Fabulous Friday

I love Fridays so much - no matter what happens at work, how hard the day is, how bad the weather is, how sick I feel... there's one thing that remains constant: I can sleep late tomorrow.

Fortunately the weather isn't really that bad.. just cold. Today is a pretty easy work day because the kids are taking an assessment. I feel fine, except for this stubborn cold I have that won't go away. Either way.. I can still sleep late tomorrow :-)

So since January 8th I have been steadily losing weight (good thing)... but literally ounces at a time. Its not that Weight Watchers isn't working... its more like I'm not really following the rules. I find that I'm just too lazy to track points, and therefore am I eating too much. With weight watchers, I can eat anything... and I'm eating about 95% real food anyway. Its just small things I won't track. In the moment I feel like "eh, its probably only one point." But what I'm not taking into consideration is how much it adds up to in a day. For example, in a given day.. I WON'T track

-my coffee (half & half & sugar) 2pts
-lowfat granola that I add to my yogurt 2-3pts
-Brown sugar in the oatmeal 1pt
-lowfat cheese & dressing on salad 2 pts
-piece of chocolate after dinner 2-3pts
-glass of wine/beer 4-8pts
-hummus 2pts

If I actually did track those things, it would be an additional 15-22 points a day!!!! That is crazy considering my daily limit is 26 points.

So for past week or so I've been using the "simply filling" technique instead of tracking points. Simply Filling basically goes like this. I can eat as much as I want from the following "power foods." (see list at the bottom). I still track, but since I changed my technique to simply filling, any power food automatically registers as zero points. I still have 49 WEEKLY points to use for foods that aren't on the list... and the phone app keeps track of this weekly so that I don't have to.

This seems to have been working for me. For example, last night I had some brown rice with my chicken... which I normally wouldn't eat since a half cup of brown rice is 3-4 points. After dinner, I almost ALWAYS need a snack and last night, I didn't want one. I'm guessing this was due to the brown rice filling me up more than normal.

This always goes really well with me and Marvin's "real food" journey. It basically forces me NOT to eat any packaged foods.


OK- SPOILER ALERT! If you still haven't watched TBL finale then scroll down to the bottom.



Onto other things - I really can't stop thinking about TBL finale. I loved Rachel so much the entire time and thought she was cool. At the finale I literally felt sick to my stomach. I didn't know if maybe I was just being too judgmental, but the twitter uproar (including official statements from Jill, Bob & Dolvett) showed me that I wasn't overreacting. It is really sad and unfortunate that Rachel, most likely, is worse off than she started (health & mental wise). And I'm still not sure how I feel about the show, for basically supporting anorexia.

Power foods

Fruits

• All fresh, frozen, or canned without added sugar
• Fruit canned in its own juice (drained)
• Mixed fruits with no added sugar

Vegetables

• Most fresh, frozen or canned without added sugar or oil
• Potatoes — white, red, sweet

Lean proteins 

• Beef, chicken, lamb, pork, turkey, veal: lean, trimmed, all skin removed (see food list for specific cuts and grinds)
• Dried beans
• Dried peas
• Eggs: Whole, whites, and fat-free substitute
• Game meats
• Lentils
• Meat substitutes, including tofu and vegetarian burgers
• Most fish and shellfish: fresh, frozen, and canned
• Organ meats from beef, lamb, pork, veal, and poultry

Whole grains

• Brown and wild rice
• Hot cereals, cooked — without added sugar, dried fruits, or nuts
• Pasta, whole-wheat or other whole-grain varieties
• Popcorn, air-popped, or 94% fat-free microwave-popped
• Whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereals without added sugar, dried fruits or nuts, and with 4g of fiber or more per serving
• Whole-grains such as: barley, buckwheat, bulgur, cornmeal (polenta) whole-wheat couscous, quinoa

Non-Fat Dairy and Dairy Substitutes

• Fat-free cheeses, including fat-free cottage cheese
• Fat-free milk and beverages made with fat-free milk, such as cappuccino or latte, as long as it’s sugar-free
• Yogurt, fat-free, plain or flavored with artificial sweetener
• Fat-free sour cream
• Soy products, unflavored and plain, such as:
• Calcium-fortified soy milk
• Unflavored soy milk
• Fat-free soy cheese
• Plain soy yogurt

Plus

• Light breads, english muffins and hotdog/hamburger rolls
• Soups (broth, onion, and some broth- and tomato-based vegetable soups)
• Sugar-free gelatin

Healthy oils

Include 2 tsp each day without counting PointsPlus values. Use your weekly PointsPlusAllowance for any additional oil. 

• Olive oil
• Canola oil
• Safflower oil
• Sunflower oil
• Flaxseed oil

What's not included on the Power Foods list

• Processed meats, such as:
• Hot dogs
• Sausages
• Luncheon meats (other than fat-free)
• Fish or shellfish, canned, or packed in oil
• Meats, poultry or fish with breading or added fat
• Dried fruits
• Fruit juices
• Vegetable juices
• Vegetables prepared with ingredients that are not Weight Watchers Power Foods, (for example, corn in butter sauce, dried tomatoes packed in oil)
• French fries
• Avocados
• Sweet pickles
• Plantains
• Olives