Loving My Weight Watchers eTools & Mobile App

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Weight Watchers' food tracker via mobile app.

Weight Watchers’ food tracker via mobile app.

I’ve been playing with my Weight Watchers mobile app and eTools website. Here are my initial thoughts.

I have to say I’m enjoying using them. They really do a great job at making it easy for me to find the points value of foods when I’m on the go. The food tracker is very nice. Its library of foods is excellent and does the calculations for you. Not a whole lot of typing like other tracking apps. It also does a very nice job of storing foods I put in – I can recall them very easily.

There is also a spot to track my activities and the intensity. With Weight Watchers, you can earn activity points for working out. Those points can be turned into food points for the day – something I don’t do. But I do like that I can track my activities. I just wish the activity tracker could do more. I love my MapMyWalks app. I can actually see the progress. Now Weight Watchers has rolled out ActiveLink which closely monitors your activities. There is a $5 monthly fee plus the cost of the device. I haven’t signed up. I tend to skip the first generation of these types of roll outs to get all the bugs out. Plus I’d like to hear from other WW members using ActiveLink to see if it is worth it.

Dot to Trot's applesauce meatloaf recipe - 6 points per serving!

Dot to Trot’s applesauce meatloaf recipe – 6 points per serving!

This morning on eTools I tested their recipe builder. I keyed in just a couple of my standard meals I make weekly. The points are calculated for me. Awesome! I would suggest that WW look into creating shopping lists from the recipes. Since there are a few meals I make regularly, and I plan out our menu for the entire week, it would be great if I could just click on the recipes and poof – instant grocery list. So please get on that now!

One minor hitch with the recipe builder – it’s buried. I went the the recipe section at first and found lots of nice recipes and good info from Hungry Girl. I finally found it under My Tools area. I think an easy to find link in the general recipe section would be nice. It might be there, but I didn’t see it.

Weight Watchers' cocktail cheat sheet via its mobile app.

Weight Watchers’ cocktail cheat sheet via its mobile app.

While eTools has a ton of good info, I have to say I really enjoyed the cheat sheets. One of the hardest things to do is guestamate the points value of food when eating out. I’m not in control of how it was prepared. I’m not measuring or weighing everything. So there is a lot of guess work. The cheat sheet is a nice idea to give you a general idea of how many points you might be consuming. From a breakfast builder to happy hour foods, the cheat sheet is perfect for folks on the go. However, the mobile app version is lacking. Right now it’s limited to pizza, cockktails, pasta and salads. And some of those are limited too. I’m optimistic that WW can improve the app version.

Overall, well done Weight Watchers. There is so much on eTools that I still haven’t explored – especially the social component (which I’m looking forward too). The mobile app gets the job done. I have a few minor quibbles, but they are minor. The food tracking piece is excellence, and that is the heart of the program. If you do Weight Watchers and are not on eTools or the mobile app, I suggest you give it a try.

Cooking Day! Prepping For The Week

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food prepWhen I go to my Weight Watcher meetings, I always hear people talk about how they don’t have the time to plan ahead and that causes them to make bad food choices.  Well, I use to think like that too.  I did the 16-hour daily grind. Sat in traffic for an hour to get home. Did drive thru or order pizza for dinner because my day was grueling.   I use to tell myself I just don’t have the time. But that was really a lie.  I just wanted easy…and I got fatter.

Anyone who tells you they don’t have minutes to spare for their own health is fooling themselves. They just haven’t made themselves a priority.

And in fact, planning for the week only takes minutes. Every Saturday I do a weekly menu-10 minutes tops! Then on Sunday I cook a few items for the week. Not only is this a time saver, it takes the guess work our of what I’m eating each day and ensures that I eat healthy, low carb foods. Today, I’m whipping up:

Cream of Broccoli Soup
Grilled Chicken Breasts
Lime Chili Wings
Curried Egg Salad
Lots O’Chopped Veggies (snacks!)

Just try starting off prepping a few items, like chopping veggies for snacks or grab and go lunches. It will make your life easier and healthier.

Recipes will be posted after I do some chopping. But here is the cream of broccoli soup:

Low Carb Cream of Broccoli Soup
Makes 6 1-Cup Servings
Carb Count: 4g (if you make it without cheese, 3g)
Ingredients
1 lbs Broccoli, cut into florets, stems trimmed, cut into 1-inch pieces
4 C Chicken broth (can substitute veggie broth)
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Pepper
1 C Heavy Cream
1 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese (optional, buy why leave tastiness out?)

Directions
Combine broth, salt and pepper in a large sauce pan over medium-high heat; bring to boil. Add broccoli, reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until broccoli is tender, about 10-15 minutes. Transfer soup to a blender. Blend at low speed to puree soup. You’ll want to do this in batches. Place pureed soup into a sauce pan. Stir in cheese. Bring back to simmer over medium-high. Whisk in heavy cream; simmer and whisk occasionally until thick, about 5 minutes. Serve.  This can store in the fridge for up to 3 days.

Which Grocery Aisles Do You Skip?

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Image courtesy of digitalart/ FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of digitalart/FreeDigitalPhotos.net

I had to pick up a few groceries today. As I shopped, it hit me that my buying habits have completely changed. Before, I started watching my carbs, I use to go up and down the aisles. I’d swoop in for those Weight Watchers friendly, low fat food items.

But now I completely skip the middle of the store. You’ll only find me on the outer edges.

Why? Cuz’ that’s the way I roll…and its where you’ll find the veggies, meat and dairy sections. All I need to eat healthy and lose weight.

My wallet also thanks me. By only shopping the perimeter, I’ve saved more than $300 a month on groceries. I just don’t waste my money on low fat packaged foods anymore. They are too high in carbs, too expensive and helped me pack on the pounds. Bastards!

The Challenge of PF Chang’s

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At my Weight Watchers meeting this weekend, we discussed strategies for eating out. This was very timely as I had lunch with a couple of friends. I normally don’t find eating out a challenge. I usually go with a small side salad and some protein. Not just because I’m trying to lose weight, but I like to save money too. If I can keep it under $10 I’m happy.

Today was going to be a challenge. Here is a little secret for you: PF Chang’s isn’t low carb friendly. Shocker!

One of the things we discussed in my WW meeting was to go in with a game plan so your not as tempted. Well, my plan for today was simply to enjoy the meal and not freak out about carbs. I was there to see friends, not obsess over food. Now, that doesn’t mean I eat everything on the left side of the menu. Just make smart choices.

The Game Plan
I gave myself permission to go from 25g to 55g carbs for the day. Considering I was doing 600g+/day before the weight came off, I think I was pretty safe.

I checked out the nutrition content online and noted 4 options for lunch. However, it narrowed to 1 when I learned the actual serving sizes. Holy Moly…2-4 servings per dish. You mean I’m suppose to share?!? Sounds like communism to me.

So I settled for the Dim Sum Lunch – garden salad (just lettuce with dressing on side) and steamed pork dumplings. Price: $7.95. Score!

Before lunch, I made sure I ate light. A 2 carb berry shake for breakfast, celery and cream cheese for a mid-morning snack. Oh, and lots of water so I wasn’t starving when lunch rolled around.

No alcohol. Instead the Jasmine Blackberry Ice Tea. Zero carbs and yummy. I had enough tea that by the time lunch was over my belly was full and my teeth were floating.

All in all, I had a great time with friends, without fretting about my carb count. Oh, my lunch carb count was 30g. My total for the day: 44g. Sweet. I love it when a plan comes together.

Dilemma of a Baker

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I love baking. Ten years ago I tried making my very first apple pie from scratch. The bottom crust was too soggy and the top crust too chewy. It was a horrible pie, but it didn’t matter. I was hooked.

Over those 10 years, I’ve made delicious breads, pies, cakes, muffins, cookies, pancakes, cupcakes! I love how my kitchen smells while baking bread. And there is nothing like punching out dough to relieve stress. I baked all the time…until I went low carb.

With the exception of baking cookies as Christmas gifts and two pies in December, I’ve been avoiding baking like the plague. I didn’t get to 325 by just looking at my creations.

I had been afraid that I’ll go on a carb bender if I kept up my hobby. I’ve lost nearly 60 pounds and I’m not looking to take a step back.

But the truth is I don’t miss the food. I miss creating it.

Paleo cookbookI think I’ve discovered a way to start baking again. As I was checking low carb cookbooks on Amazon, I came across Piece of Cake Paleo: The Effortless Paleo Baking Bible. Jackpot!

Yes its for folks on Paleo and I’m on Weight Watchers. However, I’m doing 20-25g of carbs a day and my understanding is that Paleo is low carb. Plus, I’ve been curious as it’s all the rage right now.

So starting in April on the 1st Saturday of each month I’m going to bake something low carb. Fingers crossed.

Oh, the baking happens after weigh in.