Whit's WW

Skinny Crock Pot

2011-11-15T10:02:00.000-08:00

So, have you seen them on Pinterest yet? I am a FAN! There are many recipes that fall in the SFT guidelines and I'm super excited because this time of year especially I love my crockpot! Go check out their amazing recipes today. :)

Weigh-in

2011-11-13T16:30:00.000-08:00

Well, I weigh-in on thursdays so I'm a few days late for this but I reached a milestone! I lost 4.5 lbs. this week which (finally) put me over 10 pounds as my loss. I'm so happy! I celebrated by buying myself some new exercise pants at Target. Did you know that they carry workout pants in lengths?! This is very exciting news, since I'm 5'9" and pants are always too short on me. The real question is.....will I put them to use as actual exercise pants? OR simply continue to use them as really comfy lounge-around-the-house pants?

Holy Hot Chocolate, Batman!

2011-11-09T12:03:00.000-08:00

I don't know about you, but sometimes I really struggle with getting in my dairy. I have to have 3 servings because I am post-hysterectomy (surgical menopause)... I love milk, but not skim and since I'm doing SFT, I don't want to count additional points for milk.

I brought this up at a meeting last week and one of my fellow WW friends suggested this amazing hot chocolate. Diet Swiss Miss (1p+ for TWO packet) - NOT sugar free (which is 2p+ per packet). In fact, you can add fat free Cool Whip to it and it is still under 1 point for two packets. Because it is only 6oz of water to each packet of hot chocolate, I always use two packets. I can't believe I can have delicious hot chocolate every day and get TWO servings of dairy, luscious chocolaty goodness and all for only 1p+ ... I love going to meetings and learning awesome tips like this one.

And Another 5 Gone

2011-11-09T11:53:00.000-08:00

Actually forgot to post that I'm down another 5 pounds. I'm actually down 17.8 in 10 weeks. Hooray! This is definitely working for me.

Introduction

2011-10-25T17:29:00.000-07:00

Hello all you Weight Watchers out there! I'm Megan and so excited that Whit has invited me to blog along with her on my weight loss journey. This is officially my fourth time to join WW. The first time was after I had my third baby and I was very successful in the loss department. At a 50 pound loss I was 5 away from my goal when I found out I was expecting #4. With that pregnancy I gave myself a little too much license to enjoy all the things I felt I had "deprived" myself from and gained back every single pound. Right after I delivered I went back to WW but had a hard time focusing with the right mindset. I had discovered ways to cheat and still lose before so I went in with the wrong attitude. The result was no loss. We moved after my hubby finished school and I joined up again online but found that I needed the weekly accountability of weighing in.

This brings me to where I am now. One more baby and a new attitude brought me back to where I know I will succeed. I've tried hcg, Flat Belly, Dr. Phil, South Beach.....I would lose between 5 and ten pounds but then lose momentum. I've realized that I keep getting on The Wagon which ineveitable caused me to fall off of it.

What Wagon, you ask? Why the Diet Wagon, of course. This is something my WW leader has talked about a lot lately. You see, WW is not designed to be a diet. It's a lifestyle. And if you join with the attitude that you are starting another diet, then you are virtually hopping on the Diet Wagon which is a short, temporary ride. But if you don't get on the wagon, then you are making the lifestyle change you need to reach your weight loss goal.

A Funeral

2011-10-19T11:46:00.000-07:00

I've had a horrible thing happen to me. My favorite blender has died. I guess I'm going to have to bite the bullet (no pun intended - mine is a Rocket anyhow) and buy a new one. I've used it nearly every day for two years so I feel like I got my money's worth, but I am freaking out because 3 fruit & veg and 1 dairy come from my daily smoothie! That's a big deal. Good thing I have Amazon Prime!

Anyhow, my smoothie recipe is simple. I put 8 oz of skim milk in my blender and add half of a banana. I put in a handful of baby spinach and some fill to the blend line with frozen strawberries and blend. Delicious and nutritious! FREE on the SFT or count your milk points for you Points Plus people.

The color should be this nice purple color. If it's gray, you probably have too much spinach or not enough strawberries. :)

Homemade Tortilla Chips

2011-10-18T08:43:00.000-07:00

I’ve had Mexican food on the brain lately. I grew up in AZ and sometimes I just crave chips & salsa. Not exactly a healthy option on Weight Watchers. UNLESS you bake your own chips.

What I do: Take 2-3 delicious corn tortillas (I prefer white corn) and use a pizza cutter to cut them into strips. You can cut them into triangles like the photo, I just think it’s easier to cut them into strips and I also prefer dipping/eating them that way. Put your tortilla strips into a bowl and drizzle your healthy oil on top of them. Rub the oil into the strips and put onto a baking sheet. You can also use cooking spray for this step. Bake at 450* for about 5-7 minutes on each side. Flip them when the top side has browned. They are done when the second side has browned and they are crisp.

For my hot sauce, I take some Pace Salsa (or whatever I bought on sale) & blend it (just in my blender) with some El Pato Jalapeño Salsa (you can usually find this in the Mexican food section of your local grocery store and it’s worth looking for). The more El Pato you use, the hotter your sauce, so pour it to taste. This makes for some yummy hot sauce!

Then I have a bowl of black beans with my chips and salsa and I’ve eaten a nice low point Mexican food meal! Points Plus values depend on the tortillas that you purchase. You can find tortillas that are 1-1.5 points/each. The hot sauce is FREE and the black beans are also free if you’re doing the Simply Filling Technique. Black beans are 2 PP for 1/2 C if you’re not doing SFT.

Craving Something Sweet and Chocolatey?

2011-10-14T10:14:00.001-07:00

I have been craving something warm sweet and chocolatey! So I hit the net and found this recipe on Dashing Dish. Oh my goodness! I thought I had died and gone to heaven!! These little 3 point sweeties are the perfect dessert or snack!

I had 1/2 a can of pumpkin in my fridge so I substituted that for the applesauce and I used fat free sour cream instead of the yogurt since that was all I had! I got 24 muffins from the recipe and I of course ate one right away, and I took 1 to my in-laws house to eat when everyone else was eating chocolate cake. I popped the rest in a freezer bag and I when I want one I pop one in the microwave for 30 seconds. Try breaking one apart on a plate (I like making it look like I have a lot on my plate) top it with strawberries and a little fat free topping!

Another 5 Bite the Dust!

2011-10-07T10:21:00.000-07:00

I am feeling so great right now! I visualized a specific number on the scale all week because I really wanted to get another 5 pounds star. Plus, I've had bitty losses every week for awhile so I really wanted to see that scale move!

It was amazing when I got on the scale and the exact number I'd been visualizing appeared there. I think I'll try this every week! Anyhow, I'm down 10.4 pounds in 6 weeks. I'm still averaging over 1.5 pounds/week (1.7 to be exact) so I feel really good about that. Still loving Simply Filling!

It Matters - or, One Reason I Go to Meetings

2011-10-06T15:26:00.000-07:00

Last night was Book Group. Book Group is at my house once a month and I love it. I have an awesome group of friends and they all understand that book group has very little, if anything, to do with the books. Love them all. Sometimes they bring treats, sometimes they don't. Sometimes I make treats, sometimes I don't.

But, last night almost every single person brought treats! It must be the chilly fall weather that inspired us all to bake because two people baked banana bread, somebody brought brownies - oh, somebody brought fruit. Weird. Anyhow, the brownies tempted me. I didn't have the points for a brownie. But a little thought came into my head. The thought was, "One brownie doesn't really matter. One brownie won't make a difference in your weight loss. It's just one brownie."

Suddenly, I was back at my WW meeting last week. My leader had mentioned a friend of hers who had lost weight on WW and her motto had been, "It matters." I thought, at the time, that motto was kinda weird. I mean, of course it matters if I lose weight. I really want to lose weight. Of course it matters what I eat, duh.

Ahem. Well, apparently the little voice in my head has been telling me for some time that it doesn't really matter what I eat. But it does. It matters. Even one little brownie. And so, I didn't eat it. I ate some delicious (FREE) plums, fresh off a dear friend's tree. I really hope I lose weight when I step on that scale tomorrow, but if I don't I still had a nsv* this week!

*nsv = non scale victory

Oh, if only!

2011-09-28T08:48:00.001-07:00

We all scream for ICE CREAM!

2011-09-26T09:35:00.000-07:00

There's a quote on the Weight Watcher website right now that says, "Nobody ever got fat eating bananas." SO true! I got fat eating ice cream!

In the month since I started Weight Watchers I have lost just over 7 pounds and I have eaten a lot of bananas. However, I have also eaten a lot of ice cream. Made the healthy way, of course! Here is my secret to making delicious ice cream with no added sugar or fat...

Simply take frozen fruit (I prefer either sliced up ripe bananas or peaches) and put it into your favorite blending appliance. This appliance needs to be able to really chop through frozen fruit. I prefer this little Food Network Mini Food Processor that I got from Kohl's. For one portion of fruit (i.e., 1 banana or peach frozen) you will add about 1-2 Tablespoons of skim milk or coconut milk or almond milk or whatever you prefer (you can add chocolate almond milk to the bananas - delicious!) and a dash of vanilla. Blend all of this until it is the consistency of soft serve ice cream. Add more liquid as needed.

You can add whatever you you want to count points for (or 0 points items like cocoa powder!) into your ice cream or on top of your ice cream. I just purchased peanut butter powder to add in with my banana ice cream. Mmmmmmm! Leave a comment and let me know what combination is your favorite.

This ice cream has ZERO points unless you add stuff w/points to it!

Winner, winner chicken dinner!

2011-09-24T13:25:00.000-07:00

So, I was thinking today about how few recipes I use on the Simply Filling plan. I just do a lean protein, some veg and fruit and a big glass of water. Possibly a whole grain and I'm set.

Easy peasy rice and cheesy... wait, maybe I'd better say instead, "Winner, winner, chicken dinner!" Lower points that way. :)

Grilled Cheese

2011-09-23T13:14:00.000-07:00

I love grilled cheese sandwiches. With some tomato soup (3pt+)? Mmm... If you use the lite bread and kraft fat free cheese slices and butter spray these don't count at all on Simply Filling. They are 4pt+ if you count points plus values. I had some fruit with my sandwich today and not the soup, but next time I'm totally counting the points and having the soup!

Five Pound Star

2011-09-09T13:33:00.000-07:00

Two weeks OP, 5 pounds down. That means I only lost .4 this week which isn't great. But, it's a loss so I'll take it. It was a points plus week and I definitely feel the difference from the simply filling week. Back on SF this week to stay!

Otter Pops - Who Knew?

2011-09-08T16:02:00.000-07:00

So, my daughter is addicted to Otter Pops. Really, who doesn't love them on occasion? So, we figured out the points - 0 points! Hooray! If you figure the info for TWO, then you have to count a point. But one Otter Pop for a treat = 0 points. Hooray for 0 point treats! :)