Choose "My Plate" - AND WEIGHT WATCHERS

www.chosemyplate.gov

Weight Watchers and the UDSA are of ONE MIND in terms of what makes eating healthy.  The new icon representing the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2010 for a healthier life is the PLACE SETTING that you see on the left side.


Portions (proportions) and food groups are highlighted - and the USDA does make the point that this is the guideline for ALL Americans; the entire populous - not just the weight loss constituency. That means that we see this in the context of what we are doing and also that we need to keep in perspective that Weight Watchers is the program that teaches us to live WITH FOOD, rather than trying to coax us to live WITHOUT IT.  In other words we have to see the new place icon in conjunction with our entire life, but not least of which spending a few of our PointsPlus Values on the cookies and treats, but also, most importantly, adding in the "GET UP AND GO" piece of the Weight Watchers Program.


Remember - Weight Watchers is a 4-Pronged plan
"Use your Daily PointsPlus Target"  portion control - have you noticed how, if you eat the types of foods on the plate in the correct proportions and watch what you spend on a daily basis on each of the food groups, portion control simply falls into place?   How many of your daily PointsPlus Values do you spend on each of the food types you eat
- how many on healthy oil, on dairy, on proteins, on carbs, on sugary foods, alcohol and other treats?
Try analyzing it to see.  It could help you figure out the correct portions.
"Power-Up Using the Power Foods" which, by the way are the foods represented on the icon; Lean Proteins, Whole Grains, Fat-free or Low Fat Dairy, Fruits and Vegetables :)
"Treat Yourself"
"Get Up and Go"


Here are the talking points from the website:

Balancing Calories:
  ~ Enjoy your food, but eat less
  ~ Avoid oversized portion

Foods to Increase:

  ~ Make half your plate fruits and vegetables

  ~ Make at least half your grains whole

  ~ Switch to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk

Foods to Reduce:

  ~ Compare sodium in foods soup, bread, and frozen meals -- and chose the foods with lower numbers

  ~ Drink water instead of sugary drinks

This the the "Tip of the Day" from the USDA's website:

On a long commute or shopping trip, pack some fresh fruit, cut-up vegetables, string cheese sticks, or a handful of unsalted nuts-to help you avoid impulsive, less healthful snacks.

If this interests you; spend some time looking over the UDSA website - but more importantly, keep coming to meetings for more information, to share your experiences, and to get ideas from how fellow members use this and the other info out there to help us improve the results we are experiencing with our weight management tasks

Think about making one change to your eating routine this week:  Increase whole grains, cut back on saturated or animal fats or choose one extra vegetable a day.  Lets do it together, right now ...  make JUST ONE change and promise yourself to stick with it for the whole week, what's it going to be?  I bet you could see an improved result next week...

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Next week:

Are you really HUNGRY or is that just a monster inside?

There are many reasons why we tend to eat.  Our bodies may need food; we may go by the clock, sitting down for meals on a schedule whether our tummy's are rumbling or not; or we may eat in response to emotions.  Intellectually, we know, that eating when we are NOT hungry leads to overeating and hinders weight loss - so why do we do it and what can we do to stop ourselves?

You'll leave this meeting with a doable GOAL to see if you can change a behavior this week in this regard.

Lets also include in the discussions this week, the food fests we have coming up.   Not all emotional eating is about stress and boredom - sometimes it's celebratory too, and so the long weekends and vacations we are planning are very much a part of this - yes?

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Newsy Stuff


Correction to the Weight Watchers Weekly:
I have been asked to let you know that we caught an error in this week's edition of the Weight Watchers Weekly (June 12-18 edition).  On page 9, the correct PointsPlus Value for 1 cup of rice with 1 Tbsp of butter should be 8, not 10.  You can check for updates and corrections to the Weekly Magazine at www.WeightWatchers.com/WeeklyCorrections.

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Weight Watchers Meeting Room Fees:
For members who attend meetings in the community - not in work based programs - and who pay fees weekly;  as of this coming week, the "waived missed meetings fee" promotion has come to an end so we are required to charge for missed meetings.  However, you should know that all members receive a grace of 3 missed meetings every 6 months, so if you have been coming regularly and are in good standing with your "grace period" missed meetings, we can still waive the fee.

 If you are concerned about the cost of meetings; and we're all watching our budgests right now, so that's understandable, this is the perfect time to switch over to the MONTHLY PASS payment option.  The Monthly Pass, gives you all your meeting fees plus access to the subscriber portion of the website - "e-Tools", which so many of us LOVE!  Monthly Pass gives members the absolute MOST for their weight loss buck!

Here are some of the benefits of "e-tools"; you should ask members in the meeting what they love about it too:
1.  track your food, weight and activity by clicking on the tool icons,
2.  keep it fresh by reading the lastest articles, recipes and meeting topics of the week,
3.  play with the interactive cheat sheets, look for top picks and weight loss strategies,
4.  check out the customized content section that has a weekly check list, essential information and great recipes to try,
5. use the new beta analytical tools to check how you are progressing - takes the guesswork out of figuring out your progress and brings some real fundamental data into play.

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Did you notice the new tabs above?"Insider Trading"  is YOUR page - please go and take a look  :)

We are closed, as expected, on Monday 4 July - but are open for business all days leading into and out of the holiday.

CHECK BACK ON WEDNESDAY FOR AN UPDATE TO THE BLOG AND THE RECIPE OF THE WEEK.

AND FINALLY:

“You see things; and you say, 'Why?' But I dream things that never were; and I say, 'Why not?'”

George Bernard Shaw.