Thursday, October 22, 2009

Weight Watchers Newsletter - Week of October 19th - Good Health Guidelines Part Une

Hey everyone!

Did you ever have a really harebrained idea, but you decide to go with it anyway? This is what happened to me last week. For some unknown reason, I actually entertained the idea of running. Not sure why, exactly (never enjoyed it much)…but something inside me said that I could do this if I set my mind to it. I went out to the web and downloaded the “From Couch-to-5K” training plan, because this one came highly recommended to me from several friends of mine. Google and you shall receive! (Amazing search engine, RIGHT???) I haven’t officially started their plan, but I did dig out my running shoes, just in case. Although I haven’t officially started the plan yet, I am reading through it. Next step is to get fitted for good shoes. Anyhoooo……

Jogging for Johnson was the latest 5K race that our group signed up for. The race was held on Saturday afternoon in Southlake at 4:30 pm which is a weird time, if you ask me! But the weather was nice, so it was all good. We started the race, and the course was uphill both ways. I swear! Okay…well not totally uphill, but it may as well have been. In any case, after surviving the first (and in my opinion, the worst) of the hills something strange happened. We turned down one of the side streets of the course, and on the way out, I started jogging—albeit slowly… A friend of mine said to pick a spot, like a mailbox or tree, and don’t stop jogging until you get to it. Well, I made it to the end of the street. I didn’t keel over and I kind of liked it. I walked a bit more, but on the return leg of the race (which had more downhill than uphill!), I ran for a little less than ½ mile. I ran from the corner of the street all the way back to the finish line, and ran across the finish line.

At the Heroes for Children race back in September, we came in at 54 minutes. This time? I took 4 minutes off my time and came in at 50:18. I was amazed. I was breathless, in tears, and felt amazingly accomplished at that point. I was nowhere close to winning, but in my mind, I felt like I just took the gold at the Olympic games (think: Michael Phelps!). What a rush that was! I think that Saturday, October 17th was a turning point. I think that I can do this. I am going to talk to my trainer this week and see what he thinks of the training plan, and see if there is anything I would need to tweak so that I don’t get injured.

I am going to give this a serious try. Wish me luck. I can’t believe that I am actually going to do this. If any of you know me, you KNOW that I swear that I will never run. I guess what they say is true. Never say never! More on this as the story develops

So…..this week at our meeting? That lovely .8 I lost last week? It found its way back this week. BUT….there is an upside to this. I had Steve take my measurements again last night. Since last month, I lost another inch off my hips and another off the chest. Just like I keep saying, PLEASE don’t let the scale dictate your successes!!!! Below is another round of before/after pictures. Once again, the one on the left is that fateful picture in San Antonio from June, 2008, and the much nicer one on the right was taken on October 11. Measurements matter people! Take pictures! Document that journey!!!!





The meeting this week dealt with Weight Watchers’ Good Health Guidelines. This is a two-part meeting, so we handled half of them this week, more specifically the ones dealing with dairy, whole grains, protein and fruits & veggies. The first attachment this week goes into this at length. The basic guidelines are as follows:

* Dairy – 2 servings and they should be low fat or fat free. You should have three servings if you are a nursing mom, over 50 or over 250 pounds.

* Whole Grains – Choose them when possible! Get these through whole grain rice, breads, pastas, cereal and grains.

* Fruits and Veggies – At least 5 servings per day, if over 350 lbs, eat 9. A servings consists of ½ cup off fruits and vegetables with the exception of green leafy vegetables. This serving size is 1 cup

* Protein – a serving consists of 3 ounces. Shoot for 1 –2 servings per day of lean protein, like lean meats, skinless poultry, fish, beans, soy products and lentils.


The attachments this week are as follows:


1. Guidelines to Good Health deals with the meeting topic for this week and next week. There are recipes in there as well! Link:
2. Decode your Cravings – What are you REALLY hungry for???
Link:
3. 10 Worst Restaurant Salads - This one is really eye opening people. Definitely give this a read, then think twice about what you are ordering!
Link:
A closing quote--

“Success is nothing more
than a few simple disciplines
practiced every day.”
-Johh Rohn


RECIPES:

Seven-Layer Southwestern Salad

This was one of the dishes served at a Pampered Chef party that I held at the end of September. I am providing the recipe as prepared, as it is a relatively healthy dish, coming in at 4 POINTS® for a nice serving of the salad. If you swap out fat free Greek yogurt 1 for 1 with the sour cream, you will decrease the POINTS® by 1 per serving, bringing it to 3. I also omitted the corn chips, which in my humble opinion weren’t needed!

Yield: 8 servings at a POINTS® Value of 4 per serving.

Ingredients:
1 ½ cups sour cream (see note above about swapping for fat-free Greek yogurt!)
¾ cup thick and chunky salsa
1 can (15 ounces) black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large green bell pepper, diced
2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced
½ cup thinly sliced green onions with tops
1 head of Romaine lettuce, torn into bite size pieces
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
8 oz chicken tenders

In a small bowl, combine sour cream (or yogurt) and salsa; mix well and set aside. In a nonstick sauté pan sprayed with nonstick cooking spray, sauté chicken tenders until juices run clear, about 15 minutes. Turn about halfway through cook time. Slice into bite size pieces and set aside.

Drain and rinse beans. Dice bell pepper and tomatoes; thinly slice green onions. Layer beans, bell pepper, lettuce, tomatoes green onions and chicken in a large bowl.

Sprinkle cheese over top. Serve with the dressing on the side.


Oh-My-Gosh Egg-White Omelet
Adapted from the “Eat Clean Diet Cookbook”

Egg whites provide a nearly perfect protein source. They take on the flavors of your favorite ingredients. Here’s a great way to get creative with your morning meal.

Yields 1 serving at 4 POINTS®

Ingredients:

4 -5 egg whites (or 1/3 to 1/2 cup of egg substitute)
1 egg yolk (can omit if using egg substitute)
2 Tbsp skim milk
1 plum tomato, chopped
1 small clove garlic, passed through a press
1 handful shredded spinach
1 Tbsp minced purple onion
Nonstick cooking spray

Directions:

1. Beat egg whites with the yolk and skim milk.

2. Quick sauté the veggies, until just soft

3. Pour eggs into small frying pan coated with cooking spray. Cook till firm. Add veggies to one half of omelet, then fold other half over top. Let sit for 30 seconds or so, then serve

Tip:  Serve for breakfast, lunch or dinner. This is a simple superb meal not to be missed! Make one in advance to pack in your cooler. Sandwich it in a pita wrap (or gluten free wrap of choice) and have it for lunch. Reach for this as a late supper idea as well!

Nutrition as prepared above: Calories: 203; Protein 20g; Carbohydrate: 18g; Fiber: 2g; Sugars 8g; Fat: 5g; Sodium: 272 mg. Note that the point count will decrease with the use of Egg Beaters rather than the shell-eggs. This meal will be 1 point in total if using ½ cup egg beaters!

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