Its a Combination of a Million Decisions.

Do you know how many food or eating decisions you make each day?  
I want to share another blogger's page with you that answers that - you will be surprised!  Christian Jarrett blogs on Brain and Behavior.  Take a look at this article on "Mindless Eating" then come back here...  I have an antidote idea to mitigate the effects.

Last week in our meeting, I asked you to share your perspective on tracking with me.  Overwhelmingly, the response was about awareness; we heard responses that included:
~ "it helps me to decide how to eat through the day if I keep track of my consumption",
~ "I decide what's for dinner and after dinner snacks after I have calculated how many points are left for the evening",
~ "knowing how many points I have used allows me to relax and stay on track"
~ "It helps me have better decisions when I am faced with foods which could send me over the edge".

I cannot begin to tell you how proud I was of everyone who shared last week in the meeting because I KNOW that the folks that were saying these things were actually "living the program" and being successful.

If you haven't yet ... Come over to our side - TRACK what you eat - find a way that works for you.  It is not that the tracker needs to be your personal "controller" or "food police". Knowing (from Christian Jarrett's article) that food decions we make are literally in the hundreds every day, and that we underestimate the amount of food that we eat when faced with a lot of it, use it as an aide memoir for yourself, no one of us can be expected to remember everything we put into our mouthes each day, TRACKING works.

Here's the poster from the end of the meeting:

The Golden Rules of Tracking

If you bite it, write it
If you drink it, ink it
If you snack it, track it
If you nibble it, scribble it
If you steal it, reveal it
If you grab it, blab it
If you lick it, Bic it
If it goes in your smacker.
       it goes in your Tracker
If you ingest it, you guessed it--
Grab your pencil before your utensil!




I HAVE A CHALLENGE FOR YOU
Are you up for a spring weight-loss challenge?


Here it is:
SPRING "MY WW GOAL" CHALLENGE:
I want you to set you own goal for the next 8 weeks - it should be at least 5 LBS - communicate it to me and then weigh in at least 4 times during the 8 weeks and send me the results of each visit to the scale in an email.  

At the end of the 8 weeks - all members that have reached their chosen goal (within 1 LBS) and who have reported at least 4 weigh-ins will be placed in a drawing for prizes.

(Lifetime members at goal or members working through maintenance at the moment - you're included - you do not have to have a goal to lose weight unless you want to, but follow all the other steps in the challenge)


Can you do that?
I have prizes to award--
3 runner up prizes of a Weight Watchers cookbook
1 Grand Prize of 3 Weight Watchers cookbooks plus a Weight Watchers fitness kit.


Challenge runs from 02/12 to 04/14/2012

Here is what you have to do:
1. Weigh-In at one of my meetings this week then send me an email to MyWWgoal@gmail.com - put your first and last name in the subject line.  In the body of the email, insert the date then tell me what you weighed today plus your goal for the end of the challenge and finish with your meeting location and day and time.


2.  Attend meetings and weigh-In 3 more times before 04/14 - the final weigh-in should be in April.  After each one send me an updated email with your progress.  First and last name in the subject line, today's weight and progress towards your goal, date your email and don't forget to include your meeting location plus meeting day and time - see below:

Here is the example:

2/15

Todays weight 185.6 - Challenge goal 177  (8.4 LBS)

Newton, Wed 8:00am

2/22

Weigh in ONE:  184.6 - challenge goal 177  (7.4 LBS)

Newton, Wed 8:00am

If you have questions for me - ask at your meeting.  I will not be responding to emails sent to MyWWgoal@gmail.com - that is simply an email address I have created to capture the data.


Good Luck!


News from Weight Watchers:

We hope you’re enjoying the new line of healthier Snack Bars! 

We’re confident that they’ll be a hit with you, so many members requested exactly this type of snack makeover and I am delighted that Weight Watchers responded with them for you:

• Short ingredient lists. In our newest snack bars, you’ll find a much shorter list of ingredients including ones you recognize and can pronounce!
• Better value. The new bars have five per box for only $4.95, which is less than $1 each. Wellness bars sold individually at stores are typically more than $1.  (Actually they're on SALE this month for $3.95)
• They’re portable. These snack bars are a smart, simple, and satisfying choice—a very wholesome snack of 3 PointsPlus^® value 
• They’re nutritious. All bars are either a Good or Excellent Source of fiber, and contain 5 to 8 grams of protein!
• They’re balanced. We sometimes heard that our old snack bars were too sweet. Our new bars have a natural sweetness from ingredients such as peanuts, almonds, coconut, and dried fruit. 
• They’re sized just right. Our three bars come in varying sizes to keep the PointsPlus values consistent. The name of the game is balance—to achieve the best possible taste and satisfaction at a consistent 3 PointsPlus values each!

This week in our meeting we are going to DECODE MENU's, you're going to love it!  

If you have a menu from a restaurant we can use to work on - bring it with you. Also, bring your I-Phone or Android Phone with you or your laptop or I-Pad if you have 3G or 4G on those devices or access to the web some other way.

Finally:

This advice comes from a Weight Watchers Lifetime member who has a lost a lot of weight and who keeps it off:

To get started on the challenge - this week:

1.  Track every single bite you take each day for the next 7 days.  Be honest with yourself ~ if you bite it, write it!  You might be surprised how many “bites” you don’t take because it’s not worth figuring out the points+ for them.

2.  Measure it!  Bust out those measuring spoons, cups and scale.  I know this is a BIG area for me because my 1 cup of pasta “grows” if I eyeball versus measure it especially if I am HUNGRY.

See you in your meeting this week  :)

Come back to the Blog on Wednesday for another great recipe.