Starch in moderation!

Well.....I have not posted in a couple weeks due to some unforeseen circumstances that I'd rather not elaborate on.

The good news is that when I stress, I don't eat. Okay, so maybe that's not actually a good thing. I suppose it worked in my favor this time though. 

I weighed in early this week: 145.6. I am 0.6 lbs away from my August 15 goal which means that meeting my August 15 goal is actually attainable. Sweet.

In other news, one of the problems I've come across with this diet is that I really like pasta and sauce. However, regular pasta is excessive in the points department. It's not the worst thing in the entire world, but sometimes, you just don't have the points/calories to spare for a dinner of pasta and pasta sauce.

For example- Creamette Rotelle: Serving Size 2oz (about 3/4 cup) 210 calories, 1 g fat, 42g carbohydrates (and only 2g dietary fiber). Basically- it comes to 4 WW points for 1 serving. The entire box has 8 servings, so an entire box of pasta has approximately 32 WW points. Not that anyone would eat an entire box of pasta, but it's easy to eat 3 servings without thinking about it. Also, keep in mind that the 4 WW points for 1 serving is without any sort of pasta sauce.

And the pasta sauce- Newman's Own Roasted Garlic sauce: Serving size 1/2 cup, 70 calories, 2.5 g fat, less than 1g fiber (no dietary fiber). The whole jar has 5 servings, so you're looking at 350 calories, or 7 WW points for the whole jar. 

So- for 3 servings of pasta (630 calories, or 12-13 WW points) and 3 servings of sauce (4 WW points)...you're looking at a meal of between 16-17 WW points.

Yikes.

So, what do I propose as a better option? Well, I've got one.

Roundy's Whole Wheat Rotini (sorry, no link!): Serving Size 2oz (about 3/4 cup) 180 calories, 1g fat, 41g carbohydrates (6g dietary fiber!). It comes to 3 WW points for 1 serving. The entire box is 6 servings (the box has 12 oz, as opposed to the 16 oz Creamette box), or 18 WW points for the whole box. 

And for the sauce? Wildtree's Spaghetti Sauce Seasoning, which you mix with diced tomatoes. I used 2 cans (28oz) of Hunt's Diced Tomatoes with Roasted Garlic and mixed it with 1 tablespoon of the spaghetti sauce seasoning. Per serving (1/2 cup), there are 35 calories, and the can holds 3.5 servings, so approximately 120 calories (3 WW points) for 3 servings of sauce.

Now, the whole wheat pasta and diced tomatoes/spaghetti sauce....for 3 servings of pasta (540 calories, or 9 WW points because of the increased amount of dietary fiber) and 3 servings of sauce (120 calories, or 3 WW points)...your total meal would come to 12 WW points. 

Just by cutting a few calories and making some better choices- you can reduce your pasta and pasta sauce dinner down from 16-17 points to 12 points (and that's if you really were to eat 3 servings, I usually eat more like 2 to 2.5)...which is really what dieting is all about, making smarter food choices. Hooray for making healthier pasta!

Belated Weigh-In Update

So, Wednesdays are going to be my weigh-in days, and as always I hopped on the scale Wednesday morning. Not bad. Not great, either. I didn't really lose any weight over the course of the week, but on the plus side, I didn't gain any either, which is good given that it was a weekend of birthday celebrations including ice cream, kettle cooked potato chips, Mexican food (including tortilla chips and strawberry margaritas), Five Guys, Famous Daves...etc etc. :) So not gaining was a good thing!

Either way, it didn't set me back. So that's a bonus.

Changing the subject abruptly, I must say I am happy with the overhaul on the Healthy Choice food line. I have tried three of their new entrees and they are pretty good. It's a nice switch from the LeanCuisine and SmartOnes. 

The three I have tried are: Tomato Basil Penne which is also vegetarian, and only 5 WW points. Pasta, basil and tomatoes with EVOO. I bought that one on a whim at Pick N Save because I figured it sounded so basic that it couldn't possibly be ruined to the point that a little salt and pepper couldn't fix it!

Portabella Spinach Parmesan, another vegetarian option. I'm not as big a fan as this one, but it is still quite tasty. Also, only 5 WW points. Pair either of these entrees with a fat free yogurt for 100 calories, and you have a 7 point lunch.

My new favorite that I just tried today is the Honey Ginger Chicken and it is delicious. My only complaint is that I find it to be just a bit too sweet. So if you don't like sweet things, or you don't like ginger, this one definitely isn't for you.

So, while Healthy Choice used to be very low on my list of frozen lunch entrees, they seem to be doing a very good job of getting new entrees that actually taste like food. Unfortunately for me, the Pick N Save in both Glendale and Shorewood don't carry very many of them...hopefully soon! Do you hear me, Pick N Save??

Here we go a dieting....

Okay. So, I've been on a diet since February after I started my current desk/office job where I gained something like 11 pounds in two months. I was already struggling with my weight after college. When I was in college, I was between 130 and 135 at all times. After I graduated from college (2005), I dropped about 5-8 pounds. Then, when I started my first job out of college, I gained it all back....and then some....and then some more.....and suddenly, I was almost 30 pounds heavier than what I was in college! I dropped that weight down to about 152 a little over a year later, then dropped it down some more to 145 for a little while, but then gained it back and pretty much stayed steady until this past December when I started my new desk job. So, in February, I became determined to lose the weight I gained since I was NOT happy about being 163 pounds. I worked hard, and dropped down to 149.5. 

It's now July 13- two days after my 26th birthday- and after a particularly bad weekend of binge eating in celebration of my birthday, I realized I have to come up with a creative way to get rid of these last 16 pounds. 

So, I came up with two fantastic ideas:

1. Make some realistic monthly goals, in addition to my long term goal.

2. Start blogging about my weight loss adventure!

Goals

Long Term

Target Weight- 130 - 135 pounds by Nov 13 (the day I leave for my trip to Mexico for my sister's wedding)

Short Term

Today's Weight- 149.5

By Aug 13- 145 lbs

By Sept 13- 141 lbs

By Oct 13 - 138 lbs

By Nov 13 - 134 lbs

It sounds reasonable and realistic, so here we go!!!!