I usually devote today's post to my Weight Watchers meeting, which I missed last night because of the SNOW. Mom Nature are you listening? Enough!
Since it took me three hours to get into work yesterday, I had to work late. But my reaction to missing my meeting was so unexpected: I was disappointed. And this is a good thing.
On the way home last night -- that only took 90 minutes -- I started to think about how I am not meeting the WW daily requirement of two dairy servings a day. Since I am lactose intolerant, I avoid milk, but always eat one yogurt. It's the second serving I am missing.
This morning, I made myself what I know will become my daily drink to get me going: 8 ounces of almond milk, frozen blueberries and strawberries, and a banana. I whipped it up in the blender, and the result was a 16-ounce smoothie worth 1 PointsPlus. What a treat.
My other recipe is for oatmeal, the biggest hit at last Sunday's brunch. I was silently laughing at my son and daughter, who were impressed with how good steel-cut Irish oatmeal is. When they were children, they would sit there and gag rather than eat their oatmeal. Have times changed!
Do I have time to make real oatmeal daily? Absolutely not. But I made so much of it Sunday, that I had enough leftovers for breakfast all week. Besides the flavor, the texture of steel cut oatmeal is chewy and more filling than the flakes we are used to. And at about 3 PointsPlus per 1/4 cup serving, I think it is worth the effort. For an extra treat -- and of course some added PointsPlus -- you can throw in some nuts.
VAL'S OATMEAL
4 cups water
1 cup steel-cut oatmeal
1/4 cup dried cherries
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 Tblsp. pure maple syrup
* Bring water to a boil. Add oatmeal, cherries, cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla and maple syrup, stir, and after oatmeal begins to thicken, about 5 minutes, lower heat to simmer.
* Cook uncovered for about 30 minutes, or until the oatmeal reaches your desired consistency.
Showing posts with label Weight Wathcers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Weight Wathcers. Show all posts
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Monday, January 17, 2011
Another Monday
This is the second Monday in a row that I woke up happy. I made it through another weekend sticking to the Weight Watchers Plan and eating within my PointsPlus.
It's actually becoming a game, and each day when I successfully stay on Plan, I tell myself I am a winner. Positive reinforcement, and it's working.
Each Monday, I take a look at the week ahead, and decide which days I will face the most challenges. This week it's Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Thursday will be a restaurant meal; Friday, our book club -- which includes dinner -- and then this weekend, when we will have a house full of relatives.
Here's my plan:
During the day Thursday through Sunday, I will eat lightly, filling myself with fruits, vegetables and some protein to keep me sated.
Thursday night: I have already looked at the restaurant menu and know what I will be eating. And although I will act as if I am listening to the server relate that night's specials, I really will not be listening. If I stray that night, I know that could open me up for failure the rest of the weekend. The old: "I blew it. Might as well have fun this weekend."
And guess what that could do: Make me gain back all the pounds I lost the last two weeks. SO NO WORTH IT.
Friday night: I will use portion control. I will also avoid any hors d'oeuvres, unless they are veggie sticks. And no wine.
The weekend is really in my control. I can cook Weight Watcher's meals, and again exercise portion control.
It's a plan. But next Monday, if I wake with a smile on my face, it will so be worth the effort.
It's actually becoming a game, and each day when I successfully stay on Plan, I tell myself I am a winner. Positive reinforcement, and it's working.
Each Monday, I take a look at the week ahead, and decide which days I will face the most challenges. This week it's Thursday, Friday and Saturday nights, and Sunday breakfast and lunch. Thursday will be a restaurant meal; Friday, our book club -- which includes dinner -- and then this weekend, when we will have a house full of relatives.
Here's my plan:
During the day Thursday through Sunday, I will eat lightly, filling myself with fruits, vegetables and some protein to keep me sated.
Thursday night: I have already looked at the restaurant menu and know what I will be eating. And although I will act as if I am listening to the server relate that night's specials, I really will not be listening. If I stray that night, I know that could open me up for failure the rest of the weekend. The old: "I blew it. Might as well have fun this weekend."
And guess what that could do: Make me gain back all the pounds I lost the last two weeks. SO NO WORTH IT.
Friday night: I will use portion control. I will also avoid any hors d'oeuvres, unless they are veggie sticks. And no wine.
The weekend is really in my control. I can cook Weight Watcher's meals, and again exercise portion control.
It's a plan. But next Monday, if I wake with a smile on my face, it will so be worth the effort.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
The joy of journaling
The joy of journaling: Did I really just write that as the headline of this blog post? Me, who would rather do anything than write down what I eat actually is enjoying it now?
How can this be? And why?
I don't know. But since Wednesday, I have been writing down everything that passes my lips. I think it's because the Weight Watchers plan is new, and I cannot easily keep a running total going in my head, as I did on the old plan. I'm not saying that was smart.
But what I've come to realize is that I actually like seeing what I am eating from day to day. It makes me feel in control, another feeling I have not had recently when it comes to my diet. My journal is holding me responsible, while also reminding me that I need to drink more water or add 2 teaspoons of oil to my salad.
This should come as no surprise since a recent study found that dieters who journal lose double the amount of weight than dieters who do not. So journal it is.
How can this be? And why?
I don't know. But since Wednesday, I have been writing down everything that passes my lips. I think it's because the Weight Watchers plan is new, and I cannot easily keep a running total going in my head, as I did on the old plan. I'm not saying that was smart.
But what I've come to realize is that I actually like seeing what I am eating from day to day. It makes me feel in control, another feeling I have not had recently when it comes to my diet. My journal is holding me responsible, while also reminding me that I need to drink more water or add 2 teaspoons of oil to my salad.
This should come as no surprise since a recent study found that dieters who journal lose double the amount of weight than dieters who do not. So journal it is.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Day 1
What a day I had yesterday! I ate well -- and often -- and each time I was hungry, I reached for a piece of fruit. I'm really loving this new Weight Watchers PointsPlus (PP for short).
It actually felt kind of decadent eating a banana before breakfast, sprinkling my oatmeal with 1/4 cup dried cherries (OK, those count as 4 PP), having a grapefruit as a mid-morning snack, and adding a diced apple to my lunch salad. I could have fit this much fruit into the old Weight Watchers plan, but I didn't. I'm not sure why.
I was thinking about the "why" on my drive home from work last night, combined with the notion that the PP plan is not a diet. How great it would be if I really can train myself to reach for fruit instead of a bag of Twizzlers. There is something psychological about a food being zero PP that makes you want to choose it over something that could eat up most of my daily PP allotment. And when it's fruit, that makes it special. Most vegetables have always been zero Points, but veggies are just not the same.
And speaking of veggies, I also discovered that winter squash and pumpkin now weigh in as zero PP. Personally, I could eat one a day. In the past, this alone would have eaten up some serious Points.
For the first time in years, I really believe I have a chance to stop yo-yoing my way though life. That last sentence just made me smile.
It actually felt kind of decadent eating a banana before breakfast, sprinkling my oatmeal with 1/4 cup dried cherries (OK, those count as 4 PP), having a grapefruit as a mid-morning snack, and adding a diced apple to my lunch salad. I could have fit this much fruit into the old Weight Watchers plan, but I didn't. I'm not sure why.
I was thinking about the "why" on my drive home from work last night, combined with the notion that the PP plan is not a diet. How great it would be if I really can train myself to reach for fruit instead of a bag of Twizzlers. There is something psychological about a food being zero PP that makes you want to choose it over something that could eat up most of my daily PP allotment. And when it's fruit, that makes it special. Most vegetables have always been zero Points, but veggies are just not the same.
And speaking of veggies, I also discovered that winter squash and pumpkin now weigh in as zero PP. Personally, I could eat one a day. In the past, this alone would have eaten up some serious Points.
For the first time in years, I really believe I have a chance to stop yo-yoing my way though life. That last sentence just made me smile.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
My new day
Jennifer Hudson, here I come.
All day yesterday, her new song was playing over and over in my mind, except I imagined her singing to me -- "Val, it's your new day!"
And I did what I said I would do yesterday: I made my Weight Watchers meeting. It really was like coming home. My leader, Karen, was really happy to see Jack and me, as was my WW buddy, Donna, the lovely woman Jack and I convinced that Weight Watchers really is the way to go -- and the one who has now lost 30 pounds and is looking really great.
I could have been Donna. Instead, I am exactly 5 pounds heavier than I was this time last year. But enough about the past. It's time to concentrate on the future. For me, 2011 will be the year I shed my extra weight -- forever. I am not looking for a quick fix. I am looking at this as my year-long project, and by the time I ring in 2012, I will be thin.
And I love WW's new plan, PointsPlus. The fact that I can eat all the fruits and veggies I want -- without counting them as any PointsPlus -- is freeing. On the way home from our meeting last night, we stopped at the grocery store and I bought bananas and grapes -- fruits I would have to portion into servings on the old plan -- but now fruits I can eat with abandon.
Kind of. We are still instructed to eat until we are full, so if I am really hungry, I should slowly eat a banana, wait 20 minutes, and then see if I am still hungry. If so, eat a second.
Sounds easy. Of course, I know it's not. But it can become a learned behavior. Besides, it's really time this old dog learned some new tricks.
We are also encouraged to set a goal for the week. Always the over-achiever, I have two.
1. I will drink 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
2. I will journal, writing down everything that passes my lips. I know the importance of journaling, that studies have shown those who journal lose double the weight of those dieters who never journal. So journal I will.
And oh -- one more thing. I will forever delete the word diet from my vocabulary. It was made very clear to us last night that WW is not a diet -- that it is a way of eating for life. And what a phony I am to call my blog Diet? Not Again!, and then call WW a diet plan.
This is my new day, my new way. And right now I am feeling on top of the world. If Jennifer Hudson can do it, so can I.
All day yesterday, her new song was playing over and over in my mind, except I imagined her singing to me -- "Val, it's your new day!"
And I did what I said I would do yesterday: I made my Weight Watchers meeting. It really was like coming home. My leader, Karen, was really happy to see Jack and me, as was my WW buddy, Donna, the lovely woman Jack and I convinced that Weight Watchers really is the way to go -- and the one who has now lost 30 pounds and is looking really great.
I could have been Donna. Instead, I am exactly 5 pounds heavier than I was this time last year. But enough about the past. It's time to concentrate on the future. For me, 2011 will be the year I shed my extra weight -- forever. I am not looking for a quick fix. I am looking at this as my year-long project, and by the time I ring in 2012, I will be thin.
And I love WW's new plan, PointsPlus. The fact that I can eat all the fruits and veggies I want -- without counting them as any PointsPlus -- is freeing. On the way home from our meeting last night, we stopped at the grocery store and I bought bananas and grapes -- fruits I would have to portion into servings on the old plan -- but now fruits I can eat with abandon.
Kind of. We are still instructed to eat until we are full, so if I am really hungry, I should slowly eat a banana, wait 20 minutes, and then see if I am still hungry. If so, eat a second.
Sounds easy. Of course, I know it's not. But it can become a learned behavior. Besides, it's really time this old dog learned some new tricks.
We are also encouraged to set a goal for the week. Always the over-achiever, I have two.
1. I will drink 8 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
2. I will journal, writing down everything that passes my lips. I know the importance of journaling, that studies have shown those who journal lose double the weight of those dieters who never journal. So journal I will.
And oh -- one more thing. I will forever delete the word diet from my vocabulary. It was made very clear to us last night that WW is not a diet -- that it is a way of eating for life. And what a phony I am to call my blog Diet? Not Again!, and then call WW a diet plan.
This is my new day, my new way. And right now I am feeling on top of the world. If Jennifer Hudson can do it, so can I.
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