Week In Review & Weigh In

Holidays always make being on plan and on program a challenge.  These two weeks have certainly been a challenge for me in terms of no schedule, eating, and exercising.  I've eaten out more than I have in a very long time!  I've also had holiday eating to deal with this week as well!

Today was my weigh-in at home and surprisingly I'm down!  I'm down 1.5lbs!  I'm not sure what really played a roll in that, the daily exercise/running I've been putting in for two weeks now? (which yesterday I took a break from, no activity points at all yesterday).  The unpredictable eating and foods?  Who knows

Here's what my week looks like from Weight Watchers land :

This past week's highlights :

• Exercising every day since December 17-29!
• Having some valuable "me" time (stitching time)
• Getting to see family & friends

A definite highlight was seeing my good friend Kathy for dinner on Tuesday night (sorry no pictures).  I won't get to see her again until I fly down to Arizona for March Break.

I also got to spend the afternoon and evening with Claire, we've been best friends since Grade 10.  She is up from Jacksonville, Florida visiting her family.  I think I'm going to have to look at flights to FLA this summer during my holidays.  Boy every time I see Claire I realize just how much I miss her!

This past week's challenges:

• Meals out
• Holiday food
• Chocolate
• Motivation to exercise

Challenges for the upcoming week:

• New Year's Eve
• Getting back on program and back on schedule.

I didn't make it to a Weight Watchers meeting this week so no wonderful words of wisdom to share with you.

Have a Happy New Year everyone!

Survived Christmas... for the most part

How did everyone do over the biggest food weekend of the year?

I did not too bad, I weighed in (at home of course) on Christmas Eve morning, and I was down 0.5lbs not bad really, considering how much I ate out that week (can you say 3 days in a row).  So my tactic of exercise every day and watching all my other meals worked.  I followed up that nice little weigh in with breakfast out.  Todd and I go out for breakfast to our favourite local restaurant for the last 3 years on Christmas Eve.  Its also our chance to pick up a few last minute things.

Me, Todd and my niece Emma

That night was Christmas with my family I host it every year and its very informal.  I made a massive amount of chili!  We had chili cheese dogs (well I just had the chili I didn't think the hot dog and bun were worth 6 points), salad, and ice cream Christmas log for dessert.  Now that Christmas log... worth every point its super yummy!  I got some lovely gifts this year... including a nice box of Toblerones!  So far I've only eaten 2 and I'm hoping to remain in control with those.

Christmas Day was spent with Todd's family we had a more traditional meal, turkey, roast beef, stuffing and all the fixings.  I did pretty well at that meal as well in terms of portions and filling 1/2 of my plate with veggies.  Normally I can ignore stuffing, except Todd's Mom's its divine!  There was also homemade pie!  Apple and a cherry pie, I had a small piece of both (heck I ran 3km before leaving the house).

Now it was Boxing Day that did me in, I was in no mood to go out shopping like Todd and I had discussed originally.  I was good until the afternoon.  I got up in the morning and made meat sauce to stock up my freezer, which also had a lot of leftover chili in it.  I also put the turkey carcass from Christmas in the crock pot to make stock (will turn that into soup today).  In the afternoon I had a slice of leftover Christmas log and it went downhill from there!  I had 2 slices of ice cream log and small pieces of pie (apple & cherry) as well that was pretty much dinner.  Now I didn't eat ALL of that at once but it wasn't healthy food.  I seem to be really good for an amount of time then I'll have one day where I kida go nuts-ish.  But I'm always pretty good at getting back on track.

Boxing Day Deals!  Nice new winter coat (Mum paid for most of it)

(New winter boots, mine looked like crap)

Always need pants for work!

Yesterday Todd and I went out shopping, looking for the "Boxing Week" deals.  I got myself a really nice new winter coat (ski jacket).  Last year I bought myself a cheap one since I had so much to buy as my weight had stabilized and my old winter stuff was miles too big!  I also got a deal on 2 pairs of pants, and a steal on new winter boots!  That has been the one huge advantage to loosing my weight, I enjoy going shopping for clothes!  Most things fit and look great!

Bad girl!

Now I was bad and since we were in the East end of town which we don't go to very often, I wanted to check out the Lindt Outlet store.  I did buy a "little" chocolate, and I hit the Bulk Barn for the jujubes I've been craving!  Felt a little silly spending 81 cents but as we all know its better to buy a little and enjoy it than buy a lot and pig out!  I'm hoping with all these goodies in the house I can practice restraint.  We'll see.

Christmas Tactics/Weekly Meeting Topic : The Powerhouse of Fruits and Vegetables

Ready or not, Christmas is coming actually its almost here!  Besides getting my tree up yesterday, and a marathon of shopping (oh and a trip to the gym too) today I am as ready for Christmas as I'm ever going to be.  How about you?

I've been off of work the last week and I've spent a lot of it taking care of #1 (me), getting myself back on track... and in all honesty I just want to "break even" at the scale during this holiday season.  It started out with a trip to the gym last Friday (for the first time in weeks) to today's trip to the gym.  I have been running on my treadmill at home, and going to the last Taekwon-Do classes of the year.  I've racked up over 50 Activity Points this week!  Is it going to help me at tomorrow's weigh in?  I have my doubts.

"Girl, you're a machine, you're nuts..." I'm sure these things are going through your head right now thinking that I don't expect a loss at the scale this week.  The last 3 days I have eaten one meal out that's why!  Tuesday was lunch out with the girls from the office sadly we went to Kelsey's which has nasty food stats no matter how "healthy" it sounds.  Most dishes had 30-50+ grams of fat!  The safest choice for me on the menu was fajitas, and I didn't even eat the whole serving.  Todd, had a nice dinner when he got home from work Tuesday night.  Now I did hit the gym before Tuesday's lunch date to try and keep the damage to a minimum.  Last night was an Indian meal out with my best friend and my parents.  I was not bad there either, normally I order Butter Chicken (can you say high in points?  But super yummy!), naan bread and rice.  We decided to share 3 different dishes last night, yes Butter Chicken was one of those but I added a healthy Chicken Tikka Masala into the mix, and pretty much at that with a little taste of the other two, cream based dishes.  Oh and bread and rice!  I usually don't allow myself to have two carbs with a meal, this is one of my exceptions to the rule.  Then today while my best friend and I were out on our marathon gym/food/Christmas shopping trip we stopped at a pub very well known for their fish and chips.  Their fish is actually not that bad in terms of points, but I figured to heck with it and instead of ordering a salad with my fish, I had the 1/2 salad 1/2 chips.  Oh boy did I enjoy those chips!  Then while at the Scottish and British store I had to buy one of the delectable British chocolate bars, I did share a little of it, again worth every point.  Soooo.... like I said no high hopes for tomorrow morning.

Okay so I made it to my WW meeting on Tuesday evening and the meeting was a combination of tactics to survive the Christmas meal(s) and more on fruit and vegetables.

In terms of fruits & veggies, they're good for you and they are yummy!  Enjoy them, don't abuse them.  One interesting tidbit she did share with us was the idea of 0 point fruit is to replace your high fat/high carb snacks (aka granola bars, 100 calorie treats) with fruit not to have the fruit in addition to your high fat/high carb snacks. 

Now lets move onto the more important and scary thing at hand.... CHRISTMAS IS COMING!  CHRISTMAS IS COMING!  Here are some ideas/tips/strategies that hopefully you put into play when you go to "strap on the feed bag" on Saturday!

• The week before & after Christmas (any special holiday actually) adjust your mindset... focus on maintaining your weight instead of loosing.  This way you don't feel awful when you don't get the loss you were expecting.  Also this keeps you from getting into a "guilt cycle" over what you ate, and any weak moments you may (will) have when food is available.
• Think about your food choices!  If you are going to eat that treat, make sure its the one thing you really want, that you can't easily get any other time of the year.  In other words you can't live without it!
• During the day of the big meal/event/party have lots of fruits and veg available in the house. 
• Don't skip out on meals during the day but fill up on light and these zero point foods to save on points.
• Before going to a meal I'll have a salad or a piece of fruit 60-30 minutes ahead of time so that I don't go to the table hungry. 
• Also use fruits and vegetables to "bulk up" the meal!  If they're there, trust me you will eat them!
• When loading up that massive dinner plate put fruit/veg on 1/2 of the plate and feel free to pile it high!  Divide the other 1/2 of the plate into 1/4 carbohydrate (that means a roll or potatoes or pasta or rice or stuffing not all of the above and not piled high), 1/4 lean protein (turkey is points friendly, enjoy!)
• To practice portion control without weighing and measuring your food, leave space between your food, like an ocean between the continents!
• Have fruit on hand for dessert!
• Don't forget to exercise, even a short walk will burn some calories, and will leave you feeling better and refreshed, not sleepy and lazy as a big meal is likely to do!

So there you have it my survival tips for Christmas Dinner!  I hope you take something here and put it into practice!!

Have a Merry Christmas Everyone!

Weekly Meeting Topic : Understanding and Trusting PointsPlus

I have a feeling over the next few weeks our meeting talk will be mainly focused on the new program PointsPlus (as its being called in Canada).  There was supposed to be a structure to the meeting but it pretty much turned into a all around general discussion about the program, problems and feelings about it.

Did you know that 4 years of research went into the new PointsPlus system, testing it on various subjects before it was released this year?

There is more freedom and flexibility with this program, I really do think the free fruit is the main reason for this.  Did you know that all people can talk about are bananas lately?  See, on the old plan they were 2 points and a lot of people felt it was silly to spend 2pts on a measly, good for you banana when you could have a Cadbury Thin for the same number of points!  We all gravitate to the foods that taste best, now I have always LOVED bananas and both on the new and old plan I eat one every day.  I have to admit though with the change in fruit I sometimes find myself having two in a day.  So what I mean to say is with fruit being free there seems to be a few more points to spend elsewhere.  At least in my case there it.  It is interesting in the meeting to hear about how many people where restricting their fruits on the old program because they had points.  I had a banana and an apple every day before and I'll continue to have them now.

This program is designed for sustainable weight loss!  From what I'm hearing people who have been on the new program awhile now find themselves loosing a little more weight (especially those who were on the high end of their goal weight) and its staying off too!  Like I said on my last post, I still have high hopes for this new program I DESPERATELY want to loose my last 8 pounds!  Please!  I WANT to be a meeting leader (since WW won't even look at me despite my success, I will share my experiences here with you instead).

The key focus of this program is to eat high fiber and high protein.  I must admit I have been definitely focusing more on the protein side of things, and yes I am feeling fuller longer.  If I feel peckish I don't feel guilty grabbing that piece of fruit anymore.

Now here's the best information I got out of the meeting : eat all your points!  Yes you should eat all your daily points (the weekly and activity points are up to you).  Weight Watchers believes that if you eat your daily target your body will have all the nutrients it needs to loose weight and be healthy.  If you under eat your target it will cause you to be deprived and loose motivation.  Did you notice they don't talk about it stalling your metabolism anymore?  That's right they and the science doesn't feel that under eating your points causes you to go into starvation but that your body isn't getting the things it needs to function properly... to loose weight.  We were actually told DON'T OVEREAT TO MEET YOUR TARGET. (I found myself eating when not hungry to do this).  It is OKAY to under eat slightly (by a few points, not a lot) now and again.

Hey Canada!  If you have an iPhone or iPod Touch, the WW app is now available!  I'm loving it!

This new program is a learning curve, we all have to take what we USED to know, throw it out and pretend we are all Weight Watchers newbies!

I wish you all the best of luck with you holiday food challenges!  Tonight I went to one last party, where I actually indulged and had a light beer (oh it tasted so good), and a few baked goodies.  My tip for parties?  Don't grab a plate!  No matter what you do or if you're offered one say no to the plate!  If you have a plate you are tempted to fill it up with so many goodies.  I other grab one item and step away from the table and eat that or put one or two items on a napkin.  Its a round about way to practice portion control, but it does work.  When I caught myself starting to mindlessly pick at food on the table I got a piece of gum out of my purse.  Its at least a little gross to eat food and chew gum at the same time.

Boing, boing, boing...

Do you hear that sounds... that bouncing noise?  That's my weight, yup I bounced right back up again to my Doctor assigned goal weight.  It happens every time I get below 145, I don't know why it happens.  It could be that my body just doesn't like being at a lower weight.  I could be subconsciously sabotaging myself.  Also it was a tough week in many areas.

Excuse #1.  Last day of exercise was Saturday when I had my latest hive breakout.  So I had not done any exercise of any kind since then.  5 whole days without earning a single activity point.  I had not step foot inside the gym since December 3rd until tonight.

Excuse#2. Too busy!  Monday night I taught TKD for 3 hours so I didn't get to take a class.  Tuesday night I treated myself to a massage... what idiot would workout after that?  Wednesday a parent meeting for the kids I'm taking to the DR in February.  Thursday dinner out and grocery/Christmas shopping.  So no time for working out and I'm pretty exhausted tonight!  Try coming home after 9 PM 3 nights in a week.

Excuse #3. Holiday food!!!  This was the last week before Christmas break at work.  So you can imagine the treats and chocolate have been abundant.  I handled some situations really well, and other situations poorly.  I must admit I enjoyed the home baked goodies, because I don't bake anymore... I'd eat it all in about 48 hours.  Also there was dinner out Wednesday and Thursday.

See?  Lots of good excuses to be up 1.5lbs this week.  I take ownership of all my poor choices this week and the consequences definitely showed up at the scale.  I still have high hopes of the new program working for me.  I'm looking forward to the next two weeks, where besides Christmas celebrations with family I can focus on proper eating and active living.

What To Say about PointsPlus?

I've known for quite some time that Weight Watchers was releasing a new plan, months before any of my fellow meeting members had any clue.  That's what happens when you're zipping around on the net reading blogs and message boards.  The plan was first released in the UK/Europe earlier in the fall then in the US shortly after Thanksgiving and as of December 5th, in Canada.  As usual we're the last to get anything... really we are!

What do I have to say about PointsPlus?  Well Weight Watchers has made a move in the right direction, they are trying move us away from focusing on the all mighty calorie its friend fat.  I'm not sure exactly how points are now calculated... yet at least.  I used to be able to eyeball a package and know exactly how many points it was without plugging in a single number into a calculator or using a slider.  Points are now calculated based on Fat, Fiber, Carbohydrates and Protein.

Why did Weight Watchers change?  The Momentum and previously the Points Plan worked wonderfully for so many people for 13 years.  Research and science has as usual changed things, with current research its been discovered that not every food is created equally in terms of how your body processes it and what energy it uses.  So now the points represent the energy left over after your body has used some of it to process the food.  Am I making sense? 

So what's the good things to focus on and the bad?  Before we used to look for low calorie, low fat, high fiber foods.  Now we are asked to focus on high fiber and high protein foods and try to reduce the high carbohydrate and fat foods.  This is not a no/low carb diet its just our body benefits more from high fiber/protein foods they leave us feeling fuller longer and heck these foods are good for us and just make sense.

You're all wondering, Dani what do you think of the new plan?  I'm really enjoying it!  I now get more points per day I've gone up from 20 to 29 points.  I'm still really having to plan my food to eat all the points each day I do find I'm eating more than I was before  My weekly "bonus" points have also gone up to 49.  So I have more points per day as one person said, call it a raise to cover the cost of living, as the cost of some foods have gone up as well.  High fiber/protein foods are now lower in points than foods that hare processed which are often high in carbohydrates/fat.  Oh yeah, not only are most veggies free, now fruit is free as well!  I think the reason why I'm struggling to consume all my points is because I didn't realize just how many points a day I was spending on my beloved fruit.  I've been shifting slowly over the last 6 months to move towards more "whole" foods, giving up granola bars and 100 calorie treats.  So WW is moving in the right direction, one I started going on naturally.

Basically, its the same plan they are just trying to get us thinking more in terms of real food not fake low calorie foods that's full of artificial flavours, colours, sweeteners, in other words... chemicals.  The plan hasn't changed, its still eat less and move more, just think of eat less, eat better and move more!

As I grow with this new plan, I'm sure I'll have more insights to share with you.

My Taekwon-Do Roots

This morning, despite the awful weather we had our annual Taekwon-Do Christmas Breakfast, I was shocked to find there were 113 people in attendance!  Students, instructors and their families attended.  As usual, it was a great time, the food was good... but I was a good girl and ate only half of it... feeding the rest to Todd.  Thank goodness that boy can EAT!

Also invited to our annual event were Senior Master Lu and his family.  I originally started my training under Master Lu when I lived in the city.  I actually received my 1st Degree Black Belt under his and his instructors, and continued to train for some time after that as a 1st Dan.  When I changed jobs, and moved to the country that's when I switched over to my current school, which loosely falls under Master Lu's umbrella as my instructor is Master Lu's student.

So I wanted to share this picture of you that I had taken today with Senior Master Lu and his wife Mrs. Seeley (6th Dan Black Belt).  These two people played a huge part in my early years in Taekwon-Do.  Also having Mrs. Seeley as an instructor was inspiring as a woman.  They both knew me as that "fat student".

Have you ever thought about who has influenced or affected who you are today?

Really, I Am Allergic to Exercise!

Once in a blue moon, this happens and most often when running, I break out in hives!  I've had 2 sever attacks that have sent me to hospital, where I have trouble breathing and I pass out 5-6 times in a short span of time.  After the second time I ended up in hospital I went through a bunch of tests and appointments.  The best diagnosis all of my doctors could agree on was "Exercise Induced Anaphylaxis"  It starts with hives, and I mean HIVES upon hives, on welts.  Even hives on the palms of my hands, eyelids... everywhere.  Then comes the shortness of breath, the dizziness and passing out.  Tonight's reaction, the first in over a year this past May was a little one, just some hives, not real bad (they did get a little worse after this picture was taken). 

In the past when I've had the sever reactions that have landed me in the Emergency room.  I've gone out for a meal, come home and felt EXTREMELY energetic, I mean so energetic that I want to go running!  Since I've figured this out, I don't go exercising after a meal out, especially when I'm feeling very energetic.  We've done food testing, and they can't figure out what causes my reaction.  Commonly an allergy like this is triggered by a food eaten within 4 hours of exercise.  So tonight's reaction was a total surprise!

No need to worry readers, I'm fine.

Since Monday I've been on the new Weight Watchers plan, Points Plus (here in Canada).  The plan was rolled out online on Monday, and I finally got my materials this morning at my Saturday meeting.  It was a long meeting, and I'm still going through the booklets.  So I'll hold off on my meeting post for a day or two until I'm finished reading all the materials and tell you what Points Plus is all about and how I'm feeling about it.

So far the vibes I have about this program are GREAT!  I had been on it 4 days when I weighed in Friday morning, and I'm down 1.5 lbs!  This means I'm sitting pretty at 143.5 lbs.  That's a number I've seen maybe 3 times since I've hit goal.  I'm trying to be really focused with this new program, and perhaps my hard work will pay off and I'll hit my Weight Watcher's goal weight of 137 lbs!

Sometimes Your Body Says Enough!

Last year (school year) I had a very healthy year!  I think I used no more than 5 sick days the entire year.  Right now its December, and I've used 4 days!  I'm not having a good school year so far.  At first it was migraines and now I've got a cold. 

I am doing my best, trying to force myself to listen to my body instead of constantly being on the go!  Often if I'm not at the dojang, I'm at the gym or I'm out.  I'm usually a busy, busy girl and I do like to be that way... most of the time.  Lately I've been wanting nothing more than to just be home, but its that time of year where Christmas shopping needs to get done, there are social and other commitments.

I've been coming down with this cold since Friday, started slowly loosing my voice.  Today I finally stayed home and rested... well for the most part.  It was nice to get up when my body said it was time to get up.  I took a nap, when my body said it was time.  I did get in a 3K run on the treadmill, I was able to breathe no problem and my coughing didn't act up so I went with it.  Was it foolish or smart?  I don't know my voice is 90% better and I do feel much better today.  I'll be back at work tomorrow.

Some of you may think I'm crazy getting in a run while I have a cold.  The other week an article came up on my Weight Watchers home page (as they usually do each week) called "Too Sick to Sweat".  I of course read it, not know I had a cold in my near future.  I read a lot of the articles that come up on the WW website, as I know a key to my success has been educating myself, reading and learning.

Here are the key tips from that article :

When not to exercise

• Temperature of 99.5F or higher
• When you have GI symptoms (diarrhea, vomiting, nausea)
• Cold with chest congestion/tightness, hacking cough with mucus

Exercise with caution

• Headache with lightheartedness
• Sore throat
• Exhaustion

Go for it!

• Cold, but no fever with symptoms above the neck (stuffy nose)

So when do we know its time to resume our exercise routine? 

• If you've seen the Doctor, listen to them!  If the Doctor tells you to rest for 4-5 days... do it!  You can resume your weight loss efforts when you're feeling better. 
• Time, give your body time to recover, also this will help avoid a relapse or injury. 
•  Eat well while sick (if you can or as well as you can), eat more fruits and veggies!
• Sleep, your body repairs mentally and physically when at sleep.
• Keep hydrated
• Resume your exercise routine slowly

Because of this darned cold I've not made it into a Weight Watchers meeting this week, which I'm desperate to do!  The new ProPoints program rolled out in Canada this week.  I've read what I can on the website and I'm following the new points system on eTools but I'd love to get my hands on the official meeting information.  I'll be hitting the Saturday morning meeting this week and hopefully I'll be able to tell you all about it and what exactly WW's focus is for us now with these changes.

I have to say with the new plan I've already noticed I am struggling to eat all my daily points!  Yes we get more daily points, and yes food items have a higher point value so I think those two balance each other out.  This is making me realize just how many points a day I spent on fruit (which I love).  I've been moving my thinking towards eating more protein.

I'm sure I've already said this but I'm hoping this new ProPoints plan will help me shift my last pounds to get to my healthy BMI.

The Four Stages of Weight Loss

A member of the Weight Watchers Canada message boards shared this with us and I wanted to share it with all of you two its a fantastic read!

Four Stages of Weight Loss

STAGE 1: Honeymoon. When you’re in the Honeymoon stage, you feel eager to do whatever it takes to lose weight. You can’t wait to get to your goal, and you feel completely committed to your efforts. You probably always stay within your Points Target and control your portion sizes. And it’s likely that you track everything you eat in your Tracker, plan your meals and exercise. Keep it up!

STAGE 2: The Thrill Is Gone. This is the most frustrating stage. You may be saying: Why do I have to be so careful? It doesn’t seem like it’s working. Why can other people eat what they want and still stay thin? Why can’t it happen faster? If you’re at this stage, stick with it. Do what it takes to get the support you need, and see if you can reconnect with the reasons you decided to lose weight in the first place. Review your materials; you’ll learn something new you didn’t know before. Try new foods in your day or a new recipe or new exercise.

STAGE 3: Renewed Resolve. This is the time when you have a clearer set of expectations, with the added benefit of understanding how the process works. When you’re at this stage, you know that weight-loss doesn’t come easily, and you’re prepared to work hard. You’re ready to be more consistent about exercising, tracking your point values, controlling your portion sizes and everything else that goes along with building healthy new habits.

STAGE 4: Lifestyle Change. At this stage, you keep up your new habits even when you’ve had a bad day or week. You cope with stress and emotions in a healthy way. And you’re always on the lookout for healthy things to eat, and for ways to get in extra exercise. This is a great place to be!

Weekly Meeting Topic : What's In Your Holiday Toolbox

Tonight's meeting was bittersweet in two ways.  Tonight we were saying goodbye to the "momentum plan", this is my last meeting under the old Weight Watcher's points plan.  I am actually quite excited for my first meeting next week to learn the new program which I hear is moving from a calories/fat/fiber focus to calories/carbs/protein/fiber focus.  We were also shocked when our meeting leader told us that after 20 years she will no longer be our meeting leader!  It was quite a shock to all of us, she has no idea who will be taking over being our leader.  Gail, helped me through loosing over 60lbs and I'm so sad to see her leaving us!  Gail has assured us she'll be popping in to join us hecklers in the crowd from time to time.

Gail was such a huge part of my weight loss success!

Now onto this week's meeting topic!  December is here which essentially means Christmas is looming on the horizon.  So we all need to get out our "Holiday Toolbox" to survive!

As someone who is loosing/aware of their weight thoughts constantly on my mind are : What will I eat???  How much?  When?  How often?  I think we need to be prepared and focused to make it through Christmas.  As Gail often said we have three choices

1. You can loose weight
2. You can maintain your current weight
3. You can choose to gain weight

Then you need to put a plan in action to make that goal a reality!  If your choice is #3 just make sure you set a number don't go pigging out for the holidays!!!

One of the tools you can put in your toolbox is : Decode Favourite/Family Recipes
If you're an online or etools member of Weight Watchers you can take advantage of the recipe builder.  This allows you to input all the ingredients and quantities enter in the number of servings and it spits out your points per serving!  So easy and convenient.  What if you don't have access to a great online resource like the recipe builder?

1. Find our the points value for each ingedient in the quantities needed for the recipe
2. Add up all the points
3. Divide points total by the number of servings and there you have it, your points per serving!

One little set of tools, are having strategies at hand

• Learn the points value of family favourite dishes
• Focus on eating filling foods.  Its least a little harder to eat when you're full or at least you'll think twice about it and feel uncomfortable afterwards!
• Decide before the meal/event/party what you're going to eat and how much
• Drink your water!
• Don't go to a meal/event/party hungry!
• Use the tool for living : mental rehearsing to come up with a plan to handle that event and vision yourself doing it successfully!

During this season there will be a lot of challenges, and we managed to share quite a few of them in our little group.

• Parties
• Visitors/Company
• Pot lucks
• Busy
• Time/motivation to exercise
• Alcohol
• Fancy drinks
• Big meals
• Other's cooking
• Seasonal baking
• Treats in the workplace (cookies/chocolates/etc.)

So there you have it, a few tools to put in your weight loss toolbox to hopefully get you through the holidays!  Christmas happens every year, its a fact of life so there's no point in panicking about it.  Come up with a plan, and put it into action!

Guess what?  Today is my last entry for NaBloPoMo!  I have posted a blog entry for every day in November!  Not only for one blog, but two!  That's 60 blog entries in 30 days!  I'm CRAZY!

Helping Others

This upcoming weekend at Taekwon-Do is a HUGE black belt test.  Now, I'm not testing this time around (thank goodness) but some of my friends at the dojang are.  My buddies Peter and Jason are going for their 4th degree black belts... that's a huge deal!  I've been planning on going to watch to support everyone.

Two weeks ago Tasha who also teaches in our Little Tigers Program asked for help with her step and model sparring for her 2nd Degree test.  I of course was willing to help, and asked her if she had a uki for the test day.  Of course she immediately asked me to be her uki.  Seeing as many others have helped me along the road of my Taekwon-Do journey it is only fair that I help someone else!

Good luck everyone!

I've Got Nothing For You

I spent the day feeling poorly again today, starting to wonder if a visit to the doctor is in order.  I didn't really have the migraine but I was nauseous most of the day.  I'm starting to feel pretty sorry for myself, I was almost on the verge of tears at dinner time I was just feeling so awful.  Also my neck and shoulders were soooo tight.  I took a Robaxacet and surprisingly I felt better.  The stomach is starting to hurt again.

I'll go into work tomorrow.  Obviously a day off didn't help much so I might as well go be miserable at work.  Who knows might feel good as new tomorrow.

Here I am in the summer of 2006, doing my favourite lazy activity... stitching!

Finally!

Finally!

I was able to get on with my life today!  My migraine has finally abated.  I woke up feeling like myself with a little colour in my cheeks.  I did have a bit of a headache in the afternoon but a nap in my stitching chair seemed to take care of that.d

I did use my day well.  I got up early for a Saturday and met my best friend Christin and her Mom in town to see the latest installment of Harry Potter in IMAX.  I was craving, and it was very tempting to get a small movie theater popcorn.  But, I didn't instead I brought with me a bottle of water and a sliced up apple.  Two gold stars for me avoiding temptation!  I find its often not so much the smell that bothers me but the rustling and munching going on around me.  I am jealous that I won't allow myself to eat that way anymore.  My usual theater fare used to be a medium popcorn with butter and twizzlers.  Sometimes chocolate too!  Over the years I have changed my habits and behaviours and I do pack food for the movies, but its for when I get hungry and its healthy foods.

 From there, it was to the grocery store (my usual Friday chore) which for a Saturday wasn't bad.  My mistake was going to Costco... oh boy.  I think on a couple of occasions if I didn't have the brain/mouth barrier I would of gotten myself into big trouble!!!  Why on a busy day is a kid who can barely see over the push bar of the cart be allowed to push the grocery cart?  Do you really have to leave your cart in the middle of the aisle to get a sample... really?  Someday I will get myself into big trouble!

The afternoon was spent with a little stitching, and a nice nap in my recliner!

This evening we took my nephew out for his Birthday dinner, he turned 16 last weekend!  I can't believe he'll be learning to drive this year!  I used some of the tactics from this week's meeting to do well at the restaurant.  I ordered a platter with one chicken and pork brochette, rice, potato and salad.  I was also offered soup/salad/juice to start.  There was so much food on my platter, it was almost overwhelming!  I didn't know where to start and I didn't know what to do with so much food!  I had a starter salad first, ate 1/2 of each of the brochettes with 1/4 of the rice, 1/2 of the potato and more salad!  The rest I was happy to take home, but Todd wanted to eat it.  I then splurged and shared a dessert with my nephew!  It was so yummy!

This was completely by accident but its a pretty cool effect!  My nephew was so still and I was moving while the shutter was open a little longer than usual!

I think I'll need to get in a 5K on the treadmill tomorrow!

Another Lost Day

Another day, another migraine.  I took advantage of the snow day, and the buses being cancelled to take a sick day today.  Not only did I still have my wonderful migraine but I had the nausea to go with it.

I always feel like I'm cheated out of a day when I have to give in for a migraine.

On the up side, I'm down 2 lbs this week.

Of Best Laid Plans

Today I knew I would have some extra, schedule-free time on my hands today so I packed my gym bag hoping to get in a workout.

*Sigh*

That didn't happen.  Because my migraine is still kicking around.  I've been dealing/living with these since I was 9, so its just a part of life for me.  I do resent the fact that there are days I just have to put life on hold and crawl into bed.  Headaches and migraines are not the same beast, nowhere near it.

I'm hoping for a better day tomorrow.

Weekly Meeting Topic Dining Out

This week's topic for us Canadians was "Dining Out" I know many American meetings covered dealing with Thanksgiving this week, we've of course already been there done that!

When you're early on in the Weight Watchers program, dining out can be absolutely terrifying!  We all know that no matter how healthy a choice you make, the calories are much higher than what we can make ourselves at home.  Of course almost anything made by someone else always tastes much better!

Dining out isn't easy even for us veterans of the Weight Watchers program.  Its easy to go into a dining out situation with the mindset of an angel.  We leave the house/work/stores/etc thinking we're going to be good, make the best possible choice from the menu and not eat all of the food in that massive serving.  That resolution often weakens when we're suddenly faced with the menu, with a nice juicy bacon cheeseburger, all dressed pizza, deep fried goodies, whatever your poison is.  Suddenly that resolve weakens!  We come out of that meal out beating ourselves up!

What are the hazards when we eat out?

• Alcohol, not only do the points add up but it relaxes us and we start to make poor choices
• Breads and bread basket (oh my evil nemesis!)
• Creamy soups and sauces (oh and cheese too!)
• Desserts
• Fried foods
• "Loaded" foods like baked potatoes with cheese, bacon, fried mushrooms, etc.
• Portion size can you say HUGE???

Calculating the points on the foods we eat in a restaurant can be tricky too.  In the ideal situation the restaurant provides the nutritional information on their dishes (website, menu or pamphlet), then you just do your Weight Watchers math.  If there's no nutritional information you have two options available to you, to do your best look up the point values on individual foods or ingredients.  Its better to guess then to not track at all.  Or you can use the "Set Points" value that Weight Watchers assigns to basic food groups (protein 5, starchy vegetables 6, fruit 2).  This takes a lot of the guesswork out of figuring it out, these are often on the high side but its better to err on the side of caution.

So what are some strategies we can use when we're faced with a meal out?

• Sabotage!  That's right, if you pick at your plate once you're full sabotage the food that's left.  Pour pepper, salt, vinegar or ketchup all over it.  Make it impossible to eat.  Remember often serving sizes are 2-3 times what we really should be eating.
• Ask the server not to bring a part of the dish, such as please skip the bun on my hamburger or no fries please, skip the bacon, skip the cheese, etc.
• Use your voice!  If the item isn't cooked the way you want it... ask!  Ask if something can be grilled, can the vegetables be steamed, etc.  Please no cream sauce.  If we ask for healthy options eventually the restaurants will be forced to put it on the menu (and its been on the rise lately!)
• Ask for a container and doggie bag 1/2 of your meal before you start
• Replace the fries, pasta, rice, etc with salad
• Eat your salad/vegetables FIRST if you're full of veggies you may not eat as much of the higher point valued foods
• Check the menu and nutritional information ahead of time, go in with your mind made up of what you're going to order.  If you're likely to change your mind tell the server not to bring you a menu.  If you're tempted by other people's orders, ask to put in your order first.
• Don't leave eating too late
• If you know the meal is going to be late, have a healthy, low point snack before you go out
• Drink a glass of water before your meal, continue to drink water during your meal.  Actually drink lots of water after too, prepared foods are often so full of sodium it can affect your weight the following day.
• Eat slowly, take this opportunity to socialize instead of shovelling food into your mouth so you can't say a word!

One thing that's very important I want all of you to remember, when you do overeat (and we all do it) or enjoy something that isn't "healthy food" don't feel bad about it, and beat yourself up.  We have to realize we're all human and we're not perfect.  Be accountable for the points you ate, track it and get yourself back on plan RIGHT NOW!  Never allow yourself to have the mindset "I've blown it... so why stop now, can I have the dessert menu please?'

So, don't face that meal out with fear, plan, be prepared and enjoy it as a social event not a licence to stuff your face with that bacon cheeseburger with poutine on the side.

It was time for a change today, and I got my hair cut, I don't think I'm too fond of it.  Hopefully in a day or two that will change, maybe I just need to "get used" to it.  I also look like crap and pale due to another migraine.

When Passions Collide

Just a quick little post tonight.  I did go to Weight Watchers tonight but I don't have time to do a post/topic justice.  I will get to it tomorrow.

I wanted to tell you about my other passion, and sadly its not one that goes well with loosing weight and being active.  Actually my favourite activity is quite sedentary I don't think you burn too many calories doing it.  That activity is cross stitch!  I started stitching back in 1997 and I haven't looked back since!  That's actually what I first started blogging about seven years ago, my hobby, my passion! 

There's nothing I get more joy from than to sit down with fabric, needle and thread and make little x's.  One x leads to another and before you know it you have this gorgeous picture.

I have to also admit, I don't feel so guilty sitting in front of the TV as long as my hands are busy.

Did I mention napping is my second favourite hobby?

Teaching

Can an overweight teacher/instructor really be a true role model?
The last time I competed in 2006 1 year before starting WW

I do feel there's nothing more important in this world than being a teacher.  Teachers open doors for us, show us new worlds, and motivate us to be more, do better.

I am a teacher.  Well, not a school teacher, but I teach Taekwon-Do.  Early on, when I first started learning I had the BEST Taekwon-Do instructors ever!  I was taught by a world champion, I was taught by female who is technically amazing, and I was taught by the best motivator ever.  These three people I think are the ones who showed me the love and passion they have for Taekwon-Do and made me the martial artist and laid the foundation for the teacher/instructor I am today.  These people kept me motivated to keep training though I wasn't a small girl.

I don't think I was the best example of the ideal instructor when I was teaching at almost 200 lbs.  I knew the techniques, I knew how to do them to my best ability, I sure knew my theory.  How can someone so big be a true example?  A true motivator?  It took a bad foot injury, which happened while teaching my 7-13 year old students to make me stop.  I do think that this injury was the best thing that ever happened to me.  During this time I finally faced my weight problem, joined weight watchers, and as my foot got better (it was a long recovery ... probably due to my excessive weight) became an athlete, yes I consider myself an athlete.    Finally a year and a half later, I returned to Taekwon-Do.  Slowly I started training all over again, eventually working up to testing for my 3rd Degree Black Belt (almost a year ago now).



At my 3rd Degree Black Belt test, I can now move faster,
kick harder, jump higher, and more.  A better role model for
my young students.



This fall I took back up the role of instructor.  I only teach once a week, and I work with our "Little Tigers" program, specifically designed for 4-6 year old children. I absolutely LOVE working with these kids and opening their eyes to what they can achieve physically.  I try my best to motivate my students, to make them feel good about themselves and be proud of themselves for trying their best.

I now truly feel I am a proper role model of a healthy, active person.  I feel no shame when I stand in front of a class now asking them to go faster, kick harder, jump higher because now I can too.

Loosing my weight was the best thing I could ever do to improve myself as a martial artist.

Gym-Dates Rock!

Back in the fall my friend Marline and I decided to meet up on a Sunday afternoon and go to the gym and have dinner together at her place afterwards.  Right away we knew we had to do this again!  So we picked a second date, gym and dinner this time I'd bring my kick-ass lasagna. 

Since there was a nice big pan of lasagna we got in touch with our friend Laurie-Anne and asked her to join us for dinner.  We haven't gotten Laurie-Anne out to the gym yet, it was close today but she was having trouble submitting an assignment for an online course and didn't make it.  However, today we had Alicia join us since her gym-date didn't show up.  So as of tonight, our little group of 2 is now a lovely group of 4! 

We've each been taking turns making dinner, bringing the salad, or the dessert.  Tonight, it was my turn and I made us Chicken Parmigiana Weight Watchers style!  We had it with salad, rice pasta, green beans and broccolini.  Dessert was creme caramel.

Weekly Meeting Topic : Managing Stress

This morning I rolled out of bed at 8am, all I really wanted to do was stay in there.  Also I was feeling rough, like hangover rough when I didn't have the good time the night before.  However, I got myself up and going, cleaned the boy's litter tray (yay), made a pot of tea, then headed out the door to my Saturday Weight Watchers meeting.  I got there to see we didn't have our usual meeting leader, I was saddened to find out her Dad had passed away a week ago and she's having a hard time with it.

I'd like everyone out there who leads a stress-free life to put up there hands out there.  Mmm hmmm that's what I thought not a single hand went up.

There are so many stressors in life let's list a few that come to mind:

• Your job
• Your family/spouse/children
• Finances
• Your Weight
• Holidays & celebrations
• Change

There are so many more here that aren't listed but they cause stress!  At times our stressors are within our control, we put ourselves under undue stress.  Sometimes things/life are just beyond our control and we have to ride the wave.

Stress has a funny effect on our bodies, and if you've followed The Biggest Looser at all you know from their weigh ins the weeks when a contestant has been under extreme stress despite the controlled setting (food & exercise) they have a very poor result or a gain at the scale.  For some strange reason stress can make us gain weight despite our best efforts to eat properly.  So we have to learn to deal with it.

How can we deal with our stress?  For many of us folks who are or have been overweight, our first instinct has been to reach for food.  We eat for comfort (a very fleeting feeling) or sometimes just to feel (again short lived).  We often eat without thinking when we are stressed out, I know I also start skipping out on workouts, go home from work and go to bed. 

So when we are stressed and are about to reach for food one should try to STOP.  Think about why we're reaching for that food is it a WANT or a NEED?  Are you eating just because you want to or are you eating because you're hungry?  Instead of eating, get away from the food, go out, go for a walk, to do something to distract yourself.  During this time you've gotten away from the food analyze why you wanted to eat, maybe you can come up with a solution as to why you're stressed (remember sometimes, its beyond your control).

So what can we do to deal with the stress?

• Exercise (I felt fantastic last night after finally getting to the gym!)
• Use your tracker, not just to track your food but make notes about how you've been feeling, about the bad days and the stressful days.  You can look back on this especially when you didn't have the results you wanted at the scale
• Ask for help
• Learn from your experiences
• Manage your environment
• Manage your feelings
• Monitor yourself
• Prepare yourself
• Take care of yourself

There are ways we can approach a stressful situation or time and it all comes down to attitude.

• Those who do
• Those who don't
• Those who will
• Those who wont

You want to be the person who does and who will.

Gosh my notes from today's meeting are just all over the place, I found this leader wasn't so streamlined in her thought/presentation which made it challenging for me to pull all the information together to share with you.  She did have a great quote at the end from Abraham Lincoln :

"Always Bear in mind that your own resolution to success is more important than any one thing"

Not Surprised

Its Friday, which means the weekend is here... actually it means weigh in day.

Unfortunately today I have a gain to share with you, but really was I surprised?  Not at all, not after this past weekend and the following week!  I had some great runs on the weekend, however I had not gone to a gym, Taekwon-Do, or for a run until tonight.

Between some not so great food choices on the weekend, a hectic week (which translates into not my usual eating patterns), and no exercise lead to a two pound gain this week.

Before I stepped on the scale this morning I promised myself that today was my fresh start, now that life has slowed back down.  I started out my morning with my usual push-ups and sit-ups I hadn't done in a week.  I did eat some cake today (you know me and... cake right?), and I finally stepped foot in the gym.  I was pretty tired and cranky today (I kicked kids out of the library on 4 occasions today) but I felt so much better after working out.  I really should of done that last night but I wimped out and came home to relax!

I don't have a lot of crazy plans this weekend so I'm hoping to relax, sleep, and make it to my gym-date on Sunday!

Wow!

Wow is right!  Unfortunately it has nothing to do with my current weight, or some crazy form of exercise I've done.  Its all about this blog!

I started the blog this past summer, really for myself and its something I wish I had done from the start.  To track, journal and share my weight loss journey.  Of course the journey isn't over so now I'm sharing with you my struggle to maintain my weight loss (and you never know loose a few more???) and lead a full, active life.

I got an e-mail today, at first I assumed it was a comment on this blog.  Then I thought it was SPAM.  Then I realized it was legitimate!  My blog has been listed (by another blog on a website in the health care field) in this entry "60 Amazing Blogs For Weight Watchers Support"!  I was actually shocked and surprised that people out there actually read this and feel that its worthy of having a good look!

I'm listed as #24 under "Points and dieting" they've highlighted a couple of entries that are worth looking at too.  I am also quite honoured to be included in a list with the likes of the Legendary Sheryl!  Aka Bitchcakes who is an amazing women and an inspiration to all!  I ADORE her blog!

So I want to say THANK YOU to all of you fantastic readers, high-fives and props all around!  Thank you for following me on my life long journey!

Guilty Pleasure...

Everyone has a guilty pleasure!  There are the guilty pleasures that come in food form (cake anyone? chocolate?), lying in bed all day and reading a book, taking a nap on a Saturday afternoon, or watching a certain TV show.

One of my guilty pleasures is watching The Biggest Loser!  Funny though, I never watched it when I was overweight.  I started following the show when I started loosing my weight.  I think because in the past I didn't want to face the truth, face the fact that I was overweight and I could do something about it if I got off of my lazy behind.  I've been following it for the last couple of seasons.

I have to say this current season there's no one contestant I'm really pulling for.  Ada is the only one I am pulling for but no one is a huge stand out this season.

So how many of you out there share my guilty secret?  If you had an opportunity to be in the gym with one of the trainers who would you pick?  I would totally love to get my ass kicked and be yelled at by Gillian!

Sorry no great words of wisdom again, I have some time at home tonight and I just want to sit and enjoy it.

Old Me

Well, wonderful blog readers, I really don't have the time to tell you much today!  Its 11:45PM and I need to get this post UP!

So I thought I'd share with you a pre-weight loss picture of me with you.  A girl needs a reminder of how far she's come.

Here I am with cross stitch designer Jeannette Douglas in 2006

I also want to shout out a thank you to Amy tonight!  She invited me over for dinner, she fed me a fantastic Weight Watchers friendly meal with dessert.  Amy also sent me home with leftovers for lunch tomorrow (yay!).  We has such a great time that neither of us noticed it was suddenly almost 9PM and I really needed to head home!  Amy is also living the Weight Watchers lifestyle despite her busy, busy life and is down 14 lbs so far.  Way to go Amy!!!

My Own Worst Enemy

I'm doing a little too much of this lately, burning the candle at both ends! Another important part of loosing and maintaining weight loss is taking care of number one... YOU! I really haven't been doing this lately, I really am my own worst enemy.


I have been really busy since the last week of October, sleep has become a luxury, I've not been making proper dinners nor thinking ahead for my lunches. I'm hoping after today that will change, I have a big event tonight that we've been working towards and I don't expect to be back home until midnight.

Once its done, I hope I can relax, I've booked a massage for myself after work tomorrow, and dinner with a friend. A little bit of self papering will help.

Good Weigh In and Not So Good Food Weekend

With all that has been going on, I forgot to share with you this Friday's weigh in.  I was down 1.5lbs which puts me back at my goal weight!  I'm very happy about this.

However, I'm not so happy/proud of how I handled this weekend.  It was one of my girls stitching getaways.  I started the weekend with the best of intentions and I did not too bad food wise until about Saturday afternoon, and its kind gone down hill from there.

I ate temptations like this for lunch... (mind you I only ate 1/2 of the chicken and 1/2 of the rice)

Followed by this for dessert... I meant to eat half... honestly!  Oops, I ate it all (remember me and my love affair with cake)

This evening was a bit of a challenge as well because its my Dad's Birthday and we had a great family dinner.  I feel like I've eaten way too much, I ate 3 yes 3 pieces of garlic bread!  Also more cake, but this time it was only a sliver.

I've spent way too much time feeling bloated and uncomfortable from eating too much.  I know I've done better than I used to do, cause I used to eat whatever I want without a second thought.  Now I just spend a little time (not too long) feeling guilty about a poor decision.

Now on the other hand I'm hoping the exercise I've put in over the last 3 days will kinda balance out the food I've consumed in the last day and a half (and flush the sodium out with a lot of water!).  There was Friday's monumental 12.5 km run, Saturday I walked about 10km (in two installments), and this morning I put in another run this time only a gentle 4 km.  I have to admit my poor legs are a little sore!

Country Walks

There's nothing better than a GORGEOUS fall day and a nice walk (or two) in the country sure fits the bill and its a great way to get in some exercise!  Not only do I go for a nice power walk, but I take my camera with me, hoping for some great shots.

Here are some of my shots from today.

I think between my two walks today I must of gotten in 8-10 KM!

Yeah Baby!

Today I did my LONGEST run EVER!  It was a challenging run, varying terrains (pavement/gravel) and some long killer hills!  But I didn't stop!