Enough Lallygagging

OK - not sure what is wrong with my. I don't expect a loss tonight. Last night I made an incredibly healthy dinner - well, I did use white basmati instead of the brown though. Anyway, a great stirfry with lean meat and lots of veggies made with a WW inspired sauce. I loved it and decided to...gulp...have a second helping. No biggie, right? Wrong. It wasn't in my plan. I didn't need it. AND I ate until stuffed. I did finally stop myself with half a plate left and put it in the fridge for today. I just finished it for morning snack.

If that wasn't enough, my daughter made an apple dessert from a 1970's cookbook and I had a (large) piece. It wasn't even that good and I told her afterwards that all recipes in that book need to have the sugar cut (at least) in half.

BUT, I am going to weigh-in tonight and am walking this afternoon. But before that, I have to finish some food prep and do a workout. Take care.

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...