Here is a summary of my Weight Watchers meeting on March 30, 2010.
Who makes an AWESOME BUDDY?
Anyone you feel comfortable making the Journey with! It could be a spouse, a child, a neighbor, a member in your meeting, a co-worker, a best friend or a complete stranger from weightwatchers.com.
Many members found their buddies right in the meeting room-It is so much more than just a weekly meeting, so many beautiful friendships got started just because two people made their weekly meeting a priority!
It's our buddies that can pick us up when we fall, cheer for us when we have reached a goal, and are there for us no matter what the reason.
If you are still taking this journey alone I hope this weeks meeting showed the importance of a having a buddy!
If you missed the meeting or you are still unsure what it takes to be a buddy, and the benefits of having a buddy here is a brief list of what went on in all the meetings this week:
BENEFITS OF HAVING A BUDDY
Someone for support & motivation
Someone to support & motivate
Someone to cheer you on & vice versa
Accountability to each other
Someone to inspire & be inspired by
Satisfaction of knowing you are helping each other succeed
A dose of healthy competition
Someone to enjoy the journey with
CRITERIA IN A BUDDY
Someone with similar goals
Someone with a workable schedule
Someone with a similar level of commitment
Someone that has the ability to reinforce POSITIVE behavior and not be jealous of your success
It is hard to stay committed and motivated if your buddy is known to not stick with it!
As they say a chain is only as strong as its weakest link, make sure the links to your weight loss team are strong!
Find people you can share your goals with-come up with a goal each week to aim for, share that goal with your buddy or buddies-this will keep you motivated because you have all made yourself accountable!
Reward Yourself! Part of the joy of working as a TEAM is sharing success!
Research has shown that those that have a buddy not only have more fun on the journey but they lose more weight and keep it off!
Need a BUDDY???
You all have one buddy right here, just email or call me, I am here for YOU!
Buddy Up this week and watch your weight come DOWN!
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Weight Watchers Contest
Last month I received an email from my Weight Watchers leader Amanda. She wanted to let me know about the annual Weight Watchers "Role Model of the Year Contest". She emailed me the details of the contest and encouraged me to apply. I read all the fine print of the contest details and decided that it would be incredible to win a contest like this.
Last week I finally had time to sit down and write my 400 word essay. It was very hard to boil down everything I have done for the last year and a half into 400 words. I wrote several drafts of my essay and had editing done by my co-worker, Anna. After all of that I was able to write, what I think, is a really great essay.
This morning as I write this my husband is mailing in my entry. It would be really awesome to win, but the best part is being able to look back over all that I have accomplished. At the beginning of this journey, I never thought that someone would think of me as a role model. I guess that just goes to show you just how much everything has changed.
Spicy Barbecue Meatballs
Spicy Barbecue Meatballs
Source: NCBEACHES
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey breast or 96% lean ground beef
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2 egg whites
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed fresh garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce
1 can (8 oz) unsalted tomato sauce
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons spicy mustard
1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce
Instructions
Combine the meatball ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Shape the meatball mixture into 60 (1") balls, and place meatballs on the baking sheet. Bake the meatballs at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Transfer the meatballs to a chafing dish or Crock-Pot heated casserole to keep warm.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer over medium-low
heat just until hot. Pour the sauce over the meatballs, toss gently to mix, and serve.
Makes 60 Appetizers SERVING SIZE: 1 appetizer
PER SERVING: 24 Calories
0.2 Fiber
0.2 g Fat
Source: NCBEACHES
Ingredients
1 1/2 lbs. ground turkey breast or 96% lean ground beef
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
2 egg whites
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 1/2 teaspoons crushed fresh garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 1/2 teaspoons beef bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Sauce
1 can (8 oz) unsalted tomato sauce
3 tablespoons honey
3 tablespoons spicy mustard
1 1/4 teaspoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon Tabasco pepper sauce
Instructions
Combine the meatball ingredients in a medium-sized bowl, and mix thoroughly.
Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Shape the meatball mixture into 60 (1") balls, and place meatballs on the baking sheet. Bake the meatballs at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes, or until thoroughly cooked. Transfer the meatballs to a chafing dish or Crock-Pot heated casserole to keep warm.
Combine the sauce ingredients in a small saucepan, and simmer over medium-low
heat just until hot. Pour the sauce over the meatballs, toss gently to mix, and serve.
Makes 60 Appetizers SERVING SIZE: 1 appetizer
PER SERVING: 24 Calories
0.2 Fiber
0.2 g Fat
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Orange Jello Salad
Orange Jello Salad
By, Vivian Bartholomew
Ingredients
3 oz Jello Sugar-Free Orange Package, dry
8 oz Cool Whip Free Whipped Topping, room temperature
4 oz fat-free sour cream
16 oz canned pineapple tidbits, drained
8 oz canned mandarin oranges, drained
Instructions
Mix together Cool whip and sour cream. Then add the dry jello packet. Then mix in drained pineapples and mandarin oranges.
Chill - 3 hours
Servings 6; 4 PointsPlus per serving
Please note: My Mom always doubles this recipe.
For recipe review, click here.
By, Vivian Bartholomew
Ingredients
3 oz Jello Sugar-Free Orange Package, dry
8 oz Cool Whip Free Whipped Topping, room temperature
4 oz fat-free sour cream
16 oz canned pineapple tidbits, drained
8 oz canned mandarin oranges, drained
Instructions
Mix together Cool whip and sour cream. Then add the dry jello packet. Then mix in drained pineapples and mandarin oranges.
Chill - 3 hours
Servings 6; 4 PointsPlus per serving
Please note: My Mom always doubles this recipe.
For recipe review, click here.
Monday, March 29, 2010
Get Active!
Here is the latest email from Dr. Jacobs.
Easy Ways to Get Active
Your street has no sidewalks, your office is on the highway, and the gym isn't a stop on the way. We hear you. Plenty of people like you don't have easy access to activity. So you have to make it yourself. (With physical activity having more health benefits than a celeb has paparazzi, we don't accept excuses!) Try these simple strategies:
• Move your stationary bike from your garage (or out from under the pile of clothes in the bedroom), and put it in front of your TV so you can get 60 minutes in during your favorite show.
• Fidget! Find an excuse to move wherever you are. Clear the dishes. Stand up and walk in circles while you're on the phone. Walk over and talk to coworkers instead of IM-ing them.
• Keep a set of dumbbells at work, and do an upper-body exercise for 30 seconds when the clock hits the hour. Or every time your boss says, "We need to control costs," drop and do 20 push-ups. Military style. Okay . . . after 2 months, do them military style. You'd be surprised how much you can do when you are persistent.
• Do this ab exercise while you work, ride the elevator, wait in line, and walk: Pretend the top of your head is being pulled by a string to the ceiling. Then, squeeze your butt and suck in your belly button - hold that position as long as you can.
Easy Ways to Get Active
Your street has no sidewalks, your office is on the highway, and the gym isn't a stop on the way. We hear you. Plenty of people like you don't have easy access to activity. So you have to make it yourself. (With physical activity having more health benefits than a celeb has paparazzi, we don't accept excuses!) Try these simple strategies:
• Move your stationary bike from your garage (or out from under the pile of clothes in the bedroom), and put it in front of your TV so you can get 60 minutes in during your favorite show.
• Fidget! Find an excuse to move wherever you are. Clear the dishes. Stand up and walk in circles while you're on the phone. Walk over and talk to coworkers instead of IM-ing them.
• Keep a set of dumbbells at work, and do an upper-body exercise for 30 seconds when the clock hits the hour. Or every time your boss says, "We need to control costs," drop and do 20 push-ups. Military style. Okay . . . after 2 months, do them military style. You'd be surprised how much you can do when you are persistent.
• Do this ab exercise while you work, ride the elevator, wait in line, and walk: Pretend the top of your head is being pulled by a string to the ceiling. Then, squeeze your butt and suck in your belly button - hold that position as long as you can.
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Love Dare - Day 40
Love Is a Covenant "Where you go, I will go, and where you lodge, I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God, my God." – Ruth 1:16
Congratulations. You’ve reached the end of the Love Dare – the book. But the experience and challenge of loving your mate is something that never comes to an end. It goes on for the rest of your life.
This book may end at Day 40. But who says your dare has to stop? And as you view your marriage relationship from this point on, we challenge you to consider it a covenant instead of a contract. These two words sound similar in meaning and intent but are in reality much different. Seeing marriage as a contract is like saying to your spouse, “I take you for me and we’ll see if this works out.” But realizing it as a covenant changes it to say, “I give myself to you and commit to this marriage for life.”
There are many other differences between covenants and contracts. A contract is usually a written agreement based on distrust, outlining the conditions and consequences if broken. A covenant is a verbal commitment based on trust, assuring someone that your promise is unconditional and good for life. It is spoken before God out of love for another.
A contract is self-serving and comes with limited liability. It establishes a time frame for certain deliverables to be met and accomplished. A covenant is for the benefit of others and comes with unlimited responsibility. It has no expiration date. It is “til death do us part.” A contract can be broken with mutual consent. A covenant is intended to be unbreakable.
The Bible contains several major covenants as part of the unfolding story of God’s people. God made a covenant with Noah, promising never to destroy all flesh with a worldwide flood (Genesis 9:12-17). He made a covenant with Abraham, promising that an entire nation of descendents would come from his family line (Genesis 17:1-8). He made a covenant with Moses, declaring that the people of Israel would be God’s permanent possession (Exodus 19:3-6). He made a covenant with David, promising that a ruler would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:7-16). Ultimately, He made a “new covenant” by the blood of Christ, establishing an unending, unchanging legacy of forgiven sins and eternal life for those who believe in Him (Hebrews 9:15). Never once has God broken any of these covenants.
And then there’s marriage – the strongest covenant on earth between two people, the pledge of a man and woman to establish a love that is unconditional and lasts a lifetime. In marriage, your wedding ring represents your covenant vows – not merely commitments you hoped to keep but premeditated promises, publicly spoken and witnessed by others.
As you’ve read numerous times in these pages, keeping this covenant is not something you can do in your own strength. There’s good reason why God was the One who initiated covenants with His people. He alone is able to fulfill the demands of His own promises. He alone is able to forgive the receivers of His covenant when they fail to uphold their part of the agreement. But the Spirit of God is within you by the virtue of your faith in His Son and the grace bestowed upon you in salvation. That means you now can exercise your role as covenant keeper, no matter what may arise to challenge your faithfulness to it.
Especially if your spouse is not in a place of receiving your love right now, the act of covenant keeping can grow more daunting with each passing day. But marriage is not a contract with escape clauses and exception wordings. Marriage is a covenant intended to cut off all avenues of retreat or withdrawal. There’s nothing in all the world that should sever what God has joined together. Your love is based on covenant.
Hundreds of years after the prophet Malachi recorded these words, people are still wondering why God withholds His hand of blessing at times from their homes and marriages. “You say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been witness between you and your wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant … For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and him who covers his garment with wrong, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:14, 16).
Every marriage is called to be an earthly picture of God’s heavenly covenant with His church. It is to reveal to the world the glory and beauty of God’s unconditional love for us. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9 NIV). Let His words inspire you to be a channel of God’s love to your spouse.
The time is now, man or woman of God, to renew your covenant of love in all sincerity and surrender. Love is too holy a treasure to trade in for another, and too powerful a bond to be broken without dire consequences. Fasten your love afresh on this one the Lord has given you to cherish, prize, and honor.
Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go.
We dare you.
Today’s Dare: Write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home. Perhaps if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your wedding vows before a minister and with family present. Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God’s eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate.
"He has remembered His covenant forever." - Psalm 105:8
Material taken from The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick, copyright © 2009 by B&H Publishing Group.
Congratulations. You’ve reached the end of the Love Dare – the book. But the experience and challenge of loving your mate is something that never comes to an end. It goes on for the rest of your life.
This book may end at Day 40. But who says your dare has to stop? And as you view your marriage relationship from this point on, we challenge you to consider it a covenant instead of a contract. These two words sound similar in meaning and intent but are in reality much different. Seeing marriage as a contract is like saying to your spouse, “I take you for me and we’ll see if this works out.” But realizing it as a covenant changes it to say, “I give myself to you and commit to this marriage for life.”
There are many other differences between covenants and contracts. A contract is usually a written agreement based on distrust, outlining the conditions and consequences if broken. A covenant is a verbal commitment based on trust, assuring someone that your promise is unconditional and good for life. It is spoken before God out of love for another.
A contract is self-serving and comes with limited liability. It establishes a time frame for certain deliverables to be met and accomplished. A covenant is for the benefit of others and comes with unlimited responsibility. It has no expiration date. It is “til death do us part.” A contract can be broken with mutual consent. A covenant is intended to be unbreakable.
The Bible contains several major covenants as part of the unfolding story of God’s people. God made a covenant with Noah, promising never to destroy all flesh with a worldwide flood (Genesis 9:12-17). He made a covenant with Abraham, promising that an entire nation of descendents would come from his family line (Genesis 17:1-8). He made a covenant with Moses, declaring that the people of Israel would be God’s permanent possession (Exodus 19:3-6). He made a covenant with David, promising that a ruler would sit on his throne forever (2 Samuel 7:7-16). Ultimately, He made a “new covenant” by the blood of Christ, establishing an unending, unchanging legacy of forgiven sins and eternal life for those who believe in Him (Hebrews 9:15). Never once has God broken any of these covenants.
And then there’s marriage – the strongest covenant on earth between two people, the pledge of a man and woman to establish a love that is unconditional and lasts a lifetime. In marriage, your wedding ring represents your covenant vows – not merely commitments you hoped to keep but premeditated promises, publicly spoken and witnessed by others.
As you’ve read numerous times in these pages, keeping this covenant is not something you can do in your own strength. There’s good reason why God was the One who initiated covenants with His people. He alone is able to fulfill the demands of His own promises. He alone is able to forgive the receivers of His covenant when they fail to uphold their part of the agreement. But the Spirit of God is within you by the virtue of your faith in His Son and the grace bestowed upon you in salvation. That means you now can exercise your role as covenant keeper, no matter what may arise to challenge your faithfulness to it.
Especially if your spouse is not in a place of receiving your love right now, the act of covenant keeping can grow more daunting with each passing day. But marriage is not a contract with escape clauses and exception wordings. Marriage is a covenant intended to cut off all avenues of retreat or withdrawal. There’s nothing in all the world that should sever what God has joined together. Your love is based on covenant.
Hundreds of years after the prophet Malachi recorded these words, people are still wondering why God withholds His hand of blessing at times from their homes and marriages. “You say, ‘For what reason?’ Because the Lord has been witness between you and your wife of your youth, against whom you have dealt treacherously, though she is your companion and your wife by covenant … For I hate divorce, says the Lord, the God of Israel, and him who covers his garment with wrong, says the Lord of hosts. So take heed to your spirit, that you do not deal treacherously” (Malachi 2:14, 16).
Every marriage is called to be an earthly picture of God’s heavenly covenant with His church. It is to reveal to the world the glory and beauty of God’s unconditional love for us. Jesus said, “As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Now remain in my love” (John 15:9 NIV). Let His words inspire you to be a channel of God’s love to your spouse.
The time is now, man or woman of God, to renew your covenant of love in all sincerity and surrender. Love is too holy a treasure to trade in for another, and too powerful a bond to be broken without dire consequences. Fasten your love afresh on this one the Lord has given you to cherish, prize, and honor.
Your life together is before you. Dare to take hold of it and never let go.
We dare you.
Today’s Dare: Write out a renewal of your vows and place them in your home. Perhaps if appropriate, you could make arrangements to formally renew your wedding vows before a minister and with family present. Make it a living testament to the value of marriage in God’s eyes and the high honor of being one with your mate.
"He has remembered His covenant forever." - Psalm 105:8
Material taken from The Love Dare by Stephen and Alex Kendrick, copyright © 2009 by B&H Publishing Group.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Cool Whip Cookies
Cool Whip Cookies
Source: sewzy1
Ingredients
1 egg
16 ounces Cool Whip Free
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 powdered sugar
Instructions
Mix egg, Cool Whip Free, and dry yellow cake mix together.
Roll teaspoon size balls into powdered sugar and bake on cookie sheet at 375° for 10 minutes.
Serves: 36; 2 PointsPlus per serving/cookie
For recipe review, click here.
Source: sewzy1
Ingredients
1 egg
16 ounces Cool Whip Free
1 box yellow cake mix
1/2 powdered sugar
Instructions
Mix egg, Cool Whip Free, and dry yellow cake mix together.
Roll teaspoon size balls into powdered sugar and bake on cookie sheet at 375° for 10 minutes.
Serves: 36; 2 PointsPlus per serving/cookie
For recipe review, click here.
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