LOSE FOR GOOD

Kudos to Weight Watchers for repeating their Lose For Good Campaign that went so well last fall. The company will match every pound lost by members over the next four weeks with the cost of providing a pound of food to people in need through two national and international charities - www.strength.org www.actionagainsthunger.org

On a local level, members in WW meetings are being encouraged to match their weight loss with a food donation for the duration of the campaign. So every pound lost will mean 1lb brought to their meeting and then passed on to a local project.

The Selden center where I do most of my groups will be helping Grace Care again this year, which is our church's community care program.

We supply food to an average 70 families each week - at least 300 people - which totals 15,000+ people each year. Our mobile soup kitchen serves a further 3,000+ people a year, which is a lot of needy people and a lot of food.

Our stocks are painfully low and demand is growing, so this comes at just the right time.

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 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

I'M SCREWED!

We have friends from the UK visiting this afternoon. I first met Ian Green almost 30 years ago when we ran a number of major national events for teens in the denomination we were part of. I hooked up with him again in 1994, just after the fall of communism in Russia when formerly oppressed Russian pastors were crying out for some help and teaching in their now thriving churches.

Back then I visited Moscow four times in 18 months and was happy to encourage a great young pastor with a huge congregation.

Anyway, I haven't seen Ian since then. He's in the Bronx for the weekend with his wife and teenage children, whom I have never met, and they're going to have a few hours with us today.

Since we don't have anything too attractive to offer guests with tea or coffee, I figured I'd buy 6 donuts at the local Dunkin Donuts today. That would be enough for our guests and wouldn't leave any lingering to tempt me later.

I ordered my six donuts and was both surprised and dismayed when the manager said, "Have another six on me." He then went on to thank me for being such a good customer (we buy huge quantities every Sunday to serve to the folks at church with their morning coffee)

My initial reaction was, "I'm screwed!"

Trust me, I don't do well with donuts sitting around the place.

However, having thought about it, I do reckon I'm pretty focused right now and I do not expect them to be a problem.

Feel free to ask me!

SALAD DOESN'T MAKE YOU FAT - THIS DOES!

www.thisiswhyyourefat.com

CHANGING IT UP

It was pretty clear to me four and a half years ago that I couldn't achieve my weight loss goal merely by adopting a sensible approach to food. There were other factors that would help me, one of which was increasing my activity.

So I joined a gym and started by walking one mile at 3mph. It only took me 20 minutes and may not sound much, but it was more movement than I had been used to and it was a workout when I was carrying over 330 every time I got on the treadmill.

As my weight decreased, my activity needed to increase, so I steadily upped both time and intensity, until I was running 6 miles a day, seven days a week.

My life doesn't allow me to get to the gym seven days a week nowadays, so I aim for five and sometimes hit six, making Monday morning more intense to make up for the missed day/days. I do 10 miles on Mondays, but in all honesty seem to have become totally bored with it and have cut my workouta little short the past couple of weeks.

Today I made a simple change that made things a lot easier - I changed my pace. Instead of walking for 2 minutes at 4mph and then running for 3 minutes at 7.5mh, I pulled my pace way back to 5.5mph and kept that as a steady pace.

Okay, it took me marginally longer to cover the 10 miles, but I did it and remembered that change is an important feature in a regular routine.

So if you're getting bored, change something, but whatever you do keep moving.

CAN'T BEAT MY CHILI

Just made a huge pot of chili, which is easy, delicious, low on Points and very satisfying. I put the recipe up here from time to time because I know different people visit here over the months.

BEST EVER CHILI

1lb 97% lean ground turkey
1 large onion
1 can kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can fat free refried beans
1 can corn
1 16oz can chopped tomatoes
1 15oz can tomato sauce
4oz can green chilies
1 package taco seasoning
1 packet Hidden Valley dressing (not buttermilk) dry mix - totally optional

Chop onion and brown ground beef. Add the rest of the ingredients – do not drain anything. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer for 15 minutes.

1.5 Points per cup

BALLFIELD FOOD

I haven't got to CitiField this season as much as I was at Shea last (which is when this photo with my grandsons was taken). Simple economics has been the main reason - tickets have been a stupid price - but all that is changing as the team is decimated by injuries and hopes of the post-season recede.

So, having found some $13 tickets at StubHub, we set off for Flushing last night and for a game during which the Mets scored the most runs in any one inning in franchise history - 8 in the bottom of the 4th.

One feature of the new ball field is that there are a lot more places to eat and therefore the smell of food appears to be ever present. So how do you deal with that?

I think I've cracked that. I take my own, The truth is, there isn't much for sale in most ballparks that is anything remotely resembling healthy, so I pack what I want and concentrate on why I'm there - to watch a Mets win.

It's healthier, it's guilt-free, it's tasty and there's a lot of it, but I bring my own food with me and thoroughly recommend the practice.

WHAT'S IN YOUR COFFEE?

Since Mickey D's have decided to compete in the fancy coffee stakes with the likes of Starbucks, Dunkin Donuts and others, it might be good to know what you're drinking.

Here's the 411 on their coffee nutrition info -

http://www.scribd.com/doc/15480745/McDonalds-USA-Nutrition-Facts-for-McCafe-Coffees

IF YOU WANT CHANGE, YOU HAVE TO CHANGE

Here's a story I shared with my WW groups yesterday -

Two hunters got out of a small plane that dropped them off in a remote part of northern Canada where they were going to hunt moose for the weekend. The pilot left them there with all their gear, checking before he left what time he was to pick them up on Sunday afternoon.

The hunters had a great few days, shooting three moose and eagerly awaited the return of the plane so they could take their trophies home.

The pilot protested that there was no way his tiny plane could handle the hunters, their equipment and three moose, but they argued that was exactly the load they had when they left the previous year.

Against his better judgment he took everything on board. The plane taxied down the runway, but it soon became clear it could not take off with all its weight and it ran out of tarmac and crashed into a snowbank.

As the three men scrambled out of the wreckage, the disoriented pilot asked, 'Where am I?", to which a hunter replied, "This is exactly the same spot we crashed last year."

If you want to change, you have to change!

DINING OUT EXPERIENCES

It's amazing how many WW members I've come across who have an unhealthy approach to dining out. On the one hand there are those who say they never do, because they can't deal with it - bad move, because restaurant experiences are a part of life and you have to learn to master them.

On the other end of the spectrum there are members who just throw caution to the wind every time a host shows them to a table. That's a fast road to nowhere.

So how do you deal with eating out?

Here are a couple of my recent experiences -

Yesterday I had a working lunch at TGI Fridays, so during the morning I went to the list of restaurants on www.dwlz.com and checked what would be the best choice. I took note of four (literally) and had the post-it in my pocket when I drove to Hauppauge for my appointment.

To my disappointment, it seems that Dottie's Weight Loss Zone is way outdated when it comes to TGI Fridays. They don't even offer three of my choices any more. So I went for the fourth, which was more than I would usually have at lunch time - a 10 Points turkey burger, with a side salad instead of fries. I did discard the huge bun altogether to reduce those Points and then I simply ate a lighter dinner later in the day.

Pre-warned is pre-armed!

This evening my wife and I opted for a quiet dinner in Port Jefferson. I had bought a $25 gift certificate to The Village Way for $6 at www.restaurant.com and we had a table out on the patio watching the world go by. It was a nice evening for it and though the food was mediocre and the wait staff inept, it was good to spend a couple of hours with Gill.

I decided before I went that I would have a steak tonight - and I did. I ate the best part of a T-bone and brought the rest home for my daughter's dog. That came with a salad, then baked potato and vegetables. An estimated 12 Points and a guiltless dinner.

Eating out is easy most of the time, proivided there is some planning in advance.

WHY?

Among the questions I get asked about my new lifestyle, one of the most frequent is what motivated me in the first place. Why did I finally decide to lose weight?

The answer to that is easy - Fear!

After three hospital experiences in just over six months, I decided that being healthy beats being incapacitated hands-down. It may sound very melodramatic to say I had to decide whether to eat Big Macs and Fries or walk, but it may have come down to that.

Don't get me wrong, I was in perfect health despite being morbidly obese, but I came to realize I couldn't cheat the consequences of abusing my body for ever. I needed to quit while I was ahead.

I don't live with that fear, or lay awake at night in a cold sweat, but thankfully it got me into the right gear.

Whatever it was for you, keep trucking!

TURKEY CUTLETS INDIAN STYLE

This was tonight's dinner - probably tomorrow night's too!
I got the recipe from my friend Cathy D'Souza in Mumbai, though she used ground beef in hers.

INGREDIENTS
1 Pack - 20oz 97% Fat Free Ground Turkey
Half an average size onion
Fresh Cilatro
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup Egg Beaters
1/2 cup Italian breadcrumbs

METHOD
Grate the onion, finely chop the cilatro and mix wiith all the other ingredients, except the breadcrumbs.
Divide and form into five patties and coat with breadcrumbs.
Fry on a pan sprayed with PAM

More of a burger than what some of us know as a cutlet, but very tasty with a green salad on the side.

3 POINTS

CHECK THIS OUT

There's an incredible amount of good stuff over at www.hungrygirl.com

GUILTLESS FRIED RICE

Fry It, You'll Like It...
This new swap for fried rice is packed it with veggies, fluffy Egg Beaters, and good hearty brown rice. The flavor is ALL there... the only thing missing is the oil!

Ingredients:
2 cups cooked brown rice, fridge temperature
2 cups frozen diced carrots and peas
1 cup chopped bean sprouts
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute
1/4 cup chopped scallions
One packet (about 1 oz.) fried rice seasoning mix
1 tbsp. light or low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 tsp. garlic powder
1/8 tsp. ground ginger, salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
In a small dish, combine seasoning mix, garlic powder, and ground ginger with soy sauce and 3 tbsp. warm water. Using a fork or whisk, stir until seasoning mix has dissolved. Set aside.

Spray a wok or very large pan with nonstick spray, and bring it to medium heat on the stove. Add egg substitute and scramble until cooked, using a spatula to break it up into bite-sized pieces. Remove scrambled bits from the wok or pan and set aside.Add mushrooms and frozen vegetables to the wok or pan, and cook and stir until mushrooms have softened and all veggies are hot. Remove veggies and set aside with the egg-y bits.

Remove your wok or pan from heat, re-spray with nonstick spray, and bring to high heat on the stove. Add rice and seasoning mixture, and stir to combine. Add bean sprouts, scallions and the previously cooked veggies and scrambled eggs, and mix thoroughly to integrate. Cook and stir until entire mixture is hot, there is no liquid left in the pan, and rice is just beginning to crisp. Season to taste with salt and pepper.Scoop into bowls and serve! (Chopsticks not required.)

MAKES 5, 1 CUP SERVINGS
3 POINTS per serving

IT'S GOOD

When Saturday evening comes around, I'm shot.

As I've mentuoned here before, I spend seven hours in the morning helping people who have issues with their eating patterns at Weight Watchers and then I go from there to assist at our church's mobile soup kitchen, supporting those whose issue is not getting enough to eat.

I guess that's balance!

It was a good day on both fronts today. To see members reach goals along the way and also get to their ultimate goal is incredibly rewarding. Only those who have struggled with weight issues can fully appreciate that. Plenty to celebrate this morning.

This afternoon we got to give hot meals to some really needy people. I was disturbed for the lady we met who had two black eyes, one of which was barely open. Gladly her "boyfriend" has now left, with the police in pursuit. What a sad life. She is coming to church tomorrow - please say a prayer for Jackie that she'll find fresh hope.

BACK FROM INDIA

I got home yesterday from a trip to India, which while much shorter than my usual 18,000 miles roundtrips to that great country, was still very worthwhile.

Indian food is my favorite cuisine by a long, long way. Contrary to common belief, everything Indian is not burn-your-mouth hot, but it is absolutely full of flavor.

From the plane food leaving JFK to the final breakfast on Air India flight 141 on returning, every meal was a treat. So how did I keep things in balance? Well apart from the one night at Barbecue Nation when I pigged out, portion control was what helped me to avoid a weight gain during my six days there.

I did also run two mornings, but since it is monsoon season over there, the combination of heat and high humidity meant I didn't venture out any more than that.

So, I'm back in the good old USA - good trip, good food and good outcome!