A Healthy Update

I don’t know about you but I have notice a significant drop in blog posts these last few weeks. I think it’s because everyone is so busy…but it made me feel more motivated to write something. I enjoy reading everyone’s posts so if you’re reading this now I really think you should take a minute to write something down. Just saying ;)

It’s kind of a boring update but I have reached my 10 lb (5%) Weight Watchers (WW) goal! Okay, the explanation point at the end of the previous sentence is kind of a fake. I would be more excited about this milestone if I didn’t feel doomed to fail the last four weeks of my WW weigh-ins. Even though I have reached my 5% weight loss milestone…I’ve only lost .2 lbs in 2 weeks. I haven’t gained weight…true…but I haven’t really lost any either. I’m just very aware of my motivation loss and trying to figure out a way to get it back.

Speaking of that….WW has come out with an additional program for people who don’t really like to track what they eat (it is kind of a pain). This new plan, Simply Filling, just reminds me how I don’t need to pay someone to tell me how to eat healthy. What I’m saying is that the new plan is nothing you or I don’t know. If you eat these foods you will lose weight and/or live a healthier lifestyle. End of story. Duh. But they kind of put it in a list for you, that way what you can and can’t eat is pretty clear. The idea is that you can eat these foods whenever you’re hungry as long as you stop when you’re full and you don’t have to count the points they are worth. Also, you can still eat the sweets and fried food you like but they don’t count as power foods and you have to track those to stay on course. I know I haven’t been incorporating enough of these power foods into my diet. So incase you care what these power foods are here is the list:

Fruits
All fresh, frozen, or canned without added sugar
•Fruit canned in its own juice (drained)
•Fruit salad — mixed fruits with no added sugar
All fruits, except dried fruits and fruit juices, are zero PointsPlus values!

Vegetables
•Most fresh, frozen or canned without added sugar or oil — whether or not it has PointsPlus values per serving
•Potatoes — white, red sweet

All vegetables have zero PointsPlus values, except potatoes, peas, corn, and avocados. Avocados are not a Power Food.

Whole grains
•Brown and wild rice
•Hot cereals, cooked — without added sugar, dried fruits, or nuts
◦100% bran
◦Cream of rice
◦Cream of wheat
◦Grits
◦Oatmeal
•Pasta, whole-wheat or other whole-grain varieties
•Popcorn, air-popped, or 94% fat-free microwave-popped
•Whole-grain, ready-to-eat cereals without added sugar, dried fruits or nuts, and with 4g of fiber or more per serving
•Whole-grains such as:
◦Barley
◦Buckwheat
◦Bulgur
◦Cornmeal (polenta)
◦Whole-wheat couscous
◦Quinoa

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

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

Breads
◦Light English muffins
◦Light hot dog and hamburger rolls
◦Reduced-calorie (light) breads (whole grains are the best choice)

Soups
◦Broth, onion, and some broth- and tomato-based vegetable soups
Desserts
◦Sugar-free gelatin

Beverages
•Coffee (without sugar)
•Tea (without sugar)
•Diet soda
•Club soda
•Seltzer (plain or flavored, unsweetened)
•Water

Seasonings and condiments
•Baking powder
•Baking soda
•Capers
•Cocktail sauce
•Extracts
•Fat-free salad dressings
•Fat-free margarine
•Fat-free mayonnaise
•Flavorings
•Herbs
•Hot sauce (pepper sauce)
•Ketchup
•Lemon juice
•Lime juice
•Mustard
•Nonstick cooking or baking spray
•Salsa (fat-free)
•Soy sauce (shoyu)
•Spices
•Steak sauce
•Sugar substitutes
•Taco sauce
•Teriyaki sauce
•Vinegar
•Worcestershire Sauce

Healthy oils
Include 2 tsp each day without counting PointsPlus values. Use your weekly PointsPlus Allowance for any additional oil.
•Olive oil
•Canola oil
•Safflower oil
•Sunflower oil
•Flaxseed oil

I think this leaves a lot of meal options without having to mess with counting all those points. Now I can have my fruit smoothies, pasta, ranch dressing on salads, and buns on my hotdogs and burgers. I don’t have to count points for eggs or multigrain toast anymore! Best of all, I don’t have to count my fat-free cheese! Sorry, I’m a little excited. I won’t make any promises but I’m going to try to stick to these food choices for the next 4 weeks in order to get as close to my goal weight as possible.