THE REST OF THE WEEK

For those looking for some guidance on how to do a week on core, my insights from this past week may not have been too helpful as this was not a normal week. But just in case it's of some use, here's the information on the missing days -

FRIDAY
This was a travel day, flying home from Dallas, changing planes in Houston, with the second flight being delayed.
Breakfast - Omelette with peppers, 1 Point bagel, banana, coffee with skim milk
Mid-morning - Starbucks non-fat latte, banana
Lunch - Turkey Sandwich with mustard (1 Point), pear, coffee with skim milk
Early evening - 2 Points WW Lemon Dream Bar
Late evening - Turkey sandwich (1 Point)
I also drank 68 ounces of water

SATURDAY
Breakfast - Oatmeal, coffee with skim milk
Mid-morning - Carrott/raisin muffin (from proPortion) 2 Points, coffee with skim milk
Lunch - Chicken, vegetable Core soup, banana
Mid-afternoon - Pear
Dinner - Quiche and salad from ProPortion (5 Points)
Evening - Coffee with skim milk, half 100 calories pack of Cheezits (1 Point)
I was way over my daily poinys allowance - 8 Points, which proves no one's perfect!
I also drank 66 ounces of water.

SUNDAY
Breakfast - Banana, coffee with skim milk
Mid-morning - Snack bar (2 Points), coffee with skim milk
Lunch - Diner - Two eggs scrambled, canadian bacon, wheat toast (2 Points)
Mid-afternoon - Banana, coffee with skim milk
Dinner - Chinese restaurant - Steamed shrimp and scallops with vegetables, brown rice
Evening - Banana, VitaTop (I Point)
I also drank 92 ounces of water.

WERE YOU THE ONE

Had another very full morning at Weight Watchers yesterday and managed to virtually make sense still despite coming off a night of only four hours sleep.

New members joined and our total number of members weighing in was 299.

That number stinks!

The previous week we had 270-something because of the holiday weekend, but it's easier to accept that figure than being one short of the magic 300.

So if you were the one who stayed home instead of coming to your group - you owe me!!!

FOR THOSE TAKING NOTES!!!

I'm sitting here in Texas while my daughter-in-law puts candy into a pinata ready for my granddaughter's birthday party on Saturday. Everyone's sampling them, but I'm staying honest, especially since I'm tracking my CORE week right here for anyone and everyone to see.

So here goes -

BREAKFAST - Pear. bagel (1 Point), Coffee with skim milk
LUNCH - Grilled vegetables salad, no dressing. slice of sourdough bread (2 Points)
MID-AFTERNOON - Starbucks non-fat latte, apple
LATE AFTERNOON - Coffee with skim milk, pear
DINNER - Egg whites omelette, turkey, toast (1 Point), Plum, WW chocolate chip cookie (1 Point)

I also drank 80 oz of water and visited 237 restrooms!!!!

Tomorrow will be another interesting day as I'll be traveling back to NY. I'll share how that goes here too and see those of you who are Saturday regulars at Weight Watchers at the usual place and at the usual time.

MY WEEK ON CORE

As I mentioned yesterday, I am currently in Texas, so there are some eating challenges as I am not in my ususal routine. Here's Day Three of my return to core -

Breakfast - Two eggs scrambled with diced green pepper. One point bagel (1 Point), coffee with 2% (1 Point)
Mid-morning - Pear
Lunch - This was challenging as we were taken to Dagwood's Sandwich Shoppe, which had some amazing looking delights on offer. I offered for the beef sandwich, without mayo, ate the beef, lettuce and tomato and left the bread roll it all came in. I also stole some turkey from my granddaughter's unfinished sandwich.
Mid-afternoon - Pear, coffee with skim milk
Dinner - Pork tenderloin, brown rice, broccoli and cauliflower
Evening - Starbucks non-fat latte, Weight Watchers Ice Cream (2 Points)

So that's it!
I also drank 78 ounces of water.

THIS WEEK ON CORE

I got an email today from one of our Saturday morning WW members, sharing a concern about the Core Plan and asking if I'd share my journal from this first week back on Core so she could see how I do it.

If ever there was a way to be sure to keep a WW leader honest, this is it!

So here goes -

MONDAY
Breakfast - Coffee with skim milk and VitaTop (1 Point from my 5 points alowwance)
Mid-morning - Coffee with skim milk
Lunch - Egg whites omelette with mushrooms and fat-free shredded cheese; banana
Mid-afternoon - Banana, coffee with skim milk
Dinner - Grilled chicken breast, with 1/2 cup Healthy Choice chicken soup for sauce (1 Point); baked potato, with middle scooped out and mixed with diced onions fried with curry powder and then spooned back into skins; spinach and asparagus.
Dessert - Fresh strawberries, blueberries and blackberries with 1/2 cup fat free ice cream (1 Point)
I also drank 96oz of water

TUESDAY - Traveling to Texas
Breakfast - Oatmeal with fresh fruit; coffee with skim milk
Mid-morning - at airport - Coffee with skim milk; apple
Lunch on plane - took this with me - Sandwich with mustard and Boars Head Turkey (2 Points); plum
Mid-afternoon - layover in Houston airport - Apple, plum, Starbucks non-fat latte
Dinner - Roast lamb; string beans
Coffee with skim milk
I also drank 62 ounces of water

CHANGING THINGS UP

Today I switched from the Flex Plan to the Core Plan, which is double dutch to you if you're not familiar with the Weight Watchers programs. Both plans work and I have used them both over the past few years, but here's why I changed -

1. I do this now and again just to keep things interesting. This is not a diet I've put myself on, it's a lifestyle I've chosen so I need to be sure I'm enjoying it.

2. Since I'm a WW leader, I need to keep in touch with both programs so that I can advise members on them both equally well.

3. Core gives me a break from weighing, measuring and writing things down.

4. Core limits the amount of processed foods I eat and leaves me with a lot of very healthy options.

5. I get bored easily!

DON'T QUIT

DON'T QUIT

When you've eaten too much and you can't write it down
And you feel like the biggest failure in town
When you want to give up just because you gave in
And forget all about being healthy and thin
So what you went over your points just a bit
It's the next move that counts...so don't you dare quit

It's a moment of truth, its an attitude change.
It's learning the skills to get back in your range.
It's telling yourself you've done great up 'til now
You can take on this challenge and beat it somehow.
It's part of your journey toward reaching your goal.
You're still gonna make it, just stay in control.

To stumble and fall is not a disgrace
If you summon the will to get back in the race.
But, often the strugglers, when losing their grip
Just throw in the towel and continue to slip
And learn too late when the damage is done
That the race wasn't over and they still could've won.

Lifestyle change can be awkward and slow
But facing each challenge will help you to grow.
Success is failure turned inside out
The silver tint in the cloud of doubt.
When you're pushed to the brink, just refuse to submit.
If you bite it you write it...BUT DON'T YOU DARE QUIT

OATMEAL SQUARES

Here's a tasty sounding recipe from one of our early Saturday regulars - thanks Loretta!


OATMEAL SQUARES
1 Point or Core
Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees


INGREDIENTS
2 Eggs
1 Cup Skimmed Milk
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp Vanilla
1/2 Cup Splenda
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
2 Ripe Bananas mashed
1 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
Cinnamon to taste
2 Cups One Minute Oatmeal


METHOD
Mix the first five ingredients and then add the others, finally folding the oatmeal into the mixture. Spray a 9x9 pan and pour batter into pan. Bake for 45 minutes, checking for doneness. Cool and cut into 16 pieces.

FEELING GOOD

This week I'm fully back on track with my exercise program after more than a month of challenges, firstly from sciatica and then losing the nails from my big toes - actually they were taken from me! I have to see the podiatrist again this morning, but everything is okay, as is proven by the fact that I'm able to run again with no pain.

I burn off at least 1200 calories a day at the gym and am there at least five days a week. That means I use a mimimum of 6,000 of those little things that lurk inside virtually everything we eat. You have to burn 3500 calories to get ride of one pound of fat, so basically I burn off two pounds a week through exercise alone. So when I can't exercise ... get the point?

That's another of the reasons I'm feeling good about being back in my stride!

CLOTHES THAT FIT

Sitting here watching The Biggest Loser - Couples, it was fascinating to see the remaining contestants after their makeovers. They sure looked good, but they all needed some help with their selection of clothes because they weren't really used to clothes shopping.

I can identify with that.

After a lifetime of knowing that few stores would have anything that would fit me, I needed a lot of help when I came to getting an interim wardrobe on my way down towards goal. Good thing I have a son who is a designer in the fashion industry. He came with me, told me what looked good and what didn't and even put various outfits together without commenting on how clueless I really was.

Getting new clothes was a good move. It made me feel better and even more motivated to finish the job. Now I am a frequent shopper, with a bigger wardrobe than any time in my life.

But I'm a good shopper too. Yesterday I bought two dress shirts and a pair of shoes for a total of $22 - pretty good, eh?

EASTER'S COMING

Spent a good couple of hours in the WW Selden Center this evening, covering for a leader who recently had surgery. This is the fourth week I've subbed for him and he hopes to be back in action by the start of next month.

He's got some great folks in those two Monday groups, so I enjoy meeting up with them and tonight we spent a bit of time chatting about the challenges of Easter Sunday.

Planning is the key to not getting derailed over the coming weekend. Here are a few tips -

1. If you're going to someone's home, offer to bring an appetizer - vegetable or fruit platter - and suggest you contribute a dessert too - from your favorite WW cookbook of course. That way you'll know there's something there for you.

2. At a buffet, observe the one plate rule and take half a plate of tossed salad before you look at the other eats.

3. Have a good look at the buffet first and see what you really want to select.

4. Move away from the table!

5. Don't starve yourself all day before the big meal.

6. Make sure you dispose of leftovers. If you've had what you want, despite what your mother told you, it's not a sin to throw the rest away.

Plan, prepare and stay focused!

SPACE ISSUES

With a heck of a lot of people around, things are getting tight in church on Sunday mornings as well as at WW on Saturday's, so we're adding a second service starting Easter Sunday. Thought you might like our promo video -

Easter at our House...LOL, come share 3/23/2008

WHEN ST. PADDY'S DIETING

Here's a recipe the man himself donated to WW - actually it's from the WW website, though sent to me by Ina from our Saturday 8.00am group:

Corned Beef and Cabbage with Red Potatoes

POINTS® value 8 Core Recipe

Servings 4; Preparation Time 25 min

Cooking Time 55 min

No reason to dodge this Irish favorite on St. Patrick's Day: Simply choose lean beef round and boil it in a very well-flavored broth.

Ingredients
1 pound lean beef round
1/8 tsp table salt, or to taste
1/8 tsp black pepper, or to taste
1 Tbsp yellow mustard seed
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground allspice
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp coriander seed(s)
1/2 tsp ground cloves
2 piece bay leaf
8 small uncooked red potato(es), cut into 2-inch pieces
16 baby carrot(s)
1 medium head green cabbage, coarsely shredded

Instructions
Coat beef all over with salt and pepper and place in a large stockpot; pour enough water into pot to cover beef. Add seasonings and bay leaves and stir to coat meat; set pot over high heat. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer 40 minutes.

Add potatoes, carrots and cabbage and increase heat to medium-high; return to a boil. Partially cover pot and boil, until vegetables and beef are fork-tender, about 10 minutes more. Drain water from meat and vegetables, reserving 1 cup of liquid; discard bay leaves.

Slice meat crosswise into thin slices and serve with vegetables. Pour some reserved cooking liquid over each serving. Yields about 3 ounces of meat, 1 1/2 cups of vegetables and 1/4 cup of cooking liquid per serving.

FINALLY - 301!

Okay, so after a couple of months of putsing (wonder how you spell that!) around in the 280's and 290's, this morning we finally busted through the 300 barrier for members in our Saturday WW group. Now, you could be right when you say that making it to one over the 300 is not exactly busting through, but trust me, that is a major achievement.

It's the first time we have done it since I took the groups on in September and it was only a very rare occurrence before my time from what I gather, so needless to say, I'm happy with that outcome - and of course I'm looking forward to it becoming a regular event.

We had a fun morning, with some good weight losses, targets reached and hopefully a lot of motivation floating around the place.

I did say I would post a recipe for 1 Point Oatmeal Bar Cake this evening, but having looked at it more thoroughly, it seems like the 1 Point designation is way below what it should be, so I'm holding on that until I get chance to thoroughly check it out.

I love Saturdays - but I'm tired now!

Better sleep properly as I work Sundays too!!!

GENERAL TSO'S

I teased you with this earlier in the week and never got around to the recipe, so here it is. This is delicious. It sounds a little complicated and you may have to buy several ingredients you do not normally have in the kitchen, but trust me, you will use them because you will want to make this over and over again.

GENERAL TSO'S CHICKEN
1 Cup = 4 Points

1 lb Skinless, boneless chicken breasts - cut into chunks
5 Tbsp Dry Sherry (I used sweet because that is what we had)
1 Tbsp + 2Tsp Cornstarch
1 Tbsp Oyster sauce
2 Tbsp Water
2 Tsp Reduced sodium Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp Honey
1 Tbsp Rice Vinegar ( I used white wine vinegar because I had it)
1 Tsp Asia (dark) sesame oil (I skipped this)
2 Tsp Canola Oil (I used olive oil)
1 Tbsp Minced peeled fresh ginger
2 Garlic cloves minced
3 Scallions chopped
1/2 Tsp crushed red pepper (cayenne)
2 Celery stalks chopped
1 Red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

1. Combine the chicken, 2 Tbsp of the sherry, 1 Tbsp of the cornstarch and the oyster sauce in a medium bowl. Set aside to marinade for about 5 minutes.

2. Combine the remaining 3 Tbsp of sherry, the water, soy sauce, honey, rice vinegar, sesame oil and the remaining 2 Tsp cornstarch in a small bowl and set aside.

3. Heat non-stick wok or large, deep skillet over medium-high heat until a drop of water sizzles. Swirl in the canola oil, add the vegetables and stir-fry for two minutes, then add the chicken mixture. Stir-fry for 2-3 minutes. Stir in the sherry mixture and cook, stirering constantly, until the mixture boils and thickens and the chicken is just cooked through, 1-2 minutes.

EASTER CANDY - BEWARE!

Cadbury Caramel, (1 egg)-5.0 points
Cadbury Chocolate Creme Egg, (1 egg)-4.5 points
Cadbury Creme, (1 egg)-4.0 points
Cadbury Mini Creme Egg, (1 mini egg)-1.5 points
Cadbury's Mini Eggs (in a bag), (12 pieces)-5.0 points
Chocolate Nest Eggs, (1 egg)-1.0 points
Dove Chocolate Bunny, (1.8 oz)-3.0 points
Hershey Milk Chocolate Eggs, (7 pieces)-5.0 points
Hershey Milk Chocolate Bunny, (7 oz)-5.0 points
Hollow Chocolate Bunny (1 oz)-4.0 points
Jelly Beans, Smuckers, (24 pieces)-3.0 points
Jelly Beans, (Large) (13 pieces)-3.0 points
Marshmallow/Chocolate Egg, (1 piece)-2.0 points
Malted Milk Eggs (8 eggs)-4.0 points
Milky Way, (1 egg)-5.0 points
Nestles Baby Ruth-4.5 points
Nestles PB Mallow-3.5 points
Peanut Butter Chocolate Egg (Small 3)-5.0 points
Peeps (4)-3.0 points
Plain/Peanut M & M'S (1/4 cup)-5.0 points
Reeses Peanut Butter Eggs (1)-4.0 points
Snickers Egg, (1 egg)-4.0 points
Solid Chocolate Bunny (2 oz)-8.0 points
Suck An Egg Sucker (1 egg)-2.0 points
Sweet Tart Eggs (12 eggs)-1.0 points

HAPPY CAMPER

I figured out that if I cut the end off my running sneakers, just enough to take the pressure off my big toes, I could tolerate wearing them. So I was back in the gym this morning for the first time in ten days and was very happy.

Didn't overdo it - just 20 minutes on the elyptical and my regular weights routine. It felt good!

MONDAY'S NOT KILLING ME!

I know that for those who work a regular Monday to Friday job, Sunday evening is not the most exciting time of the week. Mondays often get a bad rap!

I work Tuesdays to Sundays, so look forward to Monday as it's a free day - well, some of the time! I generally go to the gym (by the way, that didn't work at all today as my toes were too sore to wear my sneakers!), then I attend my weekly WW meeting as a member and from that do whatever I want or needs to be done.

There wasn't anything too pressing today, so I indulged one of my passions and did some cooking this afternoon. Nothing too exciting, or maybe there was.

After making a pot of the staple 1-Point Chilli, I experimented with a recipe I picked up at this morning's group, for General Tso's Chicken. It smells delicious - the scrapings of the pan tasted good too. Once I've actually eaten some, I'll pass on the recipe here. At 4 points per cup, you even get a half decent amount in a serving. And we all know that quantity is important!

My day off comes to an abrupt end pretty soon now as I'm off to the Selden WW Center where I'm subbing for another leader for around 6 weeks and so have 5.30 and 7.00 groups.

Truth is, I love what I do all seven days of a week, so in all honesty it's not really work at all!

ALL OR NOTHING?

It has been a tough month for exercisng, with my sciatica issues dominating much of February, to be followed by foot issues once the leg pain had been diagnosed and dealt with. So now I have had the nails removed from both big toes (running injuries!), I am still limited in what I can do.

The temptation is to think if I can't run, it's a waste of time. The doctor says I shouldn't use the elyptical either, but I can ride an exercise bike.

I hate the bike and for all the energy expended, burn only a fraction of the calories I do running. But let's face it, riding is better than doing nothing. So I'll be back to the gym in the morning, still a little sore, but recognising that movement of any type is valuable.

TOLD YOU SO!

I said it yesterday, our Saturday members are something else!

It was a miserable morning, fluctuating between showers and driving rain, yet we had the biggest crowd since I took these groups on last September - and that at a time of year when attendances typically begin to dive after the enthusiasm of the New Year diet season wanes.

We had some good stuff to celebrate too, like the lady who reached her goal today, having lost over 116lb in the process. She was pumped and I was too. What a terrific achievement.

I was reminded today that the weight/health battle is one that many Weight Watchers have been engaged in for years. While they have overcome adversities and achieved other goals in life, this one has eluded them.

No wonder reaching their target weight is such an exciting event.

It reminded me why I do this - not that I needed reminding, I love what I do on Saturdays and have some of the best members you could ever hope to meet.

They aren't put off by rain either!!!

THE WEEKEND STARTS HERE

Way back in the 60's when dinosaurs roamed the earth, there was a Friday night TV show called Ready, Steady Go! that featured most of the popular bands of that interesting time. The show's tag line was - The Weekend Starts Here - and that's about where I am right now, sitting watching a re-run of House and anticipating the next two days.

Full weekend immediately ahead and I'm really looking forward to it.

+ Our Saturday WW groups are buzzing and despite the heavy rain they're forecasting for tomorrow, I still expect a good turnout because that's the kind of members we have.

+ Trying to work out how to break the news we still don't have PB Bliss bars at the Center.

+ Two members are very close to goal - I hope tomorrow is their day.

+ I'm going in earlier than usual to play with the seating and see if we can make better use of the space, especially in the first two meetings that can get crowded.

+ Our church's mobile soup kitchen will be interesting in driving rain, but we've done it before. I think we've only missed one Saturday afternoon in six years and that wasn't a weather issue.

+ Changing the clocks is always a bummer when you lose an hour's sleep, but it'll be worth it to have more daylight with effect from Sunday evening.

+ Church will be good Sunday as we continue to prepare to add another service from Easter Sunday onwards. Seems we have accommodation problems in both of my weekend activities, but let's face it, that's a healthy kind of problem!

MAINTAINING

April 2nd will mark the first anniversary of my reaching my goal weight. I felt a great sense of fulfilment when I stood on the scale that morning and discovered that for the first time in more than forty years I weighed less than 200lb. It had been a long road - 110 weeks - but finally I had reached my declared destination.

A lot of people think it's all over once they have got to where they wanted to be, but it isn't - that's just the beginning.

Maintaining is a challenge too. It still demands making good choices, eating healthily, working out, etc. I didn't just go on a diet three years ago, I embraced a new lifestyle and maintaining continues till the day I depart this world for that eternal all-you-can-eat-buffet in the sky!

MEATLOAF

Had an early dinner tonight and ate some great meatloaf - though I say it myself - that I made with an easy recipe from the WW staff site. Here's the deal ...

20oz pack 99% fat free ground turkey

1/4 cup Italian style bread crumbs

1/2 cup eggwhites

Jar salsa

Ketchup

Mix first four ingredients well in large bowl. Spray loaf tin with PAM and pour the mix in. Cover with ketchup and bake for 45 minutes.

Told you it was easy!

Good too.

The whole thing is 24 points.

WE NEED EACH OTHER

Okay, so I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess you didn't arrive here today just to discover the current state of my feet. Correct? - that's what I figured.

Hey it could be a heck of a lot worse. A friend of mine who is a frequent blogger has been having some medical issues I wouldn't want anyone apart from my wife to know about and he shared them yesterday with anyone caring to stop by his own personal space on the worldwide web! That won't happen here you'll be glad to know.

Anyway, I did two extra Weight Watchers groups last night, as for six weeks I'm covering for another leader who has had hip replacement surgery. It was fun - met some great people.

This was my second Monday evening at the Center and we have seen a number of new people join. Two ladies who are friends turned themselves in last night, deciding it was time to hit the straight and narrow. The week before among the newbies was a lady and her sister-in-law and also five young women who work together.

Like everything else, getting in shape is far more enjoyable when you're sharing the journey with others. Often even those closest to us have no idea of our struggles and of how we really do need support, but fellow Weight Watchers can fully identify with where we are at.

That's why the meetings are so good - they are a support group in the best sense of the phrase. Not people to prop us up, more supporters to cheer us on. And if you have that same help outside of the weekly meetings, then all the better.

Life is a team game - every aspect of it is best when shared!

OUCH!

I guess wearing the supports in my sneakers that were recommended hasn't worked well for me - because now I can hardly walk!!!

It's not rocket science to know they would have made the sneakers smaller, but being unaware of that at the time, I pressed on last week running through major discomfort in both big toes. Now they're very sore, seriously bruised and it looks like I'll lose the nails. That sucks!

Since I couldn't run, I did a few miles on the elyptical yesterday and had a good workout with weights, but the discomfort was so severe this morning that I didn't even contemplate the gym.

Off to the podiatrist on Friday - wish me luck!!!

STICKING AT IT

I am so encouraged by our Saturday morning WW groups. We saw a significant increase in members at the start of the year, but what is far from typical is that on March 1st our numbers were as good as at any time in January.

The Company gives us one extra receptionist for the first eight weeks of the year and then it's back to normal, because experience has shown that there is a signigficant fall out in February.

So I am wired that we are bucking that trend. I'm glad to be the exception, because we have several hundred folks who are sticking at it. In fact we're re-thinking the start to our Saturdays to see if we can find a space for an additional meeting so we can better serve those that are there and others who will be coming. That will give us five groups instead of four - and that works for me.

Every person sticking with it is a success story in the making!