Happy New Years and to another year of making resolutions! I've had the same resolution for the past decade, to lose weight. Although I've successfully lost weight in the past, I somehow manage to gain it all back. They say the hardest part of losing weight, it keeping it off.
Throughout the month of December when I was out of control with holiday parties, business luncheons and family gatherings, I was constantly reminded of health and fitness as my fitness magazines kept pouring in.
I would put them aside and finally waited until my 3 days New Years break until cracking them open.
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| Magazine Subscriptions |
I watched a clip on the
Dr. Oz show featuring
Alton Brown's Food list for Weight loss, and I was definitely inspired to revamp my eating habits. I picked and chose items that I thought I would enjoy and could stick to instead of trying be overzealous and end up wasting money on groceries that I didn't consume.
Here is my
modified version of Alton Brown's list. It's tough, but I know I will have to reduce alcohol intake to one day per week.
List 1: Foods to Eat Daily
- Dark leafy greens
- Nuts
- Green tea
- Whole grains
- Fruits
List 2: Foods to Eat Three Times a Week
List 3: Foods to Eat Once a Week
- Red meat
- White starch
- Desserts
- Alcohol
List 4: Foods to Never Eat / Foods to Avoid at All Times
- Soda
- “Diet” anything (This is going to be the hardest thing, I am used to drinking Diet Pepsi and crystal light so I will have to stick to water and tea and vodka)
My WW points was reduced from 29 to 26 on the new 2012 Points Plus Plan with the 49 Weekly Free points, so I'm hoping it will result with more aggressive results.
Here is the ideal menu that I would like to stick with for the next
3 weeks. Experts agree that it takes 21 days to develop a habit. My intention is to set small goals so they are attainable. (Plus, its right before Superbowl weekend!)
Breakfast:
KEEP IT SIMPLE
Since I'm usually running late for work anyways, I am going to stick with the GNC Lean Shake for weekdays. On the weekends, I have the luxury to cook late breakfasts so I may whip up omelettes and turkey bacon for a change.
GNC Total Lean Shake 25 has 25 grams of protein and 8 grams of fiber, most importantly, its
delicious!
If I feel like using extra points, I add ice, a banana, and strawberries and make it into smoothie. Once in a long while, I use natural peanut butter and a banana, but the PB adds too many points to the smoothie.
Morning Snack:
Apple
(0 Point Plus Value)
or Orange
(0 Point Plus Value)
or Berries
(0 Point Plus Value)
and 1 Cup of Green Tea
Lunch:
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| Stocked up my Chest Freezer with Lean Cusines |
I know that most nutritionist and health food guru's would discourage processed frozen foods due to its high sodium content and other additives but I like them anyways! It's convenient, tasty (for some of them) and easy to prepare, not to mention that the varieties are endless!
It's so much easier for me to have the option of taking a frozen package out of the freezer, microwave and eat it versus preparing a sandwich and counting the points for all the components from the cheese to the bread. The frozen meals range anywhere between 5 to 9 Points Plus values.
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| Modified WW Turkey Chili Recipe |
Currently,
Stop and Shop is having a sale on
Lean Cusine for 6 for $10.00 which comes out to $1.67 each, which is an awesome price!
As another option to frozen food, I've prepared 6 serving of
Turkey Chili at
6 Points Plus that I would also fridge/or freeze to have for backup.
Afternoon Snack/Small Meal:
I usually get hungry again around 3:30 so for my afternoon snack, my friend introduced me to cottage cheese and almonds. 1/2 cup of low fat cottage cheese and 10 almonds would set me back
6 Points Plus.
If I'm not in the mood for cottage cheese, I got the new Special K cracker chips, which probably isn't the optimal choice, Kumquats, and avocados.
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| Snack options |
Dinner:
Dinner would be a bit more tricky since I have to cook for the Mo also. The meal would consist of 4 oz of chicken or fish and raw baby spinach with a half cup of rice. Estimate for dinner would be
6 Points Plus Value
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Bagged Salad and Ken's Dressing
(The salads are also on sale at Stop and Shop this week for 2/$3.00) |
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| Chicken Breasts |
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| also on Sale at Stop and Shop at a low $ 1.69/ lbs |
Sample of my Daily Weight Watchers Points Plus Tracker Below
(I used today to calculate the points, but it wasn't actual, just for calculation purposes)
49 Weekly points
To be used for alcohol, dessert and bigger weekend meals or splurges, but of course, everything in moderation, not binge drinking or gorging on sweets!
Activity Points
I strive for 4 activity points per a day or 28 per a week. The goal is to keep my activity points and not use them, unless its for a special occasion. I don't want to focus on an extreme exercise regimen right now so I will continue with the Zumba and Body Pump classes at the gym and use the machines and free weights regularly.
Come back for weekly updates on how I am doing on the new WW's plan.
