Happy Thursday all!
This week has a completely different tone for me than last week. I decided to make the most of a bad situation and reach out to my readers. What an outpouring of support I received! I also reached out to a girlfriend of mine in Orlando (we keep in touch via Facebook…go figure!) and we decided to use each other as accountability partners. We started this week communicating on how it was going with the exercising, weighing, and eating via a message string. I also changed my attitude and started to REALLY utilize all of the features of the online tracker, including the hunger signals. I have been making an honest effort to drink more (which consequently, results in more trips to the ladies room!!!!) I added a couple of more friends to my Weight Watchers stash of friends (always looking for someone else to help or rely upon for support) and may have located another accountability partner in the process.
One of the other things that I did this week was really keep track of my hunger signals. You know the charts on the tracker that talk to the degree of hunger before and after meals. There is also a similar feature on e-Tools that does the same thing. Every night from time immemorial, I’d have a snack of popcorn during my evening television shows. Not once during those snacks (and I want to preface this by telling all of you that these are the MINI BAGS of the popcorn that has 3 PointsPlus per bag, so it’s not like a binge) did I ever see if I was actually HUNGRY during that snack. It was done out of habit. Well, since I started being mindful of those signals, I was able to cut out the evening snack for the better part of the last two weeks. I think that helped contribute to my success over the last little bit.
This week was good in that I also held true to sticking to my activity regimen. I got happily beat upon by Coach Jenna. LUNGE and SQUAT must have been tattooed on my forehead this week, because that’s what she seemed to focus on. My bottom half is not happy, but the workouts ROCKED. Curtsey lunges, split squats, sumo lunges, back lunges, side lunges…you name it…she inflicted it! I also am going to ask her to work more abs into the regimen. I think that I am almost back to where I was when I moved offices in November.
Well…I am happy to say that the up week I had the week before was negated by my loss this week. I lost 3 pounds (still in the red, but working in the right direction) and I am ecstatic!!! I think once I reestablish my focus, I can get back in the game. Already on my way, apparently!
For those of you wondering about my New Year’s Resolution regarding doing monthly races, I am happy to report that all is alive and well on that front. January, February and March are in the history books. In April, coming up on the 30th is the Central Market Thrill of the Grill 5K race, and I will be participating in that one. The best part? Breakfast afterward! Moving on to May, I have two scheduled. May 1st (yeah…I know..back to back races!) is the Heels and Hills 10K in Irving and on May 22nd Heels and Hills is hosting the Walk-It! Challenge race in Irving as well. I will be participating there too! This will be the third charm I receive from Weight Watchers for doing the challenge. I will keep you all informed on the races for the second half of the year. I also extend an invitation for each of you to join us in any of those races. Additionally, if any of you hear of any cool races coming up, feel free to drop me an email and I will put the word out. Our stand-by races for the last half of the year will always be the FWRC races, held at Trinity Park in Ft. Worth. They usually do one a month on Sundays. I will still check the boards and see what else is out there.
This week we talked about tracking, and the things that help make it easier. Do you identify with any of these types of trackers?
- Socialite – this breed of tracker tracks everything except for party food
- Weeker – this breed of tracker is wonderful from Monday to Friday. Weekends? Not so much
- Traveler – this breed of tracker travels quite a bit for work and because he or she is a away from home, doesn’t track that food. Doesn’t count if it’s not on home turf!
- Unforgettable – I remember everything I eat. Will track it later. Have you ever really TRIED this??? Harder than it looks.
- Planner – Is great when he or she has control over what they plan to eat. If someone throws a monkey wrench in the mix, all planning goes out the window.
- Clicker – this breed of tracker has a mental count of how many points consumed, but NEVER writes it down
- Chewer – this breed of tracker tracks whatever he or she can chew. Nothing liquid makes the tracker
- Daytimer – this tracker is fantastic from 9 to 5. Nothing hits the tracker after sundown.
Any of these sound like you? If tracking isn’t in your DNA, try looking at your program materials for the Simply Filling technique. This is the one where you eat only Power Foods and track anything not considered a Power Food as part of your 49 Weekly Points Allowance. For me, what works is that I always plan for my dinner first. This gives me a baseline of what my PointsPlus are for breakfast and lunch. This is a method that works for me. Ask around. See what others are doing!
I keep forgetting to mention this…but I wanted to before I forget! There is a smartphone app out there right now for the Android-based phones called WW Scancalc, which allows you to scan the UPC code of a food and the app displays the PointsPlus Value of that food. I hear that the app is currently in production for the iPhone, but it’s not available yet. The website is https://market.android.com/
If you are in need of some great meal ideas for under 300 calories, I’d like to suggest the new Hungry Girl Cookbook “300 Under 300.” Many of you may know that I have a major girl-crush on Lisa Lillien. What great ideas this woman has. I have made several of these and they are all great! Below is a photo of this treasure. You can find this book for around $14 or so. Some sites may have it for less.
I hope that this week is wonderful for each of you, and that you achieve what you set out to do. Please keep a positive attitude. It really helps move you in the right direction. I am proof of that!!! Happy Passover and Happy Easter to all! Love you all!!!!
“If you plan to lose weight this week, plan to track this week!”
-Jackie Billingsley, Weight Watchers Leader Extraordinaire!
Recipes
Baked Eggs – Italian Style
Somewhere between a baked frittata and pastaless lasagna, this casserole is delicious with arugula salad or mixed greens. A nice change from having matzo every day during Passover!
Yield: 8 servings (serving size: 1 cup)
Prep Time: 8 MINUTES
Cook Time: 18 MINUTES
PointsPlus™ value: 5 per serving
Ingredients:
Cooking spray
4 tablespoons light olive oil vinaigrette, divided (such as Ken's Steak House Lite)
1 1/2 pounds peeled and deveined large shrimp
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved (I had yellow Sunbursts in the house, and substituted those!)
12 chopped pitted kalamata olives
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1 1/2 ounces crumbled reduced-fat feta cheese
Chopped fresh basil (optional)
Lemon wedges (optional)
Instructions:
1. Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 tablespoon vinaigrette and shrimp. Cook shrimp 3 minutes or until done, stirring frequently.
2. Remove shrimp from pan; keep warm. Add tomatoes, 3 tablespoons vinaigrette, olives, and basil to pan. Cook 1 minute or until tomatoes are thoroughly heated. Remove pan from heat. Add shrimp to pan; toss gently. Sprinkle with cheese and additional basil, if desired; toss well. Serve with lemon wedges, if desired.
I served this over whole wheat orzo, and it was absolutely fabulous!
Rigatoni with Shrimp in Tomato and Feta Sauce
This dish is one that I used to make a long time ago, and I decided to bring it out again. Very fresh tasting and light. Once again, our local grocery had shrimp on sale, so I had to indulge. Now I pass the spoils on to all of you! Enjoy!!! The photo below is one I captured of the shrimp cooking in the tomato mixture. I found this recipe on Epicurious back in the day, and as I always do, made it my own.
Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 15 MINUTES
Cook Time: 35 MINUTES (including pasta cook time)
PointsPlus™ value: 7 per serving
Ingredients:
1 large raw onion, chopped
1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil
2 clove(s) garlic clove(s), minced (medium)
1/2 cup(s) white wine
1 (15 oz can) diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (28 oz can) crushed tomatoes, undrained
1/4 cup(s) parsley
1/2 tsp ground basil
1/2 tsp dried oregano
3/4 tsp kosher salt
2/3 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
2 pounds large shrimp, shelled, deveined if desired, and rinsed
16 oz uncooked rigatoni
1 cup(s) crumbled feta cheese, divided
Instructions:
In a kettle cook the onion and the garlic in the oil over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until they are softened, add the wine, and boil the mixture for 1 minute. Stir in the tomatoes with the juice, 1 tablespoon of the parsley, the basil, the oregano, the salt, and the red pepper flakes and boil the mixture, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, or until it is thickened. Add the shrimp and cook the mixture over moderate heat, stirring, for 4 to 5 minutes, or until the shrimp are just firm.
In a large kettle of boiling salted water cook the rigatoni until it is just al dente, drain it well, and stir it into the shrimp mixture. Stir in 2/3 cup of the Feta and salt and pepper to taste, transfer the mixture to a lightly oiled 4-quart shallow glass baking dish, and sprinkle the top with the remaining 1 tablespoon parsley and the remaining Feta. Bake the pasta in the middle of a preheated 450°F. oven for 20 minutes, or until the Feta is bubbling and the top is slightly crusty.
