Making A Loosing List

This blog entry is long overdue, and I promised it to you in my last post! At first I wanted to sit down and think about it before posting it here.

We were challenged at last weeks Weight Watchers meeting to make a loosing list. This is your list of reason(s) to loose weight and reach your goal. This topic really left me thinking instead of participating in the meeting (I'm one of those people at the meeting who always has something to say/share).

Why do I want to loose weight?

There are the obvious reasons:

-fit in my size 8 pants again (currently back up to a size 12)
-fit my winter jackets again... I need to go buy a new, bigger one because I've put on enough weight since last winter that they don't fit properly over my hips
-feel sexy again
-be able to run a 1/2 marathon (again)
-to feel and look good
-to feel strong

The personal reason:

When I first lost my weight 63 lbs my Mum was my biggest supporter. I lost her suddenly in June. She never said it, but it know how proud of me she was. That I was more acceptable weight and healthy. So I'm doing this for my Mum, I miss her.



- thanks for reading!

Good Choices Feel Good & WW Weekly Meeting

I've had a couple of thoughts, ideas bouncing around in that head of mine lately and today I FINALLY took action on those thoughts.

Thought #1 - I should stop paying weekly for my Weight Watchers meetings but switch to a monthly pass.  This way I HAVE TO GO EVERY WEEK, like I used to.  *Done*  I sat down at the computer today and changed from an eTools subscription to the WW Monthly pass, which also covers eTools.  This is done by an automatic credit card payment so I have to go every week, or I'm throwing away my money and well its cheaper than paying per meeting.  When I was paying per meeting I kept coming up with more excuses not to go.

Thought#2 - Start going to WW meetings on Wednesday nights, instead of Saturday mornings.  *Done*  Tonight I went WW instead of Saturday morning.  Though a morning weigh in is nice because you've not eaten or drank anything in at least 6-8 hours makes the scale a little more friendly... It became another excuse not to go to meetings.  I was too tired to get out of bed (the meeting was 9:45 am which meant getting there earlier than that to weigh in), was one excuse.  Sometimes it was because I'd eat out the night before, or I had plans on Saturday and couldn't make it at all.  I've now removed all of those excuses and I have no reason not to go on Wednesday nights.  So I'm treating this as a fresh start... my weight is up slightly from my last weigh in but that's to be expected when going from AM to PM weigh ins.  So as of today my weight stands at 176.6 lbs.  My initial goal is to get down to 160 lbs, my dream goal would be back to 145 lbs but I'll take what I can get at this point.

Thought#3 - Re-join the gym.  *Done* When I initially lost my weight, it was when I got down to the 170's that I joined the gym then slowly got my weight down to 145!  Not only was I slim but I was fit, strong, healthy!  I have a corporate rate I can take advantage of at Goodlife Fitness which has locations all across Canada, so I can take advantage of any location, not just the one I like to go to (Women's Only is my fav.).  I'll be starting back at the gym on June 1st, I'm looking forward to getting strong again!  I will continue to run, I plan to alternate running and trips to the gym to either use the weight machines or take classes.

I feel really good, and hopeful about each and every one of these decisions!  These should help me be successful!

So this week's topic at Weight Watchers is turning eating into dining.  I am so guilty of eating and not dining! Eating is just shovelling your food in your mouth, barely tasting it, barely enjoying it.  I often catch myself standing at the counter eating, especially breakfast.  Dinner is always eating sitting in my recliner in the living room with the TV on, and playing on my iPad at the same time.

WW recommends turning every meal into a dining experience, something special!  Sit at the table, set it like you would for company... a nice table cloth, candles, some flowers.  We are worth the good dishes too, not just your company!  At work keep a nice place mat to have your lunch on.  If you eat at your desk listen to some music to remind yourself you're having your lunch not working through it!  Arrange your food nicely and with a little colour and flare on a plate.  There is nothing less appetizing that a pale, anemic meal just plopped on a plate!  The idea behind colour and presentation is to encourage us to take our time, enjoy the food we're eating. Its proven if you actually take the time to eat your meal, enjoy some good company you'll notice when you're feeling full and not eat more food/points than you intended.

Its something I should really do, I am trying in the morning to have my breakfast at my very messy table... will we ever start having dinner at the table I doubt it, we use it as time to catch up on TV shows we have on the PVR.  So the change I plan to make this week, is to make more of an effort to eat my breakfast at the table in the morning when I have the time.

Weekly Meeting Topic, Week 1 : New Year - New You

The New Year is always a VERY busy time at Weight Watchers, I arrived not long before the meeting was going to start since I had no intentions of weighing in.  I was shocked to find the parking lot... full!  When I got inside, the room was full!  Wow!  There were a lot of new members also this was our first meeting in a couple of weeks since we had no meetings the last two weeks due to our meetings falling on Christmas and New Year's Days.

Anyhow I arrived close to the meeting's start time since I had no intention of weighing in.  Todd and I had a fun evening out the night before, not getting home until midnight!  Todd very rarely wants to "go out on a date", so I jumped on this chance!  We went out to the Rideau Carleton Racetrack for their all-you-can-eat buffet, for a limited time you got a lobster with your meal.  I very graciously gave my beady-eyed friend to Todd (the smell still makes me want to gag).  I have to say I was VERY happy with how I handled the buffet!  I started off with a big plate full of salad, with very little dressing (I actually never did like my salad drowning in dressing), a few croutons and bacon bits as a treat also I had 1/2c of minestrone soup.  When I approached the main course selection I had a few slices of lean meat, pork tenderloin, turkey, and prime rib, and a small taste of the "pasta of the day".  For me the true challenge was the dessert selection.  Again I surprised myself, I did enjoy a couple of the portfilarolls (little cream puffs), the chocolate mousse was quite tasty.  There was a tasty looking banana cake, one small bite declared it way to sweet for my tastes so I didn't finish the sliver I took.  One small chocolate chocolate chip cookie, it wasn't good either so it was abandoned after one bite, and I got a scoop of ice cream, it was not good either, the kida cheaper kind with a grainy texture so that got abandoned too.  Like I said, I was VERY happy with how I handled the whole meal.  Not only are there horse races at the track, but slots too!  So for the first time in over 8 years, we went gambling.  I lost my money on the slots in under 5 minutes.  We also tried out the virtual roulette, now that was fun, and my $20 entertained me for a very long time... but I should of cashed out when I won $100 oh well.  It was a fun night and I didn't over-do it at dinner or at the games of chance.

Needless to say despite being good at last night's dinner I was up another pound at the scales (I imagine it'll disappear in a day or so its probably from high sodium foods from last night) this morning.

Today the meeting leader reminded us that the New Year is a chance for a "new you" a chance to focus on the program and your efforts, and make this year the year you make it to goal!  Boy my eyes are certainly set on that finish line!  I'd love it if this is my year to hit my ideal weight as set by Weight Watchers.

She did briefly review the new Points Plus program since there are so many new members.  I really don't like to repeat myself so you can go back and see my posts here and here if you are interested on what my take is on the new program.  The long and the short is it urges us towards healthier eating.  The main focus though was on tracking and how important it is.

Tracking is important and members who track have a higher success rate than members who don't.  Weight Watchers offers several tools to help its members track.  There are those annoying and very small trackers that you can pick up for free at the scale every week, you can purchase a 3 month tracking diary, there's e-tools online tracking, and if you own an iPhone or iPod Touch there is now the Weight Watchers app.  I have been tracking online for years now, and since the app came out I've been using it diligently!

So with our trackers we are able to track : food (obviously), activity, healthy checks, and your hunger level.  Tracking gives one an awareness of exactly what they are eating, this is why we should even track those zero point fruits and vegetables.  If you don't write down what you eat before or soon after consuming it you are likely to forget exactly what you ate my leader called this "food amnesia" or "food-timers".  Tracking also makes us stop and think before we bite... how many points is that?  Do I have enough points?  Is it worth the points?  Questions I ask myself all the time.

Tracking is also a tool we can use to look back when we have a bad week to see exactly what may have caused the gain at the scale.  Or perhaps if you have a really good week at the scale you may want to repeat that same "menu" a few weeks later to try and get the same results. 

So the long and the short of it is, if you don't track you don't know you're overeating.

If you snack it, track it;
If you bite it, write it;
If you nibble it, scribble it;
If you take it internal, you journal;
If you drink it, you ink it;
And if you must hog it, you must log it!!!

We have been set a challenge this week : not to eat over our daily target!  I'm up for a challenge, how about you?

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.

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.