WW + McDs?

After seeing this headline, I admit I jumped excitedly on the info.  How can McDs include points on their menus???  What the heck are they promoting?  The one sandwich (hold the mayo) that is WW friendly?

False advertising anyone?  Poor defenseless new zealanders...  Aren't they known for being healthy people?  Maybe if they scarf down a lot of nuggets and fillets Americans can get a better rap!


http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/company-news/mcdonalds-and-weight-watchers-numbers-dont-add-up-but-pounds/19381721/?icid=main|main|dl5|link3|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.dailyfinance.com%2Fstory%2Fcompany-news%2Fmcdonalds-and-weight-watchers-numbers-dont-add-up-but-pounds%2F19381721%2F

FIBER-NOMENAL!

Love this article I just found about the #1 weight loss supplement.....

FIBER!

TOTALLY AGREE!   and where oh where has my fiber content gone?  One of my super skinny aunt's swears by this fiber-nomenon bread...  

I'm not a vitamin/supplement user, I just CAN'T figure out the "take one a day" thing.  BUT, I will keep an eye out at the grocery store and I'm stocking up on fiber STAT!

Read the article here:
http://www.thatsfit.com/2010/03/08/fiber-the-number-one-supplement-and-nutrient-for-weight-contr/?icid=main|main|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.thatsfit.com%2F2010%2F03%2F08%2Ffiber-the-number-one-supplement-and-nutrient-for-weight-contr%2F

WTH = WTF!

Waist to Hip(WTH) ratio, not a big deal right!  hmph...  I just plugged in my numbers, please see below:

Your Waist to Hip Ratio is 1.32 and appears to indicate an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes. You may wish to talk to a doctor about losing weight. Or you can get started on your own by eating right and getting regular exercise.

WTH = WTF!  This can't be right.  I'm checking my numbers now... how can I be a risk?   yikes...



5 mins later:
*** OK so I pulled the measuring tape (USB cable) tighter this time - and turns out I DID mix up the numbers... but sadly I'm still a risk!

Your Waist to Hip Ratio is 0.81 and appears to indicate an increased risk for heart disease and diabetes.
You may wish to talk to a doctor about losing weight. Or you can get started on your own by eating right and getting regular exercise.


I think this calculator sucks, but feel free to try haha =   http://www.healthcalculators.org/calculators/waist_hip.asp

and to make us all feel better.... A hippy shot of JLo... at least we aren't plastered on mags!

Weekend Recovery

My weekends pretty much consist of eating out and trying to find a cocktail somewhere...  So you can see how there is a need for a weekend recovery tool.  My favorite tool is a Monday AM bowl of oatmeal.  Something about staring at that goupy stuff really makes me re-evaluate my diet choices.  I used to have it everyday for breakfast - GREAT WAY to fill your tummy and keep the hunger thoughts at bay until lunch time.  But like chicken noodle soup, I got sick of it after a few years.  Now oatmeal sits in my bag-o-tricks for a rainy day OR for a weekend recovery!   =)

PS  Damn margaritas!

PSS  A sugary oatmeal is a great way to kick a sweet craving too  (for when there are a million donuts at the office and you need SOMETHING to distract you.  I recommend the brown sugar or maple syrup ones)

Did You Know?

Did you know that is bright blue color that I changed the blog to, is supposed to suppress hunger thoughts?  Cool huh.  Obviously run and paint your kitchen or fridge!  unless you rent like me - wah wah....  I need to find a huge blue tapestry! STAT!

The Fast Food Diet

Did everyone see that girl on those taco bell commercials?  She's preaching about how she lost weight while eating off their "fresco" menu?  Well, I think the topic is definitely worth discussing and the diet strategy is not a bad one!  When I first started Weight Watchers (WW), for me it was a 2 part system.  Part 1 was eating better at home and Part 2 - restricting all the crap I ate now.  At the time I was a 21 year old college student.  Fast food was pretty much my fortay.  Luckily for me I discovered this website by week 2, DWLZ.com (Dottie's weight loss zone).  If you haven't met or heard about Dottie, go check out her full story on the site.  I used Dottie's daily as a tool in molding the way I ate.  For me, the most impacting part of the site was the knowledge you gain on the things like the Chili's "awesome blossom"being 70 points.  =O  For me, there is no ifs ands or butts about it - NOTHING is worth that much calories and fat grams (or points!) - not to mention what all that salt will do to your heart!  If you are not familiar with the WW system, they work with a points scale where all food has its own assigned points and I was allowed like 22 a day.  So 70 points for an appetizer?  I don't care how many people are sharing it - I need NONE of that horrible mess.  So I say go check out the site and find yourself a nice list of things you can eat.  (and take notice of the things you should BAN) In college I made myself a one page cheat sheat (both sides) of every fast food place in the vicinity.  Nothing over 10 points even made it onto the list, which means it never made it in my belly!  After a few months, I didn't have to use the list and it started to become mechanical to me.  And still is.

** when you go to Dottie's site you want to look for the restaurants link at the top, then scroll down to select from the alpha letters

3 Almost Bikini Time Tips!

1 - FAST!  but hold onto your grapefruit diets ladies...  not fast completely.  Take one delish, anti-bikini food that you love and ban it for the month.  Mine is usually cheese, or lattes! =(  I love you lattes but you are anti-bikini and you cost me $15/week.  When I started WW I banned french fries for a few YEARS.  Pretty sure that choice has A LOT to do with my rate of success.  Don't fret, you can have your delish food of choice again next month. (wait, just to clarify I'm keeping the lattes :/ but ditching - ice cream!)


2 - SUCK IT IN!  All day long, as much as you can, and as often as you remember.  Here is what I do. Sit up at straight as you can, now take a deep breathe in and squeeze your tummy as much as you can. If you can, continue to hold your abs in while allowing yourself to continue breathing normally.  On evey inhale, you should try to squeeze your abs in just a bit more.  FYI, this does tend to get me a bit light headed, LOL, so I only do about 3 breaths before I get over it.  And, I'm not a doctor, this is just my easy tip you can do at home, work or in the car.

PS  Please don't hyperventilate and also please don't sue me!  ;)


3 - SOUPER SOUP!  My #1 all time fail proof way to lose the bulge and get bikini ready rests in these two powerful words.  Vegetable Soup.  TAH DAH!  Sorry if you don't like veges, get used to them ;).  I overloaded on chicken noodle soup about 5 years ago, so my soups are always tomato/chicken based.  (I actually haven't made one in a while so bare with me)
The basic ingredients I use are:

Fat free chicken broth 
canned tomatoes, crushed or stewed
chopped onions and some garlic, maybe a bay leaf
any canned veges you can tolerate: corn, ? ? ?  ya, I'm not good with veges either.
any frozen veges: broccoli, carrots, cauliflower mixtures work well... (fresh works too)
cabbage - as much as you can stand!
green beans?
celery
potatoes (if you need a more filling soup.  And get the tiny ones, they cook faster)
chicken (it will give you some nutrition and comes in handy if you aren't using a lot of veges)
beans!  I love all beans but I bet garbanzos would be so good!  And they are a great source of fiber and protein.

 I think you get the idea...  Put all the veges in you can stand and enjoy!  I usually would take some soup with me as a snack before lunch.  Or as half of my lunch with a sandwich or lean cuisine.

This same idea applies to salads and they work much better on hot summer days!  (just be extra careful that you pick a delish LOW CAL dressing!)