On the Menu This Week

Tuna Noodle Casserole
Autumn Pot Roast with Horseradish Sauce
Four Cheese Baked Penne

My Plan

I did WeightWatchers once before in 2004-2005. I lost 50 pounds. I gained some back going through my divorce but the good news is I kept off 20 of them until I restarted WeightWatchers in January 2009.

For the first time, I have found a plan that was easy to stick to. Something just felt right this time. Before embarking on WeightWatchers I re-read some books I had found helpful in the middle of my last journey. The books are listed under "Weight Loss" Books on the side bar, and a blog post about them will follow soon. These books helped get me mentally prepared to lose weight and they are the reason I think I am finding losing to be less of a struggle. I am not letting myself get discouraged by small gains and I am seeing far more consistent results.

WeightWatchers gives you a points target based on weight and basic daily activity level. Every food has a points value based on calories, fiber and fat. Then its like a checkbook you start with your daily balance, subtract for foods eaten and add for activity done which can earn you points. Exercise=More Food. Each food point is roughly 50 calories and each activity point is worth roughly 100, I use a heart-rate monitor to calculate my activity points earned.

You also get 35 weekly points to use as you want anytime during the week. For me the most successful both mentally and on the scale is to use most of those points on Saturday night for a splurge and to then stick to my daily points fairly closely the rest of the week. It helps me to know my favourite foods are only a week away if I want them. People can manage the plan however they want but for me this is the most successful. When I'm working out a lot I try to eat some of those activity points as well. Ironically I get much smaller losses the weeks I don't eat those points on Saturday, maybe it shakes up my metabolism, who knows I just know it works

Finally my last key to my plan is attending meetings. It helps keep me accountable and on track.

Tuesday, December 8, 2009

December 7th Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 25.5 of 25 points earned 5 activity points.

Breakfast (5.5)-Oatmeal with walnuts and cranberries
Lunch (6.5)-sandwich thin, peanutbutter and banana
Dinner (8)-Autumn Pot Roast with Horseradish Sauce
Snack (5.5)-popcorn and eggnog

Pot Roast was excellent, have made it before, although stupid grocery store was out of parsnips which are one of my favourites! I did an hour on the treadmill and a bunch of boring errands.

Running Weekly totals used 35 of 35 weekly points, earned 9 activity points

Monday, December 7, 2009

December 6th Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 25 of 25 points earned 2 activity points.

Breakfast (6.5)-Muesli and skim milk
Lunch (8)-sourdough, cheese and soup
Dinner (9)-Tuna Noodle Casserole
Snack (1.5)-lowfat chocolate pudding and 1/2 pear

Did more moving of furniture and painting, got a christmas tree. Earned 2 activity points, lifting, carrying and moving stuff. The Tuna Noodle Casserole was good, tons of veggies (mushrooms, onions, peas, broccoli and celery).

Running Weekly totals used 35 of 35 weekly points, earned 4 activity points

Sunday, December 6, 2009

December 5th Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 60 of 25 points earned 2 activity points.

Breakfast (6)-WW 2 point apple cinnamon bar, latte
Lunch (12.5)-chili, baked potato soup, sourdough
Dinner (41.5)-wine (5), caesar salad (7), New York Steak (16.5), Potatoes Au Gratin (13)

Worked on moving furniture and SUPER heavy TVs. Earned 2 activity points, lifting, carrying and moving stuff. Went out to dinner at El Gaucho, really good steak, nice wine, totally worth the points...

Running Weekly totals used 35 of 35 weekly points, earned 2 activity points

Saturday, December 5, 2009

Recipe of the Week 10/28/09

White Turkey Chili

Ingredients

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 2 stalks celery, diced (about 1/2 cup)
  • 3 medium poblano peppers (about 4 ounces each), seeded and white ribs removed, finely diced (about 1 1/2 cups)
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
  • 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more to taste
  • 1 pound ground white meat turkey
  • 2 (15.5-ounce) cans white beans such as cannelini, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
  • 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
  • 3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 (15.5-ounce) can hominy, drained and rinsed
  • Salt
  • 1/4 cup nonfat plain Greek-style yogurt
  • 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves
  • Lime wedges

Directions

Heat the oil in large pot or Dutch oven over moderate heat. Add the onion, celery, poblanos, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 8 minutes. Add the garlic, cumin, coriander and cayenne and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

Add the ground turkey and cook, breaking up the meat with a spoon, until the meat is no longer pink about 2 minutes. Add the white beans, broth and oregano. Cook, partially covered, stirring occasionally, for 25 minutes.

Add the hominy and salt and more cayenne pepper, to taste, and continue cooking, partially covered, 10 minutes longer. Ladle into individual bowls and top each serving with 1 tablespoon of yogurt and 1 1/2 teaspoons of cilantro. Garnish with a lime wedge.

Per Serving:

Calories 320

Total Fat 6 g

Sat Fat 0.5 g

Protein 31 g

Carb 37 g

Fiber 9 g

Cholesterol 30 mg

Sodium 310 mg

Friday, December 4, 2009

December 4th Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 24.5 of 25 points earned 2 activity points.

Breakfast (5)-Granola, Yogurt, maple syrup
Lunch (9.5)-2 eggs, soughdough, 1 tsp butter, 2 slices turkey bacon, pear
Dinner (10)-White Turkey Chili

Did 30 minutes slowly on the treadmill as well as unpacking a bunch of boxes in the garage. I think I will be up a bit at this week's weigh in :(

Running Weekly totals used 27.5 of 35 weekly points, earned 20 activity points

Thursday, December 3, 2009

December 3rd Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 25 of 25 points earned 3 activity points.

Breakfast (6.5)-Oatmeal with walnuts and applebutter (5.5), pear (1)
Lunch (9.5)-1/2 serving white turkey chili (4.5), 1/2 cup mashed potatoes (2), slice sourdough (2), green beans with butter (1)
Dinner (6)-Sloppy Joes (5), salad with de-lightful ranch dressing (1)
Snack (3)-hot chocolate and vita muffin

Leftovers for lunch and dinner. I added about half a cup of mashed potato to the white turkey chili which thickened it quite a bit and was tasty and filling. Burned 304 calories on the treadmill today in about 45 minutes. My knee has been sore the last 4 days and it doesn't seem to be getting any better with walking, like last time, so I'm debating staying off it a few days.

Running Weekly totals used 27.5 of 35 weekly points, earned 18 activity points

November in Brief

November in a few quick stats....

Days in November that I counted all my points: 28

Number of days I did high intensity activity(ie worked up a sweat): 16

Number of days I did moderate or low intensity activity: 9

Number of days I did some form of organized activity: 24

Number of days I reached my 30 minute activity goal: 28

Fast Food Eaten: 1

Meals Eaten Out: 12

Sodas Consumed: 1

Glasses of Wine: 9

Servings of Beer: 4

Total Weight lost: 3.4 pounds

Total Inches lost: (not sure)

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

December 2nd Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 25 of 25 points earned 5 activity points.

Breakfast (4.5)-1 TBsp peanutbutter (2), 1 small banana (1.5), sandwich thin (1)
Lunch (8.5)-1/2 serving white turkey chili (4.5), 1/2 cup mashed potatoes (2), slice sourdough (2)
Dinner (11)-Sloppy Joes (5), salad with de-lightful ranch dressing (1), green beans with 1 tsp butter (1), beer (3), apple chips (1)
Snack (1)-pudding

Yum yum I love my sloppy joe recipe so tasty and only 5 points, and its filling too! burned 510 calories on the treadmill today in a bit over an hour.

Running Weekly totals used 27.5 of 35 weekly points, earned 15 activity points

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

New Month New Resolution

Thank you Roni of http://ronisweigh.com for the idea that we don't have to wait til the new year to make resolutions.

So on this first day of December I'm making some resolutions for the month.

1. Remember that a holiday is just that a day. I learned from Thanksgiving that I can't be near the leftovers, I have to give them away and have plans for light nutritious meals after the holiday fare.

2. To enjoy what I eat and not eat mindlessly.

3. To enjoy some form of activity every day.

4. To keep blogging and journaling no matter how "bad" it looks

December 1st Food and Exercise Diary

Ate 22.5 of 25 points earned 5 activity points.

Breakfast (3.5)-oatmeal, apple
Lunch (5)-soup (3), sourdough(2)
Dinner (10)-White Turkey Chili
Snack (4)-Brownie and pudding

Got on the treadmill today (burned 461 calories), made white turkey chili 2.5 cups for 10 points, not bad.

Running Weekly totals used 27.5 of 35 weekly points, earned 10 activity points

Weight Loss Slideshow