DAY ONE...BUILDING ON SUCCESS A DAY AT A TIME

If I'm going to kick this week off with a BANG, I'm going to have to choose a breakfast that is (a) nutritious, (b) filling, (c) meets my Points goal of about 4 to 5, and (d) tastes good enough that I don't feel I'm suffering.

My cold weather choice usually ran to oatmeal, but in the warmer months, I usually opt for something cold and centered around one of the summer fruits. So, today I chose one of my all time favorite combinations:

KATHY'S SUMMER BREAKFAST BOWL
serves one @4 Points
1 cup fat-free plain yogurt with a splash of vanilla and a little sweetener
1 to 1 1/2 cups fresh fruit...sliced strawberries today
1/2 cup Fiber-One Cereal
1 Tablespoon sliced almonds

This is a big bowl of goodness...dairy, fruit, and fiber to satisfy WW requirements...and enough volume to take a while to eat so you feel satisfied. And totally packable if you want to take it to work with you. The perfect meal!

When it comes to lunch, I almost always concentrate on vegetables for their volume and zero-point value. There's no better way to fill yourself up and not "spend" a lot of points or calories at the same time.

I've also decided that I really need to include some of the foods that I've determined are "off-limits"...even subconsciously...if I'm to rid myself of this feeling of either being "on-plan" or "off-plan". Weight Watchers encourages the use of whole grain breads, which I recognize are probably the best choice to make, but sometimes I'm faced with eating white bread or sandwich buns either by choice or availability. I've come to see eating the white versions as "bad" when, in fact, although they may not be the "best" choice, they are still not "bad" either.

So, with these thoughts in mind, my lunch today included a huge salad made with lettuce, tomato, red bell pepper, and cucumber dressed with a tablespoon of red wine vinegar, a teaspoon of olive oil, and some garlic powder. I also had a sandwich of leftover meatloaf and lettuce on a hot dog bun. All of this came in at 7 points.

I accompanied lunch with a bottle of orange flavored spring water I found at Aldi's Saturday...0-calories!

Afternoon pick-me-up? A cup of Orange-Spice Tea and a 100-calorie pack of Chocolate Chip Cookie Wafers! Indulgent and only 2 points!

Supper is one of my favorite meals...a stir-fry. They are a terrific way to get in a lot of veggies and adding volume to a small amount of protein. And they are simple, fast, and very flavorful.

Mine tonight started with a frozen vegetable mix with the sauce included. I added a few more fresh vegetables and shrimp. I ended up with a huge plate of stir-fry for only 7 points.

My total for today is 20 points...well below what I'm allowed for the day. I'm going to have an orange a little later and share some popcorn with my husband for another 4 points, so my total for the day will be 24! That's a great start for the day!

How was your Monday?

I've been AWOL...moving furniture from one room to another...repurposing spaces in the house. You can do that when there are only two of you and you have extra rooms. So, I was worn out, babying an aching back from trying to shove big stuff around, and uninspired in the weight loss arena! So, I tried to keep up with my favorite blogs in the evening but kept falling asleep at the wheel as I did so!

I really need to roll some successful days together and that will be my goal in the coming week. I'm also going to go back to posting what I've eaten as an incentive to "go forth and do good works"!

I read an interesting article last week about people with weight problems having difficulty recognizing when they are "full" and I've been thinking about it ever since. I think that is definitely a problem for me and probably one of my own making. I don't remember not getting full as a child. We were never forced to eat a certain amount of food or encouraged to eat past what we felt was enough. In fact, food was on the table and we either ate or we didn't with the awareness that there would be another meal coming on schedule in a few hours. (Meal times were pretty consistent on the farm.) So, unlike many people who relate their eating problems back to habits formed in childhood, I really don't.

In my case, I think I just enjoy food, find eating pleasant, and I lack the discipline to stop myself when I am no longer hungry and continue eating until I am full. If you do this on a daily basis, two things happen:
1. You learn to ignore the more subtle signs of no longer being hungry and only recognize feeling stuffed as the signal to discontinue eating.
2. You ingest a lot more calories than you need on a consistent basis.

If I can force myself to shut out all the normal stimuli at a meal and stay focused on recognizing the first signs of satisfaction, I am usually successful at recognizing those signals and can quit eating without feeling deprived. But we all know how difficult that can be...especially if we are otherwise engaged while eating...reading, watching television, or even having a great conversation!

It will also be my goal to work on that during the next week...it is one of the basics of following Core, after all!

So, I'll see you Monday with all the vigor I can manage!!! Happy Sunday!!!

I MUST REMEMBER
from "Where the Sidewalk Ends"
by Shel Silverstein

I must remember...
Turkey on Thanksgiving,
Pudding on Christmas,
Eggs on Easter,
Chicken on Sunday,
Fish on Friday,
Leftovers, Monday.
But ah, me--I'm such a dunce.
I went and ate them all at once.

SURVIVAL INSTINCTS

You remember fight or flight? The burst of adrenaline you get when you're scared propels you to either stay and fight with strength you didn't think was possible or to run faster than you've ever run before!

That response is understandable and our cave dwelling ancestors who didn't possess it didn't last long.

So where did the instinct for sensing something is amiss but responding to that impending doom by closing our eyes and telling ourselves we'd really rather not know if the danger is real or not come from?

Perhaps my ancestors sensed they would not outrun a bear no matter how much adrenaline was coursing through their veins and became survivors by standing frozen and hoping whatever was threatening them would just keep walking and leave them unharmed.

For whatever reason, I was definitely born with the coping skills of the latter group. I don't react well to too much adrenaline...it tends to make my hearing go away and make my head spin! There's nothing helpful in that reaction to danger, is there?

Anyway...those of us born of this line tend to not want to open ominous looking mail, talk with retirement planners, have health examinations, or step on scales for fear of what we'll find if we do. There are many of us who, given our druthers, would much rather whistle in the dark.

After all, with any luck, the bear may just walk by...if he doesn't get a whiff of that second piece of cornbread I'm eating, that is!

THE TRANSFORMATION IS NEARLY COMPLETE

The best kind of friend is the one you could sit on a porch with, never saying a word, and walk away feeling like that was the best conversation you've had. ~Author Unknown

My most vivid memories of my Grandma and Grandpa Aldridge was of them in their own personal rocking chairs in the living room of their home. Theirs were prime examples of the Arts and Crafts movement...oak, solid, and roomy. They spent so much time in them that Grandpa was still kinda bent in the shape of his rocker even when he stood!

My husband and I spend a good amount of time sitting on the big, covered wooden deck attached to the back of our house right outside the kitchen door. We have been married long enough that a lot of our sitting is done in silence...we don't fear it...we find it comforting. He listens to the birds or NPR and I knit or just stare at Nature.

And now I can do it in comfort. I was given a comfy rocking chair of my own for Mother's Day. I think I am fast becoming the 21st Century version of Grandma Aldridge...but there are so many worse things! She lived to be 93 and mowed her own grass well into her 80's with an old rotary mower...and she made fabulous sugar cookies!

LEST WE FORGET...

Lilacs...Mom's favorite flower!

How did it get so late so soon?
It's night before it's afternoon.
December is here before it's June.
My goodness how the time has flewn.
How did it get so late so soon?

~Dr. Seuss

My mom and dad both spent their last days as patients in the hospital at which I worked. My days were spent on the job with my allegiance torn between being the nurse and being the daughter. My evenings and weekends were spent dividing my time between the hospital and my duties as a mother and wife.

And there were the many calls with siblings who were living at a distance and unable to be there. I recited the same message over and over but always tried to remember that it was the first time that particular person had heard it.

And then the day came when there was no positive news from the doctors and the reality of impending loss set in. In both cases, there was no longer a battle between what role I would play. In both instances, I took off my pager, handed my paperwork to my boss, and went to sit with my parent. Sometimes there is no question where your loyalty should lie.

As Mother's Day approaches, I always remember my own mother with genuine love...there will never be another one quite like her. And I think of the many people who are letting time, money, their own family duties, and past mistakes keep them from spending time with their own mothers. If you are one of those people, do something about it today. You'll never be sorry that you did.