Is it going to be easy?

As we are learning a new way of eating - a new lifestyle - we could smile and say, "it's easy" but we'd be lying to ourselves and to everyone else. It will be easy at times.... but there will be times that it will feel downright hard! For inspiration, let me share the story of Admiral Jim Stockdale.

Jim Stockdale was the highest-ranking officer in the "Hanoi Hilton" POW camp from 1965 to 1973. He was deprived of his rights under the Geneva Convention, tortured over twenty times, and often wondered if he would ever see his family again. In his book Good to Great, Jim Collins quotes Admiral Stockdale as saying, "I never lost faith in the end of the story." And when Collins asked "Who didn't make it out?" Stockdale replied, "Oh, that's easy. The optimists." "The optimists," Collins said, "I don't understand." To which the Admiral replied, "The optimists were the ones who said, 'We're going to be out by Christmas.' And Christmas would come, and Christmas would go. Then they'd say, 'We're going to be out by Easter.' And Easter would come, and Easter would go. And then Thanksgiving, and then it would be Christmas again. And they died of a broken heart. This is a very important lesson. You must never confuse faith that you will prevail in the end with the discipline to confront the most brutal facts of your current reality, whatever they may be."

I think his story is a really powerful one and fits many hardships in life... including our weight loss journey. It won't always be easy, but if we are convinced that:
1) This is not the last chapter in our life (basic optimism) and
2) That we are honest with ourselves that yes, we will suffer, however it will get better.

Thank God everyday you didn't have to live this concept the way he did.

In all struggles in life hold tight to the fact that next chapter is an awesome one!

Faith vs Fear....Positive vs Negative

Great conversations this week on positive thought versus negative thought. Think you can or think you can't....either way you're right! (thanks Henry Ford) It's one of those head things that is crucial to your success on many levels. Weight Watchers considers it a Helpful Habit and I consider it key to my mental well being! I saw the following and really like it so thought I'd share....


THE CHOICE IS YOURS

Do you know what Fear and Faith have in common? A future that hasn’t happened yet. Fear believes in a negative future. Faith believes in a positive future. Both believe in something that has not yet happened. So I ask you, if neither the positive or negative future has happened yet then why not choose to believe in the positive future? What do you have to lose but the fear that is sabotaging your joy and success?

I believe during these challenging times we have a choice between two roads. The positive road and the negative road. And our bus can’t be on two roads at the same time. So we have to make a choice and this choice determines our belief about the future and the attitude and actions we bring to the present…

Your faith and belief in a positive future leads to powerful actions today. The future has not happened yet and you have a say in what it looks like by the way you think and act. Fear or Faith. The choice is yours. - Jon Gordon


Another thing in life that is a choice.....

Do You Love Yourself?

"Love takes time… It also takes energy and trust and choice. Whether the love is between parent and child, husband and wife, or love of yourself, love takes all these things.... love takes time, love takes energy, love takes trust. Love takes the choice to love.

So, this Valentine's Day, think… about real love, in all its forms. As Paul says [in 1 Corinthians 13], "it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things and endures all things." It takes time, energy, trust and choice."

And with that said, loving yourself in your weight loss jouney, in life, is key. It takes time to accept it. It takes time to plan it. It takes energy, trust and the choice to love yourself.

Love yourself my friends. It is so worth it...and so are you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

Feeling Out of Control?

Control in our lives is an issue. It can be a big deal. There are so many things happening around us these days that we have absolutely no control over and we often times feel helpless to make an impact on the outcome.

Now, that may be true of many things in our outside world... but when it comes to food, don't kid yourselves my friends, you have control. There is no one force feeding you. There is no one on this earth who has more control over what goes into your mouth than YOU do. (In hindsight I realized that when I lost my weight a couple years ago, food was the ONLY thing in my life I felt I could control.)

So if you feel out of control in the area of food, what do you do? I've got a few thoughts that might help.

1)Get a plan. A plan that works for you.
2)Start with small changes. Just focus on one thing a day...or a week. When that comes naturally, then make another change.
3)Get a support network of friends. If it can't be your family or close friends (because some just are not supportive of our efforts) then find that support elsewhere. Join Weight Watchers, find support in a co-worker, or neighbor, or friend from church. Someone somewhere will be happy to do the journey with you. Don't be afraid to reach out to them.
4)Realize that it may not be easy at first. You are changing habits that have been in place for a long time.
5) Remind yourself that you are the BOSS about what goes into your mouth! (No matter how often Aunt Helga puts food in front of you and says, "eat, eat" YOU are still the boss. Ya, ya, ya!)
6)If you have no idea where to start... start with eating a fraction of what you normally would. Eat 3/4 or 1/2 of what you normally put on your plate. Start by eliminating fried foods. Start by eating 3 pieces of fruit each day.
7) Pray about it. Fall to your knees and ask for help!
8)Celebrate your successes whether they are big or small. Celebrate!

You ARE in control - it just may be that you haven't realized it yet.
Good luck and lots of power to ya!

Do It Anyway

This was found written on the wall in Mother Teresa's home for children in Calcutta:

People are often unreasonable, irrational, and self-centered. Forgive them anyway.

If you are kind, people may accuse you of selfish, ulterior motives. Be kind anyway.

If you are successful, you will win some unfaithful friends and some genuine enemies. Succeed anyway.

If you are honest and sincere people may deceive you. Be honest and sincere anyway.

What you spend years creating, others could destroy overnight. Create anyway.

If you find serenity and happiness, some may be jealous. Be happy anyway.

The good you do today, will often be forgotten. Do good anyway.

Give the best you have, and it will never be enough. Give your best anyway.

In the final analysis, it is between you and God. It was never between you and them anyway.

It Really Comes Down to Choices

Everything in life comes down to choices... from the attitude you choose for the day to the food you eat. Take a look at the following comparison.

1 individual Little Debbie Cake is EQUAL to all of the following foods combined:

1 apple, 1 banana, 1 orange, 5 cups light popcorn, 2 slices light bread, 1 cup grapes, and 1 container of unsweetened apple sauce.

That totally amazes me.

Personally, I choose to have a great attitude each day and I choose to eat foods that will fill me up without a bojillion calories. (Most of the time anyway!)

Always consider your choices.

The Eight Traits of Emotional Hunger

Emotional and physical hunger can feel identical, unless you’ve learned to identify their distinguishing characteristics.
The next time you feel voraciously hungry, look for these signals that your appetite may be based on emotions
rather than true physical need. This awareness may head off an emotional overeating episode.

Source: Virtue, Doreen. Constant Craving A-Z. (Carlsbad, CA: Hay House, 1999).

Emotional Hunger

1. Is sudden. One minute you’re not thinking about
food, the next minute you’re starving. Your hunger
goes from 0-60 within a short period of time.

2. Is for a specific food. Your cravings are for one
specific type of food, such as chocolate, pasta, or a
cheeseburger. With emotional eating, you feel you
need to eat that particular food. No substitute will do!

3. Is "above the neck." An emotionally based
craving begins in the mouth and mind. Your mouth
wants to taste that pizza or chocolate doughnut. Your
mind whirls with thoughts about your desired food.

4. Is urgent. Emotional hunger urges you to eat
NOW to instantly ease emotional pain with food.

5. Is paired with an upsetting emotion. Your
boss yelled at you. Your child is in trouble at school.
Your spouse is in a bad mood. Emotional hunger
occurs in conjunction with an upsetting situation.

6. Involves automatic or absent-minded eating.
Emotional eating can feel as if someone else’s hand is
scooping up the ice cream and putting it into your
mouth ("automatic eating"). You may not notice that
you’ve eaten a bag of cookies (absent-mined eating).

7. Does not notice or stop eating, in response
to fullness. Emotional overeating stems from a
desire to cover up painful feelings. The person stuffs
herself to deaden her troubling emotions and will eat
second and third helpings, even though her stomach
may hurt from over-fullness.

8. Feels guilty about eating. The paradox of
emotional over eating is that the person eats to feel
better and ends up berating herself for eating
cookies, cakes, or cheeseburgers. She promises
atonements to herself ("I'll start my diet tomorrow.")


Physical Hunger

1. Is gradual. Your stomach rumbles. One hour later, it
growls. Physical hunger gives you steadily progressive clues
that it’s time to eat.

2. Is open to different foods. With physical hunger, you
may have food preferences, but they are flexible. You are
open to alternative choices.

3. Is based in the stomach. Physical hunger is
recognizable by stomach sensations. You feel gnawing,
rumbling, emptiness, and even pain in your stomach with
physical hunger.

4. Is patient. Physical hunger would prefer that you ate
soon, but doesn’t command you to eat at that instant.

5. Occurs out of physical need. Physical hunger occurs
because it has been four or five hours since your last meal.
You may experience light-headedness or low energy if overly
hungry.

6. Involves deliberate choices and awareness of the
eating. With physical hunger, you are aware of the food on
your fork, in your mouth, and in your stomach. You
consciously choose whether to eat half your sandwich or the
whole thing.

7. Stops when full. Physical hunger stems from a desire to
fuel and nourish the body. As soon as that intention is
fulfilled, the person stops eating.

8. Realizes eating is necessary. When the intent behind
eating is based in physical hunger, there¹s no guilt or shame.
The person realizes that eating, like breathing oxygen, is a
necessary behavior.

Fennel and Onion Smothered Steak

I promised I'd start posting some of my favorite WW recipes so here goes:

I normally advise you to run the other direction when you see the word "smothered" describing a food dish, but not this one! This one is very, very good and has been declared "the best 'fat' recipe you ever made" by a very reliable source. I've made it several times and it was always met with a thumbs up.


Ingredients:
3 teas olive oil
1 large fennel bulb, thinly sliced (I've also used fennel seeds when needed)
1 large onion, thinly sliced
4 garlic cloves, sliced
1/4 teas dried tarragon
3/4 teas salt
1/4 teas freshly ground pepper
1 cup reduced-sodium beef broth
2 (1/2 pound) boneless sirloin steaks, trimmed of visible fat and each cut crosswise in half

1) Heat 2 teaspoons of the oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the fennel, onion, garlic, tarragon, 1/4 teas of the salt, and 1/8 teas of the pepper; cook, stirring occasionally, until fennel and onion are very soft and golden, about 11 minutes. Add the broth and cook until almost evaporated, about 5 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

2) Sprinkle the steaks with the remaining 1/2 teas salt and 1/8 teas pepper. Heat the remaining 1 teas oil in the same skillet over medium-high heat. Add the steaks and cook until browned, about 2 minutes on each side. Add the fennel mixture and cook, stirring constantly to scrape the browned bits from the bottom of the skillet, until the steaks are done to taste and the liquid thickens, about 1 minute for medium-rare or about 3 minutes for well done. Serve at once.

Note: Lean sirloin benefits from a shorter cooking time to stay tender. So if you prefer your steak well done, cut the sirloin into very thin slices or substitute beef tenderloin in the recipe.

Makes 4 servings.
Per serving (1/2 steak with about 1/4 cup fennel mixture): 206 calories, 10 g fat, 2 g fiber. Points value 5 for flex/momentum - recipe is core/all filling foods.

Filling Foods First!

I have come to realize that our food choices are SO key to managing our weight long term. I'm so glad that the WW Momentum program has finally honed in on this.

I have a news flash for you my friends, "Not all points are created equal." I can eat fruits, veggies, lean meats, fat-free dairy and whole wheat grains galore and be more filled up and satisfied than chowing down on fat and sugar laden items. For instance...we could eat one "gotta have it" ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery OR we could eat healthy, filling food for the WHOLE day! Choose your points wisely!

Okay - think of your car. Would you consider filling the gas tank with fat and sugar and expecting it to run flawlessly day after day? No Way! You fill the tank with what it needs to run well. Why would you not do the same for your body? Your body is a well-tuned machine that runs hour after hour, day after day, year after year. Doesn't it just make sense that we would fill it with great fuel (and perhaps take it out for a run/walk now and again?)

Not all points ARE created equal. Choose from FILLING FOODS FIRST and you'll definately feel more full and satisfied. This I can guarantee and promise you.

Now, as my daughter says, "Bacher out."

core pancakes

Quick core tip: core pancakes

1/4 cup oatmeal
1 egg
~ 1/2 tbsp water
optional: 1 packet calorie free sweetener (e.g. stevia, natural herbal sweetener), vanilla, or spices of your choice

Mix well and fry up like a pancake! Add fresh fruit on top or just eat plain. It's not terribly low in points, but satisfying when plain oatmeal has gotten boring. You can also simply add an egg to the ww oatmeal cups - they have fruit and such added in already, and are delicious, but a little more expensive.

1 cake = 4 pts
2 cakes = 10 pts

Thanks for this entry Katie! I love it when you add posts....Patti

Goals for 2009

I mentioned that I'm a Goal Setter and last night I did just that. I have goals written down in the following areas:
Financial
Faith/Spiritual
Career
Personal
Fitness
Relationships

It was a task of love. I found that learning to love yourself is a big deal and I feel setting goals supports the development of your inner self. I'm eager to get started. The year will fly by quickly I'm sure of it!

And in support of this topic I like this prayer I found today and thought I'd share it:
God of time and eternity, take into your hands all of the hopes, fears, plans and expectations that I have for the year 2009. Walk with me into this new year, and shape me into the person you are calling me to be, so that 12 months from now I may know, love and serve you more. Amen.

Post Christmas Reflections with New Years Peaking Around the Corner

Okay ladies and gents - how did Christmas go? Did you focus on the people and not the food? Did you put all the tools in place that we've been learning? Or did you cut loose with a free for all and roll around miserably afterwards from over eating?

If so and you feel great, wonderful! Give your self a pat on the back. If not, it's here nor there at this point. Doesn't matter. What does matter is what you do NEXT. Take a deep breath and let it go. Jump right back into your healthy eating and exercise plan. Move on and look to the future.

New Years is just around the corner with it's mighty pull of resolutions. I tend not to be a resolution kind of gal; but rather a "goal setter". I like to take a look back and think about what has changed this past year. Then I look forward and think about where I'd like to be a year from now. What's it going to take to get me there? What do I need to do.... and do I have the knowledge and tools to get me there?

Now here's the kicker and very often the key. WRITE IT DOWN. Put it somewhere that you can see it often, be reminded of it, and focus on it. If it's important enough to you, you'll do it. And that makes all the difference.

Here's to goals for 2009! There's nothing stopping us now.

Christmas is Just Around the Bend - What's the Plan?

Hello my friends!
Christmas is less than a week away! Do you feel it's going to be a challenging time for you regarding food?

Couple things:
Plan for success
-shop for healthy food and have it readily available
-make time to get some movement into your day (excercise)
-mentally see yourself in the situation behaving in the manner you desire. Play it through in your mind until it feels comfortable and you have a pleasing outcome
-Don't beat yourself up if you go off program! It's a day or two, then get right back on program.


Most of all please remember, it's NOT about food. It's about family and those you love. Enjoy them. Love them. Cherish every moment with them.
I wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Joyous New Year!
Patti

Poached Eggs- Not as hard as they look!

Are you looking for a new way to prepare your eggs? Hard-boiled eggs are a great core snack, but in the winter I want something warm. You can fry eggs in non-stick spray, but if you want something different, why not try poaching them?

Poaching can be tricky, and until now I've only had them at restaurants. However, a few pointers and you can do it at home too! You will need:

eggs
large pot water
vinegar (We didn't have white vinegar on hand, but brown rice vinegar worked just fine.)
pinch of salt
large slotted spoon
small soup or other small bowl

1.) Fill a large pot of water 2/3 full, and bring to a boil.

2.) Arrange all your items the counter near your pot of water. Crack an egg into the small bowl. Be careful not to break the yolk.

3.) Once your water has reached boiling, add a pinch of salt and a drizzle of vinegar. (Maybe 1-2 tbsp.)

4.) Turn your heat down so the boiling slows. You want your water just below boiling.

5.) With your spoon, stir the water along the edge of the pot until you have a good swirling vortex. Be sure the water isn't boiling-if it is just turn it down a bit more.

6.) Carefully pour your egg into the center of the pot- the swirling vortex helps keep the egg white in one piece. It may look funny at first but let it be. Cook for ~ 2 minutes and then gently scoop out with slotted spoon.

7.) Shake gently to remove excess water. If your slots are completely covered with egg (this happened to me!) gently blot with a paper towl.

Serve immediately on wheat toast! We addded grilled portabella mushrooms, avocado slices and some shredded Parmesan cheese to ours. I apologize for the lack of pictures-they disappeared too fast!

Don't be discouraged if the first few attempts end up a big shredded mess in your water. Just scoop out the offending egg, discard, and try again. It'll be worth it. :-)

Other tips:

* I used a metal tea filter to scoop up stray strands of egg whites in the water in between eggs. They don't hurt anything, but it's nice to be able to see how your egg is doing.

*Also feel free to cook the egg a bit longer if you are concerned about the runny egg yolks- it may make the egg a bit tougher but I couldn't tell the difference when I did. I even put one of the eggs back in the water when the whites didn't look quite done, despite having been over 2 minutes.

*Be sure to have any other food prepared before starting the eggs so you can give them your full attention. (I put my husband to work.) Watch the water and adjust the heat incrementally as needed to either keep the temp up (just below boiling) or to settle some sneaky bubbles.

*If you'd like to spend a few points, a pat of butter on top of the egg is MARVELOUS.

Finally, if these directions aren't working for you, you can also do what I did- just google it and look for a video demonstration. There are plenty out there.

Good luck! Enjoy!

JOY!

Joy is so very cool!

It can be seen in the eyes....in the smile...in the walk and it's great when it's bubbling up and overflowing outward for others to enjoy. I feel that joy is not something that can be given to someone else or believe me I'd give it to you. There is nothing I can do or say that can place joy on your heart. It can't be given or forced however it can be shared. Joy is something that is found within, comes from within and must find it's place in your heart by you alone.

I pray JOY is a lifelong resident in your heart -

It's a HoliDAY...not a HoliWEEK!

Tomorrow is the big day, my friends. Are you ready? Do you have your plan in place? Have you mentally rehearsed? Can you see yourself ending the day feeling SATISFIED and happy about what you ate versus stuffed, uncomfortable and miserable?

A few tips and reminders...
Eat something for breakfast. Don't head into the event starved or you're headed for a feeding frenzy and before you know it you'll be out of control.

Make time to excercise. Go for a walk, go to the gym, turn on some music and dance.

Take SMALL amounts of the annual things you love and eat them slowly. Savor them. (Don't let yourself feel deprived over missing something you really want.)

Fill the rest of your plate with low energy density foods - low cal stuff that fills you up. Fruits, veggies, white meat.

Eat slowly. Allow your brain and stomach to talk to each other about your comfort level.

Use the technique of leaving space on the plate in between each food item.

Drink water before you get started. Stay well hydrated throughout the day. Not only is it filling; but it helps with the feeling of being satisfied.

Eat slowly.

Wait before you eat dessert. Are you REALLY still hungry? Do you really want it? Is it WORTH the 10 - 15 points? Perhaps 2 or 3 bites is all you need. Just a taste. Maybe not at all. After all, we all know what it tastes like already! (And many times we THINK it's going to taste way better than it actually does.)

Have I said yet that you should eat slowly?

Focus on the people! Your loved ones. Talk, laugh, enjoy them. Enjoy the day and all the parts that are not associated with food.

You CAN do this successfully and you'll be glad that you are on track at the scale. And remember...it's a HoliDAY. It's not a HoliWEEK. Right back to program and healthy eating the next day.

Be thankful for all your blessings.
God is good.

Pumpkin Bread = Comfort Bread

I found this reduced calorie pumpkin bread (only 2 points) from HungryGirl.com and it sounds yummy. I'm going to give it a whirl this weekend!

Here's what Hungry Girl says:

After getting a BAZILLION requests for pumpkin bread, we figured it was time to make some. And after EIGHT attempts, we got it just right. Try it and see!

Ingredients:
One 15-oz. can pure pumpkin
1 1/4 cups whole-wheat flour
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Original Egg Beaters)
1/2 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
1/4 cup brown sugar (not packed)
1/4 cup Ocean Spray Craisins Original Sweetened Dried Cranberries (or regular raisins), chopped
2 1/4 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, combine both types of flour, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and pumpkin pie spice (in other words, all dry ingredients except for the Craisins or raisins).

In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin, egg substitute, and vanilla extract (all the wet ingredients). Add this mixture to the bowl with the dry ingredients, and stir until just blended.

Slowly sprinkle chopped Craisins or raisins into the batter, making sure they don't all stick together, and mix to distribute them.

Spoon batter into a large loaf pan (about 9" X 5") sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for about 50 minutes, until the top of the loaf is firm to the touch. (Bread may be moist inside. This doesn't mean it's undercooked.) Allow to cool, and then cut into 8 slices. Enjoy!

MAKES 8 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 (thick!) slice
Calories: 143
Fat: 0.5g
Sodium: 281mg
Carbs: 31g
Fiber: 4.5g
Sugars: 9g
Protein: 5g

POINTS® value 2*

HG Alternative! To make this bread into muffins, evenly distribute the batter among 8 cups of a muffin pan sprayed with nonstick spray. Cook for 35 minutes at 350 degrees, let cool, and

Time for Change

In Ecclesiastes 3: 1-8 it says that there is a time for everything. The time for change is now. Change in our country. Change in our eating habits. Change in our exercise habits. Change in the way we treat others ... and the way we treat ourselves.

Change is good. Embrace it and use the energy to make your goals and dreams come true.

May God bless you as you embrace change!

Joy!

Joy is so very cool!

It can be seen in the eyes....in the smile...in the walk and it's great when it's bubbling up and overflowing outward for others to enjoy. I feel that joy is not something that can be given to someone else or believe me I'd give it to you. There is nothing I can do or say that can place joy on your heart. It can't be given or forced however it can be shared. Joy is something that is found within, comes from within and must find it's place in your heart by you alone.

I pray JOY is a lifelong resident in your heart -

They said the day would come...

They said the day would come that staying at goal weight would become a challenge. I am sad to say my friends that after 2 years at goal that day has come. I am officially 2.4 pounds over my goal. I am 10 pounds heavier than I was a year ago. This is not good and does not make me feel good.

I was thinking about it this afternoon and I came to the conclusion that I can do as I've done in the past and just ignore it and see what happens OR I can set my mind to doing something to make a change.

Option #1 - Ignore it and see what happens - hmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm experience has proven time and again that when I just ignore it, "IT" does not go away. The problem gets worse and I become very unhappy with myself.

Option #2 - Set my mind to doing something to make a change - Not the easy route by any means; but the best route nonetheless. This has to be my choice. In fact, there is no choice in my mind. I also listened when they said to give away all my larger clothes. I cannot change size or I'll have nothing to wear.

The tough part...how to put my plan into action. Here's what I decided to do:

• Get back to following the CORE food plan with a fervor.
  
• Go grocery shopping and buy healthy food that supports my efforts. I allowed NOTHING in my cart that would compromise my efforts. (Ask Thorsten, he tried really hard and even tried "pouting" but I would not give in!)
  
• Cook up a big pot of beef barley and veggie soup. This will give me plenty of easy, healthy lunches or fast suppers this week so I don't fall into the "I'm tired, hurried, etc. trap"
• Cook up a pot of homemade chili. (reference above)
• Prep veggies - clean and cut them for easy munching.
• Make sure I get my water in each day.

I decided these were the items I will focus on this week. I will exercise, but it won't be in the written plan until next week.

As a friend/family how can you best support me in my efforts?

• Ask me how it's going - it's okay to acknowledge this is a time of struggle for me.
  
• Don't suggest or ask if I'd like to have a cookie, ice cream or pizza. I'm weak right now and if I give in I will regret it later. Trust me.
• Ask if I'd like to go for a walk or do something that gets me out and moving.
• Ask if I'd like to see a movie.
• Celebrate with me when I succeed! Without food :)

They told me this day would come.