My struggles with keeping the weight off..

I'm kind of hesitant to talk about this because I don't want to be the poster girl for weight loss or make anyone that struggles with their weight to feel bad. I just read an article in our local paper today that said only 10% of people that loose weight keep it off...

10%! Yikes!!

These pictures were taken in Gatlinburg, Tennessee at a cabin we were staying in, the photo says 4/4/04, strange.... found it the other day while looking through pictures saved in Picasa. I think I look like a refrigerator...hated having my picture made..hated it. Dick and I were stuffed and not very healthy...walking was getting harder and harder for me. Dick was in 40 pants and going up....now he wears 36 inch waist pants,

Glory hallelujah!

Everything has changed now. I'm more at peace since the weight issue is gone...this is the real me. Sis had me open my eyes wide in the photo above...that's the way I want them to stay...wide opened. I want to be part of the 10% that keep the weight off!!

Read where Kirstie Alley has gained all her weight back plus 10...in one and a half years. Think of that guy Michael Hebranko that lost 700lbs to gain back 800lbs and now has lost 300lbs....breaks my heart!

Kirstie used Jennie Craig...Michael had help from Richard Simmons. I've given a lot of thought to successful weight loss... my opinion is, I believe every ones body, chemical make-up, life issues are so very different and the reason people fall off and gain back is because you have to find your own path to health. Nobody knows what you know about yourself.....

If you faithfully log in everything you eat on a free website like www.thedailyplate.com it will not take you long to realize what the problem is. For me I had no idea what a portion was..restaurants pile it on and I ate it up. It takes time to figure things out...I had the extra weight for 25 years! Lost most of the weight in 8 months....the first three months were a real struggle, but necessary.

Baby steps...plus, it helps to set small 5 pound goals....if you eat within your calories The Daily Plate sets up for you...you will lose weight. Exercise is very important but the main thing is the food. Enjoy life! Don't take all your favorites away...find a way to include them. I LOVE sandwiches, so I use the panini press almost everyday. Sargento makes low-fat sliced cheese, 50 calories...ham and turkey are just 60 calories for a 2oz serving. Buy really good bread...hopefully with some fiber in it. Hellman's low-fat 35 calories! Mustard just 5 calories! Add some baby carrots and cucumbers with some cucumber garlic or red pepper Tzatziki. I buy it at Walmart next to the cream cheese section...yummy! Greek Yogurt.

Don't give up good taste or good food...skip the diet stuff...that will make you sad..choose low fat if it takes good, like Edy's ice cream 1/2 fat. If you like chocolate, have it! I've heard it said if you can eat good healthy foods 80% of the time you are doing good. Try www.myrecipes.com if you need great cooking ideas...make sure you use the ones from Cooking Light with the calories and nutrients included.

The thing is..if I can do this, anyone can. We have this one life, God wants good things for us...health through exercise and eating right are good things we can achieve.

Lemon Meringue Baked Alaska...and that funny wedding dance video

Oh my goodness this pie is GOOD!

I made this for our family this weekend along with brownies and a cherry pie. Very smooth and creamy. You could easily make it way ahead if you have the freezer space...the meringue piles up high with peaks. I thought it was so much fun to make...5 stars for sure!

I used Graeters lemon sorbet and Edy's 1/2 fat ice cream.

The layer of meringue insulates the ice cream mixture, keeping it from melting under the broiler.

Yield 8 servings (serving size: 1 wedge)

Ingredients
32 vanilla wafers
2 cups vanilla low-fat ice cream, softened
2 cups lemon sorbet, softened
4 large egg whites
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon grated lemon rind

Preparation
Line bottom and sides of a 9-inch deep-dish pie plate with wafers;

set aside.
Place softened ice cream and sorbet in a large bowl;

beat with a mixer at medium speed until smooth.

Spoon mixture into prepared pie plate; place in freezer.
Place egg whites in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at high speed until foamy.

Combine sugar and water in a small saucepan; bring to a boil.

Cook, without stirring, until a candy thermometer registers 238°.

Pour hot sugar syrup in a thin stream over egg whites,

beating at medium speed.

Increase speed to high; beat until stiff peaks form.

Fold in rind.

Spread over ice cream.

Loosely cover, and freeze 4 hours or until firm.

Preheat broiler.

Broil frozen pie for 1 minute or until meringue is lightly browned. Serve immediately.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 290 (12% from fat)
Fat: 3.8g (sat 1.4g,mono 1g,poly 0.1g)
Protein: 4.1g
Carbohydrate: 61.6g
Fiber: 0.9g
Cholesterol: 11mg
Iron: 0.6mg
Sodium: 105mg
Calcium: 51mg
Lorrie Corvin, Cooking Light, AUGUST 2005

To print recipe
I had issues with my gas oven broiler...burnt the peaks off...no big deal....

just scraped off the top ...I need one of those fancy burners I guess.``````````````````````````````````````````````
Surprise Wedding Dance...I imagine most of you have seen this, but if you haven't and need a smile....I just wonder what the reception was like????

Our newest grandbabies Kate and Jack.........

We didn't know who would come first this summer...Jack or Kate...the anticipation was great! Then came the exciting phone call to Sissy and Shawn...we have your daughter!! Kate! Our Kate! Soon we were at the airport meeting our Kate for the very first time...

Glorious wonderful day! Kate is finally home...

Pop-Pop is one of Kate's very favorite people...they are like two peas in a pod...a joy to watch. Kate really loves little Jack, they will be very good friends I just know. New people make her a little wary, understandably, so when she came in our house this weekend to meet Rich and Rachel for the first time it took her back a bit. When Rachel picked up little Jack from his nap and held him, the ice was broken immediately... Kate saw the baby...oohh..baby...baby. I know Kate we all feel the same way! About you and Jack... baby oh baby!

It's hard to keep little Kate out of the water..she's a busy girl.

So smart, sweet, loving and kind.

Kate loves to sing and loves music. Her smile absolutely lights up a room...

I love you so much sweet baby girl!

Kate, our beautiful, beautiful girl...
A few weeks after Kate got home, we got the much awaited call from Rich...Rachel's in labor...get packed, meet us at the hospital!

Glorious wonderful day!! Jack is finally here!

Only 5 weeks old...Jack is his own little man. Although he spends a great deal of time sleeping and eating, this little guy coos, laughs, talks and I promise, he's already singing!

You can tell Jack has a great personality, so sociable!

I love you so much sweet baby boy!


Jack, our beautiful, beautiful boy.....

My cup runneth over!

Dick and me.......

Well....the house is very quiet now after being full to the brim with a sweet little baby, beautiful angel girls and their mommies and daddies.

Got one last snuggle with Jack this morning before he had to get in that big gold truck with the Tennessee license tags and drive down the street and out of sight.

As I turned to go back in the house, the tears that had been welling up for awhile finally spilled down my face. I needed a hug....a big one! Dick was there, ready to oblige...think he may have needed one too.

Tears not really of sadness, but tears of admiration, pride and so much joy. Now all our kids have kids....they are busy living their lives and being the best people possible. What more could a parent ask? Nothing.

Sis is a very talented photographer... captured us perfectly in this photo she took yesterday. Thanks Sissy!

I have a lot more to say and pictures to post... but for today, I just want to say...We are blessed.

He's Got the Whole World In His Hands...Strong to Deliver

Hebrews 13:5

Keep your lives free from the love of money and

be content with what you have,

because God has said,

"Never will I leave you;

never will I forsake you."

Look at What You Have, Not What You Had....

Usually don't watch Oprah much any more, while waiting for Dick to come home yesterday I turned on the TV and noticed Suzy Orman was talking about recession help on Oprah....

Well I need that (help), so I watched...

really glad I did.

Suze Orman's Recession Rescue Plan
Step 5: Look at What You Have, Not What You Had
How much longer should we expect times to be tough? "Things will get better, get worse. ... [In] the next two or three years, it will start to turn around," Suze says. "But I'm so sorry to say it will be, in my opinion, 2015 until every single person feels hopeful again."

Which is why Suze says it's so important to look at what you have and be grateful, instead of looking at what you've lost and feel angry. "If you continuously look in the rearview mirror while you're going forward, you're going to get in an accident. And the victim of that accident is going to be you," she says. "Don't compare. You'll feel stronger, you'll have more energy and you'll be able to turn this around."

Be grateful for the savings account you do have or the family that has helped you through. Although she knows it isn't easy, Suze urges everyone to see what they've been through as a kind of blessing. "When you are grateful—when you can see what you have—

you unlock blessings to flow in your life."


If you want to keep reading this article... Oprah.com

I am grateful, however, sometimes while going through photo's I'll see a picture of a past house or garden that we have had to let go... this one especially hurts. When Dick and I moved in, the backyard was an empty slate....we placed almost every tree, bush, stone, hill and flower. We moved from this house December 28, 2005 in tears, but with hope.

Then.... May 2004

Now ...July, 2009

Every house in our neighborhood...300 I believe, will be getting new sewer lines.

Our backyard view

Looks like a giant mole hill.

Yesterday while I was fixing our dinner, the door bell rang.

Dick answered to find two little neighborhood girls

we had never met before.

They wanted to tell us how beautiful our flowers were....

In the words of my fellow blogger Renie

"I'm too blessed to be stressed!"

“The grass withers and the flowers fade,

but the Word of God stands forever.” Isaiah 40:8

Two Yummy Shrimp Salad Recipes And A New Snack...

Coconut Crab and Shrimp Salad

I'm really sorry we didn't take pictures of this salad last night after I prepared it....this photo does not do it justice! I used frozen shrimp and imitation crab meat....told Dick it was the poor man's version....sure didn't taste poor though. Next time I make this dish, I will use fresh shrimp and crab meat and

make it special.

Since I used frozen shrimp I skipped the first step...just ran the shrimp under water to thaw and then chop. This recipe uses half an avocado, so I used the other half to make guacamole...served it with tortilla chips which Dick used to scope up the leftovers. Yum!

Fresh, light, so easy to make. 4 stars!

Yield
4 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups lettuce, about 1 cup salad, and 1 tablespoon coconut)


Ingredients
Cooking spray
1/2 pound medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/2 teaspoon salt, divided
1 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels, thawed (about 2 ears)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/3 cup diced peeled avocado
1/2 pound lump crabmeat, drained and shell pieces removed
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and chopped
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons extravirgin olive oil
6 cups torn Boston lettuce (about 3 small heads)
1/4 cup flaked sweetened coconut, toasted


Preparation
Heat a medium nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add shrimp and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook 4 minutes or until shrimp are done, turning once. Remove from the pan. Coarsely chop shrimp.
Combine corn and the next 5 ingredients (through jalapeño) in a medium bowl. Gently stir in the shrimp. Combine juice, oil, and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle juice mixture over shrimp mixture; toss gently to coat. Divide lettuce among each of 4 plates; top with shrimp mixture.

Sprinkle evenly with toasted coconut.

Nutritional Information

Calories: 223 (34% from fat)
Fat: 8.5g (sat 2.2g,mono 3.6g,poly 1.3g)
Protein: 24g
Carbohydrate: 16g
Fiber: 3g
Cholesterol: 124mg
Iron: 3mg
Sodium: 613mg
Calcium: 94mg
Julianna Grimes Bottcher, Cooking Light, OCTOBER 2005

To print recipe

Shrimp, Bacon and Avocado Salad

Found this awesome blog http://coconutlime.blogspot.com/

All her recipes are original.

To see the recipe....

Shrimp, Bacon and Avocado Salad

If you use center cut bacon and low fat mayo in this recipe that would really cut down on the calories.

Shared via AddThis (I need to find out how to add this to my blog!)

Found a new snack

Ritz Crackerfuls

3 grams of fiber

130 calories..2 grams saturated fat

Really, really good

Hope springs eternal.....

The water company turned off the water in our house yesterday morning right after we got home from our walk in the park....the water would be off until 3pm...not good. We looked kinda bad...hot, wet, I'm not going to say stinky, but we NEEDED a shower. Dick had a business lunch so he improvised with some water he could drain from the hot water heater to clean up in....that was kinda funny.....but he always does find humor in most things.

Me....not as much.

Fox news reported that we are now a trillion dollars in debt....that is not a joke or going away soon. They reported about a Mom and Dad of 17 that had been brutally murdered in their home and had captured three gunman in the case. Locally, a teenage girls life was taken away in a car crash that took place in Cherokee Park where we walk...everyday we see the cards, flowers, gifts beside the road...her parents are said to be inconsolable.

I think about these things...

Hope for tomorrow

A Good Laugh

Thankful

The water finally came back on.....got a shower, did some laundry, watered the flowers....better! Some situations though, are not that easily fixed .....some stuff I have no control of and have to let it go.

I kinda stewed on "things" a bit yesterday....not good, I know. Then, out of the blue... Hope sprung it's head when I opened a new roll of paper towels......bam! Who knew?

"Learn from yesterday, live for today, hope for tomorrow"....

"there's a whole lot to be thankful for if you just take the time to look",

and "a good laugh is sunshine in the home".

You know, after reading these phases I started to feel a whole lot better...thanks Bounty!

Our church's message Sunday "In my universe, He's in control" was so inspirational, watch this and be comforted. Kyle, our teaching pastor, explains how our earth is exactly where it needs to be in the Galaxy....no mistakes. If your life seems to be spinning out of control...it will be okay, God knows and He cares. The text is from Job.

There is Hope!!

PS Gotta add this new photo of Jack, he will be a month old July 20th....he's coming to visit week after next and I can't wait!! God is so good!!

I'm back on track....

It feels good to be back logging in my food at
www.thedailyplate.com.

It feels good to be back on track

I stopped logging into TDP last year in November. After 8 months of logging in every day and after losing 60 pounds, I wanted to see if I could maintain my weight on my own using the skills I had learned.

A lot happened during the time I stopped logging in.

• The stressful election
• The down turned economy
• Dick lost his job
• We started a new business
• We lost our nest egg
• We moved
• Our son and his wife both lost their jobs
• Another son and his wife had a beautiful baby boy
• Our daughter and her husband made the decision to adopt a precious little girl with special needs and traveled to China to gather her up and bring her home

That's just a few things, left out some others, but you get my drift.....

Stress has been abundant.

One thing I didn't want to have happen was to return to stress eating.....stuffing my face to "feel" better. While losing the weight last year I dealt with some painful reason why I had overeaten. That part is over....done!

Logging in again I find that I was basically on track. What I like the most about logging in again is eating 1450-1500 calories a day.....makes me feel so much better! (In maintenance, I was eating about 2, 000 calories a day or so ) It's good to see I'm keeping the fiber up and sodium down. That's one of the reasons I LOVE about the TDP....it's great to see the numbers at the bottom of the page that tell you how you are doing nutrition wise.

The whole reason I lost the weight was to return to health....

Return to life and myself.

This morning I noticed the new packaging on the English Muffins

I keep out on the counter.

Better Start

I buy the "light" multi-grain with 8g of fiber. I used to eat Fiber One bars with 9g of fiber but had to give them up....the chicory root in them gave me fits.

Starting out in the morning eating Thomas English Muffins with 8g of fiber gives me a better chance of getting in 24g of fiber per day I need.

Hopefully, this time logging in I'll have a better start at accomplishing staying on track. I'm going to work on better snack food this time....lower calories, nutritious and filling. I'll let you know what I find out!

As for dealing with the stress....my faith in God, my belief that He loves me and will never leave me, pulls me through every time. I know that my redeemer lives!

arghh....

Yesterday was Dick's 62nd ( oh my!!) birthday, we had a great day!

Started off with breakfast at

Wild Eggs
Dick got his beloved pancakes. He did mention these were the healthy kind.....

he likes the pancakes with the crispy edge from the oil frying around them.

( Oh dear!)

I fixed this Caesar Salad Club for dinner.

Dick's favorite food is Chicken Caesar Salad at Panera...loves it!

I found this recipe on the The Noble Pig blog.....

she said she got it from Ina Garten.

This sandwich is seriously good.

I used low-fat mayo...

we also used leaf lettuce because we really don't like arugula.

Left off the sun dried tomatoes too.

The dressing is awesome and will be a staple for us now.

Made two, one with anchovy paste, one without.

We had asparagus, zucchini, corn on the cob and Spaghetti Carbonara

(used bacon instead of ham) for the girls.

Now to the arghh...part

Tres Leches Cake ( Three Milks Cake)

We have always eaten this cake at Spanish restaurants...

there we share one and I eat a few bites.

I've never made one.

Dick wanted one....

I made one.

It was really, really good..too good.

The recipe calls for milk, I used half and half to make it richer.

I am human I err...

Dick and I decided to throw away this very delicious cake this morning

Ate a piece before we went to bed because I knew we were getting back on The Daily Plate today....( My pants are getting snug)

I couldn't sleep

At all

I feel really stupid to take so long figuring this one out....

Sweets keep me up at night.

Thought it was just caffeine.

Still on this journey trying to figure things out....

Anyway...I'm back at www.thedailyplate.com come join me...

This is a glimpse into one of our down home birthdays...I kept the cake in the pan because I'd never made it before and I knew that would be "safe".

However, a glass pan or decorative pan would have been better...

I just know my family understands!

Love that man!

Shawn is the best daddy...Kate is all about the food right now, she is discovering new dishes everyday. Corn on the cob was a big hit with her!

Leah is all about noodles...loves them! Me too!

I'm so proud of Leah, she has made so many adjustments from being an "only" to big sis. Leah is a big help in the kitchen, she whipped the cream, added the confectioners sugar and helped put the Happy Birthday candles on....

Love you sweety!!

To hear little Kate say mama...be still my heart. Sissy is the best mommy!!

Love my girls!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~




Max came to our church this past weekend. His sermon sent chills through my soul. If you would like to hear and see his message on " Why are we afraid?" here it is.

He said,"fear never wrote a poem"....fear does nothing but take, reduce.....puts us in prision....Can you imagine your life without fear? .....How would our days be different?....

Max Lucado has written a new book called Fearless. He ask the question..Would you like a life where you had no fear?

You can read and download the first chapter here and learn more about the book.

My prayer tonight....

Empty Me


Ephesians 3:14-21

For this reason I kneel before the Father,

from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith.

And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,

may have power, together with all the saints,

to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ,

and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—

that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine,

according to his power that is at work within us,

to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations,

for ever and ever!

Amen.

Well, I broke my pinky toe last night so I have some time to blog today instead of going and doing some fun 4th of July stuff.......

Got this picture on Wikihow about how to fix a broken toe. Yuck! I ran into Dick's tennis shoe with my bare feet yesterday when we were getting ready for our walk in the park...lost part of the toenail too...it was tragic.

I took a picture of my broken toe and found out I'm just not ready to post a picture of my funny toes on my blog yet. That makes 4 broken toes in my lifetime 3 on the same foot now. The last time was 1989...funny how you remember things like that.

I'm going to sit on my porch and look at this flag and try and make the best of it!

( Check out Bakerellas blog)



Got a question from Laura in the comments about if I've always eaten healthy.

As far as always eating healthy...I'd have to say no, not really.

Dick and I had gotten to the point we were eating out way too much and choosing anything we wanted. Plus, we belonged to the clean your plate club. We love ice cream...

Had no idea what a serving was...just filled that bowl to the brim!!

Big time stress eaters....sweet, salty didn't matter, whatever we wanted we got.

Oh we went to the gym 3 days a week and walked during the week too...

but were eating way too much.

I see overweight people walking in the park all the time, I just want to run up to them hug them and say www.thedailyplate.com try it, it works...it's FREE!!!!

Get control of the food you put in your mouth.

Find out about portions, sodium, fiber.

I like to eat.

Found out how low in calories fruits and vegetables are...

you can eat a lot of those!

Strawberries, 50 calories for a cup!! Cucumbers, 9 calories a half cup!

My skin started to glow, my knees stopped hurting, (for every pound you lose, it's 4 pounds off your knees...I took off 240 pounds off my knees!!!),

have lots more energy...feel like a kid again.

Forget about going in a dress shop and picking out a size 10 or 12 and the absolute greatest feeling of going into the dressing room pulling on a pair of size 10 pants and they fit!

When you log in your calories you really start to get a

handle on the volume of food you eat.

You will find out you really don't need as much food as you thought.

Takes time... it took me three months to figure it out. In the mean time if you just stay within your allotted calories and exercise (I walk)

you WILL lose weight.

You will make mistakes..

it's way okay.

Just get back to eating right ASAP.

Sorry I got on my soapbox!! Went further than you asked Laura, whoops!

I'm preaching to myself too...I'm on this journey for the rest of my life,

sometimes it's a struggle.

Like now...I won't be able to walk for a while. So I'm going to log in my calories on TDP for now to make sure I stay on track.

Join me, I need friends on this walk.

Together we can do this!

Creamy Salsa Dip, Refrigerator Ice Tea and Fruit Tea

Creamy Salsa Dip

Ingredients

2 cups Natural Plain yogurt

1 cup salsa

3 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

1 tsp sea salt

In a bowl mix well. Cover and keep refrigerated until ready to use.

A couple of shots of hot sauce would work well in this dip if you need a kick

Serve with fresh veggies, tortilla chips and crackers

Really light and fresh...About 150 calories per cup

You could eat half of this dip and be okay!

Refrigerator Ice Tea

Dick got this recipe while listening to The Splendid Table broadcast. Just fill a pitcher with cold water add tea bags to taste and put it in the refrigerator to steep. We like to use 2 family size tea bags or 8 small bags to 2 quarts of water. Leave overnight or make in the morning for dinner. Viola!

Adding sliced lemons and limes would be wonderful

Another wonderful fresh tea is Fruit Tea

I have used this recipe for years and it always gets rave reviews!

Fruit Tea

Makes one gallon

Ingredients

6oz lime juice concentrate

6oz lemonade concentrate

6oz orange juice concentrate

1 cup sugar or Splenda (18 packets I believe if you use those)

8 small tea bags or 2 family size tea bags ( I use Lipton)

Brew tea

Then combine everything into a gallon container, adding water to fill to the top.

( I use an empty gallon milk jug)

Shake or stir, refrigerate until ready to use

Enjoy!