C_Cezeaux

@Crimsann, I have a whole collection of the reusable bags from the grocery store. HEB here in TX uses artistic design, movie characters, and photographs on their bags. I have 4 of the bluebonnet bags in 2 different sizes. :D. They double as my carryon "personal item" - My purse, kindle, charger, and bottles of water all go in th smaller version. Sprouts has some nice canvas shoppers but they're a little more expensive than the HEB bags. I have to say, my favorite to carry anywhere else are a couple of matching pink Minnie Mouse "cloth" bags I bought from HEB. They left the store brand off and they are soft enough to fold up and put in my purse. @vozelle, am definitely interested to see how your cleanse works for You. Hopefully good results. @mergthemagnificent, welcome back, I feel your pain (post Harvey food was NOT good for me) and You Can Do It!

Thanks! We were evacuated, but stubbornly returned home to clean up and get freezer plugged into generator. Have been told weeks before power fully restored, but at least we still have a roof over our heads. Many of our neighbors don't have that. Prayers for your daughter, hope she is in a safe spot and able to return soon.

My eating has been shot to pieces this week, have fallen off any sort if plan except putting in whatever's at hand to give me a bit more energy. Hurricane Harvey has pretty much knocked everything out the window here for awhile. We didn't get major structural damage but have massive cleanup and won't have power other than a generator for awhile. Keeping an eye on the flooding situation, so far we have been extremely fortunate, much better shape than a lot of folks around us. The bright line method was working for me, was sticking with all paleo food on it, will have to try to get back into regular eating when things get a little more back to normal here. I, too, will keep checking back and always keep my notifications on.

Middling! I meant to get on earlier and tell you I bought Bright Line Eating after reading what you said about it. To my absolute amazement, it is working for me as well. I am just starting my 2nd week, down 5 in week one. :-) I'm keeping to W30 foods with the exception of Greek yogurt, it seems the portions and the planning what I will eat the day before are what I need. Fabulous! I had to give up my exercise for that week because I was so tired, but I will pick itt up again thos week, at least the toning parts. Still working on learning those Latin dance moves, lol.

Well, if the amount of sweat I'm flinging about during workout is any indication, I should get something good out of this workout challenge, lol. I am actually starting to have some fun with it and might even "gasp" have a basic (very basic) dance move mastered soon. I am hanging in with "convenience" foods of organic shredded salads, power greens, and frozen veggies at the moment, just have not had time to actually cook up a good batch of anything. Foolishly sent myself to the ER after work Monday with an overdose of lemon water. I have a new infuser water bottle and thought it would be just the thing for work. It works great, but I did not actually realize lemon was a diuretic and kept lemon in the bottle all day. A bag of IV fluid with a sodium boost later, I can say that I will not forget the lesson learned. From here on out, will stick to my mints in the water!

Crimsann, it's part of the 30 day Figure 8 challenge, they ask you to post your "before" pics in loose shorts and a sports bra. Rum, talk about a deity check right between the eyes. The food plan she suggests has some things on it that are not W30, so I am sticking with the W30 compliant while I attempt to follow the exercise plan. Much to my surprise, at the end of week one I have measurable results, will see how it goes. I also have some muscles in places I wasn't aware I had them, Lol. Hoping to look less like a frog in a blender during the dance moves by the end of the month. Nancy, I feel you on the shared living spa e. I do not tolerate living in someone else's space well. I need my own space and my own kitchen setup to be comfortable. I may be a little territorial and particular about that. ;-) Will keep fingers crossed for a vacancy for you soon. Melinda, I have always loved pork, but can only eat limited amounts and only the leaner pork. Pork fat causes me somesevere distress and sits in my stomach like a rock.

Vozelle, I think I need the magic bullet to the head tonight, lol. I know I have to have both the exercise and the right food or it doesn't work, don't know what possessed me to think I could happily slide along with no exercise when I suddenly dropped into sedentary mode at work. Probably originated in the same part of the brain that thought jumping into intense latin dance exercise challenge would be perfect for someone who doesn't know how to dance in the first place. Challenge it is. Sweaty I am. Maybe by the end of the 30 days I will have learned something close to a dance move, lol. Sticking with it anyway out of sheer stubbornness. Signed up, posted the wretched pictures as required in a public forum with all the other out-of-shapers hoping for miracles, so I am darn well sticking it out. MsLIndy, I am with you on the no sugar/flour thing. Other than being allergic to the wheat flour, typical baked goods are a definite no brakes kind of food for me. Just no. I do ok with the grain free baking, they're dense enough that they're impossible to gulp.

I've been lurking lately. More probably could be labeled sulking in despair/disgust with myself. The bad news is, when they switched me over from field work to "office" (it's a seacan, but it is my office, lol), I lost all my daily exercise. I went from walking 5-10 miles daily to...nothing. Didn't change my habit of coming home and piling up in the chair to read, being exhausted at the end of the day. A few weeks ago I noticed my old friend back trouble coming back so went to a standing desk. Knew I had let things slide a bit since the holidays but was really brought home to me when my stepdaughter came to visit and many pictures were taken, followed by a weekend visit to my daughter and grand daughter where... many pictures were taken. Plus, I was outrun by a 3 year old girl. Repeatedly. Staring reality in the face as I go through all the photos, trying once again to find one where I don't look like a blob, I have been down in the dumps. Have been eating healthy since I came back, which was another reality check as I had to go through the timeline once again. Day 2 of healthy week nearly took me out. Made it through that week but now am focused on the fitness and shape aspect. I still have functions coming up in June and August and DO NOT, I repeat DO NOT want to be bigger than the whales we are going to try to be watching on our cruise in August. So I have decided to jump in whole hog (so to speak) and have joined a 30 day fitness challenge which starts tomorrow. They have a support group administered by the lady who does the fitness routine, which involves latin dance (this ought to be interesting, I have danced 2 times in my life and one was the waltz at my wedding). I had to take measurements and before pictures today. SO not fun. SO fighting the urge to go eat a box of anything. SO afraid I will still look the same way after 30 days of the hard work I am committed to putting in. In the meantime, I have done my prep work. My cabinets are full of good food. My freezer is full of frozen pre-prepped veggies. My lovely chicken soup is simmering on the stove. My workout clothes are clean and ready. Now, if I can just get up out of my pity party and get on with it, I will be ok.

I think (fingers crossed) that I may be about ready to join the land of the living again. Rumors of going back to a 48 hour work week instead of the current "ALL THE HOURS" schedule we're on and I think I've finally got the last of the sinus issue beat. (More crossed fingers). Great going through everyone's posts and catching up. Feels like a visit home. I laughed reading the description of the Facebook W30 group. I didn't stay long with the one I tried either. I get so aggravated when people start talking about a "modified" W30 or how they're so deprived and starving. Really?? I am definitely stealing Nancy's "How odd" to go with that!

Still hanging in, been a bit rocky here though. Have struggled with various winter ailments from sinus to flu type bug, messed up my shoulder somehow, no clue what I did to it. Hubs broke his foot yesterday at work when a steel beam fell on it. Ugh. Hanging in on the compliant food as well, although my template is skewed. Not getting enough veg in the morning, but have been on a bone broth soup kick lately, quick and easy to grab and go. I like the idea of alternating foods, MissLindy, just need to get my butt in motion and get prepped again. I have not tried making meatloaf without a bread filler, sounds like something I need to investigate. Still fighting the evening munching, have decided to play mind games with myself by changing habits instead of giving up a habit. Sort of like distracting a 3 year old, lol. I also am trying the countdown instead of counting up this time. Somehow it makes a difference in my brain. Nancy, glad your surgery went well, take care during recovery. I am a big fan of the grass Fed beef, I think it has a much better flavor. Vozelle, when I was reading up on cravings, I ended up all over the Internet everywhere from the livestrong site, prevention, WebMD, anywhere that looked reputable and didn't come with a "try our magic diet plan" line somewhere on the page. Crimsann, I could wish my house had been your spring cleaning project. There's a dust bunny under the couch that is going to need a name if I don't get rid of it soon. Seriously thinking I need to assign myself one small chore each day just for the sense of accomplishment finishing it gives me.

I like your counting down instead of starting at 1, but just doing it works for me too, lol. I'm working on sticking on the template at night, that's when I am worst at snacking and when I'm most likely to eat too much just by mindlessly eating at the end of hectic days. I did quite a bit of reading trying to figure out my cravings on one of the last go rounds, it was really interesting. I have not had the craving for corn chips since I upped my magnesium. :-D I think you're on to something with your mineral water. :-)

MissLindy, I feel you on the lack of true summer. Makes me feel like I never get warm all the way through when that happens, so them I'm not prepared for cold weather of winter. Good luck on your porch project, sounds like a great project and good workout spot. I will do 30 with you, I like eating this way as well, simplifies things for me. I am also on the weight loss train again, or at least the shaping up train. Have two "functions coming up this year and know I won't be happy if my clothes don't fit well.

Vozelle, I feel you on the snacking! That's what I let myself fall into as well. I am making my house rule for myself that I only eat at the table now. I had gotten really bad at munching through a book or while on the computer. I'm extending to go through with my daughter, she and her best friend are starting this week. I'm really hoping for good things for her on the allergy front.

I had this problem while I was posting from my phone for quite awhile, I ended up backspacing everything off each time I wanted to post something. I don't honestly k own how it got fixed, but it finally quit doing it.

If anyone has a Sprouts in their neighborhood, they are having a 72 hour sale. Some great grass fed beef and organic produce prices today.