One-Year Weight Loss Anniversary

Today marks one year that I've been on Weight Watchers. It's been a wonderful trip! I started at 227 lbs., and I have a net loss of more than 35 lbs. (See before and after pics here and here.) Yesterday, I weighed in at 189.4. The lowest I've seen on the scale is 187.6, less than 10 lbs. from leaving the obesity category for good, and a combination of numbers I haven't seen since I headed off to college 15 years ago.

I've seen good, solid runs of weight loss. I've seen stagnant periods. And I've seen the scale creep up six pounds in two weeks. But guess what? I am not giving up. I'm going to keep counting and tracking POINTS until I reach 150 lbs.

Here's my advice to you, as someone who has successfully kept off more than 10 percent of her starting weight loss, whether you follow Weight Watchers or not.

Weight loss is a marathon, not a sprint. Don't plan on dropping several dress sizes overnight. Don't expect consecutive weeks of weight loss all the way to goal (though I know one person who did pull this off). Take the time to discover your healthy food likes and dislikes, train your body to eat normal portions, and understand where food and your emotions connect for you. The more you understand how and why to distance yourself from old bad habits, the better you'll be able to do it consistently.

Don't beat yourself up. If you're coping with a job loss, death or illness, or other high-stress situations, you may be more likely to slip on your diet. If you're attending a special event or are on vacation, you may also slip. If you can stick to the program, awesome! But if you can't, stop the slide immediately, dust yourself off, and get back on track. A slip, no matter how long it lasts, is not a failure. Think of it as a learning experience.

No excuses. Make yourself responsible for your weight loss. Shop for healthier foods yourself. Donate your "fat clothes" to Goodwill so you have nothing to go back to. Make a U-turn if co-workers leave out snacks. Stand up to the food-pusher in your family. Set time aside for exercise. This is your life, and you need to make your own plan for getting used to eating better. You can't let anyone sway you from something that's going to improve your quality of life.
On the flip side, if you slip, own your slip. No one else made you eat all that ice cream or pizza!

Find alternatives to eating. Be honest--when you think you have to have something sinful, you're not always actually hungry. Do something else. Drink water, chew sugarless gum, exercise, call a friend, surf the Web... You get the idea. I have to admit this is the most challenging thing for me to do. But it sure feels good when I am successful at resisting temptation.

Don't deprive yourself! I have found cocoa-flavored rice cakes to meet my chocolate needs sometimes, but then there are other times when only real chocolate will do. On those occasions, I eat chocolate. In moderation. I find that adhering in a militant manner to a diet is a recipe for disaster.

Make your own rules. I visit the 50+ Pounds to Lose message board on the Weight Watchers Web site, where you'll read of people who have lost six pounds their first week on the program, or have lose 100 lbs. in a year. Understand your body will do what it wants to do--there is no cookie cutter weight loss.
Aside from eating better (and less) and exercising, everything else is up to you. Which meal is your biggest of the day, which new vegetables to try, when to have French fries, and how many days a week to work out. Do what works best for you. Remember, this is your new life.

If you are overweight or obese, losing weight will be one of the most valuable, challenging, exhilarating and frustrating rides you can take in life. Don't be afraid to take the first step to a new you. Don't be defeated by a binge. Don't get too comfy with your first pants size change, if that's not the end weight you have in mind. You can do this for as long as it takes. I wish you the best!!!

Satisfying Dessert

A poster to the Weight Watchers message boards put me on to this delightful treat. Jell-O Mousse Temptations. In chocolate. Mmmm...

Above is a pic of Chocolate Indulgence, but the one I can vouch for is the Dark Chocolate Mousse. At 60 calories, it's an indulgence that's truly affordable in a diet! This light-textured confection is sugar-free, but you'd never know. In addition to the regular chocolate flavor, the mousse also comes in caramel creme.

It was just released nationwide this month, though, so you may have to do some hunting for it.

A Twist on Lasagna

You're probably used to getting Mexican-themed recipes from me. Well, here's another one! This time, I do a remix on lasagna. And it's pretty easy to put together!

Salsa Verde Lasagna (Makes 9 servings)

• 12 whole wheat lasagna noodles, uncooked
• 2 12.5-oz. cans of chicken
• 2 16-oz. jars of salsa verde
• 1.5 cups of reduced-fat cheese
• Minced garlic, to taste
• Diced onion (dessicated), to taste
• Salt, to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Drain chicken and place in a large bowl. Break into chunks. Add one jar of salsa verde, and the garlic, onion and salt; mix well.
3. Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray, and add salsa verde from the second jar to the pan, about one-third of the jar, more than enough to cover the bottom.
4. Add 3 lasagna noodles, top with a third of the chicken mixture. Add 3 more noodles, top with another third of the remaining chicken mixture. Add 3 more noodles, top with the rest of the chicken mixture.
5. Add the final 3 noodles. Top with the remaining salsa verde. Top with the cheese.
6. Bake until noodles are tender.

With a salad or a side of vegetables, this is a reasonable Weight Watchers meal. To tone down the heat of the salsa, you could mix in fat-free sour cream to the chicken and salsa mixture, or top your serving of the lasagna with 1/4 cup of fat-free sour cream. Buen provecho!

Spruce up Your Spinach

I got a delicious tip from Weight Watchers magazine a month ago and used it last night: To make a lighter knockoff of creamed spinach, toss a wedge of Laughing Cow light cheese into your heated spinach.

I only had the Original Creamy Swiss flavor on hand, but the light cheese also comes in garlic and onion flavors. I seasoned the spinach with salt, pepper and garlic powder.

Laughing Cow cheese isn't only good for spinach. Try it on light toast or a light English muffin for breakfast (I add turkey ham for a satisfying breakfast sandwich), or eat one wedge plain with fruit or vegetables.

Leslie Sansone Video Rocks!!!

A couple weeks back, I got the "Leslie Sansone Walk at Home 5-Mile Fat Burning Walk" DVD because I thought it might fit better into my busy schedule to get a good workout in 12 minutes.

The DVD did not disappoint! There are five routines on the video, each a 12-minute mile. Each sequence starts out with a light walking routine, then gets a little faster, then goes into a "boost" for two minutes, where you're actually jogging while doing the moves. You can customize your workout by stringing the sequences together in any order you want.

As I am a novice exerciser, I'm just starting out with doing one mile at a time. So far, I've tried miles 1, 2 and 3 individually, and they are no joke! I felt the burn in my legs, and I also got to a point of labored breathing around the six-minute mark.

The video is also great because of Leslie's upbeat attitude, the music, and the fact that she features folks on the video doing the workout in different shapes, sizes and ability levels. It feels like a video of "real" people, not ripple-muscled gym rats who could try out for the Navy Seals. Additionally, Sansone's encouragement to just keep up with the pace of the music and not obsess over mirroring her movements exactly takes some of the anxiety out of the equation when it comes to wanting to do a video as effectively as possible.

Bonus features of the video include an interview with a woman who is working out on the DVD alongside Sansone and has lost more than 100 pounds.

I give this video two dumbbells up. It's great to know that I can get excellent aerobic exercise in less than 15 minutes. I am hoping to work up to doing the video twice a day.

More Before & After Pics

It's been a while since I've posted... I've been struggling a bit with food planning, stress and long commutes for work, but I've been maintaining! Though I've been up and down, I've still lost about 5 lbs. since May, and I've surpassed the 30 lbs. lost mark! I'm slowly starting to lose again. Next stop: 35 lbs. lost.

Here's the "before." A wedding pic, from 2003. My weight was between 225 and 235 lbs....














And here's the latest "after," a pic with my son taken about a week ago, at 195 lbs....
























Thank you, Weight Watchers!!!

Mexican Trifecta

Here are a few Mexican-themed recipes for ya. I made a Mexican feast last night!

Marinade for Taco/Fajita Meat

• 1 T canola or vegetable oil
  
• 3 T hot sauce
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1 T ground cumin
• 1 T minced garlic
• 1 T dry minced onion (or fresh onion, chopped; I'd go with at least 1/4 cup of fresh)

Mix the ingredients together and add to at least 1 lb. of meat. Marinade can be used with poultry or beef.

Marinate for at least 20 minutes, or as long as 24 hours. Grill meat when ready to cook. You can then slice the meat to put in soft corn or flour tortillas for tacos or fajitas, respectively. Or, you could serve the cuts of meat as-is with side dishes.


***

Pineapple Salsa

• 1 ripe pineapple, peeled and cored
• 1 jalapeno pepper
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro (leaves and stems), packed tightly
• 1/3 cup red onion, diced
  

Dice the pineapple. Finely dice the jalapeno. (Seed the jalapeno if you want a less spicy salsa; if you want some heat, you can include some of the seeds.) Finely dice the red onion. Finely chop the cilantro.

Mix everything together in a bowl and chill the salsa for at least an hour. After chilling, add salt, lime juice and/or cayenne pepper to taste if desired.

This can be eaten with tortilla chips or served on top of grilled pork or poultry.


***

Salsa Bean Salad

• 1 15-0z can of pinto beans
• 1 large, ripe red tomato
• 1/4 cup cilantro, tightly packed
• 1/3 cup red onion, diced finely
• 1 lime
• Salt
• Cayenne pepper
• 2 scallion stalks (optional)
  

Drain the pinto beans and place the drained beans in a medium-sized bowl.
Seed the tomato and dice it finely; add to the beans. Chop the cilantro finely and add to the bowl. Chop the cilantro finely and add to the mixture.
Juice the lime and add the juice to the bowl. Chop the scallions (white and green parts) and add at this time, if using.
Chill the salad for at least an hour. After chilling, add salt and cayenne pepper to taste.

Note: You can make a delicious fresh tomato salsa using this recipe by omitting the beans.