Having that food prepped makes a big difference for me too in throwing something together when I am hungry.

Carla - power of suggestion...early evening I went to the YMCA to ride the spin bike for an hour. They have spin bikes and regular exercise bikes. I ride to a You Tube spin class on my phone. I had to go grocery shopping after and I was starving to the point of shaking and sweating (low blood sugar). I bought natural coconut/date balls ...nothing else added and that got me through...I had very little to eat all day and was not paying attention until I got off the bike. I need to learn to make my own.

Brooks and I swam this morning. It is my favorite exercise lately. It feels so good. I want to join a master swim class soon.

Oh Mihani, don't worry about getting in a bathing short or trunks. If you know how to swim and loved it go for it. I started last year, first time ever swimming laps. I was very obese and at my age I am starting to get that ugly baggy old age skin. I still have another 30-40 lbs to lose. It did help that a younger friend and my husband where supporting me. The people swimming lap lanes, they are too busy to stop and stare. I feel like people in a gym are always sizing everyone up. I have a good friend in Italy who has a bad hip, she is 62 and won't go swimming as she is a 100lbs + overweight. She can't walk or bike for exercise. She is stuck. In Northern Italy at the pool people mind their own business. It is free, beautiful clean indoor pool the USAF helped built and it is never busy during lunch.

I will look up the Lara bar recipes next week. Taking tomorrow off other than walking dogs to be ready for Saturday's ride.
B - oatmeal and strawberries
L - Salad
D - sweet potatoes and black beans plus watermelon ...it is hot here and watermelon sounded refreshing.

Carla - that is amazing colors in that yarn. Have you thought about getting your own sheep? What breed has the best wool?

I am having a hard time snacking too. That bike tour was difficult and I had pizza (with vegetables and cheese) after plus a margarita. Last night a party...turned down the steak for beans but not the wine. Plus a fattening spinach dip. Have been up 2 lbs . I just want to eat simply today. Cleo and I had a long walk this morning, 4.5 miles and at the end it was up to 90* with 45% humidity. We bought the dogs a little hard plastic swim pool.

Dinner: vegetable kabobs on the grill (mushrooms, red pepper, onion and zucchini) plus vegetarian coleslaw and sweet potato fries (not fried, roasted).

Naps are totally allowed on weekends! Especially holiday weekends I have been off the rails for too long. I'm up almost 10 lbs! I'm hoping there's some water weight in there that I can get rid of over the next few days.

Good idea on the pool, Donna. We bought one for Ruby a few years back. Nice long walk. I don't know how you do it in weather like that!

The wool question is a big one. It really depends on what you want to do with the wool. For next-to-the-skin softness, Merino is considered the best. If you want something more durable, like for outer wear, you want a medium wool breed, and if you want something really tough, you want a long wool or primitive breed, but you wouldn't want that wool for clothing. Maybe for a bag/satchel, a net, stuff like that. Long wool is the kind that has beautiful long curly locks, so it is also used decoratively. We have thought about getting fiber animals, but really it is much cheaper and easier to buy fleece from someone else. If you buy by the fleece it isn't too pricey, and that way you can buy exactly the breed and quality you want. There are some super sweet animals out there though, so I do get tempted often!

I didn't snack yesterday after dinner, but I snacked a lot during the day. Our yam steaks and slaw turned out really good. I'm going to get back into walking during the week. If I go early in the morning I won't have any excuses!

Carla, here's my show & tell...

I'm spinning this right now:


And I finished this yarn at the beginning of the month:


I've gotten my eating a little more under control this week and I've also been outside walking with my zombies app. I've been starting with 4km every morning at 5; I started last Tuesday, so I'm feeling good about that...

Still no movement on the house, although a few more people are starting to come looking. Hopefully someone puts in an offer soon...

Carla - those are beautiful pictures. Is that a Clematis...one healthy plant. We lost a lot of our cacti when it snowed in San Antonio.

Going to California on Saturday to visit a friend who lost her husband recently to colon cancer. She is taking me up to Lake Tahoe for 3 days to hike. Another good friend of ours will be up there too. It will nice to get away from the heat here in San Antonio. She is korean and eats a ton of vegetables and fruits.

I am loving the date rolls more than chocolate!

Big salad today of lettuce, cabbage mix, roasted red peppers, sun dried tomatoes, sun flower seeds and onion. Out of Avocado. Going to make hummus and snap peas for dinner tonight along with a salad.

It is just an ongoing talk with my sister. She has this list of bad foods (fruits, corn, potatoes and carrots) and she is open but her focus is always on protein. I have a lot of resentment that I need to let go off. When I was a teenager and 5'4, 120 lbs...she and my mother went on Atkins diet (it was very strict back then)...she convinced me I was too heavy and needed to do this diet with them and I developed weird thoughts about good food/bad food. I have tried vegetarian diets before and she has always been negative about them. When she brought it up again I overly reacted. She has tried ETL for about 3 weeks now (after I did the Rookie Tri) and complained about feeling weak, etc, etc. She says she things she is getting too much sugar from oatmeal and fruit... I was not nice and I am not proud of this but I pointed out there is much more sugar in alcohol with no fiber, vitamins or micronutrients. I should have been kinder and more patient but we have had this discussion before. She was eating 800 calories a day and no wonder she was weak. I have never given up eggs or fish during my weight loss. I don't have them every day but I have avoided meat, cheese and chicken as they are high in saturated fats. Her blood work showed she had high cholesterol, LDL and triglycerides. She is not diabetic and no healthy reason to not eat fruit.

Thank you everyone. Being the youngest in a family of 3 sisters, I have always been the "baby" and given tons of advice on everything and especially diets. Advice from me is not readily accepted. My two sisters are 12 and 16 years older. We come from critical parents and tend to be critical of each other. My oldest sister has always been a big beef eater and fan of Atkins. She has struggled with anorexia, does not ever eat fruit and keeps her weight down by severe calorie and portion control. My middle sister has struggled as a child and adult with obesity. She does extreme dieting and tends to gain the weight back. For me to lose weight, do the Tri threw her for a loop...she immediately wanted to jump on a band wagon. She asked me how many lbs of lettuce I eat daily, when I told her I only weigh or portion control things like nuts, grains and sometimes fruit she started quoting Dr. Furman who said to eat x lbs of greens a day.

Okay You are right Carrie, I need to let it go. I hope your headache is gone. Brooks ate 2/3 rds of my veggie kabobs. Too funny.

Mihani - I think the nutrition subject is off the table for now. I agree, when I went on my first diet I developed weight problems and I wasn't fat at the time...the women of my family were all doing Atkins and thought I as a teenager should do it to.

Carla - how is Miss Ruby doing? I am down to 2 cups of coffee now and plan to get down to one cup after next week.

I leave for Northern California tomorrow for one week. A good friend lost her hubby to colon cancer last month. Brooks went to the funeral (hubby was retired air force pilot and flying trainer). I told my friend I would visit after her 2 children went home. Her daughter is deployed to Quatar and son is stationed in Japan. My friend is Korean and she does not read english well. She is really struggling right now so this is a good time. She eats a TON of fruit and vegetables. When I lived in California she was always giving me fresh fruit and vegetables. She is about a size 2, was on the Olympic Korean tennis team and loves to hike. She is taking me to Lake Tahoe for 2-3 days, San Francisco (to walk the hills) one day and another friend is having a BBQ & wine (there will be tons of vegetables) one day with card making with all our friends.

Have a great, healthy weekend everyone! Oh June 1...we need a new thread!

Carla_wfpb wrote: »

Look out world when Karrie decides to go hard core You are a force!

You just made my day!