Friday, April 30, 2010

Another birthday greeting

This evening was my good friend’s 50th birthday party. It was a HUGE surprise, thrown by her husband, and there were about 50 of her family and friends there to celebrate with her.

I knew ahead of time that the menu was an international buffet of pastas, tapas, and Mexican specialties, and a Costco white birthday cake. I love Costco birthday cake and even though I was in a bakery full of cakes yesterday, and had none, I planned to have a piece of birthday cake this evening.

I saved 15 points for the evening, and it worked out perfectly. If you read these posts, you know that I don’t drink. So, I’m always ahead of the game at the front end because I’m not using up points at the bar. I had about a half - cup of plain pasta, no sauce, and one chicken thigh with about one ounce of chicken. I knew I was in good shape when the cake was served. I had a small serving, and it was perfect.

The highlight of the evening was seeing how happy my friend was to be with all of us. Once again, I saw the power of great relationships far exceeds the draw of food. And I had points to spare.

Happy Birthday, Tammi!

Talk to you soon.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Note to cakes and pies...I can't hear you anymore

Just a few words about my afternoon with my buddy Nora…remember we went to the bakery to celebrate her upcoming birthday.

We are proof that you can sit in the middle of cakes, pies, and cookies and order coffee. We each had two cups. It is so different to be on Weight Watchers and to have learned that the enjoyment of spending time with another person is so much better than eating cake. Cake is a fleeting high and friendship keeps on going.

It seems so simple now. I can finally go out and sit in the middle of foods that used to call my name and not care about them at all. It’s a sense of freedom that I never felt before. Yay!

Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Happy Birthday Nora

Tomorrow I am meeting my Weight Watchers buddy, Nora, to celebrate her upcoming birthday. I am looking forward to our “date” which is taking place in a local bakery. Now, before you read that line and think, “are you nuts,” let me tell you a little about Nora and me.

We started Weight Watchers one week apart…she got there first. We have lost the same amount of weight, within a pound. We wear the same outfit every week for our weigh-ins because we know that any changes in our clothing could produce an unusual result on the scale. It’s like an athlete who is on a winning streak and repeats some sort of ritual before the big game. You just gotta do it.

Most importantly, Nora shares my belief that we will lose the weight in however long it takes to lose the weight. No deadlines, timetables, events that we are trying to impress people at…it’s for our health.

So, before I see you tomorrow, Nora, thanks for being my friend and Happy Birthday!

Talk to you soon.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

17 inches smaller

It’s a numbers kind of day…because it’s Tuesday and weigh-in day. The news is this. I lost .4 pounds for a total of 27.6 pounds in 32 weeks. Although I’m no longer averaging one pound a week, it doesn’t really matter. It will take as long as it will take to lose the first 50 pounds.

I have also lost 17 inches. Now that’s quite a lot less of me. It has come off almost proportionately, so I’m pleased with how my body has chosen to shrink itself.

There was a woman in today’s meeting who hadn’t seen me since last November. She was a good barometer for me because she seemed to be amazed about how much thinner I looked to her. Most people, including me, see me so much that the weight loss isn’t as striking as she suggested it now appears. Pretty nifty!

Time to make the dinner, which will be salted this evening because it’s one week until the next weigh-in.

Talk to you soon.

Monday, April 26, 2010

Tick tock tick tock, I screwed up my body clock

Here’s a mistake I made last evening. I was really thirsty from the time I came home from my hike until I went to bed at about 11. The last thing I should have done was to drink a can of diet Coke before bed because I think my metabolism went into overdrive.

By 2 a.m. I had enough of the bed and went out to the couch and played around on the computer. I actually got to see the emails coming in from William Sonoma, Restoration Hardware and about 10 other ones that appear in the night.

By 3:30 I had enough of the emails and went back to bed, which woke up my husband and the dogs. The dogs got into bed, and I was left with about two inches of space.

By 4:00, I was doing that thing that you do when you can’t sleep…thinking about how many hours before it was time to get up and worrying about how little sleep I was going to get.

Finally, sometime after 4, I fell asleep and woke up hourly until I couldn’t stand it any more and got up for good at 8:30. What a disaster.

And now it is 7 p.m. and I am in my pajamas. I am so tired that I can’t see straight but determined to stay up until 10 so that I don’t go to bed so early that I start a whole new body clock that I don’t want to own.

Lesson learned…drink water before bed.

Talk to you soon.

Sunday, April 25, 2010

Cow "pies" yield activity points

When I last left off in my saga of the 5K, I was going to go to the location of the event, after the event was over, and mirror the trail. That didn’t happen. The new plan became one in which my husband and I went to Stafford Lake, which is about two miles from our house, and walk 1.7 miles, twice. That didn’t happen either.

As we approached Stafford Lake, which is off of a two- lane road, we were greeted by bumper- to -bumper traffic and turned around. Next stop, the hiking trails in the open space in Novato. Boy, this sure wasn’t what I had in mind.

As a native New Yorker, I like flat surfaces made of some sort of pavement. I could see that the trail was dirt, full of holes, and meandered along with various degrees of elevation. It was 85 degrees when we exited the car, and I was sure that this was going to be one big whine-fest, with me doing the whining.

Imagine my surprise when I actually enjoyed it. We walked/hiked for one hour and went up one hill that had me breathless…both physically and because of the panoramic view. We crossed paths with cows and took pictures of us about 12 inches from their heads. I was concerned that they would turn into rodeo animals, but my husband reminded me that those were bulls, not dairy cows.

We balanced on rocks to cross over the streams. I am not much in the balance department, so my foot went into one stream and when it came out, my shoe was covered with cow “deposits.” Obviously, they navigated the area better than I did and left some reminders that they had visited.

When I arrived home, I discovered that the missing ingredient in the afternoon outing was sunblock. I now look like I spent the day at a beach…that sounds good right about now as I begin the Advil campaign to ward off the stiff legs. Ah, the joys of activity points.

Talk to you soon.

Saturday, April 24, 2010

My 5K detour

Tomorrow is the 5K…however, my 5K has taken a different turn. I went online to register and discovered that the online registration was no longer available, so I figured I could just pay when I got there. I called the number on the website and heard the recording that told me that I couldn’t pay when I got there. Yuk.

So, since I have planned to do this for a few weeks, I will still do it. There may be nobody else there when my husband and I go, but I know the route from the website map. I don’t think it really matters if it’s an official 5K as long as I am out there getting my activity points.

Next time, I’ll plan ahead. It will be interesting to see what it is like to do something with a giant group of people. Until then, I get to spend some one-on-one time with my husband…always a treat.

Talk to you soon.

Friday, April 23, 2010

Welcome to Novato... Whole Foods

A visit to the new Whole Foods in Novato had to happen on opening day. We have been watching the building developing for years now and the countdown sign was just enough to remind us to show up last evening to check it out.

I am a Safeway and Costco shopper and have only shopped in Whole Foods a few times. Having one in our town is apparently quite an accomplishment and worth devoting some time.

Parking in the lot was plentiful at 8 p.m. and the crowds had slimmed down to what I would call a normal amount of shoppers. I was impressed with the prepared foods and fish counter and took a stroll through the bakery…just to see what was there.

Although we didn’t invest in any groceries, I know that I can find some easy to serve, healthy meals, in a pinch. I will admit that it was expensive compared to my usual shopping choices, so it won’t be a regular source of meals.

Being on Weight Watchers, I have learned that spending a bit more on high quality food items is a splurge I am sometimes willing to make. After all, before joining, I could easily blow through a few dollars at the checkout counter when confronted with the Milky Ways, Reese’s and tabloids. Okay, I still might grab a tabloid, but the rest is history.

Talk to you soon.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

A new (fudge) bar in town

I ran out of Weight Watchers Giant Fudge Bars, but tomorrow my Safeway delivery should bring me some replacements. I do have Healthy Choice Fudge Bars from Costco, but I am not as enamored with them. They are a better deal, financially, but don’t seem to do it for me. That was until I doctored them up.

I took a Healthy Choice, with the stick, and put it in a microwave safe bowl. I microwaved it for 15 seconds, just enough to soften it, so I could knock it off the stick with my spoon. Then, I covered it with fresh raspberries. It tasted like creamy rich chocolate raspberry ice cream, and I liked it so much I did it twice. At only one point each, I felt like I was getting away with something.

Now, there is only one of the Healthy Choice bars in the freezer, and I’m feeling a little sad. Move over Giant Fudge Bars, there’s a new brand in town.

Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Here and ounce, there an ounce

As I got ready for bed, one minute ago, I remembered that I hadn’t written a posting today…just in the nick of time. If my head had hit the pillow, it would have been all over.

Today, I decided to make sure I weighed my protein portions before eating. I have said it before, but when I hit a week of no weight movement or weight gain, I get a bit more controlled with using my scale. I think I get a little sloppy on portion size when it comes to eyeballing meat.

Pork loin was dinner, and we ate it after 9 p.m. because my husband worked late. It is the last of the cooked meat leftovers that I have been working on eliminating from my refrigerator. I took the piece, which was wrapped in aluminum foil, and weighed it after reheating it. My guess was that the whole thing weighed six ounces. I was wrong. It weighed eight ounces.

It’s that ounce here and there that can sneak up on you if you aren’t careful. I try to be careful…I’ll try harder.

Talk to you soon.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Stagnant scale...it happens

It was weigh-in day today, and I prepared myself to leave the house at 8:45 to begin my walk to Weight Watchers. As I headed to the front door, a downpour greeted me. There was just too much rain to walk, so my husband drove me there. Of course, by the time we arrived, the sun was peaking out.

I was disappointed that I didn’t walk, and then I got weighed. Nothing had changed since last week’s weigh-in. But, I wasn’t disappointed. What a difference 31 weeks makes in my attitude. The old me would have been thrilled to ride anywhere in the car and annoyed if the scale didn’t move.

I have come to accept the fact that even if I do everything correctly, including tracking everything I eat, there are times when my body will take a break from losing weight. I have had three weigh-ins that I gained a little weight; less than one pound, and this is the third weigh-in that I have stayed the same. So, about 80% of the time, I have lost weight. I’ll take that.

This Sunday is my 5K event, so I’ll get that walk back in again. And, next Tuesday is another opportunity to weigh-in.

Talk to you soon.

Monday, April 19, 2010

No "oomph" equals no cooking

Long day of meetings equals no “oomph.” I ate a late breakfast, at 11, knowing that my meetings would run until at least 4 p.m. and planned on a granola bar break somewhere in the middle. The meetings ran until 6.

I did have the granola bar, but I needed more. Unfortunately, it wasn’t time for dinner because my husband wasn’t home. I made myself one of those turkey roll-ups with the flatbread, spinach and tomatoes. Good news is that it was great and filling. Bad news is that I have no desire to make dinner for my husband, because I’m not hungry.

He is due home soon, and I think he’s on his own. I may have some fruit and yogurt later, but nothing sounds good right now. It’s the fatigue and the roll-up working in tandem that’s wearing me out.

Once again, it’s a good thing I have all that cooked meat in my refrigerator and a husband who is self-sufficient.

Talk to you soon.

Sunday, April 18, 2010

A sunny day at Sam's

Gorgeous day in Marin today, and we spent the afternoon sitting on the deck of Sam’s in Tiburon. Everybody that has ever been to our county knows about Sam’s, and I think most of them were on that deck today.

We joined up with about a dozen of my husband’s childhood friends for a mini-reunion. This was the first time I had met most of them, and I enjoyed our outing. I decided it was much easier to go to my husband’s reunion than it would have been to attend my own. I had nothing to be compared to and could sit back and relax.

As I listened to the group’s “remember when” stories, I almost felt like I had gone to school with them. I have heard many of the stories from my husband over the 19 years we have been together.

The interesting food related part of this story came when it was time to order. I have been on Sam’s deck too many times to count and in the past, I ordered a bunch of fried appetizers. Today, it was different. My husband and I split a cheeseburger. There was a funnel of fried calamari right in front of me, and I had one. And that was it…nothing else.

I came home with half of my daily points still available for dinner. And remember, there is a lot of cooked meat in this house, so I needed them.

Talk to you soon.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Six pounds lost in one day...NOT

When the big day came and we bought a scale, I started out by weighing myself once a week before my Weight Watchers meeting. Now, I weigh myself almost every morning, just like most of the rest of the country.

Imagine my surprise when I got on this morning and weighed six pounds less than yesterday. Everyone reading this knows that the mistake was in the scale and not that I actually could lose six pounds in one day, but it was sure fun looking at the new weight.

What I figured out had happened started yesterday when the house was cleaned. The scale was moved during cleaning and wasn’t put back on its old spot. It was not balanced evenly on the tiles and gave the weight equivalent of a TILT reading.

I can’t wait until that number shows up again, for real. By my estimate, I am about six weeks away. I’ll report in June when I see it.

Talk to you soon.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Post #200...all about meat

There was too much uncooked meat in my refrigerator. That’s what I decided today after getting ready to have my house cleaned by cleaning it myself before Molly Maids arrived.

I had cooked a big prime rib on Tuesday, and we ate leftovers again on Wednesday. Then, last evening, I cooked Costco salmon, for me, and my husband wanted his leftover pizza from Sunday.

That left me with three chicken breasts and an entire pork loin sitting, uncooked, and stamped with April 16, today, as the last date of sale. I know that I probably had another day or two of safety built in, but I wasn’t going to risk it. So, my afternoon has been one big “cookfest” of chicken and pork.

I’m now trying to figure out when to eat all this stuff. I still have one more night of leftover prime rib, one meal of salmon, three meals of chicken and who knows how many meals of pork. I think I might have bought too much stuff from Safeway and Costco this week. Oh, well…we’ll make it work.

Oh by the way, my husband pointed out that yesterday’s post had a gigantic mistake, which is now corrected. But, it was funny. I went on and on about my great lunch sandwich and instead of correctly telling you that the flatbread had 120 calories, I told you that it had 120 points. Believe me, if I were going to eat a lunch with 120 points, it would have included gallons of ice cream and several pies.

Talk to you soon.

Thursday, April 15, 2010

A six point extravaganza

So, my son, Alex, went to Costco and brought home items that I never would have purchased because I didn’t know they existed. He arrived with Flatout whole-wheat flatbread and a Greek yogurt based spread called tzatziki. I have to admit I was scared.

But, the flatbread was huge and had 120 calories, no fat and 6 grams of fiber for a total of two points and the tzatziki had 25 calories, 2 grams of fat and no fiber for a total of one point per tablespoon.

I took the flat bread, used only one teaspoon of tzatziki spread, added two slices of Safeway roasted deli turkey, fresh spinach leaves and sliced tomatoes and then turned it into a giant rollup. It was delicious and less than six points for the whole thing. I was still full after four hours. What a find!

The lesson for me is to try more new things…as long as they are pre-screened by Alex.

Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

30 weeks and 27.2 pounds lost...yippee!

Uh-oh…my father just called looking for yesterday’s posting. I actually believed that I wrote one, but it was that coma inducing prime rib loaded with kosher salt that led to believe that I wrote. I didn’t.

Yesterday was weigh-in day and another .4 pounds is gone for a total of 27.2 pounds in 30 weeks. I was pleased to learn that my WW buddy, Nora, was nipping at my heels with 27 pounds gone. We have this little competition thing going on, and I try to stay a little ahead, but the field is narrowing.

Both of us have, however, vowed to stay around for the long haul. As veterans of Weight Watchers in the past, we know that the secret to success isn’t to try to lose the weight while breaking some sort of speed record. Without learning the basics and practicing them, old habits come back and so does the weight.

So, we will continue to meet up every Tuesday morning and chase each other to 50 pounds. And then, I’ll stick around some more to get rid of another 20 pounds. By now, Claudette, our meeting leader, has figured out that she’s “stuck” with both of us for a very long time. Lucky us!

Talk to you soon.

Monday, April 12, 2010

What a difference 30 weeks makes

I was thinking about my weight today. I do that occasionally…just like the rest of you. I am getting close to the 30 pounds lost neighborhood, which will leave me 20 pounds until I hit my goal.

What struck me is how different it sounds to say, I have to lose about 20 pounds, versus the old, I have to lose about 50 pounds. A short, 30 weeks ago, I was looking at that larger number and thinking about how I let it get that large. Now, I look at that smaller number and think how far I have come.

I told you that 50 pounds in 50 weeks is my first goal. I actually have another 20 pounds I would like to lose after achieving it. But even with the extra 20, it is still less than the original 50. It’s so gonna happen!

Tomorrow is weigh-in day, and I’m cooking dinner. I pick things that aren’t salted on Monday evenings because I still like to know that I’m not hanging onto water weight. But, tomorrow evening, let the good times roll because I’m cooking a great prime rib, which will be coated in kosher salt.

Talk to you soon.

Sunday, April 11, 2010

18 weight loss tips from successful members

When I log on to the Weight Watchers eTool, the smiling face of American Idol’s Jennifer Hudson, their newest celebrity spokesperson, greets me. I actually wasn’t sure who I was looking at when I she first appeared because the shape of her face has changed significantly since she has lost weight.

After reading a number of her postings, including the one where she doesn’t recognize herself because the shape of her face has changed since she lost weight, I decided to read some of the other success stories of women who have lost over 50 pounds.

Knowing that some of my readers don’t use the eTool, I thought I would capture tips from three of the women and add them to this posting. So, here is how Rebecca, Bonnie, and Kim help us to help ourselves.

Rebecca's Tips:

I promised myself I'd jog 30 minutes a day no matter what. Some days I don't feel up to it, but a promise is a promise. I lace up those sneakers.

I still track my POINTS values every day. It keeps me honest.

Balance is key. I'll plan a lower POINTS value dinner to allow for an afternoon snack to eat while I'm watching my favorite soap opera.

Buy snacks for your kids that come in individual serving sizes so you won't be tempted to share their goodies.

If you need help with a dinner suggestion, go to WeightWatchers.com. You'll be swamped with great ideas.

Give low POINTS value substitutes a try. My family and I have come to love turkey burgers, veggie burgers and light whole-wheat bread.


Bonnie's Tips:

Never eat a food you don't absolutely love. It's not worth the POINTS values to eat something just because it's there.

Make a commitment to the Meetings. It's not just step one on your path to weight loss. The continuing knowledge and support will keep you on the right track.

If possible, join with a buddy. It helped so much having my daughter right there with me.


Kim's Tips:

Lose with a friend.

"Take the hit" by going to your meeting even if you know you've gained. Putting it off is the first step to failure.

Never fudge your POINTS values. If anything, count on the high side.

Follow your Leader. I've had the same one for two years.

Carry a bag of 94-percent fat-free microwave popcorn with you at all times. The whole bag has a POINTS value of 2 or 3 and it really fills you up.

Bring your own fat-free sour cream to restaurants; they won't mind.

Do 20 "guy push-ups" and 200 crunches daily to lose loose skin.

Steam a head of cauliflower, sprinkling it with parmesan, for a snack.

Treat yourself to real cream in your coffee every now and then. But you have to try Land O'Lakes Fat Free Half & Half too!


We each have to compile our own tips. For instance, I won’t ever be doing “guy push-ups” or crunches nor will I bring fat-free sour cream to a restaurant because I dislike any sour cream, BUT I never fudge my point values.

Start making your own tip sheet. If you feel like it, share it with me. I could always use a few more.

Talk to you soon.

Saturday, April 10, 2010

Missing a day here and there

This is my 195th posting since beginning Weight Watchers. As we all know, when you are trying to lose weight, there is a tendency to quit if you “screw up” for a day or two. The thought process behind that foolish decision is something like, well, I gave it a shot, and now that I have messed it up, what's the point of continuing.

When it comes to writing a blog, especially if you try to do it daily, the same thoughts go through your mind if you forget to post. When I forgot to post yesterday, I remembered it at 3 a.m. this morning. I got mad at myself for a few minutes and then re-thought the whole thing. I am not perfect, and I will forget to write from time to time. Life gets busy and suddenly the day gets away from me.

The difference for me, because of Weight Watchers, is the fact that I can pick up where I left off and continue on my mission. I am not looking at my efforts as ruined because a day is missing here and there. I now focus on the fact that 195 days of writing live on this blog, with more to come.

So folks, if you don’t hear from me now and then, it’s not because I’ve stopped writing. I simply took the day off for whatever the reason, and you can rest easy knowing that I’ll be back. With the exception of leaving for a vacation that doesn’t offer me Wi-fi, I’m in for the long haul. No more apologies…I’m proud of my blogging accomplishments.

Talk to you soon.

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Manual labor

Great weather day, no walk as planned. My husband and I worked on a backyard project for a few hours and by the time we were done…we were done. We are replacing a section of our roof, and there was a lot of lifting, moving, and caulking. My husband, not me, possesses all of these skills. But, I was the helper and tried to follow directions.

After the first hour, I dragged out the chair thinking that I could sit down between “helping’ and get a tan. That didn’t happen because the intervals between one piece of the project and the next were about three seconds.

We made a big leap forward towards completion, and I think a few more hours of labor will complete our work. Thank goodness…I’d rather go for a walk.

Talk to you soon.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Springtime in Novato

Tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be beautiful, and that means I plan on going for a walk. Now that I made the decision to walk the 5K in a few weeks, I think it would be beneficial to try to take three walks each week instead of two.

I was driving home this evening and noticed the beautiful blooms on the trees and that spring flowers were popping up everywhere. What better time than springtime to be outdoors enjoying nature.

The pre-Weight Watchers me would have enjoyed those flowers looking through the window of the car. My husband and I like to take Sunday drives and explore the blooms in other neighborhoods. The thought of actually getting out of the car and walking in those other neighborhoods has never been part of our repetoire.

But, it’s different now. I like the idea of spending time wandering and picking up activity points along the way. I’m glad that my husband wants to go with me because it’s much more fun to appreciate the beauty together.

And now, it’s time to rest up. Tomorrow is just hours away.

Talk to you soon.

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

26.8 pounds lost in 29 weeks...no complaints

Weigh-in day and after missing last weeks weigh-in while in Florida, I was glad to be back. I wasn’t really sure what was going to show up on the scale, as I did my experiment with using all of my 35 points. But, the good news is that I lost .8 pounds for a total of 26.8 pounds in 29 weeks.

Today, the subject of exercise came up in our meeting and somebody mentioned a 5K event that was going to be held in San Rafael on April 25th. Imagine the surprise on my husband’s face when I asked him if he would walk it with me. I’m the wife who never got off the couch prior to joining Weight Watchers. I figured that I walk about three miles round trip when I go to Weight Watchers each week, so I should be able to go the extra distance required in the 5K.

As I am typing this, I’m wondering if the same look of surprise is on my face. I’m actually looking forward to doing this walk, as long as the weather is decent. If it is pouring rain, all bets are off. I’m not a real “jock,” so I get to wimp out during times of extreme weather conditions.

My husband reads all my postings, and I can guarantee you that when he gets to the wimping out part, he will be reminding me that we will be wearing raincoats and walking 5K. He’ll probably get his way.

Talk to you soon.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Happy belated Easter

We watched the weather forecast all day yesterday, because flying out of Aspen airport in the winter is always touch and go. It was a partially sunny day, so we thought we were home free. We were wrong.

Our flight wasn’t until 5 p.m., so we decided to have Easter brunch before leaving. It was a buffet, and I saved my points for what was surely going to be a lovely afternoon feast. I began with fresh shrimp, followed by roast leg of lamb, mashed potatoes, and carrots. Since it was a buffet, I was serving myself, so I could control the portions.

I also decided that I was going to visit the buffet line three times. Before you think that I was asking for trouble, let me assure you that my usual buffet behavior is to heap the plate with anything and everything that looks interesting and then to go back and repeat the exercise.

This time, I put the shrimp on the plate and sat down and slowly ate them. Then, I went back for the lamb and vegetables. But, I only put half a portion of each on the plate so that I could visit one more time and get the other half. I wouldn’t say it counted as activity points, but it did pace the meal in a much less frenzied way.

By the time the meal was over, it was time to head out to the airport and fly home. But, when we arrived, our plane was delayed several hours due to the weather in San Francisco. Never saw that one coming!

So, by the time we got home last evening, I was ready for bed…and that is my long explanation of why I didn’t write a posting yesterday. But, I’m back with gusto today.

Talk to you soon.

Saturday, April 3, 2010

Working those 35 points

The last evening of vacation is coming to a close, and I am ready to go back to my own cooking. I never thought it would get to this point…wanting to do the cooking instead of having somebody else do it.

I went all out at our favorite Aspen restaurant, Cache Cache, and had the fixed price three-course meal. I started with a Caesar salad, and followed that with pork tenderloin, mashed potatoes and asparagus. And, the dessert of chocolate lava cake was the topper.

Over the 28 weeks that I have been a member of Weight Watchers, I have rarely touched any of my 35 extra weekly points. As a matter of fact, my average number of daily points is 23, which is three points less than my allowance.

But, this week, since I had started to chip away at the 35, I decided to see what actually would happen at weigh-in next Tuesday if I used almost all of the 35 points. I have 11 left, and will probably still have them at weigh-in, so it will be an interesting test.

I have to admit that after eating that meal, I went back home feeling too full and actually quite lousy. I don’t miss eating that way, but it was interesting to see what it would be like to try it.

And that’s why I am looking forward to my home cooking. It is simple, but I leave the table feeling good. I prefer it that way.

Talk to you soon.

Friday, April 2, 2010

Putting some of my 35 points to good use

It was an Italian night in Aspen. We went to an old favorite, Campo di Fiori, and spent a couple of hours enjoying excellent pasta and excellent chitchat.

I was low on points when we went out this evening, and it isn’t because I ate anything great earlier in the day. It was just the opposite. We spent the day hanging around the house and didn’t have any real food in the refrigerator. I ate a lot of yogurt and granola bars and was really craving something with substance.

I ordered a bowl of capellini with fresh tomatoes and basil, and it was delicious. But, I had to cut into my 35 points, as the four points with which I entered the restaurant was quickly consumed. It was worth the extra four points to enjoy some really good pasta.

We are now back home in front of the fire, satisfied with our night on the town. Of course, night on the town is a term used loosely, since we were home by 9:30.

Talk to you soon.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

It's a blizzard

After two days of balmy weather in Aspen, meaning it was in the low 50s during the day, the weather turned to blizzard. It was just what we were hoping for because winter in the Rockies is much more fun with a lot of snow.

We took our sleigh ride with Jake and John, two Belgian draft horses, who pulled us for 20 minutes to our destination, the Pine Creek Cookhouse. The snow was falling at a fast pace, so we wrapped ourselves in blankets and enjoyed the silence along the snow- covered path.

When we arrived at the Cookhouse, we were greeted with a hot bowl of homemade minestrone soup, perfect for both its point value and its heat value. I followed it with an organic spinach salad and a cup of coffee.

Two hours after arriving for lunch, we were back in the sleigh heading down the mountain. Even with the blankets, it was freezing cold, and I was glad to eventually get back into our car and to turn on the heater full blast.

It’s amazing how much a romp in the cold weather can tire you out. I’m barely awake while writing this posting… which is probably evident if you are reading it.

Talk to you soon.