Another Pound Down! Weight Watchers and More Holiday Survival Tips

Hi All,

Well, it's after Thanksgiving and I weighed in on Friday, November 25, as promised!  Check out the video for the results and some helpful tips you can begin to use today.  You can also get my holiday survival tips below.  With all of the holiday parties and gatherings coming up more tips are definitely in order!

One of Weight Watchers' Tools for Living, that I use often is Mental Rehearsing.  Mental Rehearsing allows you to prepare mentally to act a certain way in real life.  It's a great tool for any situation.

According to WW, here are the steps you need to take:

1. Imagine the Challenge.  In this case attending a holiday gathering with many eating temptations.
2. Imaging how it "should" be.  How do you want to feel?  How do you want to react?  Keep these thoughts positive.
3. Now imagine yourself in the situation and your behaviors.  
4. Imagine yourself in a healthy way. Play it over again and again.
5. Use this technique over again and again for various situations.

My mental rehearsing looks like this:

• A party is coming up or other eating engagement. 
• Start planning for the event.  Contact the hostess, restaurant etc to get a list of what is being served.
• Plan your menu and calculate the points.  Remember to practice portion control and/or allocate additional points for the event.  Plan your week in advance!
• Imagine yourself in the situation, keeping your menu in mind.  Imagine enjoying your menu, as planned.
• Have an exit strategy to get away from the food, if at a party. (ie. go to another room to socialize rather than socializing around the food or dessert table).
• Be sure to also imagine having a great time and being satisfied.
• Replay the situation again and again.  
• Keep ALL self talk positive.
• Go enJOY your event and weigh in with a LOSS!

Stay tuned for my easy, pizza idea for only 5 Points Plus!  YUM!

Have a Happy, Healthy WEEK!

Weight Watchers - Holiday Survival Tips

Hello All,


I've weighed in for the week!  Want to know the results?  Watch the video and get some great tips for tips for making it through the holiday without a gain or just check out the tips below!

Tips for surviving the Thanksgiving Holiday withOUT a gain!

• Set your goal.  Decide what you want to do: gain, lose or stay the same.  Write it down!
• Plan your work. Work your plan.
• Know what is being served for dinner.  Get the points plus values for the items you plan to have.  See below for a few of the traditional Thanksgiving Feast Foods.
• Save your extra points for Thanksgiving Day.
• Remember it is just another day, another meal.  You don't have to eat the WHOLE thing.
• Get up and take a walk. Go for a jog.  Exercise to gain some activity points.
• Focus on friends and family and the time you have together, NOT the food.
• Get busy..dance(my favorite), play, laugh, share.
• Have fun!

To help you get started here are a few of Points Plus Values for some of the traditional Thanksgiving Feast Foods:

• 1/2 cup of stuffing- 5 points plus
• 4 ounces of turkey – 4 points plus
• 1/4 cup gravy – 3 points plus
• 1/2 cup mashed potatoes – 3 points plus
• 1/2 cup sweet potato souffle – 5 points plus
• 1 cup Green Bean Casserole – 6 points plus
• 1/8 slice of Pumpkin Pie – 8 points plus
• 1/8 slice of Apple Pie – 11 points plus
• 1/8 slice of Pecan Pie – 14 points plus

Whoa!  Lucky for me...I don't like most of these.  I bolded the items I would have...really not a fan of the others.  I like my veggies as veggies..no casseroles or gravies.  If this was the menu served at my dinner I'd only use 18-22 points...and seeing that I LOVE smoothies for breakfast...I could quite possibly make it through the day staying within my 29 points range!  And yes, my points would include either a 1/2 slice or a whole slice of pumpkin pie!

Anyway, what fun tips and tricks do you use for getting through "eating" during the holidays? Share.

Next, leave a comment. Share with a friend.

Don't Be Tricked by the Treats of Halloween!

It's that time of year again, when little ghosts and goblins will grace your doorstep, with bags outreached and the sounds of, "Trick or Treat" will be repeated at every knock or ring of the bell!  Are you ready?  Are you prepared to make them smile with delight, as you drop in morsels of chocolate, lollipops, popcorn balls, candy corn, peanut drops, Snickers, M&M's...I could go on and on.  Are you ready to eat the leftovers?  Actually, have you already opened the bag and started to enJOY the sugary goodness?  And now you are starting to regret your choice and your inability to resist.  Do you do this to yourself over and over again?

Every year this is my story and it seems to start my holiday downfall into the abyss of eating sweet treats and big meals, only to greet the new year with a few added pounds.  This year I decided to make a plan and to change it up.  Who says I've got to giveaway sweet treats?  I LOVE Halloween and I LOVE seeing the kids and having them ring the bell.  However, I don't love the temptation of the candy.  For me, it's NOT an option to simply NOT participate.  Therefore, this year I'm giving away Spooky Crayons and Halloween Pencils.  Yay!  I guarantee...I won't eat that!  LOL!

There are plenty of fun alternatives to giving away those tempting, tasty goodies.  Here are few more ideas:  mini Playdoh containers, gift certificates for a free ice cream cone, fries or a drink from McDonalds, Burger King or Wendy's, a small plastic toy, vampire teeth etc.

And if you've just got to give away candy...don't open until Halloween, take the rest to work the next day or give it to a neighbor.

Have a Happy, HEALTHY Halloween!

My vegetarian Thanksgiving experience

Yesterday my dh and I attended our first ever Vegetarian Thanksgiving Dinner.  Many people think "healthy" when they think vegetarian.  However, I know better.  There is sugar, salt, fat, bread, bread, bread, cheese and more bread.  All the things that meat lovers eat, except for me.

Going in I was certainly concerned.  My normal eating consists of lean protein, fruits and veggies, with small portions of whole grains thrown in several times a week.   I had never even heard of a green bean casserole or broccoli casserole before moving to GA (I'm from Chicago).
To me casserole is the equivalent of no veggies at all, laden with cheese, fried items, salt, fat and breading...YUCK!  I like simple vegetables..no toppings necessary.   I thought to myself, it's vegetarian but you've still got to be careful about what you put on your plate.  Portion control is still important.

Whenever, I go to a friends house for a gathering, I always take a salad.  If all else fails I've got my yummy salad to munch on.  Once the food is served I scan the offerings, seek out the veggies and then make a plan to simply put a dab of the things I want to try on my plate. Afterall, I don't want to have to get up and throw the entire plate away!  LOL!

Anyway, here is what was on the menu: Tofurky with potatoes, corn with tomatoes and olives, carrots and onion, broccoli casserole, dressing, meatballs(non-meat), biscuits and of course, my salad.

Now, I must tell you that everything I tried was quite tasty.  So the vegetarian part was not bad at all...not having turkey was weird but we survived!  However, portion control was on the menu because I knew that these items could still be quite fat and calorie dense.

My choices: plenty of salad, a spoonful full of carrots and onions the equivalent of maybe 3 bits, a fork full of dressing perhaps 2 bites, 1 veggie meatball, 1 mouthful of Tofurky, 1/2 mini potato and 1 biscuit.  I did not eat the corn, or the broccoli casserole...I couldn't even see any broccoli????

To my surprise, as stated earlier everything was tasty, including the Tofurky!  Whoa.  The meatballs were made of Tollhouse Crackers, cheese, butter, eggs and then fried and topped with a tomato sauce.  Wow!  Glad I only chose one...but it was worth the try.  The carrots and onions had been soaked in sugar..tasty but again glad for that portion control I go in with!

I topped it all off with a 1/2 slice of 5 flavored cake, 1/2 slice of pumpkin pie and a chocolate truffle!  YUM!

Now, I say all of this to say, enjoying yourself doesn't mean you have to gorge yourself.  Be careful of fancy words and what you may "think" they mean, like vegetarian.  Practice portion control, always.  And be prepared, plan, plan and plan.  Knowing that I was going to indulge on Thanksgiving, I planned to put only 2-3 bitefuls on my plate of the items I wanted to try and I also went to a 1 hr Cardio Resistance Training class on Thanksgiving morning.  I enjoyed myself and went to bed...GUILTFREE and feeling good..no tummy aches in sight!

Happy Thanksgiving!!

Gobble, gobble!  Wobble, Wobble!  LOL!  Enjoy your day but don't hurt yourself.  Small bites make for great treats.  Eat until you are satisfied not until your tummy aches.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tips for a Healthy Halloween

The other day while walking through my neighborhood, I met a few neighbors along the way.  One neighbor had a large, opened bag of chocolates in her hand and asked, "You are so disciplined.  Can you take this home and keep it for me until Halloween?"  She thought it was too much of a temptation.  My first thought was why in the world was the bag opened already.  Not a good idea.  This made me think it would be a good idea to share a few tips for getting through the Halloween Hoopla that is about to ensue!  Here are my favorite Halloween Survival Tips:

1. Buy candy on Friday or Saturday of this week.  It'll save you on calories and on your wallet.  Deep discounts will already be in place.
2. Try buying candy you do NOT like.  Unlike most people who often choose candies they enjoy.
3. Give more candy to each child, especially has the night moves on.
4. Don't open candy until Halloween, just as Trick or Treaters begin to arrive.
5. Buy slimming treats. Treats that are easy on your waistline.   A few of my favorites are Blow Pops and Tootsie Pops, Tootsie Rolls and Jelly Beans.
6. Give out non-candy items; pens, pencils, crayons, mini coloring books, pumpkins or toys.
7. If having the kids stash around is a problem for you, have children pick their favorites and then give away the rest, share at school or in the office.

Have a Happy, Healthy, Halloween!