Count 'em up!

OK so... still doing the Weight Watchers thing and I think I'm starting to get in the groove except well for ... some plans tonight but I'll get into that later.

Anyway, I bought these things called British Crumpets from Trader Joe's the other day. First off - Trader Joe's is like one of the coolest places around. There are so many cool "Traders".

Trader Joe's and his cool grocery store
Trader Vic's (mentioned previously in this blog) and his awesome drinks
Trader Todd's and his karaoke bar in Chicago

Man, the list just goes on and on...

Anyway, back to my story. So British Crumpet... I'm not even sure what a British Crumpet is but if I had to describe it, I would call it a sweet English muffin. Hmmm... and they're both British. Coincidence? Anyway, so bought the crumpets on a whim - they are the cinnamon flavor - and I just LOVE them. This will be a regular purchase from now on. I toast them and spray them with that fake zero point "I Can't Believe Its Not Butter" spray and the whole thing equals 2 points. Now ... I know what you're thinking ... only two points for breakfast, shouldn't you break it up a bit more? Well the thing is, I actually don't enjoy breakfast very much but I think when you're dieting especially its good to have at least a little something first thing in the morning. That way you aren't starving when you get to work and immediately looking to snack - if a coworker brought in Krispy Kremes they will be much easier to avoid!

So yeah the crumpets and then for lunch today I had one of those microwaveable bowls of Progresso Vegetable Soup - this is the one with the veggies only in it. Anyway, the whole thing equals only 2 points! Its very filling too so you can't beat that. On the side I had 7 Reduced Fat Triscuits (Triscuits rock!) and a triangle of the best low fat cheese on the planet - Laughing Cow. That side equals only 3 points. So it was a 5 point lunch when typically I go around probably 10 points for lunch. Ten points for lunch may be a little much I have realized cause then I'm really sort of limited for dinner. I only get 22 points a day cause I don't have much to lose. Then you get like 35 extra points a week which I guess is what I would call "fun" points. They recommend that you break that up like 5 extra points a day so a max of say 27 points a day. 20 points is the fewest you can have and I'm almost there and when I get there ... yikes ... I'm not sure how I'm going to handle that but my guess would be no more going out for lunch and adding more veggies or something.

The thing is, I don't have a particular "goal weight" or a date I need to make a "goal" by. I think I look good now, I just have gained a few pounds back since I quit the South Beach Diet and I would like to lose that back and get into a routine. I also have not started back exercising. I will probably do that next week. I also have not weighed myself and actually plan to try and not to maybe for another week. I'd just like to eat healthy for a while and not worry about what the number says. In fact, I think it is more important to just eat healthy and not worry about the number than anything anyway. So that is my philosophy at the moment. I can tell its working though already although I'm sure all I have lost is water weight. Every diet I have ever been on, I swear, like 5-6 pounds of weight on me is water. The thing I noticed this morning is that most of the poofiness on my stomach is gone and those muscles are definitely still there. I love it when I can see my stomach muscles - not that I have ever had a 6-pack or anything remotely close but its nice to know they're there. Know what I mean?

But I digress... The only bad thing about me on a diet is that when I really get into them, I sort of get obsessed - seriously. I feel it happening again too. I really think that is why I needed to back off South Beach at the time, I was too in to it and I had a bunch of other stuff going on in my life there towards the end anyway. But like I said, I think the most important thing with my diet now is my laid back attitude - I'm not going to freak out losing, not losing, I'm just going to go with the flow, eat better and see how it goes.

That leads us to tonight. One of the reasons I cut back on my lunch today is because I'm going out with one of my friends after work today so I know there will be beer involved. Lets see... I have 15 points left so I could have maybe 1-3 beers (depending on their size) - a Miller Light bottle is only two points. Hmmm... I need to check on the points of wine, maybe I should switch to that. Anyway... So between 1-3 and then to eat I could probably get like a salad with some chicken on it or something. I think that sounds completely reasonable and if I do go over, no big deal, I still have a bunch of "fun" points left over this week.

So I'm going to try not to turn this blog into a diet blog but it is definitely somthing that is on my mind right now.

Oh yeah ... a couple of little "treats" I have been adding to my meals in case anyone else doing Weight Watchers is reading this. These aren't that creative but if you haven't thought about them...

The flavored sparkeling water from Wal-mart (Sam's brand) is zero points and to me it tastes like soda. The flavor is really strong - much stronger than other brands I have tried in the past. I LOVE it! Also, if you have extra points and want to fill up on something healthy and dessert- like, check out different applesauces. The Jewel brand applesauce is 1 point per half cup. A half cup is a lot too. Last night I had two points left so I had a whole cup for two points and I was stuffed when I was done!

ENJOY!