E-TOOLS

Okay, so after my first full year as a WW leader, I'm fed up with passing off questions about E-Tools with the statement that I don't actually use them.

Now, you have to realize that when I studied computer programing in high school, it centered around punching holes in long rolls of paper and then feeding said rolls into a machine that would have totally filled the den of an average-sized home.

However, I am reasonably computer literate nowadays - for a relic from a bygone era! I even own an iPod touch and can check flight arrivals, the weather forecast and my emails on my cell phone.

I just never got into E-Tools - or to be honest, I did once and did something that appeared to mess it up.

I re-registered today and am amazed at the wealth of stuff that is available there. I'm tracking on-line, calculating points on-line (though I can also do that on my cell phone using mobile e-tools) and keeping an eye on my activity points too.

It's fun.

So here's the deal, if you're a WW monthly using a monthly pass, check out these incredible tools. They're yours for free as part of the monthly pass package.

I love it! And hopefully in a few weeks I will be able to answer questions on how this great program feature works.

SILVER LINING

Arriving at the gym while it was still dark this morning, through what to me is a perfectly plausible sequence of events, I locked my keys in my car. Having done that, my focus was no longer on exercise, especially since this was the only set of keys I possessed to that vehicle.

I couldn't call AAA as my cell phone was also locked inside the car, so I decidced to get a little exercise in by running home - a distance I later discovered (www.mapmyrun.com ) to be 2.53 miles.

The car issue was resolved quite easily, but what gave me an encouraging boost was thinking back four years to a time when I would not even have considered walking home in that predicament, let alone running.

The year is ending and I'm still very thankful for my new lifestyle!

THE DIET SEASON COMETH

The end of the holiday season marks the dawn of new year aspirations for millions of people and the #1 resolution is to lose weight and get healthy.

So it's not surprising that the first few weeks of January see a surge of new enrolments at Weight Watchers.

It's easy to be cynical about New Years resolutions that don't last into February, but I love the challenge of continuing to engage every new or returning member until they reach their goal. So I relish the thought of the packed meeting rooms and new faces that the next few weeks will offer and I'm determined to do all I can to ensure they're all there into the Spring and beyond.

Whether you're a former member, or someone contemplating checking out WW for the first time, I hope you'll come and visit - check out meeting times and locations at www.weightwatchers.com

You can find me at Miller Place on Wednesdays at 5.30 and 7.00
I'm in Selden on Saturdays at 7.30, 8.30, 9.45, 11.00 & 12.15

MAKE THAT FIVE

The beginning of a new year is probably the most popular time for people to focus on a healthier lifestyle and determine to lose weight. That's why there's always a surge of new members at Weight Watchers in January and the challenge for me is to keep them focused, so that their good intentions are translated into life change, rather than being a passing whim that falls to the ground.

Last January we saw a huge increase in members and I calculated that if we have anything remotely near that at the start of 2009, it would be impossible to cope with the crowd in our Selden Center.

It seems that the company's policy is generally to be reactive rather than proactive about adding meetings, but having presented our Territory Manager with facts and figures, carefully collated over the past 15 months, she has agreed to introduce a fifth Saturday morning meeting in anticipation of growth.

So starting next week, January 3rd, our Saturday groups will be at 7.30am; 8.30am; 9.45am; 11.00am and 12.15pm.

We've added the new meeting right at the start of the day to ease some of the pressure during the most popular timeslots.

Whatever your business is, you always have to make room for growth - otherwise there is only one thing you can guarantee, there will be none!

CHRISTMAS

Merry Christmas and don't forget, the best way to survive the next 24 hours or so without serious disappointment is to keep doing what you normally do -

Exercise

Journal

Weigh and measure

But above all, enjoy! There's a whole year ahead to continue the journey!

IT DOESN''T ALWAYS WORK

Around noon today, my wife and I got back from a mini-vacation - 24 hours on the Gold Coast - to celebrate our 39th wedding anniversary.

Last night we ate at an Indian restaurant in Huntington, which turned out to be an excellent place to eat my favorite kind of food. It was one of those occasions when I decided, I'm here, I love this food, it's a special evening and so I decided to throw caution to the wind.

When I got up this morning, I drank my water and got back on track straight away. Well, I almost did. We slept late, left the B & B and had a walk around the streets of Northport, deciding on a late breakfast at the old downtown diner.

Refocuising on my program, I simply ordered oatmeal and coffee with skimmed milk. The oatmeal turned out to be quite delicious, but altogether not what I was expecting. It seems they made it with milk, because the consistency was nothing like what I make most mornings at home.

I tried to get back on track, but it doesn't always work. However, by lunchtime life was back to normal!

GOING ALL THE WAY

It made my day at WW yesterday to have a new receptionist training with us.

Why? - Because this was a woman who had come in to one of our Saturday groups as a new member in January of this year and went on to become a Lifetime member a number of weeks ago, after losing in excesss of 80lb.

Having played a small part in what she has accomplished, I celebrate with her, because after all helping members get to goal is why I do what I do.

CHOICES

Today I had a working lunch at what is arguably the best Pizzeria in the county - of course I don't know that for sure, but once I have completed my research by checking out all the others, I'll let you know if I was right!

Coming to Long Island from the UK, I used to think that Domino's made good pies, followed closely by Pizza Hut. However I soon came to realize that living in an area where there are more Italians than live within a 500 miles radius of the Vatican, those are only fast food joints and if you want the real thing you have to go to individually owned pizzerias.

I am grateful for that education - I enjoyed it!

Lunch was ordered for the four of us today by the host - a Sicilian Pie, the biggest and tastiest of all pizzas.

And I ate a slice.

My three friends cleaned up the rest. When I was asked how I could resist eating more (and I easily could have done), I replied that I remembered what it was like being over 330lb and I had no intention of going back there.

Measuring a slice of pie against staying in the shape I'm in now was a no-brainer. The pie lost.

Life is about choices. You can't have it all.

Make good choices today.

SOOOODIUM

I lost around 1lb last week, which I was happy enough with. The scale did not reflect that when I weighed in on Monday morning, but I'm happy enough with that too.

You see, according to the WW scale I was up a whopping 4lb in just seven days.

So I guess you want to know how many Big Macs I consumed over the weekend or whether I dug my way through a whole dozen Dunkin Donuts? The fact is I did neither.

Here's what I did - on Saturday evening I ate a high sodium dinner. It was perfectly within my points range for the day, but the salt made my body start retaining fluid. Then to make things worse, on Sunday I had a Greek salad in my favorite diner (The Metropolis on Rte 112 in Medord) and all that Feta cheese is so full of sodium you wouldn't believe it.

The upside was that I could watch the football games without jumping up and heading for the bathroom during every single commercial break, but the downside was that the scale didn't give me the reading I had earned.

To be honest, all that was okay with me, but you can be sure I'll watch the content of my meals better this weekend and not just the points!

Sodium is not your friend.

YES!

I was out all evening, so had to record the finale of The Biggest Loser.
Just finished watching it and Michelle won - so I'm off to bed happy!!!

MOMENTUM

Okay, so that's it. In Miller Place on Wednesday and Selden today, I rolled out the new WW program for members to get a handle on, as we head into the holiday season.

It's called Momentum, which aptly defines the most significant part of succesful weight loss - keeping going.

The equation for losing weight is simple. You have to burn more calories than you take in. But it's how you do it that matters and WW has been at the forefront of the battle for health for 45 years now.

Momentum combines the best features of the two programs that have been offered to date, the Core Plan and the Flex Plan, and it's winner in my eyes. I love it. I want members to get to goal and believe this will help more to achieve that ambition.

What's it all about? Check it out at www.weightwatchers.com or come visit me at a center next week!

BURNING CHRISTMAS CALORIES

Okay, so as a consolation for Christmas preparation driving you out of your mind and into the poor house, the good news is you can burn calories doing good holiday stuff!

Here's how many -

85 Standing on line to see Santa
150 Wrapping gifts/ writing cards
160 Building a snowman
160 Dressing for a party - from shower to shoes
160 Trimming a Christmas Tree
170 Preparing a Christmas meal
175 Christmas shopping
180 Christmas caroling
180 Cleaning house - dusting, mopping, vacuuming
215 Putting up outdoor lights
240 Grocery shopping
270 Dancing at a party
545 Carrying groceries upstairs

NOTE: Just when you thought it was getting easy - these are estimates for one hour of activity!

WHY PEOPLE DON'T LOSE BIG

While I enjoy watching The Biggest Loser - have I admitted I don't like Vicky? - I do get frustrated at the unrealistic expectations it creates in the minds of those trying to lose weight in the real world.

Average weight loss with WW is 0.5 to 2.0lb per week. That is healthy, normal and reasonable.

To shed the incredible amounts contestants lose on TV, some of them will apparently stop at nothing. Check out how season one winner Ryan Benson describes his approach to the final weigh-in -

“I wanted to win so bad that the last ten days before the final weigh-in I didn’t eat one piece of solid food! If you’ve heard of “The Master Cleanse” that’s what I did. It is basically drinking lemonade made with water, fresh squeezed lemon juice, pure maple syrup, and cayenne pepper. The rules of the show said we couldn’t use any weight-loss drugs, well I didn’t take any drugs, I just starved myself!

Twenty-four hours before the final weigh-in I stopped putting ANYTHING in my body, liquid or solid, then I started using some old high school wrestling tricks. I wore a rubber suit while jogging on the treadmill, and then spent a lot of time in the steam room. In the final 24 hours I probably dropped 10-13 lbs in just pure water weight. By the time of the final weigh-in I was peeing blood.”

That's how they pull the numbers!

2lb a week done properly has to be much better.

OPRAH

It's Tuesday night and I'm watching The Biggest Loser. I just heard Bob state that the winner of the first series has regained all the weight he lost. That was amazing.

It reminded me of the news story I heard earlier with Oprah Winfrey recognizing that she had put a lot of weight back on (which I guess her viewers had worked out already).

I'm not sitting here in self-righteous judgement on either of them - I'd rather learn from their stories. And the lesson is ...

Losing weight may be hard, but maintaining weight loss is harder still.

Unfortunately for some people their final target weight is their sole goal, whereas goal needs to be far more than a number on a scale.

Goal is healthy living.

Goal is a lifestyle you can maintain.

Goal is peacefully co-existing with food.

Goal is realizing you haven't made it at all.

Goal is acknowledging that the only way to safeguard your achievement is one wise decision at a time.

Goal is getting the point that you stay slimmer by continuing to do the things you did to get there.

If it is tough for Oprah with a personal chef and personal trainer to help her and the eyes of millions of viewers constantly on her, then it will be tough for us lesser mortals too.

But being overweight was also tough.

So I plan to stay at goal, drawing constantly on all the help that got me here.

ONE FOR THE GUYS

This has nothing whatever to do with what I normally write about here, but if you're a guy you must watch this video from my friend's blog.

If you're a woman, your significant other really needs to see this -

http://www.contenttocommerce.com/content-to-commerce/2008/12/8/the-dog-house.html

GOAL AND BEYOND

So how about this, not one but two of my members have gone the whole way from overweight member, through the program to goal, lifetime member and now staff.

These ladies who have lost 80+lb and 90+lb respectively told me today they have been through the interview process and will now be training to work for the company.

That made my day!

Welcome to the nuthouse ladies!!!

STICKABILITY

I am tremendously encouraged at the high level of commitment I'm seeing in the members of my WW groups. At a time when the feedback from leaders all around the country is that numbers are falling off significantly, our folks are staying focused as we head into the holiday season.

We had over 40% more members in this morning's meetings than the same Saturday last year, which by anyone's standards is a very significant rise.

I love it that each of these people is there for the same reason I am - to get to goal - and it's obvious they're determined to do all that it takes.

THE FAT GUY MONOLOGUE

I'm getting plenty of encouragement to go ahead with the one-man show and this morning I got clearance to use a theater at Regal Cinemas on Portion Road in Ronkonkoma. I'm looking at the end of January, which will be pushing it, but I always work better under pressure!!!!

Thanks for the feedback - keep it coming!

PLEASE HELP ME OUT

For some time now I've been thinking of doing a one man show in a neutral location - theater; hotel function room or whatever. The whole point would be to encourage people to take steps toward a healthier life and it would be a mixture of my own story and practical advice, all served up with a lot of humor.

So here are the questions -

Good idea or not?
Is it the kind of thing you yourself might come to?
If I put it on in January (prime diet season), is this the kind of thing some of your family and friends might be interested in?

Pleas email me your feedback - revrog@optonline.net

Thanks!

SUCCESS

Okay, the official number is in - I lost 1.4lb over Thanksgiving. While I weigh myself on occasions throughout the week, I let the WW scale be my official guide and I weigh-in there on Monday mornings.

One holiday down and two to go, though Christmas is by far the more significant occasion than New Year. My sister will be coming from the UK to be with us over the holidays and she will be bringing some traditional goodies from the old country, but as a WW Lifetime Member herself, she has thankfully committed to carrying only limited quantities of contraband.

The main way to survive any holiday is to realize that it is just one day - ignore the run-up, enjoy the day and then get back on track. So that's the plan.

Christmas worked well for me last year because I had a stomach virus. This year I sincerely hope to eat - and still do well.

THANKSGIVING

With tomorrow being Thanksgiving, I'm looking forward to a great day spent with my wife and our friends here in Indianapolis.

I've got a plan for the day, starting with a 5 miles run, then as far as food is concerned; since I know what's on the menu I have already decided exactly what I'm doing.

Please don't get me wrong, I'm not feeling intimidated and nor do I feel deprived. I will have a very happy Thanksgiving on which people will matter more than my plate.

Hope you have a great day too!

ANOTHER PUMPKIN PIE RECIPE

It may be too late, but here's an idea ...

CRUSTLESS PUMPKIN PIE CUSTARD

Serves 6

6 Tablespoons sugar
1-teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon salt ½ teaspoon ground ginger
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
2 eggs
1 (15 oz) canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 (12 oz) can fat free evaporated milk
2 ripe bananas, mashed

Mix all ingredients together. Spray a 9” deep-dish pie plate with butter flavored cooking spray. Pour ingredients into pie pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40-50 minutes or until knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

Flex = 3 Points Core = 1 Point

COLD

I brought my running gear to Indianapolis and was grateful that our friends could advise me of a five miles route for this morning.

What I hadn't really reckoned on was how cold it would be here - and it was! Running in temperatures below freezing is another world compared to the gym I use at home. I do run outdoors sometimes back on Long Island, but I gave that up some time ago and decided to wait until spring.

It's difficult to know what to put on when you're venturing out into freezing conditions. You're going to warm up, so do you take clothes to shed along the way or do you start out cold and hope to sweat enough to reach a decent body temperature?

I chose the latter, wearing less but finding within ten minutes I was toasty - all except for my hands. So the one difference tomorrow is ... I wear gloves.

Anyway, having a relaxing time - brainstorming with my friend about ways to encourage more people to a healthier lifestyle. It would be radical - who knows???

He even suggested I write a book - you never know.

TRAVELING

Spent most of today traveling - am in Indianapolis now for Thanksgiving.

On the plane my wife was looking at the Readers Digest and in theire health section there was an article stating that some people need to eat more in order to lose weight, especially more protein.

They reckon someone who weighs 130lb should eat 70g of protein daily.

Which is basically what I have been telling my members for quite some time now.

EAT MORE PROTEIN!

ALL YOU ALWAYS WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT THANKSGIVING FOOD BUT WERE AFRAID TO ASK

POINTS FOR THANKSGIVING FOODS

Entrees
Turkey, 2 oz dark or 3 oz white = 3
Ham, 2 oz slice = 3
Prime Rib, 3 oz. = 9
Salmon, 1 oz smoked = 1
Cranberry Sauce, 1/4 cup = 2

Starches, Carbohydrates, Spreads
Sweet potato, 1/2 cup = 3
Mashed potato, 1/2 cup = 2
Baked potato, 10 oz. uncooked or 8 oz cooked = 3
Stuffing, 1/2 cup = 4
Dinner roll, 2 oz. = 3
Butter, regular or whipped, 1 tsp = 1
Margarine, regular, 1 tsp = 1
Gravy, 1/4 cup = 4

Vegetable Side Dishes
Hot Dish: string beans, cream of mushroom soup, onions, 1/2 cup = 4
Tossed mixed greens salad, 1 cup = 0
Dressing, 1 tbsp. Full fat = 4, nonfat = 1
Olive, 6 large or 10 small = 1
Pickle, one medium dill =0

Beverages
Fruit punch, 4 oz (1/2 cup) = 1
Wine, 4 oz (1/2 cup) = 2
Beer, 8 oz = 3, lite 8 oz = 2
Mineral or sparkling water, 8 oz = 0

Desserts
Pumpkin Pie, 1/8 of 9" one crust = 8
Apple Pie, 1/8 of 9" two crust = 8
Meringue Pie, any type, 1/8 of 9" = 9
Mincemeat Pie, 1/8 of 9" two crust =14
Ice cream, regular, 1/2 cup - 5-7, light 1/2 cup = 3
Whipped Cream, 1/4 cup full fat =2, lite 1/4 cup = 1
Whipped topping, lite 1/4 cup = 1

Snacks
Candy/Fudge, 1 oz = 3
Cookies, 1 Spritz = 2
Cookies, Gingerbread, 2" diameter = 2
Petit Fours, 1" cube = 2
Cheese, 1" cube = 3
Salami, 1slice/1oz = 3
Saltines, 6 = 2
Guacamole or Hummus, 1/4 cup =2
Egg Roll, 3 oz pork, shrimp, or vegetable = 3
Deviled Egg, 1/2 of egg, regular mayo = 2
Pretzels, 7 twists, regular = 2, low-fat = 1
Dip, many types, 2 tablespoons = 2

THE BIGGEST LOSER

Sitting here watching The Biggest Loser, there are several things that occur to me -

1. It has to be easy to get the pounds to fall off when you're in such a controlled, artificial environment - recognizing of course that a lot of hard work is involved.

2. It's a fun show, but it's not reality TV, because there's little reality in it.

3. Coleen is ready to throw herself under a bus because she only lost 3lb, which proves the unreality of it all.

4. The show emphasizes the equation that is the bottom line of everything - burn more calories than you take in and you'll lose weight.

5. Kudos to the producers for stretching what could be a 45 minutes program into a two hour episode each week.

SUCCESS

Yep, my India strategy worked. I weighed in today and actually lost 2.8lb while I was away.

In a situation where you really have no control over what's on your plate and have to eat it or totally do without, portion control has got to be the key.

Plus, you keep exercising of course.

GOAL!

It was dull and wet when I arrived at the WW center in Selden this morning, but my day was brightened pretty soon by a member who reminded me why I do what I do.

She reached goal - 89.6lbs off - and looks like a different person.

I don't turn up every week to amuse or be the weight loss answer man, I want to see people achieve their vision, get to where they dreamed of being when they first walked in our doors. And if they're pumped by their success, then I want to make it clear, I am too.

Today I was talking about how weight loss can be compared to the game of football and I guess in that scenario I'm the coach. Most coaches used to play the game but don't any longer - their fulfilment comes from the victories of those they now encourage and inspire.

I don't play the weight loss game any longer (I play a variation called maintaining weight loss). but coaching is never more satisfying than when a member scores a win.

That happened ealy this morning and made my day.

THAT CHILI RECIPE AGAIN

Here it is for those who have asked -

http://wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/chili-classic.html

BACK HOME

I'm virtually brain dead at the moment after a 36 hours journey back from India that ended when I arrived home this morning at 10.00am. Then of course, there's the fact that India is 10 1/2 hours ahead of us, so my body doesn't know what time of day it is - it just wants to sleep!

Hopefully I'll be wide awake for my WW groups in the morning.

How did I do maintaining a healthy lifestyle 8,000 miles away from home? Pretty good, I think. I've been to India often enough to realize that while their food is very different, portion control is the key.

I also took my running gear, though with temperatures in the upper 80's I opted for 10K walks rather than anything more energetic.

So that's it! I'm back.

Hope you missed me!!!!!!!!!

NY MARATHON

Sitting here watching the evening news, I'm watching the NY marathon with envy. I wish I was running it!

That could just be a crazy thought, because let's face it,10K is the longest race I've run and that is less than one quarter of the distance of a marathon. But then again, four years ago anyone who every knew me would have asked you what you were smoking if you suggested I would do the 10K.

So, who knows?

There has no be a next goal - maybe a half marathon - and after that it could even be the biggie!

RACHAEL RAY

Great weight loss story here from yesterday's program -

http://www.rachaelrayshow.com/show/segments/view/one-womans-struggle

No, I don't watch the show!

MID-WEEK RECIPE

This looks quick and easy, yields good size portions and leaves left-overs for tomorrow's lunch. Thanks for the recipe Karen!

SPAGHETTI PIZZA

Points Value: 6 per serving

Servings: 10

Preparation Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 55 minutes

Ingredients

2 Sprays olive oil cooking spray

12oz uncooked whole-wheat pasta, spaghetti

2 Large egg whites

1 Large egg

2/3 cup fat-free skim milk

3/4 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp table salt

1 1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/4 cup basil, fresh, chopped, plus extra leaves for garnish

9 oz Shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese, divided

32oz bottled spaghetti sauce

2oz Pepperoni, finely julienned (about 1/2 cup)

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Coat a 9 x 13-inch glass baking dish with the cooking spray; set aside.

Break spaghetti into 2-inch pieces and cook, al dente, according to directions; drain and cool.

Meanwhile, in a large bowl, beat egg whites and egg until frothy. Stir in milk, garlic powder, salt, oregano, basil and 1/3 of mozarella; add cooked spaghetti and stir until thoroughly combined. Spread spaghetti mixture evenly in bottom of baking dish. Bake for 15 minutes; remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350F.

Spread spaghetti sauce over pasta; sprinkle with remaining cheese. Scatter pepperoni evenly over cheese layer. Return to oven and bake until heated through and cheese is bubbly, about 30 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes, garnish with basil and then cut into 10 servings. Yields one slice per serving.

HALLOWEEN CANDY POINTS

MORE candy listed in your 2008 Complete Food Companion, p. 247-260/E-Tools
3 Musketeers, 2 fun size bars 3 1/2
1000 Grand, 2 bars 4 1/2
Abazaba, mini, Each 1
ABC Fruit Chomps, 7 pieces 3
ANDES "Creme de Menth Thin Mint", 8 pieces 5 1/2
Animal Crackers, 11 crackers 3
Almond Joy, 2 snack size bars 4
America1s Original Bubble Gum, 4 pieces 1 1/2
Atomic Fireballs, Each 1
Baby Ruth, 2 fun size bars 4
Big Hunk, mini, Each 1
Bit-O-Honey, 6 pieces 4
Blow Pops, Each 1.5
Bubble Gum, super, 2 pieces 1
Butterfinger, 2 fun size bars 4
Butternut Mini Bar, .75 oz 2
Candy Corn, 22 pieces 3
Caramello, 2 snack size bars 4
Crispy Caramel Fudge Bar, snack size, Each bar 2
Caramel & Peanut Butter Crispy Bars, snack size, Each bar 2
Chocolate Toffee Crisp Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Crunchy Peanut Butter Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Double Bubble Gum, 2 pieces 1
Heath Bar, 5 snack size bars 6
Hershey's Bar (plain), 2 snack size bars 5
Hershey's (almonds), 2 snack size bars 5
Hershey Kisses, 8 pieces 5 - Hershey Kisses or Hugs, 3 pieces 2
Hershey Miniatures, 5 pieces 5
Hershey Tastations (any flavor), 3 pieces 1
Hershey Sweet Escapes 2
Hi C Juice Fillers, bag (5 candies) 2
Hot Tamales, Each snack box 1
Jolly Rancher, 3 pieces 1
Jolly Rancher Mini Stix, Each 1
Kit Kat, 3 (2 pc) snack bars 6 - Kit Kat, Each 2
Lemonheads, Each box 2
Life Saver Five Flavor Candy, 4 1.5
Life Saver Gummi Savers, 2 rolls 2.5
Life Saver Pops, Each 1
M & M (plain), Each fun size pack 2
M & M (peanut), Each fun size pack 2
M & M Crispy, Each pkg 5
Mars, 2 fun size bars 4
Mary Jane Peanut Butter Kisses, 6 pieces 3.5
Maynards Wine Gums, 1 roll (44 g), 3
Mike & Ikes, Each snack pkg 1
Milk Duds, 4 fun size boxes 4
Milky Way, 2 fun size bars 4
Milky Way Lite, minis, 5 pieces 3
Milky Way Lite, regular bar 3.5
Mounds, 2 snack size bars 4
Necco Wafers, Each roll 1
Nerds, Each box 1
Nestles PB Mallow, Each 3.5
Nestles Baby Ruth, Each 4.5
Nestle Crunch Fun Size, 4 bars 5
Now & Later, 3 mini bars 3
O'Henry, 2 fun size bars 5
Peter Pan Peanut Butter Cups, 4 pieces 6
Pumpkin Pop, Each sucker 1
Raisinettes, 3 snack size boxes 4
Red Hots, Each box 2
Reese's Crunchy Cookie Cups, 2 snacks 4
Reese's Miniature Peanut Butter Cups, 5 pieces 5
Reeses Peanut Butter Bites, 3 pkgs 5.5
Reese's Peanut Butter Cup, 2 snack size 4
Reesesticks, 2 snack size 4
Skittles, 3 pkgs 4
Skittles (regular), 2 packs 3
Smarties, 3 rolls 1
Smuckers Fruit Fillers, Each bag (5 candies) 2
Snackwells Nut Clusters, Each piece 1
Snickers, 2 fun size bars 4
Snickers, minis (4 pieces) or 2 fun size bars 4
Spree Candies, 8 pieces 1
Spree Twist, 2 rolls 1.5
Starburst, 3 fun size pkgs 4
Starburst Fruit Chews, 8 chews 3.5
Sugar Babies, 2 snack size pouches 4.5
Sugar Daddy Pops, 3 3.5
Sweethearts (Necco), Each (1 1/8 oz box) 2.5
Sweet Tarts, 2 rolls 1
Tootsie Hot Chocolate Pops, Each 1.5
Three Muskateers, 2 fun size 4
Tootsie Roll, 2 snack bars 2
Tootsie Roll Midgees, 6 pieces 3.5
Tootsie Roll Pop, Each pop 1
Triple Chocolate Wafer Bar, snack size, Each bar, 2
Twix, (mini size) Each 1
Twix, Each snack size bar 2
Twix, Regular Size, Each (2) pack 7
Twizzlers Pull-n-Peel Cherry Candy, 3 pieces 2.5
Twizzlers Strawberry Twists, 4 twists 2.5
Werther's Original, 3 pieces 1
Whoppers Malted Milk Balls, 2 snack size pouches 5
Wonka Nerds Gumballs, Each 1
Wonka Shock Tarts Gumball, Each 1
Wrigleys Chewing Gum, 5 pieces 1
York Peppermint Patties, 3 patties 3


Halloween Tips
*Buy candy you do not like and give that out
*Bag up candy in small treat bags so it is not loose and more tempting
*Have a plan for leftover candy - bring to work - send to school - send to work with someone else
*Don't stay at home - go to the movies or go out
*Figure out a plan - look up how many points a favorite candy is and work it into your day as a treat

FALL RECIPES

I got these from one of our WW members this morning - sound good!

PUMPKIN PUDDING

1 15ox can pumpkin
2 pkgs FF/SF Vanilla Pudding
3 Cups Skim Milk
Cinnamon & Nutmeg

Mix all ingredients as per package directions, add pumpkin.
Refrigerate as directions

1 Cup = 2 Points
CORE

PUMPKIN MUFFINS

1 Box Carrotcake mix
1/2 cup water
1 15ox Can Pumpkin

Mix all together as per package directions. Add an extra 10 minutes to package baking time.

Makes 18 muffins

1 muffin = 2 Points

DETERMINED

The attendance was a bit lower than usual at the early WW meeting in Miller Place this evening and I particularly noticed that one of the newer guys was missing.

He eventually arrived half an hour after the meeting ended, explaining that he had come straight from LaGuardia and was late because his flight had been delayed.

Away all week, traveling today, flight delayed, but he was determined to get to his weekly weigh-in.

I like that determination - he'll get to his goal that way!

A TON OF FOOD

Today I went to the WW centers in Lake Ronkonkoma and Selden to pick up all the food that had been donated to our food pantry through the Lose For Good campaign. Over the past six weeks the company has invited member to participate in food drives at their local centers as a celebration of their success.

Meanwhile WW International is matching the amounts of weight loss by members across the country with the costs of supplying food for the hungry to two major relief organizations.

We reckon we picked up over 1600lb from Selden and over 600lb from Lake Ronkonkoma - a ton of food.

Many thanks to all who are helping us to help others.

IT'S HARD

In yesterday's WW groups we were looking at three statements that no one seemed to disagree with at all -

1. It's hard to be overweight
2. It's hard to lose weight
3. It's hard to maintain weight loss

Bottom line - it's all hard!
What we do is choose which hard path we prefer.

Weight loss is never going to be easy, we're fighting genetics, bad habits developed over years and our own heads. But it's a heck of a lot better than dealing with the difficulties of carrying around too many extra pounds.

TORTILLA SOUP

It's going to be cool this weekend, so here's a tasty looking recipe from one of my Miller Place members -

48oz can Light & FF chicken broth
1 large onion, chopped
1 - 2 tbsp (to taste) taco seasoning mix
28oz can crushed tomatoes, drained
4 oz salsa
9oz package Perdue Shortcuts Grilled Chicken Breat (7 Points)
11oz can Del Monte summer crisp corn (3 Points)

Add chicken broth and onion to pan and heat through. Add taco seasoning, tomatoes and salsa. Bring to a boil. Add chicken and corn, reduce heat, cook for 30 minutes.

10 Points in the pot - but how much in a 1 cup serving? Let me know!

TILAPIA

There's no getting around the fact that fish is definitely your friend. Of course what you do with it can easily make it your enemy, like coating it in beer batter and frying it for traditional British fish 'n' chips!

I had tilapia for dinner tonight - a kind of fish I had never heard of before we came to the U.S. - and frying it, as is, in PAM meant it was only 2/3 the amount of points as ounces. Six ounces was a modest four points.

My kind of meal - bang for your buck. Well, for your points anyway.

DINER FOOD

We have friends from North Carolina who visit us now and again - they were here last weekend - and one of their first requests is for us to be able to eat in a Diner. We're always glad to see them and would take them to whatever restaurant they choose, but it's always the same request - seems there's nothing remotely like one of our diners down on the Outer Banks.

We generally go to a diner for brunch on Sundays, after church is over, arriving around noon. I'm ready to eat by then as I leave the house early and don't usually eat a lot during the course of the morning - often not at all, but don't tell my WW leader!

So, what's good - and safe - in a diner? Thankfully there are quite a few choices, but of late I've been going for two poached eggs on a dry toasted English muffin. That works out at six points, with another six thrown in if I add the home fries.

I had the home fries today and enjoyed them. What I love about this program is it's so inclusive. That will be my main meal of the day, but it was good.

You can't beat a New York diner!

PUMPKIN CURRY SOUP

Gill has been making this a lot lately - we love it. Don't be put off if curry is not your thing.

INGREDIENTS
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 large cloves garlic finely chopped
1 cup shredded carrot
1 1/2 tsp curry powder (to taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground pepper
3 cups low sodium, fat free chicken broth
1 15oz can pure pumpkin
1 12oz can non-fat evaporated milk

METHOD
Spray a saucepan with PAM and cook the onions and garlic for 2-3 minutes. Add the carrots and curry powder and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Add broth and pumpkin. Bring to boil, then lower heat and simmer for 15-20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Stir in evaporated milk and transfer to belnder or food processor. Blend until smooth.

CORE recipe
1 POINT per cup

CHOICES

This has been a great weekend and a very busy one. We celebrated our church's 10th Anniversary, which meant we saw a lot of good people, had friends visiting and were faced with a lot of food.

Saturday evening we had around 40 people over for a catered party at our house, complete with a whole table of outrageous homemade desserts.

Sunday for lunch we took all our guests to the Indian buffet at The Curry Club in Centereach (my favorite food, for the uninformed).

Sunday evening was another party catered again by Tuscany in Miller Place, with a table full of different desserts - once more from Sarah Jayne's.

There was just too much good stuff on offer, so I made the decision to enjoy the food and deal with the consequences.

Overall I gained a few pounds by the look of it. But I didn't gain the 133 I have lost, nor did I ditch the lifestyle I have developed this past few years. I had some outstanding food in front of me and enjoyed it.

Today I got back to normal!

ON THE ROAD AGAIN

I'm in Mount Pleasant, SC for a couple of days this week - back home Wednesday lunchtime.

That means a couple of things -

1. I've switched to the Core Program, which is always a lot easier in my estimation when you're out of routine. Had a great dinner at Outback tonight - all Core!

2. I brought my sneakers and running gear with me and went for a run on the road this morning. There's an exercise room in the hotel, but I don't like hotel treadmills. They are generally very inferior to those in my gym back home, as was proved last year in Houston when I tripped on a treadmill, the Stop button didn't work and I seriously skinned my knees. Anway it's warm here - great weather for an outdoors run!

Too many good snacks on offer at the conference I'm attending. They were handing out Coldstone Creamery ice cream sundaes during one break today, but I'm glad to say I passed on that offer. My resistance crumbled with the shrimp in sauce over grits during another break - but it was a small serving (cocktail glass size).

Traveling has its own challenges, but there are solutions too!

MY FRIEND TURKEY

One of the best finds in the past year, or whatever, has got to be 97% fat free ground turkey. It's so much healthier than any kind of ground beef and the fact is that since I always use it with some kind of sauce, there's no real taste issue either.

4oz is only 2 Points, whereas 4oz of ground beef is 8 Points.

So it's tasty, economical (Points-wise that is) and it tastes good. We do a lot with it - like the South African dish Bobotie that I just made for tomorrow night's dinner. It's delicious and only 4 Points for a generous serving.

I'd give you the recipe, but the key ingredient is a blend of spices I got in South Africa that is certainly not on the shelves in Pathmark.

Okay, I just remembered Google - here's a recipe -
http://www.inmamaskitchen.com/RECIPES/RECIPES/meats/bobotie.html

MID-WEEK MEANDERINGS

+ They've opened a new pizzeria right next to the WW center in Miller Place. Trust me, from what I saw last night more of their customers need us than they do a sicilian pie with pepperoni and garlic knots on the side.

+ The Lose To Win initiative is going really well in the two centers I work in - loads of food coming in for local not-for-profits.

+ Not sure if I like the new version of The Biggest Loser. Maybe that's because I missed week one. We'll see.

+ If anyone knows how to prepare the new WW Mexican Rice side dish that we're selling in our centers without it being a sloppy mess, please let me know. Obviously it involves something other than following the instructions on the box.

+ I've been encouraging members to get the Skinny Songs CD. You can check it out for free here - www.skinnysongs.com - look out for my mug shots on their website.

+ Biggest weight loss in last night's 7.00pm group - 4lb. How did she do it? She told us she wrote everything down. Now there's a novel concept.

+ Last Saturday was my first anniversary of taking over the Saturday groups and our numbers were up 14% on the same weekend last year. That was encouraging. Not good enough of course, but encouraging.

+ Met a friend for breakfast in a diner today. I've never been a big morning eater, but whenever I was in a diner I would eat a full breakfast. It did cross my mind to stray a little as I looked at the menu, but my friend helped me by commenting, "Why are you looking at the menu when you know what you're going to have?" So that's what I ordered, my new normal, oatmeal.

FROM THE BOSS

Some good stuff here in a CNN interview with WW Ceo David Kirchoff -

http://money.cnn.com/video/#/video/news/2008/09/22/news.092208.weightwatch.cnnmoney

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY

Tomorrow marks the first anniversary of my taking on leading the Saturday morning WW groups in Selden. One year ago tonight I didn't sleep too well as I was nervous about the prospect of taking on the considerable responsibility of becoming the coach/ mentor/ adviser/ friend to several hundred people most of whom were still on the journey to health that I had only completed myself six months earlier.

I knew I could give a reasonable presentation - I've been doing that with groups of people since I was a teenager. But that isn't the issue. Sure, I knew the program, but being able to pass on accurate information is not what this is all about for me.

It's all about people.

People desperate to win a battle that has been a lifetime's struggle for many of them. People who simply want to live longer, enjoy life more and feel better about themselves.

Could I really help the members?

With God's help and the support of a great staff team, I think I'm doing it and hope to continue to do so for a good few years to come.

CONFESSION

I always recommend to my WW members that they go into every potentially challenging situation with a plan - be it a birthday party, a company dinner, Thanksgiving, or whatever. My theory is that it is better to deviate slightly from pre-determined actions than go in with no plan and blow it all.

So the feedback on yesterday's city trip is this -

I did have a plan and I did deviate from the plan. I guess an Indian restaurant is probably the most tempting place that I can ever find myself in and I did succumb. But there are some positives.

1. I had allowed plenty of points for the occasion.
2. I refused both appetizer and dessert.
3. Bottom line, it was just one meal.
4. Today is another day and I'm back on track.
5. I enjoyed it!

WEIGHING THINGS UP

Gill and I are heading for Manhattan in a half hour or so, to see Celine Dion in concert in Madison Square Garden. We don't go into the city together that often - I think the last time was our wedding anniversary trip in December - so we want it to be special ... which includes dinner!

Recognizing that special is not sitting some place and eating a grilled chicken salad, I've been planning for this evening and a visit to our favorite Indian restaurant on 44th Street.

It's a simple plan, but may be of help to others -

1. I've made this a low-point day so far, so that I have plenty left for dinner.
2. I've got a number of my 35 felxible points for the week banked for tonight.
3. I've looked over points values for Indian foods and know what is a good choice - and what is not!

So wish me luck and pray that my resolve holds!

GETTING OUT OF A RUT

I find weekends exhausting. Saturday is absolutely non-stop from 6.45am until dinner time. Then I get the last bits and pieces sorted out for church on Sunday, go to bed and leave home at 7.00am to help transforming a movie theater into a contemporary church in time for a 10.00am service.

In recent months I've got into the pattern of crashing on a Sunday afternoon and dozing in front of the baseball on TV.

That's not good, because for the past three years I had been spending that time in the gym. It's easy to be too kind to yourself, especially when you're tired, so today I decided I needed to shake that habit.

I did watch some baseball and as soon as my team blew their lead and the game in the 9th inning, I headed out to run for a while. It wasn't as full a workout as I used to do in the gym, but a medium distance run on the road was far better than I've been doing on Sundays of late.

And I was glad I did it!

SATURDAY

I'm shot, but this was a good day!

Seems that things are returning to normal at Weight Watchers now, with numbers way up and thankfully a number of people back that I have been missing over the past few weeks.

It's so easy to get disconnected and to start undoing all that has been accomplished, so I'm always glad to see members coming back in through the doors.

We had new faces in every group too, which meant that the action was non-stop from arriving at the center at 7.00 to leaving around 1.45. It wasn't just me who barely came up for breath - our excellent support team out front excelled as always.

Like most things in life, it's a team effort that makes things happen and I have the best team.

WHEN YOU'VE A LONG WAY TO GO

One of the worst things that happened to me on my weight loss journey was achieving the 100lb weight loss mark. Don't get me wrong, on the morning I weighed in at WW and saw the reading on the scale, I was ecstatic. Later that morning I even went along to the lunch buffet at a nearby Indian restaurant and really celebrated.

I know that wasn't the best response, but one meal wasn't the issue. It was the Yes, I did it mentality that messed me up. The problem was that I hadn't done it - I was not at my goal. I still needed to lose 33lb and it would take me another 13 months to get there.

So how do you stick at it for the long haul?

1. Promise yourself you're there until you totally succeed - no matter how long that takes.
2. Never lose sight of how far you have already come.
3. Keep plugging away at the basics - weigh, measure, write down, exercise.
4. Try to connect with someone who had as much to lose as you and who was succesful.
5. Remind yourself of the benefits so far and of how many more are ahead.

FYI

I've had quite a number of people in my WW groups ask me about our church lately. Now for obvious reasons, I don't say anything about it in the course of our meetings - that's not what we're there for.

But I figured I'd post a link to our website for those who want to know a bit about it or at least are mildly curious about what I do when I'm not in WW.

www.churchatthemovies.com

1.1 BILLION

Last year there were roughly as many underfed people in the world as there were overweight people -1.1 Billion. I have the source for that, though not at my fingertips at this exact point in time and I'm too idle at this late hour on a Saturday evening to go hunt for it! So take my word for it!

So today when I told my WW groups that over the next six weeks we are going to give them the opportunity to tilt the balance a little in the favor of the underprivileged, there was a great response.

In both the Selden and Lake Ronkonkoma Centers they're going to be accepting food donations throughout this Win To Lose campaign and everything that comes in will go into our overstretched Grace Care Food Pantry, which supplied around 9,000 people with food in 2007. There's the potential for a massive boost to our supplies as we head into the fall and I am grateful to our Territory Manager and the Location Coordinators in the two centers.

INTERNATIONAL WEEK

I don't know if there's something weird going on or what, but I've had visitors to my blog from all over Europe this week - Greece, Germany, France, Poland, Hungary, Denmark, Italy, Slovakia, Switzerland and Holland.

There've been readers from Vietnam, China, Mexico and Guatemala too.

So whoever you are and wherever you live, welcome to my corner of the worldwide web!

LOSE FOR GOOD

I'm pumped about WW six weeks program that will lead to the company donating up to $1m to charities for the needy both here and overseas. The only catch is that their part will be in proportion to the weight members lose during that period.

It's kind of weird that so many of us are watching our food intake while much of the world just wonders whether it will even eat.

Glad we're doing something.

PROTEIN

I've been eating a lot of protein this past couple of days, refocusing myself on an area that I emphasize when I'm speaking to others about weight loss.

Protein has two big things going for it -

1. It fills you up.
2. It gets the metabolism moving.

There are probably few people reading this who would not do well to follow my lead and up your protein this week - it may not seem this way, but protein is our friend.

ROUTINE

Okay, so this is it - Labor Day! - and while I'm mourning the fact that this means fall is just around the corner, to be inevitably followed by the snow-shovelling days of winter, it also means that life returns to some semblance of normal.

Barbecues, picnics and pool parties are behind us. Vacation is over.

Now I can settle back into my routine which has been so rudely interrupted so often during the past three months, making it a challenge to stay on track at times.

This morning I returned to the gym for the first time in two weeks - I did work out whilst on vacation, but not to the normal degree - and I started on page one of a brand new three months tracker.

I'll miss summer, but I'm glad to get back in the groove.

THOUGHTS FROM UNDER A PALM TREE

1.Four days into our vacation in Puerto Rico, I'm finally starting to relax - I'm not too good at doing nothing.
2.It's hot here, so I have to get up at 6.30 to get a run in before the heat makes it impossible.
3. I switched to the Core program for this trip as I find it easier than the Flex when I'm away from home.
4. I have allowed myself one extra treat a day as there is so much different food all around me here.
5. My goal is simply to gain no weight during our vacation.
6. I'll miss everyone at WW tomorrow, but Jocelyn is covering for me and she's a brilliant leader.
7. Am I the only one who thinks it's weird I can do this on a phone???

WATCH OUT ETHIOPIA

I just watched the Olympic 10,000 metres race in which the apparently unbeatable Ethiopians took gold and silver and I have decided they've dominated the event for long enough. The winning time - an Olympic record - was 27 minutes and change for the 6.2 miles race and I'm putting the Ethiopians on notice that I'm coming after them in London in 2012.

My best time for that distance is 49 minutes (albeit in the controlled environment of a gym and on a treadmill), so here's the plan.

If I can improve my time by just half a minute every two months, or half a second a day, I'll cover the course in the British Olympic Stadium (maybe Wembley) in a blistering, never-been-done-before time of 25 minutes.

So there it is - Olympic gold in the nation of my birth.

But will I compete for Britain or the USA?

Tough call!

OATMEAL SQUARES

Here's a great recipe for a snack or breakfast bar we mentioned in our early group this morning -
http://wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com/2008/03/oatmeal-squares.html

THE LADY WHO CHANGED EVERYTHING

There's a pretty lengthy, but fascinating article here - an interview with WW founder, New Yorker Jean Nidetch...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2008/jan/13/healthandwellbeing.features2

THUMBS UP FOR RUNNERS

There's an interesting article in the British newspaper, The Daily Express this week, which I haven't caught anywhere in the U.S. media. It centers on research done over the past 24 years by Professor James Fries from the University of California, Stanford.

Fries and his colleagues compared 284 members of a national running club and 156 healthy, but non-running, individuals - all aged 50 or older at the start of the study.

After 19 years, one in three of the non-runners had died, but less than one in six of the runners had.

After 21 years, both groups had become more disabled, but disability came 16 years later for the runners.

Fries comments, "We did not expect this. The health benefits of exercise are greater than we thought." Running not only appeared to slow the rate of heart and artery-related deaths but also early deaths from cancer, neurological disease, infections and other causes.

Contrary to common belief, there was also evidence that running does not wear out knee and hip joints.

All-round good news for those of us who have taken up this form of activity and hopefully further incentive for anyone considering it.

BARGAIN BUY

Arnold's Sandwich Thins have become a staple for most of the people I know who are on a weight loss journey.

For those of you reading this blog around the area I live (this advice won't help readers in the U.K., Spain, Canada, Israel and India), they're on special this week at 2 for $4 in Waldbaums supermarkets - which beats the regular price of $2.99 - $3.29.

TAKING MY OWN ADVICE - OR NOT

It's weird, but all last week I was encouraging my WW members to push themselves just a little bit further in the area of exercise. I suggested that our bodies lie to us and tell us we are going to die if we press ourselves any further and the best way to deal with it is to simply keep going.

After running a couple of miles on the treadmill at the gym this afternoon, I felt so lightheaded that it was as if I wasn't there. I slowed down when I started to see spots before my eyes and walked a further mile before I decided to call it a day in case I fainted.

Three hours later, I'm still not feeling right, so I think it was smart decision to cut things short.

On this occasion I really think this old body was telling the truth!

THEY DID IT!

It was chaotic at several points of this morning's WW meetings as we had major computer system problems and were doing our best to deal with them without all of our regular team of receptionists.

I can't pretend to be happy with a line that goes out the door and right along the front of the building as it is not providing members with the kind of experience they deserve, but I guess stuff happens!

Anyway, once inside it was a very good day for several members, especially the lady who reached goal after losing almost 70lb since the start of the year. I got a huge hug from her as she thanked me for my help, but I reminded her that she was the one who did all the work.

Over the past weeks she has got her life back.

I love doing this job!

GOING DOWN

This evening I subbed for a vacationing WW leader and took care of her group. You should have seen the smile on the face of the lady I weighed who today had got below 200lb for the first time in a very long time.

That's why I love doing this!

51 WAYS TO GET MORE EXERCISE

51 Ways to Get More Exercise~

*Park in the furthest parking space
*Do sit-ups while watching TV
*Walk on your coffee breaks
*Take a brisk walk at lunchtime
*Carry your own groceries to your car
*Hide the remote and get up to change channels
*Ride your bike or walk for short errands
*Dust, dust, dust
*Work in your garden
*Take a walk after dinner
*Play frisbee with neighbors/children
*Do stretches at your desk
*Jump rope between household chores
*Wash your car by hand
*Mow your lawn with a push mower
*Unwind from work by dancing around the house
*Walk your dog......or the neighbors
*Get off the bus or subway two stops before your destination
*Go ice skating with friends
*Lift hand weights while talking on the phone
*Avoid drive-in windows......walk into stores instead
*Schedule family hikes or bike rides
*Play outdoor games with your kids
*Do the dishes by hand
*Learn a new sport, like golf or tennis
*Answer the phone that is farthest away
*Install a pull-up bar in your bedroom doorway
*Make meals in time to music
*Be first to volunteer for active chores
*Take dance lessons
*Wash windows with vigor
*March in place during TV commercials
*Clean out your closet or cabinets
*Vacuum or sweep daily
*Scrub the tub till it sparkles
*Clean out your refrigerator
*Do a few laps around the shopping mall
*Rearrange furniture;;;;offer to help friends do the same.
*Teach your kids an active sport you like
*Coach your kid’s sports team
*Shoot some hoops
*Sign up for a walk-a-thon
*Organize an office yoga break
*Schedule a daily morning jog with friends
*Work out to exercise videos
*Challenge yourself to walk longer in the park each day
*Use a stationary bike at home
*On car trips, make stops to stretch
*Follow along with exercise programs on TV
*Join active groups, like bicyclists, hikers or mall walkers

STEPPING IT UP

When I joined WW three and a half years ago, I decided to do the whole program this time around, which included moving more (exercise is a dirty word with us!).

Of course I couldn't move a whole lot at 330+lb, but I did some and slowly stepped it up until I was eventually (after a very long time) running six or seven miles a day seven days a week.

I have stayed at that level pretty much, though I have dropped Saturdays since I started needing to arrive at the Selden WW center by 7.00am to prepare for the start of my groups.

Since one of my ultimate goals - maybe way down the road - is to run a half marathon, I have decided to step things up a bit starting this week. I've already increased my Monday workout to running 10 miles and plan to add just a little more to every other day too.

You gotta keep pushing.

SETTING GOALS

Two weeks from now I'm going on vacation - eleven days in sunny Puerto Rico, which I have never visited before and I am informed will be as hot as the other place at that time of year.

It has been interesting to see how different members of my WW groups have handled their summer cruises, trips to the beach, the mountains, Hawaii and a load of other destinations. It seems as if a lot of folks have set themselves reasonable goals and kept pretty much to them, like the couple in one of the Wednesday evening groups in Miller Place - on an eight day cruise she gained no weight and he put on 0.2lb. That's impressive.

So what do I plan for PR? - Staying the same works for me too and while I may eat a little more than usual, I plan to deal with that by working out a bit more too.

Time will tell. I'll keep you informed - maybe!!!

SPIES EVERYWHERE

A couple of weeks ago at a wedding, I was minding my own business while working through the delicious salad when a lady came up to our table and greeted me - "Hi Roger, you're my WW leader!" I will readily confess to not immediately recognizing her as I meet hundreds of people each week and it is always strange to see them in a different setting, dressed in something other than their weighing-in clothes.

Man, was I glad I was paying attention to what I was eating.

Since I live in the vicinity of both the Selden and Miller Place centers, I do occasionally bump into members in restaurants and supermarkets too - their eyes go immediately to my cart!

Never knowing who will be there, I just buy coffee at 7-11 and in Dunkin' Donuts too for that matter.

There are hundreds of pairs of eyes that help keep me on program.

Thank you!

HELPING OUT

I did a couple of extra WW groups this morning, subbing for a friend who is on vacation. I had a good time with one of them and a very good time with the second.

Here's what I reckon - I think I lead far better with the dynamics of a larger group. I play off the interaction and really rely on it to get into the swing of things. I guess I'm not alone in that, but having started my WW involvement with big groups, I think I have been spoiled and find it difficult to adjust to a handful of people.

Not their fault of course - it's me who needs to change things up!

JULIE ANDREWS ON AGEING

To commemorate her 69th birthday, actress/vocalist, Julie Andrews made a
special appearance at Radio City Music Hall for the benefit
of the AARP.
One of the musical numbers she performed was 'My Favorite Things' from
the legendary movie 'Sound Of Music'. Here are the lyrics she used:

(Sing It!) - If you sing it, it is especially hysterical!!!

Botox and nose drops and needles for knitting,
Walkers and handrails and new dental fittings,
Bundles of magazines tied up in string,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Cadillacs and cataracts, hearing aids and glasses,
Polident and Fixodent and false teeth in glasses,
Pacemakers, golf carts and porches with swings,
These are a few of my favorite things.

When the pipes leak, When the bones creak,
When the knees go bad, I simply remember my favorite things,
And then I don't feel so bad.

Hot tea and crumpets and corn pads for bunions,
No spicy hot food or food cooked with onions,
Bathrobes and heating pads and hot meals they bring,
These are a few of my favorite things.

Back pain, confused brains and no need for sinnin',
Thin bones and fractures and hair that is thinnin',
And we won't mention our short shrunken frames,
When we remember our favorite things.

When the joints ache, When the hips break,
When the eyes grow dim, Then I remember the great life I've had,
And then I don't feel so bad.

(Ms. Andrews received a standing ovation from the crowd that lasted over
four minutes)

FLYING HIGH

I love celebrating with the great people in my WW groups, like the lady who got under 200lb today for the first time in decades; the man who got to goal after losing more than 40lb; the member who lost 4.6lb last week to move within 2lb of her goal - having dropped more than 60lb since the start of the year.

But what made my day today was the non-scale victory of a young woman who, having lost more than 60lb, ran a 5K race for the first time in her life last weekend.

That's success! Doing something you have never done before and would never have dreamed of doing.

I was flying high when I left the center this afternoon. I'm proud of our folks and privileged to get to coach them.

THANK GOODNESS

It's the simple things that make me appreciate having lost all that weight. Like having to squeeze into a very tight (but good) seat at Shea Stadium this afternoon and thinking -

Am I glad I didn't try this four years ago?

It's insane to pay that much money for that degree of discomfort!

SPEAKING OF DESSERT

Here's a great looking recipe from a member of our earliest Saturday WW group -thanks Linda!

Ingredients
4 boxes sugar-free Jello (Strawberry)
2 cups lite Cool Whip
2 1/2 cups boiling water
2 3/4 cups ice water (add ice cubes)
4oz lite cream cheese
8 packs Splenda
11oz can mandarin oranges - drained
1 can lite peaches - drained

Method
Put the Jello powder into a medium bowl and pour on the boiling water. Stir 2 minutes until dissolved. Add ice water and refrigerate about 2 hours (until consistency of egg whites). Add fruit and refrigerate for a further 15 minutes.

Whisk together cream cheese and Splenda, fold in the Cool Whip. Spread mix in a dish and pour the Jello mixture on top. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate.

Just before serving, add a thin layer of Cool Whip on the top.

How many points? - Use your calculator!!!

HOT DOG!

I haven't been a great fan of hot dogs since I started eating more healthily some three and a half years ago, but this summer I've taken a fancy to this humble favorite of millions and have been happy to discover they fit easily into my food plan.

So this evening I ate two, using Hebrew National low fat franks and light rolls - a total of four points! We don't top hot dogs with sauerkraut in the UK, we tend to go for fried onions, which works well for me as I don't care for pickled cabbage or whatever it is anyway.

So I threw on the onions (fried in spray stuff), some mustard, grilled an ear of corn, added a side salad and ate a very tasty, totally acceptable 5 Points dinner.

Which all goes to prove you don't need to run from typical summer fare, you just need to make smart choices.

Must go - time for fruit and ice cream.

SPECIAL DAY

The crowd was a bit thinner than usual at this morning's Weight Watchers groups - probably something to do with the heat and unbearable humidity - but it was a special day for me and I'll explain why.

In one of our groups we have a wonderful lady who is in the process of losing a substantial amount of weight and this past week or so has been huge for her - not just for success at the scale, but because she has managed to start walking again.

Her battle had left her seriously restricted for a long time, but having lost over 70lb already, she has now received a whole new lease of life by becoming more mobile.

She left us today to go out and buy good walking sneakers and I left a happy camper too.

It's why I do what I do!

THE FAMILY BUSINESS

My sister, Pat, finished her training to become a Weight Watchers leader this week and she takes on her first assignment on Monday. Pat addressed the family tendency towards obesity years ago by joining Weight Watchers and losing a heck of a lot.

She re-joined last year to get rid of a few extra pounds that were bugging her and once she got back to goal, she decided to look into helping others herself by becoming a leader.

Pat will be a great leader, but I can rest assured she won't draw away any of my members - she's doing her group in Preston, England!

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COBBLER

I saw rhubarb in the store this morning and came across this recipe on the WW website -

STRAWBERRY RHUBARB COBBLER

3 cup fresh rhubarb, sliced
3 cups fresh strawberries, sliced
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Splenda
1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 cup Bisquick Original Baking Mix
1/2 cup fat-free skim milk
2 Tbsp Splenda

Heat oven to 375. Mix together the first 6 items. Grease a 8x12 cake pan. Spoon strawberry mixture into pan. Mix together last 3 items and pour all over the strawberry mixture. Bake for 50 minutes or until browned.

Makes 8 servings at 3 Points

BREAKING THE BARRIER

I didn't get to run the Bellport Clipper yesterday as some things came up I had to deal with and was fully occupied well into the evening. I was looking forward to the 5K (3.1 miles) event as it's a flat, picturesque run through the town and down to the marina.

I struggled with it last year as it was very hot and humid, also probably because by 5.00 pm on a Sunday I am definitely not at my sharpest since weekends are so busy.

I can do 3 miles in 24 minutes on the treadmill, though I generally take it a bit steadier and turn in 28 or 29 minutes. Road running is another world, but nonetheless I was disappointed with a time of 33 minutes last year in Bellport.

I was hoping to get closer to 30 minutes yesterday, but since I didn't run, I'm going to work on improving my time by doing a bit more road running this week instead of heading to the gym.

I'll keep you posted!

DECLARATION OF THINDEPENDENCE

Here's something I shared in my 4th of July meeting that a number of members asked me to post here -

I pledge allegiance to myself
In quest of my weight loss goal;
And to the healthiness for which it stands,
One body...
Under control...
Indisputably...
With confidence in new clothes for fall.

IF YOU BITE IT ...

... YOU WRITE IT!

Here's some external testimony to the validity of WW Flex Program's approach to weight loss -

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25573436

Keep writing!

CAN'T BEAT THIS

I promised some new WW members that I'd post the link to my favorite chili up here tonight, so here goes - enjoy -

http://wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/chili-classic.html

ANOTHER HOLIDAY SUCCESFULLY NAVIGATED

Holidays with their parties, dinners, barbecues, etc can be a very demanding time for those of us who are trying to stay focused on healthy living, so I was a little concerned about today's 4th of July celebration - especially as we had been invited to two barbecues.

I made sure I started the day with some exercise, despite sleeping later than usual, and opted for a road run of a modest 3.2 miles (hey, it's a holiday!).

After that our plans for the day changed as we discovered our grandson was still sick and so he and our daughter would be spending Independence Day alone (he's apparently possibly still contagious, though we doubt it).

So we missed the barbecues - will apologize in due course - and were able to hang out with another Weight Watcher instead. No temptations there - challenge was gone - in fact the day is virtually over and I can report I had a really good time and actually stayed within my points allowance!

Phew!

HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

Have a good day, enjoying all that's best about this great country!

POTATO SALAD

Had a good time with my Miller Place groups tonight - some great people there. We were talking about barbecues this weekend and I mentioned the Potato Salad recipe I'd posted a couple of weeks ago.

If you want to check it out, it's here -

http://wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com/2008/06/great-summer-recipe.html

WW WORKS

From time to time I meet someone who tells me that Weight Watchers didn't work for them and to be honest, I don't buy that. The program works when you work the program and the only exception I've ever come across is when there are other unusual medical things going on.

But don't take my word for it -

The Cleveland Clinic has just offered its 30,000+ employees free patrticipation in Weight Watchers - http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25455291

Rite-Aid will pay the costs of 16 weeks of Weight Watchers for any of its staff.

Employers are appreciating that it is in their interest to have a healthy workforce and that WW can help them in that direction.

The program works - but what do I know?

I only dropped 133lb after a lifetime of morbid obesity!

SOME BABRBECUE POINTS

With Fourth of July in sight, here's some info that may be helpful. Some of the details are a little vague - but hopefully it's useful.

Hot Dogs, 5
Watermelon 1 cup,
1 Hamburgers 3 oz, 5
Buns, 3
BBQ Chicken, 5 (Dark), 3 (White)
BBQ Ribs 4 oz, 8
Corn on the Cob, 1
Butter 1 TBSP, 3
Potato Salad ½ c, 7
Potato Chips(14), 4
Cole Slaw ½ c, 4
Ice Cream ½ c, 4
Cookies, 4
Soda, 3
Fruit Salad 1 c, 4
BBQ Beans ½ c, 4
Vegetables & Dip (2 T) 0/ 5
Margaritas 4 oz, 5
Apple Pie, 7
Bratwurst, 5
Cup cake with frosting, 5
Deviled Eggs 2 halves, 4

IT'S A WRAP

Okay, that's it - that's all I'm doing for today.

Left home at 6.45 am and headed for Weight Watchers for our four Saturday morning groups. Left there again at 1.45, home for 20 minutes and then out to help with our church's mobile soup kitchen. From there to watch the church softball team (not one of their better games!) and back home at around 8.00pm.

It's been a good day!

CHECKING IN

No, Ididn't disappear off the face of the planet, my wife and I are enjoying a few quiet days out at Montauk. The beach, sunshine and some books - I call it a study break, but others refer to it as a vacation. Call it what you will, it's doing me good!

So here are a few reflections from the east end of Long Island -

+ You can't beat running on Old Montauk Highway every morning - it's beautiful, though of course it's like a roller coaster with its dozens of hills.

+ I'm supplementing a four miles morning run by walking two miles along the beach in the afternoons - sand is as challenging as hills!

+ Walking along the beach today it occurred to me that I was not wearing a shirt, which never would have happened in the obese years that made up my life to this point. Don't misunderstand me, I'm not in the running for Mr.Universe, but I'm comfortable with me - excess flesh and all!

+ Tomorrow I turn 58 and I'm probably the healthiest I have been in my life. Who's got it better than me?

Back home on Friday and looking forward to showing off my tan at WW on Saturday morning!!

GREAT SUMMER RECIPE

Thanks to one of our Saturday WW members for this recipe -

Grande Potato Salad

3 Full Cups sliced cooked potatos
3/4 Cup Diced Celery
1/4 Cup Diced Red Onion
3/4 Cup (3oz) Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
2/3 Cup Kraft Fate Free Mayonaise
2/3 Cup Fat Free Sour Cream
2 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 Cup Chunky Salsa (mild, medium, or hot)
1/3 Cup Chopped Ripe Olives

In a large bowl, combine potatos, celery and onion. Stir in cheddar cheese. In a medium bowl, combine mayonaise, sour cream, parsley flakes and salsa. Add mayonaise mixture to potato salad. Mix well to combine. Gently stir in olives. Cover and refrigerate at least 30 minutes. Gently stir again before serving.

12 Servings
Approx 2 Points per serving
Core

WHAT THE HECK

This week I remembered a gift certificate for Blackwells Restaurant in Wading River that I had been given for my birthday last year. I also remembered it expires on June 25th, so my wife and I decided to use it this evening.

I had never been there before - in fact I must admit that I had never heard of this classy spot on a beautiful golf course - but having visited once, I do plan to return.

Sitting in this outstanding setting, perusing the simple but pricey menu, I decided this was one of those occasions that arises now and again when I was going to enjoy the excellent food and get back on track tomorrow.

So I took the Caesar Salad instead of the field greens and ate a bread roll too. The half roast chicken probably wan't too damaging - my wife's sea bass was delicious - but I reckon there was quite a bit of butter on the vegetables and in the mashed potatoes.

I took cheesecake for dessert, coffee with real milk and thoroughly emjoyed the evening.

I still had 20 points left for the day when I arrived at Blackwells, plus my 35 points for the week. Counting was difficult so I didn't try. I guess I went way over.

I simply ate a very good meal and am back on track with effect from right now! There'll be days like this - it's okay to enjoy them and then get on with business once they're done.

FOR MY CORE FRIENDS

Here's a great sounding CORE recipe I got from Kim from our early Saturday WW group -

Chicken Chili with Barley

28 oz diced tomatoes
1 (10 oz) can Rotel tomatoes
4 cups fat free chicken broth
1 cup barley
1 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 onion, chopped
1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed
2 cups cooked chicken breasts, cut into small pieces

In large stockpot, combine first 8 ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer for 45 minutes (stirring occasionally)Add beans and chicken and bring to boil again. Immediately reduce heat and simmer another 15 minutes. Add more water or broth if chili becomes too thick for your liking.

Makes a bunch....around 10-12 cups.

IN TRAINING

I run quite a distance in the course of a normal (good) week, but go nowhere as all my activity is on a treadmill or an elyptical trainer.

All that is about to change as I contemplate at least a couple of summer races, the first of which will be the 5K (3.1 miles) Bellport Clipper on Sunday July 13th. Running on the road is quite different from covering multiple miles on a treadmill, so I plan to get outside more over the next few weeks.

I was staggered last year that I failed to break 30 minutes to cover the Bellport course, as I do the same distance in the gym in 25 minutes. Sunday afternoons may not be the best time for me, since the mornings are very busy and last July's temperatures in the upper 80's with high humidity certainly were not in my favor.

Be that as it may, I'll be looking to improve this year.

Time for some serious preparation!

GOOD TIMES IN THE SUN

It's pretty warm down here in the DR, but I gather it will be hot when I get back to New York this evening too. This has been a very fulfilling, albeit brief visit with Rob and Kelli Nelson. In less than five years, Island Impact Ministries is well established and has a significant presence on the north shore of this beautiful Caribbean Island.

Since the Nelsons are from our church, we have endeavored to support them all we can and it has been very humbling for me as their pastor to know that we have been able to play some part in the things I saw yesterday.

1. At their main clinic where scores of people received medical, optical and dental care while I was there, the biggest hug I got was from a lady named Carmen. One month ago she was blind with serious issues in one eye and a cataract on the other one, but when a team of eye surgeons from Washington DC came in to work with Island Impact for a week recently, Carmen's cataract was removed. Returning for a post-op examination yesterday she could hardly contain herself, excitedly pointing all around and declaring, "I can see that! I can see that! I can see that!"

Carmen's life has been changed. Rob and Kelli's faithfulness here made that happen and ours is one of the church's supporting them in this great work. I'm proud that Rob and Kelli are from our church and I'm proud of our church too.

2. Rob and I took a brief break from the clinic to drive a few miles to a shanty town near the airport, just 400 yards up a dirt track off the main road. Hundreds of people live there in small shacks made out of second-hand pieces of wood, with corrugated tin or asbestos roofs. The police don't go in there and the murder rate has soared lately in drug related gang wars.

We visited a simple school standing in the middle of this deprivation and devastation, funded through Island Impact's child sponsorship program. If there's any future for these kids, education is the key, so it was good to see so many in the cinder block classrooms.

As I looked at the faces of these innocents living in hell, I remembered that for many of them their education is made possible because folks from our church are sponsoring them. I'm proud that Rob and Kelli are from our church and I'm proud of our church too.

3. In the school I finally got to meet a young man I had heard a lot about - Benji. Benji is around ten years old - maybe 11, I forget! Orphaned, a couple of years ago he spent his life wandering around the shacks that make up the village, sleeping on one porch or another, with no one to take care of him.

When Rob and Kelli became aware of his plight, there were some folks from our church down here too. One of our team members went home and talked to his wife about Benji and they seriously looked into adopting him. That was not going to be possible because of DR government restrictions, so they did the next best thing. Rob and Kelli found him a foster home and our friends fund the family caring for him.

Yesterday Benji was clean, smiling, in school and about to return home to a caring family. A young life rescued! In case I haven't said it before, I'm proud that Rob and Kelli are from our church and I'm proud of our church too!

I leave for the airport soon - a very happy man!

RECIPE PUZZLE

Here´s a delicious sounding recipe from a WW member. She asks me about the points, but I´m in the Dominican Republic with a heavy schedule ... so how about someone figuring it out for me and emailing me at revrog@optonline.net

Stuffed Portabellas

6 medium portabellas
1 box of chopped spinach defrosted and squeezed.
6 oz of weight watchers cream cheese
1/3 cup of grating cheese
1/2 cup of egg beaters
garlic
olive oil

Spray mushrooms with olive oil and grill for 3 min. on each side. and remove to a dish.
Cook minced garlic in oil until tender, add spinach and cook until all water is gone, add cream cheese,and grating cheese cook until well blended. add egg and blend into spinach mixture. Fill portabellas with mixture and cook in oven for about 30 mins @350 degrees. They make a nice side dish.

What do you think the points would be ?

I used the recipe builder and It came out to 3 points, but I thought I would ask you.
There was no way to get around the Parmasean Cheese, or the cream cheese. I used the weight watchers but I didn't know how to figure out 6 oz. haha

CARIBBEAN BOUND

Twelve hours from now I should be sitting on a JetBlue plane getting ready to take off for Puerto Plata in the Dominican Republic. I’ll be coming back on Friday afternoon and although it’s a short visit, I’m really looking forward to meeting up with Rob and Kelli Nelson and getting a firsthand look at what’s going on down there for them and their Island Impact Ministries - www.islandimpact.net .

They’ve done a phenomenal job of setting up health clinics for the poor, providing schooling for children and planting an English-speaking church in the town of Sosua. Rob and Kelli are totally committed missionaries who have built everything that’s going on down there from scratch over the past five years.

Great couple!

BTW if my presence in blogland is scarce for a couple of days, it’s because I couldn’t get to an internet cafe. I shall return!

SHAKING THINGS UP

By the time I've been to the gym on a Sunday afternoon, I'm shot. Saturdays are pretty hectic and then of course Sunday mornings are busy too, so when the workout is done I'm ready for 36 hours off until I get back into my office on Tuesday morning.

My wife, on the other hand, likes to spend most of Sunday afternoon working her way through every section of the paper and then passing interesting items over for me to read in my semi-comotose state.

In all honesty I want to read squat by that time, but now and again I give something she hands off to me more than a passing glance.

That was the case yesterday when I was given a piece with exercise tips by one David Barton. He suggested that you should do cardio in the morning because you burn more fat then (I'll spare you the scientific details). But the thing that caught my eye was that you burn the maximum calories by doing cardio intervals - running intensely for three minutes, walking for two and then repeating.

I tried that this morning at the gym. I ran at 8mph for three minutes and then walked at 4mph and kept repeating it -and man did I sweat! At that pace I still covered 6.4 miles in an hour and I guess time will tell if it was more effective than straightforward running at a steady pace.

The immediate benefit was that shaking up my routine made it far less boring and therefore more tolerable. I must confess being on a treadmill for an hour a day is not all that fascinating whatever you're listening to or watching at the time.

I enjoyed it and will definitely do it again tomorrow.

THAT CHILI RECIPE!

I have had a few more requests for that chili recipe. To save you searching back in the archives, here's the link -

http://wheresthefatguy.blogspot.com/2008/05/chili-classic.html

DIET QUESTIONS ANSWERED

Q: I've heard that cardiovascular exercise can prolong life; is this true?
A: Your heart is only good for so many beats, and that's it... don't waste them on exercise. Everything wears out eventually. Speeding up your heart will not make you live longer; that's like saying you can extend the life of your car by driving it faster. Want to live longer? Take a nap.

Q: Should I cut down on meat and eat more fruits and vegetables?
A: You must grasp logistical efficiencies. What does a cow eat? Hay and corn. And what are these? Vegetables. So a steak is nothing more than an efficient mechanism of delivering vegetables to your system. Need grain? Eat chicken. Beef is also a good source of field grass (green leafy vegetable). And a pork chop can give you 100% of your recommended daily allowance of vegetable products.

Q: Should I reduce my alcohol intake?
A: No, not at all. Wine is made from fruit. Brandy is distilled wine, that means they take the water out of the fruity bit so you get even more of the goodness that way. Beer is also made out of grain. Bottoms up!

Q: How can I calculate my body/fat ratio?
A: Well, if you have a body and you have fat, your ratio is one to one. If you have two bodies, your ratio is two to one, etc.

Q: What are some of the advantages of participating in a regular exercise program?
A: Can't think of a single one, sorry. My philosophy is: No Pain...Good!

Q: Aren't fried foods bad for you?
A: YOU'RE NOT LISTENING!!!.... Foods are fried these days in vegetable oil. In fact, they're permeated in it. How could getting more vegetables be bad for you?

Q: Will sit-ups help prevent me from getting a little soft around the middle?
A: Definitely not! When you exercise a muscle, it gets bigger. You should only be doing sit-ups if you want a bigger stomach.

Q: Is chocolate bad for me?
A: Are you crazy? HELLO Cocoa beans! Another vegetable!!! It's the best feel-good food around!

Q: Is swimming good for your figure?
A: If swimming is good for your figure, explain whales to me.

Q: Is getting in-shape important for my lifestyle?
A: Hey! 'Round' is a shape!

Well, I hope this has cleared up any misconceptions you may have had about food and diets. And remember: 'Life should NOT be a journey to the grave with the intention of arriving safely in an attractive and well preserved body, but rather to skid in sideways - Wine in one hand - chocolate in the other - body thoroughly used up, totally worn out and screaming 'WOO HOO! What a Ride'

MID-WEEK MEANDERINGS

+ It was absolutely pouring with rain when I looked out the window early this morning, so I decided to go back to bed and skip the gym. That means I have to make up the six miles before Monday, but that's better than getting soaked.

+ I owe Azad, Kim and Lisa from my early Saturday WW group. They came to my 7.00 group in Miller Place tonight and really added a lot to it. It's currently a very small meeting, so their input was a terrific help - they've lost a total of over 130lb, so they know what they're talking about and they're a fun trio too!

+ Someone asked me how much water I drink in a day. I aim for 100 ounces and generally exceed it.

+ I'm already checking the weather forecast for Saturday as rain doesn't help our turnout at WW. Looks like a great day - hot. Hope we'll break through 300 again.

+ Tonight I learned that Trader Joe's does a lime chili chicken burger. Now that sounds worth checking out.

EXERCISE MYTH-BUSTING

RALPH LA FORGE studies the role of exercise in weight loss and is managing director of the Lipid and Disease Management Preceptorship Program at Duke University Medical Center.

Why is it so hard to lose weight just by exercising?
RLF: Unless you're a serious athlete, you just don't burn that many calories. Most people overestimate the amount they've burned during a workout.

If exercise is part of your weight-loss plan, what's the best type to do?
RLF: Aerobic activity is far and away the best, for one simple reason: You burn more calories.

Doesn't strength training build muscle and therefore increase your resting metabolic rate?
RLF: That's actually a myth. You'd have to be totally ripped - like, bodybuilder ripped - to get a noticeable bump in your metabolism. Most people burn about one calorie per kilogram of body weight per minute, whereas a bodybuilder burns about 1.2.

What aerobic activities give you the biggest calorie burn?
RLF: Cross-country skiing - in nature, not on a machine - is the highest. Outdoor exercise is almost always more strenuous. You encounter variable terrain, which makes you work harder. Running comes after skiing, and walking on hills is probably third. In general, you burn more calories doing a weight bearing activity that uses lots of big muscle groups. Swimming and biking usually aren't as good because they're not weight-bearing.

Are you better off doing a long, moderate intensity workout or a shorter, high-intensity one?
RLF: If you want to lose weight, stay at a moderate pace, because you can go longer and it doesn't wipe you out as much. When you do a high-intensity workout - running or cycling so hard that you can't carry on a conversation - you are so tired afterward that you tend to be lazier for the rest of the day. Instead of going shopping, you lie on the couch. People also tend to eat 20 to 25 percent more than normal because they're so hungry.

Don’t you enter a fat-burning zone when you exercise at higher intensities?
RLF: The idea of a fat-burning zone is b.s. In order to burn only fat, you would have to go at such a slow pace that you'd burn only two to three calories per minute. You'd have to walk 50 miles to get a decent workout. It's better to exercise at a moderate pace, so you'll burn some fat and some carbs. Doing that regularly can definitely help you control your weight.