Michelle Obama Turkey Burgers (Thank you Mary Ellen, Frederick,Friday)
(5 pointsplus each w/o a bun)
Ingredients
2 lbs ground Turkey (99% FF)
1 Cup diced celery
1 Cup diced apples
1 Cup diced red onions
1 Tblsp mango chutney or salsa
Handful of chopped Parsley
Juice of 2 lemons, and fine zest from the lemons
1 Tblsp Olive Oil, divided
A dash of Cayenne (I left this out)
Salt & pepper to taste
Method
1. Heat 1 tsp olive oil over medium heat, and toss in the red onions, turning them so they don't burn; "sweat" this for about 45 seconds, turning with wooden spoon so they don’t burn
2. Add apples and celery and mango salsa, sprinkle in cayenne then salt & pepper, and season to taste. Keep stirring while everything binds; scrape the pan, and toss in chopped parsley at the last minute, then set aside to cool.
3. When ingredients are cool, combine with turkey meat. Squeeze in the lemon juice while combining, and add the lemon zest. Mash it all together well, so fruit and onions are well distributed throughout the meat. Make eight balls with the mixture, and refrigerate until ready to cook.
4. To cook burgers: In a deep skillet, heat 2 tsp olive oil on medium heat. Put in four burger balls to cook at a time, and flatten down with a spatula. Cook for 3 minutes and flip, and cook an additional 3 minutes on the other side.
5. Serve on toasted multi-grain buns, with lettuce and tomato slices.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Sunday, January 30, 2011
That One Extra Degree (Motivational)
THAT ONE EXTRA DEGREE
At 211° water is hot… at 212° it boils.
With boiling, water becomes steam.
And steam can power a locomotive.
One extra degree makes all the difference.
And the one extra degree of effort in life…
Separates the good from the great!
It’s your life~~ you are responsible for the results.
It’s time to turn up the heat.
To get what we’ve never had,
We must do what we’ve never done.
The only thing that stands between a person
And what they want in life is
The will to try it and the
Faith to believe it possible.
The extra degree in your belief in yourself.
Belief fuels enthusiasm and
Enthusiasm explodes into passion.
It fires our souls and lifts our spirits.
212° Focus - heat up your success by focusing on your goal!
Having a simple clearly defined goal can capture our imagination.
Inspire passion.
It can cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.
212° Perseverance
Perseverance is not a long race.
It’s many short races,
One after another.
You are now aware.
You now have a target for everything you do.
212°
Do you have that extra degree… that makes all the difference?
At 211° water is hot… at 212° it boils.
With boiling, water becomes steam.
And steam can power a locomotive.
One extra degree makes all the difference.
And the one extra degree of effort in life…
Separates the good from the great!
It’s your life~~ you are responsible for the results.
It’s time to turn up the heat.
To get what we’ve never had,
We must do what we’ve never done.
The only thing that stands between a person
And what they want in life is
The will to try it and the
Faith to believe it possible.
The extra degree in your belief in yourself.
Belief fuels enthusiasm and
Enthusiasm explodes into passion.
It fires our souls and lifts our spirits.
212° Focus - heat up your success by focusing on your goal!
Having a simple clearly defined goal can capture our imagination.
Inspire passion.
It can cut through the fog like a beacon in the night.
212° Perseverance
Perseverance is not a long race.
It’s many short races,
One after another.
You are now aware.
You now have a target for everything you do.
212°
Do you have that extra degree… that makes all the difference?
Melt your Muffin Top and Minimize your Menopot
Love this article. I recomend it.
Melt Your Muffin Top and Minimize Your Menopot
For the uninitiated, you can learn what a Muffin Top is by squeezing into your current pair of breathing-is-optional jeans, zip up and look in the mirror. Yep, like the top of a muffin rising from its paper wrapper, your rolls of fat are spilling over the top of the pants. Oprah coined the term “Dunlap Syndrome” – “That’s when your stomach done lap over your jeans”. Where is this extra flab coming from?
Mistakenly, many people think they just have lax ab muscles and by nailing a thousand crunches a day, voila, a six pack ab will emerge. This is a delusion. Here’s the reality. The excess fat is the result of eating too much. Even athletes who exercise well but overeat relative to their needs will pack on belly weight. It boils down to keeping yourself in the right energy balance. You need both healthy eating and exercise. If you’re out of balance, you’ll bulge!
Muffin Tops can occur at any age. There’s a special type of Muffin Top that happens after the age of 40. I call it the Menopot and first described it in Body for Life for Women. In women, as their sex hormones begin to decrease, it’s easier to store fat in the belly, rather than the typical pre-menopausal hip, thigh and buttock locations. That’s because estrogen exerts a powerful control over fat distribution in the normal female, resulting in the pear or hourglass shape. During perimenopause, once estrogen decreases below a specific level, it loses that hold and ab fat appears. This fat tends to occur between the belly button and the pubis, increasing the size of what you normally called your “pooch”. This is the fat that is leaking out over your jeans. Consider this your over-forty Muffin Top. In men, as their testosterone decreases, they, too, will pile on more fat in their belly area. The difference is that men typically store excess fat there. After forty, it just gets bigger resulting in beaucoup belly hanging over the belt. Guys, this is what I call the Manopot!
Nobody likes to walk around with fat pouring out over their pants and a wall of flab jiggling around the midriff when you don a short top. The great news is that you can melt your Muffin Top at any age. You just need to stick to a winning plan. And here it is:
Smart Eating
Cut the refined and processed carbs. When you consume white sugars that are found in so many foods, you’ll raise your insulin levels which not only increase your appetite for more sugar but make it easier to store fat. It’s the perfect storm for creating and maintaining a Muffin Top. Cut these bad boys out of your diet now! Fill up on non-starchy veggies, controlled portions of fruits as well as whole grains. You also have to be mindful of the quality and the quantity of your carbs. Portion control please, people!
Prioritize healthy fats. Don’t shy away from fat, so long as it’s the healthy kind. Extra virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, low fat dairy and foods containing omega fat oils are terrific ways to maintain a healthy glow, stay satisfied with tasty food and help maintain healthy cells and immune function. Again, just watch the serving sizes. Read labels, people!
Control your appetite and hunger with protein. Too many people out there under-eat protein. Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits it, please try to consume about 20-25% protein in your daily food. An average woman needs at least 60 grams of protein and men no less than 80 grams. A 4 oz fish filet has about 20 grams of protein so you don’t have to eat a mountain of Muffin Top-making food. Protein is very satisfying and will kill carb cravings. It will help you rein in hunger and appetite. Spread it out throughout the day so that you are eating a balance of smart and high quality carbs, protein and fats.
Red alert about alcohol. A sure fire way to grow a Muffin Top is to drink alcohol in excess. You don’t need a glass of wine every night when you’re trying to trim the Muffin Top. Also, when you do decide to have wine with a dinner once or twice per week, keep it to one glass and no more. Alcohol can disinhibit you and you lose your mindfulness about healthy food consumption. Also, alcohol is unique in that excessive alcohol consumption (2 or more glasses) will result in belly fat storage. There’s a reason why they call it the “beer belly”. Drink alcohol sparingly if at all.
Move that Mountain of Muffin Top
Carve Your Muffin Top with Cardio: It’s imperative that you keep moving as much as you can every day if you want to cut that Muffin Top. You need to schedule some form of regular cardio at least 5 times per week (e.g. walk, bike, jog, swim, elliptical, row, martial arts, kick boxing, spinning, dance), as well as increasing your activities of daily living (e.g. cleaning out your closets, hauling junk out of your garage, washing the car, running after kids, climbing stairs). Try to make your cardio fun and sustainable. Change it up, use wild and crazy music, and add what I call Vitamin I (Intensity intervals). Sweat that Muffin Top off. Work it and you’ll remove it. In the January 9th New York Times, US Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benajmin noted: “I want exercise to be fun..We went to a disco to have fun and enjoy ourselves…I love to dance. That exercise is medicine. It’s better than most pills.” Let’s take our cue from my good friend Dr. Benjamin. Let’s dance more anytime and anywhere we want to.
Strip Your Muffin Top with Strength. You cannot spot reduce a Muffin Top. Instead, you need the magic combination of cardio and strength training to flatten out your tummy once and for all. There is no one magic Muffin Top busting exercise. Overall strength training is best. Twice a week make sure you have a program that includes upper and lower body strength training and always include core work as well. I highly encourage Pilates and yoga as adjuncts to your overall program. They really work the core, as well as strengthen and increase your flexibility. Here are a couple of my favorites that concentrate more on the core region to keep you mindful of your Muffin Top zone. Keep in mind that your goal is to be able to do the repetitions and sets. If you cannot do them today, keep practicing and use them as a goal to strive to achieve over time. Be patient, especially if you haven’t done exercising for a long time. Get prior approval from your doctor if you have any medical condition or disability before attempting any new exercise program.
Have a (Medicine) Ball:
Sit with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Lean back slightly (do not do this exercise if you have back issues). Use your lower abdominal muscles to keep your body stable. Hold a 10-lb. medicine ball between your hands. Some have handles so just use those. Move your arms from one side to the other. Touch the floor near your waist each time you bring your arms over. Repeat 10 times. See if you can do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Bridge Your Belly:
Lay down with your back on the floor. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Slowly lift your hips off the floor, making sure that both your shoulders are firmly planted. Push that pelvis up so that you’re not sagging. You want your body to be in a straight line. Hold this position for about 5-10 seconds, and return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Reach for the Muffin Top-less Sky:
Lay flat on your back and bring both legs up and keep them straight. Tensing your abs, reach with both hands for your ankles. You don’t have to touch them, just reach in that general direction. Hold this for 5-10 seconds and then release, returning to your flat back position, keeping legs up in the air. Repeat 10 times for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Muffin Top Makers: High Stress, Poor Posture, Tight Fit
Control Your Cortisol. As you may be aware, cortisol is stress hormone. When it’s out of control and sky high, it’s easier for the body to pack on fat especially deep in the abdomen, expanding your girth. Eating refined sugars only makes this worse, since high insulin and cortisol together make fat storage so easy. Yoga and meditation really help to calm your cortisol. Life is stressful and you need to learn how to adapt and adjust to life’s stresses without self-destructive behaviors.
Assume the Powerful Posture. Quick, look at your posture right now. Even Kate Moss would look like she had a hanging belly if she was all stooped over. Instead, take your shoulders and bring them up to your ears and then roll them back to a comfortable position. This is your correct posture. The taller you stand the less Muffin Top you show. And, to hold powerful posture means you need to engage your core muscles throughout the day. That’s a terrific way to keep them in shape. Strength training, Yoga and Pilates are excellent modalities to keep you vertical and powerful.
Get Jeans that Fit. For crying out loud, buy jeans that fit well. Don’t keep squeezing yourself into a size or two smaller than you can comfortably fit. Low rise jeans are murder for the over forty folks, male and female. Buy a pair of jeans with a higher waistline that helps to smooth out your tummy. As you trim your tummy, you can experiment with more revealing clothes, but if you’ve got serious Muffin Top right now, let’s not share it with the world. We’ll just keep it between us.
Q: Why does my weight go up when I exercise more frequently?
A: Weight gain with exercise may be disheartening. But before you hang up your running shoes, take heed. Exercise has not betrayed you—this weight gain is short-lived.
In the short term, exercise causes some bodily changes that may temporarily bump up your body weight. Your muscles not only get bigger and stronger, but their chemistry changes too. That is, you increase certain types of enzymes that cause your muscles to store more carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is attracts water. So that extra glycogen in your muscle cells includes extra water. This can add some weight.
Over the long term, however, if your weight continues to go up, it's very unlikely that you’re gaining because you are exercising too much. It is more likely that you are eating more and/or exercising less than you think.
Bottom line: You want to see the number on the scale drop, but give it time. As you continue with your exercise routine and begin losing fat, you will see a drop in both body weight and clothing size. And you'll benefit in the long run: Building muscle increases your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories during exercise and at rest.
Melt Your Muffin Top and Minimize Your Menopot
For the uninitiated, you can learn what a Muffin Top is by squeezing into your current pair of breathing-is-optional jeans, zip up and look in the mirror. Yep, like the top of a muffin rising from its paper wrapper, your rolls of fat are spilling over the top of the pants. Oprah coined the term “Dunlap Syndrome” – “That’s when your stomach done lap over your jeans”. Where is this extra flab coming from?
Mistakenly, many people think they just have lax ab muscles and by nailing a thousand crunches a day, voila, a six pack ab will emerge. This is a delusion. Here’s the reality. The excess fat is the result of eating too much. Even athletes who exercise well but overeat relative to their needs will pack on belly weight. It boils down to keeping yourself in the right energy balance. You need both healthy eating and exercise. If you’re out of balance, you’ll bulge!
Muffin Tops can occur at any age. There’s a special type of Muffin Top that happens after the age of 40. I call it the Menopot and first described it in Body for Life for Women. In women, as their sex hormones begin to decrease, it’s easier to store fat in the belly, rather than the typical pre-menopausal hip, thigh and buttock locations. That’s because estrogen exerts a powerful control over fat distribution in the normal female, resulting in the pear or hourglass shape. During perimenopause, once estrogen decreases below a specific level, it loses that hold and ab fat appears. This fat tends to occur between the belly button and the pubis, increasing the size of what you normally called your “pooch”. This is the fat that is leaking out over your jeans. Consider this your over-forty Muffin Top. In men, as their testosterone decreases, they, too, will pile on more fat in their belly area. The difference is that men typically store excess fat there. After forty, it just gets bigger resulting in beaucoup belly hanging over the belt. Guys, this is what I call the Manopot!
Nobody likes to walk around with fat pouring out over their pants and a wall of flab jiggling around the midriff when you don a short top. The great news is that you can melt your Muffin Top at any age. You just need to stick to a winning plan. And here it is:
Smart Eating
Cut the refined and processed carbs. When you consume white sugars that are found in so many foods, you’ll raise your insulin levels which not only increase your appetite for more sugar but make it easier to store fat. It’s the perfect storm for creating and maintaining a Muffin Top. Cut these bad boys out of your diet now! Fill up on non-starchy veggies, controlled portions of fruits as well as whole grains. You also have to be mindful of the quality and the quantity of your carbs. Portion control please, people!
Prioritize healthy fats. Don’t shy away from fat, so long as it’s the healthy kind. Extra virgin olive oil, avocados, nuts, low fat dairy and foods containing omega fat oils are terrific ways to maintain a healthy glow, stay satisfied with tasty food and help maintain healthy cells and immune function. Again, just watch the serving sizes. Read labels, people!
Control your appetite and hunger with protein. Too many people out there under-eat protein. Unless you have a medical condition that prohibits it, please try to consume about 20-25% protein in your daily food. An average woman needs at least 60 grams of protein and men no less than 80 grams. A 4 oz fish filet has about 20 grams of protein so you don’t have to eat a mountain of Muffin Top-making food. Protein is very satisfying and will kill carb cravings. It will help you rein in hunger and appetite. Spread it out throughout the day so that you are eating a balance of smart and high quality carbs, protein and fats.
Red alert about alcohol. A sure fire way to grow a Muffin Top is to drink alcohol in excess. You don’t need a glass of wine every night when you’re trying to trim the Muffin Top. Also, when you do decide to have wine with a dinner once or twice per week, keep it to one glass and no more. Alcohol can disinhibit you and you lose your mindfulness about healthy food consumption. Also, alcohol is unique in that excessive alcohol consumption (2 or more glasses) will result in belly fat storage. There’s a reason why they call it the “beer belly”. Drink alcohol sparingly if at all.
Move that Mountain of Muffin Top
Carve Your Muffin Top with Cardio: It’s imperative that you keep moving as much as you can every day if you want to cut that Muffin Top. You need to schedule some form of regular cardio at least 5 times per week (e.g. walk, bike, jog, swim, elliptical, row, martial arts, kick boxing, spinning, dance), as well as increasing your activities of daily living (e.g. cleaning out your closets, hauling junk out of your garage, washing the car, running after kids, climbing stairs). Try to make your cardio fun and sustainable. Change it up, use wild and crazy music, and add what I call Vitamin I (Intensity intervals). Sweat that Muffin Top off. Work it and you’ll remove it. In the January 9th New York Times, US Surgeon General Dr. Regina Benajmin noted: “I want exercise to be fun..We went to a disco to have fun and enjoy ourselves…I love to dance. That exercise is medicine. It’s better than most pills.” Let’s take our cue from my good friend Dr. Benjamin. Let’s dance more anytime and anywhere we want to.
Strip Your Muffin Top with Strength. You cannot spot reduce a Muffin Top. Instead, you need the magic combination of cardio and strength training to flatten out your tummy once and for all. There is no one magic Muffin Top busting exercise. Overall strength training is best. Twice a week make sure you have a program that includes upper and lower body strength training and always include core work as well. I highly encourage Pilates and yoga as adjuncts to your overall program. They really work the core, as well as strengthen and increase your flexibility. Here are a couple of my favorites that concentrate more on the core region to keep you mindful of your Muffin Top zone. Keep in mind that your goal is to be able to do the repetitions and sets. If you cannot do them today, keep practicing and use them as a goal to strive to achieve over time. Be patient, especially if you haven’t done exercising for a long time. Get prior approval from your doctor if you have any medical condition or disability before attempting any new exercise program.
Have a (Medicine) Ball:
Sit with your legs bent and feet flat on the floor. Lean back slightly (do not do this exercise if you have back issues). Use your lower abdominal muscles to keep your body stable. Hold a 10-lb. medicine ball between your hands. Some have handles so just use those. Move your arms from one side to the other. Touch the floor near your waist each time you bring your arms over. Repeat 10 times. See if you can do 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Bridge Your Belly:
Lay down with your back on the floor. Bend your knees so that your feet are flat on the floor. Slowly lift your hips off the floor, making sure that both your shoulders are firmly planted. Push that pelvis up so that you’re not sagging. You want your body to be in a straight line. Hold this position for about 5-10 seconds, and return to the starting position. Repeat 10 times for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Reach for the Muffin Top-less Sky:
Lay flat on your back and bring both legs up and keep them straight. Tensing your abs, reach with both hands for your ankles. You don’t have to touch them, just reach in that general direction. Hold this for 5-10 seconds and then release, returning to your flat back position, keeping legs up in the air. Repeat 10 times for 3 sets of 10 repetitions.
Muffin Top Makers: High Stress, Poor Posture, Tight Fit
Control Your Cortisol. As you may be aware, cortisol is stress hormone. When it’s out of control and sky high, it’s easier for the body to pack on fat especially deep in the abdomen, expanding your girth. Eating refined sugars only makes this worse, since high insulin and cortisol together make fat storage so easy. Yoga and meditation really help to calm your cortisol. Life is stressful and you need to learn how to adapt and adjust to life’s stresses without self-destructive behaviors.
Assume the Powerful Posture. Quick, look at your posture right now. Even Kate Moss would look like she had a hanging belly if she was all stooped over. Instead, take your shoulders and bring them up to your ears and then roll them back to a comfortable position. This is your correct posture. The taller you stand the less Muffin Top you show. And, to hold powerful posture means you need to engage your core muscles throughout the day. That’s a terrific way to keep them in shape. Strength training, Yoga and Pilates are excellent modalities to keep you vertical and powerful.
Get Jeans that Fit. For crying out loud, buy jeans that fit well. Don’t keep squeezing yourself into a size or two smaller than you can comfortably fit. Low rise jeans are murder for the over forty folks, male and female. Buy a pair of jeans with a higher waistline that helps to smooth out your tummy. As you trim your tummy, you can experiment with more revealing clothes, but if you’ve got serious Muffin Top right now, let’s not share it with the world. We’ll just keep it between us.
Q: Why does my weight go up when I exercise more frequently?
A: Weight gain with exercise may be disheartening. But before you hang up your running shoes, take heed. Exercise has not betrayed you—this weight gain is short-lived.
In the short term, exercise causes some bodily changes that may temporarily bump up your body weight. Your muscles not only get bigger and stronger, but their chemistry changes too. That is, you increase certain types of enzymes that cause your muscles to store more carbohydrate in the form of glycogen. Glycogen is attracts water. So that extra glycogen in your muscle cells includes extra water. This can add some weight.
Over the long term, however, if your weight continues to go up, it's very unlikely that you’re gaining because you are exercising too much. It is more likely that you are eating more and/or exercising less than you think.
Bottom line: You want to see the number on the scale drop, but give it time. As you continue with your exercise routine and begin losing fat, you will see a drop in both body weight and clothing size. And you'll benefit in the long run: Building muscle increases your metabolism, allowing you to burn more calories during exercise and at rest.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Weight Watchers Cobbler
Weight Watchers Cobbler
Yield: Serves 12
PointsPlus® Value: 5
2- 16oz. bags of any frozen fruit
1 box yellow cake mix
1- 12 oz. can diet Sprite or diet 7-Up
Preheat 350 degrees F
Place both bags of frozen fruit into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish (do not thaw)
Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top of frozen fruit
Pour entire can of diet Sprite or diet 7-UP over mixture
Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes
Uncover and bake an additional 40 minutes
Yield: Serves 12
PointsPlus® Value: 5
2- 16oz. bags of any frozen fruit
1 box yellow cake mix
1- 12 oz. can diet Sprite or diet 7-Up
Preheat 350 degrees F
Place both bags of frozen fruit into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish (do not thaw)
Sprinkle dry cake mix over the top of frozen fruit
Pour entire can of diet Sprite or diet 7-UP over mixture
Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes
Uncover and bake an additional 40 minutes
Spicy organge beef with Vegetables.
Spicy Orange Beef with Vegetables
serves 4 1 c. = PointsPlus® Value: 6
serve over rice if desired
¾ lb. sirloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips
2 T. cornstarch
2 tsp. grated orange rind
¼ c. fat free beef broth
¼ c. orange juice
2 T. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 T. sugar
1 T. chili garlic sauce or ¼- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp. canola oil
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 can ( 15 oz. ) green beans, drained
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
Combine beef, 1 T. cornstarch and orange rind in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine remaining 1 T. cornstarch, broth , orange juice, say sauce, sugar and chili garlic sauce or crushed red pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat a nonstick wok or large skillet. Swirl in 2 tsp. oil, then add beef. Stir fry until cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil and ginger. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add green beans and carrot and cook 3-4 minutes. Add broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Return beef to pan and heat through.
serves 4 1 c. = PointsPlus® Value: 6
serve over rice if desired
¾ lb. sirloin, trimmed and cut into thin strips
2 T. cornstarch
2 tsp. grated orange rind
¼ c. fat free beef broth
¼ c. orange juice
2 T. reduced sodium soy sauce
1 T. sugar
1 T. chili garlic sauce or ¼- ½ tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
4 tsp. canola oil
1 T. minced fresh ginger
1 can ( 15 oz. ) green beans, drained
1 carrot, cut into thin strips
Combine beef, 1 T. cornstarch and orange rind in a bowl. Set aside.
Combine remaining 1 T. cornstarch, broth , orange juice, say sauce, sugar and chili garlic sauce or crushed red pepper in a small bowl. Set aside.
Heat a nonstick wok or large skillet. Swirl in 2 tsp. oil, then add beef. Stir fry until cooked through. Transfer to a plate. Add remaining oil and ginger. Stir fry for 1 minute. Add green beans and carrot and cook 3-4 minutes. Add broth mixture and cook, stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Return beef to pan and heat through.
Activity and your weight.
Activity and Your Weight:
A Guide to Starting Out
Article By: WeightWatchers.com
Activity and fitness are an important part of a successful weight-loss journey. Learn how you can take it slow and go at your own gradual pace to work up to a level that will help you maintain the pounds you lose.
Despite our sedentary culture, most of us realize the benefits of activity: It reduces the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and some cancers, and helps build strong bones. It helps combat stress. And it's a critical part of long-term weight-loss success: Research has shown that active people are much more likely to maintain their weight losses.1
So where do you start? The Weight Watchers approach encourages you to take it slow. We suggest that you build up your activity gradually, starting at whatever stage makes sense for you, and progressing at a pace that feels comfortable. So that this time, your efforts will help you feel great and lose weight — and keep it off.
Determine your activity stage
You've already taken an important first step toward losing weight by coming to Weight Watchers. The next step is to determine your current activity stage by following the guidelines below.
1. Understand activity PointsPlus™ values
Once you start paying attention to activity PointsPlus values, you'll notice what a difference activity makes and you may be eager to add more movement to your day. This is how they work:
You earn activity PointsPlus values, for any physical activity you do.
There's no limit to the number you can earn and save each week within the PointsPlus Tracker.
You may swap activity PointsPlus values for food PointsPlus values one for one and they can be used any day of the week.
You will boost your weightloss by not swapping your activity PointsPlus values for food.
2. Think about how active you are
Activity includes anything from household chores to walking to sports. Plot a typical week out using the chart below:
Day Activity Minutes Intensity
(estimate based on the chart below)
Mon Walk around the block 15 Low
Tues Go for a swim at the Y 30 High
A reliable way to determine intensity level
Tune in to your body's clues to determine the level of intensity of a given activity or workout. Your perceived rate of exertion has been shown to be a pretty accurate measure of intensity level2, so use the chart below as a guide.
Can you talk? Can you sing? Is your breathing... Do you sweat? Your INTENSITY LEVEL is
Yes Yes Regular No Low
Yes No Often and deep After about 10 min. Moderate
Only in short
phrases No Rapid and deep After 3-5 min. High
3. Determine how many activity PointsPlus values you earned.
To do this, simply convert your typical weekly activity into activity PointsPlus values with the Activity Calculator.
Now you can identify your activity stage.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Cheat sheet to Power Food list
A handy cheat sheet to how the old Filling Foods list translates to the new Weight Watchers Power Foods list.
By now, you have probably heard or read about the Weight Watchers Power Foods. These replace the Filling Foods — except, not exactly. More on that later.
First, the basics. Power Foods are determined by the energy density of a food as well as the nutrient content of a serving of food. We combined foods into categories, for example beef, cookies, yogurt, and ranked all the foods in each category using a proprietary formula tailored to the category. (Some categories, such as cookies, do not have any items that make the cut.) The foods that rose to the top of the list — based on the lowest energy density, as well as being low in fat, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, (depending on category) and/or fiber — are determined to be Power Foods. They are the healthiest and most filling choices within a specific category of foods. These foods were assigned the green pyramid to identify them as Power Foods.
A great many of the Filling Foods have stayed on the Power Foods list, along with a few exciting new ones. And some didn’t make it. There were some foods that, while they have healthy properties, they didn’t meet all the criteria we set for Weight Watchers Power Foods. Avocados, for example, may have lots of healthy fats in them, but the fact remains that they are simply still high in saturated fat. And many canned vegetable soups no longer make the grade because of the high amount of sodium they contain. (Of course, this doesn’t mean you can no longer eat them!)
So, here’s a handy cheat sheet to what’s in and what’s out in the Weight Watchers Power Foods list.
What’s in — new on the Power Foods list
Bread
Light breads (whole-grain varieties are preferred) are now Power Foods. They were added to the list after the aforementioned analysis, and our tests of the new Plan showed that eating these breads didn’t have a negative effect on weight loss.
More pasta varieties
Pasta is normally made from wheat, but increasingly available are varieties made from other grains such as rye, spelt and kamut. These are now Weight Watchers Power Foods.
Fat-free yogurt (artificially sweetened)
Yogurt’s a delicious way of getting in some of your dairy servings, and we’ve made the fat-free, artificially sweetened varieties a Weight Watchers Power Food.
What’s out — Filling Foods that aren’t Power Foods
Avocado
Canadian bacon
Beef — porterhouse steak, T-bone steak, tongue
Cereal — puffed, shredded wheat
Chicken — canned
Chicken livers
Fish — including cooked eel, herring, mackerel, farmed salmon and pompano. Also lox (smoked salmon) and sardines canned in tomato sauce
Lamb — cooked, trimmed leg and loin, also cooked ground lamb
Milk — fat-free evaporated
Plantain — baked or boiled
Pork — including cooked and trimmed leg and loin, plus cooked lean sirloin
Pudding — fat-free, sugar-free, various types
Soup — many canned or instant soups including black bean, lentil, Manhattan clam chowder, split pea, tomato and vegetable beef.
Soy cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes
Textured vegetable protein
Turkey — 93% ground, cooked, plus regular, cooked
Veal — cooked leg, trimmed
Veggie burger — black bean
By now, you have probably heard or read about the Weight Watchers Power Foods. These replace the Filling Foods — except, not exactly. More on that later.
First, the basics. Power Foods are determined by the energy density of a food as well as the nutrient content of a serving of food. We combined foods into categories, for example beef, cookies, yogurt, and ranked all the foods in each category using a proprietary formula tailored to the category. (Some categories, such as cookies, do not have any items that make the cut.) The foods that rose to the top of the list — based on the lowest energy density, as well as being low in fat, saturated fat, sugar, sodium, (depending on category) and/or fiber — are determined to be Power Foods. They are the healthiest and most filling choices within a specific category of foods. These foods were assigned the green pyramid to identify them as Power Foods.
A great many of the Filling Foods have stayed on the Power Foods list, along with a few exciting new ones. And some didn’t make it. There were some foods that, while they have healthy properties, they didn’t meet all the criteria we set for Weight Watchers Power Foods. Avocados, for example, may have lots of healthy fats in them, but the fact remains that they are simply still high in saturated fat. And many canned vegetable soups no longer make the grade because of the high amount of sodium they contain. (Of course, this doesn’t mean you can no longer eat them!)
So, here’s a handy cheat sheet to what’s in and what’s out in the Weight Watchers Power Foods list.
What’s in — new on the Power Foods list
Bread
Light breads (whole-grain varieties are preferred) are now Power Foods. They were added to the list after the aforementioned analysis, and our tests of the new Plan showed that eating these breads didn’t have a negative effect on weight loss.
More pasta varieties
Pasta is normally made from wheat, but increasingly available are varieties made from other grains such as rye, spelt and kamut. These are now Weight Watchers Power Foods.
Fat-free yogurt (artificially sweetened)
Yogurt’s a delicious way of getting in some of your dairy servings, and we’ve made the fat-free, artificially sweetened varieties a Weight Watchers Power Food.
What’s out — Filling Foods that aren’t Power Foods
Avocado
Canadian bacon
Beef — porterhouse steak, T-bone steak, tongue
Cereal — puffed, shredded wheat
Chicken — canned
Chicken livers
Fish — including cooked eel, herring, mackerel, farmed salmon and pompano. Also lox (smoked salmon) and sardines canned in tomato sauce
Lamb — cooked, trimmed leg and loin, also cooked ground lamb
Milk — fat-free evaporated
Plantain — baked or boiled
Pork — including cooked and trimmed leg and loin, plus cooked lean sirloin
Pudding — fat-free, sugar-free, various types
Soup — many canned or instant soups including black bean, lentil, Manhattan clam chowder, split pea, tomato and vegetable beef.
Soy cheese
Sun-dried tomatoes
Textured vegetable protein
Turkey — 93% ground, cooked, plus regular, cooked
Veal — cooked leg, trimmed
Veggie burger — black bean
Caramel Apple Salad
Caramel Apple Salad (Thank you MaryEllen Frederick, Friday)
(4 pts plus in a cup) Makes 5 Servings
1 22 ounce pineapple chunks in their own juice, drained very well
4 medium apples, cut up any way (I leave the skins on)
1 package sf ff butterscotch pudding (could use vanilla, but then it wouldn't be Caramel Apple Salad)
1 8 ounce Cool Whip free
Whisk the pudding mix with the Cool Whip. Put the apples and the pineapple in a bowl, add the pudding and Cool Whip mixture, and mix. Refrigerate for an hour or so. If you keep the bowl covered it should stay fresh for a couple of days.
(4 pts plus in a cup) Makes 5 Servings
1 22 ounce pineapple chunks in their own juice, drained very well
4 medium apples, cut up any way (I leave the skins on)
1 package sf ff butterscotch pudding (could use vanilla, but then it wouldn't be Caramel Apple Salad)
1 8 ounce Cool Whip free
Whisk the pudding mix with the Cool Whip. Put the apples and the pineapple in a bowl, add the pudding and Cool Whip mixture, and mix. Refrigerate for an hour or so. If you keep the bowl covered it should stay fresh for a couple of days.
Lemon Greek Salad
Lemon Greek Salad (Thank you Krista, Frederick, Sunday)
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
14 oz. raw boneless, skinless chicken breast (should yield two 6 oz. servings)
Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 Cup (1 medium) Cucumber Chopped (I like to use a English Cucumber)
1 Cup (1 medium) red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
1 cup chopped cherry tomators
1/4 cup (10 medium black, green, or kamalata olives
2 Tbsp. of fresh finely chopped Parsley.
2 Tbsp. red onion, finely chopped
4-5 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Feta crumpled (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat grill to medium high heat- (or grill pan or skillet). Sprinkle Mrs. Dash on chicken. Once grill is heated cook chicken. Make sure chicken is thoroughly cooked. Cut chicken into slices.
2. In a serving bowl combine parsley, olices, and garlic. Whish in the lemon juice and the olive oil. Add cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, and onion, Toss to coat ingredients with dressing. Add up to 1 tsp more of lemon juice to taste. Split salad onto two place and place 6 oz. of chicken on top of each.
3. Add crumpled feta if you like.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 380 Total Fat 11g Sat Fat 2.5g Chol 145mg Sodium 280mg Total Carb 14G Fiber 4g Protein 55g
Points Plus: 9
Prep Time: 25 Minutes
Servings: 2
Ingredients
14 oz. raw boneless, skinless chicken breast (should yield two 6 oz. servings)
Mrs. Dash seasoning
1 Cup (1 medium) Cucumber Chopped (I like to use a English Cucumber)
1 Cup (1 medium) red, orange, or yellow bell pepper
1 cup chopped cherry tomators
1/4 cup (10 medium black, green, or kamalata olives
2 Tbsp. of fresh finely chopped Parsley.
2 Tbsp. red onion, finely chopped
4-5 tsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
Feta crumpled (optional)
Directions
1. Preheat grill to medium high heat- (or grill pan or skillet). Sprinkle Mrs. Dash on chicken. Once grill is heated cook chicken. Make sure chicken is thoroughly cooked. Cut chicken into slices.
2. In a serving bowl combine parsley, olices, and garlic. Whish in the lemon juice and the olive oil. Add cucumber, bell pepper, tomato, and onion, Toss to coat ingredients with dressing. Add up to 1 tsp more of lemon juice to taste. Split salad onto two place and place 6 oz. of chicken on top of each.
3. Add crumpled feta if you like.
Nutritional Information
Calories: 380 Total Fat 11g Sat Fat 2.5g Chol 145mg Sodium 280mg Total Carb 14G Fiber 4g Protein 55g
Points Plus: 9
Saturday, January 22, 2011
Avoid these 5 pitfalls
Avoid these 5 pitfalls, and you’ll be on your way to success on the PointsPlus program!
Article from WW.com by Elly Trickett McNerney
The Weight Watchers plan has changed, yes. But don’t think for a moment that you’re not up to the challenge. You learned the Plan once before! The fundamental parts are still the same: You are still tracking what you eat, watching portion sizes, aiming to meet the Good Health Guidelines, getting some activity, and remembering not to deprive yourself. The new plan is built on those exact same principles. It’s the Weight Watchers you know and love — only better!
But to make the transition easier for you, we thought it’d be helpful to point out 5 things not to do as you start following the PointsPlus system.
1. Don’t combine programs
This is No. 1 for a reason; it’s the single, most important thing to remember. The new program, including a higher daily PointsPlus Target, higher weekly PointsPlus Allowance and 0 PointsPlus values fruits, only works if you follow every part of it. (Check out the Plan Guides for the essential facts.) If you attempt to stick to the old POINTS® program, raise your daily Target and don’t count fruit, the program will not work.
Your new daily PointsPlus Target has been calculated for you, and everyone gets a weekly PointsPlus Allowance of 49. As you track your food in the Plan Manager and calculate the PointsPlus values of foods you have in your cupboards and fridge, we’re confident that you’ll enjoy having more PointsPlus values to play around with every day and that you will quickly become more and more fluent in the “new numbers.” However...
2. Don't guess at PointsPlus values
The new calculation that gives you the PointsPlus values of any food or drink is a lot more complicated than the previous POINTS values calculation. On the old Plan, lots of people had figured out a "cheat" that worked at a pinch if you had the food label at hand (or even just the calorie count), but no POINTS calculator.
But PointsPlus values go beyond calories. The calorie count you see on nutrition labels reflects the amount of energy in a food before you eat it. But once it’s down the hatch, your body has to process it. In that processing, some of the food’s calories are used. PointsPlus values reflect the energy that’s available after you’ve processed a food. Your body works harder to process protein and fiber than it does to process fat and carbs. Protein and fiber are also more filling than non-fiber containing carbohydrates and fat so the new PointsPlus calculation is designed to guide you towards filling choices as you’re working to lose weight. Therefore, your food choices — even between two that have the same number of calories — matter a lot more than they did on the old program.
All of this means that you can't just look at a food label and guesstimate the number of PointsPlus values. You will over time, of course, learn the numbers for your favorite foods. But until then, use all the tools you have available to get to the proper number.
3. Don’t “eyeball” measurements
Just as we advise you not to guess at PointsPlus values, we also advise not guessing at portions. For many foods, each PointsPlus value represents a smaller amount of food, so you’re more likely to fall foul of “portion distortion.” A little extra rounding on a 1-cup measure might bump your serving up by whole PointsPlus values. (Our Plan Guide on making smarter food choices will give you more info about portions.)
Keep in mind, too, that because of the complexity of the new calculation, PointsPlus math doesn’t necessarily follow that 1 + 1 = 2; it’s entirely possible that while one serving is 1 PointsPlus values, two servings may be 3 PointsPlus values. Don’t let portion creep derail your efforts.
4. Don’t stuff yourself with fruit
Fresh fruits are free because we want to encourage you to eat them. They're filling and nutritious Power Foods and we've factored the caloric impact of even the highest-calorie fruits into our calculations of your daily PointsPlus Target. So go for it! Just make sure to eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed.
Be particularly aware of day-long grazing. It’s a great habit to have a fruit bowl on your desk or somewhere equally accessible, but be mindful of your portions. While you’ll hear a lot of people saying, “Yeah, I’m not doing Weight Watchers because I ate too much fruit!” there is still a possibility that not listening to your hunger signals can scupper your efforts. If you really think you’re doing everything else right while eating a lot of fruit and you’re still not losing weight, then examine the amount of fruit you’re eating, and why.
5. Don’t panic if you don’t lose weight
First of all, re-read the four pitfalls above, and make sure you haven’t become a victim to them. It’s never a bad idea to reread your starting materials again; go to your Plan section for ideas and motivation.
And look at the big picture: On the old plan you probably still had weeks when you thought you’d lose and you didn’t. Check the “usual suspects,” especially if you haven’t lost weight for a few weeks. Are your portions creeping up? Have you been honest with your tracking? Are you gorging yourself on multiple portions of 0 PointsPlus values foods? It’s tempting to attribute a period of no weight loss to a big change, like a new Plan, but it’s important to work to find the areas where you might not be using it to your best advantage. Remember: If you rock the Plan, the Plan will rock you.
Article from WW.com by Elly Trickett McNerney
The Weight Watchers plan has changed, yes. But don’t think for a moment that you’re not up to the challenge. You learned the Plan once before! The fundamental parts are still the same: You are still tracking what you eat, watching portion sizes, aiming to meet the Good Health Guidelines, getting some activity, and remembering not to deprive yourself. The new plan is built on those exact same principles. It’s the Weight Watchers you know and love — only better!
But to make the transition easier for you, we thought it’d be helpful to point out 5 things not to do as you start following the PointsPlus system.
1. Don’t combine programs
This is No. 1 for a reason; it’s the single, most important thing to remember. The new program, including a higher daily PointsPlus Target, higher weekly PointsPlus Allowance and 0 PointsPlus values fruits, only works if you follow every part of it. (Check out the Plan Guides for the essential facts.) If you attempt to stick to the old POINTS® program, raise your daily Target and don’t count fruit, the program will not work.
Your new daily PointsPlus Target has been calculated for you, and everyone gets a weekly PointsPlus Allowance of 49. As you track your food in the Plan Manager and calculate the PointsPlus values of foods you have in your cupboards and fridge, we’re confident that you’ll enjoy having more PointsPlus values to play around with every day and that you will quickly become more and more fluent in the “new numbers.” However...
2. Don't guess at PointsPlus values
The new calculation that gives you the PointsPlus values of any food or drink is a lot more complicated than the previous POINTS values calculation. On the old Plan, lots of people had figured out a "cheat" that worked at a pinch if you had the food label at hand (or even just the calorie count), but no POINTS calculator.
But PointsPlus values go beyond calories. The calorie count you see on nutrition labels reflects the amount of energy in a food before you eat it. But once it’s down the hatch, your body has to process it. In that processing, some of the food’s calories are used. PointsPlus values reflect the energy that’s available after you’ve processed a food. Your body works harder to process protein and fiber than it does to process fat and carbs. Protein and fiber are also more filling than non-fiber containing carbohydrates and fat so the new PointsPlus calculation is designed to guide you towards filling choices as you’re working to lose weight. Therefore, your food choices — even between two that have the same number of calories — matter a lot more than they did on the old program.
All of this means that you can't just look at a food label and guesstimate the number of PointsPlus values. You will over time, of course, learn the numbers for your favorite foods. But until then, use all the tools you have available to get to the proper number.
3. Don’t “eyeball” measurements
Just as we advise you not to guess at PointsPlus values, we also advise not guessing at portions. For many foods, each PointsPlus value represents a smaller amount of food, so you’re more likely to fall foul of “portion distortion.” A little extra rounding on a 1-cup measure might bump your serving up by whole PointsPlus values. (Our Plan Guide on making smarter food choices will give you more info about portions.)
Keep in mind, too, that because of the complexity of the new calculation, PointsPlus math doesn’t necessarily follow that 1 + 1 = 2; it’s entirely possible that while one serving is 1 PointsPlus values, two servings may be 3 PointsPlus values. Don’t let portion creep derail your efforts.
4. Don’t stuff yourself with fruit
Fresh fruits are free because we want to encourage you to eat them. They're filling and nutritious Power Foods and we've factored the caloric impact of even the highest-calorie fruits into our calculations of your daily PointsPlus Target. So go for it! Just make sure to eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed.
Be particularly aware of day-long grazing. It’s a great habit to have a fruit bowl on your desk or somewhere equally accessible, but be mindful of your portions. While you’ll hear a lot of people saying, “Yeah, I’m not doing Weight Watchers because I ate too much fruit!” there is still a possibility that not listening to your hunger signals can scupper your efforts. If you really think you’re doing everything else right while eating a lot of fruit and you’re still not losing weight, then examine the amount of fruit you’re eating, and why.
5. Don’t panic if you don’t lose weight
First of all, re-read the four pitfalls above, and make sure you haven’t become a victim to them. It’s never a bad idea to reread your starting materials again; go to your Plan section for ideas and motivation.
And look at the big picture: On the old plan you probably still had weeks when you thought you’d lose and you didn’t. Check the “usual suspects,” especially if you haven’t lost weight for a few weeks. Are your portions creeping up? Have you been honest with your tracking? Are you gorging yourself on multiple portions of 0 PointsPlus values foods? It’s tempting to attribute a period of no weight loss to a big change, like a new Plan, but it’s important to work to find the areas where you might not be using it to your best advantage. Remember: If you rock the Plan, the Plan will rock you.
Quote of the week
"STRENGTH IS THE CAPACITY TO BREAK A CHOCOLATE BAR INTO 4 PIECES WITH YOUR BARE HANDS AND EAT ONLY ONE OF THE PIECES"
Monday, January 17, 2011
Dijon Crusted Chicken Breast
Dijon-Crusted Chicken Breast (Thank you Bob and Joyce, Frederick,Friday)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp, salt
¼ tsp. pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp. reduced-fat margarine
Place first 6 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Brush chicken with mustard, roll in crumb mixture.
In a large non-stick skillet, cook chicken in oil and margarine over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.
Prep/Total time 25 minutes
Yield 4 Servings
Nutrition Facts: 1 Chicken breast half equals 169 calories, 5 g. Fat, 380 mg. sodium, 6 g. Carbohydrates, trace of fiber, 24 gm Protein. (4 Points Plus)
1/3 cup dry bread crumbs
1 Tbsp. grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
½ tsp. dried thyme
¼ tsp, salt
¼ tsp. pepper
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (4 oz. each)
2 Tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp. reduced-fat margarine
Place first 6 ingredients in a shallow bowl. Brush chicken with mustard, roll in crumb mixture.
In a large non-stick skillet, cook chicken in oil and margarine over medium heat for 6 to 8 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 170 degrees.
Prep/Total time 25 minutes
Yield 4 Servings
Nutrition Facts: 1 Chicken breast half equals 169 calories, 5 g. Fat, 380 mg. sodium, 6 g. Carbohydrates, trace of fiber, 24 gm Protein. (4 Points Plus)
Italian Chicken
Italian Chicken (Thank you Joyce and Bob-Frederick-Friday)
½ cup chopped onion
1-1/8 tsp. paprika, divided
3 tsp. olive oil, divided
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup tomato paste
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules
¼ cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. oregano
1-1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
In a small saucepan, sauté onion and 1/8 tsp. paprika in 1 tsp. oil until tender. Stir in the water, tomato paste, bay leaf, bouillon and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large re-sealable plastic bag, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, oregano and remaining paprika. Add chicken; seal bag and shake to coat.
In a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken in 1 tsp of oil for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Discard bay leaf. Serve sauce over chicken.
Prep/Total time 30 minutes
Yield 4 Servings
Nutrition Facts: 4 oz. cooked chicken with 3 Tbsp. sauce equals 163 calories, 3 g. fat, 287 mg. sodium, 8 gm. Carbohydrates, 1 gm. Fiber, 27 gm. Protein. (4 points plus per serving)
Really good over whole wheat pasta and green beans as a side dish!
½ cup chopped onion
1-1/8 tsp. paprika, divided
3 tsp. olive oil, divided
1 ¼ cups water
½ cup tomato paste
1 bay leaf
½ tsp. reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules
¼ cup all purpose flour
1-1/2 tsp. grated Parmesan cheese
½ tsp. salt
¼ tsp. garlic powder
¼ tsp. oregano
1-1/2 lbs chicken tenderloins
In a small saucepan, sauté onion and 1/8 tsp. paprika in 1 tsp. oil until tender. Stir in the water, tomato paste, bay leaf, bouillon and Italian seasoning. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in a large re-sealable plastic bag, combine the flour, Parmesan cheese, salt, garlic powder, oregano and remaining paprika. Add chicken; seal bag and shake to coat.
In a large non-stick skillet coated with cooking spray, cook chicken in 1 tsp of oil for 3 to 5 minutes on each side or until no longer pink. Discard bay leaf. Serve sauce over chicken.
Prep/Total time 30 minutes
Yield 4 Servings
Nutrition Facts: 4 oz. cooked chicken with 3 Tbsp. sauce equals 163 calories, 3 g. fat, 287 mg. sodium, 8 gm. Carbohydrates, 1 gm. Fiber, 27 gm. Protein. (4 points plus per serving)
Really good over whole wheat pasta and green beans as a side dish!
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Pile on Power Foods
Pile on the Power Foods
Article By: Melissa Sperl
There's a reason we made all fruits and most veggies Power Foods – and 0 PointsPlus™ values: They're a fabulous tool for weight loss. Here's how to get them into your meal plan.
If you're like many people, you may find it hard to fit five servings of fruits and vegetables into your menu each day. It makes sense: When you're more used to extra breads, meats and cheeses than veggies and fruits, it's a big adjustment.
But it's an important part of the Plan, so do what you can to make the change. It's worth it. In addition to all fresh fruits and most vegetables having zero PointsPlus values, fruits and veggies offer the following perks:
They make you feel fuller.
They're rich sources of disease-fighting antioxidants.
They reduce the risk of heart disease.
They provide folic acid, vitamins and minerals.
They increase energy, fight infection, improve regularity, keep skin healthy, promote normal blood clotting and build bones!
Fitting them in
There are many ways to include more fruits and vegetables into your meals. Variety is key. When you go grocery shopping, pick up a fruit you've never tried before or spice up your green beans with a fiery peanut sauce instead of the usual butter spray.
Here are some tricks to try:
Add vegetables to frozen entrees, pasta dishes, soups or wraps.
Use frozen veggies to save time. Add them to recipes or use them on their own.
Snack on crudités with salsa, hummus, low-fat dip or dressing.
Buy fresh seasonal, local or organic veggies, which are often more flavorful.
Mix fruits into salads for a surprising new taste.
Article By: Melissa Sperl
There's a reason we made all fruits and most veggies Power Foods – and 0 PointsPlus™ values: They're a fabulous tool for weight loss. Here's how to get them into your meal plan.
If you're like many people, you may find it hard to fit five servings of fruits and vegetables into your menu each day. It makes sense: When you're more used to extra breads, meats and cheeses than veggies and fruits, it's a big adjustment.
But it's an important part of the Plan, so do what you can to make the change. It's worth it. In addition to all fresh fruits and most vegetables having zero PointsPlus values, fruits and veggies offer the following perks:
They make you feel fuller.
They're rich sources of disease-fighting antioxidants.
They reduce the risk of heart disease.
They provide folic acid, vitamins and minerals.
They increase energy, fight infection, improve regularity, keep skin healthy, promote normal blood clotting and build bones!
Fitting them in
There are many ways to include more fruits and vegetables into your meals. Variety is key. When you go grocery shopping, pick up a fruit you've never tried before or spice up your green beans with a fiery peanut sauce instead of the usual butter spray.
Here are some tricks to try:
Add vegetables to frozen entrees, pasta dishes, soups or wraps.
Use frozen veggies to save time. Add them to recipes or use them on their own.
Snack on crudités with salsa, hummus, low-fat dip or dressing.
Buy fresh seasonal, local or organic veggies, which are often more flavorful.
Mix fruits into salads for a surprising new taste.
Swiss Steak
Swiss Steak
PointsPlus® Value: 7
Serves 6
2 lbs.cooked trimmed beef round steak or roast
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup(s) celery, chopped or strips
20 medium baby carrots, estimate of number
1/4 cup(s) minced onion
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cup(s) canned diced tomatoes, one 14.5 oz. can
8 oz canned tomato sauce
Trim fat from steak. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Dredge steak in flour and place in sprayed slow cooker or casserole.
Add chopped vegetables and tomatoes. Mix Worcestershire sauce with tomato sauce and pour over meat and vegetables.
Cover and cook on low 7-10 hours.
If you want to make this in the oven, bake at 3:25 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
The amount of raw celery and carrots is approximate. I have also put raw potatoes in the slow cooker and counted the extra PointsPlus.
PointsPlus® Value: 7
Serves 6
2 lbs.cooked trimmed beef round steak or roast
1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
1 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 cup(s) celery, chopped or strips
20 medium baby carrots, estimate of number
1/4 cup(s) minced onion
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 cup(s) canned diced tomatoes, one 14.5 oz. can
8 oz canned tomato sauce
Trim fat from steak. Mix flour with salt and pepper. Dredge steak in flour and place in sprayed slow cooker or casserole.
Add chopped vegetables and tomatoes. Mix Worcestershire sauce with tomato sauce and pour over meat and vegetables.
Cover and cook on low 7-10 hours.
If you want to make this in the oven, bake at 3:25 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
The amount of raw celery and carrots is approximate. I have also put raw potatoes in the slow cooker and counted the extra PointsPlus.
Spicy Meatloaf
Spicy Meatloaf
PointsPlus® Value: 5
Servings: 8
Turn up the heat on this zesty meatloaf by adding hot green chilies or chipotle peppers. Or swap the tomato sauce for your favorite hot salsa.
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 1/2 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 cup(s) rolled oats
1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 oz canned green chili peppers, mild, diced
1 large egg(s)
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
8 oz canned tomato sauce, divided
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients, except half of tomato sauce, in a large mixing bowl; set remaining tomato sauce aside. Spoon meatloaf mixture into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake for 60 minutes; spoon remaining sauce over meatloaf and cook 5 minutes more. Slice into eight pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.
PointsPlus® Value: 5
Servings: 8
Turn up the heat on this zesty meatloaf by adding hot green chilies or chipotle peppers. Or swap the tomato sauce for your favorite hot salsa.
1 spray(s) cooking spray
1 1/2 pound(s) uncooked lean ground beef (with 7% fat)
1 cup(s) rolled oats
1 medium onion(s), finely chopped
1/2 tsp garlic powder
4 oz canned green chili peppers, mild, diced
1 large egg(s)
1 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
8 oz canned tomato sauce, divided
Preheat oven to 375°F. Coat a loaf pan with cooking spray.
Combine all ingredients, except half of tomato sauce, in a large mixing bowl; set remaining tomato sauce aside. Spoon meatloaf mixture into prepared pan and smooth top.
Bake for 60 minutes; spoon remaining sauce over meatloaf and cook 5 minutes more. Slice into eight pieces. Yields 1 piece per serving.
Friday, January 14, 2011
Chicken Enchiladas
Chicken Enchiladas (Thank you Terri, Frederick-Friday)
Course: main meals
PointsPlus™ Value: 7
Servings: 10
Preparation Time: 0 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
12 1/2 oz roasted chicken breast (chopped)
1 serving(s) 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup(s) light sour cream
10 serving(s) Carb Balance Flour Tortillas
1 cup(s) onion(s), 1 Medium, chopped
1/8 cup(s) canned jalapeٌo peppers, diced
2 cup(s) Borden 2% Shreds Shredded reduced fat cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup(s) tomato(es)
Instructions
Fill each Tortilla with chicken, onion, cheese, roll each up and place into 9x13 casserole dish with seam down. Reserve approx. 1/3 C of cheese to sprinkle on top. Make sauce with soup, sour cream, approx. 1/4 c of broth from canned chicken, 1 TBsp of chopped jalepenos. Pour sauce evenly on top of tortillas, Bake at 350 30-35 mins., sprinkle with cheese.
Course: main meals
PointsPlus™ Value: 7
Servings: 10
Preparation Time: 0 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
12 1/2 oz roasted chicken breast (chopped)
1 serving(s) 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup(s) light sour cream
10 serving(s) Carb Balance Flour Tortillas
1 cup(s) onion(s), 1 Medium, chopped
1/8 cup(s) canned jalapeٌo peppers, diced
2 cup(s) Borden 2% Shreds Shredded reduced fat cheddar & Monterey Jack cheese
1/2 cup(s) tomato(es)
Instructions
Fill each Tortilla with chicken, onion, cheese, roll each up and place into 9x13 casserole dish with seam down. Reserve approx. 1/3 C of cheese to sprinkle on top. Make sauce with soup, sour cream, approx. 1/4 c of broth from canned chicken, 1 TBsp of chopped jalepenos. Pour sauce evenly on top of tortillas, Bake at 350 30-35 mins., sprinkle with cheese.
Barley with Roasted Parsnips and Carrots.
Barley with Roasted Parsnips and Carrots
PointsPlus Value 5
level BASIC prep 15 MIN roast/cook 40 MIN serves 6
8 baby carrots, peeled
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup chopped shallots
1 cup barley
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups baby spinach
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese shavings
1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Place carrots and parsnips in large rimmed baking pan; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange vegetables in baking pan in single layer and roast, stirring once, until lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, spray large saucepan with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add barley; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
3 Add broth, coriander, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to saucepan and bring to simmer. Cook until barley is tender, about 25 minutes.
4 Stir in spinach, roasted vegetables, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Transfer to serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Serve at once.
PER SERVING (2/3 cup): 282 g, 211 Cal, 3 g Total Fat, 1 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 5 mg Chol, 359 mg Sod, 37 g Total Carb, 4 g Total Sugar, 8 g Fib, 9 g Prot, 84 mg
PointsPlus Value 5
level BASIC prep 15 MIN roast/cook 40 MIN serves 6
8 baby carrots, peeled
2 large carrots, cut into 1/2-inch slices
2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into 1/2-inch slices
1 teaspoon olive oil
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
½ cup chopped shallots
1 cup barley
½ cup dry white wine
3 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups baby spinach
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
4 tablespoons Parmesan cheese shavings
1 Preheat oven to 400°F. Place carrots and parsnips in large rimmed baking pan; drizzle with oil and sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon of the salt and 1/8 teaspoon of the pepper. Toss to coat. Arrange vegetables in baking pan in single layer and roast, stirring once, until lightly browned and tender, about 30 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, spray large saucepan with nonstick spray and set over medium-high heat. Add shallots and cook, stirring often, until softened, about 2 minutes. Add barley; cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly toasted, about 5 minutes. Add wine and cook, stirring, until absorbed, about 2 minutes.
3 Add broth, coriander, and remaining ¼ teaspoon salt and 1/8 teaspoon pepper to saucepan and bring to simmer. Cook until barley is tender, about 25 minutes.
4 Stir in spinach, roasted vegetables, lemon zest, and 2 tablespoons of the Parmesan. Transfer to serving bowl; sprinkle with remaining 2 tablespoons Parmesan. Serve at once.
PER SERVING (2/3 cup): 282 g, 211 Cal, 3 g Total Fat, 1 g Sat Fat, 0 g Trans Fat, 5 mg Chol, 359 mg Sod, 37 g Total Carb, 4 g Total Sugar, 8 g Fib, 9 g Prot, 84 mg
Monday, January 10, 2011
Lentil and Black Bean Chili
Lentil and Black Bean Chili
Course: main meals
PointsPlus™ Value: 6
Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 14 min
Cooking Time: 22 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Lentils and black beans are a delicious pairing in vegetarian chili. It̢۪s tasty on its own but also great topped with light sour cream and cheese.*
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup(s) dry lentils, French-variety, picked over for debris
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion(s), diced
1 large sweet red pepper(s), diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
29 oz canned diced tomatoes, fire-roasted with chiles, undrained
31 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
Instructions
Place lentils in a large sauce pan and cover with water by several inches; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are tender but retain a little bite, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain well and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, pepper and garlic, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
In a cup, combine chili powder, oregano, cumin, cayenne and salt; add to skillet and stir well to combine. Cook, stirring often, about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and their juice, and beans to skillet; stir well to combine. Cover skillet and simmer so flavors can blend, about 5 to 10 minutes. Fold in lentils and cilantro; serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
Notes
Course: main meals
PointsPlus™ Value: 6
Servings: 8
Preparation Time: 14 min
Cooking Time: 22 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Lentils and black beans are a delicious pairing in vegetarian chili. It̢۪s tasty on its own but also great topped with light sour cream and cheese.*
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup(s) dry lentils, French-variety, picked over for debris
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 large onion(s), diced
1 large sweet red pepper(s), diced
2 Tbsp minced garlic
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
29 oz canned diced tomatoes, fire-roasted with chiles, undrained
31 oz canned black beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
Instructions
Place lentils in a large sauce pan and cover with water by several inches; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until lentils are tender but retain a little bite, about 10 to 15 minutes; drain well and set aside.
Meanwhile, heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, pepper and garlic, stirring often, until vegetables are softened, about 10 minutes.
In a cup, combine chili powder, oregano, cumin, cayenne and salt; add to skillet and stir well to combine. Cook, stirring often, about 1 minute.
Add tomatoes and their juice, and beans to skillet; stir well to combine. Cover skillet and simmer so flavors can blend, about 5 to 10 minutes. Fold in lentils and cilantro; serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
Notes
Sunday, January 9, 2011
Tracking
Tracking Food, Activity, and Weight
Why track food and activity?
Experts in the field of weight loss have found that tracking food and activity on a regular basis increases weight-loss success. (For more information, see the Science Center). Compare it to staying on a financial budget, and tracking your spending: Not only are you paying attention to what you’re eating, but you’re writing it down, which helps you stay honest, accountable, and focused on your goal.
Tracking food in the PointsPlus™ Tracker
Each day, track everything you eat and drink, keeping an eye on your PointsPlus values and portion sizes. You should also keep track of the physical activity that you do. At the end of the day you’ll see if you stayed within your Target.
You can also use the PointsPlus Tracker to track how well you’re doing with the Good Health Guidelines, such as getting enough water and fruits and vegetables. Plus you can track your hunger levels, so you can learn to avoid hunger’s “peaks and valleys.”
Your key tool for tracking your PointsPlus values is the PointsPlus Tracker in the Plan Manager.
Tracking activity
You can also keep track of activity PointsPlus values in the Plan Manager’s Activity Tracker. Log the activity you do, and you can swap activity PointsPlus values for food PointsPlus values.
The PointsPlus Tracker will automatically swap your earned activity PointsPlus values.
Tracking weight
Finally, it‘s important to weigh yourself each week, so you can follow your progress as your weight changes, and so your PointsPlus Target is accurate.
Some tips for weighing yourself:
Weigh yourself on the same day each week, at the same time of day.
Wear similar clothing each week. (And don’t forget to take off your shoes!)
Don’t worry; if you decide to change the day of the week you weigh yourself, or change your starting weight, you can always update them in your profile.
In the Weight Tracker, you can see when you hit important weight-loss milestones, and see a graph of your progress over time. You can track measurements, too.
Why track food and activity?
Experts in the field of weight loss have found that tracking food and activity on a regular basis increases weight-loss success. (For more information, see the Science Center). Compare it to staying on a financial budget, and tracking your spending: Not only are you paying attention to what you’re eating, but you’re writing it down, which helps you stay honest, accountable, and focused on your goal.
Tracking food in the PointsPlus™ Tracker
Each day, track everything you eat and drink, keeping an eye on your PointsPlus values and portion sizes. You should also keep track of the physical activity that you do. At the end of the day you’ll see if you stayed within your Target.
You can also use the PointsPlus Tracker to track how well you’re doing with the Good Health Guidelines, such as getting enough water and fruits and vegetables. Plus you can track your hunger levels, so you can learn to avoid hunger’s “peaks and valleys.”
Your key tool for tracking your PointsPlus values is the PointsPlus Tracker in the Plan Manager.
Tracking activity
You can also keep track of activity PointsPlus values in the Plan Manager’s Activity Tracker. Log the activity you do, and you can swap activity PointsPlus values for food PointsPlus values.
The PointsPlus Tracker will automatically swap your earned activity PointsPlus values.
Tracking weight
Finally, it‘s important to weigh yourself each week, so you can follow your progress as your weight changes, and so your PointsPlus Target is accurate.
Some tips for weighing yourself:
Weigh yourself on the same day each week, at the same time of day.
Wear similar clothing each week. (And don’t forget to take off your shoes!)
Don’t worry; if you decide to change the day of the week you weigh yourself, or change your starting weight, you can always update them in your profile.
In the Weight Tracker, you can see when you hit important weight-loss milestones, and see a graph of your progress over time. You can track measurements, too.
Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches
Crock Pot Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches (Thank you Kristen, Frederick-Friday)
4 oz. Philadelphia Fat Free Cream Cheese
8 T. Fat Free Ranch dressing
3 Perdue Perfect Portions Boneless Chicken Breasts
Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste ( I use 6-8 T. but I like it spicy)
Put all ingredients in a crock pot and place on low for about 6 hours. Then take out chicken and shred apart. Put shredded chicken and liquid mixture from the crockpot together and serve! You can use whole wheat buns or just eat on a plate.
Servings: 4
PointsPlus Value per serving: 4
If you make the sandwich add the PointsPlus for the bun you use.
**If you like bigger portions, there is a 6 PointsPlus value for 3 servings**
4 oz. Philadelphia Fat Free Cream Cheese
8 T. Fat Free Ranch dressing
3 Perdue Perfect Portions Boneless Chicken Breasts
Frank's Red Hot Sauce to taste ( I use 6-8 T. but I like it spicy)
Put all ingredients in a crock pot and place on low for about 6 hours. Then take out chicken and shred apart. Put shredded chicken and liquid mixture from the crockpot together and serve! You can use whole wheat buns or just eat on a plate.
Servings: 4
PointsPlus Value per serving: 4
If you make the sandwich add the PointsPlus for the bun you use.
**If you like bigger portions, there is a 6 PointsPlus value for 3 servings**
Why change a great program?
Why change a great program? article by David Kirchhoff, Weight Watchers CEO
We first launched the POINTS® program in 1997, and it marked a whole new era for Weight Watchers. The POINTS program took a major step forward in helping our members by providing a tool to guide healthy choices in an infinite array of eating environments. Counting POINTS values provided critical help to our members in:
Learning better food choices
Learning proper portion size
Keeping track of those hidden bites, licks and tastes throughout the day
Maintaining an energy deficit
Research has shown that budgeting and keeping track of our food and exercise is a critical part of developing healthier habits and lifestyle change. The currency of the original POINTS formula was based primarily on calories with a penalty for fat and a bonus for fiber. During its 13 years, many, many, many people had terrific success following it. So why change such a great program?
We asked ourselves that very question about three years ago. The simple answer is that understanding about weight loss has grown significantly over the past 10 years. Further, we have grown to learn even more about the difficulty in making healthy choices and achieving sustained weight loss in a food environment that seems to conspire against us. This so-called “obesogenic” environment is one in which we find ourselves surrounded by multiplying food choices in the grocery store and in restaurants. Too many of these choices seem to entice us to excess sugars, fat and sodium as well as ever-increasing portions. All of this began to suggest that we needed a better set of tools to help us cope in our daily world.
Some of the recent areas of advancement in understanding include:
Conversion cost. It has been known for decades that the body has to work harder to process some foods more than others. For example, protein and carbohydrates rich in fiber take much more work to process than refined carbohydrates and fats. This means that some foods leave our bodies with fewer calories to use for fuel. While the knowledge has been there for years, weight-loss diets have traditionally been based simply on calories.
Energy density and satiety. Research has shown that we tend to eat the same volume of food each day. Eating foods that have a low energy density (e.g., relatively few calories per volume of food) leads to having a greater feeling of fullness and satisfaction. Furthermore, research has also shown that some nutrients, particularly protein and fiber, provide greater satiety than others, such as sugars and fat.
Complexity of choice. It’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed each day by the horde of messages, often seemingly conflicting, about the latest nutrition fad. Watch out for saturated fats! Watch your sodium! Carbs are bad! No wait, all fat is bad! Our lives move too fast to think about all of this stuff too much. It would be far better if there were a food plan that did the homework for us.
Knowing all of the above was reason enough for us to recognize the need to give the POINTS program a long awaited refresh. However, the best reason I can think of is this: Empty calories. The bottom line is that an energy deficit is still at the heart of weight loss. The issue is that calorie-counting has become unhelpful. When we have a 100-calorie apple in one hand and a 100-calorie pack of cookies in the other, and we view them as being “the same” because the calories are the same, it says everything that needs to be said about the limitations of just using calories in guiding food choices. We needed a program that recognized that calories are most definitely not created equal. We knew that counting, budgeting and planning still made fundamental sense, but we wanted a better and more accurate currency. We wanted a POINTS formula that was much more “opinionated” about food choices beyond just calories.
Introducing the PointsPlus program
Our new PointsPlus program is by far our biggest advancement since the launch of the POINTS program 13 years ago. It has a completely new formula, a new set of food rules and nutrition guides built into a simple, easy-to-use plan.
Philosophically, the PointsPlus program is allowing us to step in front and into the future. We are taking a stand for unprocessed food. We are taking a stand for fruits and vegetables. We still recognize the need for a lot of flexibility and some indulgences, but just in a much smarter way. It’s a modern approach that gives us all the ammunition we need to survive and thrive in an often unforgiving food environment. It allows us a way of making choices that will leave us feeling satisfied, more energetic, more in control and give us the edge to lose weight and maintain that loss in a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.
I totally understand that some of you will be excited and eager while others will be stressed and anxious. Change is hard, particularly when you’ve already been having success. But remember, it’s still fundamentally about counting, so it’s not completely different. As well, new PointsPlus values mean a new chance to better understand the choices you are making. It’s an opportunity to dive in and be “new” again. Trust me, you will get the hang of it quickly, and then you will be ready to fly even higher.
For meetings members and Weight Watchers Online subscribers making the transition, here is my advice based on seeing many beta testers of this new program:
Treat it as the all-new program that it is. While the PointsPlus system is still based on counting, the formula underlying it is completely different. This means that most of the values have changed, including your PointsPlus range (which is higher) and the PointsPlus values for most foods (also higher). Avoid the temptation to do a “hybrid” program that uses elements of the old POINTS program and elements of the new PointsPlus program. Trust me, they don’t mix well together.
Enjoy the fact that fruits have a PointsPlus value of 0, but don’t go completely crazy. Only 10 percent of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruit, so most of us are not at risk of eating too much fruit on the new program. However, if you already eat a lot of fruit each day, doubling or tripling that will result in slower weight loss. When in doubt, use common sense, listen to your body’s signals (eat some fruit because you’re truly hungry, not because you can), and avoid mindless grazing (one of my personal pitfalls).
If you are new to Weight Watchers or coming back after a long hiatus, I think you will love — and thrive on — this new program.
Welcome to the future!
Cheers,
David
We first launched the POINTS® program in 1997, and it marked a whole new era for Weight Watchers. The POINTS program took a major step forward in helping our members by providing a tool to guide healthy choices in an infinite array of eating environments. Counting POINTS values provided critical help to our members in:
Learning better food choices
Learning proper portion size
Keeping track of those hidden bites, licks and tastes throughout the day
Maintaining an energy deficit
Research has shown that budgeting and keeping track of our food and exercise is a critical part of developing healthier habits and lifestyle change. The currency of the original POINTS formula was based primarily on calories with a penalty for fat and a bonus for fiber. During its 13 years, many, many, many people had terrific success following it. So why change such a great program?
We asked ourselves that very question about three years ago. The simple answer is that understanding about weight loss has grown significantly over the past 10 years. Further, we have grown to learn even more about the difficulty in making healthy choices and achieving sustained weight loss in a food environment that seems to conspire against us. This so-called “obesogenic” environment is one in which we find ourselves surrounded by multiplying food choices in the grocery store and in restaurants. Too many of these choices seem to entice us to excess sugars, fat and sodium as well as ever-increasing portions. All of this began to suggest that we needed a better set of tools to help us cope in our daily world.
Some of the recent areas of advancement in understanding include:
Conversion cost. It has been known for decades that the body has to work harder to process some foods more than others. For example, protein and carbohydrates rich in fiber take much more work to process than refined carbohydrates and fats. This means that some foods leave our bodies with fewer calories to use for fuel. While the knowledge has been there for years, weight-loss diets have traditionally been based simply on calories.
Energy density and satiety. Research has shown that we tend to eat the same volume of food each day. Eating foods that have a low energy density (e.g., relatively few calories per volume of food) leads to having a greater feeling of fullness and satisfaction. Furthermore, research has also shown that some nutrients, particularly protein and fiber, provide greater satiety than others, such as sugars and fat.
Complexity of choice. It’s easy to feel a little overwhelmed each day by the horde of messages, often seemingly conflicting, about the latest nutrition fad. Watch out for saturated fats! Watch your sodium! Carbs are bad! No wait, all fat is bad! Our lives move too fast to think about all of this stuff too much. It would be far better if there were a food plan that did the homework for us.
Knowing all of the above was reason enough for us to recognize the need to give the POINTS program a long awaited refresh. However, the best reason I can think of is this: Empty calories. The bottom line is that an energy deficit is still at the heart of weight loss. The issue is that calorie-counting has become unhelpful. When we have a 100-calorie apple in one hand and a 100-calorie pack of cookies in the other, and we view them as being “the same” because the calories are the same, it says everything that needs to be said about the limitations of just using calories in guiding food choices. We needed a program that recognized that calories are most definitely not created equal. We knew that counting, budgeting and planning still made fundamental sense, but we wanted a better and more accurate currency. We wanted a POINTS formula that was much more “opinionated” about food choices beyond just calories.
Introducing the PointsPlus program
Our new PointsPlus program is by far our biggest advancement since the launch of the POINTS program 13 years ago. It has a completely new formula, a new set of food rules and nutrition guides built into a simple, easy-to-use plan.
Philosophically, the PointsPlus program is allowing us to step in front and into the future. We are taking a stand for unprocessed food. We are taking a stand for fruits and vegetables. We still recognize the need for a lot of flexibility and some indulgences, but just in a much smarter way. It’s a modern approach that gives us all the ammunition we need to survive and thrive in an often unforgiving food environment. It allows us a way of making choices that will leave us feeling satisfied, more energetic, more in control and give us the edge to lose weight and maintain that loss in a healthier, more sustainable lifestyle.
I totally understand that some of you will be excited and eager while others will be stressed and anxious. Change is hard, particularly when you’ve already been having success. But remember, it’s still fundamentally about counting, so it’s not completely different. As well, new PointsPlus values mean a new chance to better understand the choices you are making. It’s an opportunity to dive in and be “new” again. Trust me, you will get the hang of it quickly, and then you will be ready to fly even higher.
For meetings members and Weight Watchers Online subscribers making the transition, here is my advice based on seeing many beta testers of this new program:
Treat it as the all-new program that it is. While the PointsPlus system is still based on counting, the formula underlying it is completely different. This means that most of the values have changed, including your PointsPlus range (which is higher) and the PointsPlus values for most foods (also higher). Avoid the temptation to do a “hybrid” program that uses elements of the old POINTS program and elements of the new PointsPlus program. Trust me, they don’t mix well together.
Enjoy the fact that fruits have a PointsPlus value of 0, but don’t go completely crazy. Only 10 percent of Americans eat the recommended amount of fruit, so most of us are not at risk of eating too much fruit on the new program. However, if you already eat a lot of fruit each day, doubling or tripling that will result in slower weight loss. When in doubt, use common sense, listen to your body’s signals (eat some fruit because you’re truly hungry, not because you can), and avoid mindless grazing (one of my personal pitfalls).
If you are new to Weight Watchers or coming back after a long hiatus, I think you will love — and thrive on — this new program.
Welcome to the future!
Cheers,
David
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Taco Soup
TACO SOUP
About 12 servings ( 1 cup) @ 4 PointsPlus values each
15 oz can kidney beans
15 oz can black beans
15 oz can pinto beans
1 envelope Taco Seasoning Mix
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix
15 oz can Whole Kernel Golden Corn
10 oz can Rotel canned tomatoes with green chilies
2 cans (15 oz each) canned diced tomatoes
8 oz lean ground beef (93% lean)
Brown the ground beef, drain and rinse. Put all ingredients in a soup pot and simmer on low to medium heat for 30 min.
About 12 servings ( 1 cup) @ 4 PointsPlus values each
15 oz can kidney beans
15 oz can black beans
15 oz can pinto beans
1 envelope Taco Seasoning Mix
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch dry mix
15 oz can Whole Kernel Golden Corn
10 oz can Rotel canned tomatoes with green chilies
2 cans (15 oz each) canned diced tomatoes
8 oz lean ground beef (93% lean)
Brown the ground beef, drain and rinse. Put all ingredients in a soup pot and simmer on low to medium heat for 30 min.
Hungry Girl Special Pizza
The HG Special Pizza
PER SERVING (entire recipe): PointsPlus® Value: 7
Three kinds of cheese... a "secret" sauce... assorted yum-ilicious toppings. You will be dreaming about this veg-tastic pizza until the end of time!
1 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Large Tortilla
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
1/4 cup Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque
1/4 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles (like the kind by Boca or Morningstar Farms), thawed
3 tbsp. chopped red onion
1/2 tbsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 piece Mini Babybel Light cheese, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place tortilla on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven until slightly crispy, about 5 minutes.
Remove sheet from the oven and carefully flip tortilla. Once cool enough to handle, evenly spread cheese wedge over the tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Cover cheese with the bisque.
Evenly top the saucy layer with soy crumbles and onion. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Parm-style topping, and then evenly top with chopped cheese.
Bake in the oven until cheese has melted and tortilla is crispy, about 5 minutes. Cut into slices and eat!
PER SERVING (entire recipe): PointsPlus® Value: 7
Three kinds of cheese... a "secret" sauce... assorted yum-ilicious toppings. You will be dreaming about this veg-tastic pizza until the end of time!
1 La Tortilla Factory Smart & Delicious Low Carb High Fiber Large Tortilla
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Light Original Swiss cheese
1/4 cup Amy's Organic Chunky Tomato Bisque
1/4 cup frozen ground-beef-style soy crumbles (like the kind by Boca or Morningstar Farms), thawed
3 tbsp. chopped red onion
1/2 tbsp. reduced-fat Parmesan-style grated topping
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
1 piece Mini Babybel Light cheese, chopped
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Place tortilla on a baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake in the oven until slightly crispy, about 5 minutes.
Remove sheet from the oven and carefully flip tortilla. Once cool enough to handle, evenly spread cheese wedge over the tortilla, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge. Cover cheese with the bisque.
Evenly top the saucy layer with soy crumbles and onion. Sprinkle with garlic powder and Parm-style topping, and then evenly top with chopped cheese.
Bake in the oven until cheese has melted and tortilla is crispy, about 5 minutes. Cut into slices and eat!
Some Eating out tips.
Just some PointsPlus Eating Out Information.
ARBY's Nutrition information (not in our Companion books) http://www.arbys.com/nutrition/
APPLEBEE'S (also not in our Companion books) http://www.applebees.com/MenuLandingStatic.aspx/
1. Wendy’s Small Chili – 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus
2. KFC Grilled Chicken Breast and Green Beans – 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus
3. Subway Chipotle Chicken Corn Chowder – 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus (http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/index.aspx)
ARBY's Nutrition information (not in our Companion books) http://www.arbys.com/nutrition/
APPLEBEE'S (also not in our Companion books) http://www.applebees.com/MenuLandingStatic.aspx/
1. Wendy’s Small Chili – 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus
2. KFC Grilled Chicken Breast and Green Beans – 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus
3. Subway Chipotle Chicken Corn Chowder – 4 Weight Watchers PointsPlus (http://www.subway.com/applications/NutritionInfo/index.aspx)
Pineapple & Mandarin Orange Jello Dessert
Pineapple & Mandrian Orange Jello Dessert (Thank you Terri-Frederick-Friday)
Course: desserts
PointsPlus™ Value: 2
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 0 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
2 cup(s) hot water, boiling
15 oz canned unsweetened mandarin orange(s)
8 oz Cool Whip Whipped Topping Free Whipped Topping
1 package(s) Jell-O Fat Free, Sugar Free, Reduced Calorie Instant Vanilla Pudding, Prepared with Skim Milk
1 package(s) Jell-O Fat Free, Sugar Free, Reduced Calorie Instant Lemon, mix
1 1/3 cup(s) low-fat milk
20 oz Del Monte Pineapple, crushed, artificially sweetened
2 package(s) Jell-O Sugar-Free Orange, Use 1 LARGE Box or 2 SMALL
Instructions
Combine:
Orange* jello (1 Lg box or 2 Sm) with 2 cups BOILING water in a 9x13 dish; add 1 (20 oz.) can crush pineapple with juice,
1 Lg. can drained mandarin oranges (I use DelMonte w/ Splenda)
Pour into 9x13 Pyrex dish and refrigerate to set.
*May also use other flavors such as Strawberry or Rasberry jello
After completely set "frost" with topping.
Topping
Fold together:
1 - 8oz. container of Cool Whip (thaw first),
1 pkg. (small) Instant vanilla pudding prepared with 1 & 1/3 cups of milk.
© 2011 Weight Watchers International, Inc. © 2011 WeightWatchers.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
WEIGHT WATCHERS and PointsPlus™ are the registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc. and are used under license by WeightWatchers.com, Inc.
Course: desserts
PointsPlus™ Value: 2
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 0 min
Cooking Time: 0 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Ingredients
2 cup(s) hot water, boiling
15 oz canned unsweetened mandarin orange(s)
8 oz Cool Whip Whipped Topping Free Whipped Topping
1 package(s) Jell-O Fat Free, Sugar Free, Reduced Calorie Instant Vanilla Pudding, Prepared with Skim Milk
1 package(s) Jell-O Fat Free, Sugar Free, Reduced Calorie Instant Lemon, mix
1 1/3 cup(s) low-fat milk
20 oz Del Monte Pineapple, crushed, artificially sweetened
2 package(s) Jell-O Sugar-Free Orange, Use 1 LARGE Box or 2 SMALL
Instructions
Combine:
Orange* jello (1 Lg box or 2 Sm) with 2 cups BOILING water in a 9x13 dish; add 1 (20 oz.) can crush pineapple with juice,
1 Lg. can drained mandarin oranges (I use DelMonte w/ Splenda)
Pour into 9x13 Pyrex dish and refrigerate to set.
*May also use other flavors such as Strawberry or Rasberry jello
After completely set "frost" with topping.
Topping
Fold together:
1 - 8oz. container of Cool Whip (thaw first),
1 pkg. (small) Instant vanilla pudding prepared with 1 & 1/3 cups of milk.
© 2011 Weight Watchers International, Inc. © 2011 WeightWatchers.com, Inc. All rights reserved.
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Tuesday, January 4, 2011
Mexican Inspired Vegetable Soup
Welcome, diana!
My Favorite Recipes
Mexican-Inspired Vegetable Soup
Course: soups
PointsPlus™ Value: 1
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Here’s a spicy version of everyone’s favorite soup. If you can’t handle the heat, leave out the jalapeno seeds.
Details Read all reviews (110) Ingredients
2 cup(s) green snap beans, fresh, cut into bit-size pieces
3 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
2 small zucchini, cubed
14 oz canned diced tomatoes, Mexican-style preferred
1 medium spanish onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
1 cup(s) chopped tomatillos
1 medium jalapeٌo pepper(s), finely chopped (don't touch seeds with bare hands)
1/2 medium poblano chile, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
6 cup(s) vegetable broth
1/2 cup(s) roasted red peppers, water-packed (about 2 peppers)
1 Tbsp canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp table salt
Instructions
Place green beans, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, tomatillos, jalapeno, poblano, oregano, cumin and broth into a large soup pot. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a blender or food processor; stir into soup. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, lime juice and salt. Serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
My Favorite Recipes
Mexican-Inspired Vegetable Soup
Course: soups
PointsPlus™ Value: 1
Servings: 12
Preparation Time: 30 min
Cooking Time: 20 min
Level of Difficulty: Easy
Here’s a spicy version of everyone’s favorite soup. If you can’t handle the heat, leave out the jalapeno seeds.
Details Read all reviews (110) Ingredients
2 cup(s) green snap beans, fresh, cut into bit-size pieces
3 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced
2 small zucchini, cubed
14 oz canned diced tomatoes, Mexican-style preferred
1 medium spanish onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper(s), chopped
1 cup(s) chopped tomatillos
1 medium jalapeٌo pepper(s), finely chopped (don't touch seeds with bare hands)
1/2 medium poblano chile, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh oregano
1/2 tsp Durkee Ground Cumin Seed, or other brand
6 cup(s) vegetable broth
1/2 cup(s) roasted red peppers, water-packed (about 2 peppers)
1 Tbsp canned chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
1/2 cup(s) cilantro, fresh, chopped
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
3/4 tsp table salt
Instructions
Place green beans, garlic, zucchini, tomatoes, onion, green pepper, tomatillos, jalapeno, poblano, oregano, cumin and broth into a large soup pot. Puree roasted peppers with chipotle in adobo sauce in a blender or food processor; stir into soup. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat; reduce heat to low, and simmer, partly covered, for about 10 minutes.
Stir in cilantro, lime juice and salt. Serve. Yields about 1 cup per serving.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Saturday, January 1, 2011
If I lose 1 pound each week in 2011
Here is the poem I promised to put in the blog. I suggest you print it and follow it through the year.
If I lose 1 pound each week in 2011
By Valentine's Day I'd be 7 lbs. lighter!
I’m loving it!
By St. Patrick's Day I'd be 11 lbs. lighter!
With the luck o'the Irish I'll make my goal.
By Easter I'd be 13 lbs. lighter!
I'd be a cuter bunny.
By Memorial Day I'd be 23 lbs. lighter!
What a memory that would make!
By Flag Day I'd be 25 lbs. lighter!
I’d wave my flag proudly then.
By Independence Day I'd be 27 lbs. lighter!
That's quite a declaration of independence from overeating!
By Labor Day I'd be 36 lbs. lighter!
What a wonderful reward for all my hard work.
By Columbus Day I'd be 41 lbs. lighter!
What a joy to discover what I can do.
By Halloween I'd be 44 lbs. lighter!
I would know I had more than a ghost of a chance.
By Thanksgiving I'd be 47 lbs. lighter!
I'd have so much to be thankful for.
By Christmas Eve I'd be 51 lbs. lighter!
Talk about being merry.
By New Year's Eve I'd be 52 lbs. lighter!
It's not just a new year, It's a new ME!
If I lose 1 pound each week in 2011
By Valentine's Day I'd be 7 lbs. lighter!
I’m loving it!
By St. Patrick's Day I'd be 11 lbs. lighter!
With the luck o'the Irish I'll make my goal.
By Easter I'd be 13 lbs. lighter!
I'd be a cuter bunny.
By Memorial Day I'd be 23 lbs. lighter!
What a memory that would make!
By Flag Day I'd be 25 lbs. lighter!
I’d wave my flag proudly then.
By Independence Day I'd be 27 lbs. lighter!
That's quite a declaration of independence from overeating!
By Labor Day I'd be 36 lbs. lighter!
What a wonderful reward for all my hard work.
By Columbus Day I'd be 41 lbs. lighter!
What a joy to discover what I can do.
By Halloween I'd be 44 lbs. lighter!
I would know I had more than a ghost of a chance.
By Thanksgiving I'd be 47 lbs. lighter!
I'd have so much to be thankful for.
By Christmas Eve I'd be 51 lbs. lighter!
Talk about being merry.
By New Year's Eve I'd be 52 lbs. lighter!
It's not just a new year, It's a new ME!
Holida Weight and New Year's Resolutions
Holiday Weight Gain and New Year's Resolutions
Article By: Weight Watchers Research Department
While the holidays are a special time of year, bringing seasonal cheer and time-honored festivities, they can also be a time for overindulgence and weight gain.
How much holiday weight is gained?
Although it is a popular belief that average adult gains between 5 to 10 pounds in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the good news is, this does not appear to be true. According to the most reliable to-date study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average weight gain was a little less than one pound. The study participants who did have a major holiday weight gain, defined as 5 pounds or more, were more likely to be overweight than people who gained less.
While this small average amount of weight gain may seem trivial, that weight was not lost over the remainder of the year. In fact, when the study participants were weighed a year after the study began, they gained an average of 1.4 pounds, over half of which was accumulated during the six-week holiday period. In other words, a large proportion of yearly weight gain occurs during the holidays and is likely to accrue over the years, contributing to the increase in body weight that often occurs during adulthood.
The researchers also investigated possible reasons for holiday weight gain, including stress, hunger, physical activity, smoking habits, the presence of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and the number of seasonal parties attended. Only changes in hunger and physical activity were related to changes in weight. People who reported increased hunger or decreased activity gained the most weight while those who reported being much less hungry or much more active had the least weight gain.
Do New Year's resolutions work?
After the holidays are over, many people make New Year's resolutions to lose weight. and research suggests this may be helpful. According to a 2002 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, people who made New Year's resolutions had higher rates of success at making the desired behavior change (losing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking being the most prevalent) than people who did not make resolutions. After six months, 46 percent of the resolution makers were successful compared to just 4 percent of the people who did not make resolutions.
Bottom line
Working to prevent weight gain during this holiday season along with making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, by having a healthy relationship with food, may be helpful in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.
Article By: Weight Watchers Research Department
While the holidays are a special time of year, bringing seasonal cheer and time-honored festivities, they can also be a time for overindulgence and weight gain.
How much holiday weight is gained?
Although it is a popular belief that average adult gains between 5 to 10 pounds in the weeks between Thanksgiving and New Year's, the good news is, this does not appear to be true. According to the most reliable to-date study published in the New England Journal of Medicine, the average weight gain was a little less than one pound. The study participants who did have a major holiday weight gain, defined as 5 pounds or more, were more likely to be overweight than people who gained less.
While this small average amount of weight gain may seem trivial, that weight was not lost over the remainder of the year. In fact, when the study participants were weighed a year after the study began, they gained an average of 1.4 pounds, over half of which was accumulated during the six-week holiday period. In other words, a large proportion of yearly weight gain occurs during the holidays and is likely to accrue over the years, contributing to the increase in body weight that often occurs during adulthood.
The researchers also investigated possible reasons for holiday weight gain, including stress, hunger, physical activity, smoking habits, the presence of seasonal affective disorder (SAD), and the number of seasonal parties attended. Only changes in hunger and physical activity were related to changes in weight. People who reported increased hunger or decreased activity gained the most weight while those who reported being much less hungry or much more active had the least weight gain.
Do New Year's resolutions work?
After the holidays are over, many people make New Year's resolutions to lose weight. and research suggests this may be helpful. According to a 2002 study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology, people who made New Year's resolutions had higher rates of success at making the desired behavior change (losing weight, exercising more and quitting smoking being the most prevalent) than people who did not make resolutions. After six months, 46 percent of the resolution makers were successful compared to just 4 percent of the people who did not make resolutions.
Bottom line
Working to prevent weight gain during this holiday season along with making a New Year's resolution to lose weight, by having a healthy relationship with food, may be helpful in achieving and maintaining a healthy body weight.
5 Steps to a Workable New Year's Resolution
5 Steps to a Workable New Year's Resolution
Article By: Sally Hammond
Who hasn't spent a New Year's Eve resolving to be svelte by spring? Then by mid-February, you've sold your rowing machine and bought a new couch. Follow five steps to make this year your most successful yet.
For many people, a new year's resolution is a highly personal goal that, if fulfilled, becomes a "private victory." But whether you keep things quiet by accident or by design, you are giving yourself an out: You can fall off track, and no one will be the wiser.
On the other hand, you are more likely to follow through with your resolutions if you share them with the significant people in your life.
Which brings us to our five-step resolution-reaching plan.
1. Make your resolutions public
Share them with one or more people so they can help you stay on track. If you let your friends and family in on your dream, you can use their support to help you make it a reality.
2. Write down your resolution
But don't stop there: Also include the steps you will take to keep it. According to Laura Hess, a Nevada-based personal and business coach, having a clearly articulated goal and a plan of action is vital for success.
3. Keep things simple
Break a big goal into a series of smaller goals. Want to lose 50 pounds? Shoot for losing 5 percent of your body weight first, or set five 10-pound incremental weight-loss goals.
4. Mark your achievements
Each time you make a small lifestyle change aimed at reaching your goal — adding five minutes to your daily walk, for instance — put a star on your calendar so you can see your progress.
5. Make small changes
If weight loss or a healthier lifestyle is your goal, put a bowl of fruit or vegetable pieces front and center in the fridge, and hide the cookie jar behind the oatmeal. Each week, try a new low-fat cereal or an exotic fruit or a vegetable you haven't tasted before. Stash away your car keys for a weekend and challenge yourself to walk wherever you need to go. Lose the deep-fat fryer, too, and steam, bake or microwave your food.
Article By: Sally Hammond
Who hasn't spent a New Year's Eve resolving to be svelte by spring? Then by mid-February, you've sold your rowing machine and bought a new couch. Follow five steps to make this year your most successful yet.
For many people, a new year's resolution is a highly personal goal that, if fulfilled, becomes a "private victory." But whether you keep things quiet by accident or by design, you are giving yourself an out: You can fall off track, and no one will be the wiser.
On the other hand, you are more likely to follow through with your resolutions if you share them with the significant people in your life.
Which brings us to our five-step resolution-reaching plan.
1. Make your resolutions public
Share them with one or more people so they can help you stay on track. If you let your friends and family in on your dream, you can use their support to help you make it a reality.
2. Write down your resolution
But don't stop there: Also include the steps you will take to keep it. According to Laura Hess, a Nevada-based personal and business coach, having a clearly articulated goal and a plan of action is vital for success.
3. Keep things simple
Break a big goal into a series of smaller goals. Want to lose 50 pounds? Shoot for losing 5 percent of your body weight first, or set five 10-pound incremental weight-loss goals.
4. Mark your achievements
Each time you make a small lifestyle change aimed at reaching your goal — adding five minutes to your daily walk, for instance — put a star on your calendar so you can see your progress.
5. Make small changes
If weight loss or a healthier lifestyle is your goal, put a bowl of fruit or vegetable pieces front and center in the fridge, and hide the cookie jar behind the oatmeal. Each week, try a new low-fat cereal or an exotic fruit or a vegetable you haven't tasted before. Stash away your car keys for a weekend and challenge yourself to walk wherever you need to go. Lose the deep-fat fryer, too, and steam, bake or microwave your food.
Portabello Mini Pizzas
Portabello Mini Pizzas
Serving Size: 1 pizza PointsPlus® Value: 1
1 portabello mushroom cap, cleaned with the stem removed
2 tablespoons of your favorite low point sauce (I like Eden Organic, which is only 1 point per 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons part skim mozzarella cheese
Vegetable toppings – for this pizza I used green peppers and red onions
Salt and pepper
1.Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Clean the mushroom and spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper . Place on a piece of tin foil or small baking sheet and bake for about 6 minutes.
3. Take the mushroom out of the oven and add the sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you choose. Make sure to account for any additional points if you choose ingredients with a pointsplus value greater than 0.
4. Return the pizza mushroom to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese begins to bubble on the top. These also keep fairly well, so sometimes I make more than one and keep them on hand for a quick lunch or snack during the week.
Serving Size: 1 pizza PointsPlus® Value: 1
1 portabello mushroom cap, cleaned with the stem removed
2 tablespoons of your favorite low point sauce (I like Eden Organic, which is only 1 point per 1/2 cup)
2 tablespoons part skim mozzarella cheese
Vegetable toppings – for this pizza I used green peppers and red onions
Salt and pepper
1.Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
2. Clean the mushroom and spray with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper . Place on a piece of tin foil or small baking sheet and bake for about 6 minutes.
3. Take the mushroom out of the oven and add the sauce, cheese, and whatever toppings you choose. Make sure to account for any additional points if you choose ingredients with a pointsplus value greater than 0.
4. Return the pizza mushroom to the oven and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes until the cheese begins to bubble on the top. These also keep fairly well, so sometimes I make more than one and keep them on hand for a quick lunch or snack during the week.
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