Weight Loss Journal

Weight Watchers Weigh in Day 1

I did my weigh in this morning for the first time in well over a month. 204.5-could have been worse since my latest eating frenzy.  Time to really make Weight Watchers work for me this time. After all, I know from experience that the plan works if you plan ahead, journal and stick with it.

I started my morning with a bowl of low sugar oatmeal (maple and brown sugar) for 2 points as well as my coffee (another 2 points for the half and half). I also sprinkled cinnamon on my oatmeal because it is supposed to help keep blood sugar steady.  I haven’t laid out my whole diet menu plan for the day yet but will probably have a diet smoothie for lunch and a frozen meal and soup for dinner.  Tonight I will post exactly what I ate for the day.

Last night was a bad case of insomnia so I am going on about 4 hours of sleep. Still, I am not going to use that as an excuse to eat junk food or fill up on soda.  I keep hearing about “eating clean” which I am assuming means less processed food and more whole food.  I probably do lean toward too many processed foods but over time I plan to incorporate more whole foods into my diet.

I think later I will post a before picture here on my blog and perhaps take a new picture each month (or every milestone).  Right now I think my first goal is just to get back in the 190s.

Well I am off to get some things done. I want to move a lot today even though I am a bit sleep deprived.  I really want to consider this the first day of the rest of my life and I have so many changes that need to be made. I really want to lose the weight and the clutter from my life once and for all!

Shopping for Weight Watchers Friendly Food

Back when I used to go to Weight Watchers meetings (almost 10 years ago) we were constantly reminded of two things to make the Weight Watchers plan work:  Always have a variety of low point foods to choose from and always write everything you eat down!  These really are important to succeed whether you are following Weight Watchers or any other diet plan.

Last night I made a trip to the grocery store by myself.  I like grocery shopping myself because I can take the time to really browse and read labels (hard to do with young kids in tow).   I did spend a little more than planned but I also stocked up on some sale items so next week’s shopping trip shouldn’t be too bad.

Here are a few items that I bought:

Diet V8 Splash.  I love this stuff!  I am not a big fan of using articial sweeteners in my food but will in my drinks because besides milk, we really shouldn’t drink our calories (huge waste of points).   The diet V8 Splash is made with splenda which, to me is much more palatable than other artificial sweeteners.  I also purchased some diet Oceanspray Crangrape drink made with Splenda.  This was on sale so I purchased two.

Boneless skinless chicken breast was on sale for $1.99 a pound so I bought a few big packs to separate into family size portions and freeze.  Usually when I make chicken for dinner I will cook a few  extra and add it to a  big salad for the next days lunch or dinner for the family.

I also bought frozen fruit and whey protein.  Whey protein powder  runs about $17 a can where I shop but it lasts me a long time if I average 2 or 3 diet smoothies a week.

I also bought some fresh fruit as well as some frozen vegetables.  They say that frozen vegetables can be as healthy as fresh; sometimes even more because frozen vegetables are usually frozen right after picking when they have still maintained most of their vitamins.

I  love tomato based soups and bought two more to try;  Select Harvest tomato with basil and zesty tomato bisque (each 2 points per serving and a good dose of fiber).   These were on sale so bought 4 cans.  If I really like them I will stock up even more the next time they go on sale.

I rounded out the trip with some low fat string cheese, skim milk and some light cool whip to try a new low point recipe (will post later).   I already have brown rice, ground turkey and whole grain bread from my last trip to Sam’s Club so I am now pretty well stocked up.   As for dinner tonight, I think I will make some low point chicken picante

Try the Momentum™ program from Weight Watchers®. Learn how to lose weight and feel fuller longer.

Weight Watchers Dec 1st Weigh In and Update

It has been 2 weeks and 1 day since I started the Weight Watchers Momentum plan and I weigh exactly the same.  Why?  Because  I didn’t follow the program like I was supposed to.  Everything started out well, in fact, I lost 2.5 pounds within the first few days but then I let the stress of planning for Thanksgiving get to me.  In fact, not only was I preparing for the upcoming Thanksgiving dinner but I had company coming and a birthday party.  Needless to say I didn’t plan very well and did a lot of stress eating.

For me, starting a diet a week before Thanksgiving proved to be a bad idea.  I do realize that I shouldn’t use the word “diet” and consider this a change in lifestyle.  After all, once I lose the weight I need to work hard to keep it off.  However, they say that it takes 21 days to form a habit so I am recommiting myself to losing this weight for probably the 100th time. Today is December 1st, a little more than 3 weeks away from Christmas.  This also gives me a little over 3 weeks to form some good habits.

There is actually one more thing that this has proved to me which is doing it on your own isn’t always easy.  I do have the Weight Watchers Momentum plan and my trusty points calculator but for me, the support is important whether it is offline at meetings or joining the Weight Watchers Online Program.  I am going to do what I can right now with my copy of the program but come Jan 1st I am joining the online program once again.

So today I am starting once again in the hopes that I can succeed taking things one day at a time.  After all Weight Watchers really is a good plan if you work it and for me, my downfall is not being prepared.

Try the Momentum™ program from Weight Watchers®. Learn how to lose weight and feel fuller longer.

Weight Watchers Update

Today is day 5 and I am happy with how I have done so far.  I have been using some of my flex points each day since staying at 27 points a day has been a bit of a challenge but having the extra 35 flex points each week does make it easier.  Read more…

Day 3 Weight Watchers Update

After 3 days of recommitting to the Weight Watchers plan I am pretty happy with the results.  I told myself that I wasn’t going to weigh in yet but I did get on the scale this morning  and see that I have lost 2 pounds.   Of course I know it is normal to lose weight quickly at the start of a weight loss plan but seeing the 2 pound loss was a good motivator.

I have been really trying to get creative with my meal planning.  For example, today instead of a typical sandwich I used 3 pieces of bread (very thin bread, 3 slices for just 2 points) and loaded it with protein to help satisfy me.  So instead of 2 ounces of low fat ham I used 4 ounces (2 points) along with 2 very thin slices of cheese (2 points), just a little mayo (1 point), and 0 point mustard, lettuce and tomato.  Here is how I assembled:

Bottom slice: mustard, a slice cheese, 2 slices ham, lettuce, tomato
Middle slice, a little mayo on both sides then topped with 2 slices ham, 1 slice cheese and more mustard on the last slice of bread.  Very filling sandwich for just 7 points.  Well worth it because yesterday I didn’t eat enough protein and was really hungry mid day.  Then I had a piece of ham and cheese without the bread which helped.  Today after eating that 7 point sandwich I went shopping all afternoon and didn’t suffer from any hunger pains.

On Friday I plan to make a new soup recipe which is actually supposed to be meatless but I am going to add some meat for the protein as well as pasta to make it more filling. There are some great 0 point soup recipes (did I mention that most vegetables are 0 points?)  but for me, I like soup as a meal and I need the protein and added pasta to keep me full.  I haven’t figured out the points yet but I know that it wont be more than a few points per serving.  If the soup comes out good  I will be sure to post the recipe along with my other Weight Watchers Recipes.

First Day of Weight Watchers Momentum and Weigh In

Today was day one of the Weight Watchers Momentum Plan and it went pretty well.. One thing that helped was having a low point dinner (Lean Cuisine). Here is my menu for today with my comments below.

Day 1 (Nov 16, 2009): Weigh In 204.5
Daily Weight Watchers points goal: 27
Points Used: today: 29
Remaining flex points: 33

Breakfast:
One packet apples and cinnamon instant oatmeal (2)
Coffee with 3 Tablespoons half and half (2)

Lunch
1 Serving Progresso high fiber tomato basil soup (2)
5 crackers (2)
Sandwich:
2 slices whole wheat bread, thin sliced (1)
1 1/2 teaspoons mayo (1)
Mustard (0)
2 ounces low fat deli ham (1)
1 thin slice low fat swiss cheese (1)
Diet V8 Splash (0)

Dinner
Lean Cuisine angel hair pasta and shrimp (4)
Diet V8 Splash (0)
Orange (1)

Snacks
1 ounce pistachios (4)
Brownie (5)
pumpkin dessert-recipe coming soon ( 3)

Total points 29

I am lacking fruits and vegetables; although the soup counts as a full serving and there is also 1/2 cup canned pumpkin in my pumpkin dessert. I did plan on having a big salad to go with my frozen dinner but didn’t get a chance to make it. I also ran out of skim milk (went grocery shopping yesterday and totally forgot it). With Weight Watchers you are supposed to have 2-3 dairy servings per day depending on your age and I don’t think my thin slice of light swiss and the half and half in my morning coffee count for much. I also shouldn’t have had a brownie but they looked so good before dinner when I was starving. I should have looked at the box that the brownie mix came in first because I didn’t expect one measly brownie to be 5 points (I made them for my husband and son and honestly thought that I would be able to resist).

I have still got a lot to learn with the Momentum program since I didn’t get a chance to read it all before starting. I definitely need to learn to eat more filling foods to keep me satisfied longer. I did really enjoy the Progresso high fiber tomato basil soup and will put it on my grocery list again. I also like the diet V8 Splash but will pass on the thin sliced bread that I bought buy the Weight Watchers bread instead since it is much more filling.

Tomorrow is a new day and I hope to do better. My next trip to the store I am going to get some smoothie ingredients again since it makes lunch time easy and also helps me get in at least one serving of skim milk and fruit.

Starting Weight Watchers Momentum Plan Tomorrow

I can’t believe that it has been almost 3 months since I have posted to this blog with plans of rejoining the Weight Watchers weight loss plan. In almost 3 months I have half heartedly tried losing weight with no real plan in site. Every Monday I wake up, weigh in, look for something healthy to eat, run out of ideas by lunch and am off the diet by dinner time. Lesson learned. If you are serious about losing weight you really do have to plan for it. Read more…