Welcome back to Carol's Corner on this Thursday night. Hope you are all having a wonderful and productive week. Got another great outdoor backdrop for today's picture. My mom lives in this apartment complex and the sign they have at the entrance is fixed up really cool. Just noticed that my friend's finger covered up part of the top, but it's still pretty cool looking. I used my silver sandals( my second favorite pair) and my silver belt along with the bling on my jeans. It all works together to create a fun casual look for a summer day that's warm but not hot during the day, and on the cool side in the evening. Calling this, ” Blue Summer Skies.”

This set of jewelry brings out the more subtle shades of color in the blouse. I always get complements on this when I wear it.

Funny story about my FitBit today. When I was getting dressed my husband was laying down , so I just had a lamp on by my bed and the shades were down ( they're room darkening shades). I put on my FitBit thinking I had picked out the navy blue one. Had to meet my friend at Subway where we get salads to take to my moms where we have card night once a week. I looked down and said what, ” This isn't the navy blue one it's black.” So of course I had to run home and change to the right one. You know how I am about my accessories. They have to be perfect.

So tonight I am going to try and reproduce a blog I wrote way back when I first began writing Carol's Corner. In fact it was my third day of blogging. Everyone asks me how I ate during my weight loss phase and this explains a little of what I did. Might have to get back to that soon as I am up between 7 and 8 pounds from my fighting weight. My clothes still fit good, but can't let it get too out of control. I think because I exercise so much that that seems to make a big difference.

People from my groups always ask from time to time what types of things I did to lose my weight and the diet changes I made. So here goes. When I started this journey I had to incorporate three factors into my diet. I had to watch sugar, carbs and fats. That was no easy task. I read labels of everything and picked things with the lowest numbers. (When I get my next set of bloodwork done, I might have to go back to doing this more if they aren't as good as they've previously been.) One of the things I did every day was to have a large fresh salad. I would make a big one every 2 to 3 days. I used head lettuce,romaine and spinach chopped up , and spun in a salad spinner. Then I would add baby cucumbers,scallions, cherry or grape tomatoes and sprouts. When I ate a large serving I added some low-fat shredded cheese and something with crunch. I picked out dressings with the best numbers and only used 2 tablespoons. I never use fat-free products because the sugar content is higher, just use lower fat. I am a type 2 diabetic by the way but at the present time I am on no medications for it. Another thing I did every day was to steam the things I cooked. We had bought half a beef and had excellent ground beef. Try this and you will never fry a hamburger again. Take your ground beef and pat it down into a ramekin bowl. Season with any seasonings you like. We keep a big steamer pot on the stove at all times, so I can put the meat and whatever vegetables I'm making and steam the whole meal in one pot. I would turn my hamburg in the dish once and season it again. When you lift it out all the bad stuff stays in the dish. The seasonings I used on my hamburg is a salt we get called real salt, garlic powder,a peppercorn medley( hubby makes our own now), a little cayenne pepper and something you probably wouldn't think of, ground cloves. Cloves are a great seasoning in soups and stews also. Chicken is also great cut into pieces and steamed with your seasonings of choice. I put a small amount of EVO ( extra virgin olive oil) in the dish with the chicken. These are a few products I use. I use a non butter product called Earth Balance. It's actually a vegan product with great numbers and a pretty good taste. The best part is that it melts like butter, unlike the margarine products. I use Hellman's Lite for mayo. I'm very partial to Hellman's and I don't like salad dressing. In place of sandwich bread for sandwiches I use a Fit Fare Whole Grain Wrap from Aldi's. Their's seem to have the best numbers. I make a really good chicken salad. I take the white meat chicken you can get in the can. I drain it, put it in a dish and shred it up with a fork till it's all broken up. I cut up tomatoes into small chunks and mix it all together with Hellman's Light mayo and my seasonings. I use garlic powder, my real salt, peppercorn medley and my secret ingredient which is dillweed. It makes a delicious and healthy wrap for lunch. If I use bread for something I get whole wheat ,whole grain or oat bread. Arnold's makes a cool sandwich bun with different types of whole grains that is only a 100 calories that also makes a nice sandwich. I eat some fresh fruit. If you're a diabetic here's a little tip for you. Use the whole fruit instead of juice. Juice has way more sugar grams as opposed to eating the fruit itself. As I have a sweet tooth I bought single serving sugar free puddings and have a little sugar free cool whip on them to use as a snack. Then and now I weigh myself twice a day (unclothed) in the am when I get up and before I go to bed. I have to get back to eating for weight loss soon as I have let myself inch up a little more than I should have. In the beginning I drank more diet soda, but now I use a flavored water called Sparkling Ice. It is carbonated, not as much as soda and has vitamins, antioxidants and minerals and is good for a diabetic. The flavors are exceptional , which is good for me as I am not a plain water drinker. I just drink diet soda when I'm in a restaurant. Learn to love vegetables. Some of my favorites are Cauliflower, Broccoli and Brussel Sprouts, and in garden season I adore fresh Beets. Learn to use seasonings. They make everything taste better. Also portion control is very important. With vegetables it doesn't matter as much, but in other areas it does. I hope you have found some of this to be helpful. Feel free to ask questions or even offer your own ideas. Remember, the only way to fail is to never start the journey. Once you begin never look back , only forward. You alone have the power to change your life. Use it wisely and you'll never regret it. Success is right around the corner.

Till next time, God Bless.

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