Monday, August 20, 2007
Weighing In - Week Three
For “Weighing In”, you should post the following things: (1) your weight loss, maintenance or GAIN (yes, own up to it if it's true) for the past week (2) your personal goal for the rest of the week (try to restrict it to one) and (3) your anticipated non-food reward for achieving that goal. Since it seems we are all choosing to weigh-in on Tuesdays, I will create a post for every new week the day before we weigh-in (Monday). This would be a good post to add encouraging words for other individuals as well.
Tips and Tricks - Week Three
TIP: Avoid BLTs at all cost! And by BLT, I mean Bites, Licks and Tastes. When did eating begin to follow the same logic of “When a tree falls in the woods…” by coming up with its own version: If a snack (or an itsy bitsy nibble of a cookie, or just one Hershey’s kiss) flies into my mouth and no one is around to see it, did it really enter my mouth? Will it really turn into calories and derail my program? Keep it real, kiddies! If you eat anything, write it down… and if you run out of points faster than if you didn’t write it down and/or you gain at the end of the week, at least you will KNOW why. I can tell you from experience, it is very discouraging to look through your journal at the end of a week that you felt you did everything perfectly, and not lose weight. But reality may have been that a case of the BLTs sabotaged your plan, but you forgot about them because you never wrote them down. Remember, if a snack flies into your mouth and no one’s around to see it, it still counts!
TRICK: Cut the carb.....onation! Either cut back or cut out your carbonated beverage intake to help you with your diet. Sure, we all know that pop has a large number of calories, but many of us solve that problem by drinking diet pop instead. However, calories aren’t the only problem. An unpleasant side effect of this kind of carb is, naturally, gas. But a great deal of that gas doesn’t escape the body immediately, and causes the stomach to expand. The empty feeling makes you hungrier! You are more likely to eat unnecessary food when you are also imbibing in some fizzy fun, and even if you are able to conquer those cravings, the misery of hunger doesn’t seem worth it… at least not to me. Other random things that carbonation does to the system: breaks down calcium in the body and contributes to bone/tooth decay and osteoporosis, increases the absorption of alcohol in the body, and irritates the esophagus. Good things? It’s tickly and it kills bacteria that may cause infection… drink up when you’re traveling out of country.
RECIPE: Today I’m writing during some surprisingly cold August rain, which has inspired me to introduce a couple cool-weather recipes. Sure, it’ll probably be 90 next week, but one doesn’t have to wait for snow to eat some good soup or au gratin potatoes.
For 8 can soup, you’ll need one regular (14-16oz.) can of each of the following ingredients: green beans, corn, sliced potatoes, crushed tomatoes, turkey chili with beans, chili without beans, mixed vegetables (Veg-All), Campbell's Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup. First, drain the can of beans, then mix contents of all cans together. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 20 minutes. The whole pot should be 30 points! I’ve also seen the chili replaced with a can of chicken, the vegetable soup for chicken broth, and the tomatoes for peas for a chicken version worth even fewer points. Just count the points on the cans for accuracy.I love my crockpot because I can start something cooking in the morning, and it will be waiting for me when I get home… no “cooking” work on my part. I also love ham and potatoes au gratin. Ingredients: 2 cups extra-lean ham (sliced, diced, your choice), 4 cups sliced or diced fresh potatoes, 1 cup chopped onion, ¾ cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese (I’ve tried the FF, it just doesn’t melt well), 1 10¾oz can reduced fat cream of chicken soup, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1 tsp yellow mustard. To make, first spray the crock pot with butter flavored cooking spray (or canola spray); combine ham, potatoes and onion; sprinkle cheese evenly over the top; combine soup, pepper, parsley, and mustard in a small bowl, then add the bowl to the crock pot; mix everything well to combine; cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Makes six 1 cup servings for 3 points a cup!
TRICK: Cut the carb.....onation! Either cut back or cut out your carbonated beverage intake to help you with your diet. Sure, we all know that pop has a large number of calories, but many of us solve that problem by drinking diet pop instead. However, calories aren’t the only problem. An unpleasant side effect of this kind of carb is, naturally, gas. But a great deal of that gas doesn’t escape the body immediately, and causes the stomach to expand. The empty feeling makes you hungrier! You are more likely to eat unnecessary food when you are also imbibing in some fizzy fun, and even if you are able to conquer those cravings, the misery of hunger doesn’t seem worth it… at least not to me. Other random things that carbonation does to the system: breaks down calcium in the body and contributes to bone/tooth decay and osteoporosis, increases the absorption of alcohol in the body, and irritates the esophagus. Good things? It’s tickly and it kills bacteria that may cause infection… drink up when you’re traveling out of country.
RECIPE: Today I’m writing during some surprisingly cold August rain, which has inspired me to introduce a couple cool-weather recipes. Sure, it’ll probably be 90 next week, but one doesn’t have to wait for snow to eat some good soup or au gratin potatoes.
For 8 can soup, you’ll need one regular (14-16oz.) can of each of the following ingredients: green beans, corn, sliced potatoes, crushed tomatoes, turkey chili with beans, chili without beans, mixed vegetables (Veg-All), Campbell's Old Fashioned Vegetable Soup. First, drain the can of beans, then mix contents of all cans together. Bring to a boil and simmer for at least 20 minutes. The whole pot should be 30 points! I’ve also seen the chili replaced with a can of chicken, the vegetable soup for chicken broth, and the tomatoes for peas for a chicken version worth even fewer points. Just count the points on the cans for accuracy.I love my crockpot because I can start something cooking in the morning, and it will be waiting for me when I get home… no “cooking” work on my part. I also love ham and potatoes au gratin. Ingredients: 2 cups extra-lean ham (sliced, diced, your choice), 4 cups sliced or diced fresh potatoes, 1 cup chopped onion, ¾ cup shredded reduced fat cheddar cheese (I’ve tried the FF, it just doesn’t melt well), 1 10¾oz can reduced fat cream of chicken soup, 1/8 tsp black pepper, 1 tsp dried parsley, 1 tsp yellow mustard. To make, first spray the crock pot with butter flavored cooking spray (or canola spray); combine ham, potatoes and onion; sprinkle cheese evenly over the top; combine soup, pepper, parsley, and mustard in a small bowl, then add the bowl to the crock pot; mix everything well to combine; cover and cook on low for 8 hours. Makes six 1 cup servings for 3 points a cup!
Questions - Week Three
Have a random question about the Weight Watchers program or anything else diet and exercise related? Post it here. Have an answer? Go ahead and enlighten us all!
Gripes - Week Three
Go right ahead and gripe! We all have the option to read them or not depending on how we feel. If gripes don't fill you with negative energy, sometimes it's nice to know how much the people around you are suffering, too. Yeah, it sounds bad, but you know it's true...... ;)
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