Hello all!
This has been another week of reflection for me. I was told that a very old and dear friend of mine passed away on Monday evening. This is the second time this year that I lost someone that I cared about. Every time something like this happens, I think about how fragile life is, and how important it is to take care of yourself. When Chris passed, he left a wife and two daughters behind. I think he may have been battling some demons of his own, but in the end, he is no longer suffering. You are given one body and one life. It is up to each of us to take care of ourselves. I am planning on giving the grim reaper a run for his money. We have all made a conscious decision to either get healthy or to maintain our health. Weight Watchers (or whatever plan is working for you) and getting active has helped me more than I can convey to each of you in this weekly newsletter.
Next on the list of stuff for the week…I was on my way home from the office and I had called Steve to let him know that I was on my way home. He told me that Morgan had tripped while playing kickball. The back story here is that Morgan broke her left wrist in a bicycle fall when I was pregnant with Adam. She got that cast off two days before he was born. So…back to present time. She tripped over the ball (don’t ask…we have been trying to visualize this one, and it STILL doesn’t compute!!!), and injured the same wrist. She ended up with another buckle fracture and is now casted up past her elbow. She will be in this long cast for 3-4 weeks, and then they will either cut that one down or recast her with a shorter one. Figured I’d toss in one picture for effect. Cool cast huh?
This was how my Monday went. Friend died. Wrist broken. Nothing else for me this week, please. OH…AND I was up 1.6 pounds this week as well. I was about to write this week off as a bad dream, but I remembered that something actually DID go well. The one thing that went rather well this week was month end. Somehow, I managed to get my submissions in by business day 1 ½. Not too shabby. This is the reason that my newsletter may actually get out this week prior to Friday. Plus I found out that our move to Irving isn’t occurring next Thursday as originally thought. Per usual, things were delayed. Not complaining, mind you!
Since the weather is getting nicer lately, I decided that I wanted to start my running outside again. Dwayne was nice enough to oblige me on Tuesday, and we did some jogging. I need to get back into this. I didn’t make it nearly as far as I had before the summer, but the good news is that nothing hurt, and it didn’t take me long to recover once I was done running. I also had to be stretched out pretty good after. I had the shin soreness happening after that run. We are going to take another stab at this on Friday. I am actually starting to enjoy it. Wow…I said it, and now it’s officially out there. Elissa Ducar enjoys running. How bizarre is that? I. Me. Miss-You-Will-NEVER-EVER-See-
I did get the opportunity to wear my Shape-Ups for a couple of days doing some walking and errand running. I will say that they are very cushioning to your feet, and they actually give you some height. I can also say that after wearing them for a day, I definitely felt it in my calves and I noticed that my posture was better. I was actually slightly sore afterward. I think I am going to wear these on my next weekend walk. Stay tuned!
This week the meeting topic du jour related to portion sizes. Here are some facts about how sizes have changed over the years. The chart below is really eye opening, and stresses the fact that we have to be continuously aware of what we are putting in our mouths on a daily basis. Is it coincidence that we should cut our dinner in half at a restaurant and take it home for another meal? After looking at the chart below, I would say NOT. When we halve our entrée, in some cases, we are getting back to what the portion size USED to be!
What works for me is keeping my measuring scoops and scale out where I can see them. I also use visual cues (palm of my hand, or a baseball) to help me gauge portion size.
| | PORTION SIZE THEN | PORTION SIZE NOW |
| Bagel | 3” and 150 Calories | 6” and 350 Calories |
| Cheeseburger | 330 Calories | 590 Calories |
| Spaghetti & Meatballs | 500 Calories for 1 cup spaghetti & sauce + 3 small meatballs | 1025 Calories for 2 cups spaghetti & sauce + 3 large meatballs |
| French Fries | 2.4 oz and 210 Calories | 6.9 oz and 610 Calories |
| Soda | 6 ½ oz and 85 Calories | 20 oz and 250 Calories |
| Muffin | 1 ½ oz and 210 Calories | 4 oz and 500 Calories |
| Chicken Caesar Salad | 1 ½ cups and 390 Calories | 3 ½ cups and 790 Calories |
| Large Movie Popcorn | 5 cups and 390 Calories | 11 cups and 630 Calories |
Let’s see what Weight Watchers has to say on the subject.
Zeroing in on the right serving size is essential to success at weight loss and maintenance, especially with often-huge restaurant portions. Being able to cast a practiced eye over most foods and guesstimate how much is enough will help you to eat with assurance anywhere. To that end, they’ve rounded out the idea of using common objects for comparison. Check out the categories that connect to your lifestyle, and you’ll have even more ways to get the perfect portion.
At a restaurant or hotel:
Tea cup = 1 cup of cooked pasta or rice
Half an orange = ½ cup of coleslaw
Small bar of soap = 1-ounce serving of cheese
Stuff for techies:
CD/DVD = large bagel or 1 pancake
USB thumb drive = 1-ounce serving of cheese
Pocket digital camera = 3-ounce serving of meat
In the office:
Roll of transparent tape = 1 small piece of fruit
Standard pink eraser = 1-ounce serving of cheese
2” x 2” Self-stick note = 1 brownie
For sports fans:
Hockey puck = ½ cup serving of mashed potatoes, beans, or ice cream
Golf ball = ¼ cup of nuts
Baseball = 1 medium piece of fruit
On the go:
Lip balm/lipstick = 1-ounce serving of cheese
Folding wallet = 1-ounce slice of French bread
Sunglasses = 6-ounce fish fillet
Have a great weekend, and I leave you with this quote from the meeting room board:
“You have succeeded in life
when all you really want is only
what you really need”
~ Vernon Howard, Teacher/philosopher
RECIPES
Skillet Fish with Quick Corn Relish
This dish was the Coach’s Choice Entrée this past Wednesday. This was absolutely incredible, and I wanted to pass along some of the goodness to you!
Yield: 4 GENEROUS servings at a POINTS® Value of 4 per serving.
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Start to Finish: 15 minutes
Relish:
1 can (11 oz) whole kernel corn with red and green peppers, drained, rinsed
2 medium green onions, sliced (2 tablespoons)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon lime juice
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Fish:
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/8 teaspoon pepper
4 cod or halibut fillets (1 lb)
Ingredients:
1. In medium bowl, mix relish ingredients; set aside.
2. In small bowl, mix 1/4 teaspoon cumin and the pepper; sprinkle on both sides of each fish fillet.
3. Heat 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add fish; cook 5 to 8 minutes, turning once, until fish flakes
easily with fork. Serve fish with relish.
Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories 180 (Calories from Fat 20); Total Fat 2g (Saturated Fat 0g, Trans Fat 0g); Cholesterol 60mg;
Sodium 350mg; Total Carbohydrate 16g (Dietary Fiber 1g, Sugars 6g); Protein 23g Percent Daily Value*: Vitamin A
2%; Vitamin C 4%; Calcium 2%; Iron 4% Exchanges: 1 Starch; 0 Other Carbohydrate; 0 Vegetable; 3 Very Lean
Chicken Fajita Casserole
This dish was another that came about when trying to see what to do with some fajita seasoned chicken breast that I had picked up at the grocery store. To be quite honest, I was too lazy to do fajitas, so I did the next best thing! Made a casserole out of it. Thanks to Betty Crocker for the suggestion. Of course I adapted it to suit my tastes!
Yield: 8 GENEROUS servings at a POINTS® Value of 7 per serving.
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Total Cook Time: 1 hr 15 minutes
Ingredients:
1 can (16 oz) fat-free refried beans
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 package (1 oz) fajita seasoning mix
1 package fajita-seasoned chicken breast (like Kroger or Central Market carries)
8 whole wheat/lower carb flour tortillas for soft tacos & fajitas (6 inch; from 8.2-oz package)
1 bag (1 lb) frozen stir-fry bell peppers and onions, thawed, drained (I used two packages of ready cut fajita veggies— bell peppers and onions)
1 1/2 cups shredded 2% Mexican blend cheese
Instructions:
1. Heat oven to 375°F. Spray 13x9-inch (3-quart) glass baking dish with cooking spray. In medium bowl, mix refried beans, tomato sauce and fajita seasoning mix. Stir in chicken.
2. Spread 1/2 cup of the bean mixture over bottom of baking dish. Arrange 4 tortillas, overlapping if necessary, in baking dish. Top with half of remaining bean mixture, half of the stir-fry vegetables and 1 cup of the cheese. Repeat layers with remaining tortillas, bean mixture, stir-fry vegetables and cheese.3. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake 30 minutes. Uncover; bake 15 to 20 minutes longer or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before cutting.
Makes 6 Servings
