Weekly Update, and Food Diary

Weekly Update:

Exercise: I walked during my lunch hour the three days I was at work, and I walked to and from Starbucks once.

Weight Loss: 179. Up a pound. I suppose it was bound to happen at some point.

Needless to say, I was a bit bummed this morning on the scale. Granted, I know I am a bit bloated from the weekend and needed more sleep the last three days, but it is what it is.

Not only did I not lose, I gained. Maybe it's just water and it will come off, and more, this next week, but it never feels good. What does feel good is knowing that I did not mindlessly eat or binge this weekend. My extra weekly points were all used up on spaghetti, chocolate cake, and Costco muffins - but I never got sick to my stomach (and each food was well worth it!). I never grazed through the kitchen taking bites of random snacks as I went. In fact, I purposefully passed on several snacks that I love. A lot.

And let me tell you, that is an accomplishment! There was junk food covering the island in the kitchen the ENTIRE time my husband and I were at my in-laws. THE ENTIRE TIME. Do you know where the 20+ people congregated for the majority of the weekend? In the living room right by the kitchen. RIGHT BY THE KITCHEN. A.K.A. right by the island. RIGHT BY THE STASH.

Okay, perhaps my all-caps outbursts are a bit dramatic. TRUE, NONETHELESS.  And I didn't get in any gym workouts. I didn't lose. I even gained. I didn't stay away from The Stash completely. (Though I'm not sure my goal is to avoid it completely, but rather enjoy small pieces on my terms.)

But I did exercise more than 3 times.

I did think about everything I ate.

I did get in my fruits and veggies.

I drank lots of water. (Well, not yesterday, but the other days!)

I didn't go over my points.

And I didn't binge.

After a long week, a very tiring week, and an exhausting (but fun!) weekend, these are my successes. I choose to focus on my victories, rather than dwell on a slight fluctuation on the scale.

Back to my routine. Time to look ahead, get my system cleaned out a bit, and try really hard to have a great loss a week from now. A GREAT LOSS. (I thought once more would be fitting.)


And just in case anyone was wondering, the following is the routine I speak of:

Food Diary.

This is what a typical day in eating looks like for this Ginger (right now I have 27 points to use in a day):

Breakfast:

• Coffee - 3 pts. (I use: 5 Tbsp half & half, 1.5 Tbsp SF Starbucks Hazelnut syrup, 1/3 Tbsp Stevia)
• Medifast Bar - 3 pts.

Mid-Morning Snack: Banana - 0 pts.

Lunch:

• Medifast Bar - 3 pts.
• Baby carrots - 0 pts.
• 22 Snapea Crisps - 3 pts.

Early Afternoon Snack: Apple - 0 pts.

Later Afternoon Snack: Chobani 0% yogurt - 4 pts. (I am working my way through all of the 0% flavors right now; I think Peach may be my favorite. Some flavors are 3 pts., some are 4.)

Dinner: (this is where the variety comes in)

• Sandwich thin - 3 pts.
• 1 Tbsp FF Miracle Whip - 0 pts.
• 1 tsp Dijon mustard - 0 pts.
• 1 serving sliced turkey deli meat - 2 pts.
• 1 FF Kraft Single American - 1 pts.
• 1 cup baby spinach - 0 pts.
• 1 Tbsp Newman's Own Lite Sesame Ginger dressing - 0 pts.

Dessert: (I have dessert every day)

• 1/2 c Dreyer's Slow Churn Triple Chocolate Peanut Butter Sundae - 3 pts.
• 4 Sugar Wafers - 2 pts.

Now, there is some variety in my day - but not much. The flavor of Medifast bar changes each time, as does my yogurt (and sometimes even the brand). Depending on which fruit was the freshest when I did my grocery shopping, I may have an orange or some grapes in place of the apple. But I have to have my banana everyday. I don't know why I love them so much! (Maybe because my husband will sometimes surprise me with a secret love note.)

Dinner is where I get the most variety in my diet. Some days we do spaghetti (I usually use spaghetti squash in place of pasta), the awesome lentil soup, burritos (which are higher in points, so I will forgo the extra snack during lunch), Nalley Original Vegetarian Chili and green beans, or maybe the white chicken enchiladas Kevin likes so much (also higher in points).

No matter what, I try to get in 2 dairy servings, 2 fruit servings, 3 vegetable servings, and 6-8 servings of water in a day. The rest is based on convenience (and cravings!).

I also try to get in some sort of activity in the day, even if it is cleaning the apartment or walking to the store. Something is always better than nothing!


Each week I am also allotted 49 extra points to use however I would like. This usually takes the form of carbs, go figure. Since the weekends are usually when I get the most munchy, I try to save these up for that time. But when using some of those points during the week is what stands between me and a food binge, I go for it! There are some great comfort food-type snacks that help on such an occasion.

Seasoned popcorn is one of my favorites:

Sometimes I'm hungry. And water just ain't gonna cut it. (Here's where I emphasize my love of the English language being used correctly, unless not doing so allows me to get my point across. i.e. I teach English.) This popcorn is one of my go-to filling options.

Seasoned Popcorn:

5 cups of 94% Fat Free Popcorn - I measure this out so that I know how many points I'm eating. A couple spritzes of cooking spray - just enough to get the spices to stick. And then add any seasonings you like; I happen to like sprinkling on garlic powder, onion powder, and dried basil. Give it a toss and eat away! (3 WW+ points)

Here are some other foods that I love:

• Fat free sour cream
• Reduced fat cream cheese
• Shredded mozzarella cheese
• Baby bell peppers
• Zucchini
• Yellow squash
• Sugar free Jell-O
• Corn tortillas
• Whole wheat pita pockets
• Whole wheat, high fiber flat bread
• Whole wheat spaghetti noodles
• Four Cheese Classico pasta sauce
• Valentina hot sauce
• Low sodium soy sauce
• Sobe Lifewater drinks
• MediFast chocolate chip pancakes
• Lindor Lindt chocolate truffles

The key is moderation and portion control. I MEASURE EVERYTHING! (More caps.) Slowly, I am getting better at eyeing portion sizes, but it's not my strong suit. So I count out my chips one by one, use my food scale, and go through several measuring cups and spoons each day. It is so important!

So tell me: What are your go-to, filling snacks?