I can deal with LESS pasta and put on MORE sauce. If you make the sauce chunky - with either veggies or lean meat/meatballs/turkey sausage - whatever - you still get the enjoyment of the pasta, but also get filled up and satisfied by the veggies or protein.</p>