The fun's over! It's time for an Easter (Sunday, March 31) Challenge!

[thriftygranny]

I was afraid of that Lynn, I haven't done weight watchers for years, also a good point Lecale, making your own is probably the way to go. I am going to try to tick to red wine vinegar!!

[Lynn49]

Yes, Lecale, TG, making my own is absolutely the way to go...red wine vinegar, a smidge of sweetner, and I can thicken the consistency with low fat mayo if I wanted it creamier...Avocado would also be a good choice for something to mash and thin out, add spices to...I really enjoy slices on burgers, etc...

So this morning I had: 1 slice dark rye/caraway artisan bread (large slice) cut in half, filled with tomato slices (our garden tomato), low fat Miracle Whip, pepper, No-Salt, and a half red grapefruit = 4 points!!
Sure makes that 1 tbsp dressing look pretty pathetic, lol....

Have a great day, everyone!!

Oh. Lunch will be a Smart Ones.

[Angela273]

I acquired my water bottle habit back when I was in Grade 7 or 8. I really like water, so I typically don't have a problem drinking enough water...except when I occasionally don't drink enough while nursing the twins. I drink water all day long and have milk with snacks and meals. I don't keep juice in the house. I used to drink home made fruit smoothies, but now I mostly just make them for our 3yr old son. I rarely drink tea or pop. I never drink coffee, don't like the stuff.

My eating habits are currently influenced a lot by my lack of sleep and lack of time to prepare or eat food. For example, I baked oatmeal chocolate chip squares on Sunday morning and have already eaten half of the pan by myself. I made it with 1/2 apple sauce for the amount of butter, plus it also contains pecans, raisins, and dried cranberries. It is quite addictive and has become a go to snack. It's the third time that I have made it since the twins were born and I have eaten majority of it. I have noticed that I eat more carbs and milk products, but I make an effort to get in more of my fruits and veggies. I need to go have a nap since all 3 children are currently asleep and I have eaten my lunch. I have high hopes for tonight's healthy supper, but the twins are often fussy from about 4pm until the go to sleep for the night. I manage the best that I can.

edit: disregard that last part. Now that our 3yr old is asleep for his nap, both of the twins are waking up. Might not get a nap again today.

[Lynn49]

Still on plan, and only used 14 points yesterday which is quite a bit below where I should have been, but other days I go over, so it all comes out even over the course of a week or so.
I do feel a bit of difference in my clothes, so at least something is working...I'll know more on Friday!

Good luck to everyone!!

[lovelikewinter3]

Having the worst time trying to stay on track, I am so stressed out about work and school that I just... hunger for everything. I made kale chips a week ago to help stave on the crunchy cravings, so that helped, but I don't think there's been a change in size yet... Sigh. Never give up, never surrender! Just, accept that sometimes life happens and that's okay. Happy Wednesday

[lecale]

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[vw_girl]

The Germans have a word for that...Kummerspeck, "grief bacon", the weight you gain in hard times

I am reminding myself that water is a nutrient and I try to eat things that are moist as possible, and a lot of chunky, vegetable-packed soup. I check the calorie density of the food I am eating (kcal divided by weight in grams) and try to eat stuff with a calorie density as close to 1 as possible, and try to avoid things over 2. Totally dry carbs/protein foods will have a calorie density around 4, and stuff with oil in it like chips and nuts are around 6-7. The more water I eat, the less I have to drink, the fuller I am for less calories.

Excellent approach!

I am on a binge upswing. Eating when not hungry or still eating when full Snacking instead of real meals. I need to probably juice fast for 3 or more days to reset the body. mind and tastebuds. I have to get out of this "I'll start Monday" cycle though and just do it.

Friday morning is the start of my weekend and my kitchen should be reasonably tidy. I am going to start my day off making a 12 mason jars of fresh juice which should be enough for 4 days and see if I can keep on track. I base my juicing off Reboot with Joe (Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead) and use a 80% veg/20% fruit mix.

My hope is to get back on a healthy track and then transition to healthy whole and/or foods and more fish. I usually do this every fall and maintain a weight I am comfortable at all through the holidays, even with all the parties and extra alcohol and chocolate I seem to consume.

[lovelikewinter3]

Gotta love the German language, it's so concise and accurate for specific feelings. Grief-bacon is ruining me right now, and I strongly dislike it. However, I've started to reassess my organization of both time and things, and I'm starting to feel that overwhelming AAAAAHHHHHHH feeling abate. Slowly.

I should really get back into juicing, I used to drink a full 500mL of fresh juice every morning throughout the morning, and that would keep the cravings and the munchies away. I loved it, until I ruined a batch by putting way too much harsh greens in it (too much for apples and grapes to cut the eugh of) and I let it fall by the wayside in agonizing self-hatred at my own failure. (I am very hard on myself, I know).

But today so far is doing much better, had my yogurt with chia seeds/hemp hearts, and a banana, and I'm feeling pretty good. Time to refill my water!!

Excellent approach!

I am on a binge upswing. Eating when not hungry or still eating when full Snacking instead of real meals. I need to probably juice fast for 3 or more days to reset the body. mind and tastebuds. I have to get out of this "I'll start Monday" cycle though and just do it.

Friday morning is the start of my weekend and my kitchen should be reasonably tidy. I am going to start my day off making a 12 mason jars of fresh juice which should be enough for 4 days and see if I can keep on track. I base my juicing off Reboot with Joe (Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead) and use a 80% veg/20% fruit mix.

My hope is to get back on a healthy track and then transition to healthy whole and/or foods and more fish. I usually do this every fall and maintain a weight I am comfortable at all through the holidays, even with all the parties and extra alcohol and chocolate I seem to consume.

[vw_girl]

I sometimes follow a recipe if I find one I really enjoy. But most of the time I find it quicker and easier to take the mad scientist approach. Just throwing things in that might work and keeping my fruit/veg ratio in check. This has resulted in some barely drinkable concoctions. The worst one tasted like lawn clippings. I do find the colder they are the easier they go down though, but I have dumped a few down the drain.

[lovelikewinter3]

I haven't even thrown out the bad juice batch! I shoved it in the freezer in some deluded idea that I'm going to use it up somehow... Still haven't figured out how yet... LoL! I'm glad I'm not the only mad scientist when it comes to juicing though!

I sometimes follow a recipe if I find one I really enjoy. But most of the time I find it quicker and easier to take the mad scientist approach. Just throwing things in that might work and keeping my fruit/veg ratio in check. This has resulted in some barely drinkable concoctions. The worst one tasted like lawn clippings. I do find the colder they are the easier they go down though, but I have dumped a few down the drain.

[thriftygranny]

Had a good eating week, also had a med change so I am hoping for results when I weigh in next Friday. Going to do some better meal plans this weekend and prep, prep is the key for me, I like to have my meals and snacks planned and just stick to the menu!!

[walkonby]

I sometimes follow a recipe if I find one I really enjoy. But most of the time I find it quicker and easier to take the mad scientist approach. Just throwing things in that might work and keeping my fruit/veg ratio in check. This has resulted in some barely drinkable concoctions. The worst one tasted like lawn clippings. I do find the colder they are the easier they go down though, but I have dumped a few down the drain.

hey, isn't that weird that I love my juice to taste like that! ( lawn clippings ) The greener the better, ha ha Lots of fresh Kale, spinach, cucumber, celery, basil, and then just enough apple to take the edge off. Oh yeah and also a fresh peeled lemon in there. My DD is like you vw and loveliewinter3, she wants lots of fruits in hers.

[lecale]

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[walkonby]

So I drink about 5 12oz cups of tea a day with 1% milk and 2/3 tsp sugar.

All that sugar adds up to 20,000 kcal in a year, and at 3,500 kcal = 1 lb body weight, that's nearly 6 lbs.

I was looking into switching to stevia but the one I tried, Lantic, was $4.99 for 50 and would cost me an additional $180/year (sugar costs me $4/year)

So what would you pick, 6 lbs or $180

it all depends what is more important to you.
Remember that is 6 lbs every year though and once menopause kicks in ADD some extra...( horrible humour but so true for me )

Since I am not familiar with that brand of stevia I am curious about the quality/ingredients, etc.
The container I purchased from the health food store a few years back is the organic pure stuff, but so many impostor's have flooded the market now, it is very tough for anyone to tell what they are ingesting. Plus the fake ones are over charging for their product so many customers think it is the real thing if it costs more.

With those 50 packets, do they say to use 1 packet per 8 oz or 10 oz mug of beverage? I can tell you the pure real McCoy one I use it takes just granules to sweeten a cup of beverage. No one at work believed me till I showed them how little you use.

I do understand the concern about the weight gain vs the draining of the wallet though. It is a dilemma for sure. Kind of how I feel about buying all organic produce. I cannot afford to do it, so I don't.
Very fortunate in our case neither DH or I take any sweetener in our tea or coffee.

[lecale]

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