Lagniappe --Weight Watchers

Throwing out thoughts today or in more civilized language: LAGNIAPPE

Weight Watchers--I love, love, love this program!

--Now that I'm in better shape it doesn't take me as long to take my walk, which in turn, gives me fewer activity points. :-( It's not like I ever USE those points, but I still like to see them build up in case I might need them.

--our Vegas trip was a test to see how I would do outside the home environment. Oh, we go out to eat quite a bit, but I can check out nutritional values ahead of time. Though the phone app is wonderful, it simply doesn't have the versatility of the computer app which left me guessing as to how to count my points . . . so I didn't. Now, this isn't to say that threw all caution into the wind, 'cause I didn't do that either.

So you want to know what little tricks I used while on vacation?

--I KNEW we had a free buffet breakfast with our hotel room, so one of my main meals would be breakfast. And this wasn't just any buffet, this was an INTERNATIONAL BREAKFAST BUFFET! There were breads, pastries, pancakes, waffles, yogurt, kimchee, fried rice, pickled herring, smoked salmon, chorizo and egg burritos, fresh fruit and an omelet station. Wow, what a selection! I got some protein, fresh fruit, no juice--it costs too many points to make it worth it, a bread (Blinni, crepe or small piece of coffee cake), and a yogurt.  I ate slowly and stopped when I was full, which meant I left 1/3 to 1/2 of my plate full. Yes, I left food on my plate.

*Number 1 rule: eat slowly and STOP when you feel a twinge in your gut. Not that stuffed feeling, but just a hint.

--drink lots of water--Vegas is HOT. You will get dehydrated and not even realize it.  This is also another way to trick your body. Drink a glass of water BEFORE you eat your meal as it will help fill you up!

--Don't eat lunch if  you aren't hungry.  We've been programed to eat at certain times a day. If you aren't hungry, don't eat. BUT also be prepared to eat a piece of fruit or a yogurt when hunger does strike.

--the hubster and I split lunches. We ate at Todd English's P.U.B. We each ordered a beer--trust me, it was nice getting a 'pint' for a change. In OK, you get some weird amount between  9-14 oz. Just give me a PINT. *sheesh* is that too much to ask?? Anyway, we ordered the New Amsterdam burger and it was almost too much to split between us.

--We ate Italian food along a Parisian street. :-) No split meals, but we did the prix fix menu: a glass of wine, Ceasar salad, chicken Marsala, and a dessert. The chicken breast on the entree was at least 10 oz. --way too big for this gal, so I left most of it on the plate along with the Yukon gold mashed potatoes.

--yes, I ate M&M's from the M&M store. Yes, I ate some incredible chocolate from Ethel M's. Yes, I drank lots of beer and wine. BUT I also walked and walked and walked, AND many times we didn't eat an evening meal.

 I didn't mean to turn this into a WW-focused blog, but food and how I deal with food is foremost in my mind right now. I know many of you are struggling with this same issue, but you need to find your trigger points {stress, emotions, boredom (ME!), etc}. You need to come up with a plan as to how you want to deal with food in those situations.

Losing weight is like writing: what works for me won't necessarily work for you. It is up to you to try different methods to find what works in your life.

Later, Peeps!