Diet Soda...

So unfortunately, there is nothing that I seem to like more than soda (except for chocolate, ice cream, potato chips, etc etc). I know, it's not good for me, blah blah blah, but it is just...well....so tasty!

So along the way of my diet (which is now coming up on almost a year! hooray me!), I've come across a number of relatively tasty DIET sodas. Yes, I used to run screaming away from the dreaded word DIET before the word soda. My irrational fear of diet soda probably is due to the fact that we actually used to have this crap in our house while I was growing up- it really doesn't get worse than Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi. *shudders* Not only is it diet, but it's caffeine free, which totally misses the point of Pepsi in the first place. I'm sure if you added some brown food-coloring to seltzer water, it might actually have more flavor.

But I digress. And since I have wanted to continue drinking soda while dieting, I've had to come up with some calorie free or low calorie options...and that often includes diet soda.

And without further ado, Lauren's Favorite Diet Sodas! (while they are numbered, there is not really an order of preference).

1. Diet Coke. Ah yes, the classic. Who doesn't drink Diet Coke? I will be the first to admit that this has been an acquired taste for me. I love Coke, so switching from Coke to Diet Coke was a bit of a struggle. I have now learned to love Diet Coke, just not as much as Coke. While I am not a big fan of lime, I have heard rave reviews of Diet Coke with Lime, so if you like lime, I would definitely check that one out.

2. Diet Dr Pepper. Unlike with Diet Coke, I did not have any problems drinking Diet Dr. Pepper. That could be, however, because I never really drank regular Dr. Pepper, so there wasn't an obvious taste difference here. However, I don't think Diet Dr. Pepper tastes all that "diet-y" anyway.

3. Diet Dr. Pepper Cherry. Even better than Diet Dr. Pepper. Good cherry flavor, not the overpowering taste of Nutrisweet...definitely tastes more like regular cherry cola...however, I never really drink Dr. Pepper Cherry...so again...

4. Coke Zero. Coke Zero markets itself as having real coke taste, zero calories. It definitely has a much closer taste to regular Coke than Diet Coke, but still not quite there. I much prefer Coke Zero over Diet Coke. A slight peeve of mine for this is that it is not as widely available in restaurants. The only restaurant I can find it at regularly is Five Guys...and really, if you're eating a huge burger and an order of fries, I think calories from your soda is frankly the last of your caloric concerns. :)

5. Sprite Zero. I must say that this one tastes more like regular Sprite than Coke Zero tastes like regular Coke. I absolutely love Sprite Zero.

6. Diet Sunkist Lemonade. This one is not 0 calories like all of the others so far, but for 10 calories per can, I can totally make this a regular in my fridge.

7. Diet Cherry 7Up with Antioxidant. I admit, this one made me a little hesitant at first. Who cares if soda has antioxidant? Clearly, if I was concerned about my health I wouldn't be drinking soda in the first place (hahaha). If you like cherry but not so much cola, cherry 7Up is a pretty good choice. My main peeve with this soda is it seems to be exceptionally carbonated. For real. I usually can only drink one of these a day.

8. Diet 7Up. Still not as diet-y and far far less carbonation than Diet 7Up Cherry....

9. Mr. Pibb Zero. I have a very difficult time locating this both locally (I've seen it in Pick N Save like twice) and on the web. It's like it doesn't really exist! Okay, it really does exist, and if you can find a 12 pack, I highly recommend trying it if you like Dr. Pepper, or if you like Mr. Pibb. I think Mr. Pibb used to be better than Pibb Xtra, but I'll take what I can get.

10. Sprecher Lo-Cal Root Beer. Oh, if only all of the other Sprecher sodas came in a lo-cal variety!! I would actually recommend ANY of the Sprecher sodas, but sadly, none of the others are diet-friendly (all of the other sodas range between 4-6 weight watchers points...for 1 soda). Kudos to Sprecher for making such a yummy diet option.

Sodas that did not make the cut:

Diet Pepsi anything. I hate Diet Pepsi with a fiery passion. Again, I believe it goes back to having Caffeine Free Diet Pepsi in my house....

Caffeine Free Diet Anything. Ew, just ew.

Cherry Coke Zero. They try, but IMO, fail.

Vanilla Coke Zero. Just, ew.

Diet Mountain Dew...

Any other suggestions for sodas that should make the cut, or sodas that definitely do NOT make the cut??

Now if only they could come up with a good, diet ice cream.

Sub sandwiches....not as good as we think...

So, I really like eating subs. However, subs really aren't as good for us as we like to think. I mean, it's just a sandwich, right? What can possibly be so bad for me if it's just a sandwich? I'm better off eating that than a burger and fries!

Well, yes and no. Since we tend to be under the assumption that subs are good for us, we don't often watch what we eat on our subs.

Take a regular Jimmy John's #4 Turkey Tom. Basically- it's about 7inches of french bread, turkey, provolone cheese, lettuce, tomato, sprouts and mayo. That doesn't sound too bad, does it? Well, according to the Nutrition link on the Jimmy John's website, that sub equals 615 calories and almost 30g of fat. According to Dottie's Weight Loss Zone (one of my favorite sites to check WW points value), a Turkey Tom has about 13.5 WW points, but Dottie's doesn't include cheese on that. So, a Turkey Tom actually is closer to about 15 points. Yikes. So much for healthy.

But subs are so good, and with a few adjustments, the same sub with Dijon mustard and no cheese is 335 calories and about 1.5g of fat. Dottie's lists this sub as having 8.5 points instead of 15. The key to eating subs is to eliminate the cheese and mayo. Both of those add tons of calories and fat, and make the sub a lot worse for you than it should be.

Another good rule of thumb for subs is to load up on veggies as they are good additions and make you feel more full. Also, beware of bread. A lot of sub places offer fancy breads, but most likely those fancy breads just add more calories. If there is a wheat bread option, that is usually the best, otherwise a plain white bread is good too.

So, as with everything else, eating sub sandwiches just requires a bit of knowing what to choose and what not to choose. :)

Epic Fail Week

So, I failed at dieting this week...but that's alright. I've got a good excuse- I have a cold and sore throat. So, my diet has included quite a bit of ice cream. Not good for the diet, but good for the sore throat. Oh well.

With any luck, I'll have a real, diet-related post in the near future...once I kick this damn cold, anyway.

New Year!

Okay, so I really pretty much just stopped blogging about my weight loss "adventure" a few months back. But now, I have been wanting to blog again and I figure that can be part of my "new year's resolutions."

So, I more or less accomplished my weight loss goal (I'm now hovering between 134-136, depending on the time of day and time of month). Hooray for me! I did not hit my goal at the allotted time (mid-November) because from about mid-October to mid-November I was so busy and away from my house a lot so I more or less just made it my goal for that month to Not. Gain. Any. Weight. Back. I pretty much succeeded. I didn't "officially" weigh in before I left for Mexico, but I was around 138. Sweet.

After getting back from Mexico, I more or less dropped those extra 2-4 pounds.

Now, I am faced with the difficult task of maintaining my current weight, as well as assisting my husband in his diet.

I am going to make it my goal to post in my weight loss blog once a week! This doesn't count- so I've got until Saturday night to write another post. :)

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!!!!