In His Image

One of my Weight Watchers leaders, Linda, emailed me a very interesting article from Spark People. You can check it out if you want, Improve Your Self Esteem With Journaling.

It made me think a lot about how I have a really hard time being positive when it comes to myself. I could encourage someone else in what they are doing, but when it comes to myself I am not so gracious.

I hope that you will read this article, maybe you do not need to work on this. For those people, that's awesome! I wish I were more like you. But for those of you who are more like me. Maybe we should take sometime to ask God to help us to be more positive with ourselves. After all we were created in His image!!God knew what He was doing when He created us and we have to trust Him to change us.

"God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them...God saw all that He has made, and behold, it was very good." - Genesis 1:27&32

Weight Watchers Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Weight Watchers Mini Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2 tbsp butter, softened
2 tsp canola oil
1/2 cup packed brown sugar, dark-variety
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 tsp table salt
1 large egg white
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
3 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips, about 1/2 cup

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375ºF.

In a medium bowl, cream together butter, oil and sugar. Add vanilla, salt and egg white; mix thoroughly to combine.

In a small bowl, mix together flour and baking soda; stir into batter. Add chocolate chips to batter; stir to distribute evenly throughout.

Drop rounded half-teaspoons of dough onto one or two large nonstick baking sheets, leaving a small amount of space between each cookie. Bake cookies until golden around edges, about 4 to 6 minutes; cool on a wire rack. Yields 2 cookies per serving.

1 cookie = 1 Point

South Beach Diet's Vegetable Quiche Cups

This is a great breakfast item. You can freeze and reheat them later.

South Beach Diet's Vegetable Quiche Cups

Ingredients
3/4 cup fat-free egg substitute, liquid
10 oz chopped frozen spinach, 1 package
3/4 cup shredded fat-free Cheddar or mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup green pepper, diced, can use red pepper as well
1/4 cup onion, diced
1/2 tsp table salt, to taste
1 tbsp salsa, put on top if desired

Instructions
Heat oven to 350F

Line 12 cup muffin pan with foil baking cups, spray the cups with the cooking spray.
Thaw and drain spinach - I wring it out well in my hand.
Mix the spinach, egg substitute, cheese, peppers, onions, hot pepper sauce, salt in a bowl.

Fill the foil cups with the mixture.

Bake at 350F or 20 minutes, testing so that a knife inserted in the middle comes out clean.

Remove from cups to serve.

* Quiche cups can be frozen and reheated in the microwave. Any combination of appropriate vegetables and reduced-fat cheeses may be used.

Serving Size – 2 cups
PointsPlus+ Value - 1 pointsplus+ for 2 cups
Points Value - 1 point for 2 cups

Broccoli-Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Broccoli-Cauliflower Cheese Soup

Ingredients
3 cans of Fat Free Chicken Broth
2 lbs frozen Broccoli-Cauliflower Mix
1 can Rotel Tomatoes
8 oz lite (2%) Velveeta Cheese
Instructions
Boil veggies in chicken broth. When veggies get soft, mash them up. Add rotel tomatoes and cheese. Stir until cheese is melted.

Makes A Lot! (I added garlic and pepper for flavoring)

Serves 8; 2 pointsplus per serving (serving is approx. 1 cup)

For Recipe Review, click here

A Healthy Weight

I have been on Weight Watchers since October 2008. I am finally in a healthy weight range!! Praise the Lord!! As of August 3, 2009 I had lost 70 pounds and I now weigh 155!! I am in a healthy weight range according to Weight Watchers for my height (125-155). It is really very exciting. This is the main goal that I have been working towards since mid-October. Now, according to the doctor and Weight Watchers I can keep losing weight until I am comfortable in my own skin. The lowest I can go is 125 pounds, but I don?t want to go that low. Right now I have set my goal at 145, but I might work towards 135. I will just have to see what I feel like when I get to 145.

This has been such a long road that it is really amazing to reach such an important milestone like this one. I never thought that I would actually lose all my weight. I hoped that I would, I longed for it, but I was never confident in my ability to change my life. Please don?t be impressed with me, I have not done this on my own and it is only by God?s grace that I am able to say that I am healthy. He is the one who has changed my life and continues to do so on a daily basis.

Here are some things that have changed about me in the last 70 pounds:

1. I went from a size 18 to a size 8! As a result I have had to get rid of my wardrobe, because everything I own is too big for me. This is not a bad problem to have, but it means that I wear the same things over and over again. I can?t wait to be at goal and be able to build up a new wardrobe!

2. Over this process that is something else I have really come to love and that is running. Can you believe it? I was told that after my 5K I would become addicted to running races?well they were right! I am not signed up for another race yet, I think that there is a half-marathon in my future. I will bring you more details on the half-marathon when I have more information about it. For now I run on a regular basis so that I can lose the last 8 to 18 pounds that I have left before I reach my goal weight.

3. I am much more honest and open about my weight. I am sure that now-a-days I am too honest about my weight. I have become much more aware of my body and where I am at. When I have a bad week and don't exercise, I can feel it.

4. People are jealous of me. This is very weird for me to have people call me skinny, tiny, and some even say I have model legs.

I look forward to the day when I can post that I have reached my goal. That day is not today, but I can't wait for it to come. My perspective has changed, because now I know that I will reach my goal!

Change is good.

Hit a Plateau?

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on August 18, 2009.

So often in our weight loss journeys we hit brick walls (plateaus) But never fear...plateau rescue is here. Below are a few things that may be causing this plateau. Don’t give up you deserve to be skinny.

BREAKING THROUGH A PLATEAU WALL

10 Common hang-ups we all fall in to:

1. ATTITUDE – Who struggles with this? Attitude is everything-Be Positive

2. DAILY POINTS Range – Are you remembering to retake the quiz on page 15 of Book 1 as the pounds drop? This is very important for your journey! A changing body’s needs are different, a smaller body needs less calories.

3. GOOD HEALTH GUIDELINES - Revisit these and incorporate each one of them into your plan. The scales and your clothing size will move downward if you do this.

4. PORTIONS - look at these with a fresh eye. After following the plan for a while, it’s not uncommon to begin relaxing our portion sizes. Who’s guilty of this? So pull out those measuring cups, spoons, and scales. Who does do this regularly? How are they helping you stay on track? (plug in featured products)

5. TRACKING. Again, this step is commonly relaxed after being on the program for awhile. Commit to completing your Journal/tracker -plan ahead and stick to it. Who’s using the 3-month journal, e-tools, or the points calculator to track? How does this help you?

6. TOO MUCH TOO QUICK - A half pound to 2 pounds per week AVERAGE is a healthy pace, so don’t rush it. By losing too much too quickly, you risk the chance of burning muscle tissue instead of fat, which can reduce your metabolism and slow your weight loss.

7. MOVE MORE – If you answered yes to this you need to understand that you CANNOT lose weight by modifying your eating but NOT exercising, nor can you lose weight by exercising without modifying your eating. The two MUST go hand in hand. So get up off your toosh and move more!

8. VARY ACTIVITY – Unfortunately, over time, our bodies adapt to the same regimen, so consider switching it up and do something different. How can we do this?

9. BEWARE OF ZERO point foods. How many of you get tempted to do this? Remember, zero point foods still have calories and they can add up when put together! So reevaluate those 0 point choices. (Ketchup, diet soda, green beans, carrots, fat free cool whip, etc)

10. MEDICATIONS can affect weight by causing water retention and weight gain, so if you think this is the case, talk to your doctor about some healthy alternatives and solutions.

And this is just for fun…but oh how true it can be. One little slip up and we want to quit!
10 little Weight Watchers joining in a line,
One hates vegetables, and then there were nine.
9 little Weight Watchers say I’ve lost weight
One has a gain and then there were eight.
8 little Weight Watchers think this is heaven
One has a birthday, and then there were seven.
7 little Weight Watchers, enjoying the mix,
One isn’t having any fun and then there were six.
6 little Weight Watchers see how they thrive.
One said, "I don’t need to track", and then there were five.
5 little Weight Watchers beating at the door.
One weighed and left each week, and then there were four.
4 little Weight Watchers feeling young and free.
One didn’t want to exercise, and then there were three.
3 little Weight Watchers see how well they do.
One went on vacation, and then there were two.
2 little Weight Watchers, life has just begun.
One fell off the wagon, and then there was one.
1 little Weight Watcher standing all alone,
The body is so healthy and how the pride has grown.
1 little Weight Watcher, at goal and feels divine.
Each of us can be that ONE - and not the other nine!!!!

Controlling the Cravings

Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on August 11, 2009.

97% of women and 68% of men have admitted to having cravings. A craving is a strong desire to eat certain foods. Now this can easily be confused with an urge or a temptation. Cravings are the kind of things that eat away at your brain and all you can think about is eating that particular food.

Cravings can very easily get the best of us so…. here are a few techniques to help you bust down those obnoxious, relentless cravings.

• Distract it: If you think you’re having a craving, do something else for a while. The desire to eat may go away after 10—15 minutes. If it doesn’t, try another
strategy. A great example given was to give yourself a manicure…ha feels great and you can’t eat with wet fingernails.

• Fake it: You may want to eat a version of the food you’re craving that’s lower in POINTS® values.Instead of the chocolate cake try a weight watchers brownie.

• Feed it: If distracting yourselves and faking it doesn’t work, eat a controlled
portion of the food in a controlled setting. Try to avoid going to the restaurant because you will tend to eat a lot more…control it by eating at home.

• Dig deeper: If you become aware of why you’re craving a certain food, your desire for it may subside. For example, you may find it helpful to figure out if you’ve been too restrictive in your eating or if emotions are behind the craving. If feelings are the cause, realize that it’s usually better to face the issue head on.

• Ask what the craving implies: If you mainly crave a particular type of food (sweet, salty, crunchy), you may find it helpful to include foods of that type in your daily eating.A great example given was to eat carrots instead of potato chips to satisfy the crunch.