Day 17: Up .8 and .9

Jami: 151.0
Justin: 192.7

Lol, all I can do is laugh. :) I don't consider it cheating, but I did add green chilies to my stew concoction yesterday. I guess chili is a high water retaining veggie, like carrots and broccoli. Oh well, I am still eating it and still expecting results. I don't think I had the right water to tea ratio last night either. Josie was a little sick, so she was needier than normal and I had to neglect some of my stuff. Justin was up late and made himself some popcorn. And I don't think he had enough water either, but that was a product of his not feeling well (still hung over).

But some good news, Justin and I got our weight machine fully put together again (how sad, we've lived here almost four months and it is just now getting done...). We both plan to use it for low impact cardio/strength training for the next couple of weeks. I know I am introducing a new piece to the equation, but I had a wonderful chat with Cat last night, and she helped me remember that my goal should not just be a number, but also toning and sculpting. It's true, I am losing inches, but my legs aren't any more defined than they were before (which tells you I never really had that much muscle on them to begin with). Honestly, I am afraid to add in exercise of any kind. I have been having such great success dropping the weight - minus today of course - that I don't want to mess it up and have something to over analyze/throw me off track. It is a really big accomplishment that I haven't cheated AT ALL this round. There have been temptations, but I am really learning to love the foods that are healthy for me. For example, last night I put pre-cooked shrimp in lemon juice with some salt and pepper and cooked it until the liquid boiled. Then I steamed some asparagus and dumped the shrimp 'sauce' on top of it. It was Delicious!! Who knew those few ingredients could taste so good. Of course it still isn't a lot of food, but we all know that gourmet restaurants don't serve the best quantity of food, it's about the quality. On the flip side, I still don't like flavorless chicken. But Justin discovered a way to make it UNBELIEVABLE: in a skillet, cover it in lemon juice (our save-all ingredient) and pepper. That's it. So simple yet tastes like it should be forbidden. Oooops, now you all know my secret to success this round - lemon juice makes everything taste better. :)

Last note about food, it is killing me to be feeding JJ my latest loaf of fresh banana bread. I can smell it and feel the yummy sugar on my fingers. Ugh, total torture.

So with work, I am actually sad that today is a holiday! I have so much work to do, a very short time to get it all done, and I hate spending the day wishing I were eating. The trifecta stresser. And being that it is winter, all my possible playdates have sick kids (as do I), so we are basically quarantined to the house. I guess it is time to get back in the attic and finish laying the insulation. Bleh, manual labor sucks.

So, pounds to go:

Jami: 16.2 (Still winning!!)
Justin: 17.1