GETTING IT DONE

I had a good time with my Weight Watchers groups this morning. I do find Saturdays demanding. It's a non-stop, seven hour stint from the time we arrive at the Selden Center at 6.45am, but I love doing it.

What makes it so worthwhile is seeing members reaching personal goals and there seemed to be a lot of them today - 25lb total, 60lb total and the lady who is inching towards 100lb weight loss. A lapsed Lifetime Member got back to goal today and we congratulated a brand new Lifetime member. Another member reached Goal and now begins the six weeks of maintenance that will lead to her being a Free Lifetime Member too.

Great morning, great people. Don't tell anyone in the company, but I'd do it for free!

WHAT ARE YOU DRINKING?

Heard an interview this morning with Eat This, Not That author David Zindzenko where he said the average American drinks 450 calories a day - that's insane.

Check out some of his drink alternatives here - http://eatthis.menshealth.com/articlesDetail.php?Iced-Coffee-436=&page=1

RUNNING WITH JON

A couple of months ago I shared how a great guy who is a member of one of my Saturday morning WW groups had been diagnosed with a brain tumor. Jon had just reached goal and looked incredibly healthy, so it was hard to come to terms with the idea that there was something very seriously wrong with him physically.

It has been a rough ride for Jon and his family, but thankfully his surgery was succesful and he has seen a steady improvememt, to the extent that he plans to run a 5k race next month - thank God!

The date is Sunday August 9th and the full details are here - http://www.fi5k.org/

Of course, I do church on Sunday mornings, so I can't run with Jon, though I would love to. But if you want to run in my place, please feel free. Go ahead and register - and say a prayer for Jon's total and sustained recovery as you do.

BEWARE

This morning I ran into someone I haven't seen for years. He commented on my weight loss and asked me how I did it, to which I replied, "Good old Weight Watchers."

I went on to tell him that losing weight is one matter, but maintaining the loss is another and that is the ongoing battle I face every day.

We all need every bit of encouragement we can get, while refusing to give way to negativity.

On Saturday I was weighing in a member who told me she almost did not come as she had eaten at a Chinese buffet the night before. The sodium content alone of most Chinese food would be enough to give an unrealistic reading at the scale and for many of us that would have been accompanied by typical buffet overeating.

To her total surprise - and my relief - my member registered a significant weight loss instead of a gain ... and she almost didn't come. That good news got her new week off to a great start.

It's always dangerous to jump to conclusions!

Good, bad or ugly, weigh in.

GUILTLESS CHICKEN NUGGETS

CRISPY CHICKEN NUGGETS

INGREDIENTS
2 2/3 cups cornflakes

1/4 cup flour

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp paprika

1 large egg

1 lb. skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into 24 chunks

METHOD

Preheat the oven to 375. Spray a baking sheet with olive oil nonstick spray. Process the cornflakes into crumbs in a food processor or blender and scrape into a shallow bowl or pie plate. Combine the flour, salt, garlic powder, and paprika in another shallow bowl. Beat the egg in a separate shallow bowl. Working one at a time coat the chicken chunks with the flour mixture. Dip into the egg to coat and then dredge in the cornflakes crumbs. Place on a baking sheet. Repeat with the remaining chicken. Lightly spray the chicken with the olive oil nonstick spray. Bake 6 minutes; turn and continue baking until golden and cooked through 5-6 minutes longer.

6 nuggets= 5 Points

12 STEPS TO HEALTHIER COOKING

1. Stuff your recipes with vegetables. This trick powers up the nutrition and satisfaction without adding many calories. Vegetables are used to replace fat in cakes, stretch starchy dishes, and add volume to entrees.

2. Read labels. Understanding food labels [and] normal portion sizes, and some low-fat, low- calorie cooking skills is all you need to slim down.

3. Stock up on healthy ingredients. Most people say they are too busy to cook, but if you plan ahead, make grocery-shopping lists, stock the kitchen with good ingredients and cookware, cooking can be faster than going to pick up take-out.

4. Roast vegetables to bring out their flavor. Whenever you can, roast or caramelize your veggies before adding to recipes for a delicious, naturally sweet flavor.

5. Replace fat in baked goods. Replace part of the fat in baked goods with shredded zucchini, carrots, and applesauce -- no one can tell the difference.

6. Use a pastry brush to dab oil on food instead of pouring it into the pan.

7. Use egg-white meringue for icing. This trick slashes the fat but still tastes indulgent.

8. Use healthier substitutes in recipes. Reduced-fat peanut butter, mayonnaise, and coconut milk; fat-free Greek yogurt; low-fat buttermilk; skim milk; low-fat cheeses and skim evaporated milk can stand in for higher-fat counterparts in recipes.

9. Enhance foods with richly flavored rubs and marinades. Instead of barbecue sauces, use herbs to flavor meats, fish and chicken

10. Decrease your reliance on meat. Buy family-style cuts of meat like flank or London broil and slice them thin. Butterfly boneless chicken breasts to make the portion look larger.

11. Stock your kitchen with measuring spoons and jugs in differing sizes for portion control.

12. Lightly dress salads with vinaigrettes before serving to avoid over-dressing at the table.

MONDAY, MONDAY

My weekends are busy, so I tell folks that Monday is my real weekend - it's my day off since I work Saturdays and Sundays and I'm generally tired from the start.

So I make Mondays my heaviest day at the gym. Sound nuts I know, but part of my thinking is that if I don't get up and get going, I may well just drag around the whole day and waste it.

I left for the gym before 6.30 this morning, ran 7.5 miles and then did 2.5 miles on the eliptical, for a round 10 miles before breakfast.

Sure I'm shot now, but I sleep late on Tuesdays - no gym tomorrow, but a refreshed start to the work week!

OBESITY - LINK TO SAME SEX PARENTS

Interesting study out of the UK - ladies get the gene from their mothers and men get it from their fathers!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8144376.stm

HOW LONG?

It really doesn't matter how long it takes to reach your weight loss goal, so long as you get there. It took me 110 weeks, but consider -

Plato wrote the first sentence of his famous Republic nine different ways before he was satisfied.
Cicero practiced speaking before friends every day for thirty years to perfect his elocution.
Noah Webster labored 36 years writing his dictionary, crossing the Atlantic twice to gather material.
Milton rose at 4:00 am every day in order to have enough hours for his Paradise Lost.
Gibbon spent 26 years on his Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Bryant rewrote one of his poetic masterpieces 99 times before publication, and it became a classic.

BREAKFAST

This morning I sat out on my patio, read the paper and enjoyed a big bowl of honeydew melon and blueberries, together with a huge mug of coffee. For those familiar with the Weight Watchers scheme of things, that amounted to a tasty 3 Points.

For no particular reason at all, I've been checking out other breakfast options -

Dunkin Donuts - Ham, Egg, Cheese, Muffin Sandwich - 7 Points

7-11 - Sausage, Egg & Cheese Biscuit - 15 Points

Friendly's - Garden Omelette - 20 Points

Denny's - Grand Slam Breakfast - 17 Points

Starbucks - Bran Muffin - 13.5 Points

Perkins - Mushroom and Cheese Omelette with Hash Browns -21 Points

McDonalds - Bacon, Egg & Cheese Biscuit - 10.5 Points

Yep, my fruit was good!!!

THE WATERMELON CREDO

Wally Amos says the Watermelon Credo is a “guide that has helped me and others through rough times. I share it with you in the hope that it will help you through these rough times.”
If you are an optimist, you readily acknowledge that these are tough times. Yet, you know in your heart of hearts that tough times will end.
They will end quicker if you stay positive.
So, in the hopes of helping you stay positive and optimistic in these tough times, I offer you…

The Watermelon Credo

W – Whatever you believe creates your reality. Believe that life is a positive experience and it will be.

A – Attitude is the magic word. Your greatest asset is your attitude. Be positive regardless.

T – Together everyone achieves more. There are no limits to what we can accomplish together. I am more that I am but less than we are.

E – Enthusiasm is the wellspring of life. There is no limit to what can be accomplished with enough enthusiasm.

R – Respect yourself, as well as others. When you begin to respect yourself, your whole world changes.

M – Make commitments, not excuses. There is overwhelming power in the words “Yes I will.”

E – Every day can be a fun day. Fun is the lubricant that keeps life moving forward. Laugh a lot.

L – Love is the answer. Whatever the question, love is the answer. It’s the greatest force in the universe.

O – One day at a time. How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. All of life happens in increments of one.

N – Never give up or become a victim. You are guaranteed to lose if you give up. Winston Churchill was right, “Never, never, never give up.” It works if you work it.

GREAT SUMMER DESSERT - WINTER TOO FOR THAT MATTER!

CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER PIE
Serves 4; 4 Points per serving

1 ½ Cups Rice Krispies
4 Tablespoons Peanut Butter
1 Tablespoon Honey
1 ½ Cups Skimmed Milk
! Packet fat free, sugar free chocolate pudding
(Cool Whip light topping)

In a small bowl mix peanut butter and honey, microwave on high for 20 seconds. Sir in cereal, then press into a 9’inch pie pan and chill. Prepare pudding with skimmed milk and spread over cereal pie crust.
Top with Cool Whip if desired

THEY'RE YOUR ARTERIES

I saw an interesting and scarey piece on World News this evening on ABC. In it a reporter had her blood checked before eatiing a meal with over 8,000 calories and almost 300 grams of fat. Then afterwards she was tested again.

It was incredible to see that one outrageous meal was messing up the arteries and leaving a load of fat in the blood. One meal!

If that is someone's regular diet, you can hardly imagine the damage they are doing to their bodies.

Low fat, high fibre - definitely the way to go!

BTW

My running to the gym thing on Tuesday morning almost went really well. It was a dry, bright morning, I was listening to a thought-provoking podcasts and all was well with the world throughout the 2.5 miles to get there.

However, less than a mile into the return journey everything got messed up as I must have hit something on the uneven sidewalk, because I went flying. I assessed the situation quickly, got up, checked my graze knee and arm and continued to head for home at a much slower pace.

It seemed like flesh wounds were the only issue until I got to bed that night and tried sleeping on my right side. It seems I must have hurt my hip and arm as they both seriously complained about being under any pressure.

They're still sore, so I'm taking it steady. I meant well, but the good idea didn't turn out so well after all.

That's life!

WHERE WILL IT END?

With us being the sickest, deadest nation on earth? - check this out!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8129184.stm