February Weight Watchers - The Skinny Valentines! - Page 3

[Hazel]

Thanks Ak and Jennifer!

Thanks for the info on Costco and laughing cow cheese! I'm loving that stuff right now!

Jennifer-I wanted to go to meetings but the times they had them didn't work for me. I'm trying to be accountable through other people-letting my husband know and this thread and stuff like that. So far it's working.

Can ground flax seed be counted as a healthy oil?

[muppet729]

Wanting to sub...

We are getting our house ready to put on the market so I have been CRAZY this weekend! Fortunately my dad has been here to help- especially with the children. I have managed to stay within my points by writing everything down. I hope that it pays off on Wednesday....

[CookiePie]

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

Congrats, Cookie!

Thanks Jennifer: I'm so happy that I broke into the 140's!!! I'm 149 that's only 3.5 lbs away from my pre-Disney vacation weight. I have lost 6 lbs since I started on Jan 5! I'm not as fit & tight looking as I was before Disney. I know it will come with hard work & time, but now that I've returned to the gym. I am also an "at home" WW following my old material in an attempt to save some cash. I have to say that having the support here helps me a ton. Also my best friend irl does WW on her own too, so we talk about recipes & share our WI's with each other. I'm not sure if I'd be motivated to do it if I didn't have her to check in with all the time!

Evening munchies:
I usually make a chai latte in the evening. I make it with loose rooibos & spices & I usually still have a dairy serving left, so I use a whole cup of milk, warm it up & get it nice & frothy with my emersion blender. It is so yummy & helps fill my belly. That usually does it for me. Once in a while (pms) I will have a TLC cookie for 2 points. They are a good size for a 2 point cookie. Popcorn or cut up veggies help when I'm in the mood to crunch on something. Trader Joe's Spicy Black Bean Dip is 0 points. So that is good with the veggies if I'm wanting a dip. Also I continue to drink my water into the evening, which I also believe helps me.

[Jennifer3141]

Cookie, I LOVE breaking into a new 10 pound weight range. I am so hoping tomorrow to be out of the 190s. I'm so happy for you!!

I looked really, really good when I got inot the 140s. I shouldn't be planning that far ahead but my GW will probably be between 138-142, somewhere in there.

I got to 146 last time and then ended up pregnant with DS.

[Maiasaura]

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

avoiding corn syrup as much as possible, CAFO meat, heirloom veggies and fruits

i know i probably know this, and i've been trying to work it out, but what is CAFO meat?

Originally Posted by akwifeandmomma

Evening munchies are the absolute WORST for me. I do fine all day long, but once the kids are in bed


I keep low-point ice cream (Dreyer's - or maybe it's Breyers fat-free is really good) in the freezer, low point hot cocoa mix (totally artificial, sigh, but it really fills that chocolate and hot drink craving... ) Low-fat Triscuits and Laughing Cow cheese is one of my favorite new snacks. Costco is carrying LC cheese now, 4 rolls for under $9. Sometimes I'll do popcorn or a Fiber One bar, or yogurt with ground flaxseed.

i SO kwym. evening is rough for me, too. i used to sit and eat a big bowl of ice cream with hershey's and sprinkles, and some ghirardelli 60% dark chocolate chips on the side...oh my, i'm getting cravings just typing it i do so love chocolate. and ice cream.
right now i've gotten an herbal tea habit at night. sometimes with honey but i'm trying to kick that habit, too.
i've got the cocoa mix, too. someone said on here once that even though artificial sweeteners are horrid, being fat is not good for one's health either, and i am using them sometimes for a temporary help. not much.
i do eat ff/sf pudding from jello, or sometimes ff/sf jello. i am trying those fiber one bars-- are there any that are not chewy? they bother my teeth, though they taste ok.
i'll have to find this laughing cow cheese and try that, too. we don't have trader joe's here.
and YES, yogurt. sometimes just a teaspoon of real maple syrup really gives it a lift! and i use wheat germ (my gramma used to call it fairy dust) or flax meal as well. sometimes even a Tb of hershey's syrup. it's not ice cream, but it's hershey chocolatey and cold and smooth

Originally Posted by CookiePie

I have lost 6 lbs since I started on Jan 5! I'm not as fit & tight looking as I was before Disney. I know it will come with hard work & time, but now that I've returned to the gym. I am also an "at home" WW following my old material in an attempt to save some cash.

Once in a while (pms) I will have a TLC cookie for 2 points.

i believe i gained a total of 4.2lb at Disney. hard to tell what was bloat and what was fat, but i've now got about a pound and a half to get to pre-Disney weight.

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

I am so hoping tomorrow to be out of the 190s.

i am at 196.0 this morning. i was at 194.6 when i left for Disney. i hope to be under 190 by...hmm, y'all think i can do it by mid-March?

[Maiasaura]

November 1: 198.8
by December 16: 193-point-something
gained it all back that week
January 16: 194.6
January 23: 198.8
today: 196.0

so...hmm, why don't i just use 198.8 as my starting weight?
my all time recorded high was 203 a couple of years ago. i got down to 183 a year ago September, when my gym abruptly closed, and i didn't get a new membership anywhere, and i gained 15lb in 13 months.

so:
Starting Weight: 198.8
Current Weight: 196.0
Eventual Goal: 140?

i'm 5'1" and 49yo.

[JTA Mom]

Congrats on the loss, Hazel & Cookie!!!!! And both are really big numbers too! Woot! ::::::::en ergy:

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

I'm also wondering if the amount of artificial sweetners I've allowed to creep into my diet is affecting me in not so good ways. I want to experiement by having a few days with no artificial sweetners and see if it is better, but I'm having trouble making it through 1 whole day without any!

Linda, have you tried Stevia? It's a plant extract, so it's a million times less processed than artificial sugars. It's pretty sweet, but it does have a different 'after taste' than sugar. Then again, so do all of the artificial sweeteners. Trader Joes carries 2 versions, one 'pure' extract and one mixed into lactose. I'm dairy intolerant, so I chose the 'pure' version. It hits the sweet spot without chemicals.

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

Linda, the artificial stuff is the one thing I disagree with WW about. But it came up in our meeting last week and I was fascinated to hear all these 50 year old grandmothers voicing their concerns about all the junk we have in a typical American diet nowadays. I wish WW focused on educating people about REAL nutrition, IE avoiding corn syrup as much as possible, CAFO meat, heirloom veggies and fruits which have flavor as well as more nutrients, etc. I agree that getting weight off quickly and safely is important but I can't help but wonder what kind of food revolution would happen in the U.S. if everyone involved in WW actually saw a video on CAFOs during a meeting. Would 15,000 people get disgusted and opt out of the current system? 50,000? 150,000?

Jennifer, I can't agree more! When I first did WW, I literally ate artificial cr@p to stay in my points. Things like artificial sweeteners, low points meat subs (the ingredient lists on those are crazy!), the egg white sub thingies (the one's that come in cartons), the 1pt for 2 slices bread (filled with corn syrup, soy, etc) etc etc. This time around I am trying really hard to eat whole foods. There's a reason eggs come with the yolk & the whites, and cutting out one doesn't make it 'healthier'. Kinda like removing the bran from whole wheat doesn't make it healthier. It can get really tough to eat this way on the points system though. It is cheaper to eat whole though, I must say. All the processed stuff adds up after a while.

There are a couple of (minor) quibbles I have with WW, one being artificial sweeteners, the other being the dairy & oil requirement. I don't think dairy is a necessary part of most people's diets. Evolutionarily only a few groups of people can digest milk, so why should everyone consume 2 cups? I had a WW leader tell me to just take lactaid. Umm, no I'm not going to buy some extra drug so I can consume something my body doesn't like, kwim? Plus, it doesn't work as well as the ads will have you believe. As for the oil, I understand having Olive oil in it, but canola? Then again, I'm kinda TF in that I don't think butter is evil, lol. But all minor quibbles.


Now, on to today's topic: Evening Munchies.

I make sure to have some points left over for it, like other posters do. I also plan out & know the points values of my 'needed' foods. For example, a whole hershey bar is 5 points. If I REALLY need it, I can squeeze in 5 pts, kwim? Also, Trader Joe's sipping chocolate powder is 1 pt for 3 tbs!!! It's super concentrated, so I usually mix 1.5 tbs of it into a cup of almond milk. So for 2 points I have a huge cup of yummy hot chocolate--no artificial anything! Before ds's allergy to corn, I was the queen of popcorn. Just by changing the spices I sprinkled on top I could hit my craving needs. Now I just bake Garbanzo beans instead, but it has more points than popcorn for an equal volume.

Oh, and I find having one type of treat each week helps! For example, this week I might decide to get some chocolate chip cookies. But it's the ONLY sweet in the house. Each week I can get a different 'treat', but I only buy 'enough' for the week. This way I discourage mindless munching. If I really want something sweet, then the cookie will interest me. If I just want to nosh, I will want some other variety, kwim? The lack of variety is good because I can have it if I crave it, but otherwise it's not appealing. Plus changing it up each week keeps me interested, lol. That way I don't feel deprived.

Ami

[emmasmommy]

Evenings are tough for me sometimes, but here are somethings I do to help:

I make sure I have a couple of points for something and have some popcorn, or grapes or some veggies and hummous or something else low in points. I don't think I will ever be able to not eat at all in the evenings as I usually am actually hungry.

I learned to knit - so my hands are too busy to be eating. Extra bonus, my kids now have all kinds of handmade stuff from me!

The biggest thing I'm struggling with is keeping the junk out of the house. If it's not there, I won't eat it! But dh buys it, and the kids get some treats, so there is stuff there.

My bigger challenge is afternoons at work. I sometimes get the munchies late in the afternoon, so it's hard to get over. Luckily my office is very small and we don't have a vending machine, so if I don't have it with me, I can't eat it - unless I decide to walk to the store.

[Jennifer3141]

Feeedlots, Maia.

Ami, I'm having a hard time with the daily oil requirement. When I eat "healthy," I eat far less oily stuff. So there are many days when I don't have any oil except what is sneakily added to my food. What I should do is find a good quality fish oil or other oil capsules to take. Hey, now I have something else to research!

We are going to Chili's for dinner tonight. I'm planning on soup pretty much becasue I'm all fibered up from that dang shepher'd pie.

[akwifeandmomma]

I'm starving today. I've already used 25 points out of my allotted 31. It's only 1 PM.

That's not adding in my AP from this morning (45 min/moderate) or my nursing points (2 sessions today x 2 pts/ea...) but gah!

[Hazel]

Way to exercise Ak!
I think it would be hard to diet while nursing, since I am constantly starving when I am.
That's awesome Ak, good for you!

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by akwifeandmomma

I'm starving today. I've already used 25 points out of my allotted 31. It's only 1 PM.

That's not adding in my AP from this morning (45 min/moderate) or my nursing points (2 sessions today x 2 pts/ea...) but gah!

Yay on the exercise akwife! I hate days like those, where you've eaten most of your points but are STARVING. Ugh.

The only advice I can give is focus on lots of zero point veggies. If necessary, make a zero points soup & have a couple bowls. I just throw whatever random zero point veggies I have in the house into a pot of hot water, add a couple tsp of chicken bouillon & call it soup, lol. Hot teas. And judiciously plan out your points for the rest of the day. Like, yesterday, I knew I would eat dinner between 9-10pm (I had a late starting day). I knew it would consist of 2 hardboiled eggs & a cup of rice cooked in chicken broth. Plus a couple cups of decaf coffee with stevia. And so on. If I planned it all out, I am able to 'wait' better, kwim?


Oh, and I have a question for all of you guys. I made Turkey with Dumplings soup today. Other than the dumplings, the ground turkey and the pasta, the soup consists of zero point veggies. I plugged all the ingredients into sparkpeople recipe thingy & got 5 pts per serving. That's counting all the calories in the veggies. Did I do this right? Or should I only count the total points for the point-containing portions and then divide that per serving?

Thanks!

Ami

[LemonPie]

Can I join? I've been doing WW at home for the whole month of January and I've lost 13 lbs. I'm not ready to tell you all how much I weigh yet though : I have the old TurnAround program stuff, but it's working great.

I'm nursing, so I get 10 extra points. I'm also working out 4-5 days a week (at the gym and with my Wii Fit, LOL) but I'm trying to avoid using my exercise points unless I'm really hungry.

Anyway, this last week I've found myself cheating a little more and I need to get back on track.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

Oh, and I have a question for all of you guys. I made Turkey with Dumplings soup today. Other than the dumplings, the ground turkey and the pasta, the soup consists of zero point veggies. I plugged all the ingredients into sparkpeople recipe thingy & got 5 pts per serving. That's counting all the calories in the veggies. Did I do this right? Or should I only count the total points for the point-containing portions and then divide that per serving?Ami

I think it would come out about the same. The vegies have so few calories and so much fiber, they shouldn't be adding anything to the point total.

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

Ami, I'm having a hard time with the daily oil requirement. When I eat "healthy," I eat far less oily stuff. So there are many days when I don't have any oil except what is sneakily added to my food. What I should do is find a good quality fish oil or other oil capsules to take. Hey, now I have something else to research!

I really don't mean to sound like the WW police, but taking oil capsules doesn't count. The only way to meet the guideline is with pourable oil.

The amount you get in a capsule is very tiny compared with what you get in 2 teaspoons. You can still take capsules, but to be on plan you gotta have the pourable oil, too.

(I take flax seed supplements, but I get in my pourable oil everyday)

Originally Posted by JTA Mom

Linda, have you tried Stevia? It's a plant extract, so it's a million times less processed than artificial sugars.

The ways that I'm getting artificila sweetners are:

1. In my lattes I like sugar free syrup and I have at least 1 latte per day. It's one of my little treats.
   
2. In diet cranberry juice. I just don't have the points for real juice and I miss it. I eat lots of fruit, but sometimes just want a glass of juice. And the diet juice is sorta addicting. I can't seem to have just one glass!
   
3. In diet coke. I no longer keep soda at home, but I get it when we go out. I really hate ordering just water to drink. It's not fun. I like my little treat, and diet coke is a treat for me.

Anyway, I made it through a whole day to day with no sweetners! Yeah for me! When I was just having a little every now and then, it wasn't a big deal. But then I kept adding more and more, and now I think it's causing cravings.

Evolutionarily only a few groups of people can digest milk, so why should everyone consume 2 cups?

soy milk counts for the requirment. Studies have shown that people who consume diary have an easier time losing weight than people who don't.

As for the oil, I understand having Olive oil in it, but canola? Then again, I'm kinda TF in that I don't think butter is evil, lol. But all minor quibbles.

I've heard stories of women who went fat free and lost their hair!

I used to eat what would be considered a "healthier" diet in Mothing.com terms, and I was obese. I did "eat to live" and didn't lose any weight. Being obese is amazingly unhealthy. If what I had been doing had been working, then I wouldn't have tried WW.

There isn't a requiment on WW to eat fake food. It's just an option. Your points go further if you eat beans and brown rice and salad! If the way you WERE eating was working for you, then you wouldn't be trying something new. If you already knew everything you needed to know to maintain a healthy weight, then you wouldn't be doing WW.

Because I used to be one of those people who was very proud of my healthy eating habits but was carrrying around enough extra weight to put me at high risk for all kinds of nasty things that run in my family, I had to rethink what "healthy" means.

Originally Posted by Tiger Lily

I'm nursing, so I get 10 extra points. I'm also working out 4-5 days a week (at the gym and with my Wii Fit, LOL) but I'm trying to avoid using my exercise points unless I'm really hungry.

Anyway, this last week I've found myself cheating a little more and I need to get back on track.

I lose better eating my AP than not eating them. You might play around with it if you plateu.

[Jennifer3141]

Welcome Tiger Lily! You certainly do not have to post your stats if you do not want to do so.
You had a great bunch of losses for January too. Congrats to you!

I read about the oil, Linda. It's just not going to happen most days here.

Ami, I think you did it right the first time. How were the dumplings too, by the way? That's a favorite here too. Yum!

AKWife, maybe it's just a hungry day and you'll need to dip into your weekly allowance? I had those while nursing more frequently too. Tomorrow will be easier for you I bet.

[JessasMilkMama]

I was up a lb. this week! I am retaining water but this really annoyed me. I didnt stay for the meeting. The leader was like, "Was it the superbowl?" and I said, no! I was really good all week. I didnt even know the superbowl was yesterday until it came on

oh well better luck next week!

[LemonPie]

I lose better eating my AP than not eating them. You might play around with it if you plateu.

Hmm. . I'll keep that in mind. That's interesting, because like I said before, I 'cheated' a bit this week, and probably didn't go much over my AP and I did lose a little more weight than usual. I attributed it to the fact that I changed my exercise routine up a bit and added some strength training. In any case, if I'm really hungry I eat. My baby is only 4 months old and I don't want to compromise my milk supply

Thought I'd share a Jambalaya Recipe I've used a couple of times now and it's been a big hit here. I use brown rice instead of white, so I increase the chicken broth to 3 cups and of course the cooking time is more like 35 minutes. I also use turkey kielbasa instead of the shrimp and ham, and I think it would be good with chicken too. Anyway, 1 C is 6 pts. She has the serving size listed as 2 C on the recipe, but with the brown rice it's soooo filling there's no way I could eat 2 cups.

[Linda on the move]

Originally Posted by Tiger Lily

That's interesting, because like I said before, I 'cheated' a bit this week, and probably didn't go much over my AP and I did lose a little more weight than usual.

It's funny you say that. Before I made my peace with using my AP and WP, I had a much harder time being honest with my tracking!

[nina_yyc]

Evening munchies - well, there's always just going to bed really, really early. I have a 7 a.m. shift and a 2yo to nurse down, so that helps. I also keep a Lindt 70% dark chocolate bar in the cupboard - a square is only 1 point, what's wrong with a little chocolate? It actually helps me because I think "Do I really want to burn 4 pts eating this muffin, when I could be having chocolate?"

I did my WI today and I lost 2lbs and I am at 125!!!! Goal weight :

I am going to re-set my goal to 120 lbs. I am 5'3 and very fine boned and I still feel there is more to lose. I am getting my circuit training program redesigned and I will get my body composition checked by my trainer then.

[JTA Mom]

Originally Posted by Linda on the move

I think it would come out about the same. The vegies have so few calories and so much fiber, they shouldn't be adding anything to the point total.


Cool. I think I'll just do it the first way (plug everything into a calorie calculator). I know that we can only count 5 zero point servings of food a day. Any more and then we are supposed to start counting how much the calories add up. Correct me if I'm wrong!
The ways that I'm getting artificila sweetners are:

1. In my lattes I like sugar free syrup and I have at least 1 latte per day. It's one of my little treats.
   
2. In diet cranberry juice. I just don't have the points for real juice and I miss it. I eat lots of fruit, but sometimes just want a glass of juice. And the diet juice is sorta addicting. I can't seem to have just one glass!
   
3. In diet coke. I no longer keep soda at home, but I get it when we go out. I really hate ordering just water to drink. It's not fun. I like my little treat, and diet coke is a treat for me.

Anyway, I made it through a whole day to day with no sweetners! Yeah for me! When I was just having a little every now and then, it wasn't a big deal. But then I kept adding more and more, and now I think it's causing cravings.

Woohoo! Congrats on meeting your mini-goal. I totally understand why stevia wouldn't work. I though you were adding the sweeteners to coffee or tea by itself.

soy milk counts for the requirment. Studies have shown that people who consume diary have an easier time losing weight than people who don't.

I don't do soy milk due to a couple big reasons, one of them being the phytoestrogens in a highly processed food. It's also a fairly new food too, none of the cultures that use soy drink soy 'milk'--well, they didn't use to. I understand the calcium requirements & all. It's just one of my minor quibbles. I can drink the fortified almond milk. But it's the whole 'must drink milk' thing that kinda annoys me. As for the studies, eh. I think it's more of a way to force people to have a healthy diet, since milk will provide them with calcium, protein & vitamins, kwim?

I've heard stories of women who went fat free and lost their hair!

I used to eat what would be considered a "healthier" diet in Mothing.com terms, and I was obese. I did "eat to live" and didn't lose any weight. Being obese is amazingly unhealthy. If what I had been doing had been working, then I wouldn't have tried WW.

Oh, there's no way I was saying to go fat-free. Ugh. I did it for a while and it really messed me up. I think they add in the oil requirements because a lot of people (mistakenly) believe that all fat is bad to consume while on a diet, not realizing they need it to be able to use the fat soluble nutrients. I just stated that I'm sticking to their 2 tsp a day requirement, just not their 'it has to be pourable' thing. I don't think butter is bad, it just needs to be limited.

There isn't a requiment on WW to eat fake food. It's just an option. Your points go further if you eat beans and brown rice and salad! If the way you WERE eating was working for you, then you wouldn't be trying something new. If you already knew everything you needed to know to maintain a healthy weight, then you wouldn't be doing WW.

No, not required, but it increases the 'amount' of food one can eat for certain points. It's very tempting, for example, to sub artificial sweeteners for sugar, super processed fake meat for real meat, and so on & so forth. And yep, I'm eating lots of beans, brown rice & veggies to make my points stretch! I was just stating how tempting it can be to eat 'fake' foods that are low points but not really nutritionally dense, that's all. And I do know how to maintain a healthy weight--I need to track my food! lol I stated earlier that I eat pretty healthy (and well within the WW GHG), just way too much food & way too much added fats. Like, instead of one tbs of PB, I'd be eating 3.

Because I used to be one of those people who was very proud of my healthy eating habits but was carrrying around enough extra weight to put me at high risk for all kinds of nasty things that run in my family, I had to rethink what "healthy" means.

I'm like you in that respect too. I eat healthy, just way too much, hence the chunk. I've also picked up some bad habits from dh. I can't do calorie counting because I trend towards eating too little that way. Weight Watchers did all the initial figuring out for me in regards to 'how much' to eat. It's easier for me to see, on paper, if I'm getting in enough water, enough veggies, and am staying within my calorie range with the point system. It's also very 'unrestrictive' in that I can lead a 'normal' life eating this way forever, esp because I'm not cutting anything out.

Originally Posted by Jennifer3141

Ami, I think you did it right the first time. How were the dumplings too, by the way? That's a favorite here too. Yum!

Yay, I'm so glad you're also saying to do it the recipe calculator way. : I'm way too confused how to do it otherwise, lol. The dumplings were awesome! I cut out half the fat too, but they were even better, believe it or not! It's a basic 1c of flour, 2tbs of butter, 1/2 tbs of baking powder, dash of salt recipe, along with lots of dill, lol. I was worried that half the butter (1tbs) would make it 'weird' but it didn't. The whole thing made 10 HUGE dumplings (thank goodness for the baking powder, lol). No one noticed anything different. I'm going to stick to making it my new way too. I think I'll cut out half the pasta & just add more veggies next time too, to save more points without any 'pain' lol.

Ami