2/20 - 168.5 lbs. I lost 3 pounds this week. Don't ask me how. I did do better in the evenings, so maybe that is it. Like Holly, I have a tough time when I get home from work. I do well all day, then come home hungry and head right for the snack cabinet. That and evenings when I am watching TV or whatever. Whenever I am doing well with the weight loss, I go to bed feeling a little hungry. I don't have a carved in stone goal, but would be content if I could drop 3-4 more pounds, then keep it off.

Leslie, thanks for the granola recipe. Granola has gotten such a bad rap lately due to fat. Is there any store brand that is not fattening? Laurie

Laurie – my favorite salad ingredients right now are feta cheese, crushed walnuts (or sunflower seeds), craisins, and Kraft FF raspberry vinaigrette dressing. Plus I’ve been adding spinach to the lettuce, for more nutrition. Leslie – I sprinkle Fiber One or Kashi Go Lean Crunch cereal in my yogurt, but your granola would be a great option, too. If only I could trust myself to just have a little bit – I do so love granola. Denise – very kewl! I’ve long wished I could do one of those. If only I could swim... MrPHinNJ – nice job on the 3 lb loss! I’ll let you guys in on a little secret. This weekend will finish my cycle of BCPs and I am going off them. I don’t need them for birth control (DH is fixed), but I went on them in 11/07 because of out-of-control periods. My ob-gyn told me recently that my cycles may have re-set themselves, so I will discontinue the pill and see if that has happened. The result of this might be that I drop a couple lbs, since the 3-4 lbs that I can’t seem to get rid of are what I gained shortly after going on the pill in the first place. Interestingly, I haven’t been able to run for $hit ever since then, either, and I have wondered if the pill has anything to do with that. I asked my doctor about it last winter, when I was running so many miles and not seeing any results, and he said it’s possible. The pill has been shown to interfere with B1 and B12 absorption and possibly glycogen retention in muscles. Who knows? Maybe I'll get a little faster without it, although I suspect dropping 5 lbs would go farther toward making me faster. Hope that's not TMI...

Laurie - We can get a granola here called Bear Naked. It seems to be lower in fat, but I think it's still higher than what I make. Holly - BCPs definitely make you gain and retain weight. The other info I find very interesting. About two years ago, I went on BCPs for the same reason as you. Within the first two months I had gained over 5 lbs. even though my eating didn't change and my activity level went up. I was totally confused until my friend told me they make you gain and retain weight. WTH?? I quit and decided to just live with irregularities. I think you will definitely see a difference within a couple of months after going off them. Here's a great low fat brownie recipe. I will look in my book at home and get the calorie count this weekend. They're fantastic, and unless you tell people they're low fat, no one notices. They aren't a thick brownie, but they're a nice treat w/a dollop of FF Cool Whip. CHOCOLATE BOY SCOUTS 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder ½ cup all purpose flour 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 cup backed brown sugar ½ cup baby food prunes 3 Tbl. butter, melted 2 egg whites 1 tsp. vanilla 1/4 cup chopped walnuts Preheat oven to 325. Combine cocoa, flour, and salt in small bowl. Set aside. Using a wooden spoon or an electric mixer on low speed, blend together brown sugar, prunes, butter, egg whites, and vanilla. Gradually add flour mixture and blend after each addition. Stir in walnuts. Spray an 8x8 inch baking pan with non-stick spray. Pour batter into pan and spread evenly. Bake for 20-22 minutes, until edges feel dry to touch but center appears fudgy. Do not overbake. Remove from oven and let cook in pan before slicing. For maximum moistness, store squares in an airtight container. Makes 12 Boy Scouts. What's In It For Me? Per Serving: 145 calories, 4.7 g fat, 25.1 g carbs, 2.5 g protein, 62 mg sodium. 8 mg cholesterol. CALORIES FROM FAT: 27.8%

1/2 c. Kashi Crunch + 1/2 c. Fiber One + 1/2 c. 1% milk = 10 g. protein, 22 g. Fiber and only 200 calories

(if that's all I ate I'd be starving by 10 am!)

Dees, I might just do that one with you. Depending on how my leg is feeling. Recovering from a hamstring pull. Where do you train? Are you going to the mulitsport expo at MIT next month? I have a group of women going with me and taking the chirunning and total immersion classes. You should come. We could meet up and do classes or lunch. I so love the recipes posted. That salad would be awesome with fresh fruit thrown it, like raspberries. Leslie, might try your recipe first. Then the bare naked. We do have it here in stores. Laurie

Dees, I might just do that one with you. Depending on how my leg is feeling. Recovering from a hamstring pull. Where do you train? Are you going to the mulitsport expo at MIT next month? I have a group of women going with me and taking the chirunning and total immersion classes. You should come. We could meet up and do classes or lunch. Laurie

That looks so cool - are you going Saturday or Sunday? I could probably make the Saturday work. I haven't started training yet because of my surgery, but after my appt next week I hope I get the ok to go in the pool. I run with MVS/TriFury and we have an agreement with a local Y for a couple of hours in the middle of the day where we can swim free -- also the h.s. my boys go to has an open swim for adults so I'm going to look into that. I am really planning on sticking to a schedule once I get cleared next week. Some of the TriFury members told me they swim in Silver Lake in Wilmington,MA which is just a few miles from me once it warms up!!

Grrr, I"m up a half pound since Thursday, and I'm going to parties all weekend! (MTA - but the tape measure is down slightly, except in the hips.) Just finished cooking and slicing and dicing up a storm of healthy foods for next week - stuff for salads, chicken, veggies and a pot of turkey chili. Still looking forward to my faschnact on Tuesday, but then am going to give those 3 BL teams ahead of us a run for their money. Eliz