Hungry Girl and a Dunkin’ Donuts Giveaway!

Recently I had the pleasure of visiting Lisa Lillien (A.K.A. Hungry Girl) at her new gorgeous headquarters near Los Angeles, Hungryland!

It was part of a blogging event hosted by Hungry Girl and Dunkin’ Donuts — they were showcasing all of the delicious new flavors in the Bakery Series and I got to try some of the tasty flavors such as:

• Glazed Chocolate Donut (yum — this one was a fave!)
• Apple Pie
• Blueberry Muffin
• Pumpkin Spice

I am the kind of person who puts a lot of SF creamer in coffee, so trying the different flavors of coffee without any additional sugars or cream was interesting. Usually the creamers I use mask the actual flavor of coffee, so it was nice to try it black for a change and really get a sense for what coffee tastes like. I could definitely taste the flavors in each of my samples — the Glazed Chocolate Donut was my favorite one and there was a distinct chocolaty flavor in there. Lisa gave us a few demonstrations about using Dunkin’ Donuts to create low calorie, yummy tasting drinks (as that is how she is best known!) and my favorite idea was the Turtle Coffee Blended Drink. I love caramel and nuts, so this was a great idea that I am going to be recreating many times in my own kitchen.

The recipe for the Turtle drink can be found here, at L.A. Story — be sure to check it out! I loved seeing the different things Lisa used in the coffee drinks — almond extract, almond milk, SF Sundae Syrup — all things I hadn’t thought about adding to my own drinks. I typically go straight to the flavored creamer, so these were great options when I want something delicious, low-cal and fancy without spending $4.50 on a drink at Starbucks. Sign up for the daily newsletter at Hungry-Girl.com — today she shared another amazing coffee drink in the newsletter, the Low-Calorie White Chocolate Mocha — perfect for winter!

Creamy White Chocolate Mocha from Hungry Girl!

If you love Dunkin’ Donuts, you’re in luck! I’ve been offered the chance of hosting my FIRST giveaway — the winner of this awesome giveaway will receive 11 Dunkin’ Donut varities and a mug. How cool is that?!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Day 9: Here’s what I want

Short and sweet blog post! Today’s topic in the 100 Days of Weight Loss is tied in with yesterday — Here’s what I want.

No one can read our minds when we are on a weight loss journey, so before we ask for support we need to understand what it is we want.

• Do you want someone to question your food choices? Let them know.
• Do you want your weight loss journey to be private between you and your family member(s)? Let them know.
• Do you want someone to offer their help to you if they see you struggling? Let them know.
• Do you need someone to offer support in other areas, such as self-esteem? Let them know.

The point is — we need to tell people exactly what we need if we expect to get it!

Right now, I am happy with the boost of motivation and support I get from friends and hubby — the rest is something I need to work on for myself.

What are some things you need people to say or do for you? 

Day 8: Help me, please

Yesterday hubby and I decided to go spend the afternoon at California Adventure and I decided stepping away from the computer for the day would be great for me!

The topic for the 100 Days of Weight Loss was Help me, please — all about how to use the support (or lack thereof) around you.

I’ve never hid the fact to friends and family that I am on Weight Watchers, but it’s not something I go out of my way to share to many people. For the women in my life, especially now that we are all the same age and many have recently had kids, being on Weight Watchers is something we are all doing at the same time — which can be a good thing, but also opens the door to (unintentional) judgement.

I say this because some days I am really on point with my tracking and activity, but other days I want to be a little more relaxed and indulge with my weeklies for a party or event. However, after people find out about me being on Weight Watchers, I tend to still feel eyes on me and my plate. It makes me a bit more self-conscious with what I add to my plate or if I’m being as “good” as my friend who is also on program. Of course, now that we are in the new year more people than ever are engaging in weight loss programs — my group of friends included!

The topic of the chapter is this: in order to get the support you WANT, you need to understand what type of support you NEED.

My hubby is supportive of me, but I have not been entirely fair to him when it comes to asking for help. Sometimes I ask him to say something when I am ordering food I know I will regret eating or give me that extra push to go to the gym — but when he does it, I get annoyed because I don’t want to hear it at that moment. That’s not fair to him at all! I need to get down to the core of what I need in terms of support before I can even ask him for that extra push now and then.

He’s also really good about accommodating what I need or don’t need in the house. If it’s here he will eat it, if it’s not then he doesn’t miss it. So right now, I think I just need to focus on looking within for support — it’s much easier when it’s just the two of us…so that’s definitely an advantage!

What are some things you want people to say or not say to you on your weight loss journey?

Day 7: I can do it!

First, I want to say thank you to everyone who has re-tweeted or commented on these posts I have been writing lately! I love the wisdom, support and motivation coming from so many on the same journey as myself.

Today’s topic in the 100 Days of Weight Loss is — I can do it! 

I wrote about focusing and protecting my program in yesterday’s post and today’s entry is a bit similar in that becoming your own cheerleader is one of the best ways to succeed at weight loss.

Unfortunately, one casualty of my weight gain has been my confidence/self-esteem. I am my worst enemy, my most vocal critic! I point out every flaw I have, kick myself every time the number on the scale doesn’t move and tell myself how ugly I am when I look in the mirror. Something I need to realize is that weight loss success is not just about what you eat and how you exercise. It’s about giving yourself the push and motivation to keep going. 

The entry for today encourages us to think why we ARE going to be successful on the program we choose. How am I going to stay motivated this time around to stay on plan through the ups, downs and plateaus? Here are a few I came up with:

• I’m determined to stop talking about it and just do it.
• I’ve gotten under 200 pounds before! I can do it again and then some. Wow, what a great feeling that was!
• I’m on an amazing program — Weight Watchers! What I learn now will stay with me for life.
• I am surrounded by people who have had more to overcome and they ROCKED their weight loss.

Looking to others is also a great source of inspiration and if you look at my Twitter account, you will see no shortage whatsoever of inspirational people who look absolutely phenomenal. Reading real life success stories helps me (and you!) see that anything is possible once you set your mind to it. If you’re on Weight Watchers, check out the Success Stories — everyday people who had enough and changed their lifestyle!

If you take a look at my blogroll, you’ll see countless people who have been successful at losing weight and becoming healthy — check them out and add them to your reading list!

What are some things you say or do that give you a boost of motivation or inspiration? 

 

 

 

Day 6: Protect your program

Today’s topic in the 100 Days of Weight Loss is a good one for me to read — it’s called protect your program.

We’re all on a weight loss journey, whether that means through Weight Watchers, counting calories through My Fitness Pal, trying out the Whole30 or whatever else is out there, and while we are all supportive of one another, it says in the book that ‘no one will ever care as much about your diet plan as you.’

It’s true, right? I am supportive of my friends and wish them only the best in their weight loss journey — this crap is hard! But will I care more about the program they are on than my own? No. I need to be a supportive friend, but worry about my own journey — and this is a great topic because it’s something I let affect me. I also need to remember that even if it works for you, I can’t expect the same results!

When the hubby stops tracking points — I stop, too. 

When friends fall off track — I let myself fall off track, too. 

When family tells me to try this or eat that, ‘it won’t hurt to have it this one time’ — I do that, too — and it never really is just that one time. 

I’m not placing the blame of my weight woes on everyone else — I just don’t stay strong and focus on what I need to do. I am too willing to allow the behavior of others to become an excuse for my lazy habits.

Even though I don’t have very many food pushers in my life, and for the most part I am good about saying no, I have to realize that my weight loss journey is mine and mine alone. I can’t run my success based on anyone else — it has to depend solely on me and what other people choose to do or not do is on them.

The term ‘protecting your program’ also means setting yourself up for success when you know you might slip. For me, that means I need to have a menu planned out when the hubby is home; otherwise, I am inclined to want to go out to eat.

Things I need to do to protect my program is:

• Focus on what I need to do and spend less time worrying about what everyone else is doing
• Stock the pantry with WW-friendly foods
• Allot extra points if I am going to an outing or want to indulge 

Protecting your program is also about protecting yourself from outside influences. I notice this with hubby a bit — if I nag him to track his food, he is less inclined to do so and then I spend more time bugging him about his tracking than just tracking my own food. However, recently I just started to track on my own — without getting involved with his WW obligations. Within a couple days, he was back to tracking and interested in the point values of foods I was making…and all that nagging was pointless and just made it bothersome for me.

I am just going to do me. I want to lead by example — after all, if you want to lose weight it has to come from within.

How do you protect yourself from outside influences? 

Day 5: Magic notebook

Today was weigh-in day and I was just hoping for a small loss. Between the TOM and all the eating (and tracking) I did for NYE, I knew that there wasn’t going to be a huge loss this week and that’s okay. I used up all my weeklies by New Year’s Day and even went into the negative weeklies by Friday.

So I’ll take that -0.5 loss! That puts me at a -4 pound loss since I re-set myself the Sunday before Christmas. Losing these four pounds showed me that if I could lose a good amount of weight during the most food-centered time of the year then I could stay on track during the regular times.

 

This week I have:

• Tracked
• Had at least 48 ounces of water daily (improving on this with baby steps)

This coming week I want to add in the gym. I’ve been taking it a little slow just to get back in the habit of tracking, but I definitely want to start exercising because I am starting to feel a bit restless.

I’ve actually been happy with the fact that I’ve blogged five days in a row — I usually don’t have the mental energy to blog after working, so the 100 Days of Weight Loss have been really helping me stay on track. Today’s topic is about the ‘magic notebook’ which is something I need to start trying out.

I have an addiction to food. When I think of something — I really fixate on that idea until I get it. I think that constantly quenching my cravings has made it harder and harder to exercise self-control and today’s entry had a good suggestion.

Write down the food in question in a journal (I use my Plan & Tracker) and let it go. By writing it down, you release it from your thoughts and don’t keep dwelling on it. This also goes for managing visual cues such as sight or smell…if you see or smell something that you want, but you don’t want to spend the points on it, work on recognizing it and then letting the thought go.

I have to admit, that’s going to be a hard one for me. But I’ve gone two weeks without eating outside the house after my trip to Colorado — so I know I can start to release the hold food has on me slowly over time.

Do you keep a journal to track your emotions about food?

Day 4: Boundaries, Not Diets

I am a huge fan of Weight Watchers, in case you didn’t guess. I might not always do what I am supposed to do, but Weight Watchers works when you work it. The program helps you drop weight, but I don’t look at it as a diet program — it’s re-training me to get away from the processed foods and crap that got me where I am today. That’s not to say that I can’t enjoy foods that are “bad” for me.

I can eat In ‘n Out if I want. I can go out to dinner for date night — nothing is off limits. Weight Watchers is about helping you make healthier decisions, get more active and live a healthy, happy lifestyle. Sometimes, life happens. You want to eat a huge slice of chocolate cake, you enjoy too many buffalo wings at the Super Bowl party or you go on vacation and want to indulge in all of the local foods. Even though Weight Watchers makes it possible to enjoy these things by swapping Activity Points or Weeklies, I am the first one to admit when I have a bad day I don’t immediately dust myself off and get back on the wagon.

One bad meal makes me feel guilty, I don’t track, then I don’t track the next meal because why should I, I already went through all my weeklies, and then it just becomes a cycle. I tend to be an all-or-nothing person sometimes and that is much of my problem. Instead of shaking off a meal and moving on, I dwell on it — allowing that one meal to set off a chain reaction of more bad decisions.

Today’s topic in the 100 Days of Weight Loss is Boundaries, Not Diets — and if we are trying to lose weight, chances are we are following some sort of tracking/calorie counting plan like Weight Watchers, My Fitness Pal or whatever else is out there. This topic was really insightful to me because it says to look at my weight loss plan as a road and the journey with boundaries. As I am going along on my plan, I can adjust the boundaries — some days I will be super strict with my points and other days I will want to enjoy a burger or dessert with my additional Points Plus Values. Adjusting the boundaries as I go will make sure that I never “fall off” but I will stay on the path through my journey.

Using the idea of boundaries also helps me focus on the big picture instead of numbers on the scale or unrealistic timelines. Adjusting the boundaries also gives me an element of control over my success!

Are you super strict with your weight loss plan or do you allow flexibility? 

Day 3: Do It Anyway

I have heard that saying ‘summer bodies are made in the winter’ or something like that and it is exactly what my motivation is right now. Last year I moved to Long Beach and I was so excited to go to the beach and feel freedom to wear a bathing suit without feeling embarrassed. While the scale didn’t say then what it says now, I still had to shop in Forever 21’s plus size section for a one-piece. A one-piece is okay — in fact, my body might not even look good in a bikini even after I lose all the weight, but I still had to shop around the limited selection of one-piece suits.

This year, I am determined to feel better and confident in my bathing suit! I found this great image while browsing around and it fits my goals perfectly.

It also fits today’s post in my 100 Days of Weight Loss — Do it Anyway!

I am completely an I don’t feel like it person. I don’t feel like getting up early to go to the gym, I don’t feel like choosing something healthy over chips or cookies, I don’t feel like tracking what I just ate and I don’t feel like cooking that meal I planned for today (let’s go out to eat instead!). I don’t feel like it and now I weigh almost what I did when I started Weight Watchers in 2011.

When I don’t feel like doing something, I become only interested in the idea of losing weight — not committed, as I read in yesterday’s Day 2: Interested or Committed? entry. Today’s topic is about doing it anyway — whether I feel like it or not! There are a lot of other things I don’t feel like doing sometimes, like working on projects, running errands or paying bills. But I do them because I have to — so I need to look at my health and weight in the same manner.

Doing something regardless of how I feel at the time will bring me one step closer to my goals and make it easier to do the next time I don’t feel like doing it. I don’t want to be just interested in the idea of losing weight — I want to actually be committed to losing it.

Have you done something lately that you didn’t feel like doing? 

Day 2: Interested or Committed?

Today’s topic really hit home for me and it might explain why I lost my motivation around this time last year. There are two important words in a weight loss journey:

Interested and Committed

In the book 100 Days of Weight Loss, interested is described as staying on a plan until something better comes along. This could mean being on Weight Watchers for a bit, then moving onto the next diet or fitness plan. You keep going on a diet plan as long as the results show up on the scale or you fit into a certain size pair of pants. For me, this really hits the nail on the head. While things were going well on Weight Watchers prior to my move, I was highly ‘motivated’ and focused — but only because the number on the scale was moving in the direction I wanted. As soon as it hit a plateau for a couple weeks, I started to ‘cheat’ a little more and only track 1-2 meals a day until the scale started moving in the OPPOSITE direction.

Of course, seeing my weight slowly creep back up over the last year made me feel hopeless — as if I couldn’t help myself get back on track. I’d mention to everyone about losing the motivation, about how I don’t know why I couldn’t just get back to tracking. I made so many excuses as to why I lost the motivation instead of just re-committing myself to the journey.

The second important word in today’s reading is committed. Being committed to the fitness plan of your choice means sticking with it NO MATTER WHAT. Instead of focusing on the results (such as a number on a scale) you commit to sticking with something — the results are sure to follow if you do. By committing to something instead of being interested, there are no impossible challenges to meet or overcome…you can do it and succeed.

I’ve been on a roller coaster with my weight loss journey since joining Weight Watchers for the 3rd time in 2011 — but I am proud to say I have never quit the program. I have gotten off track and seen some of the weight creep back on, but this time I am committed to tracking daily and getting at least 1-2 points to start on my Active Link. What the scale says does not matter because if I do these things, I will get healthier in the process.

Are you interested or committed to your weight loss program? What works best for you?

Day 1: I used to be that way…

For 100 days, I will be using this blog as a journal while reading 100 Days of Weight Loss, which I mentioned in my previous post. I spent most of yesterday away from the computer, but still read the two pages required for the day. The topic of the day is:

I used to be that way…

We all have past experiences about what we’ve tried (and perhaps failed), but the point is to acknowledge what happened, move on and make the future different. Saying, I used to be that way…but now I’m different!

For example, in my early days of being on Weight Watchers, I used to track all day and stay on point. Then I would raid the cabinets at night and neglect to add those extra points to my tracker. What did this accomplish? I have no one to answer to but myself, so the only person I let down when I don’t continue to track is myself. Not to mention, we have 49 extra points each week to use!

Now, I’m different. I track even when I go into the negative weeklies. It’s not pretty. I count down the days until my weigh-in so I can re-set that number, but I am honest with myself and not “hiding” anymore.

The activity for the day requires creating a list that have made me unsuccessful in the past with weight loss, and what I will do now to make a positive outcome. Some that I can think of include:

I used to give up for the entire day after one bad meal, but now I will get back on track with the next meal. 

I used to find excuses not to go to the gym, but now I will select classes to try out to keep exercise fun. 

I used to go to the grocery store without a plan, but now I will set myself up for success by meal planning and choosing healthy ingredients. 

What are some of the behaviors you’ve experienced and how do you plan to improve for next time?