DAY 1 IN HAWAII: SURGICAL EXPERTISE REQUIRED

I discovered something new yesterday. If you are in need a bit of a surgical procedure and there isn't a Doctor nearby find an artist...one that is detail oriented. Thanks goodness I found that in Jamie as I managed to put my hand on a Sea Urchin and this happened :-(



More on that in a second.....

First a big thank you for helping me on my "food journey". It really will be a huge help to me. I will, of course, also post more pictures of Hawaii itself as the vacation continues.

The day started out well. We knew it was going to be a "getting organized" day and our plans were minimal.

We got to the grocery store and did our shopping:



The Kit Kat on there was because I had just bought some Michelob Ultra Light so Jamie quite rightly felt he deserved a treat too.

We had decided to go to an Organic Restaurant for breakfast since we were starving and the groceries weren't even home yet, but the place was closed for Memorial Day so we ended up at a 50's Diner called Peggie Sue's.

While away, I have decided I am going to try to have light lunches and dinners so I asked for two poached eggs on an an English Muffin with a side of Salsa, but they told me that although all of these things were listed as "sides", I couldn't have "sides" on their own so I had to order one of their set breakfasts. Damn! I thought fate was against me, but I found a Fruit Bowl with Yogurt and Granola. I had that instead and it was actually delicious!



For lunch I had two sandwiches (yes two). The bread was awesome. Quality bread...just thinner slices:



It was shaved turkey with mustard, tomato, lettuce, and pepper. It doesn't look like much but it was yummy!

It was then that we had our "issue". Jamie and I decided to go for about a mile walk along the beach He walked the beach and I walked through the water at about chest height (90% walking 10% swimming). It was actually a really hard workout as I was walking against the current and the waves were hitting me.

I really did swim though!



As we approached the end there were rocks close to the beach in one small section:

















I knew it was a mistake but I decided to try and swim out around them. As I went around my hand hit a rock with a Sea Urchin on it and that is how I ended up with all the spikes in my finger. It hurt like hell for about half an hour but then the pain started to subside.

I heard alcohol was good for wounds so I had three of these while Jamie performed surgery on my finger:




Fortunately there are only 95 calories in a can.

We will keep working on it but the finger looks much better now:






Dinner at home was a Pasta dish prepared Jamie:



In the evening we had a nighttime treat of date rolls wrapped in coconut and almonds


Jamie wants to go to this place while we are here. I love Sushi but the name of the place does make me wonder. LOL



I'm looking forward to some Hawaii adventures!

Hope everyone is doing great!

Alan

WE ARE IN HAWAII!!!

Hi Everyone!

We arrived last night at about 11:00pm Hawaii time (we are 6 hours behind Eastern Standard Time).

I woke up about half an hour ago and am having my coffee. Life feels so hard right now. I am forced to look at this:

I have been debating whether to be totally honest with you today but if I'm not than what is the point of this entire exercise right?

Yesterday was not a good day from a food perspective. I had no breakfast, a Burger and Fries at Toronto Airport, and Chinese Food (not the good kind) at Vancouver Airport.

You see I have this incredible skill for rationalization. It really wasn't that hard to convince myself that the vacation/health journey portion of the blog started upon arrival and therefore yesterday was a free for all.

I don't have feelings one way or the other about it...it is just something to reflect on. It is over...but it certainly wasn't changing my relationship with food.

On the flight from Vancouver to Maui I started to re-read a book Sandy once gave me called: "Better than Before: Mastering the Habits of our Everyday Lives"" by Gretchen Rubin.

I was really struck by one concept in it. It basically says the key is to decide and then stop deciding.

The point is that I just have to decide to be healthy and then the decision is made. I don't have to spend every agonizing minute of my vacation trying to analyze how to be healthy. The decision is already made. I just will be. It sounds almost too simple but perhaps there is magic in that.

I brought the book to re-read in the hopes it will help me on this four week vacation journey.

This morning is easy. We haven't bought any food and I can't even see a restaurant. LOL. Thank goodness there is coffee!

Apparently there is a grocery store close by so we will get ourselves sorted.

I think we will just have a beach day today while figuring out the week ahead.

I love where we are staying but the wireless leaves a lot to be desired.

In order for those who receive my blog by email to get it the same day I have to have it written by about noon Hawaii Time (6pm Eastern Standard Time). I doubt that will be a problem most days but if you don't get it, it will be there the next day. It means I was either having too much fun or struggling to find a wireless connection.

I'm looking forward to sharing my journey with you! Thanks for checking in and helping to keep me in-line.

Alan

VACATION STRATEGY

I will be going away for a month on Sunday. Jamie and I have a friend running the B&B and we are off to sunny Hawaii....for four weeks!!!

I can't wait but it is an awfully long time to be away. I can almost feel the pounds coming on.

To be honest I am ok if I gain up to 5 pounds...I just don't want it to be 21 pounds (and I did accomplish a 21 pound gain on a vacation in the past so the possibility is totally possible).

As we head into the summer many of us will be taking vacations, or at least spending more time socializing with lots of tempting indulgences around.

So how are we going to cope?

As I am a Weight Watchers leader I bet you think I am going to say I will track everything I eat and drink right? No fricking way that will happened. If I said that I would simply be setting myself up for failure.

I could make the decision to "just have fun" and deal with it when I get back but if I did that would I really be changing my relationship with food? I don't think so.

So here is the ten step plan to success:

1) Be active (doing fun things)
2) Allow myself some indulgences
3) Eat-in a lot (we booked accommodations that have a kitchen)
4) Increase the fruit intake (it's always a better choice than junk food)
5) Post a picture of everything I eat and drink on my blog (you will probably get tired of seeing this but at the end of the day I am doing this for me).
6) Know myself: I am usually good for about two weeks and then start to slip.
7) Request that you challenge me on-line if I fail to post pics of what I am eating and drinking.
8) Be truthful
9) Have fun
10) If I can attend a WW meeting in Hawaii (I know they have a couple but am not sure how far away from me they will be or if the time is viable...but if I can...I will).

I am going to do my very best to succeed, and if I slip...I will simply pick myself up and start again.

I believe I can do this.

What do you believe you can do to succeed?

Alan

I HAVE A MOTOR MOUTH

I admit it. I have a motor mouth.

I have been trying to pay attention to the speed with which I eat and am starting to wonder if there is an international competition out there I should sign up for. I’m pretty sure I would win!

We all know that eating slower is better but knowing and doing are completely different things.

Last night we had an awesome salmon dinner, but I almost didn’t know it was awesome. I was halfway through my meal before I remembered to “slow down” and when I did slow down I realized I hadn’t actually stopped to taste the first half of my dinner.  

I am so glad I stopped. It really was delicious and nutritious!

Are you a fast eater or a slow eater? Not surprisingly, fast eaters tend to eat 50% more.

My goal is to try and pay attention to everything I eat this week and actually taste it. I’m hoping I will also discover that I don’t actually like some of the less healthy things I eat (one can always hope right?).

I’m actually feeling re-inspired now that I have my health back.

Can’t wait to get my hands on all that fruit in Hawaii! It’s almost time!

Alan

I'M BACK! IT'S GOAL TIME

Hey everyone!

It is great to be back to blogging again.

I needed to take a break while I got well, but, as is typical of me, as soon as I feel better I want to eat everything in site. So I need to start blogging again.

So happy to be back and feeling better!

I'm filling in for another WW leader at Centrepoint Mall today and it is such a great group. I love the supportive and fun environment of a meeting. It energizes me.

We did a lot of talking about goal setting. If you don't have a reasonable goal set it is pretty hard to achieve it.

If you have no goal set you can't achieve it and if your goal is too "lofty" it can just get very darn discouraging.

Goals don't have to have anything to do with weight loss (they can but they don't have to).

What is your goal? My goal is to be "balanced" this week. To re-introduce activity slowly (post sickness), track my food, and do some things for me.

Tonight I am going to Second City (haven't been there in decades) and tomorrow night we are going to head out to Stratford and see a show. Instead of racing out there we hope will be to leave around 2pm and then just relax and enjoy the atmosphere of Stratford pre-show. I am really looking forward to it.

I will track my food and allow myself some indulgences. I've got this.

Tomorrow my friend Cameron from Australia will be coming to my Lawrence Park WW meeting. I am so excited about this. He is a story of success in and of himself....and it has nothing to do with weight loss...just about being positive. I know I have shared his journey a couple of times, but if you don't know it refer back to this blog: Cameron's Journey

It is going to be a great week! Hope you will join me for this incredible journey.

Alan

Alan's Weight Watchers Meeting is located at:

Lawrence Park Community Church
2180 Bayview Ave, North York, ON M4N 3K7 
Weigh-In starts at 8:30AM and the meeting times are 9:00AM and 10:00AM

TAKING CARE OF ME

This will be the shortest blog I write.

I just wanted to let you know I am recovering well, but if I really believe that the holistic approach to health involves the three cornerstones of "food, activity, and fulfillment", I have to listen to myself and be selfish right now. I need to listen my bodies message and take the time to fully recover. I believe I placed too much pressure on myself and that is why I got sick in the first place.

I am going to nurse myself back to health before continuing on with the blog. It should only be a couple of days but don't worry...I will be back...you can't get away from me that easily :-)

Alan

SO WHAT IS THE "TAKE AWAY"?

I think there is always a "take away" from the things that happen to you in life.

I'm not really sure I believe bad things happen for a reason, but when things do happen there is always something we can take away from it. Something that can help us grow or strive for better.

In the scheme of things, my getting sick is hardly "up there" in terms of huge life events, but as I reflect over the past few days it does give me a sense of renewed determination to be healthy because it has given me a glimpse into a world that could be the future if I don't.

I have always had issues with my my lungs and with chest congestion. I think it stems back to severe asthma issues that started when I was a child.  I vividly remember hearing stories on the news about how you weren't supposed to use ventolin inhalers for more than two puffs, four times daily or the health consequences could be severe enough to result in death, and thinking: "yeah...that sounds easy enough...but if I don't use mine about 12 times a day I can't breath". I think treatment has come a long way since those days, but I have no doubt that in the process of over medicating myself a lot of damage was done. My asthma continued until about 12 years ago. When I lost weight and started eating healthy the asthma completely disappeared. With the exception of one bad night in Scotland I have't used a ventolin inhaler in about 12 years. I can't help but wonder if I ever would have needed one if I had simply eaten better.

I rarely get a simple cold. If I get it, it's not pretty, and I've had pneumonia twice. Knowing that I have these issues makes me even more proud that I was able to run a Marathon last year and will do it again for Muscular Dystrophy (MDA TEAM MOMENTUM) this year.

This time was no different. I got pretty sick. I was still able to get out and lead my Weight Watchers meetings Saturday morning but in retrospect I probably shouldn't have. As I was driving home I started finding it very difficult to swallow and drove straight to a walk-in clinic instead of home.

I know my nutritionist friends won't be thrilled I am taking medication instead of natural remedies, but I really believe there are times you have to make a judgement call. If it is possible and there is time to heal yourself naturally than I fully support it, but yesterday, when swallowing was becoming a problem, I needed medical help.

Anyway, that is not really the point of today's blog post.

The point is this: There have been several times over the past few days that it has been difficult just to get out of bed. There have been times when I woke up feeling like I was drowning in my own congestion. There have been times when I have had to fight through uncontrollable, deep hacking coughs. This has been my life for the past few days.

One only has to spend a few hours in a hospital, or go into a home for the elderly to realize that this is the life some people have for life.

I don't want to be one of those people and there is only one defence. That defence it to live the healthiest and fullest life you can live....and to make sure you take time for yourself.

There really is no other "alternate option". It is the only line of defence.

I certainly don't like being this sick...but I am ever so grateful for the reminder that this could be the future if I don't do the very best I can to take care of myself each and every day. I hope that by sharing, others will be able to find a similar lesson in this.

Alan

WHY OH WHY DID I GET SICK?

I don't like being sick.

It is simply no fun. Other than some mandatory work appointments I have spent the better part of the past three days in bed.

When I reflect on why I got sick it seems blatantly obvious. After all, hind sight is 20/20 right?

In spite of all of this blogging I STILL wasn't taking a holistic approach to my journey and it nipped me in the butt.

The three cornerstones of my journey are health, fitness, and fulfillment.

I have been eating well (for the most part), getting my activity in, but I wasn't paying any attention to the "fulfillment" peace, meaning I wasn't taking the time to do anything for myself.

I had thought about this several times but put it off because in the back of my head I was thinking: "Alan...you are going to Hawaii...the "me time" will come soon enough".

Apparently it didn't come soon enough and my body said: "Ok Alan...if you aren't going to take a "time out" for yourself...I am going to make you take a time out.

My body did just that and put me in bed sick for three days.

Lesson learned.

It is always great to have plans to take time out for yourself in the future, but that does not negate the need to make time for yourself each and every day.

I will figure this holistic thing out yet.

Alan

PANCAKES IN BED!

The problem with writing a blog post that truly means something to you is that it creates a dilemma. How the hell do I top it?

I really think there was an important message in my blog post yesterday. If you haven't read it yet I really encourage you to. It can be viewed here: Just let it go!

The reality is I can't top yesterday's blog post because not every post can be better than the one before.

So this one is simply back to "the life of Alan".

How my day started today depends on how you look at it. I got served pancakes in bed! Is that good or bad?

It wasn't a planned indulgence but certainly wasn't one I was going to say no to. This never happens!

There was a reason why I got served pancakes in bed though. It is because I am a sick puppy.

I started feeling ill around lunch time yesterday. First it was a congested feeling in the chest, and then in the throat, and now the head is all stuffed up.

Do you find that when you are going through stressful events in your life your body manages to hang on just long enough to get you through, but as soon as the stressful period dissipates the body goes "thank god" and gets sick?

I think that is what has happened to me. I was waiting for some very critical news yesterday and was so anxious. I won't go into details but the news I got was the best news ever! My body said: "thank god" and now I am sick. That is my theory anyway.

It does present an interesting question. How does one eat when one is sick? Do you throw all tracking out the window and just get through it? Perhaps yes. Let's be real...as long as you get right back on track when you are feeling better it isn't the end of the world.

Clearly I'm not THAT sick as I can't eat pancakes with syrup so I guess I will live. :-)

In my head I know that, provided your stomach can handle it, healthy eating is the way to go "in sickness and in health".

So I'm going to continue to track and count the damn pancakes and syrup. It may mean I have to sacrifice an indulgence later in the week but the way I feel right now that won't be an issue.

Here is to health and to health eating so I can return to health :-)

Alan

JUST LET IT GO!

Today's blog post is a little long but I hope you will find the time to read it. It is a story that grabs me by the heart. Today's post is not about "me". It is a story of my friend Cameron. I shared it with my Lawrence Park Weight Watchers group and I want to share it with you. It is a story that has nothing and everything to do with weight loss. It is a story about how we can choose how we see and live our lives.  

We all have things to “let go" of and they can cause us what seems like insurmountable amounts of pain.

We all know that we should let go of the difficult things in our past (and sometimes our present) but I think “let it go” is a simplistic statement. The statement implies that things can just be “gone” but we all know we carry a lot with us in life and carry deep routed feelings that are never really “gone”. To me “let it go” really means “handle it in the most positive manner and try not to dwell on the things we cannot change”.

I want to share with you the story of my friend Cameron. Nobody I know in life has exemplified the sprit of "focussing on the positive" more than this man has. 

Some of the longer term Lawrence Park Weight Watcher members will remember my story of Cameron from back in 2013.

I first met Cameron when he came to stay at our Bed and Breakfast from Australia twelve years or so ago. We rarely take guests for a month long stay (think about it…even your best friend would drive you crazy after a month) but Cameron emailed us that he was coming to do physiotherapy on ballet dancers here in Toronto and needed a home for a month. Something felt “right” and we decided to take him in. This began the start of a life long friendship.

As close as we felt, however, when one lives in Canada and another lives in Australia, the communication over time can start to dissipate. This happened with Cameron and we actually didn’t communicate for a few years.

In 2013 we decided we were going to go to Australia and contacted Cameron with the exciting news that we were coming to see him! Cameron was equally delighted but had news for us that was devastating. He had been diagnosed with a rare brain tumour in 2011. The diagnosis was terminal and the average person survived 6 months from diagnosis with 20% of people surviving 2 years.  He was now at the “two year” point.

Our visit with Cameron was one I will never forget. He was the perfect host and so full of energy. Yes, a couple of times he needed to rest very briefly, but the times were rare. 

Cameron had made a very important decision with his diagnosis. He could chose to wait for death or to live life. He chose life.

He named his tumour “Timmy" and started the TumourHumour Foundation with the motto: “It’s CANcer not CANTcer". 

In his own words: “It doesn’t matter that I have Cancer, I am still happy and still living a full life. To me it is kind of like an exciting adventure…like fighting pirates”. 

That, my friends, is the epitome of “letting it go”. He does not live in denial. He knows he lives with a terminal disease, but instead of letting it bring him down he has chosen to spend his life running a Karate School for children with challenges (click here to see his website: Cameron's Karate School) and training for athletic activities that I wouldn’t even dare to contemplate. A truly amazing man.

On our last night in Australia back in 2013 we went out to a pub, and as we were walking down the staircase of the pub to leave I said to him: You have to send a message to my Weight Watchers group at Lawrence Park. I know you don’t have to deal with weight loss but you do have a message to share about not giving up. After a few beers, and totally unprepared, this was Cameron’s message: Click Here

A few minutes after this video was taken we had to say goodbye to Cameron. It was hard.

When I got back to Canada and played this video for the group at Lawrence Park, I told the group that the hardest thing about saying goodbye was the knowledge that we would likely never see our friend again. The distance was too great and his time seemed so limited.

In true Cameron style, however, Cameron has once again proven that a positive attitude trumps all. It is now about 4 1/2 years since his diagnosis and he is not only living a wonderfully full life but he is coming to visit us in Canada!!!!

It gets even better. On Saturday May 21st he is coming to visit my Weight Watchers groups at Lawrence Park. He has heard me speak of them for years and wants to come and sit in on a meeting with me. I love this guy!

Think about the challenges you are dealing with in your life. Can you change the perspective? Look at things in a more positive manner? What seems insurmountable can still be handled positively. 

We only have one journey in this life. No matter what we are going through, let’s make it the best journey we possibly can.

Have an amazing week.

Alan

Alan's Weight Watchers Meeting is located at:

Lawrence Park Community Church
2180 Bayview Ave, North York, ON M4N 3K7 
Weigh-In starts at 8:30AM and the meeting times are 9:00AM and 10:00AM

MONDAYS ARE "DO-OVER" DAYS

I'm weird. I love Mondays.

Mondays are a chance for re-birth. It's "do-over" day. How often do we get a do-over?

If we slipped on the weekend we simply say to ourselves, "OK...this is a new day and a new week. This week is going to be a little better than last week. I am going to do it over again and do it better".

The exception, of course, is if last week was a great week, but it would still be a do-over week. It's just a different perspective. If you had a great week you still want a do-over, because you want to do it all over again. Right?

I would perfectly happy if this week ended up being the same as last week, but I would be even happier if I refined it a bit. The question becomes: If I could refine it, what would I refine?

What would I do differently if I had a "do-over?

1) I would not have had the Chocolate Bar and Potato Chips and Dip Saturday night
2) I would have made better choices at our BBQ Sunday.

I was full of good intentions at the BBQ and did make smart alcohol choices, but I didn't make the best (or the worst) food choices, and my friend Diane and I both commented that we just felt uncomfortably full when it was over.

What would I keep the same?

1) I would track at least as much as I did last week
2) I would exercise
3) I would totally have the Fish and Chips and Beer on Saturday night (or something similar).

So today is the start of a new week. It is a time for rebirth. What will you do differently this week?

Have you started the May Challenge? How are you doing? It is never too late to start. Click below to read my May 1st blog if you need to review the May Challenge:

May Challenge

Let's do this!

Alan

CONFESSIONS OF A WEIGHT WATCHERS LEADER

I didn't track my Weight Watchers Smartpoints last night.

The truth is I didn't plan to track last night...on purpose. I even went so far as to declare that I was not going to track on yesterday's blog post.

There is good news and bad news surrounding this decision.

The good news is that I didn't track because I knew I really didn't need to. I was nearing the end of my week (I start my tracking week on Mondays), and still had daily points left, plenty of weekly points left, and fitpoints I could use if I needed them.

So the reason I didn't track was because I had tracked so well all week I already knew I didn't need to. All would be fine...and it was...almost.

We went to the local pub and I had Fish and Chips (the beer battered kind) and a couple of beers (not light). I did it because I could, and I wanted to, and I don't regret it for a second.

There were two learnings last night though.

1) I was happily eating away until my friend Diane, who had ordered the same thing, said : "I can't eat anymore. I'm full". It wasn't until she uttered those words that I realized I was half way through my meal and I was full too. I set the rest of my meal aside and felt good...but I also knew damn well that if she hadn't uttered those words I probably would have powered my way all the way through it. I wasn't even remotely paying attention to anything.

2) Walking home we all seemed to get caught up in the moment. I think someone said "who wants ice cream?" and the next thing we knew we were in a corner store. I didn't get any ice cream but I did scarf down a snickers bar, and then went home and ate potato chips and dip. WTF?

Point "2" above was not planned and I do regret it...but I am going to let it go.

I suppose I could sit down and back track how many points I actually ate, and then determine if I had gone on or off plan but what is the point? Today is the last day of my week so no matter what the result is the answer is the same: Just make today a "normal day".

It's not quite as easy as it sounds as we are having friends over for a BBQ today, but I can still eat healthy options and drink my Smirnoff Ice Light (it's only 7 Smartpoints for a whole litre!).

I love Weight Watchers because of its flexibility and forgiveness. When you fall off the saddle you just get right back on and keep on riding.

One more thing...I must really be getting myself "beyond the scale" because I totally forgot to even tell you I was down 1.7 pounds at my weigh-in last Friday.

Here is to the wonderful week that lies ahead!

Happy Mother's Day to all the Mothers out there! 

Alan

I NEED HELP

My partner has told me I need help for years. He's right. I do.

I need serious help...but who doesn't?

If I have learned nothing else on this journey it is that I am totally and utterly incapable of doing it on my own.

There are many times I have thought to myself: "For goodness sake Alan, you are not a child...buck up and just do it". Sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't, but it NEVER works long term if I try to do it on my own.

After I held my two Weight Watcher meetings this morning I drove out to Newmarket (almost an hour drive) to meet with the sellers of a house I will be listing for sale and then started to head home. As I was driving home a funny thing happened...a big grin came over my face. It was then I realized I was thinking about the meetings I had held in the morning.

I don't know if either the Friday morning Weight Watchers group I attend as a member, or the Saturday Morning meetings I attend as a leader know this, but I REALLY need you.

You are the reason I have kept my weight off, for the most part, for 12 years...it is plain and simply other Weight Watcher Members that keep me ticking.

I love the brutal honesty that we are able to share in our "safe zone" and the familiarity that we find in each other's struggles. I love the fact that I can talk to you about everything from a great dish I prepared, to my purchase of new underwear. You are an amazing group of people.

So to those people who think like I used to think, and get frustrated because they think they should be able to do it on their own I say the following:

1) Why should you be able to it on your own? Is there a rule somewhere I don't know about?
2) Even if you could, why would you want to?

The meetings I am at are bright spots in my week every week.

If you are a member and you don't feel that way about your meeting (and I say this EVEN if your meeting happens to be a meeting I lead), find another meeting. You need to be somewhere where you feel connected. Just don't do it on your own.

Doing it on your own doesn't make you an adult. Recognizing and accepting support when you need it makes you an adult.

Sometimes we still want to be a child though. I am going to be a child tonight. I'm going out for dinner and drinks tonight and I am NOT going to count my points. So there!

Tomorrow I will be an adult again :-)

Alan

PREPARING FOR THE WEEKEND

Weekends are a busy time for me.

I lead my Weight Watchers meeting on Saturday mornings and then I am off and running doing my real job as a Realtor. If I am not prepared it can create real challenges from a food perspective. This is particularly true when you combine it with the desire to have fun on Friday and/or Saturday nights.

This week I will resist the temptation to have fun Friday night, (tonight) anyway, as we are having people over for a BBQ on Sunday and I want to enjoy myself then.

I know I need to be prepared but the question is always: How do I do that?

I think I figured out breakfast last week, with my home made Muesli and Berries I'm good. It's easy to make but I need to remember to make it on Friday night so it is ready for the morning. :-)

The question becomes: What about the rest of the weekend?

I have a leftover pasta and veggie dish in the freezer I will take for Saturday lunch but I am going to try out a new theory.

My theory will hopefully solve another issue and that is "recipe leftovers".

I'm not talking about leftover dishes, but all the vegetables etc. that pile up in the fridge. When I buy a bunch of leeks but only need two in my recipe, the rest of the bunch sits. This starts happening with a lot of things until you end up with a fridge full of stuff you don't know what to do with.

So this is my theory:

1) Take it all out and chop it up


2) Put it in a pan and stir fry it up (I also added a can of diced tomatoes)



3) Freeze half for another time and then put the rest in the fridge.

My plan is to use this as my vegetable "filler" so I can make things fast and on the go.

Need an omelet: Put some filler in it.
Need a vegetable? Use the filler
Want some soup? Add broth and used the filler
Want a chilli? Add beans and use the filler.

Yes I may get tired of the filler by the end of the weekend but then I can move on with the knowledge that I was healthy. It will feel good.

If I still have leftovers after the weekend I can easily make a vegetable soup with what remains and freeze it.

I'm feeling like I've got this!

Alan

FINDING GOOD JUNK FOOD

Let's be real. Most of us want to be healthy but we also want to eat some good old fashion junk occasionally right?

My "thing" is often a Burger and Fries. I love it! The problem is there are just too many Smartpoints in them (perhaps because it isn't actually healthy...just perhaps) . A whopper at Burger King (no cheese) for instance is 22 Smartpoints, and a small Fries adds on another 7. If you add only 1 tablespoon of ketchup to the fries, that is many people's entire food budget for the day gone in one sitting.

I still WANT the Burger and Fries sometimes though, and yesterday was one of those times.

I decided to see how Smartpoint friendly I could make it and wow did I learn something. If you aren't a WW member, the "point" discussion that follows won't mean a lot to you but I still think you will find the information interesting.

Please keep in mind that in my evaluation I am going by the nutrition labels on the actual package in the supermarket (which is the most accurate) and not by the more generic on-line database of Smartpoint values. I was at the Loblaws in Maple Leaf Gardens, Toronto.

What I really wanted to do was figure out the best option for my meat. They didn't have ground Turkey, so I looked at Extra Lean Ground Beef and Lean Ground Chicken. The nutrition labels were for 100gr but I knew I would eat more than that so I doubled the amounts and entered the nutrional information into the app on my phone. Both came in at 8 Smartpoints.

Since there was no difference I thought: "I'm going for the beef!" :-)

It was then that I saw it...out of the corner of my eye I saw ground "something" in a green package. It was calling my name.

I looked at the package and it said the words: "Extra Lean High In Protein Meat". What was it? Ostrich!




I wasn't sure if I had ever had Ostrich before but it intrigued me enough to turn the package over to look at the nutrition label and I was truly shocked:



If you can't read it is says that in a 4oz serving (112gr) there are 110 calories, .2gr of Saturated Fat, 0 Sugar and 27g of protein! I checked out the company, Natural Frontier's, website and they say their products have no antibiotics, added hormones, or steroids. They also say: "All of our semi-wild species are given plenty of room to roam freely so that they can thrive and maintain overall herd health and quality."

After getting it home, weighing the actual meat (there were 280gr in the package ) and entering the adjusted figures for a 140gr burger (so we could have one burger each) it came out at 1 Smartpoint for a burger. That is right...I said 1 Smartpoint!!!! It also had 34gr of Protien per burger!

If you go to the online database it will tell you 5oz of Ostrich meat is 3 Smartpoints (still good), but this specific package is extra lean ostrich meat.

Now the packaging says it is "juicy" but I know enough about meat to know that if there isn't much fat there isn't much juice, so I employed a trick a WW member taught me once, and that is to put chopped celery inside the meat of the burger before making it. The celery releases water which helps keep it moist. I actually put celery, onion, garlic, and pepper in the meat.

I cooked the Burger on the BBQ so I didn't have to cook in oil, used my Actifry for the fries so there was only 1 Tbsp of oil (tracked as 1/2 Tbsp each), and ended up with a Burger and Fries calculated as follows:

Ostrich Meat: 1 Smartpoint
Bun: 4 Smartpoints
1/2 Tbsp of oil: 2 Smartpoints
Potato (I actually weighted it); 5 Smartpoints
Celery, Onion, Garlic, Pepper, Cucumber, Watercress, Tomato, Mustard: 0 Smartpoints

So the Burger and Fries came in at 12 Smartpoints! Awesome.

I'm not going to lie, I added a few extra toppings as follows, but they are choices you don't necessarily need to make:

Cheese: 3 Smartpoints
Ketchup: 2 Tbsp (for fries): 2 Smartpoints



It was really good. I wouldn't say it was "dry" but I would have liked it a little moister. I think I will put mushrooms inside the meat before cooking next time. That will hopefully add some more moisture.

This is my new "go to" for Burger and Fries night.

There is a little catch. The Ostrich isn't cheap. It was $12.49 Cdn for 10 oz of meat. My first thought was: That's crazy! My more rational afterthought was: That works out to $6.25 a burger. I would easily pay that for a burger at a fast food restaurant. Why wouldn't I value myself enough to pay that here and be healthier?

So good, friendly, junk can be found. You just have to look! :-)

Alan

CONTROL. IS IT EVEN POSSIBLE WHEN LIFE SUCKS?

As a Weight Watchers Leader I often talk about being "in control".

A prime example of losing control can occur when a significant incident happens in life that throws you off track.

When something bad happens the easiest thing to do is to throw in the towel. After all, the "incident" is more important. 

Sometimes the situation can be so severe that you just don't care about anything, and I mean anything. So who cares if you give up on yourself? 

In fact I can almost guarantee you that if you tell your friends you're going to eat whatever you want right now because you have bigger things to worry about, the majority of your friends will support you and encourage the behaviour. After all, there will be plenty of time in the future to go back to focussing on your health. Right? They aren't trying to sabotage you. They are just trying to be good friends...and they can probably relate. 

Perhaps a loved one is sick or has just passed away, or you have our own health issue, or your new medications are causing weight gain.

Whatever the incident may be, it is important to recognize that you are at a critical juncture. 

You can choose to stay in control of one thing. It might be the only thing you control right now. Only you can decide that you will stay in control of your own health.

It isn't easy to decide to stay healthy...it is necessary.

Whenever someone says "you can't help others until you help yourself" there is always universal agreement, and yet when something happens and a person gives up on "self-focus" in order to help another, or get themselves through a difficult situation, it tends to not only be understood but supported. Why is that?

I think we all know what really needs to happen.  No matter what the scenario, we need to stay in control of ourselves.

What does that even mean though? Am I telling you that you need to make sure you track everything you put in your mouth while sitting by a loved one's bedside in hospital? Of course not.

I'm simply saying that staying present, and aware, is more important than ever.

I am speaking from a place of knowledge. Many of you know both of my parents and my sister have passed away, and I am currently working through the health issues of a loved one (who will be fine). I have dealt with my emotions by eating too often in the past. I will not allow it to get me this time. I am better than that.

Here is the thing:  None of us are perfect. I don't even want to be perfect anymore. 

If you find yourself in a situation where food is becoming your medication, and/or friends are bombarding you with comfort dishes to make you feel better, ask yourself if eating it is the right decision in the long term. Don't ask yourself if it is the right decision "right now" because the devil on your shoulder will feed you the wrong answer and you are probably weak enough to listen.

Find the strength to stay strong. If I can do it, you can do it.

Alan

P.S. I normally post pics of my food from the day prior. Although I do have them, and I ate well, I don't want to diminish today's message by reducing the blog to "what Alan ate yesterday". 

HOW DO PEOPLE WITH WEIGHT ISSUES BUY CLOTHES?

I joke on my main blog page about how I realized in horror that I am wearing the same underwear in two pictures of myself taken five years a part. Kudos to the underwear manufacturer anyway!

In a way it is symbolic of me though.

Those who attend my Weight Watchers meetings may have noticed that I alternate two pairs of the same pants for my meetings. They aren't that different and they are both the same colour of grey.

I don't wear them because I love them. I wear them for two reasons:

1) I don't make enough time to do something for myself (like go clothes shopping)
2) I don't like clothes shopping because I never know what I will weigh next month.

The last point is actually a really big problem. I have an entire closet full of clothes that don't quite fit. They are all too small.

A week and a half ago I emptied the entire closet, threw them on a bed in another room, and said: "Right: I am going to go through these and I am going to give to charity anything that I know will never fit again".

At the time it seems like a good idea, but then I started the blog and that reinvigorated me.

Yesterday I went to go through the clothes and thought.: "How do I know these will never fit again?"

The clothes are all back in the closet.

So I'm once again stuck. This is not the first time I have done this.

The clothes I have are too small and I don't want to buy new clothes because the ones I have are actually nice and they might fit again soon.

I'm not really sure how to resolve this other than hoping it will resolve itself, but I do promise you two things:

1) I will get some new pants this week.
2) I will get some new underwear this week.

Hey...it's a start! Baby steps :-)

My food journey yesterday:

1) Mostly veggie Omelet for breakfast (with a little bit of cheese and bacon) :



2) Tuna Wrap for lunch:



3) Rosemary Chicken with Pears and Leeks ( from the WW Year Round Fresh Cookbook) for dinner:




I had some fruits as snacks during the day too.

It was a good day.

Get out there and enjoy the sun today!

Alan