This weekend we were home most of the weekend. With the exception of Christmas day when we went to celebrate Christmas with my in-laws we were here. And there was really one thing that we really did a lot of, and that was eat. Let me give you an example of what I mean. This is from my journal on Christmas Eve.
Breakfast:
2 slices Jennie-O Turkey Bacon
1/2 c. Egg Beaters fried into an omlette with 1 slice WW Reduced Fat singles
1 t. olive oil (to fry the eggs in)
5 POINTS
Lunch:
4 oz. cooked pork chops
1 WW Pita Pockets
3 cups grapes
1 WW mini bar
10 POINTS
Afternoon Snack:
1 1/2 WW Pita Pockets (baked into chips)
3 oz. Sabra roasted red pepper hummus
9 POINTS
Dinner:
5 1/2 oz. Hormel Pork Loin (Mesquite flavor)
2 t. olive oil
1 c. asparagus with 1 oz. freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 serving Frozen Yogurt/Ice Cream treat
5 oz. red wine
16 POINTS
Night Snack:
4 oz. Sabra roasted red pepper hummus
1 1/2 WW Pita Pockets (baked into chips)
11 POINTS
TOTAL: 50 POINTS
I went over my daily allowance by 2 points which I thought was really good. When I got to weigh-in today I wasn't sure how to feel. Then I stepped on the scale.
Down 1.8 pounds. Ok, I'm happy with that! Especially since I weighed in only four days ago!
I'm 0.6 pounds shy of 60 pounds for the year. That's a pretty good Christmas present to me.
I know everyone was busy over the holiday so if you missed the few posts that I put out last week, I'm providing links here.
If you want to read about my VA (Veterans Administration) experience/tribute to my dad, click here
To read my thoughts on the weigh-in that I missed, click here
For the final installment in the story of my 4 pairs of jeans or to see pictures of my progress, click here
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
Saturday, December 25, 2010
Four pairs of Jeans
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| Taken in Portland at the Oregon Brewers Festival - July 2010 |
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| Taken in Pingree Grove at home - December 2010 |
Merry Christmas everyone. Lots of love to you all.
Friday, December 24, 2010
Frozen Yogurt Treat
Fruited Yogurt with Ice Cream
WW PointsPlus per serving: 3
Makes 2 servings
6 oz. Weight Watchers Non-fat Plain Yogurt
Fresh fruit to your desire (we used about 1 oz. each fresh blackberries and raspberries)
Blend together until fruit is well mixed inPour into two bowls and freeze for about an hour or until slightly frozen
Prior to serving add 1/2 c. of Blue Bunny Fat Free Sugar Free Vanilla ice cream on top.
Additional fruit to garnish
UPDATED - 1/1/2011
If you add 1/2 ounce of crushed pistachios it will add 1 point to each serving
If you add 1 T of Hershey's syrup it will add 1 point to each serving
If you add 1 T of Caramel sauce it will add 1 point to each serving (I'd use chunks of apples with the caramel sauce)
The yogurt is naturally sweeter if you add two really ripe bananas
The desert in the photo is made with frozen blueberries, blackberries, cherries and raspberries (I bought them as a mixed bag) with crushed pistachios in the yogurt mixture and on top for garnish. I really enjoyed the contrasting textures of the nuts to the yogurt/ice cream.
ENJOY!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
I missed a weigh in
So last week I was in Madison with my Mom and Dad while Dad had surgery. When I got home I had fully intended on going to a meeting and weighing in. Unfortunately by Wednesday afternoon and evening I had what was the beginning of a very nasty sinus infection. I didn't end up going to a meeting or even weighing in last week, which was sort of disappointing. Don't get me wrong, I don't dread the weigh-in... I just don't usually look forward to it. Well, last week I would have traded my left arm to have gone to the weigh-in instead of having this stupid sinus infection. Maybe not my left arm... but something for sure.
Anyway ... this week, even though I still felt a little crappy and I didn't have much of a voice I went to the WW location and weighed in. It's not like I had to sing a song during weigh-in so I really didn't have an excuse! =) So the receptionist finally got the computer to work and said oh great you lost 1.8 pounds and I was like... hmmm... yeah me. I don't know why this sort of disappointed me but it did. I know it was way better than it could have been but when I look back at my weight loss chart this, on average, should have been a pretty big loss week. So, I wonder what happened. Maybe the sinus infection/antibiotic took more of a toll than I thought? Maybe my weight loss trend is changing again.
So then I was reading a blog by the CEO of WW and his plan for Christmas which got me thinking about what my plan would be for Christmas. I'm hoping that I'll still be able to journal and that I do pretty well. I'd like to put limits on what I eat but since we are not hosting that's not always practical. Ideally, I'd be happy to truly enjoy the holidays and the parties we are going to without gaining any weight. So I guess you'll have to stay tuned to see what I find out at my weigh-in next week!
I'm curious to know, are there any tips or tricks that you are using so you don't go cookie/treat crazy this weekend? Merry Christmas peeps. I hope you have fabulous holiday season.
Anyway ... this week, even though I still felt a little crappy and I didn't have much of a voice I went to the WW location and weighed in. It's not like I had to sing a song during weigh-in so I really didn't have an excuse! =) So the receptionist finally got the computer to work and said oh great you lost 1.8 pounds and I was like... hmmm... yeah me. I don't know why this sort of disappointed me but it did. I know it was way better than it could have been but when I look back at my weight loss chart this, on average, should have been a pretty big loss week. So, I wonder what happened. Maybe the sinus infection/antibiotic took more of a toll than I thought? Maybe my weight loss trend is changing again.
So then I was reading a blog by the CEO of WW and his plan for Christmas which got me thinking about what my plan would be for Christmas. I'm hoping that I'll still be able to journal and that I do pretty well. I'd like to put limits on what I eat but since we are not hosting that's not always practical. Ideally, I'd be happy to truly enjoy the holidays and the parties we are going to without gaining any weight. So I guess you'll have to stay tuned to see what I find out at my weigh-in next week!
I'm curious to know, are there any tips or tricks that you are using so you don't go cookie/treat crazy this weekend? Merry Christmas peeps. I hope you have fabulous holiday season.
Sunday, December 19, 2010
My Dad, My Hero
I want to take a short break from talking about my successes and failures and tell you a little story about my week. Don't worry, I will get back to telling stories to boost my ego and then another story with some deprecating humor soon enough!
Everyone has people in their lives that really make them who they are. People they admire for any number of reasons and I am lucky enough to have a father who is not only a fan-freaking-tabulous role model but also my hero. My dad was drafted into serving in the Army and was sent to Vietnam. When we were little I remember him bringing out the projector and looking at slides that he projected onto the wall in the living room of his time overseas. He would tell us a few stories about his time there but not many. I'm not sure why but at some point he stopped talking about Vietnam or looking at the slides. I mean he completely stopped. I remember writing a term paper my sophomore year of high school and it was about Vietnam and I had to pry any information from him.
My Dad has always been the quiet one who sits in the corner listening to the conversation. He's not interested in being the center of attention so it came as a little bit of a shock when, a few years ago, he started reaching out to the men he served with. He would spend hours and hours on the phone reconnecting with them. Then Dad and Mom started attending annual reunions all over the country that one of the men in the unit organized. A few years ago Dan and I had the opportunity to attend a reunion and we've met several of the men that Dad served with. It is nothing short of incredible what these men have given of themselves for each of us. I feel blessed and thankful each time I see or hear from one of them or their family.
Two and a half days of my week this week were spent in Madison while my dad underwent surgery at the Veteran's Administration (VA) Hospital to have two of his four parathyroid glands removed. Two bonus points for anyone reading who knew what a parathyroid gland was. Two extra bonus points if you knew there were four of them or as Dan like to say a pair of a pair of parathyroid glands. Anyway... I've been to government run facilities before, the DMV, post office, etc... and I kind of dread going there. Add that to the stories that surfaced a few years ago about the VA hospitals and let's just say I was a little sketchy about Dad having surgery there.
I was completely wrong.
The hospital was as I imagined it would be. It's a large facility that is crammed full of people, equipment and activity. The space may be limited but the staff really makes the most of it. The building was clean and well maintained. The rooms were comfortable and the accommodating. Everyone that we talked to, both hospital staff and other patient's family members were tremendously kind and welcoming. We were able to ask what seemed like endless questions and I never, not even once, got the feeling that the doctor was in a hurry and needed to rush off because there was something or someone more important waiting. The thing that struck me the most was that anyone who came to see him, from nurses to aides to doctors all said one important thing to him before they walked away.
Thank you for serving.
In this holiday season remember those who have loved ones serving or have lost loved ones in the service. I know I will.
Oh, and to my dad and the other guys he served with. Thank you for serving.
Everyone has people in their lives that really make them who they are. People they admire for any number of reasons and I am lucky enough to have a father who is not only a fan-freaking-tabulous role model but also my hero. My dad was drafted into serving in the Army and was sent to Vietnam. When we were little I remember him bringing out the projector and looking at slides that he projected onto the wall in the living room of his time overseas. He would tell us a few stories about his time there but not many. I'm not sure why but at some point he stopped talking about Vietnam or looking at the slides. I mean he completely stopped. I remember writing a term paper my sophomore year of high school and it was about Vietnam and I had to pry any information from him.
My Dad has always been the quiet one who sits in the corner listening to the conversation. He's not interested in being the center of attention so it came as a little bit of a shock when, a few years ago, he started reaching out to the men he served with. He would spend hours and hours on the phone reconnecting with them. Then Dad and Mom started attending annual reunions all over the country that one of the men in the unit organized. A few years ago Dan and I had the opportunity to attend a reunion and we've met several of the men that Dad served with. It is nothing short of incredible what these men have given of themselves for each of us. I feel blessed and thankful each time I see or hear from one of them or their family.
Two and a half days of my week this week were spent in Madison while my dad underwent surgery at the Veteran's Administration (VA) Hospital to have two of his four parathyroid glands removed. Two bonus points for anyone reading who knew what a parathyroid gland was. Two extra bonus points if you knew there were four of them or as Dan like to say a pair of a pair of parathyroid glands. Anyway... I've been to government run facilities before, the DMV, post office, etc... and I kind of dread going there. Add that to the stories that surfaced a few years ago about the VA hospitals and let's just say I was a little sketchy about Dad having surgery there.
I was completely wrong.
The hospital was as I imagined it would be. It's a large facility that is crammed full of people, equipment and activity. The space may be limited but the staff really makes the most of it. The building was clean and well maintained. The rooms were comfortable and the accommodating. Everyone that we talked to, both hospital staff and other patient's family members were tremendously kind and welcoming. We were able to ask what seemed like endless questions and I never, not even once, got the feeling that the doctor was in a hurry and needed to rush off because there was something or someone more important waiting. The thing that struck me the most was that anyone who came to see him, from nurses to aides to doctors all said one important thing to him before they walked away.
Thank you for serving.
In this holiday season remember those who have loved ones serving or have lost loved ones in the service. I know I will.
Oh, and to my dad and the other guys he served with. Thank you for serving.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
Bananas, Grapes and Apples... Oh My!!
With the introduction of the new WW plan last week I've been recalculating and reevaluating our favorite foods. Following last week's meeting though we immediately hit the grocery store and I stocked up on Honeycrisp apples, bananas and red grapes. I had eaten these foods before, obviously, but nothing in the quantity that we have in the past week. I think I bought 6 pounds of bananas last Tuesday night and then I made another trip to the grocery store for more fruit and other items on Friday! At this point the people in my meeting joked that we should have bought stock in Dole and Chiquita!
I don't know if my weigh-in today was a result of the new plan or catching up from the last couple of weeks but something made a big difference when I stepped on the scale. I lost.... (drum roll please...)
4.8 pounds!!!
The lady who was doing the weigh-in (not my normal leader) asked if I wanted to celebrate that? I looked at her like she'd just spoken Latin to me but I replied politely "of course I do!" I want to celebrate EVERYTHING!!! Any loss is good news!
So that's my week.... surprising because we'd gone out to eat for three dinners last week. I know I didn't make great decisions for everything last week so I guess I'll wait to see what happens next week.
How are you guys doing?
I don't know if my weigh-in today was a result of the new plan or catching up from the last couple of weeks but something made a big difference when I stepped on the scale. I lost.... (drum roll please...)
4.8 pounds!!!
The lady who was doing the weigh-in (not my normal leader) asked if I wanted to celebrate that? I looked at her like she'd just spoken Latin to me but I replied politely "of course I do!" I want to celebrate EVERYTHING!!! Any loss is good news!
So that's my week.... surprising because we'd gone out to eat for three dinners last week. I know I didn't make great decisions for everything last week so I guess I'll wait to see what happens next week.
How are you guys doing?
Saturday, December 4, 2010
My thoughts on the new plan
As I've mentioned in previous posts the WW plan changed this past Monday. So, I've been working on this plan for a little less than a week and I thought I'd weigh in (no pun intended) on it.
I LOVE IT!!!
There are somethings that I really wish hadn't changed. For example, the weight watchers ice cream cones that used to be 2 points are now 4 points. A pita pocket used to be 1 point and now it's 3 points. However, I think that it's easy to include the things you love that have gone up in points by substituting in some of the free fruits and vegetables. That will both fill you up and free up some points for that little treat at the end of the day.
So, for my followers who are also doing WW, what do you think of the new plan? Are you finding new things you didn't eat before? Are you struggling?
I LOVE IT!!!
There are somethings that I really wish hadn't changed. For example, the weight watchers ice cream cones that used to be 2 points are now 4 points. A pita pocket used to be 1 point and now it's 3 points. However, I think that it's easy to include the things you love that have gone up in points by substituting in some of the free fruits and vegetables. That will both fill you up and free up some points for that little treat at the end of the day.
So, for my followers who are also doing WW, what do you think of the new plan? Are you finding new things you didn't eat before? Are you struggling?
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Recipes Updated
Good Morning Peeps!
You may have heard that the WW program changed this week. With additional science it became necessary to change the formula that we use to calculate how many Points are in each serving. The new program is called PointsPlus. One of the biggest changes is that the amount of calories is no longer part of the calculation. The reason is that if a banana and one of those 100 calorie packs of chips both have 100 calories are they really equal? No, of course not. Many of the Points values of things went up but so did the daily and weekly points allowance. A few things went down, including most fruits and vegetables. Because of this change I went through and updated all the recipes that I've blogged so far so they are now listed with the PointsPlus value instead of the old Points value. Any old references to Points values in individual posts have NOT been updated though.
If you have any questions about the Points values or whatever, post a comment and let me know. Nothing gets posted to the public until I approve it so if you want to chat with me about something privately, just let me know that and I won't post it.
Have a great day and a banana.
You may have heard that the WW program changed this week. With additional science it became necessary to change the formula that we use to calculate how many Points are in each serving. The new program is called PointsPlus. One of the biggest changes is that the amount of calories is no longer part of the calculation. The reason is that if a banana and one of those 100 calorie packs of chips both have 100 calories are they really equal? No, of course not. Many of the Points values of things went up but so did the daily and weekly points allowance. A few things went down, including most fruits and vegetables. Because of this change I went through and updated all the recipes that I've blogged so far so they are now listed with the PointsPlus value instead of the old Points value. Any old references to Points values in individual posts have NOT been updated though.
If you have any questions about the Points values or whatever, post a comment and let me know. Nothing gets posted to the public until I approve it so if you want to chat with me about something privately, just let me know that and I won't post it.
Have a great day and a banana.
Wednesday, December 1, 2010
A (New) coat ... and a funny story
I write this blog post because I think that you laugh at my funny little stories as much as I do. So, first let me say that I was feeling a little inspired today. I was feeling good, even though weigh-in wasn't great yesterday. So, when I got out of the shower this morning and looked in the mirror I laughed at myself. See, about 6 years ago I had an appendectomy because my appendix had ruptured and I had an open appendectomy which resulted in a scar that was about 9 inches long. I remember this because my sister-in-law had c-section around the same time and we were comparing scars. But I digress... Today I noticed that my scar had moved, it appeared that it is now closer to my belly button. I mean, I knew I was losing weight but the fact that my scar would move was never a thought that would have crossed my mind. At this point, I literally laughed out loud. So did my friend Sheri and my mom when I told them.
A little while later I was putting something in the coat closet downstairs where I've had a coat hanging, literally, since we moved here nearly 4 years ago. The problem is, I haven't worn the coat in probably 5-7 years but I loved it. It's this really pretty red with black *fur* cuffs and hood. I think I only wore it for one season and I paid a lot of money for it when I wasn't making a lot of money which is why I kept it.
Today I decided I wanted to put it on. And it fit. My day got better that at point!
A little while later I was putting something in the coat closet downstairs where I've had a coat hanging, literally, since we moved here nearly 4 years ago. The problem is, I haven't worn the coat in probably 5-7 years but I loved it. It's this really pretty red with black *fur* cuffs and hood. I think I only wore it for one season and I paid a lot of money for it when I wasn't making a lot of money which is why I kept it.
Today I decided I wanted to put it on. And it fit. My day got better that at point!
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