Friday, June 6, 2008

Healthy Living - Week 1

I drew the line in the sand to lose weight just over a week ago. How did that first week go? Very well (aside from one meltdown on the first evening).

Week 1 Weigh in results: -7 pounds!!!!

I am very happy with the results. While I craved a Baskin Robbins Rocky Road ice cream cone on many nights, losing the weight was simply more important to me. And this week it obviously paid off!

I am now most likely the largest single buyer of Weight Watchers foods at my local Safeway, but my freezer and pantry are now well-stocked for the days and weeks ahead. We have Rog's family coming next week and I am nervous about having to cook "real" meals for them without completely blowing my new routine. I plan to cut back my lunch Points a bit to allow more in the evenings when I am eating with the family.

Being an empty-nest mom is making a big difference in trying to lose weight. It is a lot more difficult to stick to a plan with children and non-dieting spouses around to care and cook for. (Been there, done that.) I am very lucky; Rog cooks his dinner, and I cook mine. We work in the kitchen together and sit down to eat together, we are just eating different things. It works.

Here are some of my favorite low Points foods that helped me through the first week....

Kettle Corn 100-calorie mini bags....2 Points
Carrots..................................................0 Points
Nectarines & Apples............................1 Point each
Chocolate Drizzle mini rice cakes.......2 Points
Chips Ahoy thin crisps........................2 Points

....and my favorite dinner options: (2) Weight Watchers turkey, gravy and potatoes (4 Points each) or WW Salisbury steak and asparagus (4 Points each). I also really enjoyed making stir-fry one night. I packed it full of zero Point veggies (asparagus, broccoli, zucchini, mushrooms) and low Point prawns. It was a nice, fresh meal that was totally satisfying and quick to prepare!

For lunch I usually opt for one WW frozen meal (lunch favorite = spaghetti) and a piece of fruit. And then once a week as a treat I head to McDonald's (where they practically knew me by name!) and order a 6-piece McNuggets (yes, you can still order only 6 pieces, they just don't usually appear on the menu), sweet and sour sauce, and a small Coke. Mmmm.....Heaven.

When I get that craving for something sweet, I indulge it...just now with better options. I filled the pantry with low Point items like WW's mini carrot cake, 100-calorie snack bags and fresh fruit. Last night I tried the carrot cake and while I thought the frosting was disgusting and picked it off, I really liked the cake itself. Only 1 Point each (heck, maybe less since I eliminated the frosting, huh?!).

So what's new for Week 2? The incorporation of exercise. Ugh.

Not something I love doing, but certainly a necessity if I'm going to scale down. I wanted to get through the first week of food cut backs before bringing out the heavy equipment. (A girl can only take so much change in a week!) And now the time has come. The stair stepper has found its way back into the living room and the clock is ticking. Ready, set....GO!

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