Some months I make more progress than others, but overall I’ve lost a total of 67 lbs. I’m 4 lbs from being able to say I have less than 100 lbs to go until goal.

I’ve moved from a size 30 to a size 20. And last night I was finally able to fit into my size 20 levi jeans I’ve had tucked in a drawer since the beginning of 2004. They are the smallest pair of jeans (and my favoritest) from when I lost weight on Nutrisystem back in the late summer and Fall of 2003. I was almost able to move down to the next size when my dad died in January 2004 and I started an eating binge that lasted through my last pregnancy and clear up until January of this year when I finally flipped the switch inside me that said enough is enough.

It feels good to wear those jeans. I LOVE those jeans. I wish they still made them in this particular style. I can’t find them anywhere.

Even better my husband has always said he loves my ass in those jeans. I know TMI. But hey that’s part of the territory (and appeal!) with a public blog, isn’t it?

Yes, I know I have been MIA for quite a while. It seems I lost and found the same 4 pounds over and over again. I gave up, started over, gave up again, started over again….well you know the drill.

July 1st I started with new resolve now that I’m going to a grandmother. I have lost 15 pounds and have finally found an eating plan I can stick with. It’s called Carb cycling and is based on the Zone diet. You eat 1250 calories a day but one day you have low carbs 60 grams and the alternating day you have high carbs 140 grams.

This girl loves her carbs so it’s a match made in heaven so far.

Just wanted you to know…..She’s back! Watch my dust!

Well, a month has passed and I haven’t updated. That’s mainly because there’s no update. No progress. Well, a tiny bit of progress. I gained about 4 pounds back of the original 12 I lost. This month, I’ve taken off about 2 of those 4 pounds. Not much, but at least the scale is going down.

I’m currently reading The Schwarzbein Principle and would love any feedback from anyone who has read and/or followed this eating plan. It is a lot like the core plan on Weight Watchers, except that it also wants you to eliminate artificial sweeteners (except for Stevia) from your diet.

The book was written by an endocrinologist who worked for years with Type II diabetics and saw that the ADA’s recommended diet, which is carb and calorie heavy, was not working. It isn’t severe, like Adkins or South Beach. But, it is hard. Most things are organic and hard to find at my local grocery.

If you have diabetes and have found success at “unsticking” your weight and losing what you neat, please reply back too. I exercise very consistently and hard and nothing seems to budge the scale. I know this is from my diabetes now, and I have to change my diet and get my system to functioning more normally if I’m to ever lose what I need.

I received the following mail today and wanted to get this out to anyone interested. It sounds like a great opportunity!

Hi! I am working on a wellness series for Discovery Health. We are looking for an overweight man or woman from the NYC area who is looking to drop some pounds and adopt a healthier lifestyle.

Our host will work with the person to help him or her find simple techniques to achieve this. Our host has lost 100 lbs himself in the past few years and can personally identify with the struggles of weight loss. It’s not about spending exorbitant amounts of money on a personal trainer or conforming to a strict diet of wheatgrass and lima beans or making yourself miserable and stressed out confirming to a strict regimen. Instead our host suggests simple lifestyle changes and emphasizes the importance of finding a healthy lifestyle that resonates with the individual. Our host is non-judgmental and will treat each individual case with dignity.

If you meet this bill, please respond to christine@engelentertainment.com with a description of yourself, your contact information, and why you are interested in participating.

Thank you, and good luck!

I’ll throw this up in the recipe blog, too, but had to share this. I whipped up this “stuff” for dinner lastnight, and made every attempt to make it as balanced and nutritious a meal as possible.

Here’s what it is:

1 Cut Up Summer (yellow) squash
1 Cut Up Eggplant
1 Cut Up Zucchini
1 Pkg Purdue Short Cuts Italian Seasoned Chicken Breast pieces

All of this is sauteed and simmered in a bit of olive oil. I also left the excess saltwater wash from the eggplant in there too – but only used about 1/2 tsp. of salt on the eggplant. I simmered everything until it was tender and the eggplant was finished – that’s the only thing I can’t stand if it’s not cooked well.

I served it over a whole grain angel hair pasta.

Oh. My. Goodness.

The flavor from the italian seasoned chicken carried through the whole dish – and it was amazing. It made enough for 5 meals, and it’s got all of the right stuff. A nice big serving of vegetables, a serving of fiber/healthy carbs, a good amount of protein, and a healthy digestable fat.

I could eat it every day, seriously!

I did alright with my water intake yesterday, I had a lot of coffee (black) and switched to water around noon – so I only got a little over 30 ounces down by the end of the day. Sadly, I got out of the habit of reaching for water when my tummy grumbled. I need to work on that again!