Journal entries for the month of November, 1999
November 18, 1999
Well, that week went by at the speed of light, as has this week - it is already Tuesday! I have about 12 minutes to touch bases here before I run out the door to get my 7 year old from school! I lost 1 pound this week - better than nothing! I sometimes feel discouraged by "just one pound" but I realize that it is moving in the right direction. Better than a gain, and those happen once in a while anyhow!
I was going to post my journal for the week, but I just haven't the time to do it right now -- If you read my journal from last week, you will remember that I mentioned, the first day was a BAAAD one! And it was too! I really pulled together at end and was glad to have lost one pound!
Since thursday is Thanksgiving day, I will be weighing in tomorrow instead - and this time I am nervous. It has been "that" week for me (you ladies will understand) and I have eaten myself nutty. I have gone a little over each day, so I am hoping to not have a gain. I am not changing my New Years goal however - I am still aiming for 160 or less on New Years!
For those of you who really love Thanksgiving, you may want to consider just letting yourself have the day, after all, it is only one day a year. And if you use your good sense (and have one piece of pie instead of 4) you will all most likely do better than you would have before you got on this road!
I will likely stay on program, since I have had such a struggle this week. (Darn those hormones anyhow - I just dont understand how they get us to do some of these crazy things!) I wish you all good luck over the holidays, and many blessings!
(Oh yes, the good news, a new study shows that people only gain just under a pound on average over the holidays, not really 5!)
November 11, 1999
Hi there all! Thank you all for the great email that I have received over the last week, as always I just love hearing from you! I try to reply to each and eveyone! (If you are reading this Kevin at Clorox, my emial to you was returned as undeliverable - sorry!) This week I want to talk about Thanksgiving! The holidays can be a stressful time for those of us who are watching what we eat, but I know we can make it! I also know that, at least for me, this is going to be a real struggle!
The first thing that we can do is plan plan plan! You can use up to 10 saved points at a time - so the first thing you need to do is save yourself 10 points to use on the big day! The next thing to do is to plan the other meals that you will be eating that day! Here is what I plan on having! For breakfast I will have a bowl of all bran with 1/2 cup of milk and equal to sweeten it. This is by far NOT the most exciting breakfast I can come up with - BUT All Bran cereal calculates as 0 points due to the high fiber content, and therefore can be had for 1 point - giving you a 2 point breakfast! What time of day are you eating? Is the big meal going to be early or late? At my house we are going to eat at around 2 because I have to go to work! :-( I will not likely need lunch then, so I am going to take a cottage cheese double (3 points ) to work with me since I probably wont need too much after a big meal! I will also bring a bag of the healthy pop 94% fat free popcorn - it also calculates as 0 points per serving - there are 2.5 servings in the bag - so you can have the whole bag for 2 points. That leaves me 31 points for the "big meal" after you add in the 10 I will have saved in the few days before hand. That is a pretty reasonable number eh?
Are you cooking? If so, try a few new lower fat recipes - no one has to even know this but you! If you aren't up for trying new recipes, atleast try to cut back the fat on the ones you already have. Try using Brummel and Brown instead of butter - This will save you 2 points per Tablespoon! Try using lowfat cheese (the pre-grated stuff by Healthy Choice is pretty good!) also low or non-fat sourcream, milk, whipped topping, etc to help lower the points in those recipes. Did you know that you can find nonfat condensed +/or evaporated milk too?? I have heard that instead of basting the turkey with butter you can spray it with the butter flavored non stick spray also - I have not tried this so I can not attest to its work-a-bility!
If you aren't cooking, you may have to just bite the bullet. Be aware of how many points things are, and offer to bring something that would otherwise be a high point item and make it lower! One regular slice of pumpkin pie without whipped topping is 8 points. (That would be for 1/8th the pie). Here is a recipe that lets you have 1/8th the pie for 3 points!
Lowfat pumpkin pie
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup low fat bisquick mix
2 Tbsp Brummel & Brown
1 can evaporated milk
Egg beaters - equivalent of 2 eggs
1 can pumpkin (the smaller size that makes just 1 pie)
2 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp vanilla
Mix all th ingredients together, pour into a 9" pie plate and bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until knife comes out clean. *** Here is a little tip for anyone who has ever struggled to get that pie into the oven without sloshing it everywhere - reserve the last 3 or so cups of the pie mix and pour that into the pie plate AFTER you have put it in the over - then it wont slosh everywhere! *** Yes, you may be thinking - there is no crust!! You are right, however the bisquick settles to the bottom and forms a kind of crust. And for 3 points I wont argue with that!!!
Here are a few helpful reminders of point values for those of you on the weight watchers 123 plan -
Regular pumpkin pie - 8 points for 1/8th pie
"My" pumpkin pie - 3 points for 1/8th pie
Whipped cream - homemade w/no sugar - 3 points for 1/4 cup
If you use "Cool Whip" use your points finder to discern point value, try to use the light or non fat version if possible
Other pies - I dont have exact numbers for this, but I believe the average is 10 points for a 2 crust pie and 8 points for a 1 crust pie (There go those 10 saved points!)
Turkey - light or dark meat cooked without skin - 2 oz = 2 pts
Turkey - light or dark meat cooked with skin (which sadly we wont be eating - right??) 2 oz = 3 pts
Mashed potatos 1/2cup = 2 pts
Gravy 1/4 cup = 2 points , 3 points if made with cream
Stuffing 1/2 cup = 4 points
Cranberry sauce 1/4 cup = 2 points
Small dinner roll - 3-4 points
Dont forget to "charge yourself" for starchy veggies such as corn, peas and most squashes.
I hope that this has been helpful - I have one last tip for you - no matter where you are, or how celebrate, whether you do a great job staying on track or end up eating twice what you have intended - count your blessings, know that you are loved, if by no one in the whole world at the very least by God Himself, and that even if you blow it on this one day, you can start anew tomorrow!
Chel Hi there all! Thank you all for the great email that I have received over the last week, as always I just love hearing from you! I try to reply to each and eveyone! (If you are reading this Kevin at Clorox, my emial to you was returned as undeliverable - sorry!) This week I want to talk about Thanksgiving! The holidays can be a stressful time for those of us who are watching what we eat, but I know we can make it! I also know that, at least for me, this is going to be a real struggle!
The first thing that we can do is plan plan plan! You can use up to 10 saved points at a time - so the first thing you need to do is save yourself 10 points to use on the big day! The next thing to do is to plan the other meals that you will be eating that day! Here is what I plan on having! For breakfast I will have a bowl of all bran with 1/2 cup of milk and equal to sweeten it. This is by far NOT the most exciting breakfast I can come up with - BUT All Bran cereal calculates as 0 points due to the high fiber content, and therefore can be had for 1 point - giving you a 2 point breakfast! What time of day are you eating? Is the big meal going to be early or late? At my house we are going to eat at around 2 because I have to go to work! :-( I will not likely need lunch then, so I am going to take a cottage cheese double (3 points ) to work with me since I probably wont need too much after a big meal! I will also bring a bag of the healthy pop 94% fat free popcorn - it also calculates as 0 points per serving - there are 2.5 servings in the bag - so you can have the whole bag for 2 points. That leaves me 31 points for the "big meal" after you add in the 10 I will have saved in the few days before hand. That is a pretty reasonable number eh?
Are you cooking? If so, try a few new lower fat recipes - no one has to even know this but you! If you aren't up for trying new recipes, atleast try to cut back the fat on the ones you already have. Try using Brummel and Brown instead of butter - This will save you 2 points per Tablespoon! Try using lowfat cheese (the pre-grated stuff by Healthy Choice is pretty good!) also low or non-fat sourcream, milk, whipped topping, etc to help lower the points in those recipes. Did you know that you can find nonfat condensed +/or evaporated milk too?? I have heard that instead of basting the turkey with butter you can spray it with the butter flavored non stick spray also - I have not tried this so I can not attest to its work-a-bility!
If you aren't cooking, you may have to just bite the bullet. Be aware of how many points things are, and offer to bring something that would otherwise be a high point item and make it lower! One regular slice of pumpkin pie without whipped topping is 8 points. (That would be for 1/8th the pie). Here is a recipe that lets you have 1/8th the pie for 3 points!
Lowfat pumpkin pie
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup low fat bisquick mix
2 Tbsp Brummel & Brown
1 can evaporated milk
Egg beaters - equivalent of 2 eggs
1 can pumpkin (the smaller size that makes just 1 pie)
2 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp vanilla
Mix all th ingredients together, pour into a 9" pie plate and bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until knife comes out clean. *** Here is a little tip for anyone who has ever struggled to get that pie into the oven without sloshing it everywhere - reserve the last 3 or so cups of the pie mix and pour that into the pie plate AFTER you have put it in the over - then it wont slosh everywhere! *** Yes, you may be thinking - there is no crust!! You are right, however the bisquick settles to the bottom and forms a kind of crust. And for 3 points I wont argue with that!!!
Here are a few helpful reminders of point values for those of you on the weight watchers 123 plan -
Regular pumpkin pie - 8 points for 1/8th pie
"My" pumpkin pie - 3 points for 1/8th pie
Whipped cream - homemade w/no sugar - 3 points for 1/4 cup
If you use "Cool Whip" use your points finder to discern point value, try to use the light or non fat version if possible
Other pies - I dont have exact numbers for this, but I believe the average is 10 points for a 2 crust pie and 8 points for a 1 crust pie (There go those 10 saved points!)
Turkey - light or dark meat cooked without skin - 2 oz = 2 pts
Turkey - light or dark meat cooked with skin (which sadly we wont be eating - right??) 2 oz = 3 pts
Mashed potatos 1/2cup = 2 pts
Gravy 1/4 cup = 2 points , 3 points if made with cream
Stuffing 1/2 cup = 4 points
Cranberry sauce 1/4 cup = 2 points
Small dinner roll - 3-4 points
Dont forget to "charge yourself" for starchy veggies such as corn, peas and most squashes.
I hope that this has been helpful - I have one last tip for you - no matter where you are, or how celebrate, whether you do a great job staying on track or end up eating twice what you have intended - count your blessings, know that you are loved, if by no one in the whole world at the very least by God Himself, and that even if you blow it on this one day, you can start anew tomorrow!
Chel Hi there all! Thank you all for the great email that I have received over the last week, as always I just love hearing from you! I try to reply to each and eveyone! (If you are reading this Kevin at Clorox, my emial to you was returned as undeliverable - sorry!) This week I want to talk about Thanksgiving! The holidays can be a stressful time for those of us who are watching what we eat, but I know we can make it! I also know that, at least for me, this is going to be a real struggle!
The first thing that we can do is plan plan plan! You can use up to 10 saved points at a time - so the first thing you need to do is save yourself 10 points to use on the big day! The next thing to do is to plan the other meals that you will be eating that day! Here is what I plan on having! For breakfast I will have a bowl of all bran with 1/2 cup of milk and equal to sweeten it. This is by far NOT the most exciting breakfast I can come up with - BUT All Bran cereal calculates as 0 points due to the high fiber content, and therefore can be had for 1 point - giving you a 2 point breakfast! What time of day are you eating? Is the big meal going to be early or late? At my house we are going to eat at around 2 because I have to go to work! :-( I will not likely need lunch then, so I am going to take a cottage cheese double (3 points ) to work with me since I probably wont need too much after a big meal! I will also bring a bag of the healthy pop 94% fat free popcorn - it also calculates as 0 points per serving - there are 2.5 servings in the bag - so you can have the whole bag for 2 points. That leaves me 31 points for the "big meal" after you add in the 10 I will have saved in the few days before hand. That is a pretty reasonable number eh?
Are you cooking? If so, try a few new lower fat recipes - no one has to even know this but you! If you aren't up for trying new recipes, atleast try to cut back the fat on the ones you already have. Try using Brummel and Brown instead of butter - This will save you 2 points per Tablespoon! Try using lowfat cheese (the pre-grated stuff by Healthy Choice is pretty good!) also low or non-fat sourcream, milk, whipped topping, etc to help lower the points in those recipes. Did you know that you can find nonfat condensed +/or evaporated milk too?? I have heard that instead of basting the turkey with butter you can spray it with the butter flavored non stick spray also - I have not tried this so I can not attest to its work-a-bility!
If you aren't cooking, you may have to just bite the bullet. Be aware of how many points things are, and offer to bring something that would otherwise be a high point item and make it lower! One regular slice of pumpkin pie without whipped topping is 8 points. (That would be for 1/8th the pie). Here is a recipe that lets you have 1/8th the pie for 3 points!
Lowfat pumpkin pie
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup low fat bisquick mix
2 Tbsp Brummel & Brown
1 can evaporated milk
Egg beaters - equivalent of 2 eggs
1 can pumpkin (the smaller size that makes just 1 pie)
2 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 tsp vanilla
Mix all th ingredients together, pour into a 9" pie plate and bake at 350 for 55 minutes or until knife comes out clean. *** Here is a little tip for anyone who has ever struggled to get that pie into the oven without sloshing it everywhere - reserve the last 3 or so cups of the pie mix and pour that into the pie plate AFTER you have put it in the over - then it wont slosh everywhere! *** Yes, you may be thinking - there is no crust!! You are right, however the bisquick settles to the bottom and forms a kind of crust. And for 3 points I wont argue with that!!!
Here are a few helpful reminders of point values for those of you on the weight watchers 123 plan -
Regular pumpkin pie - 8 points for 1/8th pie
"My" pumpkin pie - 3 points for 1/8th pie
Whipped cream - homemade w/no sugar - 3 points for 1/4 cup
If you use "Cool Whip" use your points finder to discern point value, try to use the light or non fat version if possible
Other pies - I dont have exact numbers for this, but I believe the average is 10 points for a 2 crust pie and 8 points for a 1 crust pie (There go those 10 saved points!)
Turkey - light or dark meat cooked without skin - 2 oz = 2 pts
Turkey - light or dark meat cooked with skin (which sadly we wont be eating - right??) 2 oz = 3 pts
Mashed potatos 1/2cup = 2 pts
Gravy 1/4 cup = 2 points , 3 points if made with cream
Stuffing 1/2 cup = 4 points
Cranberry sauce 1/4 cup = 2 points
Small dinner roll - 3-4 points
Dont forget to "charge yourself" for starchy veggies such as corn, peas and most squashes.
I hope that this has been helpful - I have one last tip for you - no matter where you are, or how celebrate, whether you do a great job staying on track or end up eating twice what you have intended - count your blessings, know that you are loved, if by no one in the whole world at the very least by God Himself, and that even if you blow it on this one day, you can start anew tomorrow!
Chel
November 4, 1999
Well - you know what they say about the third time being a charm? It had better be - because this is the third time this a.m. that I have written this page! The first time I accidentally deleted it, the second time my server kicked me off and it deleted it - so - here I am just ONE MORE TIME!
This week I want to "talk" about plateaus, but first I wanted to say a little about other people noticing weight loss. At first I was frustrated when people didn't notice - but now I have hit a point where I feel a little embarassed about it! (Not that I should at all). People I don't even know comment from time to time - just people I see regularly at the store or church. One gentleman at work really cracks me up - almost everytime I see him (once every couple weeks) he just shakes his head and says - "I just can't put my finger on it ... did you get new glasses? Change your hair??" It always makes me laugh! I sometimes feel like it is boastful and I dont want to really bask in it, so when people comment I have learned to simply say "Thankyou, I feel much better than I used to." I can't imagine how great I will feel when I have lost these remaining almost 40 pounds!
On to what I had wanted to yabber about - plateaus. I had quite a time over these last couple months - really battling for each pound. My weight watchers leader kept telling me that it was normal and my body was just adjusting to a new weight. But when I really sat down and looked at what had changed in the way that I was doing things, I realized it was more than just my body adjusting, it was me! I was falling back into my old eating and activity habits! I was suddenly terrified! I realized that pretty soon if I didn't fix things, I wouldn't be battling to lose each pound, I would be headed back up to where I started! Here are the things that I realized were happening -
** I had stopped drinking my water - 64 plus ounces a day - to drinking only a glass or 2!
** I went from trying to get my 20 minutes of "daily" exercise in at least 4 days a week, to getting it in only once every couple weeks!
** I stopped weighing and measuring my food - my portion sizes were growing, but I didn't increase the point value they were worth!
** I started taking bites here and there more than I had been, and (The part that made this bad) I stopped recording it in my journal and counting it toward my daily total!
** I stopped trying to eat a balanced diet - I wasn't paying any attention to whether I was getting 5 servings of fruit and veggies and balancing my protiens and carbs. I was getting mostly carbs and sugary ones at that so I was having a very hard time staying in my point range (without even counting all that nibbling I was doing!)
So, I think it is pretty obvious that it was more than my body adjusting - I was falling off the proverbial wagon - and I wasn't even realizing it! So, if you are struggling with a plateau right now, take a deep breath and really analyze what you are doing. If it seems too overwhelming to get all the way back on the wagon do it a step or two at a time. Decide to drink all your water, exercise 20 minutes every other day and eat 5 fruits and veggies daily. If you need a little support, feel free to drop me a line! You can do it! If I can, anyone can!!
I hope you all have a glorious and blessed week - with God all is possible!
Oh ya! I am posting a new picture of me down a total of 61 pounds! I had to start a second picture page, you can find it here!
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