NON WW & WW NEWBIES, OUR NEW LIFE, THE START OF SOMETHING WONDERFUL

@fabgeekmom There are still occasionally things there but it's much easier to resist them when they aren't there nearly every day. That's good your meal was good. I hope you enjoyed your swim.

@cbabie What's RSD? I'm sorry about your knee. That's too bad you break out from sunscreen, that makes summers hard, huh? Thank you!

@theslightedgeforever That's good you didn't let your eye roam to your favorite flavor. I just emailed him this: "The next time you get ice cream from the store, instead of getting me a Haagen Daaz, can you get me some low-sugar bars like Enlightened? It will help me stay on track better." We'll see if that helps. I don't want to go into the store after work when he does this: it's too busy lol. But he should get me some bars like I asked. That bowl was really good. That's good you are getting better at f&v. 6 is great! Your food looks good. What is in the top right corner that has purple/red on it?

Hello all. I did okay yesterday except when I went to the cafe and got a single-size bag of chips and an RxBar. I will count that as my visit to the cafe this week. I am off early today for a dental appt: just a cleaning but I hate getting it done. Unfortunately, I have to go every 3 months.

Water yesterday: 64 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"

@trooworld I hope the dentist appointment went well. I don’t like going either. The snacks at the cafe sound good. I love RX bars. The ice cream solution is a good idea. Yasso bars are good, too. The chocolate fudge has 80 calories. @Babytessie01 Welcome to our group. I think counting calories is easier than points. Calories are universal and don’t change. @cbabie I understand that when you are in pain it’s hard to exercise. Do what you can. I hope you feel better. Hi, all. Today was a good day. I went for a walk, rode my recumbent bike and went grocery shopping. Dinner tonight is leftover pasta.

@Babytessie01 Hi and welcome! Yeah, it can be a surprise to see the calories. That WAS good! You are most welcome. I try to share good recipes when I can. I also have GERD and I was at one time diagnosed with a diverticulum. Hmmm...do you eat a lot of carbs? I am not sure what is causing the bloating and gas. re: doing miserably with calorie counting...it might take a minute to get your "footing" so to speak. Maybe you should just observe how you are eating this first week before you try to make changes. And then next week, you can make small tweaks to get some wins. Just a thought.

@cbabie That's good you were close in calories, I'm sorry you are still in pain. Good job tracking! The RSD/CRPS sounds like it would be really painful, I know my husband has sciatica which is a nerve pain, and it hurts him. Good luck at the dentist today!

@fabgeekmom Thank you. I like Yasso bars. Good to know about the chocolate fudge ones. Good job with the walk and bike!

Hi all. The dentist visit went okay, although they wanted to laser my gums for an uncovered $164. I asked why they wanted to do it and they said they did it years ago to my gums (I remember they did) but the machine broke, that's why they haven't been doing it. So, it is supposed to kill bacteria better. Every 8 months I'll have to have it done. It didn't hurt, but it's just an added expense. I thought I did okay this week but got on the scale this morning and gained 2 lbs. I hate the scale, I hate the process of losing weight, I am so sick of gaining gaining gaining losing one week and then gaining gaining gaining again. @Babytessie01, just some background on my journey, I am in the process of qualifying for bariatric surgery...I've tried to lose weight for nearly 30 years with no success so it's time to do something different.

Water yesterday: 64 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"

@trooworld the little red things on the plate were flat peaches. At least that's what I call them. lol
That was good on sending your husband a message like that. Now in my household it would turn out "I couldn't find them". Which is why I have to go. I've trained him too well. Today I suggested what about you learning to cook. That can be a hobby for you. He replied, how about you take up the hobby of fixing the things around the house? (Like those have to be done 3 times a day EVERYDAY) Anyway..... I think your dentist is trying to make some extra money. LOL I keep hearing about dentists doing root canals and such when not really necessary to make money and then that is causing problems later for the patient. I hear you on the scale and losing weight. I'm trying to disassociate the scale and my good habits. My success is in my habits. I have been stuck at the same number give or take some ounces for more than a month. I'm looking for the NSV while continuing to be more consistent in my habits.

@Babytessie01 Welcome to the group! They always say awareness is the first step. I used to do WW then did carb cycling then did Healthi thinking it would help me eat more f&v (it didn't) then now I'm doing carb cycling while trying to stay within my calories and still working on the f&v. I have a perfection problem so a tendency to just quit if I'm not doing it right. I'm now working on learning to increase my f&v and other healthy foods and decrease my portions of unhealthy foods. It's the overall trend that I'm looking at. Have you tried tracking your symptoms and food at the same time to see which foods could be a problem? Maybe in the Notes section of your food diary you could keep track. Alternatively there's an ios app MySymptoms that I use that help narrow down possible suspect foods. The problem is I got tired of double tracking so it kind of went by the wayside until I have a problem again and then I'll start back up.

@cbabie Good for you for tracking. Your food can look pretty too. My chicken breasts are really just sauteed with some Everything but a Bagel seasoning sprinkled over it. That easy. The salad didn't take long either. You know me. I don't want to be spending too much time in a kitchen when I could be reading. So what is the treatment for your pain other than Tylenol and waiting it out?

@fabgeekmom I'm glad you are in our group with your normal day to day doing it right things. Your username is a good one. You are like a mom to us wild teenagers trying to figure out life. lol You give us hope.

@gemwolf110 Love the pics. Especially the sunset. I could taste your gravy. I've had two molar extractions.

@gemwolf110 I'm glad you had a nice trip. Isn't it always we need a vacation from our vacation? lol Great pictures. The food looks yummy.

@theslightedgeforever Ah okay. lol...I understand why you have to go then. My husband is pretty good about finding that kind of stuff. He may forget though. Ugh, I'm sorry your suggestion didn't go well. Yeah that's what I thought about the dentist at first but when he said what it is for (I have gum disease with some deep pockets) and that they did it before, I agreed to do it. We'll see if it makes a difference. Oh gosh, you just never know with dentists. It's like getting your car fixed: you kind of just have to trust that they are being honest. That must be frustrating to be stuck around the same number. That's a good idea to look for NSVs. Did I ever tell you about the NSV book I used to keep? I still look back at it on occasion and read my NSVs.

@fabgeekmom Yes! I have a lot of money in my mouth as well. I have: 2 implants, 2 bridges, 2 crowns so I feel you! Crowns are expensive. Some people around here (including one of my friends) go down to Mexico to have dental work. Thank you for the encouragement. That's great you spent a lot of time outside. When are your kids getting back? I love Israeli couscous too!

Hi all. I picked up Sam's Club groceries last night but I still have to go to the Asian grocery store and the International/Mediterranean grocery store today. I made Moussaka Beef Rice last night for dinner. It was pretty easy to make but we found it a bit too tomatoey and it needed some parmesan cheese to balance out the tomato. Hopefully, tonight's recipe will be better: Skinnytaste's Caesar-Marinated Chicken Kabobs with Zucchini and Grilled Romaine. I bought us a guidebook to local coffee shops that you can fill out your ratings in. Maybe we'll explore a new coffee shop today.

Water yesterday: 32 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"

@fabgeekmom I didn't end up making it last night, I was tired from my day, but I'll make it today. Your kids must have been exhausted! That sounds like a good way to do the food.

Hi all. I was away from home pretty much all day yesterday. I got in almost 12,000 steps! If I had worn my watch when we walked the dogs, I would have gotten 12,000 steps. We walked the dogs together in the morning and then I went for some groceries. Then I met my old boss at the photographic museum. We walked around in there and went to my favorite used bookstore and then for coffee. When I got back, my husband wanted to get out of the house so we went to a couple of bookstores and then for a beer. It was a nice day, about 78F, and sunny. I enjoyed my day.

Water yesterday: 32 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"

@fabgeekmom Yes! I had a great time. Oh, it's always nice to go out to eat. I hope you had a nice Father's Day. Yum, I love chocolate from overseas.

Hi all. I ran around a lot yesterday, too: we went to two different coffee shops and we went to a bookstore. It was a beautiful day to be out and about. I messed up and didn't defrost the meat for dinner so we had frozen chicken strips and fries in the air fryer. I made a tonkatsu sauce for the chicken.

Water yesterday: 12 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"

@trooworld Frozen chicken strips and fries sound good. Good to have a back up plan. @theslightestedgeforever I used low-fat buttermilk and Ranch seasoning. That’s great that you broke your plateau. Hi, all. DH and I went to Sam’s this morning. I got flank steak for tomorrow night and ribeyes for Friday plus some other stuff. Monday morning was a good time to go. I went for a walk and ride the bike. We didn’t cook the chicken yesterday. I air fried it as my son was too tired to grill it.

@trooworld The chicken was good! Little Italy sounds like fun and a lot of good food! Hi, all! I went for a walk this morning and went swimming afterwards. That was too much and I’m feeling it. I’m not in a lot of pain but I can tell I overdid it. I won’t do that again. Tonight my son is grilling flank steak. I made a soy sauce and olive oil sauce to pour over it when done. I’m also roasting potatoes and cooking squash from the garden. My daughter and her family are coming over.

@cbabie lol...you are dedicated if you read all those posts! I'm sorry you've been in a funk. It must be hard not to be in a funk when it's that hot. Are you going to walk around with that 15 ft umbrella? LOL I am just picturing that. I do seem to always be on the go, at least on the weekends. I want a weekend where I don't have to go anywhere (and then, I'd probably be bored lol). I do need a staycation!

@fabgeekmom Yes! We had never been to any of the ones we tried. Thank you! I'm glad you didn't overdo it yesterday. That's good dinner was already made.

Hi all. We were supposed to have a Skinnytaste recipe called Foil Packet Cheesy Sausage and Peppers last night for dinner with some veggies. It was my husband's night to cook. The frustrating thing about him is that he sometimes will ignore a recipe entirely (despite me already tracking it) and make it up. That is exactly what he did with the foil packets. There was no marinara. There was no cheese. It was just a slightly greasy mess. He didn't make the veggies but made a salad with Caesar dressing. But I didn't say anything because he was home all day and cleaned some of the house for which I was grateful. Today is his birthday and so I am making a dish that is one he likes: Loco Moco. Not the healthiest thing but he likes it. It's a Hawaiian dish involving a ground beef patty, gravy, egg, and white rice. Other than that, I had a migraine in the middle of the night. I think I was grinding my teeth too hard or something because my head feels better since I got up. Oh, and I also got a "smart" water bottle called the Hidrate Spark PRO. It was expensive but I think it will help me drink more water and more accurately track my water: https://hidratespark.com/products/hidratespark-pro-21oz-smart-water-bottle

Water yesterday: 64 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"

Waiting for my Athenian pizza to arrive way too hot to turn oven on

@Babytessie01 She means "fruits & vegetables". How are you doing?

@gemwolf110 Happy Summer Solstice to you as well! It is that time of year to figure out what to make when it's too hot to cook. I always have trouble with that.

@fabgeekmom Yes! I did, it was good. Thank you. Did you like the other pool? Yummy dinner.

Hi all. As you can see from my water intake yesterday, I like my new smart water bottle. It "gamifies" water consumption for me. Unfortunately, I continue to gain weight. Did I track over the weekend so I could look back and see what went wrong? NOOOOO. Grrh. I don't even remember what we ate. I shoot myself in the foot when I don't track, so why don't I track the weekends?

Water yesterday: 149 oz

My phrase for the year: "New year, new me!"