Menu for Monday

Here's the menu for today:

Bfast
WW Maple & Brown Sugar Oatmeal w/ 1/2 c. frozen cherries - 2.5
Coffee with 4 Tblsp FF 1/2 and 1/2 and 2 packets vanilla splenda - 1

Lunch
Knudsen Live Active Cottage Cheese with 1/2 Braeburn apple - 1.5
Carrots - 0
Snyders Pretzels - 1

Dinner
Stuffed Acorn Squash - 4
Salad with 1 Tbslp FF Italian Dressing

Dessert
1/2 cup Ben & Jerry's Light Cherry Garcia Frozen Yogurt - 4

Snack
Strawberry Curves Bar - 1
Handful of Marshmallow Cereal - 1
Orange - 1
Total 17

Lots of water.
Ixnay on the excerise. The early morning darkness threw me for a loop. I'm going to give a try tomorrow.

New Day, New Snowflakes

Yep, you heard it here. More snow. So much for my spring fashion shopping spree. I guess I'll be cross-country skiing in the morning in the pitch black, love that Daylight Savings Time. I think I complainith too much. I shall stop.

Let's talk about what's up with my food planning, measuring, eating, eating, eating. Oh, I seem to be stuck on eating, don't I? Kind of like my weekend. So, today is Monday and the greatest and bestest day to give it a go to have a good beginning to a great week. That's exactly what I'm going to do. So, I have great food in the house as I just went shopping over the weekend and there's no excuse not to eat well and be accountable. I know that I said I was going to try not to weigh and measure but as I thought about it I realized that the only time I have ever been successful at losing and maintaining is when I weigh and measure. So, I guess if I'm 90 and in the kitchen measuring out my Esure and prunes, so be it. There could be worse things in the world. At least I'll be a thin 90 year old!

So, I took Roni's advice over at Roni's Weight Watchen and picked up some light Ben & Jerry's. I grabbed the Cherry Garcia Light Frozen Yogurt. The stats aren't bad 1/2 cup for 170 calories, 3 grams of fat and .5 grams of fiber. Works out to 4 points per serving if you are doing WW (you could probably get away with 3.5 if you wanted to, I usually round up, though). Not too shabby. I've yet to try it but I'll report back and let you know. It was actually fun to look in the ice cream section and find something that I could fit into my life.

I also did something that I haven't done for awhile and that's mark point values on the foods I bought at the store. That way, I know exactly what my portion should be and what the point value is for that particular food. I had gotten away from doing that and I really think it helps me. I'm a nutritional label freak so I'm always looking at them anyway, why not figure out the points right off the bat. I write the points directly on the bag, box, etc. If I happen to dump the contents in another container, I cut the label off the bag or box, write the points on it and stick it in the container. I think it helps my "accountability." You know the old saying - Out of sight, out of mind. Well this makes it harder when the points are written in permanent marker on the container I'm eating from.

I'll try to stop back after dinner and post my menu for the day.

I'm Dreamin of Spring

Now, just because I said that doesn't mean it's going to happen any time soon. But if it were to happen, I would love to get some spring fashions from Ann Taylor. Check these out:

Nice lines on the top and great design on the skirt - lovin it!

Nice red color and if you zoom in it has great details. Also lovin it!

One more and how absolutely adorable. Too bad she looks 6' tall and skinny as a rail. But, hey, it could work!

By the way, sleeveless shirts, not happening here for awhile. It was in the teens this am when I went cross-country skiing. Yes, I've been trying to go skiing at least four times a week. Man, is that a work out. The track is down by the river and therefore a little chilly. It's the walking path I use all summer and this year, since there is so much snow, the Nordic Council has been grooming it for cross-county skiing. Once around is 2 miles. I am really starting to enjoy it and can feel that it's doing some good. So, as I've said before, Mother Nature, keep it comin, I've got the skis....

Oh, have you used Zip-n-Steam Bags? Wow, used them for the first time last night for some broccoli and button mushroom that I knew wouldn't be around long if I didn't use them up. I wasn't in the mood to do anything fancy and remembered that I had purchased the bags a couple weeks ago. Never know what you might find in my pantry! Anyway, I added some salt, pepper, seasoning and topped them with some Atheno's Reduced Fat Feta Cheese. They were awesome. I highly recommend them. Oh, it only took 4 minutes and no liquid needs to be added. The veggies were still a little crunchy and beautiful in color. I'm going to cook zucchini and portabellas tonight. I might be hooked.

Kickin Around an Idea

Okay, I've been kickin this idea around in my head for a little while now. So, as you can all tell from reading my bio, I am and have been a WW groupy for quite some time. I'm wondering if I would like to try another approach. I don't mean give up or stop being accountable. But, I sometimes feel overwhelmed by counting and measuring. I see myself at age 90 standing in the kitchen measuring my appropriate portion of Ensure and dried prunes. I know, a little exaggeration. But does the weighing and measuring thing ever bother anybody else out there? I also wonder if it's psychological in that if I DON'T weigh or measure my mind tells me I'm eating too much. When, in fact, I'm probably not. I've been doing this for long enough to have a pretty good idea about portion size. Anyway, I was thinking of giving the no weighing/measuring thing a try for a week and see what happens. Maybe a little less pressure and maybe a scale success. Anyway, I won't start until next Monday as I think I should give it a full week of experimenting. I'll report back to let you know if I can actually do it and if I do, did it work.

I also had Green Giant Healthy Weight Vegetables for dinner last night and they were really good. There are probably others out there who have had them and might have a comment but easy packaging and as the post says ready in minutes. By searching for these I also stumbled upon the website the link will take you to named - I Ate A Pie. Never seen it before but it has some great product reviews and a work out song of the day. I might have my head in the sand on this one too. Not sure but wanted to share.

Another thing I picked up at the store a few weeks ago and wanted to share is TastyKakes Cookie Sticks. I happened to pick up the oatmeal raisin. I think they have two other flavors, chocolate chip and chocolate fudge. You know, they're okay. I was expecting something softer and chewier. I am a cookie freak and am always looking for a way to fit in some cookies. They are 2 WW points and if you eat them while drinking a hot drink it kinda hits the spot.

Are You a Guitar Hero?

Let me explain. Well, even though me and the husband are not kids anymore, in fact, quite the contrary, we invested in a Wii. We have some friends who have an x-box and my husband fell in love with the game Guitar Hero when we were invited over to their house "to play." These same friends came over to our house on Friday evening for a lite supper and to play Guitar Hero on the new Wii.

I have several observations about that evening. There were three couples, a total of six people. I made soup in the crockpot, heated some multigrain bread for "dunking" and we had Vitabrownies with dried cherries and toasted pine nuts on top for dessert. Shhh, there were a few alcoholic beverages as well.

Observation #1 One couple who we will call Couple #1. The husband is thin and tall and the wife, who I have known since I was in grade school, has battled with her weight and has even gone to WW with me.
Observation #2 The other couple who we will call Couple #2. The husband is shorter and rounder and, even though still young, has had serious heart related health issues and he has had to keep his weight in check while his wife is no bigger than a minute. Seriously, people, she is and has always been thin, even when she was pregnant.
Observation #3 We'll be Couple #3. Me, of course, battle with food and weight issues and have since childhood. My husband has had spells where he has fought to keep his weight in control but for most of our married life, has remained thin.

So, why am I telling you this you ask. Don't get impatient, I'm getting to that.

So, we ate dinner and from the minute we sat at the table I began to observe what everybody ate, how much, etc. I know, it's a wonder I have any friends. Being the food person I am, I find this type of observation interesting. Two men went back for seconds on soup, my husband and the shorter husband of the threesome. All ate bread except for the "no bigger than a minute" wife. We all had beer or wine. Then came time for brownies. This observation was very interesting. No bigger than a minute or tall thin husband from Couple #1 were ever observed reaching for, smelling nor eating a brownie. My husband had too many to count which is normal for him, Couple #2 husband had two and said I need to stop and wife from Couple #1 was spotted eating several.

Let's recap. Why is it that some people have control over food and other's don't? If you can see my logic here, two of the brownie eaters have health or weight issues. My husband is just a pig and can generally eat whatever he wants and never gain weight. Totally not fair if you ask me but back to my question. What makes some people not want dessert and to be satisfied with dinner. Both non-brownie eaters said I'm full and weren't tempted by brownies. Who is not tempted by brownies? Am I just destined to have bad food karma and always be tempted by brownies or food in general? Just curoius. Signed, Friendly Food Observer

PS I kicked butt at Guitar Hero. I think my husband's nose is a little out of joint. I'm just a girl, you know. Heehee!

Out to Lunch, OH NO!

We are having an unexpected out to lunch day. I had my lunch all planned and now things will change. I’m not very good at not sticking to the “plan.” Darn those people that like to “go out to lunch.” Wish me luck.

Do You Reward Yourself for Weight Loss?

When you were a kid, and you did something well, every now and then you got a reward. Like when you received a good report card, you lost a tooth or you helped out around the house. Motivating, right?

I remember helping at my grandmother's restaurant when I was little. We would go really early in the morning, while it was still dark, to make the donuts and pies. Yes, homemade. She would reward me with the donut or pastry of my choice, always warm and fresh and dripping with glaze (sorry if I'm giving you too much of a visual) and we would sit at a booth before the doors were open and she would let me have a 1/2 cup of coffee laden with cream and sugar. My reward for helping.

Is weight loss any different? Obviously our parents or grandparents won't be the ones rewarding us but should we be rewarding ourselves? Will that same logic make our weight-loss journey more pleasant?

I hadn't thought about my special times with my grandmother, who has since passed, for quite awhile. What a great lady. Little did she know that the reward was just being with her and having her teach me things I still remember. Not to mention that maybe part of my weight problems may stem from the donuts and the 1/2 cup of "coffee syrup" and, of course, the reward of "food." Certainly gives me something to think about given my relationship with food and why I am thinking about rewards and whether it might be a motivator, like when I was a kid.

So, I was thinking (always dangerous) that if I could stay "on track" for an entire week (7 whole days) then I would reward myself. With what, I'm not sure. It's an incentive to do better and that's how I justified it in my swampy little mind. Like the dangling carrot in front of the bunny.

So, I have set some mini-goals for myself and wondering if or what would be an appropriate reward. See what you think.

1. Exercise at least 5 times this week. (So far I've cross-country skied twice - About an hour each time)
2. Moderation in food intake (weigh and measure if I'm unsure of portions). Doing good so far but it's early in the week.
3. Be accountable for what goes in my mouth. That means everything that goes in my mouth. (Just to let you know, I have eaten one evil Girl Scout cookie this week. One lonely thin mint and it was for dessert after dinner. The remaining cookies have been placed out of my sight. As we all know, I could find them if I wanted to!)

Rewards??? Share if you reward yourself and let me know what you use as a reward. I might like it so much I'll steal it!!!