Snack Attack Quiz - What kind of snacker are YOU?

Take this quiz to learn how you cope with Snack Attacks.

1. Your favorite snack:
a. makes you feel guilty.
b. is a candy bar and a diet drink.
c. requires an extra workout.
d. gives you a lot of pleasure.
e. is a fruit or a vegetable.

2. When choosing your snack, you:
a. look around to see who's watching you sneak a donut.
b. use artificial sweetener in your coffee to make up for the donut.
c. substitute breakfast for your late-morning donut.
d. happily eat your donut in front of your coworkers.
e. skip the donut for a celery stick.

3. You have to bring snacks to the Super Bowl party. You:
a. tell everyone you used fat-free sour cream in the Mexican dip.
b. bring chocolate-covered strawberries.
c. run an extra mile for every potato skin you serve.
d. bring the hot cheese and sausage dip with chips.
e. bring the vegetable tray and low fat ranch dip.

4. You are bored and there's nothing on TV. You:
a. defrost the candy bar hidden in the freezer.
b. fix sugarless hot chocolate and load it with marshmallows.
c. make a bowl of ice cream and chocolate syrup and then jump rope for 30 minutes.
d. break open a bag of potato chips and eat the whole bag.
e. slice an apple and top it with fat-free yogurt.

If you chose mostly A's, you are a "Conflicted Snacker."
You feel guilty about snacking and try to when you can.

If you chose mostly B's, you are a "Contradictory Snacker,"
and will attempt to balance an unhealthy snack with a healthy one.

If you chose mostly C's, you are a "Disciplinary Snacker"
and you punish yourself for snacking by skipping a meal or adding an extra work out.

If you chose mostly D's, you are a "Shameless Snacker"
and figure the heck with diets, bring on the snacks.

If you chose mostly E's, you are a "Healthy Snacker"
and more than likely progressing to your goal!

15 Tips for Breaking through a Plateau

"Obstacles are things a person sees when he takes his eyes off his goal."

1. JOURNAL, JOURNAL, JOURNAL:
This is one of the most powerful tools you have to help you stay on track or in this case get back on track. Your journal keeps you accountable and makes you aware of the coices you are making. It can help you see where you are may be going over in points for the day. It helps you make sure you are getting in all your Good Healthy Guidelines. Use your journal as a detective tool: Did you have a good week? Look over it at the end of the week and see what you think contributed to that success. Had a not so good week? Again, look over your journal to see what little changes need to be made. Look at last week's journal for clues too, sometimes it takes a full week before the effects of a not so good week shows up.

2. FOLLOW THE GOOD HEALTHY GUIDELINES :
Look at your food choices, are you eating a wide variety of foods? Remember, your body needs nutrients from lots of different sources and if you're eating the same things all the time or too much of one type of food, you're probably not getting the proper nutrition your body needs. Take a look at your food choices, sometimes we have the attitude that as long as our points are met at the end of the day we're doing good, but if we focus on meeting the Good Healthy Guidelines we'll see that we still need to make some small adjustments to ensure we're spending our points in a way that keeps our bodies healthy.

3. WEIGH AND MEASURE PORTIONS:
Have you put the measuring cups away? Too many times our portions get bigger without us realizing it, using measuring cups and spoons and weighing out our portions can give us a better idea if our portions have suddenly grown bigger than we're counting. Remember, portion size does matter.

4. READ LABELS CAREFULLY:
Are you counting your points right for the product that you're eating? If you're eating a bigger serving size than the one listed on the label you're eating more points than you calculated.

5. REMEMBER, ZERO TIMES ZERO IS NOT ALWAYS ZERO:
If you're eating one serving of fat free sugar free gelatin for 10 calories, okay, that's zero points, but if you're now eating 4 servings plus 2 tbsp of fat free whipped topping, you've got yourself one point! Beware of those hidden extras where we multiply portions, and beware of BLT's: Bites, Licks, and Tastes that never seem to get counted on any journal. These add up.

6. TOO MANY REFINED CARBS?:
Are you eating too many sources of simple and refined carbs, the stuff that's heavily processed and no longer looks like its natural food source. Think of it as the difference between whole grain bread and processed white bread, brown rice vs. white rice, popcorn cakes vs. corn on the cob. Try to include more of the natural sources of carbs in your diet stuff like beans, yams, potatoes, brown rice, whole wheat couscous. This is not to say you can't have any refined carbs, just try to limit the amount of them if you're having trouble

7. NOT ENOUGH FAT?:
Okay, this sounds counterintuitive, but according to the Good Healthy Guidelines and for good nutrition you should be adding in about 2-3 points of a healthy fat per day. Please go back to Week One and make sure you are getting in those HEALTHY OILS! Our bodies need enough fat in order to properly function. The Healthy Oils contain an essential fatty acid: linoleic acid, that our body can't produce on its own. That fat is needed for proper metabolic and digestive function. Fat provides essential nutrients our bodies need, it transports fat soluble vitamins that our bodies need, it is needed for proper digestion and metabolic function, it helps us keep fuller longer, keeps our hair and skin nice, and is crucial for proper gallbladder function. If you're on a super low fat diet you can develop gallstones that are no fun and super painful.

8. DRINK HALF YOUR BODY WEIGHT IN WATER EACH DAY:
According to Barbara Levine, R.D., Ph.D., the Director of the Nutrition Information Center at the New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center and reported in the June issue of Weight Watchers magazine, she says that overweight people need more water than the typical 8 cups a day rule. "Overweight people tend to need more water, because fat cells hold more water than other fat cells in the body. To determine the number of ounces of water you need per day, divide your weight by two. For example, a person who weighs 140 pounds should consume 70 ounces, or about 9 cups. Of course, this is an estimate. The best way to gauge whether you are getting enough water is to monitor the color of your urine. If you're drinking enough, it should be the color of pale straw. If it is a deeper yellow, you're not getting enough fluids" (page 16, June 1999). Lots of times we misinterpret thirst for hunger, try water first, wait 20 minutes, real hunger will not go away.

9. MAKE SURE YOU'RE GETTING FIVE SERVINGS OF FRUITS AND VEGETABLES PER DAY:
Eating the zero point veggies can often help us to fill up so that we're not eating the other higher points foods instead. If you're hungry, try non-starchy veggies first. Lots of members make the Garden Vegetable Soup recipe in the Week 1 booklet and eat a bowl of that before dinner to fill up a bit so that you can get full on the smaller portions you'll be serving yourself. Try a glass of V8 Fusion before a meal during the summer when soup sounds too hot. Variety is good here too, try a new fruit or veggie this week to expand your repertoire.

10. INCREASE THE FREQUENCY OR INTENSITY OF YOUR PHYSICAL ACTIVITY:
Are you exercising? If not, know that you'll be much more successful at losing the weight and keeping it off if you are also physically active. Find something that you enjoy doing and just do it! Start with a five minute walk out of your door, look at your watch after five minutes start heading back, just like that you've done 10 minutes! Next week start adding in a couple of extra minutes, try walking for 7 minutes out of your door, and 7 minutes back, you've now done 14 minutes. Keep adding until you're up to at least 10 minutes out and 10 minutes back. If you're already active, are you exercising at enough intensity? If you can easily carry on a conversation while exercising (you should be able to speak, but it should take a bit of effort) you're not challenging your body enough. Your body becomes really efficient at adjusting to the amount of physical activity you're doing, so you regularly have to adjust either the intensity of your workouts or the frequency in order to continue to reap the maximum benefit from physical activity. Try strength training in order to build lean muscle tissue. As we get older we lose lean muscle tissue which depresses your metabolism in addition severely restrictive diets where we eat too few calories can cause us to lose weight but lots of it is lean muscle which also depresses our metabolism. If we build muscle tissue this can help us to reverse that process and to make us trimmer and stronger.

11. MOVE THE MEALS AROUND:
Do you always have your biggest meal at dinner? Try eating your biggest meal for lunch or even for breakfast, with smaller meals for the remaining meals. If you regularly eat most of your points at one meal your body converts the rest of the food into stored energy...fat...so that if you balance your points out throughout the day better you can actually give your metabolism a boost by keeping it revving throughout the day instead of only one spike at dinner. Food actually helps to boost our metabolism, that's why it's important never to skip meals. There's a saying that you could help losing weight. to lose weight by eating breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper. This gives us the majority of our points early in the day when our bodies can use them because we're active instead of right before bed if we eat them at dinner.

12. TRY VARYING YOUR NUMBER OF POINTS:
Do you always eat at a certain number of points per day? Your body gets very efficient at predicting its intake and adjusts itself accordingly. Keep it guessing. Try mixing up the number of points you have...low one day, middle the next, back to low, then high end of your points. Special note: If you're very active never eat at the low end of your points, always eat middle to high end of your points and take those extra exercise points if you need them...let your hunger be your guide.

13. TAKE YOUR MEASUREMENTS AND LOOK FOR OTHER NON-SCALE SIGNS OF PROGRESS:
Often even when the scale isn't moving, we're still improving our health and our bodies which will show up in other ways other than the scale. Have your measurements gone down? How are your clothes fitting? Can you climb a flight of stairs without being winded? Has your cholesterol gone down? Can you walk now for 20 minutes when before you were huffing and puffing at 5 minutes? How do you feel?

14. ARE YOU ON AN ATTITUDE PLATEAU?:
Are you just tired of feeling like you're going to be doing this forever? Does that translate into that right now your desire to lose weight is equal to your desire for freedom from counting and having to think about points and healthy food choices? If so, then that mental attitude might be the culprit in that you're following a more relaxed adherence to the program but you think you're still doing it to the letter. Remind yourself of why you started this process, look at how far you've come. Is your goal still the same? Is it that you're scared of success, are okay with how you look right now, have you become complacent? Ask yourself these kind of questions honestly. If you're tired of the weight loss routine or have become complacent, try spicing up your food plan by trying more interesting meals and snacks, adding new foods, trying new recipes or new restaurants. Set new goals, setting a new goal can continue to challenge yourself.

15. CONSIDER MAINTENANCE:
A plateau that lasts a long time can be the practice to show you that you can maintain your weight. Sustaining weight loss is a challenge in itself. Consider doing the maintenance process so as to take a break from weight loss. Taking a break from weight loss and focusing on keeping the weight off can be the best thing to do, especially if a vacation or stressful situation is what is keeping you from continuing on your weight loss journey.

“Life's up and downs provide windows of opportunity to determine your values and goals - Think of using all obstacles as stepping stones to build the life you want"

Good news! It's OK to eat chocolate!

Courtesy of WeightWatchers.com

Chocolate can be part of a healthy diet. The key is knowing how to work it in without overdoing it. Here's how.
 
There's a reason that chocolate—that smooth, sweet indulgence—inspires gotta-have-it cravings, perhaps more than any other food: It's actually good for you. In case you hadn't heard, a battery of recent studies has given the green light to chocolate lovers everywhere.

"It's actually good for your heart and also good for your blood pressure," says Valentine Yanchou Njike, MD, MPH, of the Yale Griffin Prevention Research Center, who has researched cocoa's effect on blood vessel function. Researchers have also found that phytochemicals in cocoa, which is used to make chocolate, may improve blood vessel function, slow blood clotting, improve insulin resistance and have protective effects against cancer. And even though the labels say chocolate contains saturated fat, it's actually the kind of fat (called stearic acid) that has little effect on your cholesterol levels.

But experts warn against celebrating this good news with morning, noon and night chocolate bar binges. The dark delicacy still packs a hefty number of calories per ounce from its fat and sugar content. And as Karen Collins, MS, RD, nutrition advisor to the American Institute for Cancer Research, points out, "We have a wide range of food—vegetable, fruits, whole grains, beans—that provides thousands of phytochemicals, and so our heart and our cancer health does not depend on eating chocolate. If you load up on chocolate for the phytochemicals, then that's going to send your weight up."
 
The bottom line is that you don't have to beat yourself up for craving chocolate if you enjoy it in moderation. Here are six tips for getting a guilt-free chocolate fix.

1. Keep it pure.
"If you want chocolate, have chocolate, don't have chocolate cake," says Collins. "You'll get the intense chocolate flavor, and you won't be getting the extra calories and unhealthy fats."

2. Choose wisely.
While chocolate may have some health benefits, it should still be eaten as a treat. "It's not a substitute for fruits and vegetables; it's a substitute for other discretionary calories," says Collins. So when snacking, should you pick chocolate over a pear? Probably not. How about chocolate instead of potato chips? Yes, indeed!

3. Eat what you like.
The darker the chocolate, the more phytochemicals (and usually less sugar) it contains. Its flavor is also more intense than milk chocolate. But if you don't like the bitterness of dark chocolate, don't think it's your only option, says Collins. "If what you really like is the milk chocolate, then have what you like, because you're eating this for pleasure."

4. Think bite-size.
It usually just takes a little bit of chocolate to curb a craving. That's why Collins suggests buying chocolate in small portions. "Don't buy the larger size because the unit pricing is better…you won't stop. It's human nature," she says.

5. Get a liquid fix.
Hot cocoa is another way to enjoy chocolate. Make your own low-POINTS® value version with cocoa, skim milk or water and a sugar substitute. Look for "natural" cocoa, not "Dutch-processed." The processing significantly diminishes its phytochemical content, says Collins.

6. Savor it.
If you really love chocolate, slow down and enjoy it instead of gobbling it down on the go. This way, says Collins, "You will get so much enjoyment out of a small amount that you won't need to eat a bagful."

Super Sandwich Makers

Check out these "bread" options... (Courtesy of WeightWatchers.com)

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=78131&sc=3022

Start Over

If you've started out in pursuit of your goal
And you've really tried with your heart and soul,
But somehow things got out of control.....Start Over.

When you have tried your best to do what you should
And you thought this time that you surely would,
But once again, you didn't do good...Start Over.

When the road to success seemed much too long
And each temptation was oh so strong
And once again you gave in to wrong....Start Over

To start again means a victory's been won
And starting over again means a race well run
And starting over again proves it CAN be done
So don't just sit there....Start Over!

Puzzle Pieces

Poem that I used to close the Truths, Testimonials and Triumphs event at WW North Olmsted. Unfortunately, I cannot take credit for authoring this masterpiece... Enjoy!

EVERYTHING I NEED TO KNOW ABOUT LIFE, I LEARNED FROM A JIGSAW PUZZLE

•Don't force a fit. If something is meant to be, it will come together naturally.

•When things aren't going so well, take a break. Everything will look different when you return.

•Be sure to look at the big picture. Getting hung up on the little pieces only leads to frustration.

•Perseverance pays off. Every important puzzle went together bit by bit, piece by piece.

•The creator of the puzzle gave you the picture as a guidebook. Refer to the creator’s guidebook often.

•Don't be afraid to try different combinations. Some matches are surprising.

•Take time to celebrate your successes (even little ones).

•Anything worth doing takes time and effort. A great puzzle can't be rushed.

•When you finally reach the last piece, don’t be sad. Rejoice in the masterpiece you’ve made.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

One of my favorite Hungry Girl recipes... 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Fudge

One box of Brownie Mix

2 cups of canned pure pumpkin

2 tbsp reduced-fat peanut butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine pumpkin w/brownie mix in a large bowl and stir until smooth (batter will be very thick, but don’t add anything else!)

Spray a square baking pan (9” x 9”) with nonstick spray and pour in the mixture. Spoon peanut butter on top and use a knife to swirl it around the top of the batter. Bake in the oven for 35 minutes. (The batter will remain very thick and fudgy, and it should look undercooked.) Allow to cool.

Cover pan with foil and place pan in the fridge for at least 2 hours. Cut into 36 squares.

36 Servings = 2 POINTS per serving

(If you use super-low in fat and high fiber brownie mix, the POINTS will vary.)

Zero POINTS Vegetable Soups

Special thanks to WW member, Jenny, at WW North Olmsted for bringing this WeightWatchers.com article to my attention!

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=47881&sc=3026

Portion Control

Great article I found about Portion Size...

http://www.webmd.com/diet/healthtool-portion-size-plate

Celebrate the 4th!

Courtesy of WeightWatchers.com....

Independence Day is one of the most anticipated days of summer. This is no restrained, small-scale celebration. It’s all about excess: food, fun, and, of course, fireworks.


Just because you want to go all-out for fun, though, doesn't mean you have to literally go for broke. We're all still being careful about money, and we're all trying to eat healthier, too. But you can still celebrate the day with all the festive glory it deserves. Even if your plans are last-minute, invite some people over. Fire up the grill. Entertaining friends doesn’t have to be an expensive or gut-busting experience. Here’s how to do the food on the cheap and the décor even cheaper with crafty DIY ideas. You can still get your red, white and blue on without shelling out too much green.

Read more about staying on plan for the 4th!
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=75981