Weighty Wednesday-- Another Successful Week

Well, I had another good weight loss week, as I'm down 2 lbs.! This is about 8 pounds down from when I became serious again about my weight loss five weeks ago.

Yay!

In the last two weeks I've been using the Weight Watcher's Simply Filling technique, which involves eating Power Foods and using my weekly 49 points as needed...and trust me, I needed all 49 points last week plus the 9 activity points that I earned!

Hubby has lost 15 pounds in the same time period by simply counting and tracking his points, but I will point out that he has a lot more daily points than I do!

42 vs. 26 points is an entire meal's difference!  

Just proving that you have to use a technique that works for you. Not all programs or techniques are one size fits all, and don't judge your progress against someone else's success.

One of the key factors in this technique working for me is because I still measure and track.

Why?

Because how will I know what I did wrong, if I do something wrong, unless I document it? I also use the Memo spot on my daily tracker to jot down how I'm feeling, where I might have eaten out at, or just a general comment area if I had cravings and what I did to counteract them.

One of the interesting things I've discovered is that  for the most part I've stopped eating sugar, flour-based products, and using artificial sweeteners.

This technique doesn't mean I can't eat them. I can. But the question remains--do I want to pay the price?

And when I look at it that way, the answer is usually no.

Just eating healthy costs me weekly points--in fact, just yesterday, I used 2 points for a little bag of nuts and I counted one point for my chicken tortilla soup. Now, I didn't add the tortilla chips, avocados or cheese, but I figured it probably had enough cornstarch / chicken broth to cost me at least a point.

And the bonus?

Well, I'm not in my size six jeans yet, but I did notice my hips and tummy decreasing in size, which is a good thing!

My goal is to be back at goal by the end of school. If everything continues at the same pace as the last few weeks, I might reach my goal by mid-April.

If you are with me on this journey, I will wish you the best of luck!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Mind Games

About ten days ago I started Weight Watcher's Simply Filling technique, and I seem to be doing quite well with it.

Weigh in results=. DOWN 3.2 pounds

So the technique works!

As I mentioned in last week's Weighty Wednesday, Simply Filling involves eating what Weight Watchers has designated as "power foods"--you know all that healthy stuff. Technically, one can eat an unlimited amount of these power foods, but I prefer to weigh and measure them to keep a close eye on the process.

Even though you might have an unlimited amount of power foods, you still need to track the other items you might eat...which is pretty much anything not on the list: salad dressing, non-fat free dairy products, including cheese, fattier cuts of meat (hamburger), a glass of wine, etc. These points are deducted from the 49 weekly points, and trust me, these can disappear quickly!

Friday night (pizza night) finished my weekly points off. See, told you they disappear quickly!
Three days to go before weigh in and I was having to use the activity points that I accrued to make up for all the points I used (a few glasses of wine, a salad (off the Skinnylicious! menu) from the Cheesecake Factory, homemade pizza, Caesar salad).

*Poof!* They're gone! Trust me, it doesn't take much to use them up.

The big question was why this technique works for me, but not the simple tracking with daily points.

It all comes down to head games.

I'm sure I blogged about it before, but sometimes I need to repeat myself because I haven't  learned the lesson.

When I was counting points and tracking, I was allotted 26 points per day. So if I wanted to eat Fritos or peanut butter or a granola bar, I could. It would cost me some points, but no big deal.

BUT when one does Simply Filling, you only have your 49 weekly points to use throughout the week. When my hubby and I ate at the Cheesecake Factory and I had one of their Skinnylicious chopped salads, it cost me 6 points. I ate it over two days, but I still counted all the points.

Why?

Because it had blue cheese, corn, beans, and a salad dressing. Those goodies still count.

I made pizza last Friday--EVERYTHING counted. I only had one and a half small slices--thin crust, but we had pepperoni, prosciutto, and three types of cheese. I counted 14 points. It adds up.

Add a 5 oz glass of wine--4 points.

And by Saturday morning, I had used up my weekly points.

It was a good thing I was earning Activity Points by walking!

But the biggest part of the game challenges me with my number one problem--afternoon grazing/boredom.

If I need to eat, I can find all sorts of power foods to eat. Usually the problem isn't hunger. Being on Simply Filling keeps me from grazing inappropriate food items because I don't have enough points to eat them, or I'm too much of a point hoarder to use them!

But it makes me stop and think before I wolf something down.

This is the key for me to lose the weight. 

Once I get back to goal, I think I will keep practicing this technique.

If something works, why change it??

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Breathing a Deep Sigh

True confessions here.

Last week after weigh-in, I had some not so good days. Hubby was out of town and I simply had not gained control over my foodie urges. Let's just say Fritos, raw cookie dough and queso were involved.

Not at the same time, or the same day, but the consequences were the same.

When I weighed myself at home on Saturday, I had managed to undo any good that I had done the previous two weeks.

Yeah, not my proudest moment.

So I did the only thing I could do--I changed my Weight Watcher technique from tracking points plus values to Simply Filling.

Two days later, and I feel so in control it isn't even funny.

Why does this technique work for me?

I think because it is restrictive with your food choices.

Here's the deal. When you follow Simply Filling, you don't have to weigh or measure your food. You simply choose Power Foods to keep you satisfied throughout the day. If you eat Power Foods all day, you will notice that you can mark off all your healthy checks for the day, plus you stay satisfied.

In essence, it does keep you from eating non-essential carbs in the form of sugar and flour. You can have whole grain products, but regular grain products will cost you. For example, one cup of brown rice is a power food worth zero points, while one cup of white rice will cost you 5 points out of your weekly points.

Lean meats are always good, but while they are power foods, Weight Watchers also has them listed with their recommended serving size, usually 3-4 ounces. Yes, I can eat a pound of lean chicken, but then again, would I want to? Er, no.

I do take it a step further and actually weigh and measure my food. I do this simply to train my 'eye' for the appropriate quantities for someone of my size. Yes, I can eat a tub of plain Fat Free Greek yogurt, but do I really want to? No.

Just because the Simply Filling technique narrows your food choices down, it doesn't mean I can't eat that piece of pepperoni pizza that's calling my name, or put real fat salad dressing on my lettuce, or use cream in my coffee.

I can.

But there's a price.

The price is in the form of my 49 weekly points. I can easily use up seven of those points on a daily basis even following Simply Filling.

One glass of wine, 5 ounces will eat up 4 points. See? It isn't hard.

So the reason I love the simply filling technique is because it forces me to take control of my food. The choices are fairly restrictive, but I don't feel 'caged' by my food choices.

I wrote this blog on Monday, but I'm setting it to post on Wednesday, which means I hope I have something positive to report from my Tuesday weigh-in.

Addendum: I lost 0.4 pounds. YAY! In other words, I lost the weight I gained last week, plus some!

But here's the deal. Even if I don't have anything positive to report, I still feel Simply Filling the best choice for me.

If weighing and measuring and counting points is frustrating you, or you are on a plateau, then give Simply Filling a shot.

What's there to lose?

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Walking the Walk

Did you ever hear the saying, "You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?"

For the last two months I've been talking a good game, but I haven't had my heart in it. Now, I'm finally walking the walk.

Sunday night I weighed in at a whopping 140 pounds--8 pounds OVER my goal weight. True, it was at night after foraging all day, but it was the wake-up call I needed.

Monday morning I went cold turkey--no sugar or flour products. I have been focusing on fruits, veggies {raw and cooked--asparagus (YUM)}, fat free dairy products, and  . . . yes, bacon. Sorry, but I had to have a few crispy pieces of sodium nitrite-ladened yumminess of BACON!

I know with Weight Watchers you can eat whatever you want. This is true. But I need the focused discipline of no flour or sugar products to flush them out of my system and rid myself of cravings. This isn't a one day process, but instead will be a long term one.

Except coffee. I must have some sort of sweetener in my coffee. That stuff is just nasty to drink black. Uck! I usually use some of the 'pink' packaged stuff. Yes, it's probably the worst stuff out there, but I like it in my coffee. *lifts cup of coffee and takes a sip*

And how has it gone in two days?

Pretty darn well. This morning--actually 20 minutes ago--I weighed myself and I came in at 133.8 pounds! Which is technically within my plus two pound padding.

The problem is that I weighed in too late for me to keep my FREE WW lifetime membership . . . unless I make my goal weight of 132 again. There is no +2 pound wiggle room if you don't weigh in every month, and I messed up.

My goal is to be at goal by the time my Tuesday morning meeting rolls around. Since they don't let me weigh buck nekkied, like I did in the bathroom this morning, I'll probably have to drop to 130 pounds to account for clothes.

I want to state that I'm making it sound easy to stop eating flour and sugar products.

It isn't.

I went to the store yesterday to buy fat free cottage cheese, and came very close to picking up a Prima Pepperoni deep dish UNO's pizza from the Target deli section--conveniently placed next to the fruits and veggies! I also had to walk past the endcap of summer yumminess of Birthday Cake flavored Oreos, Mega stuffed Oreos, and assorted M & M's.

But I did.

None of that stuff made it into my cart. It was hard, but will power won out.

Then there was last night after swim practice--yes, I walked for almost an hour. My second walk of the day.  I did come home and poured myself a glass of a nice Shiraz--hubby's wine, and seriously craved pretzel crisps, I mean, seriously. It took an incredible amount of will power not to crack that bag open.

I've been told that I do have decent will power when I want to exercise it. If you can't NOT eat something, then you find a way to hide it, or remove it from your presence until you get a handle on the cravings.

The same goes for eating out. If you have a problem eating too many tortilla chips at a Mexican restaurant, forgo eating Mexican until you can get a handle on it. When I was pregnant, we stopped eating at all our favorite restaurants for a month. Why? Because I had gotten into the habit of ordering an alcoholic drink at those particular places.

I did what I had to do. You can do this, too!

Later, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Teach an Old Dog

Have you ever noticed that I seem to have to keep learning and writing the same lesson over and over again?

It just goes to show that this isn't just some diet you go on to lose the weight and then amazingly you can eat whatever you want again . . . not if you want to keep the weight off.

I'll confess that even with my good intentions last week, I went through a bout of carb-loading. It had to do with fact I went shopping and the store had Raisin Bread and Caramel Apple Bread prominently displayed. I hadn't had raisin bread in a long time, but the Caramel Apple Bread sounded divine . . . and it was. I ate the small loaf over three days. Some days it was soaked in butter and added cinnamon for flavor, and other days I took Greek yogurt, mixed with brown sugar Splenda and cinnamon and smeared it on top--that was actually the best. It almost tasted like cream cheese spread!

Well, that indulgence weighed me down, figuratively and literally. For me, carbs are evil. Maybe I should clarify--refined carbs are evil, namely white flour and sugar enhanced products.

I had to cut them out to get this excess baggage off before weigh-in.

Now, I didn't go to my WW meeting--long story involving slushy weather and my husband's car not designed for nasty weather, so he took my car for the day. Anyhoo, I weighed in at home, and barely made my cut-off again. I'm not a fan of weighing in on the heavy side of the scale. I like the extra wiggle room of being 4-5 pounds UNDER my goal weight for the occasional indulgences.

But I have to get back into fighting shape.

I've been talking the talk of Simply Filling, but now I'm managing it. Sometimes, those of us who are overweight or struggling, realize for some odd reason we have to feel full--stuffed actually. I'm sure there's some psycho mumble-jumble that can explain this phenomena, but I'm not here to analyze it, I'm here to help us through it.

The last two days, I've seriously focused on Simply Filling. The technique allows you to eat as much as you want of some very specific items. Fat Free dairy products, lean meats (mainly chicken, fish, etc), fresh fruits and veggies, and lots of water.

How do I prepare for this?

I buy a roasted chicken and strip the meat off the bones. I make sure I have large containers of Fat Free cottage cheese and 0% Fat Fage Greek yogurt. And I buy plenty of fruit and veggies that are easy servings--lettuce, tomatoes, bananas, apples, cutie oranges.

Many time when we troll through the cabinets it's because we need protein. Instead of going for the chips, crackers, bread or scoops of peanut butter, then eat a piece of lean chicken or drink a big glass of water.

Yes, it takes planning.

Yes, it takes focus.

But, I've done it before, I can do it again.

How about you? Ready for the challenge?

Later, Peeps! It's time for walkies!

Weighty Wednesday -- Success!

And I'm happy to report that SIMPLY FILLING WORKS!!

Even though I went out of town this last weekend, I still lost 2.4 pounds for a
 total weight loss of 45 pounds!

Yes, I'm totally stoked!

So I'll be continuing the Simply Filling technique this week and, with luck and hard work, I'll lose the 2.2 pounds to hit my goal weight. If not, then I'll aim for the week after.

Remember, weight loss is a journey not a destination.

Once I reach maintenance, it doesn't mean I can throw all this hard work out the window.

Nosirreebob!

It means I now have the tools to KEEP myself at a healthy weight along with the knowledge of what to do if the weight starts to creep up on me again.

I'm happy!

But I'm more than just happy because I lost weight, it's because I've inspired others to take their own journey: other swim moms, a couple of teachers at my daughter's school, some of my husband's co-workers and/or their wives.  Some of them are exercising more, while others are eating better.

It's all about choices.

And I'm not blatantly bragging about my weight loss.

I don't need to.

The evidence is in my smaller size, my happy attitude and my confidence.

In other words, MY POSITIVE AURA.

Create your own aura of peace and happiness, and reap the benefit by allowing others to see your joy.

Namaste, Peeps!

Weighty Wednesday -- Same old, same old

And I had a ZERO gain/loss this week.

But I'm not too upset about it, considering I had a three pound gain during the week. Ugh!

I'm not thrilled that I haven't been able to shake these last few pounds, but I'm determined.

I have increased my exercise, but it isn't enough. I was talking to my leader and she suggested I use the Simply Filling technique. I'd heard of it, but I needed to read a little more thoroughly about it.

So what is Simply Filling?

Basically, it's unlimited amounts of Weight Watcher designated Power Foods. Lean meats, fruits and veggies, whole grains, and non-fat dairy products. Points are deducted from your weekly tally of 49 when you eat products that are NOT power foods (salad dressings, glass of wine, salads with black beans or corn in it), which means you have to be very, very frugal with your ppv products.
Use them well, padawan.
Here's a breakdown:

Lean meats--very doable for a week, especially now that it's grilling season. Seasonings of every type are available. Feeling a little Greek, then sprinkle on some Cavenders. A little Nawlins, then one of Emeril's selection. Caribbean? a little jerk seasoning. The seasoning supplies are endless and virtually all of them will take zero off your weekly point allowance.

Fruits and veggies--with a few starchy exceptions (corn, potatoes, green peas, etc) most fruits and veg are power foods. May is the perfect time to take on the Simply Filling challenge since there are so many fresh fruits and veggies available.

Non-fat dairy products--some of this is easy and some isn't worth it, namely non-fat cheese. That stuff is plain old nasty. I'd rather give up cheese for a week than eat the non-fat variety. I will eat non-fat Greek yogurt (more protein) and take a 1 ppv hit from my weekly points with a Tablespoon of Brown Sugar Splenda. Non-fat milk in a smoothie, I'm cool with it.

And the last one, Whole grains--this is more of a sticky wicket. Cooked cornmeal, quinoa, and whole wheat pasta are a power foods, but couscous is not. Reduced calorie bread--also known as cardboard--is a power food, anything with flavor is not. Again, I would rather not eat it instead of worry about it.

When I started looking at the power foods and thought back to the first part of my weight loss journey, a lightbulb lit up above my head.

Though I had counted all my points in the beginning, I had also focused my choices on the daily Healthy Checks--many of which include power foods. Ding, ding, ding, ding!

In general, I try NOT to use my weekly or activity points, which means when I do need them for various products they will be available.

I think I can do this.  I'll try it for a day or two, but if I seem to have a handle on it, I'll keep going for the entire week.

Of course, I'll let you know how it goes.

Later, Peeps!