Week Seven of REAL...

The 5th: weigh in: 243 lb. Oops. Only four hours sleep, last night. Three SEAL puppy reps. Physical therapy with 1 lb weights. Two more SEAL puppy reps. Breakfast was CIA with banana and blueberry, and yes I use chocolate flavor. I discovered that chocolate and blueberries are really yummy when a friend gave me a variety of Dagoba chocolate bars. It's when I discovered that lavender could be a yummy food ingredient.

The 6th: weigh in: 242.8 lb. Only slept 5-1/2 hours, but woke energized and ready to start the day. Two SEAL puppy reps. Two-mile walk. Physical therapy with 1 lb weights. Three more SEAL puppy reps.

The 7th: weigh in: 240.8 lb.

The 8th: weigh in: 238.8 lb. Three SEAL puppy reps, one-mile walk, two more SEAL puppy reps, and physical therapy with one-pound weights.

The 9th: weigh in 239.4 lb. One SEAL puppy rep. Oddly enough, I woke with a stiff, sore ankle. This is usually what happens when I haven't been walking regularly, so I don't know what's up with this. Nope, didn't do physical therapy, but did make bread, with no bread machine. I love kneading bread. There's something incredibly therapeutic about it.

The 10th: weigh in: 239 lb. Three SEAL puppy reps. Physical therapy with 1 lb weights. Two more SEAL puppy reps. One-mile walk. I made three batches of biscotti, today, almond with chocolate chips, lavender with chocolate chips, and lemon with chocolate chips.

The 11th: weigh in: 239.6 lb. Waist circumference: 40-1/2". No change, but I feel better. However, that could be the result of my stay-cation. :-)

Baked cookies, today, my favorite chocolate chip cookies. I've been baking on stoneware for years, I mean years and years. I haven't used a metal pan for baking since I discovered Pampered Chef's stoneware. Honestly, some of their products are overpriced and essentially useless unless you're really into using specific tools for specific tasks. That being said, I truly love the stoneware. Today, I decided to not crowd my cookies so I could fit them all on the pans I have. There were five leftover cookies. What could it hurt to use a metal pan for five cookies? Was there really a difference? Absolutely! Never, ever using a metal baking sheet again, ever. The cookies look different and taste different.

While I was at it, I made my own brown sugar blending white sugar and molasses. It is not the same. I don't know what molasses the brown sugar companies are using, but it isn't what I was able to buy in the store. Now I have sugar that looks like brown sugar but tastes like molasses. Sigh. I'm disappointed in the outcome, though I'll try it in my next batch of cookies to see how they turn out. I love experimenting with food.