MIDWEEK MINUTES . January 13, 2018

Midweek Minutes
January 13, 2018
Hello, Winners!
Monday is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, but we will have a meeting. Just thought I’d get that out there first.
It’s cold!  I have a cold!  I have some cabin fever too. The best way to get out of feeling useless today is to reach out in a newsletter,
(even though it’s going to be short). How about you?
Winter getting you down?  Having a hard time getting back on track after the the holidays?  Don't want to step on the scale because you feel like a failure. Still think you can do it on your own? Still going to wait "until the time is right"?  Until the weather is warmer?
Want to stop making excuses and beating yourself up now?  Do YOU have a DREAM and a desire to lose that weight for good and keep it off? Well, it's time to put that DREAM into action!  
Have you been to a Weight Watchers meeting lately?  What needs to happen for you to attend this week?  Sure, once in awhile we get sick.  Maybe there's a ball game you need to attend.  Yeah, there sure is a lot going on with everyone.  Well, you know, there are many meetings in the area.  Some of our members occasionally attend meetings on another night or day and even in another town due to commitments on their regular night, and that's terrific!  
How MUCH do you want your DREAM?  Soon you WILL have to take off that winter coat and bare those arms and legs.  Heck, I think about that all the time!
Let's get together and talk about all of it!  See you at the next meeting!  --Zig



Member Milestones
Total Loss: -3 lbs.



By now, you've probably gotten the basics of the program down, from your Daily and Weekly SmartPoints® Budgets to the wonderfully freeing "do what you love" mantra for activity and maybe even to the importance of a realistic, open mindset for weight-loss success. This week, we'll go deeper into how you can work the SmartPoints system for satisfaction, variety, and most of all: livability!

Love those zero Points® foods!

The pointers in your Weekly outline three key ways to work with zero Points®foods (after all, there are now more than 200 of them!)
  1. As the base of a meal where you then layer in other foods with (or without) SmartPoints.
  2. When you're tapped out of your daily Budget by dinnertime. But remember that even 5 SmartPoints above your daily Budget still puts you in the Healthy Eating Zone (if you track on the app, you'll get a blue dot when you hit the Zone; post your #bluedot triumph on Connect!).
  3. For a special meal: Save up your SmartPoints by focusing on low or zero Points foods for the rest of the day.

But wait, there's more!

To live the program fully so that it's a lifestyle rather than, you know, a d-i-e-t, use all the features of WW Freestyle:
  • Roll 'em over! Up to 4 unused daily SmartPoints automatically roll over into your weeklies, giving you the flexibility to go lower one day, higher the next.
  • Heed your Budget. Yeah, you could you eat nothing but zero Points foods all day long—but you're likely to miss your favorite foods that have SmartPoints, and we don't have to tell you what happens when you feel deprived. What's more, you might miss out on essential nutrients in foods that have SmartPoints. That's why we cap daily rollovers at 4 SmartPoints. Trust us, you'll lose weight.
  • Use your tools. You probably track food and activity in My Day, but there's a slew of other options: Find recipes (make sure to click on the filters just below the search bar to narrow down results), chart your weight-loss progress, and get help anytime from an expert (click on the tab at the bottom right of your screen in My Day). The WW mobile appalso offers a barcode scanner so you can check SmartPoints of packaged foods on the go (and track them right away).
  • Get Connect-ed. Our exclusive social network is welcoming, informative, inspirational, and just for members like you. When it comes to living the program, you'll get dozens of tasty tips; search hashtags such as #whatiate, #delicious, #mealprep, and #dinner. (Post your own photos and videos on Connect on the app, too!)



Tracking is one of the most effective tools for successful weight loss.1 It makes you aware of what you’re eating. And it helps you stick to your SmartPoints® budget by helping you decide what foods are “worth it” to you. Tracking is not about being perfect. It’s about doing the best you can.  If you’re not sure how many SmartPoints are in that sandwich, a rough estimate is good enough.
On WW Freestyle™, there are a lot of foods that are designated as zero Points® foods, which means that you don't have to weigh, measure, or track them. For foods that do have SmartPoints values, tracking them is key to helping you reach your goals. Why? Tracking makes you aware of what you're eating (and how much) and helps you stick to your SmartPoints Budget.1 You can also use the app to track weight and activity, which is another way to stay accountable.

A Few Pointers

  • Be as accurate as you can.  If you don't know the SmartPoints value, that's okay!  Make your best guess.
  • Track “in the moment.” It can be hard to remember what you’ve eaten by the end of the day, so track as you go or snap a pic for tracking later. If you don’t manage to track immediately, just try to get back to it the next time.
  • Be kind to yourself. Not every day is going to be perfect. And that’s OK. Focus on what you do next—plan your next meal, or take a walk—and you’ll be right back in the game.
BAD WEATHER: If there will be a meeting cancellation due to SNOW, etc., please stay tuned to NTV or KHAS-TV. I will call them to announce a meeting cancellation by 3 P.M. for Superior...and as early as I can (or the night before) for Hastings Saturday morning meetings. You can also log on to their websites where they have weather closings.
You can also call the Weight Watchers' 800 number to find out if we are having a meeting 1-800-651-6000.
Member Recipes
Slow cooker chicken noodle soup
Author: Drizzle
Serves: 14
2SP freestyle
Ingredients
  • 24 oz raw skinless boneless chicken breast
  • 2 cups chopped carrots (I used fresh, frozen is fine)
  • 1.5 cups chopped celery
  • 1 cup diced red onion
  • 6 cups chicken broth
  • ¾ cup water
  • ½ tsp thyme
  • ½ tsp oregano
  • ¼ tsp black pepper
  • Pinch of salt
  • 2 bay leaves
  • 2 cups (170g) rotini pasta (picture shown for what I used)
  • Chopped fresh parsley
Instructions
  1. Plug in your crockpot and set to low
  2. Place your chicken breast, carrots, celery, onion, broth, water and seasonings in and cook on low for approx 6-7 hours. Remove chicken and shred.
  3. Turn slow cooker to high and add in your pasta and chopped parsley, cook for 10-15 minutes until noodles are soft, add shredded chicken and stir. Remove from heat and serve *do not leave on heat or your pasta will cook too much.
  4. Makes 14- 1 cup servings at 2 freestyle smart points per serving, soup will freeze well.
Notes
Freestyle SP- 2 using WW recipe builder


Easy Egg Salad
yield: 6 (2/3 CUP) SERVINGS @ 1 SP Freestyle
  • 12 large eggs
  • ½ cup Hellmann’s Low Fat Mayonnaise (or a similar low fat mayo)
  • 2 teaspoons yellow mustard, or more to taste
  • 2 teaspoons Nance’s Sharp & Creamy Mustard, or more to taste
  • Salt and pepper, to taste

DIRECTIONS:

  1. To hard boil the eggs, place the raw eggs at the bottom of a large pot. Pour water in the pot until the water is 1-2 inches over the top of the eggs. Place the pot on the stovetop uncovered and turn the burner to high heat. Bring the water in the pot to a boil. When the water comes to a full boil, cover the pot with a lid and turn off the heat to the burner. Leave the pot on the burner, covered, for 12 minutes.
  2. While the eggs sit in the covered pot, fill a mixing bowl ¾ way with ice water. When the time is up on the eggs, use a slotted spoon to remove them from the pot and transfer them to the bowl of ice water to stop them from cooking. Leave them in the bowl of ice water for several minutes until fully cold.
  3. Peel the eggs under cold running water (I’ve found it’s much easier). Chop/dice the eggs into small pieces (I like to mix smaller and larger pieces) and place into a mixing bowl. Add the mayonnaise, mustards, salt and pepper (start with two teaspoons of each mustard, taste and see if you want more – I sometimes do when I’m feeling mustard-y). Serve or refrigerate until ready to serve.

White Chicken Chili

yield: 8 (1 CUP) SERVINGS @ 1 SP Freestyle

INGREDIENTS:

  • 1 tablespoon Canola oil
  • 2 cups yellow onion, chopped
  • 2 tablespoons chili powder
  • 1 tablespoon minced garlic
  • 2 teaspoons ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon oregano
  • 3 (15.5 oz.) cans Great Northern beans, rinsed and drained
  • 4 cups reduced sodium fat free chicken broth
  • 3 cups chopped or shredded cooked skinless chicken breast
  • 1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes
  • 1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
  • 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • ½ teaspoon pepper

DIRECTIONS:

  1. Bring oil to medium heat in a large pot or Dutch oven. Add the onions and sauté for 5-8 minutes or until tender. Add the chili powder, garlic and cumin and stir to coat the onions. Cook for 2 more minutes. Add the oregano and beans, stir and cook for 30 more seconds. Add the broth and reduce the heat to medium-low. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
  2. Remove 2 cups of the bean/broth mixture into a blender (or container for an immersion blender) and process until smooth. Return pureed mixture to the pot. Add the chicken and tomatoes and cook over medium-low for another 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the cilantro, lime juice, salt & pepper and stir to combine before serving.



This newsletter is in no way affiliated with Weight Watchers, Inc. It is simply a motivational tool that I offer to members who attend my Weight Watchers meetings and wish to receive it. Remove from list? If you no longer wish to receive weekly newsletters from me, please reply to this message indicating "Remove from list" in either the subject header or the body of the message.
I also try to post the newsletter on our private FB page "Zig's Winners" and the Google Blog called Midweek Minutes http://midweekminutes.blogspot.com/.

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