Chatty Patty's Place

My week went pretty well.  I kept within my points range all week and got in a lot of steps.  I was down 2.5 lbs, which is great! This week we focused on imagining what it would be like to be at our goal.  I personally don't like to think that far ahead and don't really even have a vision that far in my mind.  I like to make small goals and strides.  This way I don't put pressure on myself.  I take things week by week.  This keeps me focused and makes the achievement more personal and reachable. I found myself making good food choices, even in bad situations.  Let's face it, there are times that you are going to be out with family or friends and everyone is going to want to go to the ice cream parlor or fast food place.  Whatever that situation may be, you have to be able to express yourself to your peers.  If you don't want anything, don't feel pressured to say yes.  Simply tell them that while you appreciate th...

Starting from scratch.... I found it pretty ironic that the focus of the meeting this week had to do with starting a blank canvas and embracing change.  After all,  I was heading off course, back down the road to failure and caught myself before I got to where I was before. The meeting went well.  In the back of my mind I kept waiting for the leader to say, let's all welcome Patty back!  She was slacking for 4 months, but caught herself.  Of course, she would never do that.  But, my mind demons seem to think the worse at times.   I saw a lot of the people who have been on the program and stuck with it, since  I left.  Many looked so much leaner. I wanted to kick myself for not sticking to it, but I am not going to beat myself up.  Instead I use them as an inspiration to succeed, even more. I am making sure to track my food every day.  I decided to go the online app route this time, so that it is easier for me...

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I use to have this preconceived notion that sugar free foods were low calorie foods and that I could eat more of them than other foods when I dieted.   Boy, was I ever so wrong. Lately, I have been more in tune with what I put in my body and that means reading labels and learning more about the foods I eat.  I was shocked when I saw the calories, fat and carbs that were in a lot of the foods. Some had just as many calories as their regular counterparts. Don't get me wrong,  there are some sugar free food and drink choices that are smart.  The key to making those smart choices is reading labels. Another side note to that is that sugar free foods that contain artificial sweeteners tend to be sweeter than sugar added foods and the artificial sweeteners can trigger cravings for more sugar!  Also, let's not forget some of the yucky chemicals that are added to some of these sweeteners. According to everydayhealth.com ,  you should pay attenti...

Hello again!  I hope you are having a great week so far.  If you haven't visited my blog lately, there are a few giveaways going on that you may be interested in.  Please stop by and check them out! This was a small weight loss week, but I can't complain.  It is still a loss.  I lost 1/2 lb this week.  This brings my total weight loss up to 28 lbs so far.  I was expecting a bit more this week, but I am sure it will all catch up in the next couple of weeks. That is how the journey seems to go, not only for me but for pretty much anyone who is on it.  Some weeks you're down a lot, some weeks a little and some none at all.  The body is an amazing machine that does wondrous things.  We have to take care of it like a car.  What we put into it is what we will get out of it. This week I wanted to talk to you about unconcious eating. You know when you're sitting on the couch and have a bag of chips or cookies sitting next to you...

I did it! As I stepped onto the scale tonight at my Weight Watchers center, I have to be honest, my heart was pounding.  I knew this was the final week of the year to reach my personal goal of 25 pounds lost by year end.  As I stood there, with my fists clenched in anticipation, my Weight Watchers receptionist looked over at me with a big smile and said, "25 Pounds Lost!, Congratulations!", and gave me a big hug.  I felt my eyes start to tear up because it was so important to me. The past 2 weeks were not good at all.  I had two consecutive gains in a row.  I was feeling angry and confused because I had been doing everything right, or so I thought. My Weight Watchers coach looked over my food diary last week after my second gain, and we talked about what I was or wasn't doing, that could be effecting the scale. We both determined that I wasn't drinking enough water and I wasn't getting in enough exercise.  Plus, a couple of other p...

Well, this week didn't go exactly as I planned.  It started off great and ended off great.  But, somewhere in between I got a little side tracked. My family celebrated a large accomplishment by our son this week, with an extravagant dinner, and I went a little overboard.  I knew going in that there may be a consequence, but I took that responsibility on because I felt it was worth it, and I have no regrets. The only problem is, the next couple of days, I had foods that I was trying to avoid.... like french fries.  I guess you can say I became laxed and it showed up on the scale at my weight in. I gained a half pound this week and didn't reach my 25 lb goal.  I was disappointed somewhat, but also expected it.  In the past I would've thrown my hands up in the air and threw in the towel.  But this time is different. I want to succeed.  I want to get to that goal. I know that having one bad week doesn't mean to just quit ever...

It's Week 11  and I lost another 1.4 pounds. Yay!  Since it was a short week, I was a lot more conscientious..  I usually go to my meeting on Thursday. One thing that I will not be doing tomorrow is over eating.  I have already set a mental plan for myself.  Since we will be having our dinner at 2, I will only be having a small breakfast.  I will probably have a cup of yogurt with some fresh fruit.  I also will probably not eat after my Thanksgiving meal, so I have about 26 points for my dinner and dessert.  However, I already know that I will be using more points than that. I won't deprive myself of anything that I want to have.  However, I will be cutting back portions tremendously.  Here is how I plan to use them: 1 thin slice of ham (2 oz.)  2 pts 1 slice of turkey       2 pts 1 serving of green beans  0 1 serving of mashed potatoes   1 pt 1serving of yams     5 pts...

With the holidays coming up this week, I know a lot of people may want to indulge a little and that is OK.  Just remember that you are human and it's OK to sometimes go overboard.  The key is to get back on track the next day. When I was at my meeting this week, my leader Erica read a poem to us that was really encouraging and helped put things in perspective.  You see, even though this is a journey, you have to remember there is a destination ahead.  Even if you take things in small steps, like I do, the important thing is to not forget the reason you started this journey to begin with. Here is the poem that was read to us at our meeting.  Feel free to print it out and stick it on your fridge or anywhere that you can read it, when you feel like giving up. Believe in yourself. You can do it.  Don't Quit!! When you’ve eaten too much and you can’t write it down, And you feel like the biggest failure in town. When you want to give up j...

Hello again!  It's just me here to tell you about another successful week on my Weight Watchers journey. This week I focused on portion control.  I also wanted to eat a lot more vegetables and so I made a lot of recipes that included many fresh and frozen vegetables. I also have this sudden passion for tikka masala.  I eat it in small amounts, but love it with chick peas and basmati rice. I make sure to eat a healthy breakfast every morning.  I usually will have eggs, egg beaters, puffed wheat cereal or oatmeal with fresh fruit.    I limit the amount of bread I eat.  Usually if I have bread, it will only be in the morning with breakfast and is usually a light english muffin since the entire english muffin is only 2 points.  I almost feel like I am cheating when I eat it.  I also do not drink my calories.....with 1 exception.    I limit coffee to a couple of times a week and I use Silk Almond Creamer.  It is...

Week 9 was another successful week for me. I lost close to 2 more pounds.  18 total pounds down.  I didn't have any major events planned for the week and kept on track.  I made sure to keep a log of all of my meals and snacks. I find that when I get hungry at night, a glass of unsweetened almond milk and a cut up apple really helps to curb my hunger and only costs me 1 point. I did go out to dinner with my husband one day to Longhorns steak house and ordered the Grilled Chicken Strawberry Salad with the dressing on the side.  I left a lot of the nuts that were in the salad so that I could keep my point count down.   One thing that I never do, is deny myself.  I have done that in the past and it just sets me up for failure.  If I really want something, I will have it, even if it is just a tablespoon or taste.  Sometimes that is all it takes to get rid of that craving. I also went out to a local Italian cafe for a cap...

Do you know what I miss?  I miss the days of being able to eat anything I wanted without even thinking about it.  I miss the days that I didn't have to plan out each meal I was going to consume,  to stay within my guideline. It seems that once menopause started to kick in, my body started doing its own thing.  It is like I transformed overnight.  Suddenly those little snacks that I grabbed when I was bored, started to decide to stick around and before I knew it, I was overweight. I had always been in pretty good shape.  I was walking, working out at the gym and studying krav maga, doing pilates and yoga.  Then my inlaws became  terminally ill and I spent 3 years helping to care for them and my world pretty much focused on them. Before I knew it, I put on a lot of weight. Now I find myself making up for all of those fast food meals I grabbed to save time. About 2 months ago, I decided enough was enough and joined Weight...