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Post by kasha on Mar 8, 2006 12:53:45 GMT -5
Just joined today primarily to be able to keep a journal after a lot of lurking. Going to post this to see how it all works...
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Post by kasha on Mar 8, 2006 13:03:37 GMT -5
Ok, it worked. I'm doing Core, from France. This is a challenge because of the differences in foods, but the WW programs here are a bit behind the times. I tried the French version of counting poits, for about 4 months two summers ago and lost about 15 pounds. I started the American version of Core, doesn't exist here, two weeks ago and have lost about 5 pounds, so that's fine by me!
today, Breakfast, baked oatmeal with blueberries, a banana Lunch, lovely leftover Moroccan Chicken Stew, with sweet potatoes, onions, tomatoes, and very nice spices, and cous cous, everyone at work was jealous when I microwaved it. Snack, an orange Dinner, chicken stuffed with ham cubes and herbs, painted with Dijon mustard, wrapped in Spanish ham similar to proscuitto, peas and carrots, a bit of WW pasta with herbs.
I have to keep a French husband happy with food choices for meals we eat together, so I need to keep things interesting. And there are really no fat free products in France, except for yogurt and fromage blanc, so I either don't use any, or I count points for a tiny bit of the real thing.
I'm shocked at how quickly my sweets cravings have gone, and I was a reall sweets person. I managed to make cookies for a crowd last night, 3 sorts, one topped with plops of Nutella, and only tasted the macaroons made with fake sugar....this would not have been possible before Core!
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Post by nightsinge on Mar 8, 2006 13:20:25 GMT -5
Bon jour and welcome, Kasha! I agree with you about the sweets cravings--nice to say goodbye to them, eh? Best of success to you and looking forward to more posts.
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Post by kasha on Mar 9, 2006 1:35:43 GMT -5
Thanks to nightsinge for the welcome. I'm u very early here with a sick cat who needs to go to the vet. Back later to post again.
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Post by katelight on Mar 9, 2006 8:17:09 GMT -5
Welcome Kasha, I hope your cat is back to health soon. Congratulations on making the core choice. What a huge difference it has made in my life. I've lost about 80lbs all on core. This is the most livable eating plan I have ever been on. Please make sure you check out all of the different areas of this board if you haven't already. There is fantastic information and wonderful support here, and post whenever you are comfortable. We love to hear how your life is going. Take care Katie
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Post by kasha on Mar 9, 2006 9:45:55 GMT -5
Back from work, the cat is back from the vet a small fortune in vet bills later. He had pneumonia before xmas, and they are afraid it is a type of pleurisy now. I'm going to go wrap him up and cuddle after I get this and email done. Poor cat.
Hi to Katelight. You did great with only 2.8 lbs to go, wow!! How long have you been doing Core?
Well, breakfast today was a nice bowl of oatmeal, made in the microwave, with cinnamon and applesauce, I like oatmeal for breakfast, tastes good, and you aren't hungry until lunch, no problem.
Had a banana as a snack.
Lunch was a corn tortilla filled wiht homemade kidneybean "refried" beans, none of that kind of stuff in France, and salsa.
With lunch, my no problem "smoothie" an apple with skin, seeded and cut up, a peeled navel orange, some lemon juice, fake sugar or honey, or real sugar, or nothing and enough cold water in a blender til a good consistency. No dairy. This is good for breakfast, snack or dessert, it is a French thing.
Dinner is cod filets boiled in court bouillon (herbs and spices added to water) with boiled carrots and potatoes, also boiled with some herbs, served with a sauce made of 0% yogurt or yogurt cheese mixed with a bit of Dijon mustard, a lot of mashed garlic, and salt and pepper. This is a no fat version to give the taste of aioli. Very French, very light and nice, also pleases the husband.
Going to check out some other journals...
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Post by katelight on Mar 9, 2006 23:38:58 GMT -5
Thank you what nice things you said. From Iowa to France? How does that happen. I only know Iowa stays in Iowa lol. I joined WW October 2004, lost steadily, reached goal July 2005 and lifetime Aug.2006. In fact I made lifetime 1 week after our 26th wedding anniversary, and I wore my "going away" dress from our wedding. I hadn't been able to wear it in 25 years. It's not cool enough to be vintage, It's just an old dress that has sentimental meaning to me. I think Core is the best thing WW has ever done, and I continue to live the Core life every day. I became lifetime with my Dr's recomendation, but continued to lose another 10lbs after that for my personal goal. I've been playing tag with about 3lbs ever since. So I consider myself maintaining my goal weight. Thanks for asking all of the questions, I love to share my story. Take care Katie
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Post by kasha on Mar 10, 2006 1:13:48 GMT -5
Ok, up early here got to get off to ok, but it is Friday, and it is time for a weekend!
Breakfast will be oatmeal with blueberries and I just have to go and microwave it. and an apple. a really tasty apple, not boring or bland....
Lunch was some ww pasta with ham cubes, fresh herbs and a tsp of light butter. didn't need the butter.
A snack of a ww English muffin, what an exotic thing for France! and a banana
Dinner will cost me a couple of points. I found a ready to make pack of everything you need to make green curry from my favorite Thai place in Paris, the Blue Elephant. All of the strange exotic veggies you can't buy, the spices, the curry paste... I just need to add the chicken, no problem, and rice. Brown rice would be Core, but I am tempted to make basmati and count the points, I think it is worth it. Pineapple for dessert. I can't wait, what a good smell green curry is, super spicy though.
Not a nice day here in the South of France, cold and overcast, very light rain that won't stop, and can't really count as rain. I'm off to get a liter of water and a book and take a bit of a break after work.
When I worked less, I was far better about exercise, now I don't have the enrgy. At least I walk home from work, and sometimes to work two and it is about 25 minutes each way, so that counts for something. Just talking about it is getting me in the mood to do the reading from the stationary bike, at least 20 minutes. Don't have to go crazy. And I think a magazine came in the mail. Not a bad idea--if I want to read a magazine, I have to do it on the stationary bike....
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Post by Wildflower on Mar 10, 2006 10:18:40 GMT -5
Hi Kasha, How exciting to have you joining us from France! I so enjoy reading about your meals. They sound so good and enjoyable.
My daughter and her hubby went to France last year to visit friends. It was so nice for them--belated honeymoon.
How did you land over there? What type of work do you do? What is it like where you live?
I do hope I get to make a trip there someday.
So nice to have you visit my journal this morning. I'd like to invite you to come on over to the April Fool's Challenge and meet a great bunch of CORE Losers! You don't have to join the challenge to post there--we're a pretty free-wheeling bunch. It's great encouragement and support....we have a great topic going this morning. Check it out!
Talk to you later...have a lovely day!
Sandy
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Post by kasha on Mar 10, 2006 14:45:24 GMT -5
Hi to Sandy,
She asked a lot of questions! I've been here for almost 9 years. I married a French man that I had met 7 years before marrying him, while I was being a teaching assistant in France. He was a soldier at the time. I finished all of my studies, got married, and we had to pick a country, and France was easier for me to find work. I'm a professor. At the moment, I run a small language shool for adults, and I do some college teaching on the side.
I live in the south of France, down by the Mediterranean, it is two hours to Spain, and about 4 hours to Italy. We visit Spain when we can, and eat wonderful fresh fish, and sometimes stay overnight in a nice hotel on the beach. We're about due for one of those little weekends...
I live in a city called Montpellier, a big university city, very cosmopolitan place, which is nice. I live in the center and walk everywhere, there are some pretty nice things to see as it is a combo of very old and very new.
We have 300 sunny days a year, and a long summer--mid April til about mid October I get to wear sandals in a good year. The beach is 14 minutes away by car, although it isn't the prettiest beach in the world.
The green curry I mentioned above was excellent, and very tasty, so it was easy to stop when I had enough. That will be my splurge though, and I did do a bit of stationery bike to compensate, and I will again tomorow. Such funky veggies, forms of eggplant I had never seen before, tiny little round ones.
One big advantage of living in France, and this part of France, is that they grow a lot of the fruit and veggies in a ten mile radius to ship all over France. So I get good, fresh, cheap stuff. Even at the grocery store, I can buy zucchini, or whatever, often with the flowers still fresh and attached at good prices. I'm spoiled for that, and for meat too, like free range chicken and certain kinds of fish that are local, like tuna, and octopus. Is octopus Core? I bet it is. What I don't have, because France isn't so much into it, are the choise of prepared foods, or fat free or sugar free thing. Than goodness for % milk, fromage blanc, but there are cheese, or desserts or anything like that. Probably not a bad thing--if I succeed with Core, it will be with lovely fresh things and having to cook it all myself. No ff sf pudding. I figure when I want somehting, it will have to be the real thing and I'll have to count points or it, which isn't the end of the world. We'll see how long it takes Core to hit France, years, I bet!
So that is a bit about me.
Any other questions, just ask away. We have a 7 hour time difference here, ahead of the US, so I just made dinner, and you all are probbaly on lunch.
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Post by kasha on Mar 11, 2006 12:15:34 GMT -5
Hi all,
Breakfast was an apple, another tasty small one and a ww english muffin and a glass of 0% milk Lunch was out at a restaurant, and I decided the special of the day wasn't ad, so I had a piece of salmon, and a pile of roasted veggies. I didn't think there would be sauce, but there was, but I tried to avoid it, which wasn't too difficult, even though I certainly got some. Not a big deal. I did finish the fish, but not all of the veggies. Diet Coke too.
Snack was some fresh coconut, I hope it is on the list, I need to go check.
Dinner, A layered Mexican thing I made up with FF homemade refried beans, 3% ground beef with taco seasoning, some corn tortillas, need to count for that, salsa. A lot of taste or little points, and with a spoon of guacamole on top...yum!
If we need dessert, it will be pineapple, didn't eat it the other day. Tomorrow I weigh myself. I do it Sunday am.
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Post by kally on Mar 11, 2006 14:42:31 GMT -5
thanks for dropping by my journal. I think you are getting the hang of it. I believe it is not so much about what is on the list (you learn as you go) but about sensing your own hunger. I still sometimes eat when I am already full enough, but at least I eat a lot less stuff. It is all a learning situation.
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Post by xoxohart on Mar 11, 2006 17:12:42 GMT -5
Hi Kasha,
Thanks for stopping by my journal! When I was a college student, I spent nine months in France -- in Caen, on the Normandy coast. We didn't have anything like diet Coke (I remember that was what I missed most!). Living in the south of France sounds superb; I'd love the 300 days of sunshine. Here in Northern CA we had snow last night, which is unusual. I told DH we need to find a warmer place to live!
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Post by kasha on Mar 12, 2006 3:38:50 GMT -5
Ok, up early this am, still with a sick cat. We are going to try elliminating a new food from his diet, just to see if it could be part of the problem. What a pain in the neck!
Breakfast a small banana, a ww english muffin with nasty 25% margarine. none would be better, or a tiny bit of the real thing, a glass of milk. I'm still thirsty, I'll get a 1.5 liter bottle of water going.
Weighed myself this am, always on Sunday morning, but no good reason for it. I was down 1.3 pounds. So that is fine! Last week it was 2.2 pounds, but you can't win them all, and I figure 1.3 every week and I'd have to be satisfied with it.
Lunch--roast pork with a tomato-garlic lentil dish and some really good cornbread I found here last night made with Cream of Wheat and corn. Best cornbread I have ever made, even the husband agrees. And an orange.
Will need a snack later, small lunch, trying a thing now in the oven based on a few recipes, well see if it turns out.
Dinner, a baked "fried chicken" thing from a recipe I found here, soaked in yogurt for a long time, coated with spices and cornmeal. Fries baked in the oven, and some veggies soup made with an assortment I find in the crisper. Always with some red pepper, some eggplant and a beef cube is the best way.
The cocoa snack cake I made up just came out of the oven and smells great. It has semolina, wheat bran and oatmeal ground. Not Core, but made with all Core ingredients. I can live with it. Will let it cool and see how it is. I bet it will have a grainy texture, but it smells like brownies...
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Post by nightsinge on Mar 12, 2006 13:12:09 GMT -5
Congratulations on your WI! I'm so proud of you. I like the idea of doing core with fresh, wholesome foods too.
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