Snack Girl to the Rescue

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I was so excited to have an opportunity to read, "Snack Girl to the Rescue: A Real-Life Guide to Losing Weight and Getting Healthy with 100 Recipes Under 400 Calories" by, Lisa Cain aka Snack Girl. I was pleasantly surprised to find the first part of Lisa's book, which is just over 100 pages, filled with encouragement and guidance to help people lose weight and get healthy. Lisa is a real person who has struggles with her weight and it's great to know about the changes she had made so that she can lead a healthy lifestyle. Lisa's tips are practical and anyone could use them.

The rest of Lisa's book contains 100 recipes under 400 calories. These low calorie recipes are easy to prepare and tasty enough to enjoy with the whole family. Snack Girl's guilt-free recipes also include nutritional facts which can be applied to any weight loss program. Personally, I cannot wait to make Snack Girl's "Do-It-Yourself Cereal Bars" for my family.

The only downside to this book is that there aren't any pictures. However, if you visit Snack Girl's website, Lisa has many more recipe ideas with pictures.

I would highly recommend "Snack Girl to the Rescue" to anyone who wants to read some true, real information about food and snacking from someone who's been there, done that.

I received a free copy of this book from in exchange for this review.  I did not get paid for this review.  Receiving a free copy of the book in no way influences the review that I gave.

A Shift In Focus

I want to thank you all for your encouragement regarding my previous blog post, "Is Weight Watchers Right For Me?"!! Your comments and emails are exactly what I needed to keep going. I guess I didn't realize just how much of a role model I have become to some of you. I'm not perfect, but I will continue to be honest and open about my weight loss struggles.

One of the main reasons that I love Weight Watchers is because I am allowed to eat anything I want. Nothing is off limits, as long as I have enough pointsplus. As I went through my initial weight loss process back in 2009, this was exactly what I needed, because at that time I was not ready to say goodbye to a lot of my favorite foods. Slowly, I began to make better food choices. However, I was still unwilling to give up a lot of the snack food that I enjoy.

Over the past few weeks, I have realized that in order for me to be successful I need make healthier food choices. I want to make the most of my food choices.

What does that mean? I am staying away from food like products and focusing on eating real food. As a result, I have not been eating snack food, chips, granola bars, cereal, desserts, chocolate, etc. My focus has become much more plant-based. I am eating vegetables, grains, legumes and fruit, with little or no animal products (including dairy).

I know that it sounds extreme. Let me tell you that this change in focus has been hard and I have had a few setbacks. However, I strongly believe that a shift in focus is exactly what I need to severe the cords between myself and the typical Western diet.

As I have begun to make healthier foods choices again, my excitement for healthy living has returned! I have even tried new foods like quinoa and chia seeds. I hope that I am able to share some of those new recipes with you in the not to distant future!

Lunch just 6 pointsplus! (black beans, brown rice, salsa, chia seeds)

Is Weight Watchers Right For Me?

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Ever since I gave birth to my second daughter, Sophie, I have struggled to get back on the Weight Watchers bandwagon. I hate to admit this, but I have contemplated whether or not Weight Watchers is still the right program for me.

For the past few weeks, I have been tracking my Pointsplus and leading my meeting all the while wondering if there is something better out there.

Last night at my weekly Weight Watchers meeting, I met two members who changed everything for me. The first woman was a new member. To my surprise, she already knew who I was, because she has been following my blog. I just love meeting people who follow my weight loss blog!! Next, I was introduced to a woman who has been a Weight Watchers Lifetime member for over 25 years!!

God used these women to speak to my heart about a few things.

First, Weight Watchers isn't just another diet. God has chosen to use Weight Watchers to change my life! I continue to be blessed as the Lord uses my journey to encourage others. I pray that my decisions to begin to lead a healthy lifestyle will trickle down into the hearts and minds of my girls.

Second, I was reminded that Weight Watchers works!! I gained weight throughout my pregnancies, just like I was supposed to do. However, I haven't let myself go and gain back everything I originally lost. I can't wait for God to give me a victory over my baby weight in the coming months. I hope that in 25 years, I can say that I have been able to maintain my goal weight throughout the remained of my life.

I feel silly now admitting that I was uncertain about Weight Watchers. Now there is no doubt in my mind that Weight Watchers is the right lifestyle for me!!

Have you been a Weight Watchers member for a long time? What will it take for you to be excited about the Weight Watchers program again? Do you believe that Weight Watchers (or your weight loss program) is still the right one for you?

Is It Worth It - Power Point Presentation

 

Back in April, I was one of the guest speakers at a local Weight Watchers event called, "Is It Worth It?". At the event I talked about how to transform your favorite family recipes into more Weight Watchers friendly choices. After all, that is what I do with my Recipe Reviews, here at Living a Changed Life. Let's go through the process together as I share some of my powerpoint slides with you.

First, you find a recipe that you like. It might be a family recipe or a recipe that you found on Pinterest. Either way, it is probably a recipe that isn't Weight Watchers friendly yet.

Next, I open up my Weight Watchers Recipe Builder in eTools, because this really is my secret weapon! I evaluate the original recipe, taking on item at a time. For Example: The recipe might call for whole milk, but you could substitute fat free milk instead.

Also, play around with the portion sizes, because more portions equal less pointsplus per serving.

While you are in Recipe Builder, don't forget to use the "Lighten It Up" tab. Weight Watchers gives you lots of great ideas about other ways to lighten up your recipes. For Example: Instead of using butter, you could use applesauce.

As you can see in the slide above, the original recipes was 6 pointsplus per serving. However, after it was transformed, it was only 4 pointsplus per serving!

Ultimately you must ask yourself, "Is it worth it for you to take the time to transform some of your favorite recipes?"

Powerful Lessons from my Dad

Last week, our prayers were answered and my homeless Dad finally made to East Texas!! It would take too long to tell you about all the many ways that God has been at work in my Dad’s life. In short, it is a joy to know that my Dad is sleeping in a bed each night and getting three meals a day. However, it’s just hard to know how to love and support him during this time. It is safe to say that I have shed a lot of tears!

Over a month ago, God began to ask me to see people as He sees people. Little did I know that God would begin to help me see life through my Dad’s eyes.

There is a negative attitude about homelessness in this country. I am not pointing fingers, because I was one of these people! I never wanted to give a homeless person money, because they might spend it on drugs or alcohol. I never wanted to pick up a homeless person, because they might be some kind of psycho serial killer. In my mind, I would look down on the homeless and just assume that they brought this upon themselves.

I knew God’s word said to “sell everything you have and give to the poor” (Luke 18:22), but the reality is that my heart was cold toward homeless men and women. Seeing life through my Dad’s eyes has shown me that homeless people are just like you and me!!

Let me make myself very clear, not everyone who becomes homeless has a drug and alcohol problem. Unexpectedly, my Dad’s life took a turn for the worst and he has not been able to get back on his feet. He’s not a psycho killer, just my Dad and my girls’ Grandpa and we love him very much!

I am not perfect, but I am thankful that God is changing my heart!! Every homeless person that I see holds a special place in my heart, because when I look at them I see my Dad. I want to help them, because I hope and pray that someone will look past the stereotype and reach out to my Dad.

Finally, I want to say how thankful I am to the men and women who saw my Dad as a real person and reached out to him while he was on his “journey” from Washington to Texas. Thank you for giving him money, food, rides, shoes, backpacks, and so much more!! Your gifts and kindness are making a huge difference in his life!!

So, if you see my Dad (or any other homeless person) around town, please shake their hand and look in them in the eye and ask if there is anyway that you can help them. Sometimes just treating them like a child of God is all they really need!

“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.”
- James 2:26

Hungry For Change

Occasionally, I have free time to sit down, prop up my feet, and watch something on Netflix. This past weekend I decided to watch a documentary called "Hungry For Change: Your health is in your hands". This documentary really challenged me look at the food choices that I make on a daily basis. They communicated the importance of our need to stop dieting and completely change our lifestyle.

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One of my favorite things that they talked about was that we need to begin to transform our minds. Personally, I believe that God's word is the only way to truly renew our minds and we need to fill our minds with scripture. However, I believe that there is value in the quote shown below.

If I tell myself that we can't have something, I feel deprived and want that food more than ever. However, if I recognize that I can eat anything I want, but I choose not to. Well now that gives me power over food, so that I do not have to be controlled by my cravings.

As a result of this movie, I am going to focus on eating more Weight Watchers Power Foods for the next few weeks. I tried the Simply Filling plan when I was pregnant with Sophie, but I didn't do a very good job of staying on plan. This time around, I am really going to focus on making healthy foods choices and being careful about what I put in my body.

How can you begin to make healthier food choices today!?

Missing In Action

Life has really taken its toll on me these past few months. I am not ready to go into all the details, just know that my Dad has been going through some hard times. As a family we have come together to begin to help my Dad, but he has a long road ahead of him.

Me, my Dad, and my brother

All that to say, life's circumstances have been so overwhelming that I have not had time to focus on taking care of myself. I haven't been following Weight Watchers either. In all honesty, there isn't much for me to write about, if I am not focusing on eating healthy.

For a while, I was eating whatever sounded good, which included a lot of sweets! I am doing my best to turn to God and not food. However, I am not perfect, but I am trying.

Last week, I recognized this problem and began to make small changes that should help me to begin to make myself a priority again. Life is never going to allow me the time to completely focus on myself, so I have to fight for it.

Olivia, Sophie, and me enjoying the sunshine

Everyday, I have to make a choice to fully focus on myself and living a healthy lifestyle. My first step toward a healthier me was going on a walk with my girls to the park.

What will be your first step to a healthier you!?

If you think about my Dad, please pray for him and that he will take the necessary steps to get himself some help!