WW (Weight Watchers) Chat #271: How to Say Yes to Carbs

WW News and Reviews May 2022

Happy Mother’s Day!
In some unsettling news my friend Lara discovered quite by accident that Honey Nut Cheerios are now marked “Contains Bio Engineered Products”…say what?? She also found a crab dip that said the same thing. Lara says “check your labels people” and I can’t agree more!
In case you haven’t noticed the extra “chatter” over on the IYHAE closed facebook group, we have formed and are beginning to start some fun, informative and hopefully interactive discussions with our newly formed Egg Lady Volunteer Group lovingly called The Egg Carton. I hope you will join in the discussion and let us know if there are any topics you’d like us to chat about!

The month’s theme is “Myth Busting” and we will spend the entire month discussing some food, weight loss and other myths and busting them!

Last week during Chat #270: How To Become a Snack Pro, we found out snacking is probably our #1 most repeated chat topic. Don’t believe me? Go to YouTube and search “snack” in our channel.

In several of those chats we have discussed a “snack” versus a “treat”. I looked up the word snack in five different dictionary sources and they all basically said the same thing. A snack is a small or light meal eaten in between other meals. If you eat five meals a day and three of them are larger while two are smaller in between, the smaller ones are snacks. If you eat breakfast and are hungry before your regularly scheduled next meal, eating a small hold-me-over is a snack.

Using a cake batter bowl and a ladle to eat ice cream in front of the tv before bed is a treat, not a snack. There is a difference. See Chat #210 Snack Attack for the definition of snack versus treat…but for now we are talking about those small meals in between a larger meal.

See this week’s WW Weekly Graphic by selecting the Discover icon in your app…you know I love lists and this one is a great example of how to start one for times you just need a little something!

Step 1 – Decide if it’s a snack or a treat

There is absolutely nothing wrong with enjoying a treat as long as you recognize it’s just that and go ahead and track it.

Step 2 – Make sure you have some options on hand

There is nothing worse than needing a snack and staring into an empty purse, gym bag, or even fridge. Keeping sturdy fruits and non-perishable options handy in your bag will save you someday, I promise. Having veggies, fruit, and lean proteins prepped and ready in your fridge takes all the guesswork out and sets you up for snacking victory

Step 3 – Variety is the spice of life

Make sure and keep your options open so that you can choose a sweet, or salty, or crunchy or all of the above snack and enjoy it!

Your homework for last week was #PracticeSafeSnacks. In the second half of tonight’s chat we will be discussing some ways to be prepared and practice some safe snacking. Pick a sweet, or salty, or crunchy go-to snack idea to share with us. Let us know what you picked ….and then type it, snap it, share it however you like, and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Let’s see how you did!

@dashingdiva20 over on Connect had two cuties in her bag and successfully completed her #pursecheck for some safe snacking!
Pleeeeeease go over to the If You Have an Egg closed Facebook group and check out Deanna’s snack station. She even has a towel hanging below the dry snack area that says “Snack Dealer”!!
Jennifer has her fruit all washed and ready to go (bonus points for washing bananas haha) so she can grab a quick zero point already prepared snack and be ready to go!

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: How to Say Yes to Carbs

Raise your little virtual hand if you’ve ever done a low or no carb diet?

If you are currently doing an extreme low carb (almost no carb) diet do you even have energy to raise your little virtual hand? Somewhere in my early 20’s I decided that at 140-ish pounds I was HUGE. Stop rolling your eyes, it was real back then but man oh man if I only knew then what I know now right? I decided to try a “proven” diet because it was led by a group of physicians. I’d like to meet these MD’s…as far as I can remember 35 years later it was a bunch of other people who wanted to lose a bunch of weight fast and somehow ended up employed there. Kind of like drug rehab but we thought we were all recovering from carb addiction right? We all lost a ton of weight and then spent our free time hiding in parking lots eating wheat thins…not much of a long term plan if you ask me.

Here’s the fallacy of doing such low or no carb diets. Your body needs them!

Carbohydrates (Carbs) according to The Mayo Clinic are important for creating energy, preventing some diseases and even may be useful in weight control. We have been trained to think of carbs as something that fuels a jog or physical activity but they also create fuel for even just breathing or thinking. I don’t know about you but I like to think and I’d really like to keep breathing! For more info visit The Mayo Clinic article here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/carbohydrates/art-20045705

Myth #1 – All carbs are bad carbs

Carbohydrates found naturally in fruits, vegetables and grains are good for you. Highly processed or sugar added foods are the ones we should avoid.

Myth #2 – Carbs are only found in bread, pasta and rice

Nope, not true. Oats, beans, blueberries, even green beans all contain naturally occurring carbohydrates

Myth #3 – Avoiding carbs altogether will help me lose weight

On the contrary! Avoiding all carbs will leave you without energy to do normal activities, leave you hungry and shaky, and remember the thinking and breathing…you need to do those too!

This Week’s Homework: #TheGoodCarbClub

some good carbs…to join the club simply post “Today I will fuel my body and mind with good carbs by enjoying __________”. Let us know what you picked ….and then type it, snap it, share it however you like, and then tag me for your next cool badge!

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

Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on Instagram
Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on our Facebook Page
Tag @Kelly Green Milligan in our Facebook Group
Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on WW Connect

Extra Credit: 7 Ways To Protect Your Mental Health

May is National Mental Health Awareness Month and I don’t think it will come as a surprise to any of us that the Covid crisis has created some issues many of us have never dealt with before. Being isolated during the pandemic can be just as taxing on your mental health as the loss of a loved one or the stress of a high pressure career. Now with unprecedented food insecurities, continued supply chain issues and a new global crisis the potential to suffer some stress on your psyche is real, don’t ignore it. According to Psychology Today “The World Health Organization (WHO) has declared a global mental health crisis. It projects that, by the next turn of the decade in 2030, lifestyle and stress-related illness will surpass communicable diseases.”

Weight loss and wellness go hand in hand with the way we think, feel and are greatly affected by lifestyle and stress related illnesses you may not even know you are experiencing. So what are some things you can do to protect your own mental health?

#1 Don’t Ignore It: Diagnosed or not, don’t assume you can take care of it on your own. These tips can help, but don’t ignore signs and symptoms that need to be discussed with a professional.

#2 Find an Accountabilibuddy: We talk alot about accountabilibuddies for weight loss and wellness goals but that holds true for mental health wellness too. You wouldn’t ask a recovering alcoholic to do it on their own, why do we think anxiety, anxiousness, sadness, or an overwhelming sense of doom require isolation? Whatever the situation I promise there is someone going through the same thing and you know I truly believe we are stronger together.

#3 If You Can’t Do Everything, Do One Thing: I don’t know about you but my days are filled with lists. And then lists of lists. And then lists that other people have for me that I didn’t even know I needed to put on my lists. There hasn’t been and will never be a day that I can possibly get it all done. I used to have overwhelming guilt over this which would lead to anxiety and then just spiral into getting none of it done. You’ll have to find your own way to decide what is ONE thing that must be done even if the rest of it is still there the next day. For a mom of littles it may be “pack everyone (including myself!) a healthy lunch today” and matching socks, perfect ponytails and peer pressure play dates may have to wait. I love my post it note to do boards and put the one thing that has to be done in the upper left corner (sometimes in a different color). That way if I can literally only pull off that one thing I have the satisfaction of removing it from the board and starting my next day with one clean spot. It’s amazing what having a clean spot can do for your anxiety.

#4 Control What You Can When Everything is Out of Control: Y’all already know this is my favorite line from Frozen 2. All of Arandale is literally falling apart, no one knows if they have a home to go back to or what will happen tomorrow. Olaf simply says “I call this controlling what we can when everything is out of control”. Since today is Mother’s Day I think of all those poor moms running from their homes in the Ukraine feeling much the same way…where will we go, what will we do, what is waiting ahead of us. Can you imagine the stress? The anxiety? The hopelessness? And then a complete stranger across the border hands them a stroller and some clean water. Those moms can’t control what’s going on behind them but they can put their baby down and rest for now. Control what you can in this moment, the rest will just have to worry about itself.

#5 Make One Thing So Easy You Never Have to Think About It: Reducing unnecessary stressors in your life will only improve your mental attitude. Something that’s unnecessary for me is worrying about a snack. What if I get stuck at a jobsite and don’t have anything but the golden arches? What if I’m picking up Alyssa from school and she’s hangry? What if what if what if….I have decided to make having a snack and drink on hand my one thing. I even went so far as to put my snacks in a handy reusable bag so I can take it from purse, to backpack, to stroller, back to purse. Wherever I need it, it’s there. Make one thing that easy.

#6 Keep Your Brain Sharp: I know. You thought we were talking about mental health. We are! But keeping your brain sharp and firing on all signals is going to be key as you age to make sure you protect it. In the April 2022 edition of the AARP Bulletin (page 38 to be exact) there is an article about helping older Americans keep their brains sharp and healthy. In November the Global Council on Brain Health released a guide to help members regain those social interactions they lost during the pandemic. Things like volunteer opportunities, music, art and dispelling the myth that cognitive decline is inevitable are all things that can keep your brain active and healthy. Check out the article at stayingsharp.aarp.org for more info.

#7 Just Keep Walking: I feel like Dory…just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Seriously, going outside, breathing air that didn’t run through a filter, being away from social media, flickering screen lights, and soul stealing video games. We are made to move so do it. During one of our lowest and most stressful times with my dad’s business I was concerned I would explode. It didn’t matter how much I wanted to feel ok, not be stressed, be there for my family and our employees, I literally thought I would lose my mind. Holding it in caused at least one panic attack and a burst blood vessel in one eye. Sitting and “trying” to be ok wasn’t working. So I started walking. And walking. Every night I walked. Then I started walking in the morning too. I don’t remember how many steps it was but it didn’t matter, I was outside and the squirrels weren’t judging me or asking me what life changing decisions I was making that day. If you aren’t physically able to walk, find another way to move, just move. It saved my sanity and it may help protect yours.