angelathomas's Journal

I was reading an on-line article (or perhaps "rant" is more apropos) criticizing Weight Watchers. It said it was a weighted scale that didn’t properly account for calories, when the important thing was calories. It is always calories. Well, to some extent that’s true. To another extent Weight Watchers (seems to me) is weighted to try to encourage you to start making better food choices. I mean we all get excited when we find a yummy and delicious snack that’s only 1 point!!! But normally the natural Weight Watcher’s scale is weighted to encourage you to eat lots of fresh fruits and vegetables, whole grains, lean meats and drink lots of water. It’s supposed to be about learning to eat right, not just counting calories!

I’m not perfect, and I am not good enough to do this everyday, but I do try to limit myself to only one empty calorie snack (no matter how “low” in points) per day.

For example, pudding isn’t empty calories because it counts towards my dairy (I was distressed to find that ice cream didn’t…:(). High fiber crackers, while not actually contributing to a daily good health guideline, do count towards my personal daily fiber goal. However, even 100-calorie packs of cookies don’t have much nutrition, and neither do 100-calorie packs of Doritos (which I love to crumble over my Santa Fe Chicken salad). Some days are better than others, and today I had my husband take some pictures because I had hoped to get an “after” picture made from Weight View. I knew I was fat, I just never realized how fat I still am after losing 40 pounds!!! It was horrible! I still have three chins!! Argh!! I keep thinking about how in high school when I was (maybe) 20 pounds overweight I was convinced I was ENOURMOUS. Now, I can’t imagine that I’m as fat as I actually AM. At least the 40 pounds has made daily living a bit easier!

My two year old son is still on baby food, he won’t eat anything but baby food, fruit and bread (and “bready” things, like corn-dogs, chicken nuggets, French fries, etc.—and no I don’t feed him these things normally!!). I don’t want my child to be ashamed of his mom, ever. I want him to grow up healthy and never worry about what he eats. So, he still gets baby food because the alternative is to allow him to eat junk at every meal! He may even be fructose intolerant (per the pediatrician), but since the only “real” food I can get him to eat is fruit, I really don’t want to take it away!

Anyway, that was a longer rant and break than I meant to take…must get back to work!

Also, I am starting back to school to finally finish my master’s degree in the fall. Can anyone tell me what to expect?? I am half afraid I’ll show up and everyone will have laptops out instead of notebooks! I have an old laptop, but the battery won't hold a charge anymore...

I do so badly on weekends!

If I stay active (and out of the house) I'm okay, but stuck at home just me and the baby (and it raining out) and I stink.

I am dreading next month, once I start school I will have the perfect excuse not to exercise!

Very bad today. I ran an errand and ate my husband's trail mix (which he left in my car) on the drive...

Tried to take Daniel swimming, but it rained, so we tried to take him to feed the ducks (but they were all sheltering from the rain!).

We should go to the park now, since I've eaten well into my weekly points already!

I have a "regular" blog, but I haven't been posting anything because frankly people I knew (and some I dated) "before" I was overweight read it. And since they don't see me, I never mention that I've gotten so big.

So, I can't blog about what I'm going through there because (sadly), I'm a bit ashamed of what I have become! Especially since I know it was pretty much through my own devices. I stopped getting any excersize and ate junk (when you are hiding packages of Little Debbie's in your closet so your husband won't see them, you have reach a NEW LOW).

However, I joinged Weight Watchers in April, and I've lost almost 40 pounds.

I didn't do as well as I had hoped this week, especially since I worked out so hard...wait, I didn't work out the entire weekend...so that probably accounts for it!

Plus I ate ALL my extra points last weekend, the trouble with going to pot-lucks is that you eat, and even though I brough healthy food (and ate it!), I then had lots of leftovers. Even healthy leftovers add up quickly! ["I just have to eat this, after all it won't keep, and it won't freeze..."]

I have been finding healthy, quick and easy recipes, if anyone wants to share!

The best so far (Recipe, points per serving):

Adobo Rice and Black Beans, 3
Asian Beef Lettuce Wraps, 8
Bachelor Taco Soup, 7
Beef and Cheese Lasagna, 7
Beef Tacos, 6
Black Bean Dip, 1
Broccoli Bean Pasta, 8
Chicken Caesar Salad, 2
Chicken Divan Pot, 3
Chicken Fingers, 5
Chili Without Carne, 5
Fried Rice, 7
Garlic-Lime Chicken with Olives, 4
Green Peas with Mint, 1
Instant Cream of Tomato Soup, 1
Mango-Hot Pepper Salsa, 1
Mexican Lasagna, 6
Minestrone Soup with Pasta, Beans and Vegetables, 5
North African Stew, 7
Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Peanuts, 9
Quick Stir "Fry", 4
Roasted Asparagus Bundles, 0
Roasted Red Potatoes with Rosemary, 3
Sausage & Spinach Rolls, 5
Sloppy Joe Sandwiches, 3
Sweet & White Potato Spears, 2
Sweet Cauliflower, 1

Some are sort of a "package deal" since I got them (or adapted them) from recipes by Robin Miller (foodnetwork.com), the idea being you make one thing and turn it into multiple meals.