Losing weight = losing Points Plus, or does it?

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When I weighed in today I was relieved to find out that I lost weight.  I really didn't think that I would have considering I weighed in last Thursday.  I blogged late about it on Saturday so if you missed it, here's what I think about eating out every day for a week.  Pat, my favorite receptionist, looked at me and said well the good news is that you lost weight.  The bad news is that you get to eat less!  Hrmph. 

Losing the daily PointsPlus value is a struggle because, obviously, you have to consume less food.  Or do you?  If we make smarter choices with healthier, more organic foods will we be satisfied longer?  I'm ok trading a higher PointsPlus value snack for a bowl of cherries (I love the Ranier Cherry season - if you haven't gotten some you really should splurge on them!) or a banana.  I've even found myself craving Peanut Butter Toast (2 slices Sara Lee 45 calorie multigrain bread with 30 grams or 2 tablespoons of Better'n Peanut Butter topped with a sliced banana is only 4 PointsPlus!).  These snacks can keep me satisfied for hours and don't rob my PointsPlus bank. 

About 6 months ago we found an all organic, grass-fed beef farm not far from our house that has really reasonable prices.  They let you buy in small or large (a whole cow) quantities.  While I was at my WW meeting my husband made a trip to 'The Ranch' today to restock our freezer so this is what made me think of this.  We've noticed that the grass fed and organic beef has much more flavor than the stuff we can buy in the grocery store.  So I'm hoping that really finding and investing in the quality products will help me appreciate what I do get to eat and even forget that I'm not able to eat such a large portion.

I want to leave you with this quote I read this week from Hannah Curlee (she was a Biggest Loser finalist this year) who was asked how to stay on track.  She said, make it about what you deserve not about dread and the long road ahead!

Oh, and go buy some Ranier Cherries.  But not all of them, save some for me.

Eating out every day for a week?

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Last weekend I went to a scrapbook retreat.  I'm very lucky when I go to Sheri's retreats because she is very respectful of everyone's dietary needs.  This crop, however, was not one of Sheri's retreats.  The crop had a circus theme and included a contest for the best themed treat.  There were A LOT of cupcakes and candy and everything else that would practically send you into a diabetic coma by just walking into the room.  I was pretty good about avoiding the temptations though I did sample two of the cupcakes.  Incidentally, Sheri and I brought fresh fruit (bananas, apples, and cherries, oh my!) as our addition to the snacks so at least we had some alternative to the sugary sweets.

The crop weekend was followed up by 4 days in Rosemont, IL for the Craft and Hobby Association (CHA) show with Sheri.  The CHA show is basically a gathering of manufacturers and retailers to see the products coming out and they are able to place orders to restock their stores.  It is so fun to see all the products and from time to time Sheri will ask my opinion on a particular collection.  I feel like I'm helping decide what she carries in her store.  Anyway... the point of me telling you this is that we spent 4 days in a hotel eating out all the time.  I tried to be really smart about my decisions and while we spent a fair amount of time walking around, it's not the kind of walking that gets your heart rate up.  I did get a workout in a couple of the days but wasn't sure it'd be good enough to counteract the eating and drinking that I'd done.

My favorite receptionist, Pat, was working the day I went to Weight Watchers so I was glad I did.  I got to catch up with her a little bit and weigh in.  While she was getting the scale ready I checked my last weight (it seemed like forever since I'd weighed in!) and then I got on the scale and I thought... holy cow!  I think Pat and I both registered the shock of a 5 pound weight loss at the same time. 

Awesome.  I'll take that.

Time flies when you're losing weight!

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Dan, Bob, Sheri and Me - Founders Brewery - May 2011

One year and two days ago my friend Sheri called me and said that she was joining Weight Watchers and she asked if I wanted to join as well.  I blogged about it in the post Fatties Unite Tonight. 

It's been an exciting and terrifying journey all at the same time but I've learned a lot about the things I'm capable of and what I really want to achieve.  I want to be healthy and I look forward to completing more races - maybe even longer than 5K!

Dan and me - Goose Island Brewery - July 2011

So, this post is really just to say  THANK YOU to Sheri for getting me started on this path.  I wonder what the next year will bring?

But it was fun...

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Krissy and me at Goose Island sharing a bottle of Juliet

This weekend was spent with some of our best friends in the whole world.  Krissy, Jeremy and Jason came down and we spent Saturday afternoon/evening/night visiting Chicago's microbreweries.  I'd heard so many great things from a bunch of people about the places we were planning on going that I couldn't help but be excited.  I tried to make relatively healthy choices and drink A LOT of iced tea or water but in the end I gained 3 pounds.  Still, I had a great time and I think it was worth it.  'Nuff said.

This week my leader, Karen, was talking about the volume of food we eat.  In order to increase the volume of food we can eat we (should be) supplementing our meals with fruits and vegetables.  That way you'll feel like you're getting a lot of food but for fewer PointsPlus values. 

Karen also gave us a little challenge (and let's face it who doesn't live for a challenge) so I'm redirecting it out to each of you!  Her challenge was to visit the fruit and vegetable section of the grocery store and pick out something that you wouldn't normally choose so you can try something new!  Think you can?  Want to know what I'm going to try?  Our CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) posted a blog entry about our fruit delivery this week and included in our box is a coconut.  A real whole coconut!  (SQUEE!!!)  I'm excited beyond belief and I can't wait to try it!!  I'm planning on adding it to smoothies or maybe oatmeal or maybe a little on peanut butter toast.  Oh the possibilities!?!

What are you going to try this week?

Parties and food and beers! Oh My!

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This weekend we celebrated America's Independence Day the best way we know how.  At a party!  My cousin and his wife host a party every July 4th with a raffle, food and a lot of family and friends.  The party is to raise money for a local animal rescue group where we volunteer.  In fact our yellow lab mix, Tucker, is a foster failure from Placing Paws (originally we were scheduled to foster Tucker (pictured at left) but we fell in love with him and decided to adopt him instead). 

I know that it's hard to stay on plan when going to parties so I feel really fortunate that at this party there was plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables so I could load up my plate with those things and only take small amounts of other things that I knew would be higher in points values.  I also took a shrimp pasta salad that was 2 PP for 1/2 cup serving so I knew I could eat that without blowing all of my points.

The hardest challenge I had was avoiding the desserts.  I really, really, really wanted them but I had done some tracking after dinner so I knew I didn't have any points left for desserts.  The other concern I had was that I knew they were very likely full fat/sugar desserts so the points plus values of them would be really high.  I was so proud of myself for walking right by them all and even refusing to take any home with us, which I normally would have done.

I was totally rewarded with a 1.8 pound loss this week.  I was relieved because the rest of the weekend went pretty well although one day I went over my daily points target by nearly 10 points.  It wasn't the end of the world by any means, just a little too much splurging! 

How did you celebrate the weekend?  Did you indulge in anything?

PS - Have you tried the new Toasted Coconut Dream bars from Weight Watchers?  They are, as my cousin Kristyn says, nummy nummy.