Hi Ladies:

As promised, here's the new thread for August. This thread is for anyone who wants to talk about their weight loss challanges and successes or who wants to be encouraged along your weight loss journey.

Betty Jo

Good Morning Everyone,
Well it's been a hectic week and will probably be so the next couple of weeks yet. Have had 2 of the grandkids here this last week and we are going to Munising, MI tomorrow and going on a sunset cruise of the pictured rocks. Hopefully we will have nice weather. We will be staying overnite and then bringing my granddaughter back home on either Friday or Saturday. Then we have my step-daughter's birthday on Saturday and my grandson goes home on Tuesday, the day we are leaving on our 4-wheeler trip. Needless to say I haven't been doing the best with the Jenny program, but with all the bumming and eating out it hasn't been too bad! I gained 1/2# this past week which I think is water retention from eating the saltier foods when we ate out. At home I don't use salt at all and when I eat out that is one thing that really seems to make a difference. I am hoping to just hold my own the next couple of weeks - if I manange to lose anything it will be a plus! Once the 4-wheeler trip is over I will get back on program 100% again - and hopefully I will make it to onederland by my l-year anniversary with Jenny!

I will check in with everyone again when I get a chance. Hope you all have a great day!
Kathy

Kathy:

That's awesome. You are doing a great job of controlling your weight this summer. And you've even managed to lose some weight with all your activities. It won't be long and we can all settle down for the winter and lose the rest of our weight. To me it's a little easier during the summer because you aren't as busy with other things and you can focus easier. Do you realize you are only 40 pounds from goal? Wow! That's awesome. I can't believe I'm just 21 pounds from goal. It seems like a dream and it really wasn't that hard either. I just plod along and lose it a little at a time.

Keep up the good work.

Betty Jo

Boy, it's been quiet in here.
Yes, you both are doing great! Wish I had both of your pounds to goal.
My total is only a 19 lb weight loss so far. With 51 to go... that's not even 1/2 way.
BUT, I got excited today. WI and I loss 4#. (I've been checking it all week. Every day. I always do. Just cant resist to look. I've never had such a large drop.... But it actually has been off of this body for 4 days. So.... I assume it's gone unless I screw it up.)

Kathy -- did I ever share with you about eating lemons if you have water retention? I crave pretzels.... for the salt. I just suck the salt and the pretzel is gone. LOL. My previous consultant asked if I liked lemons. She suggested squeezing lemons in water. I told her that I could do better than that - I like to eat lemons (rhines and all). She laughed because she likes to eat lemons too and said the rhine is actually what causes the most water loss action. I loss 3 pounds by the next day! Can you handle eating lemons? I cut the lemon in half and then in quarters. I ate 2 quarters.

I hope you have a great 4-wheeling trip!

Do you all get the JC newsletters? I never read them til the other day. Tossed all of them... except the May email: May Newsletter - Keep that Metabolism Going
It has the formula for resting metabolism calories to consume to keep your weight as is OR eat 500 calories less per day to lose 1# per week. Understand? Mine said IF I wanted to stay exactly like I am today, I needed to eat 1935 calories per day. IF I want to lose 1# per week, you eat 500 calories less per day. It also gives you activity levels to consider in the formula.

I told my new consultant that I found that exciting news. he didn't know JC had it. I really like my new consultant. It's a guy. I like guys for hairdressers too. They just talk to you different. And get the job done differently. My old consultant changed jobs about 3 weeks ago.

ok -- I'm going to bed. Suppose to have embroidery club (sewing machine embroidery) tomorrow.... don't know if I'll get up. I dont do 'early'. LOL.
Jo

Hi Ladies:

Well, the peaches are done. Whew, what a job. I canned what I wanted and then we gave the rest away. Then I had to spray every fruit tree we had. We have 3 apples, 1 pear, 2 plums, 2 peaches, 4 grape vines in different spots, and blackberries. I'm going out to pick the remainder of them today and then I have to make jams and jellies. They have so much sugar in them. I tried to make them with Splenda last year and they didn't set. So I'm going to make them the regular way this year and we will just have to eat small amounts of them to keep the calories down. My husband has decided he wants to take some weight off now and he loves my jams and jellies. I'll have to have a talk with him about eating them in moderation. He loves toast and jelly or jam for breakfast.

We also got some bag worms, so I've been spraying them. I hate those things. They will strip a tree of it's leaves and kill it if you don't spray. There are bag worms (tent catapillars) everywhere here in Kansas. I see them when I'm driving to Topeka. Do any of you have them this year. My husband says we are getting more of them because we've had raining summers lately.

Jo
Congrats on the weight loss. Whatever you are doing, keep it up. It works for you. It won't be long and you will be close to goal too. I love the lemon tip, but I could never eat a whole lemon rind and all. You are awesome!! Oh, and by the way, I think a male consultant would be nice too. I like working with men too.


Well, guess I better get busy. Have a great day everyone.

Betty Jo

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Hello everyone,
I'm a new gal to the group. I just signed on 8/6/08. As soon as they check with my doc, I'll get the food to start. I'm on Jenny Direct because the closest center is about 100 miles away.
It took me awhile to commit to this. Before I did. I spent a lot of time reading these threads.
Betty Jo, you are so upbeat and interesting! I enjoy your posts where ever I find them.
Kathy, you are a gal after my own heart with all the going you do. I'm not much for staying home unless I'm into a project )
Jo (aka Jomamad) I am not an early riser either though I have to be sometimes. This week has been a get-up-early every day so I'm feeling tired a lot. Your machine embroidery class sounds interesting. I don't have a machine that does that yet but the guy that is fixing my second sewing machine is trying hard to sell me one )
It's great to meet you ladies and know there is someone I can visit with via computer when I'm needing a boost.
By the way, how do you get a picture or Avator into your space? I also can't seem to get the hang of the emoticons
Later,
Suedoodle

Hi Suedoodle. WE are glad you are here! I remember having to wait for my doctor to 'let me' eat JC... seems like it only took her 5 minutes... she has been after me to lose weight and get active. I dont know if she'll get both counts. But the weight issues are better. Then I got to thinking -- she signed that thing too fast! LOL. She's probably still doing the happy dance.

I like sewing and dont do enuf of it. Heavens knows that I have enuf around here to do. I like to experiment with embroidery... more ambition than high class product. It is cheaper not to ruin a piece and go buy it already embroidered. I can tell you some nightmares of stuff that I've ruined. And the expense of getting everything -- thread, stabilizers, hoops, patterns. But it is fun. I use to do more when we lived near than grand daughters.... and they are getting too old for that stuff.

My girlfriend was over tonight. She doesnt do 'early' either. She asked if I had a busy week ahead of me. Yes, I do! I really dont like to have a full calendar. I cannot do as many things in one day anymore and my accomplishments are so far behind me! But on Tuesday, I get a massage. Awe. My birthday gift to myself for just being me. Last month I had one and lost 3 pounds. I'm hoping she can pull off the same feat this month.

Glad you are here! And cant wait for you to get started eating your JC foods. Did you go for the Anytime Bars and Soupitizers? I dont use theirs. And I'm getting antsy to cook some of the good recipes that is on this website.

To do your Avatar... etc. Go to the top of this page ... just below the red bar saying Forum... Hit My Controls. It is in there.... On the left column has a bunch of areas that you can customize your stuff. I still cannot get it to send me indivdual emails after people post things. It takes forever to get in here and see who's chatting today. I think they have more work to do to make this user friendly.

Jo

Hi Everyone:

Well, ladies, I have a one pound weight loss to report this week. I am now .5 pounds from losing 3/4 of the weight I signed on to lose with JC. I am 20 pounds from my goal weight. Yipee!! I've lost a total of 63 pounds since I started in December 2007. When I first started JC, everyday seemed like an eternity until I got used to the program and started losing weight. I was hungry. But after I got over the hungries and got my stomach shrunk, I really started getting into the losing of the weight and really started feeling better. I want to be one of those who makes it to goal and then maintains. So I formulating a plan of attack for maintainance too.

Welcome Sue. You will love JC and the message boards. There is so much information on here. I want to turn you on to the recipe section of the message boards. There are tons of recipes in there and they are good! I personally like Princess Rose the best. She's a chef and her recipes are really fantastic. I like to cook anyway, so her thread really gets me excited. I love the JC food too, Sue. My favorites are the meatloaf, salisbury steak, the blueberry and banana nut muffins, and ALL THE SNACKS!!! Tee hee!!! I love JC's snacks, especially the cheesecake. I never thought I would be able to eat sweets and lose weight, but I'm living proof that it works. I've had sweets from day one of the JC program and I've not binged since I've been on it. Someone on one of these threads once told me that it's a little better to have something sweet everyday that way you won't binge. That is so true. Now I have my snacks everyday and I've never gone off JC from the start.

Jo:

Happy Birthday. Your birthday is on the 11th correct. If you go out to eat for your birthday, have anything you want. You deserve it. Just eat in moderation girl and then get back on JC the next day. I love to embroider, but I don't see as well as I used too so I don't do as much of it as when I was younger. Embroidery is big this year. I just bought myself an outfit with embroidery on it. It really makes a pair of jeans special.

Kathy:

I know you have a birthday coming up on August 20th and I want to wish you a very happy birthday too. Where are you?

Well, not much news today. I'll be back tomorrow to check in.

Betty Jo

Hi Jo and gals,
I haven't been allowed to choose anything yet but I'll go lightly on the bars and soupitizers since I've read a lot about them in these sites. I did find the avatars but didn't really "go" for any of them so I guess I'll have to have my grandson download something on here for me. )
So far I have resisted massages from anyone but my husband. I think they could be habit forming and expensive. Besides he's really good at finding the places I need rubbed the most. Although he isn't formally trained at massage, he could probably make pretty good money if I weren't too selfish to share his talents.
My first treat for myself will be a pedicure. Hubby isn't real great at doing nails, just muscles )
later, Suedoodle

Hi Everyone:

This is a day to mark on my calendar. I have a one pound loss to report this week, which puts me over my 3/4 off weight goal. To date, I've lost 65 pounds and I now have 20 pounds left to lose to get to goal. I'm very psyched and ready for the last push to goal. I'm hoping to be to goal my Thanksgiving. I do Thanksgiving Dinner each year.

Suedoodle
I love massages. Never had a pedicure before. But my massage therapist does feet massages too and they make my feet feel wonderful. My therapist is fantastic. We talk and laugh the whole way through my session, which lasts one an hour. I also can talk to her about anything. So it's like getting a therapist for free. Anyway, I couldn't have done this JC program without my message theripist. I walk out of there feeling like a new person every time I go. I've discovered that when I'm stressed, my neck and back tends to tighten up and when that happens my whole body feels like crap.

One thing I've always admired is the long, false fingernails, but I've heard so many bad things about them causing funguses and the like, that I was afraid to try them. So I'll stay away from that. I've made it to my 3/4-of-my-weight-off goal so I'm entitled to a treat. I've been watching QVC and HSN shopping channels lately and on HSN they have a brand of clothing that I love. They are called Slinky. I don't know if you are familiar with that brand, but the clothing is made out of a fabric that drapes really nice on the body. It's also pretty expensive, but very stylish. I was watching Oprah one day and she had a show on style. They said that when you get in your 60's you should dress to look very stylish instead of following fads and trends. So I'm looking for clothes that make me look like I walked off the front of Vogue instead of cheap clothes. I thought I'd buy a starter dress this year and then add on to the outfit when I get to goal. The "Slinky Brand" coodinates all their clothing for you so you can add jackets, skirts, etc. from year-to-year. And the best thing is that they don't wrinkle. You can roll them up in a drawer or suitcase and they will not wrinkle. Also boots and long skirts are in this year. So I'm really rethinking my wardrobe.

Kathy:

Where are you? We haven't heard from you in a while.

Well, guess I better get busy.

Betty Jo

Hi Everyone! I'm new to the group also. I have to do Jenny Direct as we don't have one closer than 4 hours in this part of Wisconsin. I'm 65 and had to get permission from my Dr. also. As I have Congestive Heart Failure plus a few other wonderful "golden years" ailments, I'm on Lasix to keep the water out of my body. I'm 5' tall and started my food on 7/08. I weighed 217#. Following the program to a "T", I now weigh 196#. I was so thrilled, I almost fell off the scale! They say to weigh once a week, but I do it everyday so I can see how I'm doing. I'm on 1200 a day. I don't get to pick my food yet. I don't care for the soupitizers. I tried posting on the general posts, but no-one seems to reply because of my age. I don't get out much because my husband always has to go with me wherever I go. I don't have any space to myself, which is why I'm trying to converse with ladies around or near my age. To those of you who have friends, I envy you! We had to move to upper Wisconsin because my father-in-law became sick, so we had to sell our home and move. He has passed a year ago, so now I'm hoping to sell our place and move closer to my daughter & grandkids. My husband has 2 sons (both single) so he doesn't know what it's like to be a grandpa. I miss them so much and they're getting so big, I hope they remember me. I haven't seen them in over a year. Well, I'm just a blabbin on here and didn't mean to, just wanted to let all of you to get to know me a little. I only know how to crochet, I wish I had all the talents you ladies have like canning and things. My daughter told me she is "crocheted" out as I make things and mail them to her, so now that's out. I just sit on the couch and think to myself that there has to be more to life than I'm experiencing now. Anyway, it was enjoyable reading about all you ladies and hope you will include me if you like. LOL to everyone on our progress.....MaryAnn

Hi MaryAnn

Welcome to JC. Sounds like you are doing really good with the weight loss. If you stick close to program every week, you will be rewarded with a loss. I've lost 65 since December 2007 and I have 20 to go. I'm thrilled and I love the JC food.

I love crocheted items and I'm sure there are lots of others that do too. I haven't done it in years because I really don't have the time here on the farm. When I move back to Alaska, I might start again. There was a lady on the JC message boards that loved to crochet so much, she started a club at her church and donated all the items the ladies crocheted to deserving charities. An example I remember was to a hospital who had sick babies and a home for the elderly. The elderly used the afghans to cover their legs when they were sitting in their chairs in their room and the babies received an afghan when they went home after being sick. Anyway, if you really love it, donate your items to charities. They will love you for it.

Good luck this week. I'm looking forward to talking with you next week to see how you do with your weight loss.

Betty Jo

Hi Everyone, I am new to the group and I wanted to say how much I have enjoyed reading your posts. I am 63 (64 soon) and I am still working. I joined JC July 20th and I am down 10 pounds. I really love it and I am enjoying the 30 minute exercise challenge this week.. I have an embroidery machine and love it, but never get much time to use it... Busy with my job and church, grandchildren... but that is good. As long as I am busy I am not eating..
So far what has been your biggest challenge?

Hope to hear from you all soon.
Have a great JC Day.... dds

Good Morning Everyone,
First of all - Welcome Sue Doodle and Marzedoz!!

I've been gone pretty much of the last 2 week and really had a great time. We went to Manistique, MI with the grandkids and went on a boat tour of the pictured rocks and then went to horseshoe rapids the next day. I just got back from our 4-wheeler trip last nite - had a really good time. It was good to get away with friends for a couple of days after having company the last 2 weeks! We put on 290 miles on the 4-wheelers and I have to say I was a little achey by the time we got home. The last couple of weeks were really fun but I didn't do too well diet wise - I gained bad but am back on program today and plan to stick to it again now that all the bumming is done now! I think I gained about 8# in the last 2 weeks - will post my official WI on Tuesday. Hopefully I will have some of it back off by then. We did a lot of drinking and mostly eating bar food - burgers, fries etc.!! I enjoyed them but am anxious to start back with the healthy eating!!

Jo - Belated HAPPY BIRTHDAY!! Hope you had a great day!!

Betty Jo - CONGRATS OF HITTING YOUR 3/4 GOAL!!!!!!!!! You are doing so great!! You definitely deserve to reward yourself with something special! Get yourself something you really like!!! I got all the junk food out of my system these past weeks and am ready to move forward with the Jenny program now that I'm back. I feel so much better when I eat the right foods! I am still hoping to make it to onederland by my l year anniversary with Jenny which will be September 26th.

Marzedoz - Which part of upper WI are you from? I also live in Northern WI - a small town kind of between Florence,WI and Rhinelander WI. We are right on the U.P. border! I am originally from the Appleton area and moved up here in 1995 when we bought a bar and grill up here. Sold that in 2001 but decided to stay up here and I just love it! We took the 4-wheelers from here to Mercer WI this past week, which by trail is roughly 100 miles one way. Where are you originally from? and how far away are the grandkids? I have a couple up here but most of the famaily is in the Appleton area so I still get to see them fairly often. I also love to crochet! Do you make afghans at all? I started a couple years ago making one for each of the grandkids (18 in all) with their name crocheted in them. They just love them!!

Well, I have lots of catching up to do around here so I better get going and get some cleaning and laundry done! Hope you all have a great day and I will hopefully be posting more regularly again!'
Kathy

HELLO WORLD !! You all grew in people count while I was away from here.... I was only busy in life. No big trips or exciting things like Kathy's been doing. :-) How wonderful that you took this time for that experience of riding the 4 wheeler (and partying!). You must have had a fabulous time! At least you missed JC and us..... teehee. I weigh in on Tuesday's also now. But you always one-up my .5 pound loss. So, I know you will be just fine - if not this week, by next week. Thanks for the birthday wishes. I am still celebrating. I don't think there has been another year that I've dragged this on so long. There are 2 lady neighbors and myself with birthdays within 3 days of each other. And this year we celebrated! Then I have friends who like taking me out to lunch.... today was the last (I think). So, I'm not fond of what might be lurking on my scales either.

And, WELCOME MaryAnn and dds. You all have started your JennyCraig programs with a vengence. Mine is always slow...... but continues to average at 1 pound per week. I hope you both like this group. Some have come and gone. Kathy and Betty JO are the originals from when I started. By the way, where is Arlonne???? She was an original too that has faded away. It's funny that our generation has so many likenesses. We crochet. Sew. Embroidery. And are very talented in homemaking 101. Either use-to-can-food or still do. It's a past experience in my life because we don't have a garden here. Cant. We live on a golf course. But, you can buy the best fresh veggies here. There are farmers markets and packing plants all around. Many veggie stands, etc. With JC, this is a good thing!!

dds - Let's see, BIGGEST challenge..... there are so many. One will pop it's head up and settle down and then it's something else. Some days I feel so hungry, I could eat 2000 calories. Some days (a lot of days!), I miss my chocolates and ice cream. THAT is my BIGGEST challenge. I am limited with mobility so exercise is limited. They say to walk 5 miles a day.... HA! HA! That will never happen again. I fell off my Harley and rearranged my body and my life. BUt, I did buy a Wii for my birthday. And it is setup now. Fun. Fun. Fun. One friend said that her doctor told her to buy a Wii for her exercise program. And I've read that others have loss 40 lbs. playing theirs. I am anticipating BIG things from this Wii. Today, my body has so many sore spots. Funny thing, it is sorer now than when I work in my yard!! And we have an acre to keep us busy. Most of my life seems so sedentary -- compared to years gone by.

Yes, MaryAnn, I think it is great that us old people can hang together. Those young things are still taking measurements and trying to look good in a bathing suit when they want to drop the pounds. Shoot. I don't care IF I ever wear a bathing suit. I just want to feel better and be healthier. I dont want my doctor to gasp at my blood readings. I hate pills!!!! I don't want to carry around 100#'s of fat either. Did you ever see that Oprah show years ago -- she came out on stage pulling a wagon with 75 lbs of fat. That was how much she had loss. Boy! That image stuck in my head permanently. And then the other one I like is borrowed from NutriSystems... The "Get'er done guy" compares losing weight to losing bowling balls!! I love that. So far, I've only lost 1 bowling ball and part of another..... I want to get rid of 5 bowling balls. MaryAnn, it's ok to yak at us over anything you got to talk about. Since we all have come through some stuff in life, we can sympathize or hold your hand. Glad you found us. Rattling is allowed. It's funny how many of us live 'remotely' and do JC Direct. I live 80 miles away from the nearest center. In the mountains of Tennessee. We love it!!! Came from Austin TX. Lived there when it was the wild-west. It ain't no more. It is now a small California. We watched the temperatures rise, the humidity rocket, and the pastureland turn into freeways and housing developments. Just give me space! And if it's remote, I just have to visit 'home' to appreciate country living. Thank goodness for the internet shopping and UPS and FedEx deliver! Sounds like Kathy lives someplace near you. BTW, talk about crocheting and wearing out your family with gifts.... that is so common with many of our 'talents'. Around here there are many groups that make things (crochet, sew, etc) and give you the supplies!! They pass them on to the needy. Our church group makes baby quilts for the children that are taken away fron their parents (drugs, etc) and placed into foster homes. Helping Hands makes scarfs for chemo patients and tote bags for unwed poor mothers and BUNCHES of other things!! Can you call any churches around your area or these kinds of organizatrions? They usualy supply the items to sew, knit with. And are always looking for helpers!! Good luck. Let us know.

Suedoodle -- where are you??? I went for my massage the other day. Oh, she says I'm so receptive. And I know I can feel the movement in my body fluids and fats. I encision suchj change!!! Last month I lost 3 pounds afterward. This time it was 1 pound. Get your hubby's fingers moving your chi.

And where is everybody else that has come in and out of this chat group???? We wanna hear from you.

OK, friends.... I got to go. Til later,
Jo

Betty Jo -- what can I say????? Envy!!!!! Jealousy!!!! And ALL meant in a Godly way!!!! YOU GO GIRL !!!!!! Wow, I cannot wait to be where you are. You are a solid example to get me going!!! Congrats!!!!

Good Morning everyone!!
I ended up working in the garden quite a bit yesterday and boy am I aching today!! The weeds really grew in the past two weeks while I was bumming around and boy is it dry. I got the hoses set up last nite and watered it for a couple of hours and will have to do the same tonite again. It would really be nice if we got a little rain but it doesn't look like there is any in the forcast for the next week yet. And it is supposed to be in the 80's all week. We should have waited to take our 4-wheeler trip this week then we wouldn't have had to wear the sweatshirts all day! I have to work this weekend so I won't get much more done in the garden again till Monday but will hopefully get some of the weeds pulled in the flower beds.

dds - welcome to the group. I didn't see your post yesterday when I posted. We must have been posting around the same time. We have a great group of ladies here and it seems we all have some things in common. Hope to hear more from you.

Jo - I'm glad you had a great birthday! How nice to be able to celebrate with friends and sharing birthdays that are close!! I will be celebrating mine next week but not sure yet what we will be doing. Depends on what shifts the kids are working. My daughter is training on a new job so she is not sure yet what her schedule will be till Monday. I will turn 62 so that is a good one - I'll start getting something from S.S.!!!!!

Marzedoz - I know exactly where Tomah is. My husband was at the VA hospital there a couple of times for like 6 months at a time so I spent lots of time in that area while he was there! It is a beautiful area and we did lots of sightseeing there once he was able to get out for either a day or weekend pass. We liked taking a ride to LaCrosse area and go to the locks and dam and watch the big boats go thru.

Betty Jo - I know you just mention that you canned peaches. I've done them before but it's been years ago. Would you mind giving me the recipie for the syrup you put on them when you can them? Do you know of a good book with recipies for canning various fruits and veggies?

Hope you all have a great day!
Kathy

Hello Everyone:

Today my husband and I finished canning the rest of the tomatoes. I'm glad that over. Now it's on to blackberry jam and jelly. My husband loves it. I eat the kind you get in the store made with Splenda. We picked 6 gallons of blackberries this year. A bumper crop for us I'd say.

DDS:

Welcome to our group. You will love the ladies on this thread. They are so supportive and fun. And congrats on the weight loss. You are doing great and the great thing is if you stay really close to program you will lose every week. At least I did. I guess it depends on your metabolism, but it sounds like you've got a good one. My metabolism was almost inactive when I started JC and now I've got it straightened up so it burns calories pretty efficiently. Be sure to come in often and get your dose of optimism from this group or if you need help with something, we can help there too.

Kathy:

Sounds like you had a great time on your trip. I would love a trip like that especially if it's with friends. There's nothing like it. I used to show dogs and I loved going to the shows with my friends. We'd camp out for the long week ends, cook out, and just generally get together to talk and have a good time. I miss it a lot.

In answer to your canning question, I have the "Ball Blue Book Guide to Home Canning". It has recipes for everything in it and gives step-by-step directions for canning. I use an extra-light syrup on my peaches, which consisted of 1 1/4 cups of sugar, 5 1/2 cups water, and yeilds 6 cups of syrup. But I really didn't need much syrup because the peaches were so juicy. You can also substitute Splenda for the sugar, if you are diebetic. Do you have peach trees? I wanted to can as many as I could before going back to Alaska. You don't really get great produce in Alaska. I usually purchase my produce at Sam's or Cosco when I'm up there. The produce they sell in stores tastes like cardboard.

Jo:

I can really relate to your being hungry some days, but one thing I noticed is when I get really hungry on the program, if I don't feed it, I have a great weight loss on the scale that week. Have you noticed that? And I also love chocolate. I got those chocolate cakes from JC and I had one every night for dessert until I got tired of it. That kept me in check. And I have a question about the Wii game you got. How does it work and what kind of games does it have on it. Also, do you know how much they cost? I like games. I might like it. I'm just not sure about what they are. And thanks for the support. I appreciate it.

Well I better go. Gotta get something done even if it's wrong.

Betty Jo

Hi Gang:

It's me again. I found the best recipe for an easy salad and I just had to share it. It's called
Cucumber Tomato Salad

Ingredients
2 lg. cucumbers, peeled and diced
2 lg. tomatoes, diced
1 medium green pepper, diced
1 medium onion, diced or you can used green onions instead if you want
1 bottle of Wish Bone (8 oz) fat-free Italian salad dressing (20 calories for 2 tbls)
Sugar substitute equivelent to 2 tsp sugar ( I use Splenda)

Combine all ingredients in a covered bowl. Shake to mix. Refrigerate for at least one hour. Serve with slotted spoon.

1/2 cup of this salad has 29 calories. Yes, that's right. It has 29 calories and it's delicious. You can beat that. I eat it with lunch or dinner. And it keeps in the refrigerator really good for about a week.

Enjoy.

Betty Jo

Hi everyone, how wonderful to hear from you all. I love reading your posts, they are truly inspiring. I have a great fear for getting stuck and your words about sticking to the program and exercising took a lot of that fear away. Last week I followed the menu and did 5 days of 30 min exercise and to my surprize, I lost 3# last week.. makes my total 12. I weigh myself everyday and I was hanging at 10 but this am I was down 2 more. I am also an at home person, so my counselor calls me on Saturday. It is so convenient, I love it.
I have a Wii and I love it, also purchased the WII fit and it is awesome (80.00), it makes exercise so much fun you don't even know you are doing it. There are 4 different types of exercise, aerobics, balance, yoga and strenght training. It keeps track of the time you spend exercising and even keeps track of your weight and BMI, I love it. The great thing about the Wii itself is all ages can play it, so when my teenage grandsons come to visit I can play games with them and actually be a challenge for them. There is bowling, tennis, and lots of armchair games that allows anyone to play, no matter their mobility. People in wheelchairs can even play the bowling games etc. It is great. You can exercise for a hour and not even realize it. I think I paid around 246.00 for the original system and then around 38.00 for the 2nd remote and sports package. It is top quality tho, they have really outdone themselves..
Okay enough of that, can You tell I like it? A lot of the ladies that I work with have them so we have fun comparing stories every morning.
Thank you for sharing your challenges with me. A couple of weeks ago I was starved but up to that point I had not been using the bars, I had been eating yogurt. The bars seem to be the answer, I haven't been as hungry.
Good luck everyone and I pray each and everyone of you have a great day... can't wait to read your news!!

Hi gals,
Glad to know that Hubby and I are not the only ones who are still canning :o)
Today it is grape jelly. We've done peaches and blackberries already this summer. He went to the country last night and came home with all kinds of things, rhubarb, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches and apples. We'll need to can the peaches too but the rest we'll get eaten. I'm looking forward to making some cucmber spears and putting them in a wide mouth pint jar in the 'frige to help when I get the "nibbles" No I don't plan to put salt in them although that's the way I used to fix them. I also have some celery to fix that way. I know some people use carrots too but right now I'm just not wanting raw carrots. Maybe later! They can taste very sweet if you haven't had sweets in a long time. Right now, for me, carrots are for cooking :o)
I've not done an introduction for myself on any of these boards so this might be the place to start.
I am 68, married for 50+ yrs (51st coming up later this month) Hubby and I have 6 children ages 50,48,46,44,43 and 29. We have 13 grandchildren of which 9 are "blood". Since some of our children married divorced people, the rest are beloved "steps" The youngest grandchild, age 2 months, belongs to our youngest child and he is her first child. We have 8 going on 9 great-grandchildren; two going on three "blood" great-grands. My husband was a coal miner for 40 years so, so far, our insurance is good. As we grow older, the insurance coverage becomes so much more important. :o( I was a stay-at-home mom for most of my life. After the kids all married, I became a school bus driver. Hubby and I did a handicapped route for several years. He drove and I was aide; at least we were paid that way :o) I drove as much as I rode because the kids really enjoyed having hubby tend to them. He is such a loving person and all children respond to him. Some of the children we carried were called "hard to handle" by other drivers but Hubby charmed them too and we had no problems. We eventually gave up the route because of insurance restrictions but we still did trips.and sub work. Last year I gave up on the trips for me. I still keep my license current and as long as a doctor passes me, I'll be keeping my health card current too. Maybe by losing this weight, I'll feel competent enough to start driving trips again. I usually ride with Hubby on his trips, we get to be together that way. With the weight, etc. I have COPD, arthritis, and high blood pressure. All of which are treatable, however, many people say that losing the weight does them the most good so I'm hoping for the best. I don't exercise much but I do go to the YMCA twice a week for their warm water arthritis exercise class. I really feel lots better when I go! Since it is a 30 mile drive, I get lazy and don't go. :o( But I'm hoping that as the pounds start dropping, I'll be even more motivated.
Well I've rambled enough for one session. Keep up the good work all! I'll be praying for you! Suedoodle

Good Morning!
It was a slow boring day at work yesterday. Thankfully I brought along a bood to read to pass the time. It has been really slow this year in this area with the higher gas prices etc. people just are not traveling up here as much as usual.
I have been sticking to the program very good since I got home from the trip so I am hoping that by my WI tomorrow morning I will have undone some of the damage from the past 2 weeks. We are going to put a deck on in the back of the house which will be really great when it is done. It won't be anything fancy - just a place to put the grill and patio set and being in the back of the house we will be in a shaded area during the evening hours. Since hubby got burned he cannot take sitting out in the sun for too long at a time so hopefully this will help him be able to spend a little more time outdoors.

Suedoodle - Sounds like your life is very interesting with all the grandkids and the bus driving and all!!! I am just starting to get back into the canning and making jams. I used to to it all years back but didn't do any after we bought the bar. This is the first year we planted a garden since we moved up here. Also, I wish they had a few farmers markets around here where we could buy the peaches and other fruits for canning. When I lived in Appleton the stores would sell the fresh fruits by the crates this time of the year for canning etc. but I don't see any of that in the stores around here.

DDS - Congrats on the loss this week! I wish I could exercise more! My knees and hip are much better since I took off the weight I did but my back still gives me lots of problems. The exercise I get is more from working in the garden and cleaning. I try to get some walking in now that the weather is nice but I can just walk so far at a time without my back aching real bad. When I'm working in the garden I have to take a break every now and then to give it a rest! Anyhow, keep up the good work!!

Betty Jo - Your veggie recipie sounds great - and pretty much all stuff from the garden. I will give it a try! Have you had anyone interested in the house yet? We will be going to town tomorrow and I will look for the canning book you mentioned. My best apple tree doesn't have any apples this year but there are a couple of others that are good for the applesauce. I am going to make some for me with splenda instead of sugar.

Hope you all have a great day and will check in again tomorrow with my WI.
Kathy

Hi Kathy and gals,
We ended up with 21 2/3 pints of jelly. The 2/3 pint went home with Grandson # 3 before it even cooled off ) )
Another pint left after church Sunday, with youngest (4) Great-granddaughter who had stood on a chair to watch it cooking and being poured into the jars. Last night Grandson-in-law brought granddaughter, Amy, and two great-grandsons by and naturally they took some jelly (and some wine too )
Oldest son and two of his grandchildren spent Sat. night here and went to church with us. Afterwards he took them home and returned to his apt, his residence until his wife joins him on this move to our state.
Hubby and I napped, watched "60 Minutes" and then ate supper. The grands came in while we were wating to bathe after playing at the park. It was a good weekend!
Good luck to everyone on a successful week ahead. May you all enjoy good WIs
Suedoodle

Hi All:

Wow, everyone is doing so well on their weight loss this week. Good job. I haven't lost anything this week yet. Still hanging at 185 pounds. My regular weigh in day is Thursday. So I'll let you know on Thursday if I lost anything or not.

Today, my husband and I were out mowing. We have to get it done before my husband has a catarac removed from his left eye on August 20th. I'm a little nervous about any surgery now because the last time I took my husband to the hospital for what was supposed to be a routine procedure, the doctor pumped air into his artery and my husband had a heart attack and stroke. That scared me too death and now I'm scared to death of surgery. My husband survived and later after he recovered from his stroke and heart attack, he had a four-way bypass. He's doing great. I'm happy for that, but it seems to be one medical problem after another after your 70. It's scary. Now, if I hadn't been on JC since December of last year, I would be bingeing like crazy for the next two days. But I'm learning to control my anxiety. How? Well, I've been doing lots of self talks and stay busy so I can't harp on it too much. Today, I've probably started towards the foods at least 5 times, but I'm telling myself "no, you don't do that any more". It seems to be working. I'm being very stubborn about it. Thank goodness I'm not under a lot of stress all the time or I would probably give into temptation. I've realized over the years that I definitely medicate myself with food when I'm upset. I've got to learn not to do that anymore.

DDS

Congrats on the 3# weight loss. Doesn't that feel good? I love the feel of being in control for once. Before JC, I was totally out of control all the time when it came to food. It's no wonder I was gaining weight. Thanks for the information on the Wii. Sounds like fun. That's what I need for this winter. Do you need any special equipment to set it up?

Sue:

Wow you have a big family. I'll bet holidays are a riot at your house or wherever you go for the holidays. We usually have about 20 over for Thanksgiving dinner. We may have more this year. I love making all kinds of goodies for the holidays. The kids always expect me to make something very special and brand new each year to test. I have a lot of fun with it.

Sue, one of the things I want to be sure to tell you is that when you lose the weight, so many symptoms go away. When I first started JC, my back hurt all the time (big boobs), my knees hurt all the time, and I could not go up and down steps without gasping for breath. All that will get much better after you lose the weight. It will all be worth it. And it will be nice too because your clothes will fit again. So there really is no down side to losing the weight. It's all good.

You've got me beat on the canning this year. It's a great hobby isn't it. There's nothing I like better than to go downstairs in the furnace room (that's where we keep our canned goods) and see all that beautiful food in jars on the shelves and know I don't have to go to the store and pay the high prices for it. I'm amazed at how many people don't can anymore. It's almost a lost art.

Kathy:

Let me know what you think of that salad after you fix it. I don't really like italian dressing, but I loved this salad. I also like to fix squash. My favorite is yellow squash. My husband loves zucchini squash. So we eat a lot of it in the summer.

We build a screened in porch a couple of year's ago. We love it. When the weather isn't too hot, we watch TV out there. The dogs love it too. If you get involved in the building of the deck, you will lose all that weight right back guaranteed. I don't build, my husband does that. I just do hand me fetch me for him and do clean up. It keeps me really busy and helps me to lose weight.

Well ladies. Have a great day. I'll be back tomorrow to see how everyone is doing.

Betty Jo

Hi Betty Jo, I decided to write when I saw your post from Kansas. Both of my parents are from Kansas, my mom was from Pratt and father from Wellington. When I was about 9 my mom had a very extensive operation on her spine and the base of her brain. My brother and I had to go elsewhere for quite a time. I was sent to Kansas to stay with aunts, uncles and cousins. I have never forgotten that wonderful experience for a city girl born in California. I also used to go back on the train to Kansas with my paternal grandmother and stay for about a month in the summer. My dad had 5 siblings and 2 still lived near my grandmother so I had lots of cousins to play with. I had never experienced a humid summer until then either and AC wasn't an option in those days. I also had relatives in Oklahoma and Arkansas. That kind of cooking helped me to like the foods that have caused the problems that I now have....biscuits and gravy, yum, and homemade bread and butter, homemade jams, fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, slices of ham. My mom cooked this way and never got fat, my dad had a little roll and I had the most trouble although my brother is heavy now and he cooks these foods. I have 3 aunts and a few cousins still in Kansas. I keep saying I am going back, but looking like I do has halted me many times. My aunts are in their late 80's and early 90's now and I have a 76 year old cousin! I'm afraid I have procrastinated so long that I'll never see them again. Are you originally from Alaska? Did I read that right? I have had 2 trips there and really loved it, but never have I lived where it snowed. I can't join JC until my doctor oks it and so far I haven't heard from JC. I have over 100 pounds to lose and can't really afford the cost, but want to see if it works for me. Write back Saundra

Hello Betty Jo and all looking on.
I am new to JC and have lost 6 pounds so far - not much but it's a start. Was tired of the scale always going up instead of down. So here I am. Looking forward to all your valuable tips and tricks of making this work.
Love to hear from all you.

Vicki (63 on August 31)
Semi retired - San Jose, CA
2 grown children
4 grandchildren (7, 5, 3, 1 month)
started: 8/16
first week - (-6 lbs) have 75 to go.
Second week weigh in coming up on Friday.

Hi there all,

Didn't get to post this morning - hubby had doctors appointments and had to leave early. Sorry to break the trend but I have to report a gain this week. Official WI this morning was 217.4 which is almost a 2# gain. But I am totally happy with that seeing when I got back from vacation and weighed myself on Friday morning the scale said 226#!!!!!! The last couple of days I've been running to the bathroom constantly so I figure lots of the weight was water retention from the drinking and eating the saltier foods I do not normally eat.

Betty Jo - Our decking material won't arrive till next week but I will be doing the same as you. I won't be doing anything as far as the actually building of it buy I will definitely keep busy cleaning things up. Yesterday my son put in a new doorway in the back room which will go directly to the deck so we don't have to go thru the garage to get to it. So now I have to get that room re-arranged. Having a TV on the deck sounds great!!! Something I never thought of but would really be nice to watch it out there seeing hubby likes to keep it so cool in the house that I sometimes feel like I am freezing in here!! Also, I picked up the Ball canning book. There are recipies for just about anything you can imagine in there. I may just try a few things I've never made before.

Vicky - 6# - that is great!! Keep up the good work!! I've been having a hard time with losing during the summer months but I am hanging in there. Too many birthdays and cookouts and then the vacation! But at least I am doing better this summer than I would have if I had not joined Jenny!

Suedoodle - Wow - that's a lot of jam! I was at Walmart today and picked up some pears and when I got home I made a couple batches of pear jam. I never made it before so I am hoping everyone likes it! Tomorrow I will be canning the rest of the pears and also some peaches.

Hope you all have a great day!
Kathy

Hi all, Thought I'd check in before the day is over )
Some of hubby's family and his sister's in-laws decided on a get-to-gether for lunch today at a place on the Ohio River called The Outlook. It is perched on a bluff overlooking the river and many acres. The river does 2 good sized bends from that viewpoint so the scenery is awesome. Hubby's two sisters were there (they are the last three left out of 11) and 2 nephew, 2 neices, and a great-niece. There were about 8 of the other side of the family there so we had a table that sat about 18. Everyone was talking, showing off pictures, reminiscing, etc It was a wonderful time! After the meal, we went outside and the gals showed us their latest projects. Three quilts in progress, all cross-stitched. All beautiful!! While I admire the work, I don't cross-stitch, it drives me nuts ) One afgan in red and white in progress. All these gals 30's through 70's are so talented craftwise. Since I crochet and sew, I can appreciate their works and cheer them on. After it had cleared out, hubby and his sisters started sharing memories of their mom. She died so young, only 35. Oldest living sister was nine when she died and she shared memories with hubby and the younger sister who is my age. Eventually we got back in younger sister's car and headed back to Evansville and Stoll's Restaurant where we had left our vehicle. Hubby caught a nap in the back seat which was good. He was fresh to drive the other 75 miles back home )
We stopped for zucchini and yellow squash and again for watermelon and cantaloupe. By the time we got home I was exhausted and took a nap. Now we've had a bit of supper, I've got the "supper" pills in and I'm nearly ready to take a couple of "night" pills and call it a night. Tomorrow hubby has a bus trip, the soccer girls to West Vigo and Friday we go collect a friend from Crete, IL and bring her home. I'm sure getting my "Gypsy foot" scratched good this week ) )
Kathy hope your deck works out for you! our youngest daughter has a nice big back porch (covered deck ) It is soooo neat. We don't have a good place for one here ( but I sure enjoy hers! )
Betty Jo Thanks for starting this thread! I've sure enjoyed it a lot
Night all,
Suedoodle

Welcome Saundra:

I highly recommend JC. It got me on the path to a more healthy me. I'm very happy with it. I ate Jenny foods until I lost half the weight I needed to lose, which was 42.5 pounds. Now I cook from the JC cookbooks and I'm still losing. I have 20 pounds to go to get to goal.

Actually, I was born and raised in Abilene, KS and my grandparents lived in Iola and Lawrence. I remember great times at my grandparents house too. They were farmers, which means there was always good food there. Both my grandmothers were excellent cooks. It really wasn't until I went on JC that I finally figured out you can have anything you want to eat as long as you eat correctly according to the food pyramid and use portion control. I have large meals now, but I eat less meat (about 3 oz. to 5 oz. per day) and drink less milk. I used to drink milk three times a day and it was really putting the pounds on me. Everyone has their issues. JC will teach you about portion control what you need to adjust in your diet to keep the weight off. I now count calories. I've never been good with exchanges because I can't always find the exchanges for what I'm eating. I've been on a 1,500 calorie diet since I started JC in December 2007 and if you eat proper amounts from the food pyramid, you really get a lot of food on a 1,500 calorie diet and it's very filling. The other thing I love about JC is that I could have something sweet everyday and still lose weight. I used to binge all the time because I was depriving myself of sugar. Now, I have sugar everyday and I have not binged in since December of 2007. I highly recommend JC because it worked for me and if you stick to program, it will work for you too. I lost every week consistently, except I hit a couple of plateaus that lasted a week each.

I hope you come back and talk with us on this thread often. We have a great group of ladies here. I think you will enjoy it and as you continue your weight loss journey, they will help you to stay focused.

Betty Jo

Hi Vicki:

Congrats on the weight loss. That's awesome. When I first started JC, the first two weeks, I lost five pounds each. It was exciting. After that I really stayed close to program and walked. I lost consistently every week. That really helped me to stayed focused on the program. Good luck at this week's weigh in. It will be good too.

What kind of exercise do you do? When I first started (first couple of weeks), I didn't do anything. I still lost weight. But after that I made it a point to do something. I couldn't even go up and down steps straight. I had to go down the steps side ways one at a time. It was embarrassing. Now I just fly up and down the steps with do problem. I've lost 65 pounds on JC since December of 2007. I have 20 to go, which will be the hardest 20 pounds of my life I'm sure, but I am so ready to get there.

Have a great day and come in often to see what we are doing. We have a great bunch of gals on here and we talk about everything. And if you need help, you can get that here too.

Betty Jo

Hi Kathy:

Whew, I'll bet you are glad weigh in is over for this week. Now you can get back to business. JC business that is . I am so glad I finally figured out, as you have too, that I can go out and have a bit of fun and then go back on JC and lose the excess weight right away. I think it's the most awesome thing I have figured out on my weight loss journey so far. It will be invaluable after I get to maintenance.

Have a great day.

Betty Jo

Hi Sue:

Geez!!! What are you trying to do kill yourself. I got tired just reading what you did on your trip. But all kidding aside, it is fun to get together with family and compare notes and pictures. And there is always someone new to meet. Some of my fondest childhood memories come from family reunions and playing with the other kids. I've not seen them in years and probably won't because everyone is so busy these days. Now get some rest and focus on your JC.

See ya later.

Betty Jo

[quote name='suedoodle' date='Aug 20 2008, 08:28 PM' post='429029']
Hi all,
I have a question for all you gals ~ Have any of you canned vegetable soup before? I had an aunt that did years ago but I can't manage to reach her today and since I'm not the most patient person ) I went on line and found some recipes for homecanned vegetable soup. They have cabbage in them! I really like cabbage in my veggie soup but I didn't know if I could put it in some I meant to can. Feed back PLEASE!
Hubby is on a bus trip. I have about 2 qts of cooked tomatoes waiting to be run through the collander. they will be the base for the soup. I also have zucchini, yellow squash, celery, onion, and cabbage to add to it. I want to put in some carrots but will have to get to a store for them. I figure that if I can get some "JC legal" soup made up, I'll have it to fall back on in times of need. My worst problem is going to be NOT eating the crackers I love in it )
I'm still not an official JCD person but I'm hoping to get everything good to go very soon. I really enjoy meeting and chatting with you girls, I look forward to reading the posts each day. Have a great losing rest of the week! Suedoodle

Hello Everyone:

Today, I am pleased to say I have a 4 pound weight loss to report. I am now 16 pounds from my goal. Yay!!! I really wasn't expecting to lose anything this week, but I did.

Sue:
What a great idea!!! I love your idea to can some legal soups expecially with fall just around the corner. I haven't canned soup yet, but I dragged my handy, dandy Dome canning book out. There vegetable soup does not have cabbage in it. It's got tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, lima beans, corn, celery, chopped onions and water in it, but no cabbage. I don't think I've ever had canned soup with cabbage in it. I'm not sure whether it will can well. It really creates a lot of gas. I'm like you, I'd be afraid to put it in my soup. Maybe you could add cabbage when you open it up to eat it. I know this isn't much help, but it's the best I could do.

Well ladies. Have a great day. I'll see you back here tomorrow.

Betty Jo

Hello everyone,
I've been busier that all heck the last couple of days. I just finished canning my peaches and getting the kitchen cleaned up and scrubbed so I thought I'd take a little break before supper! The last few days I made Pear Jam and Peach Jam and then canned the rest of the pears and peaches. Everything is so much slower around here than it is by you Betty Jo!! I'll have to water the garden again tonite. We got a couple of sprinkles today buy barely got the road wet. We need some rain really bad!! Well I just got a call from my friend. Her daughter stopped to pick up some corn for me on her way up here so I'd better go and get it and pay her for it!!! Guess what I'll be doing tomorrow!!!

Hope you all have a great day!!
Kathy

Phew. I go away for a few days and miss a lot! Lots of newbies chatter ....

Well, Kathy, I felt that Tuesday WI pain. This is ironic! I gained 2.2 lbs last week also .... probably after a week of birthday celebrating, it figures .... and WI on Tuesday was 218.0 Today, I was 217.2 Gheez. This just gets to me. Oh, well. Thats why I'm doing the JC thing. Had a few moments of thinking I'd give up. But I want my goal so bad! And I want to look good and feel better when we go to DisneyWorld at T-day. Your home improvements sound great! A little newness in each of our lives is a good thing.

Betty Jo -- I wanna be just like you! I wanna get emotional over losing like you! I'm getting teared up for you!!! Great job!!!! You got a good answer about the Wii from somebody... (sorry I forget who). My Wii 'Bundle' came from Sams $433. 'Bundles' are the latest thing that they sell with Wii consoles. I found some 'bundles' that had too many games and things I didn't need. Then you still had to buy another controller and nunchuk (to play with somebody) and Sams Bundle was perfect. It also included a rechargeable battery/station and 2 games. If you watch their website, you can order it which is a whole lot easier than trying to find one. They had 2 different bundles when I bought this one. Mine had Mario Galaxy (which is really for younger kids (... just frustrates me to death!!) and Mario Olympics (which I haven't even tried yet). The other bundle that they had included 2 childrens games. You got to look at Sams website everyday because they come... and they go (FAST!!!). They ship to you -- you dont go to the store. The TigerWoods 09 for the Wii will be released on Aug 26. I pre-bought it too. It is really cool from the write-up. Cant wait to play it. If you go to the Nintendo Wii website, you can see the games for Wii and sort them by release date. Lots of neat things coming out! Oh, yeah, the 'Sports' game that comes with every Wii is most fun! I also bought 2 Nerf Sports Packages to put on the controllers (for me and another person). They include a nerf tennis racket, bat, and golf club for authentic feel of the game. The sports game has a fitness test -- hahaha!! first time I came out 78 years old! hahaha. Until hubby tried it (he's 'fit' and not handicapped like me). He came out at 82 years old. IO laughed so hard. Was my motivation to get better and stay ahead of him! I am now 52 years old.... on there. And my muscles are sore as heck.

Suedoodle -- Yours and your families talents are wonderful! I was sitting there enjoying the day with you. Sounded lovely! I hope our grands can learn some of these things. But, unfortunately, life goes too fast for them..... no down time to learn. I remember when I was a kid, I learned to sew, knit and crochet (and tat) out of shear bordom. When does that happen nowadays? You are ambitious about canning the soup. But, oh. so yummy! I used to freeze my veggie soup. You would have no trouble that way with the cabbage. It was quite a few years ago, so I cannot get technical. Actually, everyone of you that are canning just make me wish I canned too. But, don't and probably won't ever again. I had got rid of all supplies after living in Texas 26 years. You could not grow a veggie to can. frustrating.

Saundra -- I am excited for you to start JC. Will you do Jenny Direct? or go to a Centre? I do Direct. Tried the Centre but the REwards program didn't work there. you can send receipts into Jenny and get reimbursement, but I also discovered that I had to pay tax. Defeated everything. I have 70 lbs to lose that will put me in a manageable range. But if I get to 55 lbs., I'll be so excited! That would be 180. Somehow, that's sounds so good to me today -- if or when it ever happens. LOL.

Vicki -- welcome!! I hear you about that scale always going UP and never going DOWN. Zowee. It feels great to see it go down (for me) even tho my loss is s-l-o-w.

Well, I hope that includes everybody that's active. Don't want to leave anybody outta' this venture! Its too important. We all try to support each other and are on different legs of this plan. Encouragement is free. Bragging is totally allowed. And chatting is wonderful!

Jo

Kathy

Did you celebrate your Birthday yet? Wasn't it the 20th?
Happy Birthday!!!

Jo

Hey Betty Jo,
Thanks for this recipe. I made up a huge batch today for the cookout the family is having for our 51st anniversary. I left out the Splenda, added some celery, and didn't measure the amounts of each ingredient. I was lucky enough to have a big bottle of the dressing you used so I dumped it all in ) After I'm "officially" JCD I will be more careful about that but this time, most of those eating will not be on any kind of food management plan ) I've had it in the 'frige most of the evening and I've stirred it several times. Tasted it too and it is delicious!! I'll let you know how it fares with the gang later. Well the clan is gathering so I'd better get on out to the back yard ) Later, Suedoodle

Good Morning all,
I got all my corn done yesterday and this morning I did up a couple of zucchini for the freezer. I think I'm going to take it easy today!

Betty Jo - Congrats on the BIG loss this week - you are doing so great!! I am hopefully done partying and slacking for awhile now. I've been pretty good this past week except for going out for my birthday. We are having a cookout here for labor day but the food will be grilled and I will have veggies on hand. I figure I can eat the meat without the bun and have a few of the cook-out potatoes instead.

Jo - good to hear from you again! Don't you just hate it when that scale goes up!!! It was all my own doing though. I ended up celebrating my birthday two days - hubby took me out for supper the day of my birthday. I did pretty good with that - had a turkey chef's salad. Then I met my daughter for lunch the following day. Didn't do quite so good with that - ended up having a piece of pineapple-coconut pie for dessert! And then my son and I went out after supper and had a few drinks. I am still hoping to not have a gain my next WI so we'll see what happens Tuesday morning!!! I really DO want to get to onederland by the end of September!!

Sue - sounds like you had a great time with your family. Those get togethers can be so much fun, especially if you don't get to see each other real often!!! I am not a big soup eater so I have nothing to offer in that regard. I have made some and frozen it but have never canned any.

Have a great day everyone!!!

Kathy

Hi Ladies:

No weight loss this week, but I had a really great one last week. I'm getting closer to goal so I don't expect too much velocity at this point. I am getting a new consultant for the last 16 pounds of my journey. Our first call is tonight, so I'm anxious to see what she has to offer.

Kathy:
Just one more big to-do for the year and you will be home free. Can you believe you've managed to not gain weight this year. That's awesome. Most people do you know. Your plan sounds good. Just make certain yourself that there are things there that you can fill up on and have a Jenny dessert there so you can have dessert too.

Sue:
I've been getting such good reviews on that salad. Adding celery is a great idea. Your guests will love it. And the recipe is so easy too. They will be asking you for the recipe and they won't believe how easy it is.

Jo:

Thanks for the weight loss support. It's the support of people like you on these message boards that have helped me lose the pounds I lost so far. And thank you so much for the information about the Wii. It sounds fantastic, but the price is scary.

Well, ladies, this week I think I'm going to can jellies and some cinnamon pickles. The cucumbers are still coming. I can't believe it. It rains and I get another 20 or so pounds of them. This is a bumper crop year for those things and I've got to take advantage of it.

Have a great day. I'll be back here tomorrow to see if anyone has posted. Have a great Memorial Day Weekend.

Betty Jo

Good Morning Ladies,
WI this morning and happy to say I lost 4# this week! I stuck to it pretty good this week except for going out for my birthday. I think all the extra activity with the canning and working in the garden helped with the loss this week! It really feels good to be able to do these things again - a year ago I wouldn't have even given it a thought! Hubby bought me a pressure cooker for my birthday so if we ever get enough veggies out of the garden I will be able to can them. The weather has been so cool in the evenings around here that things are really taking their time growing! Last nite and the nite before the temps got down to 33 degrees - too close to freezing for this time of the year!!!
Yesterday I baked all day - nut breads, cookies and cake. I will be giving some to the kids. I did have a slice of the zucchini bread for breakfast today just to see if I liked it or not. It was good so I am going to make a batck into muffins made with the splenda instead of sugar and that way I can have them as a legal Jenny breakfast.

Betty Jo - Yes I am amazed that I haven't gained thru the summer with all the cookouts and vacations. I haven't lost a lot but at least I did end up with small losses each month. A year ago it would have been a totally different scenerio! One thing I have accomplished is that even when I do go off program my choices aren't near as bad as they would have been before and if I do have a gain I get right back on program and get it off again!


Hope everyone has a happy and healthy Labor Day Weekend

Kathy

Good Morning Ladies:

I'm winding down on my canning now. All I have to can now is jellies and jams and I'm going to do some cinnamon pickles. This has been a great year for canning and I love it. It's a great hobby. My sister cans too, so we share recipes. That's how I come to add cinnamon pickles to my agenda this year.

Kathy:
In my mind, that's what this weight loss journey is about. Yes, we are losing the weight, but we are also retraining ourselves to eat correctly. If we don't, guess what. We will gain everything we lost right back. Now you know how to deal with summers and all the cookouts. Next year it will be much easier. You only have 34 pounds to go and you can do that easily this winter. Find some kind of exercise you can do in the house and go for it.

Well ladies, I've got to go. We are bug bombing the house today. Have a great day and I'll see you back her tomorrow.

Betty Jo

Hello all,
It's a beautiflu day in IN and I'm hoping to make the best use of it that I can
I have some yellow squash to get cooked and a nice big zucchini to either cook or grind for bread.

Betty Jo, Could you get me recipe for those cinnamon pickles? Are they really drawn out or do they make up pretty quickly? We have access to a lot of cucmbers and I hate to see them go to waste.

Kathy, Congrats on your weight loss, we're all proud of you and pulling for your success!

I'll talk to you again later,
Suedoodle

Hi Sue:

It takes four days to make the cinnamon cucumbers, but my sister says they are worth it. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
2 gallon lg., ripe cucumbers, peeled, cored, sliced 1/4" thick or cut in spears
2 cups lime
8 qt. water
1 cup vinegar
1 oz. red food coloring
1 tbsp alum
Water to cover
10 cups sugar
3 cups water
3 cups white vinegar
8 sticks cinnamon

Peel, slice and core cucumbers 1/4" thick or cut in spears. Let stand 24 hours in 2 cups lime, 8 quarts water. Wash, drain and let stand in cold water 3 hours. Drain and simmer for 2 hours in 1 cup white vinegar, 1 ounce red food coloring, 1 tablespoon alum and enough water to cover. Drain.

Make syrup of 10 cups sugar, 3 cups water, 3 cups vinegar, 8 cinnamon sticks. Boil for 5 minutes. Pour over cucumbers. Pour off 4 mornings in a row, bring to boil, pour over cukes. Fifth morning, pack in jars, pour boiling syrup in jars over cukes and seal.

I'm sure there are a few calories in these babies, but personally I would only pull them out on special occassions, like at Christmas and Thanksgiving.

Have a great day and let me know how your pickles turn out.

Betty Jo

Hello Ladies,
Thanks for the recipe Betty Jo. 4 days beats 14 days so I think these are a good idea, If I managet to get them made, I'll be sure to let you know how they turn out. Even if it's next year that I get it done
I have to tell you all about yesterday evening. I'll warn you that I'm bragging but I just can't help it. Two of our grandchildren have a tradition of fixing and serving us a meal for our anniversary. Last year, with it being our 50th and the really big celebration that our children gave us, that meal didn't happen. Nor did we expect it.
Yesterday when hubby/Papaw started to ask Rob to do something, he told Papaw that he was busy. Eventually, Rob told me that Papaw and I needed to get out of the house for awhile. So I managed to get Papaw in the truck and we went to our oldest daughter's to get some tomatoes. (She has mountains of them) We also took back her pie plate that she had fixed a blackberry pie in for her dad. We visited with her and her husband for awhile and then came back When we got here, granddaughter, Nae, told us that Rob said we couldn't come in yet. Go away for another 1/2 hour So we drove out around the lake. We saw three sets of deer on our drive for a total of nine deer. There were a couple of new homes out there that I hadn't seen since I've not been out that way in a year or so. When we got back, we had to shut our eyes and the kids led us to where they planned for us to be. That turned out to be the living room that they had redecorated with a western theme. They had also relocated some of the pictures of Bob and I from other rooms. They had set up a table for us. We had a candle in the center with little bowls of nuts on either sides. Our napkins were held in place by boot clips donated by Nae's younger sister who rides horses. She also had loaned a neat stand made from horseshoes and she had bought a bouquet of flowers that was flanked by a set of her spurs. There were cowboy hats, a guitar, cowboy boots, etc. here and there in the room. Rob and Nae were dressed in cowboy togs as they served us. We had a tossed salad first, with the dressings from tiny pitchers, not the bottle then we had chicken, corn, baked beans, hot rolls and peaches. We had tea to drink from our cowboy-shaped mugs All during the meal, Rob had set the computer to play romantic, western type songs. It was sooo cool!!! After dessert, both kids took pictures of us and them on their cell phones. Rob has a computer piece that allows him to get the pics from the cell phone to the computer and he printed out two of the best ones for me to have. It was such a sweet thing for them to do. This is the fifth anniversary that they've done something for us. The very first year, they fixed grilled cheese sandwiches and chicken noodle soup. I think the next year was a breakfast with French toast, etc. Each year they set up the room with a theme, dress with the theme and choose music that is both romantic and theme oriented. They amaze me!
After it was all done, and the house put back to rights, I helped Rob with his history assignment for today, Nae went home to do homework, and Papaw loaded the dishwasher. We are so blessed to have such amazing and thoughtful children and grandchildren!
I hope you all enjoyed my account of the evening, It was so special and I wanted to share my joy with you as I know there will be days when I will be sharing less joyful things. Have a wonderful slimming Labor Day weekend and I'll get back to you all soon
Suedoodle

<sub>WOW!!! That was some anniversary gift. You are blessed! Happy anniversary!!

Betty Jo</sub>

Thanks Betty Jo, I truly am blessed and so very very greatful for it.
There will be days when I don't post, or post a little. Then there will be days that I go on and on. Thank all of you for being there for me. I truely appreciate having you all just a keyflick away
Later,
Suedoodle

Hello Everyone:

No weight loss to report this week, but I'm not terribly disappointed. After all, I lost 4 last week. Have a great holiday weekend every body.

Betty Jo