Better Food Decision- Spaghetti :)

Who here likes pasta?? Well I know I sure do! Most people dump on a giant mound of spaghetti and pour on the sauce. I'll admit I used to do it, don't be shy. I have learned a lot from Weight Watchers. One major factor has been portion control. Controlling portions can be rather difficult, and I have realized it helps a lot if you use a smaller plate so it appears like you are getting more food!

In this picture I have one cup of whole grain pasta, totaling a 6 points plus value. 1/2 cup of meat sauce, 4 points plus value. I put one slice of bread with some butter and garlic salt in the oven and it tastes just like garlic bread. With SaraLea honey wheat bread, it is only 1 points plus value per slice. To make the meal more filling, I added a side of steamed broccoli for a 0 points plus value. This meal has an 11 points plus value.

Last week at my Weight Watchers meeting, I had my leader take a look at my food tracker (where I write everything I eat). She said I am eating too many carbs. Little did I know, granola bars and cereal counted as carbs and I used to have both of those every day. Now in the morning I have eggs instead of cereal some days. For lunch I have the meat from my sandwich, minus the bread. (Ask anyone at my table...it was a great story the first day I showed up with a bread less sandwich.) Basically, I realized that a balanced diet is key. We need a balance of protein, carbs, dairy, fruit, vegetables, and even oil. Healthy oils can be found in sunflower seeds! So now I have 1 tablespoon on sunflower seeds at lunch to get my daily oils.

Trainer Week 1

So today is Monday the 21st of February. I went to WAC and got owned by a trainer. Fun...? ha sure! This is one of the two components in my project. It is a 5 week program and every week I get a new workout. After my Monday session I have to go back to the gym and repeat the workout she gave me at least one more time before our next meeting. Today was pretty tough. She made me so a lot of lunges and leg workouts! I wasn't a fan of it. But it will be good for me in the end!! Here are some pictures to prove I actually did this and I'm not making it up! :)

So the first thing I did was lunge across the ENTIRE hallway in the middle of the gym. It was quite the experience...dodging casual walkers.

After I lunged back and forth down the hallway I had to run down and back up the stairs.

I repeated this cycle 2 times. It would have been a lot easier without the 10 pound weight in each hand.

Next, I did a pull up. But instead of standing, it was doing it laying down! So I laid on the floor and pulled my self up to the bar using my arms.

This is what it looked like when I was at the top. I did 10 reps and once again 2 cycles.

Then she had me bench press 45 pounds for 10 reps, then 65 pounds for 10 reps. That was pretty difficult. I struggled at the end, but I pushed through it! I felt like a baby when my arms were quivering like a weakling!

While I was on the bench, I did a quick ab workout. Legs down then up, as you can see in the two photos. It was my favorite exercise of the day. Not too hard, but still effective! 

Next, I did one legged lunges. They were mighty painful! I felt it on my inner and outer thigh.

I did 10 reps, 2 sets on each leg.

Next was my LEAST favorite exercise. They are called step ups. I did 10 reps, 2 sets on each leg. They are super painful and tiring. But I'm sure since they are so hard, they must be good for me!

Lastly she had be hold a medicine ball above my head and lunge down the hallway again. But this time as I came up from the lunge I had to lift my knee and kick. Once again, pretty fun while everyone was watching...

One thing I am very grateful she didn't take pictures of was when she had me sprint on the treadmill, while holding that black medicine ball above my head. It was on the treadmill that you can see on the right in the last picture.

So overall that was my workout for the day! It was actually fun, and very good for me! I feel really good right now as I am typing this. I am very energized and ready to go!

Better Food Decision- Taco

Here is a good example of a healthy, balanced dinner. The main dish is a large taco with a whole wheat tortilla. The whole wheat shell offers whole grains than white tortillas can offer. Inside my taco I had chicken, lettuce, onion, red pepper, yellow pepper, cucumber, salsa, low fat re-fried beans, and low fat cheese. The large shell was 2 points plus, the sprinkle of cheese was 1 point plus, the beans were 1 point plus for 1/4 cup, and the chicken was 1 point plus. All of the vegetables are FREE! That means they have a 0 points plus value. That means the taco was only 5 points total! As for the sides, the grapes are free (since all fruits are 0 points plus) and the yoplait yogurt light is 3 points. The yogurt contains dairy products needed to keep a balanced diet on the program.

This is a 8 points plus dinner and it tasted great! It was a big taco, grapes, and yogurt. I think this was much better than going to taco johns and getting 2 small tacos for 10 points plus and small potato oles for 11 points plus, totalling 21 points plus!!

The 11g of fat  and 220 calories in one fast food taco doesn't seem like such a good choice after you see you can make your own healthy taco for much healthier!!

History so far!

So I have been going to the gym since the second week in January. I try to go as many days that I can, usually 4 days a week. Today I decided I'm going to have a personal trainer for 5 weeks. It will be on every Monday starting the 21st. I will be updating my blog with photos from the workouts she gives me.

I have been on Weight Watcher's for 10 weeks, which would mean I started in mid-December. Weight Watchers has been a lot of work. I have to keep track of everything single thing I eat and make sure I stay under my daily points plus allowance. I am allowed 36 points plus a day. Usually I eat about 7 for breakfast, 10 for lunch, and 19 for dinner. Tracking what you eat and how much you eat is very important for the healthy eating program. I use a 3 month tracker, which has been my best friend for the past 3 months.

The "friend" that never goes away!

I always write down my food choices and sometimes I have to look up foods points plus values. When I first joined I received a Getting Started booklet and a food list of points values.



Pocket Guide and Gettng Started Booklet

These two books helped me get into the swing of things. If I dont have the blue Pocket Guide to tell me how many points a food is, I can use my Points Plus Calculator! For this, all I have to do is type in the fat, carbs, protein, and fiber of the food and it will give me a points plus value. It makes it pretty easy to figure.

Points Plus Calculator makes counting points easier!

 So after all the points are calculated, it's not too hard to plan healthy and delicious meals! I go to meetings once a week, that last about a half hour. The leader of the meeting has a different topic each week. They are usually very motivational! The meeting room has different Weight Watcher's foods along the walls, like granola bars, smooties, and chips. The items have the point plus value right on the package, so they are very safe options if I need a quick snack. When I walk in the meeting they always have a weekly magazine which have new ideas for meals and success stories.

So now everyone knows how the system works... I hope I the explanation wasn't too confusing! Let me know if you have any questions. I'd love to explain it.

My Senior Project

Hello everyone! This is my Senior Project. I'm doing a healthy eating and exercise program. I have joined the Waukesha Athletic Club and Weight Watchers. I plan to prove that the best way to get healthy is by eating good food in proportion and working out.