Hey all... busy week since I'm taking Thurs. and Fri. off. Lots to get done before Wednesday is over. I'm so excited over two days off. Someday I should take a whole week!

I will definitely let y'all know how the tortillas turn out. I'm looking forward to trying them.

Absolutely, Nanc! I am sure that your great recovery from knee replacements, etc. are due in part to your dedication to health and nutrition.

Donna, yay for refried beans! When do you get back to real food?

Which reminds me... a friend likes to joke that I don't eat "real food" and I'm like seriously? What is "real food"? Hamburgers and packaged convenience foods apparently. LOL

@Carla_wfpb
Thank you! I hope you had a fun celebration for Father's Day.

@bisky
Thank you. Yes, that is exactly it. Everyone's journey is different. I feel we shouldn't compare our progress to anyone else's. I believe when we do that we are just setting ourselves up for failure. The only person we should compare ourselves to is the person we were at the beginning of our journey, a month ago, a week ago, yesterday.

I hope that didn't seem like I was looking down at my cousin for choosing surgery to help with her struggle. I am not. Her path is not a path I would choose for myself. But if it is working for her and she is happy then I am happy for her.

I have a good friend of mine who also chose the surgery route. He lost then gained back. His doctor prescribed him medication to help with weight loss. He is doing well now with it. He keep encouraging me to ask my doctor about the medication too. That also is not a path I am interested in for myself. For him it is about getting the results the fastest way possible. For me it is about making life style changes that I can maintain indefinitely. I am okay with my slower progress and journey.

@Mihani
Thank you. I've lost about 68lbs so far. Somedays it is a smidge less (3-5lbs). I am roughly half way to my goal. Sometimes I get that fat and disgusting feeling too. Especially if someone snaps a picture of me sitting. Then my stomach squishes up doing all sorts of funky stuff. When that happens it doesn't look like I made progress and is very discouraging. LOL

This past year I've struggled with losing. I've had a few stressful situations I've been navigating and have not made much scale progress. For the past few months I have been playing around with different things - changing up my exercise routine, adding in more activity, drinking more water, not tracking my calories (Chef AJ and health summit recommendation). None of it worked for me. Though changing up my exercise routine did make me feel stronger and give me more energy. I am back to tracking my calories again because that is what is the most effective method for me. I have read it is much more difficult the closer you get to goal. I will revaluate when I get to that point.

What is in your tex mex casserole and coleslaw? I love tex mex! I hope your tortillas come out well. I keep seeing how easy they are to make too. I've been wanting to try making them too.

Has anyone tried making their own crackers? Yesterday I was reading another chapter in How Not to Die and there was a suggestion to make crackers. I would like to try making those at some point too.

@magic71755
Thank you! I still have a way to go. I know I will get there eventually. I have an upcoming doctor appointment next week. I am curious to see what my blood tests show. I'm hoping my A1C dropped even lower.

Taco salad sounds delicious too!

Last night I made warm tahini potato salad. My husband and I loved it but my daughter did not. It was tahini, Dijon mustard, capers, garlic, onion, dill, parsley, lemon zest and juice, and potatoes. I served it with a salad and steamed artichokes. I love cooking. This week I picked a few new recipes from my cookbooks to try.

Mihani - Enjoy your days off! Good for you getting a mammogram ! So important. I guess you are not old enough for the colonoscopy experience but that is also very important. When I was 50y I had my first one and they found 3 polyps that were removed and I have not had any since.

JNettie - I love how real and open you are. You did not sounds at all critical. The struggle is real for the morbidly obese people who are 200 -300 lbs or more overweight and I actually think for the majority of those people they would be better off getting a gastric bypass along with counseling. The body gets out of whack and those hunger hormones can drive you crazy as it fights to get back to a set point. Of course I believe the best solution is to follow a diet such as ETL but it is challenging especially if you don't have a support group like this one. Your dinner looks delicious ....

Magic - I love greek yogurt 0% fat....is your homemade yogurt similar? How is the knee?

Carla - are you still recuperating from your event?

I am still on the mushy diet for another week and a lot of meds to prevent stomach ulcers around the suture line. Good news I had a hematology appt. on Monday and my H&H is up to normal and my Ferritin level is the highest it has ever been. For some reason the iron saturation is down so one more iron transfusion when I get back. The Hiatal hernia caused Cameron's lesions that have been bleeding small amounts causing my anemia. I hope I am on a good path to health. Loving my banza pasta (it is always mushy the next day), steamed vegetables (overly steamed) and refried beans. So much better than the liquid diet. I can't wait to have a fresh crunchy salad.

We leave on our trip tomorrow. Fly into Burlington, VT...spend 2 days, then up to Montreal for 2 nights and then over to Maine for 4 nights. My friends picked the pups up today....so quiet without them.