When The WW Gods Speak But You Don't Like What They Have To Say

There have been many times over the last eight years WW Gods have spoken and saved me from consuming something of a high PPV value that is probably not the best time to having it.  Thursday I really just didn’t want to listen!

My day started with Jamie picking me up for a mall walk.  I had been to Great Harvest earlier in the week and got two loaves of bread on a 2 for 1 coupon so I could give some to Jamie and keep a few slices for myself.  I have been craving carbs and bread sounded delicious.  When I made my purchase I finished filling up the last of my punch card and now had a free loaf available.  I was thinking I might return on Thursday and pick up a loaf of their whole wheat cinnamon bread, that I would also split with Jamie.

Since I was craving carbs (big time) I wasn’t sure that getting cinnamon bread was the best idea.  Jamie helped talk me into it and we headed to Great Harvest.  They don’t usually have bread ready that early so this was the first time that day the WW Gods spoke to me.  I could have just turned around and walked out.  But I really wanted cinnamon bread.  They offered to hold a loaf for a later pick up, so we put our name down for a loaf and headed to the mall for our walk.

I was very happy.  I really wanted cinnamon bread.

Jamie had a second meet up planned with another friend at 11am so I gave her the free punch card to pick up the bread and bring the loaf to my house when she was done.  This was the second time that day the WW Gods were speaking to me.  Jamie can lose track of time easily when it comes to chatting with friends.  I knew I shouldn’t have given her the free punch card since that would mean that I wouldn’t be able to pick up the bread if her meet up didn’t end at the planned time.  I had not heard from Jamie before I had to leave for Nampa so I decided I would not be able to have yummy cinnamon bread and instead she could just pick up the loaf and take it home to enjoy with her family.

I was quite sad.  I still really wanted cinnamon bread.

Jamie called while I was having lunch at Cracker Barrel having saying she had got the times mixed up and though she had until 2pm to deliver the loaf of bread.  I told her if she had not yet picked up the bread that we can just wait until next week.  She was instant that she pick-up the bread since I really wanted it (and I did really want it).  I told her to have Great Harvest cut the loaf in half, bag them separate, and leave half at my door.

I was happy again.  I really wanted cinnamon bread.

A short time later I got another call from Jamie.  She said she got to Great Harvest and they didn’t have any cinnamon bread.  She told them we had a loaf set aside for us.  They clarified that they had no cinnamon bread at all as the batch had been messed up and it was a total loss.  This is the third time that day the WW Gods were speaking to me.

I was quite sad…again.  I really, really wanted cinnamon bread.

The hardest part of the WW Gods looking out for me is that I still wanted that sweet taste the cinnamon bread was going to provide.  Obviously by not having the half loaf meant I couldn’t eat more than just one slice.  And there will be another day to have cinnamon bread, assuming the batch doesn’t get messed up again.

I’ll tell ya, what are the odds of that?  I sure was not meant to have cinnamon bread yesterday.

Indulgent Weekend

Hello and Happy Friday.

I had a very busy few days off this week and they were also very enjoyable as I had several indulgences and meet-ups with friends.  I am officially out of WPPA, and possibly even over.  Regardless of that fact I had a good time.

Wednesday evening I met up with Jamie and Rebecca for a MS talk in Nampa at Brick 29.  The food at Brick 29 is really good but the room they hold the talk in is rather challenging.  The tables are large, the room is cold, and the food service is family style so it is quite noisy.  We met up early for happy hour and some girl time.

 

The food at Brick 29 depends on the pharmaceutical company that backs the MS talk but it usually serves beef and chicken for the main dish.  There is also usually salad or other vegetable and mashed potatoes.  The mashed potatoes are the highlight of the meal.  The mashed potatoes came out very last and I had filled my plate with extra salad, the green beans, and a piece of chicken.  I took a small amount of potatoes and sadly, they weren’t good this time.  Easy to pass up!  We also had dessert service this time which was some really yummy chocolate and cherry cheesecake.

When we walked into Brick 29 I saw a sign advertising pistachio cheesecake so I might need to make a trip back soon.

 

On Thursday I met Jamie for a mall walk and stopped into Sephora for some brown sparkly eyeliner.  I wasn’t sure if the eyeliner was the color I wanted so the gal working there did my eye make-up.  It looked great and I purchased the eyeliner.  The only problem is that I had not yet showered so I had to wash up without getting my face wet.

I had a busy day on Thursday and met up with several different friends.  I told Kenyon when I got home last night that being popular is exhausting.   I was meeting some coworkers in Nampa to pick out some paper to use on our monthly bulletin board.  DeLisa wanted to have lunch at Cracker Barrel and since it was Turkey Dinner Thursday there was no way I was passing that up!  The turkey dinner at lunch is served with cornbread dressing and one extra side.  Yesterday I decided to get two veggies instead of just one and the dressing.  I love the dressing but I also knew I would be having some high PPV meals out.  It worked out perfectly and I didn’t miss the cornbread dressing.

 

 

After lunch and paper shopping, I met up with Christine at Outback Steakhouse in Nampa for a visit.  I used to work with Christine and I miss seeing her smiling face all the time.  It was wonderful to catch up.

I had cancelled movie plans when I heard that Christine was in town but still wanted to meet up with Janet for a visit as well.  We had dinner plans at Mongolian but the timing was off.  Janet mentioned this place in Eagle that has Bubble Tea and I remembered a spot closer that also served them.  What is Bubble Tea?  It is a mixed drink, sort of like a smoothie, that has an addition of black tapioca pearls in the bottom.  You drink it through a large straw and then chew on the tapioca.  It is very odd but also really good. 

 

The first time I had a Bubble Tea I had the green tea, which wasn’t very sweet.  This time I had the coconut one that had coconut jelly instead of the tapioca in the bottom.  I was just the right amount of sweetness. Since we were already at this place called Happy Teriyaki Janet and I split a meal.  The food was only so-so and I’m not sure if we would do food again.  But there might be another Bubble Tea in my future.

Well, it’s back to work for me today.

Peanut Butter Apple Dip

Do you love peanut butter with your apple?  Have you ever tried mixing your peanut butter into Greek yogurt and dipping your apple into that?

No?  Well you are missing out.  By doing so it stretches the amount of your peanut butter so you can dip a lot more with just one apple.  I’ve done this several times using 4 oz of Greek yogurt and 8 g of peanut butter.  I’ve also mixed 6 oz of Greek yogurt and 16g peanut butter.  It all just depends on who many PPVs I want to spend.

Last week I tired mixing in PB2, powered peanut butter, into my Greek yogurt.  I am not a fan of PB2 and it has been making the rounds for years in WW meetings as a suggestion to have peanut butter with less points.  Since there is no added oil there is less calories and less PPVs.  I just don’t think it tastes as good as regular peanut butter.

My friend Jamie had given me some PB2, not knowing I didn’t really like it, and so I decided to try it out with some Greek yogurt, honey and Stevia.

And, it was pretty good.  With just 4 oz of Greek yogurt and 12 grams of PB2 I had a lot of dip for my apples.  It made for a delicious snack and only 2 PPVs.

Try it out if you have some PB2 and Greek yogurt at home.  Any plan yogurt will work and remember you can always add regular peanut butter, it might just increase the PPVs.

WI And Throughts In My Head

After a very carb-filled day yesterday I have just got my tracker all caught up.  Despite the fact that my food resistance muscle was quite weak yesterday, I am proud of myself for owning it and tracking it.  Yesterday I ate a total of 55 PPVs using my 30 DPA (pretty much by lunch) and then 25 WPPA. 

But it is all tracked and I have all my food packed at work today so I am off to a healthy start today as well.  I am thinking ahead to my meal out tonight (drinks for happy hour before) and my meal out at lunch tomorrow.  A plan is in place for both meals.

My WI yesterday was an exact maintain from two weeks ago.  Since I skipped the scale last week I am glad to see I am back down.  If I can keep my food in check, and be more consistent, I’ll start to get ahead of the game instead of playing this back and forth game.

I was thinking as I was getting ready for work this morning about my WW meetings.  The last few weeks when Donna starts off with Bravos, something you are proud of, somebody usually says “Last week Lindsay said….and it worked.”  It makes me smile to think that the stuff I share helps somebody else.  I just figure I talk too much in general.  It got me thinking if somebody was to ask me, “Why aren’t you at goal when you share so much good information?” my answer would probably be because I am just not ready to put forth all the effort right now. 

That sounds weird that after eight years with Weight Watchers and working so hard to maintain my loss for 5 years, why I would now not be ready to put forth the effort to lose this excess weight and get back to goal.  It goes back to Stages of Change as it was once discussed in my WW meeting.

Stage 1 is Pr-Contemplation: You are unaware of your unhealthy eating habits or behaviors and/or you not interested in taking any action to live a healthier lifestyle.

Stage 2 is Contemplation: You are now aware there is a problem and you are starting to evaluate the pros and cons of your unhealthy lifestyle.  You have a desire to change the behaviors causing this.

Stage 3 is Preparation: You have accepted responsibility of changing these behaviors and you are now ready to put forth the effort to seek a different outcome. 

Stage 4 is Action: Armed with the right action plan, you take the steps you need to see the changes you desire.  The problem is not as big as it once was and starts to become more manageable.  You have the momentum to keep you going and see the end result.

Stage 5 is Maintenance: You can now maintain your new healthy lifestyle and build on the behaviors in place with very minimal effort.  Life is going pretty snazzy for you.

In the diagram above, which I found from the SMART Recovery website, you will see there is also Relapse.  Sometimes we falter in maintenance.  “Most successful self-changers go through the stages three or four times before they make it through the cycle of change without at least one slip. Most will return to the contemplation stage of change. Slips give us the opportunity to learn.”

This isn’t my first rodeo with weight loss, however, it is my most successful trip down the scale and that is because pre-WW Lindsay was really ready to make a change.  I am happy I followed through and for five years I worked my Maintenance Stage with very little leg work.  Right now I am stuck between the Contemplation and Preparation Stages if I didn’t lack consistency I’d be stronger in the Action Stage.  Occasionally I slip back into the Pr-Contemplation Stage but only briefly when my inner toddler wants out and I want to pretend that I don’t have a problem with my poor eating habits.

Are You A Rock Star?

My WW Buddy Nichole (Hi Nichole) posted on our maintenance thread about the March 17, 2015 Refuse to Regain blog post.  In it Barbara wrote,

 “Maintenance is where it's at, pure and simple. Clinicians, including those who wrote the Lancet paper, will tell you that a weight loss of 5-10% is medically significant. Personally, that bar is too low for me. If you have lost weight and are maintaining a weight of around 15% less than what you originally weighed, you are a superstar. This is true even if you originally lost 20% or more of your heaviest weight. Perfect maintenance is tough and rare. But excellent maintenance is something to be very much celebrated. “

See more at: http://www.refusetoregain.com/2015/02/successful-weight-loss-stop-celebrating-and-go-to-battle-stations.html

If you subtract my starting weight of 304.8 and my WW weight from two weeks ago, 198.4, that is a loss of 106.4 pounds.  This means I am maintaining 35% of my original weight and clearly, I am a ROCK STAR.  Barbara said so.

We all beat ourselves up over re-gain.  We are human and it is natural.  You all know I have been doing plenty of that over the last year.  Taking a step back to look at the bigger picture can provide new insight.  Thanks Nichole for posting this blog as it was a good read.

Like with any type of re-gain that doesn’t mean I don’t still have to work on this.  I am glad I made this last week a positive one.

2nd Annual Academy Awards Party

Good Morning.  I hope your work week is starting off swell.  I was off yesterday for my Oscar Party and am back to work today.  I am off o Tuesday but back Wednesday.  Thank goodness for a day off in between.  It was a late night last night.  Award shows go very long.

We had a wonderful time at my 2^nd Annual Academy Awards Party.  Unlike last year, I went really casual this year with the food, the dress, and the atmosphere.  It was so nice to throw everything together quickly and clean up was a breeze.  We had tons of fun.

I love my friends and family!!

I had been thinking of my food plan in the days prior to my party.  That morning I had a healthy breakfast and then Kenyon and I went out to lunch at Marie Calendars, where I had the salad bar and half a cup of potato soup (the other half shared with Kenyon).  I was feeling hungry by party time but once the guests started to arrive I went into party-mode and started serving up drinks and taking photos.  By the time I put my plate together I was feeling good.

I even measured my light margarita that I mixed with my Fresca.  I usually do a mix of Skinnygirl margarita and Fresca or Diet Squirt but I had trouble finding the Skinnygirl margarita.  Instead I picked up the Jose Cuervo Light Margarita.  I worried at first since it had more ingredients than just the three or four in the Skinnygirl margarita but I have to say I think I like it more.  It is a bit sweeter than the Skinnygirl variety.  I’m not sure it is as strong but it was still very yummy.  The nutrition for a 1.5 oz serving is: 0 fat, 3 carbs, 0 fiber, and 0 protein.  I used my WW calculator and figured I could have two glasses, each with 6 oz of light margarita and still only be 3 PPVs.  I ended up using about 4 oz per glass due to the ice and the Fresca.  

Since the bottle is plastic, I’ll be taking the remainder of the bottle with us to Vegas next month!

I limited my sweets but enjoyed a bite of my sister’s shortbread cookie and some of Kevin’s brownie.  The only part of the plan that didn’t go as planned….the Chicago mix popcorn.

Gulp!

Have you tried this stuff yet?  Okay take this as a MAJOR warning…open the bag with caution.  I won’t say that I didn’t know what I was getting myself into by bringing this bag of popcorn into the house.  It is delicious, this I know, and over Christmas I ate a ton of it.  When I bought this bag on Wednesday I made sure it didn’t get open until the party guests arrived.  I didn’t even have any of it until after I had a small plate of food.  My plan was to measure my portion, 4 PPVs for 28 grams, and stick to just one. 

While that didn’t happen the positive is that I also didn’t just mindlessly eat out of the bowl.  Each time I took a small cup full and throughout the course of the evening I ate four cups total.  I made sure the temptation is no longer in the house and send the rest of the bag home with Jamie’s girls.

I have no regrets over my party foods and even though I didn’t stick to the full plan, having some sort of plan in place ahead of time is always better than none.

The Case Of The Big Brownie

These photos were shared with me and I feel I need to share it with you.

Have you ever tried really hard to lose weight but sometimes you can’t seem to make the scale move?  Even giving it 100% there are times that we just don’t know what is in our food or how to count the points.  We also can be misled and not even know it.

Exhibit A:

You have picked up this yummy looking brownie at the store and you see on the back of the label that the points for the serving size are pretty decent.  It is a large brownie and it is only 3 PPVs per serving, which the package says it is only two servings.  The package also says that the total weight of the brownie is 40 grams and confirms it is, in fact, two servings.

Exhibit B:

You are an awesome WW member and while you have brought this brownie home to consume, slowly making sure to savor each bite as all good WW members do, you decide to put this brownie on your WW scale and confirm that the brownie is 40 grams total.  There is no way the consumer public is being lied to but you decide double checking isn’t a bad idea.

What??  Can that be correct?  This brownie is actually over 200 grams?  So much for a two serving brownie that is just 3 PPVs for each serving.  You are shocked that somebody has had the nerve to lie to you.

Exhibit C:

Since the larger-than-originally-noted-on-said-package brownie is on your WW food scale and showing you it isn’t 40 grams total you now see that if you were to eat the whole brownie it would be 31 PPVs, and in fact not 5 PPVs as though the nutritional information suggests.

Okay I might be trying to make this deception light hearted but if this was an actual scenario and you had not put the brownie on your WW scale it is obvious that even with our best efforts we just never really know what we are consuming.  I’m not saying that you eat a big brownie like this every few days but even just in one week that is enough to derail the train to Lifetime and you might not even know it!

It is always good to be aware of what you are eating.  Doing the best we can and staying honest with ourselves will go a long way.

Craving Chocolate

Oh my!  It was hard to wake up this morning.  I hope you all did some sleeping in and have plans to relax for your weekend.  I actually have split days off this week and am hosting an Academy Awards party on Sunday.  So I will get Sunday off but then I’ll work Wednesday in exchange.  I love to party!

Thursday and Friday food is all tracked and accounted for.  My Thursday dinner plans, which let’s face it there wasn’t really much planned, turned into a second meal out and using several WPPAs.

Thursday:

Since there were plans to meet Kenyon for lunch, my day started with eggs and fruit.  I also went to Axiom and got my sweat on.  I had a snack of Greek yogurt, PB2 (powered peanut butter), and honey which I dipped an apple into.  That held me over until I met Kenyon for lunch.

 

 

Instead of our earlier planned meet up at Mancino’s for grinder sandwiches we met at Cracker Barrel for turkey dinner lunch.  I love Cracker Barrel’s turkey dinner.  The lunch is a few bucks cheaper and comes with only one extra side vs. two sides.  I also had half a biscuit and some bites of Kenyon’s meal.

I was feeling hungry while I was waiting for Kenyon to get home from work and was still kicking around what to throw together for dinner.  I made another smoothie like on Wednesday but added some spinach.  Raw spinach and my stomach do not mix and after three times of getting a stomach ache, NO MORE.  I felt horrible after drinking the smoothie and wasn’t even sure I would have dinner. 

 

I felt a little better and we talked each other into eating out to eat Sizzler.  They are running the steak and salad bar promotion for $9.99.  I ended up spending 21 PPVs on dinner.  Doh!  I usually get broccoli as my side item but with my stomach not feeling well, the potato sounded good.  I am also usually not tempted by the cheese toast but it was really good.  I didn’t look up the PPVs until after I ate a slice, which was 7 PPVs.  That is what WPPAs are for eh?

 

Friday:

I was back at work on Friday.  We started our morning with oatmeal and I added strawberries and peanut butter to my bowl.  Lunch was leftovers of butternut squash and sweet potato cooked in coconut oil and a spinach and cheese stuffed chicken patty (cooked spinach doesn’t seem to hurt my stomach).

 

 

The highlight of my day was sweet tarts!!!  I love Easter as you can get the bunnies, chicks, and ducks sweet tarts.  They used to be larger in size but now they are mini ones.  The back of the package reminded me a serving size was just 10 pieces.  So I picked out ten pieces and counted my 1 PPV.  FYI, I only like the purple and yellow colors.  They taste the best.

 

Dinner last night was at home and was pieced together of a salad (un-pictured), chicken and gravy, and frozen veggies.  I was craving chocolate big time and almost got into the freezer for some of that leftover cake from Wednesday.  I had a little more chicken and gravy and then went for an apple.  I brushed my teeth and headed to bed.  So far today I feel pretty good and am not (yet) craving sweets.  I’m sure I’ll have another serving of sweet tarts this afternoon.

There Is A First Time For Everything

I did something yesterday that I have never done before.

I kept my shoes on when I got on the scale at the doctor’s office.

I’m pretty surprised myself of this decision.  While I was getting ready for a visit with a new-to-me endocrinologist, that old anxiety of the scale, being weighed in, and lectured on my weight started to set in.  While I have been going to this office for a few years this was not a doctor I had met yet.  My favorite endocrinologist left the practice last year and I was very sad to see her go.  She knew my story and I didn’t feel judged for my increase in weight when I saw her last year.

Since I’ve lost my weight I have not experienced the same type of doctor visits as I did in my pre-WW days.  I now use the small blood pressure cup.  I now use the regular size dressing gown.  I don’t get lectured on my weight during my visits.  But that old anxiety has slipped back in since my weight went up.

For the past eight years I have lived my life according to what the scale number said.  Through the years that number has made me feel happy, frustrated, neutral, and even made me cry.  So I decided before I headed to my appointment that I would not take my shoes off.  Yes, my weight will show higher than it would if I took my shoes off.  I was dressed in my workout clothes and I also kept my jacket on.  I, however, did not weigh with my purse on my shoulder.  Even I have to draw the line somewhere!  I had eaten breakfast and drank plenty of fluids for my blood draw.

The results?  I was 203 pounds.  Clearly not the mammoth scale number my mind was predicting. 

You want to hear something funny?  The nurse asked me to remove my shoes so she could get my height.  Ha!  I almost thought about getting back on the scale sans shoes but I didn’t.  I am proud of myself that I didn’t.  I showed that scale who was boss!

My sister Katie would also be proud of me.  She is a medical assistant and says it is really annoying that all women have to remove their shoes before they get on the scale.  Like I said before, we are often tied to the scale and the validation is gives us. 

Chocolate Cake

My morning has consisted of visiting a new endocrinologist and getting blood drawn.

Then I headed to Axiom for a workout. I did a full five minutes on the stair master all at one time climbing 15 floors. It was a good workout and in 45 minutes I earned 4 APs. I picked up a 32 oz decaf Americano on my way home and I have some serious TV watching and relaxing on the couch to get to.

Day Two of Healthy Eating went well. While it wasn't the picture perfect day of healthy foods, it was all 100% tracked and I felt success. That includes chocolate cake!

I started my day with oatmeal and then met Jamie for a walk. We had a good walk and talk for over an hour and earned 4 APs.

I snacked on some strawberries on my way home from Costco. I admit, I eat unwashed fruit.

Lunch was back at home but there was an offer to go out to lunch with Kenyon. I was in the middle of fixing my lunch when Kenyon dangled an offer to meet up in front of me. Since I knew I would be better prepared if we postponed until today I went ahead and ate my prepared lunch at home. I had a chicken patty that was filled with cheese and spinach in a lettuce wrap. I roasted some sweet potatoes and butternut squash in coconut oil. This is my newest obsession as the coconut oil draws out the sweetness of the potato and squash.

I curbed my after lunch sweets craving with some flavored water. A little while later, after my nap, I made a smoothie with almond milk, Greek yogurt, and frozen fruit. It was pretty good but not super sweet.

Dinner was at the MS talk, which was at a hotel. The food service isn't usually great at a hotel vs a restaurant. We were served a salad and a chicken dish with roasted potatoes and sautéed veggies. There wasn't a dessert service last time we were at that hotel so when the rolls were delivered, fresh and hot, I had one and savored it as my “dessert”. Then they told us we would take a quick break “for the cake service.” Doh! I didn't plan that well. I was all prepared to pass up the cake until I got a look at it.

The photo doesn't do it justice.  The end had chocolate chips and the richest chocolate butter cream frosting

I think my exact works were “Oh dear.” I asked if there was the possibility of a to-go box and the server delivered. I had five small bites of the chocolate cake, which I savored slowly, and then boxed the rest up. It is now in the freezer for another time.

I was over my DPA by 13 and had 4 APs to I used 9 WPPA. It was a successful day and 100% tracked!

Now, if you will excuse me, I have some relaxing to do.

Healthy Eating: Day One

Day One of Healthy Eating is in the tracker. My biggest struggle yesterday was craving sweets. I didn't cater to those thoughts as right now I need a break from sweets. I had plenty last week so I won't die if I don't have sweets for a few days.

I started my day with an omelet and grapefruit.

Kenyon and I headed downtown so we had lunch at Pollo Rey. I had the roasted chicken salad and a side of black beans. I didn't eat all the tortilla. It wasn't qutie as yummy as Costa Vida but I do like Pollo Rey. It is the fresh tortilla that I love so much.

Downtown means a stop at Flying M for an Americano.

Dinner as tater tot casserole and green beans. This mean was a bit on the higher point side but I had been planning it earlier in the week but we kept eating out. I figured up the recipe points and took a quarter serving. It was really good.

Dessert was an apple.

The cravings for sweets settled in after lunch. The display case at Flying M was mighty tempting. I am happy to report that no sweets were consumed! The reason 100% tracking works so well for me is that I really evaluate the food and if I want to spend the PPVs on it. Had it been later in the week I might have had part of the Monster Cookie (one of my favorite cookies). Being that I just had my WW meeting and really want to make this a good week, a cookie wasn't going to help me get there.

Later I walked throught he Easter candy isle looking for sweet tarts. This is the only time of year you can get the bunny, chicks, and ducks. I didn't spot any thought and knew I needed to get outta there ASAP! I know today will be a tough day for sugar too, I can already feel it.

It was a good day for activity and the extra walking downtown helped me reach 11,000 steps.

Today I am starting my day with oatmeal and meeting Jamie for a walk and talk. Day Two of Healthy Eating is under way. I am attending a MS talk tonight so I have no idea what dinner will be. I will keep this afternoon in check.