Week 12

AKA: No good deed goes unpunished.."
25 Mar 2013: 196.3
18 Mar 2013: 197.9
11 Mar 2013: 198.1
So with this week's bit of weight loss my daily points target has been lowered to 27pp. Thanks.. Like I was doing so great on 28 (not). ugh!

Late Breakfast Snackage

One of the things we came across while grocery shopping last year were these BelVita Breakfast Biscuits. These are yummy cookie things**. We've had the regular "oat" flavor, as well the blueberry but our favorite are the apple-cinnamon and the cinnamon-brown sugar:

Each packet is about 6 points plus and while not especially filling are good with a cup of milk.

I went to the Nabisco/BelVita website and they advise pairing with other things like non-fat Greek yogurt, some fruit, or maybe a low-fat latte. As you can see, I had mine with Skim Milk and then after, a nice Fuji apple (I decided on that after I did the photo so it's not included).

I wouldn't eat this for breakfast every day, but if you're in a rush and you "forget" to eat breakfast these are always good to keep in your laptop bag or whatever and eating when you remember to. We've also taken them on trips: good for eating on the plane or keep in your daypack while on vacation.

I know for six points (eight when you count the milk), I could have had a candy bar but that's not breakfast.

**Sean seems to think we've tried the chocolate flavor but I honestly don't recall, so it must not have been especially memorable or tasty. =P

Week 2 Weigh-In

aka: it's probably water weight!

14 Jan 2013: 204.2 lbs
07 Jan 2013: 208.9 lbs

I've been drinking a lot of crystal light and cutting down on our soda stream soda (although I do drink a liter or so each week of either "Cola Zero" or the diet raspberry soda which are both good) I drink Coke Zero or iced tea when we're out and about.. and I even still have a coffee treat now & again when we go to Peet's for beans or last night when I was desperate for a bathroom and had to stop in at Starbucks.. A grande "skinny" vanilla latte is 3 points plus. =)

I know I need to step up the exercising though. Sean said he'd hook up the wii fit so we'll see what happens with that! =)

One thing I've found out is taking the trash out is a great way to get the steps in! I made two trips yesterday: first to take out the trash and then the cat litter. That, along with our running errands last night put me just over 10,000 steps (10,103 steps actually). So if you wear an activity meter of some kind, keep it on! Every little thing counts!

End of Week 02

This week after spending some time getting lots of fruit, salad, a ton of yogurt and other yummy things.. we stayed in to eat. We did hit up "The Habit" on errand days (where I had a yummy BBQ chicken salad: 11pp) but otherwise yeah, no dining out.. I don't know if that helped so much but it did keep me on track because I knew everything I was eating.

I had adjusted my points plus intake back up to 29 and maybe it's just mental but I didn't feel as hungry having my 3points back.. and I lost some weight. =)


Wk02 16 Jan 2012: 178.2lbs
Wk01 09 Jan 2012: 180.7lbs

End of Week 50

..or something like that.

Was away since Thanksgiving (when I weighed about 182.6) and then returned the night of the 11th from Orlando.. Which I must note, the 2012 program went into effect on the 2nd of December. Not happy about that. My points plus target went from 29 daily points plus to 26... Yes it makes a difference to me.

So the last week of vacation I went off program, still tracking & walking a LOT but didn't worry about how many points I ate, which resulted with about a 5lb weight gain..

Started fresh on the wagon this last week tho even while I was down with a cold. Lots of salad, fruits and and yogurt.. with an occasional treat now & again.. Hot tea w/ honey or watered down hot cocoa-moo for my throat.

19 DEC 2011: 182.1 lbs

So.. I still have the cold but I'm going to try and stay on program til the end of the year and then start over fresh with a "Week 1.2" type log.. or something like that just to make it clear that it's the 2nd year on program or 2012 or what-have-you.

One thing I know. It's hard (and almost impossible) to stay on program at Disney World. I'm not saying it's not possible, it's just very freaking difficult. =)

Savor the Yumminess

, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Running our bi-monthly errands is hungry work. I blew 12 points plus on this yummy and decadent version of The Habit's BBQ Bacon Char Burger for Sunday lunch. This is sans cheese, mayo or bun.. (they actually offer a lettuce wrapped option on their menu) so I don't have to stick with the BBQ chicken salad (at 11 pp) if I'm not wanting the big salad.

I did opt for a side salad tho.. (pictured in background) One thing if I ever do this again.. EAT THE SALAD FIRST!

I was depressed for the loss of that yummy grilled onion,bbq and bacon taste in my mouth once I ate the salad.. and part of what I enjoy about being naughty is being able to savor the yumminess!

Lesson hard learned..

lunches like this get me in trouble

lunches like this get me in trouble, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Does this look like half my daily allotment of points plus?? It is..

Bagel Thin: 3 pp
black bean garden burger: 5 pp
Laughing Cow queso wedge: 1 pp
hickory bbq 1tblspn: 1 pp
smidgen of Kirkland salsa: 0 pp

1 oz Zapp's Chips: 4 pp

TOTAL: 14 pp (I'm allowed 29 daily)

Oh but yes it was yummy!

MorningStar Farms

MorningStar Farms Chipotle Black Bean Veggie Burger



We purchased a box at Costco.. it comes as 12 pack and each patty is about 120g or as it says on the box "1/4 pound size!" Whatever.. All I know is each one is 5 points plus so I heated one up and put a spoonful of Costco salsa (it's the only one we have left that didn't say "use within 7 days of opening" otherwise I'd have used the good stuff..)

I like morningstar farms veggie burgers.. I don't know why we thought we might not like these. I do. They are just a littlest bit 'spicy' (that's got to be the chipotle seasoning people) but I'm thinking if I had some fresh avacado or gaucamole, that would have gone well with it.. or maybe a spicier, hotter salsa.

It had a bit of chargrilled flavoring to the edge, I suppose to make it more "authentic" or something. Personally I don't want my veggie burger to taste like it was cooked with meat in it. When I want a real cheeseburger I'll eat a real cheeseburger.. when I want a veggie burger, I want a veggie burger.

Tonight I wanted a veggie burger. It was good!

Mango Chicken yum!

Sean & I were out running errands today and hit up the Baja Fresh in Atwater Village after our Costco run.. I ended up getting this yummy salad:


Mango Chipotle Chicken Salad
Tortilla shell filled with Romaine lettuce, chicken, avocado, Cotija cheese, mango salsa, and a chipotle glaze. Served with chipotle vinaigrette.

Hmmm.. I didn't notice any cheese.. maybe they forgot?? As it is I didn't need the cheese, nor the tortilla shell or the tortilla chips they hand out for no reason at all.

According to my weight watcher points plus tracker, the tortilla shell (that I didn't eat) was 12 points plus! I'm so glad I left it behind! The salad itself was pretty yummy. Rather than pouring that oily dressing on it, I added some pico de gallo from the salsa bar (the thing they have so you can dip the chips they give you). Between the salsa and the mango salsa it was just enough sweet and spicy. No need for salad dressing.

The points plus for the salad alone was 7 points plus so I would definitely order this again assuming I'm out & about near Costco and needing food.

Sean made pancakes!

Sean made pancakes!, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Sunday morning surprise: Sean decided he wanted to make some pancakes. We had picked up some Fiber One pancake mix a couple weeks back to give it a try.

This is the second time we've had them & I really like them. They're 5 points plus per serving (which is about 3 normal sized pancakes.. you remember 'normal size' right??)

I added a tablespoon of agave syrup for 2 points plus and some sliced banana (which is 0 pp on the new program).

Hurray for Sunday breakfast and for getting to eat like a regular person. =)

End of Week 9

07 Mar 2011: 203.2 lbs
28 Feb 2011: 204.5 lbs
21 Feb 2011: 206.0 lbs


I'm a little surprised since (along with a 5 points plus pint of Weider's Pear Cider) I had this yummy cheeseburger:

That was Saturday night at Clancy's Clubhouse in Anaheim.. My daily points plus is 29 and when the day was done.. I'd eaten a total of 45 pp (29 of them at dinner!)

We had walked over 20,000 steps at Disneyland but I think next time I'm going to skip the cider or something.. It was yummy and was grateful for the time to meet up with friends,(we don't see folks near as much since we moved to DTLA).

I managed to do some Walk it Out this morning; burned off about 300+ calories and unlocked some 'magic clocks' and a couple zodiac pieces. When I'm finished unlocking everything I'll most likely start a new profile and do it all over again.. along with other exercise of course.

Making Good Choices

Why the Gain??

Rather than losing any weight, I actually gained a half pound. I'm trying to keep myself accountable as to why I might have actually gone the wrong direction a little bit.

First of all, the past week I didn't do "Walk it Out" for most of the week/weekend before.. I was sick in bed from about Friday to Thursday this past week after Sean got released from Good Samaritan (we think I caught the flu somewhere). When I did feel better I tried to make up for it and did manage to get my walking in. I think I would have shown a bigger weight gain if I'd done nothing.

Along with the lack of exercise, my food choices weren't the best. I usually don't use my activity points or go in the hole if I can help it.

Thursday last week we had dinner at Starry Kitchen..


I thought I was doing OK but I got a wrap instead of a salad.. The "wrap" was a 13 inch flour tortilla which is about 10 points plus on its own!! Holy Cow.. I'm sticking with the salad from here on out.. That one mistake cost me a LOT of my accrued points.

Saturday I had a LOT of points left after going out to dinner at The Nickel.. (I ordered the 'eat your vegetables' without the mashed potatoes and it was still about 4 points plus (the buttermilk mashed potatoes would have cost about 15 points plus if I had allowed myself to have them). Since I had a bunch of points left over we headed to Big Man Bakes to get some minis.

I still don't know how many points the minis actually are.. but Sean weighed them at about 28g each. We guestimated them at 3 points plus.. I had 3. I was done for the day. I didn't use any activity points or weekly points. Still, that's about 9 points of minis vs. 3 servings of yogurt or.. 3 cups of cereal or 3 servings of Pop Chips or a tablespoon of guacamole and some chips, or a protein style In N Out burger. There's lots of things you can do with 9 points and I decided to treat myself to minis. Those are empty calories I just had.

Sunday night we had dinner at Urban Noodle which is like an Asian Fusion sort of place.. well it's a noodle place (not a Pho place) and I ordered Beef Chow Fun:

According to my tracker 1cup of Beef Chow Fun is 9 points plus.. so I measured that out onto my plate the best I could.. I also had a pork bun appetizer (which arrived after our dinner did) and that thankfully is about 5 points plus according to the tracker. I don't think what I had was very healthy but it was yummy.. and I have some leftover for today's lunch.

The weird thing is.. Sean & I would split the beef chow fun in the past (and have at least one appetizer) and I would manage to be full. I told Sean that I wasn't stuffed and I definitely could have eaten more.. so while the food is still good, having less of it didn't satisfy me and I blew all those points.

I think the thing for me would be to eat more salad or veggies and compliment that with some semi-bad choices. When I eat stuff like the chow fun, I should partner it with a side salad (assuming something like that is available) The good thing is Urban Noodle does have an Asian Chop Salad.. so I will give that a go next time..

and when I have something like 9 or 10 points left in the day I should probably lay off the mini cupcakes.. Once in a while is OK but having it be a 1/3 of my daily intake was not a good idea..

While I don't know if any of these choices were what contributed to me gaining weight it probably didn't help.. This whole thing is a learning experience though. I'm learning as I go.

iPhone app bug

This morning I stumbled onto what I found out is a bug with the Weight Watchers iPhone app. It seems that when you update your weight on the iPhone it automatically puts you into maintenance when you set a new goal weight..

I'm very grateful that a good friend let me know what it was because I was having trouble finding anything about it on the message boards. Of course I wasn't looking for anything about a bug with the application.. It didn't make sense that I would get to eat MORE points after losing 14 lbs.. Once I went to the website and fixed it.. editing my goal (for the same 10% loss) it gave me an option to 'stay on maintenance' or 'keep losing' and sure enough, it had defaulted to maintenance so I changed my ticky box to 'losing' and it fixed my daily points right away:



Hurray! I'm not excited to eat less, but I'm certainly happy to keep on program the correct way. =)

End of Week 6

This past week has been a rough one.. what with my temporary weight gain last week, Sean's hospital stay at Good Samaritan and my getting sick (still sick but temp seems to have gone down). Weigh in today seems off.. in a good way.

14 Feb 2011: 205.5
07 Feb 2011: 211.6

So I got my 5% goal.. plus.. Here's a screen shot of my weight tracker graph:


I was given a choice of making a new ultimate goal or I could do a smaller goal of 10% (which would be 198). If you see along the top it says my daily points plus is 35! 29** (I've been doing 30 points plus) The weekly is always 49.. that's what I can use for special occasions or, like last night I only had 5 points plus left for dinner and my dinner was 6 points plus.

To be fair the only reason I had 5 points plus for dinner was because I'm sick and I had 3 cups of Trader Joe's Spiced Pear Cider throughout the day.. and a cup of that particular cider is 3 points plus... So yeah, I blew a 1/3 of my points plus on juice. Bummer. (FWIW I had oatmeal for breakfast & lunch)

I don't understand why my daily points plus value went up**.. Is it because of the wacky week I had last week?? Is it because I set a new goal so they 'zero' me out so to speak?? I honestly thought my daily points plus would have gone DOWN not up...

Granted losing 6lbs in a week is not considered a good thing.. I'm cutting myself some slack because honestly that 2lbs weight gain was water weight.. So assuming I didn't gain 2lbs in water weight I would have lost maybe 4lbs and not 6lbs.. or maybe not.

A good average is 1-2 lbs a week. My personal goal is to lose 2 lbs a week.. to lose more than that isn't considered a healthy rate by Weight Watchers from what I understand. Sean, (who says he will post here but has been otherwise occupied what with being in the hospital) has been averaging a pound a week. He did his weigh in and got a "you're losing too fast" warning..

If you look along the bottom of my photo it has my stats average to about 2.1 pounds. That may or may not be too much. This is one of the few times I wish I was able to talk to a consultant, so I'd know what the deal is with the points plus plan. Why do I have MORE points this week?? Should I stick with my 30? Is there a glitch in the online program? (ie: if I'd done an ultimate goal would that have kept my daily points plus rather than increasing?)

I guess that's what the message boards are for..

**EDIT: I found out this is a glitch with the iPhone app. I went back to the site and updated my goal and it gave me the option to 'stay in maintance' or 'keep losing' so I changed it. Suffice to say I won't be updating my weight loss with the iPhone app any time soon!


PS: Thanks to my friend Sam for the iPhone bug help & info!

Fruit!

One of the things I really like about the new Points Plus program is that I'm finally able to eat fruit w/out getting penalized (which is how I looked at it when on the old program).



Previously, a medium banana cost me 1.5 points.. on the NEW Points Plus program, it's 0 points plus

In fact most fruit and veggies are 0 and so I can have as much as I want! Yay!

Despite having as much fruit as I want, I still manage to only have around 4 servings of fruit a day. A banana here, a couple clementines there..

We live in downtown LA, so we have many options for hunting down our fruit. We get the bananas at Costco for like 3lbs for around $1.88; cuties we get at the Arts/District adjacent Fresh & Easy and the other fruit like apples (and more oranges!) we get at Superior for a crazy deal.

For last minute options we have the Central Market on Broadway, the Farmers' Market at City Hall on Thursdays and now Two Bits on 5th near Spring at the Alexandria.. The fruit at Two Bits is all organic, so the prices run a bit higher than Superior or Costco but it's a convenience too.

Hurray Fruit!

Defining "A Slice"

Pandan Flan and Durian Cheesecake featured as part of the DineLA menu at Starry Kitchen.

Sean tries to help 'size' my slice of cheesecake, originally uploaded by meekorouse.

Sean and I went to Starry Kitchen for DineLA (it's the 2nd week). One of the things we puzzled over while eating was trying to figure out what the Weight Watchers Points Tracker app meant by "a slice" of cheesecake. Whatever it was we had half.. but the thing is, the tracker doesn't specify what a slice is.

Do they mean the sort you get at your average restaurant? Do they mean the sort you get in a Sara Lee box?? Doe they mean the size we got at Starry Kitchen (which this was half but they are by no means Claim Jumper size to begin with.. they are 'normal sizes'.. when normal was you know, normal) We settled on a half of 'fast food restaurant cheesecake 9 "points plus" (which I think is an insult to Starry Kitchen. Everything there is made from scratch.. so no fast food anything!).. I still wonder.. What is a slice?

more food pRon from our Starry Kitchen visit here

Treating myself

The original plan for Saturday was to head to Hollywood & Highland and walk down to the Egyptian Theater to see a Lord of the Rings (director's cut) movie marathon.. OK, the original original plan was to check out Art Weekend LA but then Sean got these tickets.. then our plans fell to the wayside as his work changed things.

Whatever, I started the day doing some walking (just in case) we ended up seeing the films. 10+ hours in a dark theater aren't conducive to exercise. So when we couldn't go we headed out after lunch to check out a few galleries.

Lunch was food from home.. I ended up having a Lean Cuisine Philly Style Steak & Cheese Panini which (if you go to their site) is just loaded w/ sodium. Otherwise I actually liked it. I heated it up (doesn't take long) and ended up eating it open face. It had plenty of meat on it.. (I forgot to take a photo of it before starting to eat so I only have a photo of half of it)


It reminded me (a little) of Trader Joe's Philly Cheese Steak pizza which I just LOVE and can't eat too often (and especially not these days).

For something sweet to finish it off, Sean had brought home some other WW novelty treats to try. These ones are in the old packaging and say "1point" on the box. They are actually 2 "points plus" but, much more affordable than those "4 Points plus" ice cream candy bars..

the bar image on the box is obviously not to scale. =)

It was pretty sweet and not too latte tasting.. I thought I tasted a caramel accent to it though. It's artificially flavored so it's no surprise it reminds me of those instant iced cappuccino mixes I would stir into my skim milk years ago.

For 2 points (plus) I'm not complaining..

I WILL be happy though when the new packaging comes out in the next month or so..


Day 20 Sat 22 Jan: "Personal Coach: Walking" daily steps: 8487 (@445pm) **EDIT** 10,341 @718pm
Day 19 Fri 21 Jan: "Personal Coach: Walking" daily steps: 10606

What are Points?

**Disclaimer** I do NOT work for Weight Watchers nor am I a nutritionist. I'm just another fat cat trying to lose some weight on the new Points Plus Program. That said..

What are points?


Weight Watchers assigns 'points' to food. On the old program, treats like the Weight Watcher Novelties were nice.. (they were on sale at the downtown Ralphs so we got a couple boxes):


the 'candy bars' are the closest I'll be getting to those "Snicker Ice Cream Bars" any time soon.. on the old system they are (as noted on the box) '3' points (vs. approx. 10pts for the Snicker Ice Cream bars).

But that was the OLD system.. packaging for the new points plus hasn't come out yet.

On the OLD system you figure the calories, fat and fiber to get your points.

Here you can see the bar is 150calories, 9g of fat and.. 3g of fiber. On the old system they only count up to 4g of fiber.. so while eating high fiber food is good it won't help you lessen your points. On this ice cream novelty it doesn't matter (because it's under 4) so a point is around 60calories50 calories so a way to 'cheat' that is to divide 50 into 150 then add 90calories (for the 9g of fat) then subtract the 3g (or 30calories worth of fiber). Not an accurate way to figure the old points.. (that's why it's also handy to have the points on the box or have your points calculator).

**EDIT/Correction: 1103am Thanks to Ben for the point calorie correction! It's been a while since I was on program with the old system..

On the NEW points plus system you do NOT count calories. Instead, you count fat, carbs, protein and fiber... I have NO CLUE how the math is worked out but on my "Points Tracker" app it figures to 4points.

This is happening a LOT with many of the food I was used to eating. My 0 or 1points "Progresso" soup is now 1-2pts a serving, (which is still better than a regular can of Progresso soup) my Yoplait light fatfree yogurt went up from 2points to 3 points. My sugar-free Jell-O is still 0 points.. My double fiber Oroweat bread is 2points (can't recall if it was 1 or 2 points before it's been so long since I was counting).

So I haven't figured it out or if there is a cheat. I'm not worried about that right now honestly. I'm re-learning the program and while it's still early, I'm happy with the results. I figure if I can lose an average of 2lbs a week I will be well on my way to looking "OK" by May. It'll be nice to have 20-40lbs less of me to carry around for the D23 Scavenger Hunt this Spring. =)

Goals and My Points

At Christmas I was weighing 220lbs (not the most I've been but the most I've been in a REALLY long time..) I've always had issues with my weight; even in the army it was hard for me to keep within a 5lb limit of my proper weight target and weigh-ins always seemed to occur when I was weighing the most during the month. After my service was up I immediately gained about 20lbs which only fueled my binging. Looking back at those photos I only wish I still weighed 140lbs.. It really doesn't look fat from where I'm sitting now.

I tried going back on program in early 2010 and failed. I wanted to lose 80-100lbs by May of this year. I think that is what made me fail... Looking at the big picture and not allowing myself the little things that make the process a success.

This time I'm doing smaller goals and getting serious this time. I think it does help that I'm on the new "points plus" program because I don't feel so deprived. The points are higher for food I'm used to eating but on the other hand I can treat myself to fruit and veggies, which wasn't such a treat before. If you had to count points for the banana you ate, verses the fat-free yogurt what would you pick?? I ate a LOT of yogurt. =)

I was already on the weight watcher site; but to use the eTools you have to be a member and since the new points plus program is much harder to calculate (I haven't figured it out) than the old program, it behooves me to join for the 3month trial membership which I've done.


Differences in programs I've noticed: I personally don't get anymore daily points than before, but how it's done is different.

On the old points program I got 26-31points; I was encouraged to "bank" points for special occasions that I knew I'd need extra. So planning ahead was key. I'm not that good.

On "Points Plus" at my start weight of 220 I got 31points a day. No banking. Instead there are 49 weekly points that can be used for whatever. That special occasion you don't plan or times when you go 'just over' your limit. I call that "going in the hole." I personally don't like going in the hole because it means I didn't keep better track of what I'm eating and not making the right choices. I understand the 49 points is there to be used.. but it doesn't have to be.

Activity Points: these were on the old program but I honestly don't recall how they worked.

On "Points Plus" I'm getting credit for stuff like playing on the "wii fit" or taking my normal everyday walks, bicycle rides, etc. You can use the activity points like the weekly points.. The "points tracker" system is defaulted to use the activity points AFTER your weekly points have been used up. There's a way to change that but I haven't figured it out yet. I'm sure I'll post when I've got it figured out. As of now though, I don't tend to use my weekly points much.. last week I used 13 of my weekly points over the course of the week and the week before I think I used 5 over the course of a week.

At the beginning of the new week (weigh in day) you start all over with new weekly points so you if you don't use it you lose it, but honestly.. I'm trying to 'lose it' not eat as much as I possibly can.

I think knowing I have the weekly points there as insurance is encouragement for me to try and stay within my limits. Whatever keeps me on program right?

OK.. so here it is so far..

Start Weight: 03 Jan 219.6lbs
Week 01: 10 Jan 217lbs
Week 02: 17 Jan 215lbs

Starting my 3rd week at 215lbs has lowered my daily points to 30. I still get the 49 weekly points. As my daily points gets smaller, I"m curious to see if I use those weekly points more than I have in the past. Hopefully I'll get used to proper portions again and I won't be tempted to snack on the wrong things.

My first goal is 209lbs which I think is a 5% of loss.

New Blog New Me =)

Starting a new blog at the start of my 3rd week on Weight Watchers Points Plus..

What this blog is or hopefully will be, is a place I can put all that food pRon and program related stuff. Neither Sean or myself is affiliated with Weight Watchers or have any nutritionist experience.

We've been 'on program' before with good results. It's going off program, forgetting (or ignoring) those good habits you learn, eating a bag of chips, etc. that make the weight come back on. I used to walk A LOT and I got down to 170lbs. I kind of plateaued and got discouraged. I wasn't walking as much, I kept eating...

I started on the NEW points plus program on the January 3rd. SO yeah, I'm a little late on starting this blog. I won't be journaling my food here.. but I will post about the food I eat, the places we go, the games we're playing on the Wii or the DS. How my tracker app is working out.. that sort of thing.

Sean may or may not be posting here as well. He's on program with me. Yay!