MIDWEEK MINUTES March 10 2018
MIDWEEK MINUTES
March 10, 2018
Hello, Winners!
Yes, it’s time to set the clocks ahead. Okay, I admit...I don't like Daylight Savings Time at first...it takes awhile to get used to it...and it makes me get up too darn early! But, then, of course, later on, I DO like the longer daylight hours, but it will take time to adjust to the GETTING UP and the "out the door" part (I mean exercising EARLIER, as far as my body clock is concerned!)
I guess we are just into March Madness. What's up with the weather? We keep getting a teaser about spring don't we, and it IS coming! Isn't Daylight Savings tonight the real "March Madness"? Oh, well, the evenings will stay lighter, and we will have time to do more things outside in the evening such as take a walk (or SEE the road as I drive home from WW meetings). I'm NOT a big fan of getting up an hour earlier, though.
It's kind of like WW...a trade-off, huh? We want the results, but we don't always like all the program parts! It takes time to adjust and get used to change, but it is SO WORTH it! I remind myself all the time of that little phrase..."Nothing tastes as good as thin feels". I am sure I will be saying THAT phrase early in the morning! LOL!
On the serious side, It's also time again...to SPRING AHEAD toward our WINNING OUTCOMES and not to FALL BACK into bad habits! It's so important to make TIME to do the things that help us be successful with the program...and make them priorities so that we can be fit and healthy to enjoy all that spring and summer have to offer!
Well, I go a new PC, and it works swell...I am having fun getting to know all the features and enjoying my 23 inch screen! For now I’m using Google for the newsletter. Maybe it will load onto my blog page properly.
So, get some sleep! Don't miss the meetings this week!!! --Zig, who isn't Irish, but wishes you Happy St. Patrick's Day early anyway!
Member Milestones
Total Loss: -
Whether they're about a number on the scale, or a non-scale sign of weight-loss success like going down a dress size or being able to climb two flights of stairs without being winded, or even about something that has nothing to do with the scale, your goals are like stepping-stones along your journey.
For WW member Kate, who's featured in your WW FreestyleTM Weekly, setting only two goals, each small and specific, helped her keep moving forward. As she met each goal, she'd set another two goals, just as small and specific—and realistic. (You can read more about Katie's journey in her Success Story!)
Setting goals that work with your life is half the battle. If you're looking to change up your weight-loss goal, here's help in setting it. Once you're underway, the Weight Watchers mobile app is a great tool for tracking, checking your progress, and staying motivated—all of which can help you get to that goal! The biggest motivator on the app? Connect! Check out #goalsetting, #goaldigger, #goalsgoalsgoals—and create your own goal-related hashtags, too, to inspire other members to work toward your goal.
Here's a deeper dive into goal-setting, to help you find your own magic combination of mindset, motivation, and method:
Set meaningful, realistic goals
A goal that you can break down into smaller steps can be easier to achieve. Remember that slow and steady wins the race—up to two pounds a week is a safe rate of weight loss (you might lose more in your first few weeks). It might not sound like much, but those pounds add up: One pound per week equals 52 pounds in a year.
And consider goals that go beyond the scale—maybe you want to drop a clothing size, or be able to climb two flights of stairs without getting winded, or even lower your cholesterol or blood pressure. For help along the way, our inspiring, informative videos can help.
Adopt a mantra
“I’ve come too far to take orders from a cookie.”
“Don’t give up what you want the most for what you want right now.”
“I can’t change yesterday, but I can change today.”
Whether it’s something you think up yourself or find on Connect or the internet, a motivating saying or mantra can help keep you going when the going gets tough. Jot it down and tuck it in your wallet or make it your cellphone home screen so it’s always close at hand to work its magic.
Harness the power of positive thinking
We all know that mindfulness and a hopeful attitude can help you reach your goals. In fact, people who tried optimism exercises reported feeling more engaged in life and less prone to unhelpful or distorted thinking—even people who started out in a pessimistic frame of mind. Looking at the good in situations, even when you’ve had a bad day, is the essence of optimism. Pair it with a realistic frame of mind, and you're at the sweet spot of success.
Celebrate you!
You’ll miss plenty of triumphs if you’re looking only at the numbers. Whether the victory is on or off the scale, patting yourself on the back along the way will help fuel your confidence and spur you on to even more success.
And remember, anywhere you are on your weight-loss journey, whether you’re a newbie or have been a Lifetime member for years, your fellow members can be a great source of support, words of wisdom, and even a kick in the pants when you need it. Jump in on Connect for inspiration to help you to stay the course, and believe that you can do it, one small change at a time.
Diet fads come and go. (Anyone remember the Cabbage Soup Diet? The Grapefruit Diet? Just as well.) But the gluten-free (GF) movement seems to be in a category all its own. It’s “by far the trendiest diet to date,” says Alessio Fasano, MD, director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment at Massachusetts General Hospital. Over the past two decades or so, what began as a medical necessity for sufferers of celiac disease has attracted an ever-increasing number of followers, inspired by celebrity endorsements (Gwyneth Paltrow, Miley Cyrus, Russell Crowe, among others), word-of-mouth, and sometimes outright misinformation.
The result? According to a study published in JAMA Internal Medicine in September 2016, the number of Americans who don’t have celiac but avoid gluten—a protein found in wheat, rye, and barley—tripled between 2009 and 2014. “Market-trend data suggests that individuals who choose to eat a gluten-free diet for nonallergic reasons, do so because they believe it is a healthier diet,” notes Eamon Monaghan, an account manager at Statista, an online market research firm. Unlike a decade ago, grocery shopping now is much easier for these folks, with more than $2.8 billion worth of GF products on shelves in the US in 2014, projected to reach $4.89 billion by 2021.
But before you jump on this bandwagon, look at the facts. Much of the trend has been fueled by half-truths and hype, and there are serious medical and nutritional questions to consider before you decide.
Misconception 1: You’ll feel better on a gluten-free diet
That all depends. If you’re one of the 3 million or so people in the US who have celiac disease (many unknowingly) you will feel better on a GF diet. For the roughly 1 percent of Americans who are celiac sufferers, exposure to even traces of gluten sets off an autoimmune reaction that typically brings on digestive problems (diarrhea, bloating) and other symptoms (skin rash, headaches, fatigue) and over time can damage the small intestine.
If you’re in the group of people (estimated at about 18 million in the US) who may have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, aka gluten sensitivity, you may also feel better if you avoid gluten. While it doesn’t lead to intestinal damage (and there’s some debate about whether it’s actually a true condition), sufferers may get gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms similar to those of celiac (plus cognitive and other problems) and cutting out foods with gluten may help reduce these symptoms.
Finally, even if you don’t have either condition, if your approach to going GF means ditching starchy junk food and adding more vegetables and fruit to your diet, then you may well feel better, and likely have more energy and maybe a calmer digestive system as well. But that’s not necessarily about the gluten.
Misconception 2: If you think gluten might be a problem for you, the best thing to do is just cut it out of your diet
Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. If you have celiac disease or sensitivity,your best bet is getting an actual diagnosis. Determining if you have celiac disease requires a blood test and usually a biopsy. If you’ve flat-out eliminated gluten from your diet, you could delay your diagnosis since your symptoms will help your health-care provider get to the heart of the matter. “The longer you’re on a gluten-free diet, the longer you’ll have to wait for an accurate diagnosis,” Dr. Fasano explains.
Even if you have non-celiac gluten sensitivity, for which there is no definitive blood test, it’s still important to check in with your doctor before tinkering with your diet. You need to make sure the problem isn’t actually caused by celiac or another GI problem, like irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) or lactose intolerance, says Benjamin Lebwohl, MD, MS, of the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University Medical Center. Again, just eliminating gluten to see if you feel better isn’t a good test. “You don’t always have an immediate reaction to eating gluten,” he notes, so you can’t necessarily find a pattern and conclude you have a gluten problem. If you feel your doctor isn’t familiar with these issues, ask for a referral to a GI specialist.
Misconception 3: Cutting out gluten means you’ll lose weight
If your new diet includes more fresh fruit, vegetables, lean protein, and other foods that are naturally free of gluten, and you’re eating fewer calories overall, the readout on your scale may move downward. “But if you simply switch to GF versions of baked goods, pasta, or snack foods, and still eat the same amount of calories you’re not likely to lose weight,” says Alicia Romano, MS, LDN, a clinical registered dietitian at the Frances Stern Nutrition Center at Tufts Medical Center. “In fact, you could be taking in more calories than before.” Gluten is what makes dough elastic and gives baked goods the textures we’re used to. “When they take out gluten, manufacturers may add other ingredients such as extra fat and sugar to make products taste good,” Romano says. And Fasano notes, “I’ve found that some GF cookies have twice as many calories—140 compared with 70.”
Misconception 4: Gluten-free foods are natural, healthy foods
Again, this largely depends on your approach. Certainly you can eat natural, healthy foods on a gluten-free diet. But not everyone does. Because manufacturers are trying to make GF foods similar to their gluten-containing counterparts, “A substitute product, like GF bread, can be highly processed,” says Steve Taormina, the Business Unit Manager at NSF International’s Consumer Values Verified Division. NSF International certifies products as GF. “It can be far from what some consider natural because manufacturers might have to do a lot of fiddling to make up for changes in texture and taste.”
Removing gluten from processed foods often also means substituting other starches—tapioca or white rice, for example—that aren’t whole grain. The result is that the GF version may not contain as much fiber as the original. “Research has told us for years that whole grains promote heart health and protect against certain cancers, among other payoffs,” says Angie Murad, RDN, LD, a wellness dietitian at the Mayo Clinic Healthy Living program. That’s why the federal Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends that half or more of your daily intake of grains come from whole-grain sources. So if you’re staying away from gluten, it’s best to include some non-gluten containing whole grains such as quinoa, millet, or corn, among others.
You may miss out on other nutrients, too, if your pre-GF days’whole-grain intake came mainly from whole wheat bread. By law, flour, baked goods, pasta, and other products made from enriched wheat flour must contain certain vitamins (especially B vitamins) and iron. Other grains may be fortified,but if you go GF, check the labels or you could come up short.
Misconception 5: A gluten-free diet fights inflammation
Many GF devotees think that wheat, by causing body-wide inflammation, promotes ills like heart disease and diabetes (a theory popularized in the best-selling Wheat Belly). But new research from Columbia and Harvard suggests that cardiovascular disease is more likely related to a reduced intake of whole grains, not to gluten. In this very large study (which did not directly look at inflammation), people who ate lots of gluten-containing foods were no more likely to develop cardiovascular disease than those who consumed little, unless their gluten was coming from refined grains. Then their odds went up, too. “The issue turned out not to be gluten, but whole grains,” says Dr. Lebwohl, lead researcher on the study. The takeaway? Going GF isn’t a sure strategy for protecting yourself from heart disease. A diet rich in whole grains is a better bet.
Guidelines for Going Gluten-Free
You can eliminate gluten from your diet without hurting your health. Work with a dietitian to develop and follow a gluten-free plan that works for you. Here are a few tips they may share:
- Focus on foods that are naturally GF—if you want a crunchy snack, try unseasoned popcorn instead of pretzels. Also naturally GF: fruits, vegetables, fish, meat, and eggs.
- Rather than buy GF processed foods to replace wheat, rye, and barley, substitute other GF whole grains like quinoa, millet, and buckwheat (despite its name, it’s not wheat). Mix it up to ensure you get a range of nutrients.
- Try to choose products enriched with vitamins (check the labels). You might also consider taking a multivitamin. “A multi can be good insurance if you’re eliminating some foods,” Angie Murad says.
- Eat oats — if the label checks out. While they don’t contain gluten, oats may be grown in fields near wheat or prepared in the same facilities as wheat products, which can lead to cross-contamination. Be sure that the label says “certified gluten-free.”
- Be aware of hidden gluten. Watch out for energy bars (some contain wheat or non-GF oats), soy sauce (it can have wheat in it), prepared foods, like rotisserie chicken, which may include soy or wheat-containing seasonings, and soups. Find a more complete list on the Celiac Disease Foundation site here.
JOIN FOR FREE ENDS MONDAY!
Member Recipes
Barbecue Bacon Wrapped Chicken Tenders
yield: 8 TENDERS
INGREDIENTS:
- 1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 8 individual (2 oz each) tenders
- 8 slices center cut bacon
- 4 tablespoons barbecue sauce (I use Stubbs Original, try to find one low in carbs/sugar)
- 4 tsp brown sugar
- 1 tsp chili powder
DIRECTIONS:
- Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and top with a cooking rack.
- Wrap each chicken tender in a piece of bacon. Use a pastry brush to brush all sides of each wrapped tender with barbecue sauce and place them on the rack on the baking sheet.
- Combine the brown sugar and chili powder in a small dish and stir until mixed. Sprinkle this mixture over the chicken tenders. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven.
- Turn on your broiler (make sure your oven rack is in the appropriate position, in my oven this is toward the top) and return the tenders to the oven. Broil for about 2 minutes until the bacon is crisp.
WEIGHT WATCHERS FREESTYLE SMARTPOINTS:
1 per tender (SP calculated using the recipe builder on weightwatchers.com)
Mini mint Oreo cheesecake bites
Serves: 12 - 2sp or 1pp each
- 7.5 oreo mint thins (yes that's right, 7.5, so you can either eat half a cookie while making them or put it away for another time)
- 1 Tbsp melted reduced calorie margarine
- 3 oz softened light cream cheese
- ½ Tbsp sugar
- ½ Tbsp flour
- 1.5 Tbsp liquid egg whites
- ½ tsp peppermint extract
- 1 Tbsp milk
- Preheat oven to 350F, line a 12 hole mini muffin tin with paper liners.
- Take 6 of your oreo's (leave 1.5 aside for topping) separate them and place the cream center in a small bowl.
- Crush up your cookie pieces into a crumb, mix cookie crumbs with melted margarine.
- Divide your cookie crumbs mixture over your 12 paper liners, pushing down on them.
- Bake in oven for 5 minutes then set aside, leave oven on.
- In a bowl beat together your cream cheese, sugar, flour, egg whites, peppermint, oreo cream centers and milk. Spoon into your 12 muffin cups and bake in oven for 14 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes and then chill in fridge for at least an hour.
- Carefully cut your remaining 1.5 oreo cookies into 12 pieces (8 per full cookie) and when ready to serve cheesecakes top with a little whip cream and cookie piece. Makes 12 mini cheesecakes at 2sp or 1pp each
- *Please note, don't add whip cream until ready to eat as it will melt. Also if you can not find the thin mint oreo's you can use regular oreo mint cookies, just less, but you would have to check point differences though.
Skinny Irish Pub Beef Stew
Ingredients
Cooking Spray
1¼ pounds lean beef stew meat, trim any fat, cut into 1-inch cubes, see shopping tips
2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
5 cups onions, chopped (about 3 onions)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 tablespoon tomato paste, see shopping tips
1 (24oz) container of Swanson’s reduced sodium beef stock or broth (3 cups)
1 (12 oz) bottle lite beer or 1 (11.2oz) bottle Guinness Draught beer (if using Guinness, it adds 1 more Weight Watchers POINTS PLUS per serving)
2 bay leaves
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon fresh ground pepper
2 cups (~ 2 medium) baking potatoes, peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
2 cups (~2 medium) sweet potatoes (yams), peeled and cut into ½ inch chunks
1½ cups carrots, peeled and cut into ½ inch slices
2 tablespoons cornstarch
A little water
Instructions
1. Coat a large nonstick pan, pot or Dutch oven with cooking spray. Add beef cubes to pan and cook for 5 minutes, over medium-high heat. Turn to brown all sides. Using a slotted spoon, remove the beef from pan.
2. Heat 2 teaspoons of oil in same pan. Add onions and cook for about 3 minutes. Stir in garlic and continue to cook until onions are soft, about 2 more minutes. Stir often.
3. Add tomato paste and cook for 1 minute, stirring often.
4. Stir in beef stock and beer, scraping down the sides to loosen the browned bits.
5. Add back browned beef and stir in bay leaves, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for 1 hour. Stir occasionally.
6. Add potatoes, sweet potatoes and bring to a boil. Turn down to a simmer, cover and cook for an additional 40 minutes.
7. Stir in carrots, cover and simmer for 30 more minutes.
8. In a small bowl, add cornstarch and a little water and using a whisk or fork, slowly mix to dissolve. Add dissolved cornstarch to stew and mix well. Cook uncovered over medium-high heat until stew is thickened, about 10 minutes.
9. Remove bay leaves before serving.
Makes 6 servings (each serving 1½ cups ) @ 6 SP
CROCK POT CORNED BEEF AND CABBAGE
8 Freestyle Points 294.5 calories
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 lbs lean corned beef brisket, all fat trimmed off
- 1 cup frozen pearl onions
- 2 medium carrots, peeled and cut into chunks
- 2 medium parsnips, peeled and cut into chunks
- 1 small head cabbage, cut into 6 wedges
- 1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
- 2 bay leaves
- 1/8 tsp whole peppercorns
DIRECTIONS:
- In a 5-6 qt crock pot, place brisket, carrots, parsnips, pearl onions, parsley, bay leaves, peppercorns and 3 cups of water.
- Cover and cook on high 4 hours.
- Add cabbage, cook on high 1 hour 20 minutes more.
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/ even though I’m having issues with them!)
Comments
Post a Comment