WW Staples and a little (not so impressive) trick!

When I first started WW, I was absolutely clueless about what I could and could not eat. It turns out that I can eat whatever the heck I want...as long as I stay within my daily points allowance. Great. It's overwhelming at first and requires a lot of trial and error, but I thought I'd share some of the foods that have helped me out during this WW journey.

I find that I constantly turn to my Oroweat Sandwich Thins, which are only 1 point for the top and bottom! I toast it and spread a wedge of Laughing Cow Lite Original Swiss (1 point) on it for a 2 point breakfast. If you top that with less than 1 cup of blueberries, it's even yummier and still only 2 points. Or, sometimes I'll just toast it and dunk it in my coffee. I even use these sandwich thins to make breakfast sandwiches abd turkey breast sandwiches for lunch. Other people have told me that they work well for sloppy joe's and even a mini pizza crust! Just add your toppings and pop in the oven (or toaster oven). I buy the Sandwich Thins, Laughing Cow and frozen organic blueberries at Costco.

I also buy Yoplait Light Yogurt from Costco. It includes Strawberry, Blueberry and Harvest Peach flavors. Yes, it contains aspartame. If you're violently against it, don't buy it and keep reading. :)

Either the Weight Watchers or Healthy Choice brand fudge bars are a 1 point frozen treat for those chocolate cravings.

Now, on to that little trick I mentioned. I decided to take some of the Healthy Choice fudge bars to leave in our community freezer at work. Something is terribly wrong with our A/C at the office and it gets ridiculously cold. One day, I had the idea to stick one of the fudge bars into a nice hot cup of coffee. It obviously melted, but the resulting concoction tasted just like a mocha latte...completely with a frothy head! Since black coffee is 0 points, the whole thing is only 1 point!

Another staple I keep in my refrigerator is Kirkland "Real Egg" brand egg substitute I buy at Costco. I actually prefer the taste of the Kirkland brand to the "Egg Beaters" brand. I normally have 1/2 cup for only 1 point, whereas a whole egg is 2 points. I have this for breakfast on the weekend and normally have them one night during the week when Brian's working late and I'm only making dinner for myself.

Yet another thing I love is Orville Redenbacher's SmartPop 94% Fat Free Butter Popcorn. The single serve bags are only 1 point each. The larger bags are 3 points for the entire bag. Brian and I normally split the larger bag and I'll have the single serve bags at work.

Another frozen treat I've discovered is Breyers Double Churn ice cream! I remember trying this out about 5 years ago when the Atkin's Diet was all the rage and it tasted pretty nasty, IMO. But, I thought I'd give it another shot and am glad I did! I picked up Breyers Vanilla No Sugar Added Double Churn ice cream. You get 1/2 cup for just 1 point, or 1 whole cup for 3 points. Top that of with 1/2 cup blueberries (0 points) and you've got yourself a yummy, guilt-free dessert! I think I'll pick up the Fat Free (versus No Sugar Added) variety next time, just to see if there is a taste difference.

Okay, this is getting pretty long. I will try to post something new at least once per week, depending on what I'm eating at the time. Stay tuned....

Bleh

I maintained this week. I am happy I didn't gain (yeah, yeah, yeah), but I won't lie and say I'm not disappointed I didn't lose. I was hoping to be down 1 more pound this week for a total of 15, but that didn't happen. And I should not have expected it to happen. I was really, really, bad. I need to hide all that toffee and white chocolate! So, I need to accept it and move on because I start a new week tomorrow!

My Sweet Friends!

Here's what I got in the mail last week from my fellow Nestie (End-of-Summer Nestie Swap!), Marci, all the way from Colorado! I've been so blessed to form friendships with an amazing group of women. :)


Benny really loved the white chocolate!

10% Down, 10% to Go!

I officially reached my 10% goal last week Wendesday!!! Yay!!!

After nearly a week of basking in the glory of being 14 pounds down, and indulging in some yummy confections received from a sweet friend in Colorado, it's time to get serious again. I've been a "tracker slacker" since Las Vegas. I did better at biting-and-writing over the weekend, but need to start making a conscious effort to stick to my 18 points! I'm feeling the effects of all that white chocolate almond toffee!

I would ultimately like to lose another 10%, but that goal is just too far out (and intimidating!) for me at this point. So, I've scaled it back to another 5% (6 pounds), which would put me at 20 pounds total. That's a freakin' scary number to me. I had a chat with my co-worker about my WW progress. One thing led to another and he guessed that my current weight was 118 pounds (18 pounds under the mark (at the time), buddy). Hmm, granted, he's a guy, but people normally are surprised when I tell them how much I really do weigh. I guess it's because I'm short? Or I really am big-boned?! I have no idea.

I see every bulge and roll. They are definitely shrinking, but I have a ways to go. :) I know losing the weight will get harder and harder. I just need to take it one day at a time and try not to beat myself up for my toffee-laden weekend. :P