Well I weighed this morning and I'm doing good keeping the weight off that I have already lost. What I need to do this week is work on losing at least another pound or two. This adventure seems to be taking a lot longer than I had hoped. I guess what I need to do is actually put some concerted effort in it. Not that I haven't already, but I have been mostly, only relying on grace. Grace is wonderful, but you probably need to apply faith to it, and move forward. I believe that is the key to success, in weight loss. I think maybe I'm starting to understand, the grace helps tremendously, in staying power, but faith is what keeps you moving forward to actually lose the weight. I'm covered in grace, but I walk by faith. So we really must use our faith and move forward, without fear, to reach our goals! Here's a yummy recipe for a good Sunday dinner, that I tweaked, to make it weight loss friendly.

                                                           Chicken Fried Steaks

4 Beef Cube Steaks.
Unbleached or Whole-Wheat Flour.
Salt or Seasoned Salt or Salt or Seasoned Salt Substitute.
Pepper.
Garlic Powder.
Canola Oil. (enough to brown in).
2-3 Beef Bouillon Cubes.
1 Small Onion; chopped.
Mushrooms. Sliced.

Put enough Canola Oil in a large skillet to cover the bottom of it.
Put the Flour and Seasonings in a shallow dish.
Place the Cube Steaks one at a time in the Seasoned Flour.
Coat well on both sides.
Put them on a plate as you coat them.
Place them one at a time in the skillet, keeping the oil warm enough to keep cooking them.
Brown well on both sides.
Remove to a plate.
Add the Onion to the skillet and brown lightly.
Add the Mushrooms.
Add about a Tablespoon of Flour and whisk until it is browned lightly.
Add about 2 cups of Water or as much as needed to make gravy.
Add the Bouillon Cubes and stir until dissolved and well blended.
Add the Cube Steaks back in and simmer until tender and done.
Serve with Mashed Potatoes and a Vegetable and/or a Salad.

                 
                                                                   Salmon Panzanella

I found this recipe on Facebook from Diabetic Connect. If you would like it just follow the links.

The way I've been losing weight seems to be a very long and boring process. I'm beginning to wonder if maybe I should put a little more effort into it and start losing weight faster. I have done that before. One time I went on a Yogurt , Cottage Cheese, and Wheat Thin Cracker Diet and lost 10 pounds in 3 days. I was a lot younger then and it was so much easier to lose weight. Now that I've gotten older I think that diet would be very difficult. I have thought about altering it somewhat though to suit my current nutritional needs. I'm not sure that the original diet would be a good idea for someone with Diabetes. I think I could do basically what I've already kind of done with it; which is to add an evening meal and some extra fruit and vegetables to it. That has worked too; just not as fast. Whatever I do I really need to lose a lot of weight, for my health's sake. Hopefully I can keep at this all summer, with all the baseball games we go to and as hot as it's been it shouldn't be that difficult. Speaking of baseball games we have one tonight. It has been so hot here this week it seems like I should be losing a pound or two a game! I guess that's it for now. I'll post a picture of watermelon to help you feel cooler!

I weighed again this morning and so far so good. I also have yogurt still I need to eat. I think that's what I will eat this morning. We've had a lot of ballgames this week with our grandson, Logan. He made the All-Stars Team this year and they've been playing several games  this week. I should be losing weight going to these games. It has been excruciatingly hot here. I'm kind of hoping for rain and a cool-down. Well, my baby grandson just got here, so I'll sign off here for now. Check back later, and I'll try to get a recipe on here.

I'm so glad that I got my weight back down to where I was before. I must pay better attention to what I eat. Grace is wonderful for staying power, but you do have to learn some lessons along the way. The main lesson I have learned is to use grace to help you not to hurt you. If you do find yourself eating too much, just stop, back up, and start over. Remember the best way to lose weight is to change your eating habits and exercise. In other words change your lifestyle!

I weighed again yesterday and had lost all the weight that I had gained back. Yay! Now I can concentrate on going forward and losing more weight. This means that I have lost a total of 20 pounds since I first started keeping track. I got some Yogurt and Wheat Thin Crackers. All the flavors are yummy, but try Strawberry with the Wheat Thin Crackers. It kind of tastes like strawberry shortcake. Yum! Be sure to get the kind with active cultures in it. This makes it healthier. You could also add some low-fat cottage cheese to this and add some protein.
 I also went to the doctor the other day. All of my tests are looking pretty good. I've been trying to be more consistent in eating healthy. I'm sure it helps. I've also started exercising some. I do need to be more consistent, but every little bit helps. I do get some exercise babysitting my little grandbaby. Not really a lot. He's still really small, not very heavy or active. So for right now I'm ok, but as he gets bigger I may start having trouble lifting him. I guess I'll cross that bridge when I come to it, though.
I guess for now I will post another recipe. After all we do have to eat. We just need to be wise about it!

                                                                 
                                                                    Taco Salad

1 pound ground Chuck or Turkey.
!Packet Taco Seasoning.
Taco Salad Shells or Flatbread or Nacho Chips.
1 Head Lettuce; chopped or a bag of Combination Salad.
Diced Tomatoes.
Shredded Cheddar or Mexican Cheese.
Taco Sauce.
Sour Cream (low-fat).
Can grate 1-2 Carrots for added nutrition, if you don't use the Combination salad.

Put the Ground Meat in a skillet and brown over medium-high heat.
Preheat oven to temperature in directions for shells.
Add the Taco Seasoning Packet and prepare according to directions.
Put the shells in the oven and bake according to directions. You can save calories by using Tortilla Chips instead of Shells and limiting the amount you eat.
Remove Shells from the oven and allow to cool a few minutes.
Put the Lettuce Salad and Tomatoes in the shells.
Put the Ground Meat Mixture on top of the salad ingredients.
Add the Cheese, Sour Cream, and Taco Sauce to the Salad.
Toss to mix.
Eat and enjoy!

Well, I weighed this morning and have gained a little. About 5 pounds; since I lost the 19 pounds a while back. I'm not quit sure what happened, but I assume I've been eating too much. LOL! I did make fried chicken and hot wings the other night. It was pretty yummy, too. We took them over to our daughter and her family's house. That was nice, but this is Monday, so I need to put that behind me, and move forward this week. I took my medicine, vitamins, fish oil and ate a banana this morning. Bananas are on my foods to avoid list, but I can eat one once in a while. So I did eat one this morning. It was the last one so I probably won't eat another one for a while.
I've been watching Extreme Weight Loss and they put a lot of emphasis on exercise; which is what I think I need to do. Maybe not to the extreme that they do, but a lot more than I have been. The subject seems to keep popping up. From the guy that lost a lot of weight by walking, to the show, it just seems to look like a necessary part of weight loss.
So I think I will get away from this computer and go exercise. Hopefully I can see it through this time. I will report back later.