Today was a rough day plan-wise. As you all know, I had the working breakfast dilemma. In case you didn't see my comment update below -- I ended up going with a berry parfait and a side of whole wheat toast. Since it was a meeting and I had to do a lot of talking, I actually didn't eat much. Only 1 piece of buttered toast and about 1 cup of the parfait. I figured 7 points total for breakfast -- granola is way high in points!
Since I didn't eat much for breakfast, I was hungry and ate a sort of big but healthy lunch at Au Bon Pain. That 5 point Asian Chicken Salad is becoming a staple, plus a tomato soup and a breadstick. It's both a blessing and a curse that Au Bon Pain takes debit cards!
A friend of mine emailed me mid-afternoon to see if I felt playing hooky, which I did. We intended to go hit a museum but our timing was off, so we ended up at a Cosi drinking hot cider. There're some beverage points I hadn't counted on. But it was so cold in that wind that the cider hit the spot.
I rounded up the day with the aforementioned dinner plans with the BFF gang. After a lot of discussion where none of us were really feeling any of the dinner options, we ended up at an old standby, Gordon Biersch. I went for the same combo I had last week - a glass of wine and the Hawaiian Chicken. The key is to not eat very much of that heavy but tasty jasmine rice.
So, I did eat a lot of food today, but I think I'm fairly accurate on counting myself at 5.5 points over. Once again, that's what Flex Points are for!
Thanks, everyone, for all of your breakfast suggestions! I'm certainly not a regular at a fancy-shmance place like the Hay-Adams, so hopefully I won't have that dilemma again for a while!
Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Monday, January 30, 2006
And That's Why...
I don't keep cereal in the house.... After a day of staring at me, the Safeway brand honey nut Cheerios just beat me to the punch. Safeway was out of milk last night so I didn't get to eat them for breakfast, but once I had the idea of them in my head I had to have them. So I just ran down to the convenience store in the basement and spent $1.79 on ff milk and had myself a bowl of those toasty little o's. I had already hit almost my entire point total for the day, but I needed that little splurge. It made me about 4 points over, but that's what Flexies are for.
Tuesday's Challenge
So I have an unusual challenge tomorrow morning... a breakfast meeting. I've gotten pretty good at the whole working lunch thing, but breakfast is another story. I usually use about 2-5 points on breakfast, tops. So if I have a big breakfast it could throw off my whole day, including my dinner plans which will be at a restaurant, as well.
Breakfast is at the Hay-Adams (yes, fancy), and here's the menu. It looks like I'll need to stick to that first section of fruits and yogurt. Although a goat cheese, tomato and basil omelet sounds freakin' fantastic. Made with egg beaters? Maybe.....
Breakfast is at the Hay-Adams (yes, fancy), and here's the menu. It looks like I'll need to stick to that first section of fruits and yogurt. Although a goat cheese, tomato and basil omelet sounds freakin' fantastic. Made with egg beaters? Maybe.....
That's One Way to Get More Dairy
Starbucks Tall Non-Fat Chai Latte = 3.5 points. Bummer on having to spend any points on a non-alcoholic beverage, but this was my first Starbucks since December and I *so* needed it!
Keeps on Tickin'!
I lost another 2 pounds to Ditech! (Well, not to Ditech, but I'm watching CNN and it's inevitable that I'll see that commercial at least twice!)
Hooray! Perhaps it will be next week that I hit the 10-pound mark?!?
Hooray! Perhaps it will be next week that I hit the 10-pound mark?!?
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Dieting on Sale...
The highlights from this week's quick trip to Safeway:
South Beach Bars - $2.50/box of 6, usual price $3.49
Nabisco 100 Calorie Pak, Chips Ahoy - $2.50, reg price $2.99
Yoplait Nouriche Light Smoothies - $1.66, reg price $1.99
Lucerne Light Yogurt Smoothies - $1.25, reg price $1.69
Butterball Turkey Kielbasa - $3.00, reg price $3.99 (Lady B, this is my favorite brand)
I have to say, though, that Sunday night is not a good time to go to the Columbia Road Safeway. Everything is very picked over (there was no fat-free milk on the shelves) and the lines are v.v. long.
South Beach Bars - $2.50/box of 6, usual price $3.49
Nabisco 100 Calorie Pak, Chips Ahoy - $2.50, reg price $2.99
Yoplait Nouriche Light Smoothies - $1.66, reg price $1.99
Lucerne Light Yogurt Smoothies - $1.25, reg price $1.69
Butterball Turkey Kielbasa - $3.00, reg price $3.99 (Lady B, this is my favorite brand)
I have to say, though, that Sunday night is not a good time to go to the Columbia Road Safeway. Everything is very picked over (there was no fat-free milk on the shelves) and the lines are v.v. long.
Something I Need to Work On
I'm feeling pretty good about how I've adapted to the WW plan at this point. Those hunger pangs from the first week have gone away, and that's always the hardest adjustment. I'm paying a lot more attention to what I'm eating and I am taking the time to really plan my meals ahead of time. I've even learned a new trick this time around - the whole pre-eating before going out by keeping a few spare Lean Cuisine/Smart Ones in the freezer at work. I never did that the previous times I was on WW, but I'm also a lot busier now with more night-time commitments than I ever had before.
But, there is one area where I need to do a better job of sticking to the plan. WW wants you to make sure you're still getting balanced nutrition, even as you're eating a lot less. They have strong suggestions on what you need to make sure you're getting every day - and the online Points Tracker even has little icons for each of these that you're supposed to tick off as you're eating meals throughout the day.
According to WW, you need 3 servings of dairy, 6 servings of water, and 6 servings of fruits/veggies every single day. I'm pretty good about the water, but I do need to work on making sure that I get in my dairy and fruit/veggies on a daily basis. I'm finding that I do still consume protein and starch pretty darn regularly, so I have to find ways to work more balance into the diet.
Most days, I do start out with a breakfast of non-fat yogurt, but I need to figure out how to keep getting 2 more servings of dairy every day. Even though it adds points, it's good to get a slice of cheese on a sandwich or to sprinkle some atop whatever salad or soup you're eating. Fat-free or reduced-fat shredded cheese is a good staple to keep in the fridge - I need to be better about tossing some into my egg beaters or in other meals. I'm not a regular milk drinker and I HATE cottage cheese, so I've just got to keep trying new low-point ways to use cheese in my diet.
And the fruits and veggies? Well, that seems to be a challenge for a lot of people I know, who tend to have a lot of meals out and aren't home cooking all the time. Thank goodness for Au Bon Pain soups and salads and for those Green Giant frozen veggies. I just have to force myself to eat more of the good stuff every day.
But, there is one area where I need to do a better job of sticking to the plan. WW wants you to make sure you're still getting balanced nutrition, even as you're eating a lot less. They have strong suggestions on what you need to make sure you're getting every day - and the online Points Tracker even has little icons for each of these that you're supposed to tick off as you're eating meals throughout the day.
According to WW, you need 3 servings of dairy, 6 servings of water, and 6 servings of fruits/veggies every single day. I'm pretty good about the water, but I do need to work on making sure that I get in my dairy and fruit/veggies on a daily basis. I'm finding that I do still consume protein and starch pretty darn regularly, so I have to find ways to work more balance into the diet.
Most days, I do start out with a breakfast of non-fat yogurt, but I need to figure out how to keep getting 2 more servings of dairy every day. Even though it adds points, it's good to get a slice of cheese on a sandwich or to sprinkle some atop whatever salad or soup you're eating. Fat-free or reduced-fat shredded cheese is a good staple to keep in the fridge - I need to be better about tossing some into my egg beaters or in other meals. I'm not a regular milk drinker and I HATE cottage cheese, so I've just got to keep trying new low-point ways to use cheese in my diet.
And the fruits and veggies? Well, that seems to be a challenge for a lot of people I know, who tend to have a lot of meals out and aren't home cooking all the time. Thank goodness for Au Bon Pain soups and salads and for those Green Giant frozen veggies. I just have to force myself to eat more of the good stuff every day.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Adventures in Chain Eating
After a marathon night out last night - in which I stayed OP by pre-eating a 5 point Smart Ones meal and only having 3 beers plus a bit of hummus over the whole 6 hours at the bar - I was really exhausted and a bit hungover today. I didn't eat much all day, so I was pretty hungry and had the points available to go along with it by the time dinner came around.
AS and I met up at my place then walked the 20 minutes or so down to Dupont Circle. For the 2nd time this month, I was *foiled* by a favorite restaurant being under renovation (first Cafe Asia, now Luna Grill) so we had to improvise on our choice for dinner.
We ended up at Bertucci's. It's not a favorite normally, but it was close by and fit the budget for the evening, and I knew I could get a big salad. I ended up getting a cup of minestrone soup (with romano cheese sprinkled on top) and then their grilled chicken spinach salad. I did eat a roll with the oil dipping sauce, too, cuz I was starving. Their menu does not have many diet-friendly choices AT ALL, but sometimes that makes it a lot easier to just pick something that looks like it's the best option.
When it came time to tally up the points, I was also foiled by an apparent lack of availability of Bertucci's nutrition info. It wasn't available on Dotti's or other diet web sites, either. So, I estimated. I came up with 19.5 points for dinner. That's pretty hefty, but I still was able to stay OP for the day because I'd eaten so little earlier on and because I earned 2 Activity Points in the walking.
Still truckin' along....!
AS and I met up at my place then walked the 20 minutes or so down to Dupont Circle. For the 2nd time this month, I was *foiled* by a favorite restaurant being under renovation (first Cafe Asia, now Luna Grill) so we had to improvise on our choice for dinner.
We ended up at Bertucci's. It's not a favorite normally, but it was close by and fit the budget for the evening, and I knew I could get a big salad. I ended up getting a cup of minestrone soup (with romano cheese sprinkled on top) and then their grilled chicken spinach salad. I did eat a roll with the oil dipping sauce, too, cuz I was starving. Their menu does not have many diet-friendly choices AT ALL, but sometimes that makes it a lot easier to just pick something that looks like it's the best option.
When it came time to tally up the points, I was also foiled by an apparent lack of availability of Bertucci's nutrition info. It wasn't available on Dotti's or other diet web sites, either. So, I estimated. I came up with 19.5 points for dinner. That's pretty hefty, but I still was able to stay OP for the day because I'd eaten so little earlier on and because I earned 2 Activity Points in the walking.
Still truckin' along....!
Friday, January 27, 2006
Kinda Splurge-y
I had a working lunch today that I (oops) almost completely forgot about, but luckily a coworker of mine grabbed me as I was otherwise on my way out the door to have lunch with a friend. So all was not lost and we went to Ten Penh to meet as scheduled. Now, Ten Penh is home to one of my absolutely favorite dishes in the city: Red Thai Curry Shrimp. MMMMMMMM. I decided that since it was a special occasion I could allow myself to order it. I actually didn't do too badly. Since I was talking for a lot of the lunch - really, just a business meeting with food in front of us - I only ate the shrimp, the pineapple, and about 1/4 cup of the rice. There was a whole lot of rice left on that plate.
I came back and did an approximate calculation of the points. Both shrimp and pineapple are extremely low in points (8 large shrimp = 1.5 points. BOSS.) so the real damage was in the curry sauce itself. I gave a fair calculation that I actually ate about 1/3 cup of the sauce itself, which is 6.5 points. A 1/2 cup is 10 points. Yowza. All told, I'm giving this lunch 10 points. That's a lot for the small amount of food that I ate, but it was so worth every deeeeelicious bite.
I came back and did an approximate calculation of the points. Both shrimp and pineapple are extremely low in points (8 large shrimp = 1.5 points. BOSS.) so the real damage was in the curry sauce itself. I gave a fair calculation that I actually ate about 1/3 cup of the sauce itself, which is 6.5 points. A 1/2 cup is 10 points. Yowza. All told, I'm giving this lunch 10 points. That's a lot for the small amount of food that I ate, but it was so worth every deeeeelicious bite.
Loosey-Goosey
Here's my NSV for the day.....for 2 days in a row now, the very same pants that were uncomfortably snug back over the holidays are now fitting much looser. I'm even having a little challenge today in that my badge is kinda pulling down on my loose waistband. Hooray!
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Love it When That Happens!
(First, an aside... what the heck is up with Blogger tonight? Some temporary outage that was supposed to be 4 hours ago, even PST, and it's still buggin'????)
Anyway... I thought I had gone way over my points today. It was a very busy day, and I knew that I was going to have some temptations. I was leading my first-ever staff retreat all afternoon (it went very well, thanks for asking :-) and I knew that I had to bring some treats to get my staff through the 3-hour meeting. Then I was meeting a friend for dinner.
I planned for this rocky day with a small 4 pt breakfast and I really skimped on lunch, eating only a 5 point Lean Cuisine. The chicken caesar bowl thingy is actually pretty tasty and filling. Then, I got a mix of treats for the meeting - something for every taste, as available at CVS: a package of Chewy Chips Ahoy, a can of salted cashews, and 2 packages of sugar-free chocolate candy. The sugar-free stuff was for me, so I would feel better about it. The meeting worked out well, actually, cuz I spent the first 1.5 hours standing up writing on the big notepad on the easel. So I was away from the table when my staff really chowed down on the treats! I did have 3 Chips Ahoy and 2 sugar-free mini peanut butter cups. By the time we got to dinner at Gordon Biersch, I was pretty hungry. But I was also really craving some protein, and I've learned to go with that when my body says so. I picked one of the lighter things on the menu - the Hawaiian chicken. It came out as 2 small grilled chicken cutlets with a side of pineapple and jasmine rice, plus a mixed greens salad. I ate *a lot* - all of the chicken, the salad, and the pineapple, plus a few bites of the rice.
Because I had been so busy all day, I hadn't logged in any of my meals into the Points Tracker since breakfast. So I really had no clue where I was points-wise and thought I was way over. I just got home at 11ish and put it all into the computer... guess what? I didn't do badly at all! In fact, counting everything up, I actually hit exactly on plan for the day! I used one Activity Point, but didn't need to use any Flexies at all! Phew. So the key is really sticking with a small lunch if the rest of the day is gonna be filled with temptations....
Anyway... I thought I had gone way over my points today. It was a very busy day, and I knew that I was going to have some temptations. I was leading my first-ever staff retreat all afternoon (it went very well, thanks for asking :-) and I knew that I had to bring some treats to get my staff through the 3-hour meeting. Then I was meeting a friend for dinner.
I planned for this rocky day with a small 4 pt breakfast and I really skimped on lunch, eating only a 5 point Lean Cuisine. The chicken caesar bowl thingy is actually pretty tasty and filling. Then, I got a mix of treats for the meeting - something for every taste, as available at CVS: a package of Chewy Chips Ahoy, a can of salted cashews, and 2 packages of sugar-free chocolate candy. The sugar-free stuff was for me, so I would feel better about it. The meeting worked out well, actually, cuz I spent the first 1.5 hours standing up writing on the big notepad on the easel. So I was away from the table when my staff really chowed down on the treats! I did have 3 Chips Ahoy and 2 sugar-free mini peanut butter cups. By the time we got to dinner at Gordon Biersch, I was pretty hungry. But I was also really craving some protein, and I've learned to go with that when my body says so. I picked one of the lighter things on the menu - the Hawaiian chicken. It came out as 2 small grilled chicken cutlets with a side of pineapple and jasmine rice, plus a mixed greens salad. I ate *a lot* - all of the chicken, the salad, and the pineapple, plus a few bites of the rice.
Because I had been so busy all day, I hadn't logged in any of my meals into the Points Tracker since breakfast. So I really had no clue where I was points-wise and thought I was way over. I just got home at 11ish and put it all into the computer... guess what? I didn't do badly at all! In fact, counting everything up, I actually hit exactly on plan for the day! I used one Activity Point, but didn't need to use any Flexies at all! Phew. So the key is really sticking with a small lunch if the rest of the day is gonna be filled with temptations....
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Fancy Lunch Today
I had a working lunch today at one of the nicer restaurants in the neighborhood. It's a place that has sort of fancy nouveau cuisine. I checked out the menu before I went, but there were several new options and I went for those. It worked out pretty well!
First off, I totally dissed the bread basket. No need to spend 4 points or more just to have a little piece of cornbread and some butter. Hooray for willpower! I had the soup du jour, which was this really interesting carrot, fennel and apple soup, topped with a little swirl of pumpkin oil and pumpkin seeds. Delicious! Then I tried their new "chicken salad" - which wasn't a salad like we'd normally think of at Applebees or something. It came out as 4 good-sized chunks of grilled chicken spiced with curry and other Indian flavors, and then in the middle of the plate was a "cucumber-tomato compote" with chick peas covered with arugula. I had asked for the vanilla-cardamom dressing on the side, and it was a small serving of it so that was okay. This was also really delicious, and filling. (This place isn't always very filling, so in the past when I've had work lunches there I've found myself heading to Starbucks afterwards to get something supplemental.)
I'm now back at my desk and tallied everything up. I had to go on some estimates, but I think I was pretty conservative. It came to 9.5 points - not bad! And the food was both interesting and tasty. Well done, me. :-)
First off, I totally dissed the bread basket. No need to spend 4 points or more just to have a little piece of cornbread and some butter. Hooray for willpower! I had the soup du jour, which was this really interesting carrot, fennel and apple soup, topped with a little swirl of pumpkin oil and pumpkin seeds. Delicious! Then I tried their new "chicken salad" - which wasn't a salad like we'd normally think of at Applebees or something. It came out as 4 good-sized chunks of grilled chicken spiced with curry and other Indian flavors, and then in the middle of the plate was a "cucumber-tomato compote" with chick peas covered with arugula. I had asked for the vanilla-cardamom dressing on the side, and it was a small serving of it so that was okay. This was also really delicious, and filling. (This place isn't always very filling, so in the past when I've had work lunches there I've found myself heading to Starbucks afterwards to get something supplemental.)
I'm now back at my desk and tallied everything up. I had to go on some estimates, but I think I was pretty conservative. It came to 9.5 points - not bad! And the food was both interesting and tasty. Well done, me. :-)
Monday, January 23, 2006
Splurge-o-Rama
Well, tonight I had my first big unplanned splurge. I was doing pretty well all day, even though I was eating slightly bigger meals for breakfast and lunch than I had been. By the time I left work, I only had 5 points left for dinner.
Unlike normal, I had no idea what I was going to be eating. I went to a meeting tonight that included dinner and we weren't told beforehand what the food options would be. It turned out to be a gorgeous spread of food from the Lebanese Taverna. And it smelled great. And I was hungry. So I made myself a big plate of it and had 2 small cups of white wine. Hey, it was a 3 hour meeting! I needed sustenance!
When I got home, though, I was really hungry again. So I broke out a package of the Smart Pop 94% fat-free popcorn. It's worth it to not go to sleep hungry....
Thank goodness for Flex Points. I used 10 of them tonight. Tomorrow's another day!
Unlike normal, I had no idea what I was going to be eating. I went to a meeting tonight that included dinner and we weren't told beforehand what the food options would be. It turned out to be a gorgeous spread of food from the Lebanese Taverna. And it smelled great. And I was hungry. So I made myself a big plate of it and had 2 small cups of white wine. Hey, it was a 3 hour meeting! I needed sustenance!
When I got home, though, I was really hungry again. So I broke out a package of the Smart Pop 94% fat-free popcorn. It's worth it to not go to sleep hungry....
Thank goodness for Flex Points. I used 10 of them tonight. Tomorrow's another day!
I *Am* A Loser!
Haha. I just saw someone call someone that on a WW message board as a compliment. You know, as in "You've lost so much weight! You are a loser!" Makes me laugh. I'm a loser, too!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
The Fat Economy
Did you see Michael Rosenwald's WaPo column today, called "Why America Has to be Fat" ? It's about the links between the economy and obesity, and obesity and the economy.... interesting.
Food Gallery
Sometimes I take pics of food I'm making if it looks particularly colorful, so now I present to you some recent dishes....
My Dee-Lish dinner of pasta with fresh spinach and tomato sauce:
My Spanish rice cooking on the stove:
This is a WW trick I heard a long time ago. Take a regular boxed package of Spanish rice, which calls for adding water and one can of tomatoes. Do that, but also add a bunch more stuff to your liking to make it more fiber-rific. I usually add a 2nd can of tomatoes (the kind with green chiles or jalapenos), a can of light red kidney beans, another can of either dark red kidney beans or black beans, and as much as an entire pound of frozen corn. All the beans and veggies lower the overall point value per serving and make the single package of Spanish rice go a lot further. I made this last week and ate it for 5 big satisfying meals. You can figure out the points by sorta calculating a combination of the prepackaged Spanish rice as prepared and the added beans, corn, etc. I usually top it with a little reduced fat cheddar cheese. Yummy!
My Dee-Lish dinner of pasta with fresh spinach and tomato sauce:
My Spanish rice cooking on the stove:
This is a WW trick I heard a long time ago. Take a regular boxed package of Spanish rice, which calls for adding water and one can of tomatoes. Do that, but also add a bunch more stuff to your liking to make it more fiber-rific. I usually add a 2nd can of tomatoes (the kind with green chiles or jalapenos), a can of light red kidney beans, another can of either dark red kidney beans or black beans, and as much as an entire pound of frozen corn. All the beans and veggies lower the overall point value per serving and make the single package of Spanish rice go a lot further. I made this last week and ate it for 5 big satisfying meals. You can figure out the points by sorta calculating a combination of the prepackaged Spanish rice as prepared and the added beans, corn, etc. I usually top it with a little reduced fat cheddar cheese. Yummy!
Zero = Hero
I finally tried that new Coca-Cola Zero this weekend. Wow, it's great! I really love the taste of regular Coke. Does anyone still call it Coca-Cola Classic? I guess I'm dating myself by revealing that I remember the New Coke debacle quite well. But I digress... I love the taste of real Coke, but can't possibly justify the 3 (can) or 5 (20 oz bottle) points to have it. And the combination of sugar and caffeine in real Coke often makes me kinda sick, a little too racy and headache-y. But I really don't like the taste of Diet Coke much at all. I like Diet Cherry Coke, which I drink sometimes, but for my soda fix I usually stick to Diet Sprite Zero. But now that I've tasted Coke Zero, I'm gonna have to work it into my routine! It's delicious, and the caffeine and aspartame combo didn't make me sick. Ah, now if only it didn't stain the teeth....
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Predicting a Splurge
I plan to use a bunch of Flex Points tonight. As I mentioned earlier, I'm spending the night with friends and we're making a big dinner. While I will be having the lower-point version of the dinner, I know there will be plenty of wine consumption. And if there's the option of a small dessert, I may go for that, too.
I've already started the day with a big breakfast. It wasn't actually breakfast food, though - I ate the leftovers from my lean turkey Hamburger Helper dinner from last night. So a whole bunch of points are already gone. I'll reverse my usual and have a light lunch, and I'll be doing about a mile of walking to get myself to the Metro. That's only about 1 Activity Point, but I'll take it.
I'll report later on how big the splurge is -- but as we all know by now, the key to WW success is planning, planning, planning!
I've already started the day with a big breakfast. It wasn't actually breakfast food, though - I ate the leftovers from my lean turkey Hamburger Helper dinner from last night. So a whole bunch of points are already gone. I'll reverse my usual and have a light lunch, and I'll be doing about a mile of walking to get myself to the Metro. That's only about 1 Activity Point, but I'll take it.
I'll report later on how big the splurge is -- but as we all know by now, the key to WW success is planning, planning, planning!
Friday, January 20, 2006
Dancing with the Stars
I admit I'm totally addicted to this show, and even chose to stay home on a Friday night and decline an invite in order to watch it... but I do want to give props to the show for its casting. I'm really glad that they include a fairly diverse set of celebrity "contestants" as far ast body type goes. Sure, Lisa Rinna, Stacy what's-her-name and Giselle Fernandez are in ridiculously good shape. But I love that they had both Tatum O'Neal and new mom Tia Carrerre. These are two very attractive women who happen to have hips, and thighs, and even a bit of a belly. These women are out there dancing in fabulous outfits, showing off their bodies and the way they can move, and they are unabashedly sexy. And I really give the show credit for helping to show how women who are bigger than a size 2 CAN be sensual, sexy, and really comfortable in their own skin.
In case you're wondering -- I'm totally rooting for Drew. May he become the more famous Lachey! He's just so cute and enthusiastic, and he really is a great dancer.
In case you're wondering -- I'm totally rooting for Drew. May he become the more famous Lachey! He's just so cute and enthusiastic, and he really is a great dancer.
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