WW (Weight Watchers) Chat #228: Are You Stuck In a Food Rut?

WW News June 2021:

Today is Father’s Day so there was no Knoxville Zoom with Gwen. I missed you all today but I hope all the dads had a good one!
KNOXVILLE GIRLS! IN PERSON Workshops are changing rapidly, currently you can attend any of these (keep checking Connect for W Knox, Thompson Lane and Franklin to stay up to date for middle and east TN). Please note: MASKS ARE STILL REQUIRED

- Central Baptist of Fountain City Church (Knoxville)
  - Mondays at 5:30pm with Gwen R
- Beaver Creek Cumberland Prespyterian Church (Powell)
  - Tuesdays at 9:30am with Gwen R
- Community Studio at Beaver Dam Baptist Church (Halls) (please note: fees must be paid up front in 12 week series)
  - Mondays at 5pm with Kristye G
- WW Studio Kingston Pike (Knoxville)
  - Mondays at 12:15pm with Gwen R
  - Thursdays at 9:30am with Sandi P
  - Thursdays at 12:15pm with Sandi P
  - Saturdays at 8am with Sheryl M
  - Saturdays at 9:30am with Sheryl M
- Community Studio at Fairview Elementary (Heiskell) (please note: fees must be paid up front in 12 week series)
  - Thursdays at 5pm with Kristye G
- Maryville Church of Christ (Maryville)
  - Saturdays at 8am with Sandi P
- First Cumberland Presbyterian Church (Oak Ridge)
  - Tuesdays at 5:30pm with Kristye G
- American Legion Post 104 (Sevierville)
  - Mondays at 5:30pm with Sheryl M
  - Tuesdays at 9:30am with Sheryl M
- Community Studio at Pigeon Forge Community Center (Pigeon Forge) (please note: fees must be paid up front in 12 week series)
  - Tuesdays with Sheryl M
- Central United Methodist Church (Lenoir City)
  - Mondays at 5:30pm with Sandra P

Wellness Check-Ins (no workshop, just check in)
- Cedar Bluff Main Location (9208 Kingston Pike)
  - Thursdays 10am – 11:30am as of April 22
  - Saturdays 9am – 11am
- Powell( Beaver Creek Cumberland Church)
  - Tuesdays 8:30am – 9:30am
- Maryville (Maryville Church of Christ)
- Saturdays 8am – 10am

To find a wellness check in: Go to WW → Connect → and find the Kingston Pike – W Knoxville, TN group for more info. You can also join me on Sunday afternoons at 2:30pm eastern in this same virtual workshop with hostess Gwen, my fave WW’er and the inspiration for the name of our group If You Have an Egg! East TN Lifetime Members who were in good standing when COVID started have had their membership extended again until the end of June 2021. You will need to attend a Wellness Workshop during the month of June to continue those privileges.
The month’s theme is “Embrace Change” and focuses on finding ways to accept and even embrace change whether you or not you like to try something different. And talk about getting out of your comfort zone…nothing like 18 months of pandemic to get you to try something new!

Last week during Chat #227 “Create Future Goals You Will Do!” we discovered that the “intention-action gap” is actually a course of study in behavioral economics. Behavioral economics uses an understanding of human psychology to account for why people deviate from rational action when they’re making decisions. Most reasonable humans just like me and just like you have good intentions…and now we can see a real psychological reason why we might deviate from those good intentions and some easy steps to help us stay on track!

To break it down into the simplest (and least time consuming steps)… You recognize you have a good intention. You want to do “this” and have every intention of making it happen. How do you make sure you follow through this time? (and all the next times!)

Get laser focused
- What is the goal (like write it down or tell someone)
- When and where are you going to do it (again, writing it down or telling someone makes it real)
- Decide if anyone is going to be with you
How many steps will it take to reach this goal?
- Just one or two simple steps?
- Three or more steps (or they might be a little complicated)
  - Divide these up into smaller steps and just try to focus on one at a time
Think about how you will feel when it is “go time”
- Excited? Let’s go!
- Nervous? Consider bringing in a buddy if you didn’t name one above.
- Tired, busy, stressed? Can you tweak the time, place, or steps so you’ll be able to jump in when it’s time?
Identify any barriers that might get in your way and decide what you could do about them or ASK FOR HELP!

Your homework for last week’s chat was #CloseTheGap. You reviewed the WW graphic or used my 1-4 Steps above and let us know how confident you are in your next future goal. On a scale of 1-10 how confident are you that you can achieve this goal?

1 to 3: Tell us how you will break down the goal into smaller goals that you can tackle later
4 to 6: Tell us how you will tweak your goal until your confidence level makes you feel like a 7 or higher!
7 to 10: Tell us how you are going to Go For It!

On a scale of 1 to 10 tell us how likely you are to #CloseTheGap and then type it, snap it, however you want to share it and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Let’s see how you did!

Lynn didn’t rank herself but I’m giving her a 9! She made a plan to do water aerobics, set an alarm, established a number of days, packed her things AND invited a friend! Plus she knows she’s going to feel refreshed afterwards as well as feeling better about herself.
I am also giving Mary Ann a 9 (BTW the only reason I’m not handing out 10’s is because I can’t see your eyes hahaha). She is committing to going to her meeting every week. Why will she close the gap and be successful? She has not only already blocked that time off on her calendar…she’s picking up a friend so someone is relying on her to be there!
I gave myself a 5 last week for my 2 on, 1 off plan during the pop up market. I raised it to a 7 when I got the menus from the food trucks and then also decided to buy cookies, donuts and macarons for everyone else and limit myself to a small serving every day of the market. Instead I treated myself to unique teas, tiny sandwiches, yogurt and a stevia sweetened hibiscus drink that was fantastic. I did manage 2 on, 1 off for three of the days but Saturday we indulged in sampling one of everything from a new to Knoxville food truck…and I don’t regret it!

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: Are You In a Food Rut?

Raise your hand if you’ve ever said to yourself “everybody else gets to eat whatever they want and I have to eat ________!” Or heard someone in your family say “I just can’t eat _______one more time!” If you raised your hand to one or both, you may be in a food rut.

Weight loss plan or not, eating the same things over and over or only allowing yourself to have certain things can cause a food rut. Years ago we had a fellow WW member who was limiting herself to mostly zero point foods (back then that list was pretty short!) and only a handful of those at that. I was in a food rut just listening to her talk about being upset over eating more than a handful of cherry tomatoes or a handful of grapes. I found myself shopping in my own fridge after each meeting where she described such limiting (and depressing) food choices.

Gwen’s favorite leader used to remind her group that if you put yourself in food prison you spend most of your time planning what you will eat when you break out. It’s the truth, don’t close that cell door!

Some easy ideas for ending a rut?

Seasonal fruit: If you find yourself eating the same bananas and grapes all the time try some in season fruit. It’s not around long, it’s at the peak of flavor, and you might find yourself looking forward to it next season.
Switch chefs: Did you just pass out? If you are the main food creator, maker, and decision maker in your household, try one meal a week letting someone else come up with an idea of their own and make it. Of course make sure your pantry is stocked with WW friendly ingredients or help them calculate something that will stay in your budget.
Spice it up: You don’t have to make a huge investment to try adding a little something new to your seasoning repertoire. Most markets have smaller fresh herbs in clamshell containers, many times farmer’s markets have bundled herbs you can try, you can even buy frozen cubes of garlic and other herbs. If you’re all in on the herb wagon, pick a sunny spot and try a variety of easy to grow and fast to harvest things like basil, chives, cilantro, and rosemary!

This Week’s Homework: #RutRescue

Your homework for this week is #RutRescue. Change ONE thing this week (a new recipe, a different fruit or veggie, or a spice you haven’t tried before) and snap a picture, show us the recipe, just write it down…and then type it, snap it, however you want to share it and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Don’t forget to do your homework #RutRescue and tag me when you share on social media!

Instagram tag @ifyouhaveanegg
Facebook Page tag @ifyouhaveanegg
Facebook Group tag @Kelly Green Milligan
WW Connect tag @ifyouhaveanegg

Extra Credit: Two Ways to End a Food Rut!

Do you feel like you’ve been in some kind of a food rut this year? Whether you’re just feeling unimaginative, ordering the same groceries each week, or you’re just plain tired of cooking, food ruts are so real – especially in a post-pandemic world.

Personally, if I make the same thing multiple days in a row I just won’t eat it (unless it’s nachos or pizza!) So, here’s what I did this week to get out of my own food rut:

Let someone else cook my meal: At our KC Kitchen Center pop-up market, we had a food truck called Dia De on site and we sampled everything on the menu! Would I get tired of this if I had it every day? Probably. But it was delicious and I was so excited to eat it!
Spice it up: Another food vendor at our market offered adobo chicken. In a normal week, chicken would certainly be on the menu. But I’d probably make the same recipes as always with it. This adobo chicken is so out of my usual routine and was a delicious rut-buster! I bought up a few chickens and will use it in a variety of different ways during the coming week.
Try something new: I’m trying the Trader Joe’s Spicy Mexican-Style Riced Cauliflower. I plan to use this as a side for our adobo chicken one night this week and I’m excited to see how this new option tastes!
Mix it up: I struggle to drink enough water each day and I get so tired of plain bottles of water. I sit them down and never pick them back up. They get warm and I don’t want to finish them. But it’s time for me to bust this rut! I’m going to use a mason jar to be sure I keep up with it during the day and add Everly drink mixes with electrolytes (use code KELLY15 for 15% off your first order if you’d like to order some for yourself) to give myself extra hydration and flavor with each sip! And I might even add a few pumps of Jordan’s Skinny Syrups and frozen fruit for an even more exciting flavor – I definitely won’t be putting this drink down!