Mamavation Monday

What a week it was last week. With so many meals that were catered or eaten out, it was a really tough week for me. I was in meetings for long stretches of time and had to be work earlier than normal. As such, this we a less than model week for me. I ate at the top of my Points for the week (consuming them all - meaning no buffer if I did underestimate a serving) and didn't make time for activity.

I was so glad to return to 'normal' at the end of the week. I was able to finally eat within my daily Points without using more than one or two of the weekly Points.

The net result of the week was that I was Flat. Flat was better than I expected with the way the week started, so for that I am glad.

I am really loving the Weight Watchers Apps for my phone. I was at the store on Sunday and as I was perusing the selection of frozen meals, I was able to scan the bar code and see the Points for each meal. Now, not all items are in the database, but there are a lot of items in there. It made it easier for me to make selections that fit what I am looking for for lunch. One thing that I learned (and was surprised to learn) is that the Points reflected on the package for the Weight Watchers frozen meals is not the current Points value. Some you knew, because it was the old logo, but some even said Points Plus and did not match the calculation. I found this to be frustrating, wondering how many people are taking them at face value and not realizing that they are eating more Points than they think. I knew that I had some meals in my freezer, many of which were more Points than I expected. Some of which, I would not have selected if I had known the actual Points. I also like that you can track directly from the scanner app - immediately those items are reflected on my tracker.

In addition to the scanner, the convenience of having the tracking on my phone is awesome! It allows me to stay current and to make better choices when I find myself looking to nibble. Knowing exactly where I am is better than 'guessing' where I am. It is a very easy to use app and saving favorites has helped a lot in quickly completing my tracker.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

You can see my near daily tracking here.

No compensation was received for this post. I was provided with a trial subscription to Weight Watchers. All opinions expressed are my own.

Weight Watchers Ice Cream Review

When I am watching what I eat, the one thing that I struggle with is treats. I work hard (at work and at home) and I deserve a treat sometimes. It can be hard to find treats that I don't feel guilty about, or don't make me feel like I am throwing in the towel. Treats come in many forms - but certainly to me there are some characteristic traits to treats - they can be creamy, they can be chocolaty, they can be caramelly. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the new ice cream treats from Weight Watchers met many of these traits and were low enough in calories (& PointsPlus Values) that I didn't have to feel guilty.

Sometimes, we all need a treat, and nothing fulfills that craving better than ice cream! Weight Watchers Ice Cream has great options for snacking and treating yourself wisely during the hectic back-to-school season. Grab a Weight Watchers Snack Size Ice Cream Sandwich for the road - it's the perfect size to satisfy your desire for something cool, sweet and creamy. For a great snack, try a creamy Weight Watchers Strawberry Smoothie Bar or a refreshing Weight Watchers Strawberry Fruit Bar. Both are great for the entire family as they are made with real fruit. And for a treat at the end of the day, indulge in a Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Dulcé de Leché dessert bar. You cannot go wrong!

Weight Watchers Snack Size Ice Cream Sandwiches - Two brand new flavors of Weight Watchers Ice Cream, low fat Vanilla Bean and Dutch Chocolate, have just 80 calories each. The variety pack includes four sandwiches of both flavors with a PointsPlus® value of 2 per sandwich.

Weight Watchers Dark Chocolate Dulcé de Leché Dessert Bars - A highly indulgent ice cream bar featuring low fat dulcé de leché ice cream with a caramel swirl dipped in dark chocolate. Each bar has a PointsPlus value of 3 per bar and 120 calories.

Weight Watchers Strawberry Fruit Bar - A healthier snack option for adults and kids, this bar is made with real fruit and is an excellent source of vitamin C. Plus, this delightfully fruity bar has 15 percent fewer calories and 30 percent less sugar than other national leading brands of fruit bars. Each has 70 calories and a PointsPlus value of 2 per bar.

Weight Watchers Strawberry Smoothie Bar - A blend of low-fat strawberry frozen yogurt and real strawberries. This bar is a good source of vitamin C and has the creamy goodness of a smoothie with just 60 calories and a PointsPlus value of 2 per bar.

We recently had the opportunity to check out some of the new Weight Watchers Ice Cream treats. I was excited to see a selection of ice cream treats that I could enjoy without too much guilt. I liked that they were all only 2-3 PointsPlus Values - I can usually leave myself with a few PointsPlus Values for a snack at the end of my day and personally, I think that ice cream is a great way to use them (I'm not good at measuring 1/2 cup of ice cream - so these are easier too!).

The Strawberry Smoothie Bar is full of pieces of real strawberries and the yogurt gives the bar a nice creaminess. The Strawberry Fruit Bar is packed full of strawberry flavor. I enjoyed the snack size Ice Cream Sandwiches - although, I must say I prefer the vanilla to the chocolate (surprised me too - but I think I am a traditionalist and ice cream sandwiches were always vanilla). The Dark Chocolate Dulcé de Leché bars were a real treat - that thin but tasty layer of dark chocolate around that caramelly sweet inside.

Even the kids and my husband enjoyed the tasty treats. The portion sizes seem good for the items - I think they might be smaller than similar offerings, but if they are, I wouldn't say that they are much smaller. They are the right size to meet the need for a sweet treat, but not too big that I feel like I overdid it.

I like that these new ice cream treats from Weight Watchers provide me with a way to enjoy a sweet treat with my family, without the guilt. Flavorful and creamy, I can feel like I am indulging without feeling like I'm throwing in the towel.

No compensation was received for this post. I received product samples, coupons and information for the purposes of trying and sharing our experience through MomSelect. All opinions expressed are mine or those of my family.

Mamavation Monday

It was a good week. I essentially ate my way through Boston last week, but by staying active and making time for a nearly 4 mile walk each day, I was able to minimize the impact of this culinary adventure. That being said, I was up slightly for the week, but increased consumption of food and wine on my part, will cause that.

First, let me start by saying that Boston is a great city to be active in. I took a walk each morning along the Charles River. Not only did they have nice walking/biking/blading paths, complete with center lines, but there were a number of pedestrian bridges to cross over roadways. In addition, there were kayaks and crew teams on the water every morning. I was actually amazed the first morning when I went out at 5 am, to see so many people. Normally, when I walk in my neighborhood, I see no one. There was a great route that I could take that was just about four miles round trip. I had decent weather, although the last day it did start to rain around mile marker 3.

Second, let me say that there is some good food in Boston. On Monday night, we ate in the Italian district at a place called Dolce Vita Ristorante - I had the scallops, which were so tender and flavorful. Of course, I accompanied it with some pasta, bread and wine! Then, we made stop at Mike's for cannoli. I think it might have been my first cannoli, but it was yummy! I didn't actually eat it all that first night - finishing it the following night. The next day we enjoyed the Cheesecake Factory - we wound up sharing a lot of different appetizers and of course, cheesecake. I didn't eat a "regular" dinner, having consumed more than my fair share of appetizers. The next day, we snacked our way through the day. I tried a Lobster Roll (not as good as it sounded), some Tuna Tartar, some New England Clam Chowder (I was in New England after all!) at Finz in Salem. Then, we tried the pizza and wings at Prince Pizza. Dinner that night was sushi at Douzo. I really felt full after my adventures. I also tried Pinot Noir on this trip, I think I could add it to my list of wines I enjoy.

Now that I am back, I need to buckle down. Continue with my daily walk. Resume portion control and tracking - I did it informally in Boston, but the reality is that after a few glasses of wine, I had more than consumed my weekly PointsPlus values.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The sponsor this week is EatSmart Products. They ask: How have you recently stepped up to support someone in your life? I would have to say that as some of my friends have dealt with life issues and challenges, I have been there for them when they needed me, but also respected them and gave them space.

No compensation was received for this post. By participating in the blogging carnival, I am entering to win a Kitchen Scale from EatSmart Products.

Mamavation Monday

Well, it was a good week, or at least not a bad week. With last weekend having the baby shower and then a night out, I had spent most of the prior week's Weekly PointsPlus Values and this week's Weekly PointsPlus Values in a matter of two days. It took me much of the week to "recover" from the splurge. The good news is that I did fully recover, although it was tough some days with so few weekly PointsPlus values to go around.

I did an excellent job getting up every morning last week to walk. I would walk three miles and then come home and did strength training on two days and abs on another day. Thursday and Friday, I walked alone and well, I got a late start, so I just didn't have the time to do the abs and the strength training ai had planned.

All in all it was a good week. This coming week is frought with challenges and it will take everything I've got to just maintain. I hope I can find the energy to workout and the will-power to not completely overdue it on eating.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider and have received access to tools to help me on my weight loss journey. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.'

Mamavation Monday

Yeah! I lost weight this week! I was so worried about the work dinners and catered lunches, but I did a great job exercising control. I focused on balancing what was on my plate and even skipped dessert the one evening. I did my best to estimate my portions and track my eating and my activity on eTools. By staying on top of it, using my mobile phone, I was better able to manage what I chose to eat at dinner and know if there was "room" for dessert in my daily and weekly Points Plus values.

I felt so good about myself on Sunday morning when I checked and I was down, but then...I went to a baby shower and so when I did my "official" Monday morning weigh in, I was flat...I was so bummed. I know that part of it was salt, I could feel it in my fingers, especially when I was walking. A dinner out last night with my friend probably didn't move me back to where I was on Sunday, but I have faith that I can get back to where I was and resume movement in the right direction.

As an aside, dinner was wonderful. We started with house nachos (why, I don't know except for they sounded awesome - nachos, asiago cream sauce, kalamata olives, diced tomatoes, scallions, artichoke hearts and chicken), and then split a carved turkey, brie, caramelized onions, and bacon croissant and a shrimp fettuccine with an asiago cream sauce. We skipped dessert. Food is such a sensuous experience and I firmly believe that you should be able to enjoy it - as long as you keep it in balance. Certainly eating that way every night simply would not work.

But, I digress.

The really positive story for me is the working out. I have been getting up each morning to work out. I have been meeting my friend a few mornings to walk and have been doing it on my own the other mornings. Yesterday, I did a shortened walk (about 3 miles) and then came home and did P90X Chest and Back. I had to shorten it, only going through about 1 1/4 rounds of the workout...but it was a good balance. I might need to shorten a little more to allow me to do the full P90X routine on the days that I walk alone. I think that if I can stick with the walking and still doing some P90X strength training that I will start to see a real difference. I know that I feel so much better on those days that I walk outside - the fresh air makes it even better than the feeling I get with just working out.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The event is sponsored by Together Counts this week and the question is: How often do you and your family eat meals together and get active together? My answer: We eat together almost daily. There are a few exceptions, but I sit down and plan out our menu plan around our activities. On days when we have evening events, we choose meals that will be easy to get on the table, either before or after. I prep many of my meals the night before (like last night, after I got home from dinner out with my friend, I made Eggplant Parmesan that my husband will stick in the oven so that it is ready to eat when I walk in the door with the kids tonight). We stay active by walking and playing outside. The kids love to walk with me and I think it is a great way to up my activity level while spending time with them.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider and have received tools to help me towards my weight loss goals. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' This Mamavation Monday post is sponsored by Together Counts and I’m writing this to be entered into a Qlip Any-where Pedometer giveaway hosted by Mamavation.

Mamavation Monday

It's Monday. It feels like Monday. I had a great week last week and a good weekend, but for some reason today at work, every time I stopped for a minutes, I was eating. I'm sure I wasn't hungry, perhaps a little bored?, perhaps a little too close to food?, perhaps just Monday? (okay, really, I wasn't eating all of the time, it just was that I found myself snacking, which I don't normally do a lot of)

Normally, I do a decent job with eating healthy at work. I bring oatmeal and a banana for breakfast, allowing me to eat one at 8:30 and the other closer to 10. Keeps me from getting munchies and searching out food. I pack my lunch, so I am able to exercise portion control and plan a well-balanced meal. I also generally include a fruit or something for around 2pm.

Today, was different. First, I didn't pack - so I was at the whim of my stomach and taste buds. I think that the whole "eyes are bigger than the stomach" thing came into play. The thing that amazes me, is that frequently, when I am eating too much...I manage to do it with otherwise innocuous foods. Foods I normally wouldn't think of as tempting foods or foods that I would overeat - meaning not chocolate or chips or ice cream or one of my other weaknesses. Random things, like cheese, crackers, or today, peanut butter and jelly. The funny thing about that is that I had my first peanut butter and jelly sandwich less than a year ago. There were chips and cookies, but I didn't go for them...I reasoned that having a sandwich was healthier for me. Was it? Who knows?

I had a reasonable dinner and am feeling better, although I sit here, wondering why did I have that kind of day? I will say that I consumed more than my normal PointsPlus values today. Normally, I spend my daily plus a couple of my weekly each day. Today, I used 10 of my weekly PointsPlus values...and next weekend is picnic weekend, when I will wish I had those PointsPlus values to burn. (there is one challenge of starting the recording week on a Monday, by the time the weekend is here, I may or may not have PointsPlus values remaining. I have to work really hard to plan ahead for weekend outings and not use too many during the week.)
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Tomorrow, I am sure I will be fine. I will pack my lunch. I will be so busy all day, that food won't have a chance to enter my mind. I plan to start my day right with exercising too. I had been on a really good kick, but have been so tired lately and so busy with the kids, that going to bed early hasn't been fitting in, and as a result, my morning exercise routine was anything but routine. Tomorrow, I plan to get up and work out.

How was your week?

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider and have received access to eTools and other tools to help me on my journey.

Mamavation Monday

What a week. I was busy, only as I sit back, I can't seem to recall what all I did. We had a busy weekend to be sure. We had company for the weekend, as it was my son's First Communion this weekend. We ate out two meals and cooked at home the others. I did relatively okay with the food, making sure I didn't do large portions, but still enjoying and sampling all of the food that I had made.

On Mother's Day, I didn't cook (unless you count making eggs for breakfast - scrambled and over easy were the options I provided) and we had a very active day. We walked to the local school to check out my son's artwork on display at the school art festival and then back home. Later, we headed to the park and ball field and then my daughter and I walked home. Of course, we agreed that a treat would be nice and detoured our route to a local ice cream spot. It worked out to be almost a 2 mile walk home from the field. Being the ever teaching mom that I strive to be, I actually used our stop to share some healthy lifestyle information with her (although at four, I'm sure I will have to share it again). We talked about how since we had done so much walking that we could have a special treat, because we had done a lot of exercise and burned many calories. That treats were nice, but not something that we could or should have every day.

She is my walking partner - whether doing Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home or walking around the community. In fact, on Monday, we walked to my son's baseball game. At about 1 1/4 miles, it is just the right amount of a walk for her. Tonight though, she was tired and I carried her about half the distance (broken up of course, I couldn't do that all at once). I did learn that she slows down immensely when she is trying to tell me a story - like she can't focus on two things at the same time. I'm not sure how to count the PointsPlus values of walking with an extra 39# on my back, so I guess I will just have to look at a slow walk to calculate my activity PointsPlus values.

I love that it is nice out and that we are finding more ways to play outside. We go for walks around the block. We play ball in the yard. Now, if only it could stay dry for a few days in a row, we could make a habit of it.

I had intention of working out this morning, but as I tried to put things away from this weekend, I decided that the four trips to the basement, folding laundry, and putting away dishes was all that I had time for. I hope to start back into my exercise routine tomorrow.

I have been a little casual with counting and recording PointsPlus values, so I made sure that this morning I returned to actively tracking what I was eating.

Summer is coming fast and I would really like to continue my journey towards a healthier lifestyle (and a smaller size), so I am hoping that I can take this renewed sense of motivation and the warm days as inspiration to stick with it and really strive to make a difference in my life.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.'

Reusable Lunch Bags

I pack my lunch almost everyday, except when I have a lunch meeting. I find that I can generally pack a healthier lunch than I can purchase. Even when I go out some place that has a salad bar and feel like I am generally eating a good lunch, I find myself adding things to my salad plate that quickly add up - cheese, croutons, bacon, crackers, macaroni salad, etc. I tend to use more salad dressing when I get the salad bar than when I pack a salad with dressing in separate container. Also, when it comes to estimating how much I ate, in order to calculate the PointsPlus values of the food, I find that I have a hard time. Was it 4 oz of chicken that I added - or a little more/less? If I eat out too often, you can see it reflected in my success (or lack there of) for the week.

So, as I said, packing my lunch lets me be in control of what I am eating. I can measure out my servings and calculate the PointsPlus values before I consume them. When I eat out, usually I wind up calculating the values after I eat rather thhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifan before. The exception is if I am going out to dinner somewhere where I know what I order and can 'budget' for the trip ahead of time.

When it comes to packing my lunch, I used to Brown Bag-it. I would typically reuse the same bag for days or weeks, as long as it lasted. I would fill it with a mix of plastic containers and plastic bags. The plastic bags and eventually, the browhttp://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gifn bags too, would get thrown away. Not only did this feel wasteful, but it also got to be expensive.

Finally, one day, I bought myself a reusable lunch bag. It is lightly insulated, which helps to keep my lunch cool until I get it into the refrigerator at work. Then, a couple of years ago, I found a solution for replacing my plastic bags http://www.blogger.com/img/blank.gif(at least many of them), I tried a reusable sandwich bag. I only have two, but I generally use one for my sandwich and one for vegetables (or sometimes a cookie or chips!). I was thinking about getting more. I saw this deal today for Re-Pac Bags and decided the time was right to get a couple more bags. Their style is different, using zippers instead of velcro. I liked that I could get a $24 voucher for only $12 through Mamapedia Sweet Deals. (if you are a first time Mamapedia Sweet Deals buyer, you can use coupon code FRIENDS2 to save $2 on this deal as well)

Using a reusable lunch bag and reusable lunch bags, is environmentally friendly and a way to save money. This post shared at Frugal Friday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider and have received free access to their online tools.

Mamavation Monday

It was a good week.

I did pretty good with eating well and tracking what I ate. I used up the balance of my weekly PointsPlus values on Sunday, so my Monday weight was up slightly from yesterday, but I expect that to recover to the full amount of loss that I expected for last week. I was down over a pound on Sunday morning.

I resumed P90X this morning. I had been doing other workouts and decided that I needed a boost in my workout routine. I haven't decided if I will just use the strength training workouts and alternate with assorted cardio or if I will follow the full 90 day program again. I did Chest and Back this morning and I can tell that I worked out - I can feel the pull on my muscles when I stretch. No matter my morning approach, I hope to fit in an evening exercise too. Tonight was crazy, so I didn't get it, but I'm hoping to fit in some of the Walk At Home DVDs in the evening. I'm considering putting them in my laptop and following along while I watch my shows. Most of the shows that I watch don't require full engagement, so I should be able to do it. If not, I might just try remembering the walking workouts and do those. I also would like to get back to doing Ab Ripper a few times a week. I don't have time in the morning, so those I do in the evening.

With summer fast approaching, I am feeling a little more motivated to eat right and work out. Assuming my work schedule permits it, and the weather, I should be able to get back to walking at lunch too. It is such a nice break and I enjoy being active while catching up with friends.

Hope you are having a good week!

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. This week's blogging carnival is sponsored by Orville Redenbacher Popcorn. The question of the week is: How would you like to alter your family’s nutrition and eating habits? Do you have a plan to do this? I would like to include more fresh fruit and vegetables. I do my best to purchase them each week, but depending on how busy I am, I don't always get a chance to clean them and make them an easy to grab snack when we are hungry.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' By linking back to Orville Redenbacher and participating in the blogging carnival, I am entering to win a basket from Orville Redenbacher.

2011 Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge

To me, walking is a great form of exercise. It requires almost no equipment, except a decent pair of shoes. You can walk by yourself (as long as it's safe!) or with one or more friends or family members. It can be enjoyed together by the young and the old. You can walk briskly or simply stroll, either way the important thing is simply being in motion. Walking is also a great way to catch up with friends (have you ever noticed how fast time goes when you are chatting with friends) or to take some time to take in the sites or simply observe nature.

Yesterday, we all had the day off and my mom came over to visit. After we got back from lunch, the kids wanted to go for a walk, so my mom, the two kids and I set out on a walk around the block. The weather is just starting to break and it was nice to get out and get some fresh air and a bit of exercise. We walked just about a mile in total.

When the weather (and my work schedule) allows, I love to be able to take a walk at lunch. We have a path that we walk that is just about 3 miles long. Sometimes, we take a shorter route, but when we have time we walk the whole thing. The walk can be almost therapeutic. It is a great stress reliever and taking the time to catch up with friends feels great. Sometimes we talk about things at work, but never about work. Sometimes it becomes a vent session. Other times, it is just a great way to catch up on what has been going on in our lives. The fresh air and the sunshine provide a sense of renewal and we return energized to finish the work day.

At home, I enjoy walking around the block with the kids. When they were younger, I would push them in the stroller or pull them in the wagon. Sometimes, we would stop and visit with friends playing in their yards. Now that they are older, generally, they like to take their bikes or scooters, which generally means that they are stopping to wait for me or riding back to me after a while, so as not to get too far ahead.

Of course, as of late, my daily exercise has been using assorted workouts from the Leslie Sansone Walk at Home collection of walks. It's a great way to get in a workout, even in my own living room. On one of the walks, her walking team are all people that have lost over 100 pounds through walking. Through out some of the walks, she comments on aerobic exercise and how people don't like to think of walking as exercise, but it really is.

I'm not really sure when I started to enjoy walking, but I feel like I have been doing it for years. When I was a child (5th or 6th grade), I can remember my mom and the neighbor going for walks on a regular basis. I'm not sure it was daily, but it was probably close. They would walk about 2 miles through the neighborhood and they were fast walkers. On rare occasion, I was allowed to join them (they generally walked at night and it seems to me that it frequently was dark, so I'm guessing it was pretty close to my bedtime) and I thought the world of being allowed to join. It took a lot of effort for me to keep up with them, but now, as a result, I am a fast walker.

I can also remember participating in many local Volksmarches as a child. The whole family would go and walk. Sometimes we would be joined by, or catch up with, family and friends. Honestly, I'm not sure how often we went, but there seemed to be all sorts of different walks in both urban and rural type settings, perhaps even a few at the local nature preserves and parks. Looking through the current local walks on their website, there are many coming up in the next few months in my area (being in Ohio, it makes sense that there might be a few more now that it is starting to warm up). It seems that many of the walks include a 5K or 10K option.

Are you a walker? Have you been wanting to get started? Here are some tips from Weight Watchers:

* The first step is getting up and moving – start slow and increase your speed and distance over time. Be sure to set reasonable goals.

* To help motivate you, sign up for a future 5K. Having that date on the calendar is sure to keep you focused.

* Be sure to add strength training to your routine. Before you know it, you will have a new you!

* Finally, listen to your body. If you need to rest, take a day off. And have fun!

Looking for an upcoming 5K that you can train towards? It is once again time for the Weight Watchers Walk-It Challenge.

Team up with your friends and family and start training to walk - or run - a 5K (3.1 miles) on Weight Watchers Walk-It Day, May 22! Use our interactive, step-by-step, six-week training plan and fitness tips to prepare for the event. Connect with other walkers in our Community for ideas and encouragement. Read inspiring blog posts. Take part in our Walk-It Challenge Community Challenge or create or join a Walking Group.

You can find more information about the Official Weight Watchers Walk-It Day 5K in your state here.

No compensation was received for this post. As a Weight Watchers Insider, I was provided with information about the Walk-It Challenge and will be receiving a Walk-It Toolkit. All opinions expressed are my own.

Mamavation Monday

It was a pretty good week. I must have done an okay job estimating my dining out items for tracking, because I used all of my weekly PointsPlus values and I still managed to lose a little weight. Considering that I had dinner out three nights (including Graeter's Ice Cream for dessert!) and had catered lunches on two days, losing weight feels like an accomplishment. I always worry about the accuracy of my assumptions when I am not in "control" of what I am eating, like when I eat out or have a catered meal. When I cook at home, I know what is in the recipe and can calculate the amount of PointsPlus values for the meals using the recipe builder tool on eTools.

I had another successful week of ignoring the candy dish at work and I think that really helps. I've also gotten back into the habit of having a cup of tea in the evening. It is warm and satisfying and helps keep me from feeling like I need to have a snack. This has helped too.

On the exercise front, I have been doing the Walk At Home videos. My daughter (4 years old) has started to join me...only she gets bored of walking in place and after a while, only joins me when we are doing side steps, kicks or walking up and back. Still, it's fun that she wants to join me. Her first question when she comes down the stairs is always - "Mommy have you exercised yet?" Most of the times I am either in the family room in the middle of a DVD or am just wrapping up. Some mornings though, when I am running behind schedule because of the other things I am doing or when she wakes up super early, I am just about to start. Her question certainly helps discourage me from skipping it that day.

When I traveled last week for work, I went down to the hotel gym and walked 2.2 miles on the treadmill - after dinner out including a cone at Graeter's the night before, it felt good to get my workout in.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.'

Mamavation Monday

Well, last week was a better week. I feel like I am starting to get back on track.

Today, there was a birthday at work, which means all sorts of goodies are generally brought in. I did a very good job of not eating the goodies. I did have a little bit of the apple crisp that I made, but it was a reasonable portion and the primary ingredient was apples. I know that the cooking makes it no longer a Zero PointsPlus value, but I had less than one apple and the amount of butter/sugar/flour mixture was small enough that overall the treat was not too bad at only 3 PointsPlus value.

I also successfully avoided the community candy jar - which is always so tempting to me. That was a good step in the right direction.

I have started to exercise in the morning again. It feels good. I'm not back into P90X just yet. I have been doing the Leslie Sansone Walk At Home Walk Eat Lose! 21-day Challenge workout. It is a pretty good little walk so far.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The sponsor is Earth Footwear and the question of the week is: Where will your feet take you this year? Any plans for a big hike, race, or just a lot of walking? I think the most walking that I will do (aside from my daily walking) will be when we make our family vacation to Disney later this year.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' This Mamavation Monday post is sponsored by Earth Footwear and by posting, I am entering a giveaway for a pair of shoes from Earth Footwear.

Mamavation Monday

Lately, I seem to be suffering from a deplorable lack of motivation. It doesn't seem to be any one thing and it hasn't completely derailed me (perhaps that is part of the reason it is perpetuated), but I find myself with a rather blah attitude on the eating and exercising front. The good news is that I am ready to start fresh...tomorrow. I know, I should do it today, but that just isn't going to happen.

A little bit of back story....

As I mentioned, it hasn't been any one thing that seems to have me feeling unmotivated, but rather a series of things, that together have gotten me completely off sync.

My week away - I did really good that week maintaining a focus on exercising. I got up each morning and walked. One day, we walked over 5 miles. We even walked home after some evening activities - driven more so by our desire to avoid the questionable cab than a desire to exercise at 10 pm. Unfortunately, try as I might, the eating thing just got out of control. I had two snacks a day, and reasonably healthy at that - cheese, cut veggies, fresh fruit. Now, normally, this might be considered a good thing, except, I didn't change the way I was eating at the meals and there was a dessert with each meal. Of course, we can't forget cocktail hour - I didn't have much, but even a glass of wine a day is more than I would normally consume. In then end, my calorie consumption was up and when I returned home, my one foot was sore.

My flooded basement - My bad eating was perpetuated that following weekend by a flooded basement. Since we were preoccupied with rescuing the basement and since there were no meals planned (we were supposed to have been at my brother's house for my niece's birthday that afternoon/evening), we ate not the best meals and I brilliantly added soda to each of my meals, which was regular full calorie soda, since I can't drink the diet stuff. The secondary effect of a flooded basement was the loss of my workout area where I do many of my workouts since we had everything torn apart for a solid week. That whole next week, after a week away with increased eating and a bad food habit weekend, I found myself craving snacks at random times - even if I wasn't hungry, I wanted the flavor.

Daylight savings - My foot was feeling better, my basement was back together and my alarm was set for 5 am on Monday so that I could resume my workout routine. Only thing is, on Monday, when my alarm went off, the clock said 5 am, but my body said 4 am. I hit snooze and rolled over. Not a good way to start the week! Then, a week of early morning meetings left me with not a full hour to work out. When I was in the routine, I was very good at adapting and just shortening my work out to fit the time that I had. Somehow, having been off routine for a couple of weeks made it easy for me to excuse myself from exercise because I didn't have a full hour.

Swimming Lessons - For the most recent session of swim lessons, we had to change nights. That night now coincides with when I should be at my Weight Watchers meetings. I am still monitoring what I eat, but somehow between the week away (where I failed to track!) and the inability to attend my regular meeting, I have stopped tracking everything. I have the good habits still around, but without tracking, I tend to forget about the little nibbles that happen.

As a result, I have lost some of the weight that I gained that week away, but it has been a really slow process. I am confident (Sound of Music song playing in my head) that when I return to exercising and tracking what I eat that the weight will continue to come off at a better pace.

I recently received the Walk Eat Lose! 21-Day Challenge! DVD set from Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home Series. I am thinking that since I am completely out of habit, that I will start with that and then work in some of the strength training from P90X. Eventually, I'd like to get back to full rotation on all of my DVDs, but you have to start somewhere.

I logged back onto Weight Watchers eTools and fully intend to start tracking again. The awareness created in tracking will help me to continue to make smart food choices and to have more willpower against the nibbles that put me over the top.

Yesterday was the first day of spring, I'd like to be well on my way to my goal when summer arrives.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The weekly blogging carnival is sponsored by Orville Redenbacher’s Gourmet Popping Corn. The question is: Are you a sweet or savory snacker? What do you look for in a healthy snack? My answer, unfortunately, is Yes. I am both. It can become a challenge as I enjoy both sweet and savory snacks and sometimes I find that if I eat one, I "need" the other. When it comes to a healthy snack, one that is full of flavor and texture generally goes the furthest in making me feel satisfied.


No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' This Mamavation Monday post is sponsored by Orville Rednbacher's Gourment Popping Corn and by participating in the blogging carnival, I'm entering to win a an Orville Redenbacher’s Very Important Blogger (VIB) Gift Basket which includes popcorn, exercise kit including clip n step meter, exercise bands, healthy recipe mix-ins, yoga kit with yoga mat, blocks, strap, and beginner DVD ($100 value).

Mamavation Monday

Finally, a week where there was a noticeable difference on the scale. It felt like a fairly flat week for most of the week, which is so frustrating, but at the end, I pulled it out.

That is one thing that I really struggle with. When I am eating right and exercising and I am staying flat or gaining/losing .2#, I start to eat out of frustration. I start to get it in my head that it doesn't matter if I'm eating right and exercising or not, I get the same outcome. This causes me to become a little lax in tracking portion size and nibble on things without counting them - it was only one bite right? It makes it easier to hit snooze - getting up early to exercise isn't helping me right? Unfortunately, when I do this, I wind up staying flat or slightly up or down. It is in some ways a self-fulfilling prophecy that helps me in my head justify it the next time - see I only did part of a workout or I ate this or that and I didn't gain (or didn't gain much) so there is nothing wrong with it. Except it keeps me from my goal.

I resisted the urge this weekend to eat out of frustration and I lost weight. Okay, it was only a pound, but a pound is a pound. I even did that with some shortened workouts. That is one thing that I am definitely good at doing - part of a workout, which is a good thing. It used to be that if I couldn't do the full workout, I would just skip it. Now, I do as much as I can or find an alternate DVD that will fit in my available time. This activity is definitely a key to my success. I just need to keep up the motivation.

One of my key struggles this week was homemade bread. I found a recipe and made it. It was awesome - especially warm and fresh. I made it in my bread maker, which makes such a tall loaf that each slice was about 2 oz and worth 4 PointsPlus Values! Next time, I think I will use a traditional bread pan so that I can get 2 slices for 4 PointsPlus Values. Mentally, eating two smaller pieces is more filling than one tall piece - plus it will fit in my toaster better!

I missed my Weight Watchers meeting last night, there was crazy snow here yesterday and oh by the way, it was President's Day, which equals few plows to start with. In fact, my normally 30 minute commute (11 miles) took me 90 minutes to complete and I passed 1! plow the entire drive home. So, it was hard to convince myself that a drive across town was worth it.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. This week's Mamavation Monday is sponsored by SEARS FitStudio, who asks: What motivates you to get going and what keeps you going? Success. Every time I put on my clothes that are a size smaller (even though it hasn't changed in a long time), it gives me confidence and keeps me motivated to keep eating right and exercising. It inspires me that I could lose what I want and be in good condition.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' This Mamavation Monday post is sponsored by SEARS FitStudio and I’m writing this to be entered into a giveaway hosted by Mamavation and sponsored by Sears.

Mamavation Monday

Well, considering that yesterday was the Super Bowl and considering that I saved up many of my weekly Points Plus values to splurge for the party, I am happy to say that I still showed a small weight loss this week! Yeah! often times, when I save up my Points Plus values for a special event at the end of the week, I see a slight uptick that takes a day or two to correct.

You know, it may sound funny, but my trip to the water park this weekend made me realize that I really should (and sort of do) have a more positive body image than I used to. For one thing, it takes a lot of comfort to walk around all day in a bathing suit. I remember when I used to be very self-conscious about that. Not that I'm there to watch other bodies, but let's be honest, there are a lot of people that where skimpier suits than they ought to and even those that can wear a bikini, well their figures aren't perfect. So, I'm sure it's a combination of having lost some weight (mostly last year, but who's counting) and the realization that I'm not much different than a lot of other women.

Speaking of the water park, it is a great workout! Trudging back and forth in knee deep and waist deep water is an excellent lower body workout. Climbing up and down the stairs to get to the slides is also good for the legs. Holding onto your child's raft in the wave pool, so that they don't flip out of it when the waves are happening is a full body workout, both the lower body when jumping with the waves and the upper body with fighting the force of the wave to keep the raft from flipping.

I'm slowly but surely rebuilding my recipes in the Weight Watchers eTools to reflect the new Points Plus Values. I still think that the Recipe Builder is one of my favorite tools. It is what allows me to continue to eat what I am feeding my family. I've had to adjust what I consider to be a serving, but I get true variety in my meals. No plain chicken breast with some sides for me!

I'm hoping that without a party on the plan this week, that it will prove to be a better and more successful week. I missed yesterday's P90X workout, but hope to get right back on track this morning - the only question is do I due Monday's workout today or skip it this week.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The sponsor of Mamavation Monday this week is Chef's Requested, who asks : Question: What are you doing to keep your heart healthy? For me, maintaining an active lifestyle, full of not just exercise, but active play and making healthy food choices are what I am doing to help keep my heart healthy.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' I’m writing this post as an entry to a blogging carnival sponsored by Chefs Request and could win some free Chef's Requested Steaks.

Mamavation Monday

It was a good week, it was wrought with its own challenges, but I persevered and albeit a small loss, I lost weight this week.

Keeping track of my food certainly helped, but a work event on Friday at a Cooking School, was just enough to put me over my PointsPlus values for the week. It wasn't so much that what we were making was that bad for me, but it was a lot of different foods and it combined with some wine and cheese at the cooking school and my regular eating during the week prior to the event did not work well for me. As the instructor said at the end of the class, when they teach these classes, the intent is not that you would go home and actually prepare all of those items as one meal, but rather that you would take 2 or 3 of the dishes and pair them with some easier/lighter fare like a salad for a meal. Our menu was brunch and we made our own sausage patties, baked french toast with a blueberry maple syrup, Florentine egg cups, sweet potato hash, and a fruit tart. With it we also had a Raspberry Bellini. I've never actually eaten creamed spinach before, but the one that we used for the egg cups was made with sharp cheddar and it was awesome! Does creamed spinach always involve cheese? I think I might have to make just the creamed spinach as a side dish at dinner one night. I also enjoyed the sweet potato hash and think it would make a nice side for dinner as well. I guess that I should have expected more eating at a cooking class and prepared earlier in the week, by not using as many of my weekly PointsPlus values on the other days. But, if it weren't for mistakes, I wouldn't learn so much.

I exercised each morning - except for Friday, when I totally failed to set my alarm clock. Seriously? I've been setting an alarm clock for so many years, I would have thought it was a habit by now and am not sure how I missed that. Since I went to cooking school that day, I probably could have really benefited from exercise that day too!

I'm looking forward to another great week. I plan to continue with my P90X workout plan and plan to continue to use the eTools to track my eating and calculate my PointsPlus values. I feel that without the disruption of an event like cooking school, that I should be able to step it up.

Weight loss to go: 22.2#.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday. The sponsor of Mamavation Monday this week is Earh Footwear, who asks : What does “wellness” mean to you? To me, wellness is a total package - it means eating right and remaining active. It doesn't mean dieting, just eating the right stuff and the right amount of that stuff. It doesn't mean following a workout regimen, but remaining active through your week whether it is working out or playing hard.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.' I’m writing this post as an entry to a blogging carnival sponsored by Earth Footwear and could win a pair of shoes from Earth Footwear

Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion

A few weeks ago, Weight Watchers launched a new free iPad App called Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion. I have been exploring and using the new app for a couple of weeks now on the iPad that Weight Watchers provided to me as a tool in my role as a Weight Watchers Insider (Thank You so much!).

It took me a little while to find some of the features, but I think most of that is because it is my first experience with iPad (or any other i-products).

App Features:

Everyone who downloads the app will be able to:
Get the latest 10 featured recipes
Save up to 10 favorite recipes
Create custom shopping lists
Set cooking timers in recipes
Watch cooking technique videos
Share recipes with email or Facebook
Browse through recipes in book view
Get step-by-step instructions in cooking view

Subscribers to Weight Watchers Online & eTools have access to all features and can also:
Find thousands of Weight Watchers recipes
Access complete shopping, ingredient and equipment guides
Get cooking primers and technique videos
View exclusive recipe collections hand-picked by our editors
Use the WeightWatchers.com Recipe Builder to create and edit recipes
Send recipes to your Plan Manager for tracking

I signed in with my eTools user information and all of my comments apply to Subscibers access. Portions would be the same for non-subscribers.

I started by exploring the recipes that appear on the page when you first access it. They feature nice product shots and the PointsPlus value per serving for the recipe. The first thing that I noticed is that recipes are everything from appetizers, to salads, to main dishes, to desserts, to beverages. I liked seeing that the PointsPlus value varied - the screen I am looking at has items with a PointsPlus value of 1 through 9. I think this is great, a long time ago, I had a Weight Watcher leader say that you have to watch - you don't want to 2 Point yourself to death. She was commenting of course on the fact that you can quickly get in a rut, filling your day with a lot of the same food and although you might meet your target, you will get bored, which can be a motivation killer.

As I click into the first recipe, I chose some delicious looking cupcakes with a chocolate drizzle. They are called Vanilla Cupcakes Drizzled with Chocolate and have a PointsPlus value of 4 and make 12 servings. I liked that the recipe uses real ingredients - things that I would reasonably have at home or could easily pick up at the grocery store. In fact, if I decide that I want to make this recipe and need to pick up some ingredients, I can simply click on the icon in the lower right corner and select 'Add to Shopping List'. It puts all of the ingredients on the list and you can edit it as needed. Then, when you take it to the store, you can cross items off as you pick them up. The shopping list is fully editable and you can add other grocery items as well, allowing you to fully plan your shopping trip.

Another recipe that I checked out was Grilled Pizza with Sausage, Onions and Peppers. It has a PointsPlus value of 6, for each of the four servings. The recipe sounds really good to me, but let's say that I want to use a little less sausage or I want to swap the sausage for chicken. Click the icon in the lower right corner and select 'Add to My Recipe Box'. This takes you to a screen where you can click on any of the ingredients and change the amount of the ingredient used and update the recipe. If I adjust the sausage from 6 oz to 4 oz, I see that the PointsPlus value changes to 5. If I want to remove an ingredient, I can select edit (doesn't appear until you have made a change to the recipe?) and then select an ingredient and delete it. Select 'Done' and then select 'Add Ingredient' to include a substitute or additional ingredient to the recipe. After you make all of your modifications, select Save and it will be added to the 'My Recipes' section.

So, after I explored a few of their recipes, I thought it was time to play with one of my own. From the front page, I select 'Menu' and then choose 'My Recipes'. It has a list of all the recipes that I have built over the past few months in Recipe Builder on the eTools. I can open those recipes and edit them or I can build new recipes. As I enter ingredients in a new recipe, I have the option to select 'Lighten Up'. It pulls up a list of ingredients that you might want to lighten up in a recipe and when you click on them, let say eggs in this case...it provides a recommendation of using egg whites or egg substitute for whole eggs. It recommends the replacement quantity and even provides tips. For eggs, it recommends adding a little tumeric to give it a more natural egg color in frittatas and casseroles. For Mayonnaise, it lets you know when you can and shouldn't use certain replacements.

When you select 'Make this Recipe', it takes you to screen that allows you to mark off ingredients as you use them (might help with the "have I added it yet" question) and allows you to step through the instructions. There are highlighted words that will take you to information about cooking processes, cooking tools, and more. You can also click on the times in the recipe to set a timer on the iPad.

Want more of the information on cooking, cooking tools and more? Access them from the 'Menu' button on the main page, select the 'Guides' tab to see Articles, Videos, Cooking Basics, Equipment, a Well-Stocked Pantry and the Skinny On.

You can share the recipes on the app out to Facebook or send an e-mail, but I couldn't locate this functionality for my recipes. The post to Facebook includes a link to the recipe on the web, allowing your friends to check out that recipe (probably why I can't share my recipes - there wouldn't be a link available).

Overall the app is really impressive to me. I like the recipes, the access to my recipes, the tips and tools that are all accessible in this app. I will caution that you can't use it exclusively; while it let's you track the recipes that you are preparing, it doesn't currently allow you to track that glass of wine or the roll that you are enjoying with your meal (would be a nice upgrade!). You'll still need your eTools or mobile app to track all of the non-Recipe components of your daily intake. I will tell you from my experience that you can't use the standard eTools on the iPad (Flash is not supported), but you can use the mobile site. Of course, if you have used the mobile site, you know that it is not fully functioning like the standard eTools, but can work 90% of the time.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.'

Mamavation Monday

I'm not feeling so motivated. I have been participating in the Mamavation P90X Challenge, but unfortunately, when I hurt my thumb last week, I had to change course briefly. I tried to do the Yoga X that next morning, but there was too much pressure on my thumb in downward dog. I decided it was probably more important for my thumb to heal and decided on an alternate routine. I went with one of Leslie Sansone's Walk at Home DVDs. I still put in a good workout, it just was a different intensity and format. I have done her workouts before and enjoy them, but for some reason since it was an alternate and not my planned workout, I found the experience disappointing - not the walk itself, the experience. Then, I decided that using my hands for hand weights on Friday and push-ups on Monday was going to be a challenge. So, I have been doing the alternate workout plan in the morning. I think I need something like P90X to get me out of bed (the walking workout is better for me in the evening and that is generally when I do it), a workout that is going to get me going. So, unfortunately, after Thursday's failed yoga attempt, I have been struggling to get out of bed. I know that I will be able to return to the P90X program soon - targeting tomorrow morning! - and hope that will bring motivation back into my life.

Eating hasn't been too bad - except for this weekend. We had a great time this weekend meeting my cousin and her family at the waterpark. Unfortunately, that meant 4 meals in a row with dining out and more snacking than I would normally do. I also made a batch of Caramel Puffcorn to take along, that with it's salty sweet combination I find absolutely addicting. If I assume that there are 25 servings, when I build it in the Weight Watchers eTools Recipe Builder - it comes out to a PointsPlus value of 6 per serving. Definitely a treat, and if I could only eat in in moderation, one that I enjoy. To be realistic, I do actually tend to nibble on it - 4 or 5 pieces at a time. It's just that I find myself going back for a nibble more than one time in an evening. Next time I make it, I might find myself counting the puffs in a bag so that I can better determine the number of 5 piece servings and get a more accurate PointsPlus value.

I am hopeful that a return to routine will leave me feeling more motivated this next week.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.'

Weight Watchers Virtual Event

This evening I invited friends over to watch the Weight Watchers Virtual Event. As an Weight Watchers Insider, I was provided with a package of goodies to share with my guests. One of the goodies was the Weight Watchers PointsPlus Cookbook. I had plans to make a few of the recipes, but as I was preparing the Chipotle-Lime Veggie Chips, I had an unfortunate run in with my mandolin - I cut my thumb, so I wound up cutting my menu back to just a few items. (It seems to be a reasonable cut. I had to change my bandage once, because after doing some dishes it was too wet. The bleeding had stopped, but because it is on the end of the thumb on my dominant hand, as I was trying to open and squeeze out some antibiotic cream I managed to cause it to open up slightly. It's not a big deal and really, this isn't the focus of my post.)

As I was saying, I invited over friends to watch the Weight Watchers Virtual Event. We had an evening full of yummy food (although less than planned) and good conversation.

My plan had been to have a spinach salad with feta cheese for dinner and then to share a number of fruit and vegetable snacks as an accompaniment. The first dish I prepared was the Sour Cream and Roasted Red Pepper dip recipe that I found on the new Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion iPad App (love the app, but more about that another time). It was a really simple to prepare dip that gets a boost of flavor and a bit of heat from fresh chopped cilantro. The second dish I prepared was the previously mentioned Chipotle-Lime Veggie Chips with a Zero PointsPlus value. I found this recipe in the PointsPlus Cookbook that Weight Watchers provided as a gift for my guests. It used thinly sliced (I switched to a knife, so my slices weren't as thin as they might have been) carrots, parsnips and sweet potato tossed with a bit of oil and some seasoning including lime zest and chipotle red pepper. Then you bake them in your oven until they brown and crisp. I also had some Chick Peas that I was planning to turn into a toasted snack, but they will wait.

This morning, I had the sweet potato sitting on my counter next to the bananas. As my 4 year old daughter grabbed a banana that she wanted for breakfast, she asked about the funny looking banana. I thought it was cute. I must normally buy yams and not sweet potatoes - the sweet potato was white not red.

As I prepped the vegetables for the chips, my son asked about the Parsnip. I have to say that unless I have had it in a recipe, I don't think that I have ever had a Parsnip. He started by trying the small end that was left after I cut the chips. He immediately asked for more. I went ahead and peeled and chopped a second parsnip. I tried it. The parsnip is similar in appearance to a carrot, but is white. To me, it had a bit more of a bite than a carrot and the flavor was more earthy. I love that we had a chance to try a new vegetable. I love that my kids are adventurous and will try new things - not because I ask, but because they are curious and want to.

When the dip and chips were ready, we all prepped our plates so we could watch the video. There was a bit of a delay in the show starting due to some technical difficulties, so we ate and talked while we waited. The dip was delicious served with celery, carrots and parsnips and it also doubled well as a dressing for the spinach salad. The veggies chips were really good. Since they were thicker, they weren't as crispy as I would expect of a chip, but they were flavorful and had a good texture. After eating the parsnip cooked, I think I prefer it that way to the raw - which is interesting, because I prefer raw carrots to cooked ones.

Not only did my guests enjoy the food we tried, but so did the kids. In fact, my son kept coming over and taking more and more of the veggie chips. I was okay with it, except I would have liked to have had more myself!

The virtual event finally started and was informative. They shared information about the new PointsPlus program and shared insight on why they made some of the changes. I thought it was interesting when they made a comment about the fact that on the old program that a 100 calorie apple and a 100 calorie bag of chips were both the same Points value. This was something that was corrected in the new program where fruits have a PointsPlus value of zero and the PointsPlus values are based not on the calories, but on where the calories come from - the carbohydrates, fats, protein and fiber. They also provided a demo about their free Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion iPad app and shared their new commercial and a performance by Jennifer Hudson.

Then, to end the show they moved on to a cooking demo, where they made Easy Fried Rice. You can find the recipe link on their Facebook page. They also showed some other things that they made - including a Black Bean Brownie. I'm not a black bean eater, it's a texture thing, but maybe pureed and mixed with chocolate, I might have to try these. They also showed a zero PointPlus value Cauliflower Popper (or something like that). I am hoping they share the recipe - the kids and I really enjoy cauliflower.

Since they had problems with the broadcast tonight, they will be replaying it tomorrow. I don't know when, but would check back on their Facebook site for details.

I wish I had pictures to share, but between getting everything ready and cutting myself, I managed to forget.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider and was provided with a party pack for tonight's Virtual Event. It included a gift card to purchase fruits and veggies for the party, and vegetable peelers, cookbooks and Mint Cookie Crisp Bars for me and five guests.

Mamavation Monday

Admittedly, I was a little more challenged this week than I was the week before. I wasn't doing my formal exercise workout and was instead relying on activities that I had planned with the family. Those activities were excellent workouts and I received activity points every day. Unfortunately, many of those events seemed to wind accompanied by eating events. I did not do such a good job of tracking my PointsPlus values and the actual food consumed. In addition, we had company in and wound up eating out an additional meal than originally planned.

When I first learned about fruit being Zero PointsPlus value, I thought that a fruit smoothie would be a great treat with a very low value - just frozen fruit and a bit of milk or yogurt. Well, it still is a great treat, but I learned today that when you use fruit in a recipe, that you count the full PointsPlus value for it - it is only Zero PointsPlus value when you are eating it whole. When I made my smoothies last week, I simply entered the ingredients in the tracker and got 0 for all of the fruit and a few points for the yogurt, but then when I entered it through Recipe Builder today, I learned that the smoothie that I expected to be only a few points for the milk or yogurt is actually closer to 4 or 5 PointsPlus value per serving. Those were some PointsPlus values that I didn't account for last week, which I'm certain also didn't help me. Guess I will stick to eating my fruit instead of drinking it!

In the end, I wound up not losing and actually had a slight gain (but expect that to disappear quickly!).

But, as I mentioned the other day, I did a little shopping at VS and I was able to go down a size - okay, not a major change but evidence of progress.

Now, looking forward...

This week, I started the Mamavation P90X Challenge. Nothing out of the ordinary for me, but since I am sharing my experience through comments at Mamavation, I want to push myself harder. I took my measurements this morning and will use them as a benchmark to measure my progress through the coming weeks. Because I am in Phase 3, I am not restarting at Phase 1 with those that are just starting today, but will instead take recovery weeks with the others but otherwise continue to follow the alternating weeks of workouts approach of Phase 3.

I am back and focused on tracking my food and the associate PointsPlus values (tracking was even the topic at tonight's meeting). Would you like to learn more? There is a Weight Watchers virtual event on Wednesday that you can participate in (see my post here).

I am confident that I will have success in the new year. I am already starting the year ahead of where I was this time last year, which is a positive from my perspective.

This post shared at Mamavation Monday.

No compensation was received for this post. I am a Weight Watchers Insider for the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus program and have received complimentary online access to Weight Watchers, an IPad with the Weight Watchers Kitchen Companion App downloaded, a Flip Camera and other tools to help me on my weight loss journey, using Weight Watchers. 'People following the Weight Watchers plan can expect to lose 1 - 2 pounds per week.'