TruBlueSue

Hooray! I say ditto to all you strong women.

No change for me this week - althou - a NSV - the size 14 pants I bought three weeks ago are getting loose in the hips/butt! Holy cow!!

(and for those who wondered, my last job was the military - where the weight standard made one look for any crack way to lose a fast ten pounds or be made to'get taped' - the DoD 's way of calculating body fat...) Under BF % and you were ok - barely.

Which hospitals in Dayton does Dr. Clarey use? I'd be checking that out as well...St. Elizabeth's, or...? I'd want to know all that stuff too - be sure to ask... BTW - I lived in Franklin as a child (a long long time ago...)over near the high school. I went back this past summer after being gone for 20+ years, and its changed A LOT! Looks like Springboro is now yuppie Central, and Franklin is still just little ol' Franklin...Small World!

that's what I do!

I used to smoke, and I am a future skinny person...lol..but I will say this - the discrimination I faced as a smoker was NOTHING compared to what I faced in my last job with weight discrimination!

I got a personal loan through my bank and went to Mexico for my surgery...wired it ahead of time so didn't have to worry about paying on site...

Count me in - I have size 16's and some 18'spants/skirts/dockers....am in 14 pants and (since the boobs haven't shrunk much) am in 16 tops/XL still...but would love to swap!

I am one of those people who lost a parent (father) to suicide - Feb 23 2005. I was in Iraq. I came home to deal with my sister, who found my dad, and my mom, who was overseas visiting family at the time. When I left here after two weeks, I went right back to Iraq. SO - when I finally returned home and left the service I was dealing with my sister, my mom AND my toddler while my husband was STILL in Iraq. Did my obesity and general depression/PTSD, etc., cause me to feel like I wanted to drive my car into a bridge abutment? ABSOLUTELY. Did counseling, drug therapy and my hubby getting home safely and out of the service help? ABSOLUTELY. Does my body image/courage/commitment still waver even though I am half way to my goal weight? ABSOLUTELY. Do I consider suicide a chickenshit way out? ABSOLUTELY. But here's the big caveat - if someone is in so much psychological/physical pain that they are sure that the only cure is eating their gun, then who's really the chickenshit? The sufferer, or those around the sufferer who either enable or refuse to recognize the pain and who rationalize it all away? I don't have the answer, just asking the question.

I know the feeling.....and the feeling is temporary...in reality, you've lost your worst enemy.... COURAGE!!! ACTION!!! NOW!!!! Jack, whever I need a kick in the ass, you provide it - your wit and courage coupled with the temerity to say it like it is really helps. Thanks for posting and keeping it real...to use all those worn out cliches...lol Sue

Atkins was the only diet that worked for me - so I am trying to do roughly atkins like foods...my downfall is my friggin' sweet tooth - THAT chocolate goes down way too easy, while everything else has band limits...

Monday weigh in works for me!!

Count me in, too! My starting weight is 174.5...

I'd rather have my friends back. However, since that's not an option, I'll take Saddam's death.

I went from Houston to MX and was very glad I packed a small carryon with wheels so I didn't have to lug anything...the walking helped...so did the coffee at the kiosk that morning! Had surgery Friday, stayed in hotel/hosp saturday and then went home early Sunday...no problems at all...

I quit, too - used Zyban, and it took the craving away. I did it a month POST band - and yeah not eating and not smoking is kinds hard...lol...

Tracy - your mom and mine MUST be related...lol...for Christmas (I don't celebrate it b/c I converted to Judaism, but she just can't get over that either) she gave me a huge box of cordial cherries - my absolute, can't turn down fave...I ate 4 (two servings) over two days and dumped the rest...jeez...and I'm now in a size 14 pant she keeps telling me that "my, the ass in those is so baggy..." The 14s fit for now...damn...gimme a break...wish the top would shrink as much as the bottom lol but not my hubby!!

Count me in for the challenge!! I lost 13.5 for the Christmas challenge, and am having a fill on 5 Jan - so I am hoping that will get things rolling along...

I did it. The worst part was talking to my husband and three year old on the phone afterwards, when I was sore and miserable...I met another woman who was there having surgery the day afater - we ended up walking around town and that helped a lot....its totally do-able...

lost another pound for a total weight loss of 13.5 for the Christmas challenge...Hope I can do better for the next challenge. Congrats to all out there and Happy Holidays!

I like the idea of valentine's Day...

food Porn: Holiday Meringue Kisses Posted Dec 13th 2006 7:05PM by Nicole Weston Filed under: Food Porn, Baking, On the Blogs, Spirit of Christmas Meringue kisses are very easy Cookies to make but can be tricky to get right. Helene, from Tartelette, made these Holiday Meringue Kisses to give away as part of some holiday gift baskets and provided a great tip to anyone who wants to try making them at home. The secret to achieving crisp meringue cookies that won't turn to grainy mush from moisture accumulation is to let them cool overnight in the oven by simply turning the oven off once they have baked. The residual heat continues to very gently cook the meringues, drying them to a lovely, light crispness. I have tried this technique myself a few times with good results, although I would warn everyone to put a note on the oven as a reminder that something is in there. I have had other people turn on the oven without checking it (and have foolishly done it myself, as well), only to smell burning meringues a few minutes later. Helene tinted hers red and green for a Christmas-y look, but you can also try other small additions, such as adding peppermint extract to the cookies before baking or drizzling them with a bit of melted chocolate when they are done.

food Porn: Pecan Squares Posted Dec 16th 2006 4:28PM by Nicole Weston Filed under: Food Porn, Nuts/seeds, On the Blogs, Fall Flavors, Sugar Deb from Smitten Kitchen says that these Pecan Squares are the most fattening thing she has ever made. I don't doubt her for a second because, although it looks like she made a fairly large batch, she also used almost 9 sticks of butter in the recipe. That's 1,017 grams, 4 1/2 cups and 72 tablespoons of butter for those of you not familiar with the notion of it in stick form. Of course, the recipe comes from Ina Garten and because she is known to use at least as butter as the lovely Paula Deen, this isn't all that surprising. Ina doesn't say how many servings this makes, but if we assume that you can cut it into 54 bars (2-in. squares), you're looking at around 17 grams of fat per bar - and more if you take Ina's suggestion to dip them in chocolate! The squares are essentially a caramel pecan pie filling that is baked on top of a buttery shortbread base. It is baked in an unusually large pan (18 by 12 by 1-in., as opposed to the more standard home baking size of 9 by 13-in.), but that does give it the advantage of being a convenient, decadent and delicious treat to bake for a big holiday party. Just don't tell anyone the nutritional stats before serving them.

Lamb and mutton are far far different...just made a leg of lamb roast Friday night and it was sumptous. As for food porn, check out http://www.slashfood.com and on the right hand side, scroll down to food porn link - the photos are wonderful!!!

MOM - Monday weigh in: 1 pound lost this week!