Hungry?

I hate it when my husband’s right.  He has told me a couple of times lately that I shouldn’t be buying all these low calorie snacks, that I should just eat at meals.  I know that I shouldn’t snack, but I’m afraid that if I don’t have healthy choice items, that I will eat things that are really not good for me.  I have gotten into the mindset that fruit is free (on Weight Watchers), and I LOVE fruit.  I may have been eating four or more servings per day.  Sometimes you can have too much of a good thing.

Starting yesterday, I have only been eating at meals.  I’m not really hungry, but I have noticed how often I think about having a piece of fruit or some popcorn.  Those are my favorite healthy snacks.  It has just become a habit to eat.  I should concentrate more on eating only when I’m hungry.

Crafts Help with Weight Loss

I haven't been doing so well in my battle against overeating. I ate a huge amount of Halloween candy.  I knew that if I didn't open the bag, that I wouldn't eat all the "fun size" candies, but I opened it because I love Heath bars that much.  If it had been almost any other kind of candy, I might not have opened it...

This weekend, I have been making Christmas cards.  I really enjoy making paper products, so it's fun for me.  The added plus is that while I am making paper things, I have to keep my hands clean, so I'm not eating while I'm making them.

Added to that, I eat a lot when I'm bored, and while I'm doing crafts, I'm not bored.

Do you love this design?

My goal for the next two months is to keep my weight down below what it was last year.  That will  mean no peanut M&M's.  Those things are addictive.  Maybe I can talk my daughter into putting gummy bears in the glass Christmas trees.  It would be colorful like the M&M's , and I don't like them. Don't think that I should just have more self control.  I know that, but I don't seem to be able to do it.

And the Winner Is...

Foodie that I am, I love cooking, and I love participating in competitions.  As a matter of fact, one of my favorite shows is Top Chef.  Yesterday, I won the Healthy Eating competition at work with this Black Bean and Guacamole Salad.  It's easy and very healthy, but best of all it really tastes good.  There is joy in eating, but it doesn't have to be full fat.

For your enjoyment, here is the recipe:

Black Bean and Guacamole Salad

Prep time 10 min.

Easy

Serves 6

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and ½ inch diced

1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained

½ cup small diced red onion

2 tablespoons minced jalapeno peppers, seeded (2 peppers)

½ teaspoon freshly grated lime zest

¼ cup freshly squeezed lime juice (2 limes)

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon black pepper

½ teaspoon minced garlic

¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper

½ bunch fresh cilantro, chopped

2 ripe Hass avocados, seeded, peeled, and ½ inch diced (Wait until the last minute to peel.  The lime juice will keep it from turning dark, but not indefinitely.)

Toss all ingredients except the avocado.  Just before you are ready to serve, fold the avocados into the salad. 

Serve at room temperature with Special K chips for a very low calorie, healthy appetizer.

Back on the Wagon

I’m back on the wagon now.  I had a spinach salad with turkey and heirloom tomatoes with Bolthouse Farms yogurt dressing for lunch yesterday and today.  I like having the same thing for lunch each day. I don’t have to think about it.  It can vary as to the type of salad, but it’s almost always going to be a great salad.  Last night we had grilled chicken, okra, and corn on the cob.  The okra was fried, but with very little oil.  I love having fresh vegetables in the summer.

I’ve been watching the Olympics every day.  The athletes are in better shape than anyone in the world.   They are so healthy and perfect in every way.  Can you believe someone said that Gabby needs to do something with her hair?  She is so perfect just as she is.  There’s always going to be some total idiot with a negative comment.

I have been sewing this week, which curtails my ability to eat.  I have to keep my hands clean, and have to keep any food away from the fabric.

I had a wedding this weekend, so I was pretty busy getting the flowers ready for that.  It's hard to eat and arrange flowers at the same time.

As a matter of fact, I probably eat most of the time just from boredom.  If I would keep busy, I would probably be back at goal.

Fallen From Grace

July has been a particularly bad month for me.  I really wanted to look my best when I went to Cancun last week, which was part of the reason I had been trying so hard to begin with.  There were several things which contributed to my downfall.

1.      Quarterly Birthday Celebration

2.      Birthday Celebration

3.      All-Inclusive Hotel

On June 28, we had our quarterly birthday celebration for our group at work, which was a breakfast.  I had very good intentions.  I brought morning glory muffins, which are full of carrots, apples, raisins, and walnuts.  I even used whole wheat flour.  I knew someone was bringing biscuits and gravy, but I made up my mind not to eat them.  I was doing so well.  I got some fruit and a muffin.  The problem was what happened after the breakfast.  All of the leftovers were brought to two tables which are literally three feet from my cube.  I could see all the food when I was sitting at my desk.  I had determined not to eat the high fat items, but one of my favorite things was on that table – CHEX MIX.  It wasn’t like I got the bowl and intentionally ate half of it.  I just got a small handful – several times.

That was bad enough, but on July 12, we planned to do it again for someone else’s birthday.  I moved the tables to another location, hoping to salvage something of my weight loss.  I went to the Bagel Exchange and got bagels with reduced fat cream cheese.  However, when I got to work, someone had moved the tables back, right across from my desk.  I might have done fairly well this time, except someone brought cookies she had baked that morning, and they were still warm.

My daughter and I went on our annual trip to Cancun on July 21.  Our days went like this:  got up in the morning and walked for an hour, which led us to believe we could eat whatever we wanted for the rest of the day.  We had guacamole at almost every meal – hey, when in Mexico…  I was never hungry.  Every time we ate, I didn’t need to eat.  There was so much good food.  Chilaquiles and papaya juice for breakfast, beautifully marbled blue cheese and fabulous salads for lunch, every kind of fresh fruit imaginable, coconut ice cream, sushi, shrimp, steak, you get the picture.  I ate so much that I am really ashamed of myself.

One thing I did learn, if you want to lose weight, using chopsticks makes you slow down considerably.

Since I’ve been back, I have been feeling poorly.  I would not blame it on being in Mexico.  It’s probably just from eating like a total idiot.  Maybe too much fruit is not a good thing, either.  Maybe this is a wake up call.  I should have a good time, but try to eat in moderation.

Motivation

“People often say that motivation doesn’t last.  Well, neither does bathing.  That’s why we recommend it daily.”  Zig Zigler

That’s a powerful statement, if you think about it.  People often say that when you lose weight, you just gain it back.  While that may be true, what if you didn’t lose?  What if when you gained ten pounds, you just said, “I’ll just gain it back, if I lose it”?  Then, when you gain another ten pounds, you just said, “Twenty pounds will take me forever to lose”?  How large will you allow yourself to become?

I recently read an article about Tom Ford.  He weighs every morning, and if he has gained two pounds, he increases fruits and vegetables until he gets back to his original weight.  That is the kind of discipline I want to have.  If I never got more than two pounds from my ideal weight (and only you can decide what that is for you), I would be much happier. 

Motivation is the key for me.  If I’m not motivated to keep my weight constant, I will eat very bad things.  I can consume a 2-lb. bag of peanut M&M’s in just a few days.  I can eat an entire package of Keebler pecan sandies.  I know what it takes to keep my weight constant, it’s just having the motivation to keep it there.

I became a Weight Watchers lifetime member in 2007.  While I have strayed, from time to time, I know that Weight Watchers is the best, most healthy, way to lose weight.  I am ten pounds over my goal weight now.  I am allowed to be over by two pounds, to be able to go to meetings free.  I bet you’re thinking, “You know the program, so why go to meetings?”  It’s the motivation.  I am able to feel the support of the others in my weight loss journey.  I am feeling good about my weight coming off, and that makes me want to achieve the goal that much more.

Lasagne

Not mine, but you get the idea.

I made lasagna last night.  It can be made with considerably less calories than the full-fat version.



Recipe ingredients                                         Substitution

2 cups ricotta cheese                      2 cups low-fat cottage cheese

3 cups mozzarella                            1 cup part-skim mozzarella

¾ cup parmesan

¼ cup parsley

2 eggs

Mix above ingredients in bowl.

1 lb. lasagna noodles (no cooking required)

32 oz. spaghetti sauce                    24 oz. spaghetti sauce (Newman’s Sockarooni) and 8 oz.
                                                        diced tomatoes

1 ½ cups water                                1 ½ cups diced tomatoes

1 lb. ground beef                             ¾ lb. 93% lean ground beef

--                                                      Whole red pepper (chopped)

Saute beef and pepper until soft and brown.  Add sauce and tomatoes.

In a 13 x 9 pan, layer 1 cup sauce, 3 slices noodles, ½ of cheese mixture, 1 ½ cup sauce, 3 slices noodles, remaining cheese mixture, 1 ½ cup sauce, 3 slices noodles, remaining sauce.  Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes at 350.

We didn’t feel at all deprived.  We added healthy ingredients to make up for some of the fatty items.

I still have to be careful of portion size, but it was very tasty. I still have 12 lbs. to meet my goal.  I am exercising every day, and having a salad for lunch.  Today I had tuna on the salad.