The Howell Blessings

I finished week one!   Sorry didn't mean to leave any of you in the dark. I thought reporting daily was going to be just a bit... bland, so I decided not to update every day. I finished week one at an even 131 pounds. That is down 4 lbs 4 oz of my starting weight. Not too shabby. It's better than the typical 2 lb weight loss per week, but not as strong as the hopeful 7 lbs this plan suggested could be possible to lose in the first week. I have been faithful to the menu plan every day except yesterday, Saturday the 1st of March.  I had my morning shake and then  held a cooking class in the morning.  After class ended, I got busy cleaning up and chatting and skipped lunch.  I know, I know, I shouldn't have skipped. I warned you that lunch would be my biggest obstacle and it has proved to be true. I did snack on carrots and roasted red pepper hummus, (a recipe in the book)  later that afternoon and finished strong with a Kale and White Bean soup last nig...

Days 1 & 2 of my detox journey. Here I go. As scary as this is, this is the ugly truth. I'm about to share with you what I try to hide from everyone.  In four years I've gained seven pounds, and almost all of it has gone straight to my stomach. I am 53 years old, wear a comfortable size 6 and sometimes 4. I am post menopausal (thanks to chemo) and, according to a popular weight loss program, I am at a perfectly good weight. Really?  Does this look perfectly good to you? I can camouflage my pudge most of the time, but let me tell you, this is NOT attractive.  Nor is this easy to show you.  Normally I go to great lengths to avoid letting people, especially my husband, see my body flaws. Tonight I asked him to not only look at my flaws, but to make sure they show well in these pictures. ( He's a very good amateur photographer) . He, of course, didn't hesitate when I asked him to photograph me in such an unpleasant light, bless him. Usuall...