The Clicker

Any Weight Watcher members out there who love the Quick Track method? Yes? Well, isn't it annoying that you still have to dig out your tracker and jot it down? The Clicker to the rescue. This little devil is priced low and allows you to set your points that you're going to eat today and click down to zero throughout the day. You can also click up if you're cashing in any Activity pts. It's up to you to be mindful of your Good Health Guidelines; however. I've been struggling with journaling and, eating with the GHG in mind is not a problem for me. So I gave this little gem a try. It's not for everyone (I recommend detailed journaling to new members and anyone struggling with breaking a plateau), but it's smaller than the calculator and priced right. I can hang it from a retractable key chain on my belt buckle or hook it on the side of my purse, so it's always with me. And as I go to eat that 2 pt. granola bar I suddenly think twice, because that's 2 clicks of my day.

New stuff is fun.

Battle of the Bars/Habit adjustments

Before joining Weight Watchers, granola bars were my go-to before dinner and chocolate bars were the thing I collected everytime I was in line at Wal-Mart or put gas in the car. But, if you want to change a habit then one of the easiest ways to do so is to change your routine. I began paying at the pump to avoid the gas station convenience stores. Wal-Mart and quick trips to the grocery store remained a challenge, but I would often pick up yogurt or healthier choices that I could eat once in the car. Having a packed cooler with healthy snacks and plastic utensils also helped - yup, I'm the crazy woman who sucks back 2-3 yogurt cups while sitting in the parking lot of Wal-Mart. As for the granola bars, I've learned to choose other options while waiting for dinner and to only eat until satisfied. No more 8 point snacking while waiting for a 6 point dinner.

BUT - I still love both the granola bars and the chocolate goodness of a chocolate bar. Well, onto the contest then.

When WW profiled the Peanut Butter mini bars, I thought I had died and gone to heaven. Two of my favourite things together again - and in a portion controlled wrapping. OK, the great thing about ALL of these things is they are portion-controlled. My opinion - the pb mini bars are awesome as a chocolate bar replacement. Do they have granola goodness? No, but their Fruit and Nutty 1-pt counterpart does.

The Fruit and Nutty WW mini bar is also very good, but it's small size and texture (I am sorry to say) to not compair to the other products featured here. It's winning points - it's 1 pt vs. the 2 pts for all the other items in this post.

A lot of my members were raving about the Curves bars. So I had to try them out. I liked them - I really did. They were softer than the Fruit and Nutty and (bonus) they had chocolate chips and peanut butter. I did not try the fruity version, but really enjoyed this 2-pt snack that I could toss in my bag with a bottle of water while running around. The kids enjoyed them too...until.

A similar product to the Curves bar is the fibre 1. And now I understand the huffalaboo about this bar. They are 2 pts of awesome goodness. No peanut butter, but great mini choc chips and a subtle syrup on the bottom. These are, for a sweet granola treat my favourite. In fact, my whole family loves them. These are a keeper and will NOT be purchased in little boxes, but rather the massive boxes you find on the bottom shelf.

Finally, I had to give these a try. I tried the cranberry ones and must say, Dempster's has done an amazing job. They are little squares and are awesome to relax with a cup of coffee or tea. They are not necessarily promoted to satisfy your sweet tooth, but are more like a very soft granola heath bar. I like these in a different way than the chocolate counterparts above.

So, I like them all. The WW minis are a great chocolate bar substitute - but be careful not to eat half the box in one sitting...ahem. The WW fruit and nutty (not pictured) provides a great 1-pt alternative for granola bars, which I have not found in the other brands. Curves is nice and if you have a pb craving you want satisfied in a g-bar, this has it; however, the fibre 1 is larger, softer and sweeter for similar Nutritional Facts. The Healthy Way bars - well, if you're not into chocolate or just want something more wholesome, these are the way to go, and they have 5g of fibre per serving. They make me feel yuppyish.

But the fibre 1 wins overall for me for a number of reasons. I love the texture, taste and size (because size does matter). The price point on the Curves and Fibre 1 bars are similar, but that is reduced when you identify what you love the most, then buying the BIG box. Then we have a whole new dilema - how to keep from eating 3-4 of these before eating a 6 pt supper...

The Holiday Weekend

Yes, I forgot to say Happy Columbus Day to my American counterparts. Well, it's been an interesting Thanksgiving. And boy, am I glad to be a Weight Watcher today!

Last year I thought I was prepared for Thanksgiving only to record a stellar gain that week. It took me a few weeks to get back on track. It was frustrating and I felt out of control.

This year, I planned. This year I did some things differently.

We still went to the in-laws and no, I wasn't able to get at the vegetables before cheese, butter and milk were added. Oh well, you can't win them all. I also indulged in desert food - but don't worry, it was Pumpkin Angel Food Cake. I also left some behind for others. I bought a box of biscotti's. These babies are sinfully awesome - and check out that NI.

Walking - my 10 year old and I went for a few walks this weekend, plus one before dinner and one after.

Veggie tray - They were on sale on Sunday, so I bought a small veggie tray for supper that night, a large fruit tray for breakfast in the morning and a large veggie tray to take to sil's. I ate some veggie's before dinner was served and felt quite full after only 1 plate.

Drinks - no wine this year. I had to work the next day anyway, so I brought some Live Active Crystal Lite and sipped on that while others were having beer and white wine.

Desert - My niece turned 19, so we didn't serve traditional Thanksgiving desert. Instead they brought out a DQ Ice Cream cake. I did have a small piece. After all, I'd already had a fair bit of yummy pumpkin angel food cake.

Other exciting weekend stuff. I'm still plugging away on decluttering my home. All 4 of us participated in a 27 fling boogie. The 5 yo was having some issues, but did part with a few toys and some clothes. We ended up with a full bag for donation, a full bag for the garbage and a partly filled recycle bag for paper. We're doing it again this weekend.

Oh, and results. I did weigh-in last week and this week and stayed the same. Exactly. The. Same.

The Movie in Review

The Movie: IronMan

The results on the movie: Good

The results on the ending: Dumb

The results on the actors: Very good

Weight Loss and Other Cool Stuff

I made it to weigh-in last night. I'm now 1.8lbs from goal. That's down 2.6 from the last weigh-in 3 weeks ago. Woohoo. So, I have 3 weeks to make 150 - that was the date I set for myself that I was going to just take the number on the scale. Of course, I'll likely wear shorts and a tank top that night even if it's freezing out if I'm not there yet.


Another cool thing is I realized I've been 'tucking' lately, as in my shirts. Not every day, but as in today I'm wearing a jean skirt and a top I had given up for dead long ago - it's form fitting and tucked, baby.


I took a picture of me and my running pardner, Baloo, the other night. Will post once I find the connector cord to the PC (yeah, I thought it would still be plugged into the PC too...)


Oh, and today is a great day for planning your weekend. Do you have any challenges or events scheduled? How are you going to deal with them. I have my menu planned and we'll be scheduling dinners for next week tonight or tomorrow night so I can build my shopping list for the weekend. Tonight is Dance/Yoga class - I'm going to try it out with the sneakers I'm trying out this week.


And, anyone drink protein powder? Have you tried BSN Lean Desert? It's incredible. My favourite is the Banana Nut. This stuff is incredibly delicious. If interested, I also recommend purchasing from bodybuilding.com - they're top notch.


Take care ya'll and have a fabulous Thursday.

Want to Look GREAT!

It's never been easier to look great. As Corrine pointed out today so many people don't really know how to work out. I thought I knew how to eat (lift food, put in mouth, chew, swallow) until Weight Watchers taught me a thing or two. I also know that when you join most gyms, you just get the standard circuit training session which is included in your membership fee, then have to pay for more personal training as you go. This doesn't give you the ability to switch up your routine as needed and ensure you (and your muscles) don't get bored. This doesn't address your personal questions or concerns as you go and allow you to ask questions about things you didn't even know you didn't know.

Now Corrine is teaching us how to exercise right. This is something our mothers never had. Today she has posted links to several of her materials, including the introductory and intermediate work-out schedules. (Check them out) Thinking of introducing strength training into your eliptical or treadmill routines? Check out this material.

*This is an unsolicited plug for both PhitNPhat and Weight Watchers because of all of the wonderful things they have to offer.

Here's to a healthy and happy 2008. And to steal someone else's cliche (Sparks New Years challenge team name) here's to a Happy New Rear.

Calling all Canadians!

If you like a good burger, you really oughta check this one out from Superstore:They are 3 points each (140 calories with 8g of fat). They are smaller and less expense than the 'adult' vertion. Yet larger than most take-out burgers.
So, if these satisfy a 170 lb woman, but are designed for children (my 4yo at 42 lbs can gobble 1 up), I wonder where our portion distortion comes from...

Cheers, Candace

The Last Black Bean Fudge

Sadly I finished off my last black bean fudge today. My huband wasn't crazy about these and the kids weren't trying to steal them (I mean, why do I buy LF Brownie mix and go through the trouble of actually adding water and putting them in the oven if they're just gonna eat the whole thing and leave the crumbs for me?). I have gotten used to my fudge and coffee over the past several days, though. They satisfied that 'I want something sweet and chocolatey' but didn't make me feel the 'I want to eat the whole batch' - taking 1/day in my lunch helps. It's because of all this that I know I will make them again. The recipe is thanks to Roni and can be found at http://weightwatchen.com/2007/12/frozen-black-bean-fudge.html - I used the food processor instead so I was able to mix the dry ingredients in without dirtying another dish (oh yeah, not only am I not a fan of cooking/baking, but I dislike clean-up as well).

All totalled, I give this a 3/5. The texture is odd, but the added benefit of the black beans as a great source of protein and fibre works for me. The taste is not quite fudgy and I needed to get used to it. This 4 item recipe is just my speed and was a snap to throw together. I forgot to metion - they're 1pt each. So, definately more good than bad - at least in my books.

Hope everyone has a great OP day.
Cheers, Candace

Wednesday - Product review

OK, I'm exhausted after 4 late nights and too tired to think. Randi did a product review on her site and I'm gonna copy (isn't that the sincerest form of flattery?).

Thick and Juicy Lean Beef Burgers by PC Blue Menu! OK, I've written about PC Blue Menu in the past, even this item. This is a store brand by the Superstore - I don't know if this product is available in the USA or not, but I also presume there are similar products down there. These things are good! With very little shrinkage, they are nice and juicy. I really enjoy these tasty things (5pts each) on a Weight Watcher whole wheat burger bun (2pts) with dressings. I use veggies and mustard. When I cook it in the George Forman only a skimming of fat is left on the grill (no drippings), so go ahead and BBQ or fry them if that's a preferred method.

This burger, with a potatoe and/or veggies on the side, leaves me totally satisfied. The price makes me happy too at just over $1/burger. I love products that make me feel like I am cheating, but where, I mean WHERE, can you get a large hamburger on a bun for 7 points? PC Blue Menu, you've done it again!

Nutritional information Per burger (142 g) :

200 Calories

Fat 12 g (Saturates 5 g, Trans 0.5 g, Saturates + Trans 28)
Cholesterol 70 mg
Sodium 490 mg
Carbohydrate 0 g
Fibre 0 g
Sugars 0 g
Protein 24 g