Saturday - August 20th

Well I made it through what I like to call Birthday Week around here.  Two of my son's have birthdays within two days of each other, even though they are four years apart.  Kyle's was on Wednesday and my second oldest, Ben, turned 20 on Friday.  When Kyle was born (two weeks early) I made it out of the hospital the day before Ben's birthday and I told him that Kyle wanted to come to his party so bad, he was born early! This diet has encouraged Kyle to get healthier with us and he has cut  his sugar use way down, so on his birthday I made him that "no sugar, no flour" chocolate bean cake and truvia ice cream.  The cake was really very moist, chocolately and good!   Even my one picky son,Nick, tried a little piece and then went back for another!  It only makes one 9" layer and it doesn't get super fluffy or high, but I'd probably make it again as a healthy alternative for the boys.  I only had a sliver of it, just because I didn't take the time to figure out all the carb/sugar counts that were in it because of the beans.  Anyway, for Ben's 20th,  I made a big red velvet cake with mascarpone icing. It's from a Bobby Flay "Throw Down" recipe.  (We LOVE watching food network around here!)  It looked amazing, but I'm not sure how it tasted because I didn't have any!  It was my first time making a cake without tasting the batter that got on my fingers or anything.  It was more than a little tempting to do it too!!
Reading everyone's blogs I've come to realize that most of you are either at your goal weight or almost at your goal weight.  I think that is AWESOME!  I started on April 6th at 197lbs and as of last Wednesday's weigh in I was 175lbs.  So I have lost 22 pounds so far.  I want to get to at least 150lbs so I still have at least 25lbs to go!  I think that is why I have to be extra strict with myself, and not cheat or anything.  When I get down to where you guys are I can be a little more flexible, like bringing brown rice back into the picture or something.  My husband and I were talking the other day (he is on the diet also) and we were saying that if we went off this diet tomorrow there really isn't anything we would run out and eat!  In other words we haven't been craving anything, which is a bit weird!  Its also why we are hoping this is one diet we can actually stick to forever!  In a way its almost turned into a little game of trying to find replacements for things we love.  When we want pizzas we make those little pita ones that I put on our grill outside.  The other night we wanted Italian food, so I made a batch of homemade Italian meatballs and substituted ground pork rinds for the bread crumbs.  We ate them with a Caprese salad (mozerrella, a few tomatoes, and basil from my garden). Did not miss the pasta, which is odd because I had some kind of pasta dish at least once a week before this all started.   
All of you are very inspirational to me in losing this weight!  I love reading about your ideas, the products you use, what works or doesn't work, and love hearing how the weight keeps going down.  Keep up the good work everyone and keep blogging to encourage those of us that are only half way through our journey!!