News and Reviews
- US Thanksgiving is in 4 days. I repeat FOUR DAYS. It is officially time to panic people…or make a plan 🙂
- The WW online shop will be officially closed on Dec 20th. There are some FANTASTIC deals so grab them while you can
- WW Bluetooth Smart Scale 50% off
- WW by Dash Mini Waffle Maker $9.99
- FREE shipping on orders over $50
- Crunchy Snacks don’t seem to be much of a deal yet
- Last but not least, did you notice the icons at the bottom of the home screen on your app have changed?
Review Last Week: Last week was Chat #341 “How to Create a Weigh In Routine!”
Have you ever had a week where you got a loss you know you didn’t deserve?
Did you celebrate or stick to your normal “post weigh in” headspace dialogue?
Now what about when you expect to lose or even stay the same but get a gain? Same dialogue running or did YOU get in your own head?
2 fast facts from WW and 1 from me:
To Weigh or Not To Weigh…is not a question
There will be times when it is appropriate to not weigh and use other indicators of how you are doing. Returning from a cruise (*cough* Mindi *cough) is probably not the best time to weigh because undoubtedly you will be retaining water, have indulged, and lots of other things that make you retain a little temporary vaca-weight. But as a rule of thumb, weighing yourself regularly does help with weight loss. WW recommends weighing at least once per week but no more than once per day.
Get Out of Your Own Head
Tracking your weight (especially if you can do it at a center or with a trusted weight loss buddy) can help build the confidence you need to know that one number doesn’t define you and that there will be fluctuations. Remember the unexpected loss? This habit of weighing reminds you to be happy but not throw care to the wind. Or how about the unexpected gain? Getting out of your own head can make the difference between putting the wheel back on your WW wagon or flipping it on over and setting it on fire!
Pee First
For those of you who had nodded off, did I just get your attention? Developing rituals around your weigh day (or time if you weigh every day) might seem superstitious but there is method in our madness! I know certain things affect my weight on Tuesdays no matter how I did in any other area like tracking, exercise, sleep…for me:
- No extra sodium the day before or of weigh in
- No heavy fruits like one pound apples or containers of melon the day of weigh
- Same or similar clothes / shoes every week
- Take off my Apple Watch, bracelets, glasses, etc…those can weigh ¼ – ½ pound!
- Pee First! This morning I did a test and did not do my normal routine before I weighed + plus I drank a cup of coffee. Then I did my normal “things” and weighed post pee and naked only 5 minutes later. There was a 1.7 (ONE POINT SEVEN) pound difference in my first and my second weigh in!!!
Your homework was #PeeFirst. First of all I just want to see what the heck kind of badge Casey comes up with for this one. Second I want to see who my truly brave, truly normal Egglettes are that will dare hashtag #PeeFirst and do their homework LOL! For your homework simply list one pre-weigh ritual that you know for a fact makes a difference and share it with us. We had someone make that last ½ pound to her goal weight years ago by going into the restroom and removing her leggings and earrings before her “final” weigh in!
- Carol Lou’s routine is #PeeFirst and then weigh nakey! At home…not at a center 🙂
- Melisa eats a very light lunch on weigh in day and then waits until AFTER her weigh in and meeting to eat dinner
- Casey found out first hand what peeing first can do. She had a disappointing 2 pound upswing on her at home scale after a couple of days of staying within her plan but had consumed a lot of sodium. I encouraged her to amp up the water (plain water, not flavored or fizzy) and boy she did. After about 6 trips to the bathroom her post pee weigh in the next morning said bye bye to that extra water she was holding!
Bravo, you did it!
This Week’s Topic: “How to Make Tricky Food Decisions (aka Thanksgiving is in 4 days!)!”
If you’re like me you started dreaming about the once a year foods once we got within the 7 day mark of Thanksgiving.
My sister got the “butter and love” gene from one grandmother and I got the “we all better keep apples and bananas out” gene from the other one. Which one of us do you think people want to hang out with on holidays?
Even though you’ve probably known for a little bit what you are getting into on Thanksgiving (maybe even knew last year LOL) there are still some things you know about eating in tricky situations!
3 fast facts from WW:
Food is a turn on
Calm down, I don’t mean it like that! When you are faced with a food you love or even the thought of it, our brains “turn on” and we tend to stay focused on it. It’s normal, you just have to recognize it and not panic!
Don’t go to food prison
Completely swearing off certain foods can actually backfire and make us want it more. One of Gwen’s leaders used to say if you put yourself in a little food prison you will spend all of your time planning what to do when you get out
Pick a Plan
Just being aware that this is a challenging time for food decisions can help. Make a plan for this day and stick with it!
- Plan A – you are going to enjoy friends and family but will track what you eat on Thanksgiving
- Plan B – no tracking going on but you will enjoy in moderation and then try to fit in some other things like a lighter meal before or after, or maybe some activity
- Plan C – it’s one meal on one day. You aren’t tracking or worrying about it and will just enjoy this time
Whether you picked A, B or even C, having a plan and sticking with it already has you ahead of the curve! And even better, if you can go ahead and plan to get right back on track the next day you’ve already beat this holiday with dignity!
This Week’s Homework: #PickAPlan
Your homework for this week is #PickAPlan. This is probably the top 3 easiest homework you’ve ever done…Just let us know if you pick A, B or C from the plans listed above or if you have a wildcard plan of your own! Now DO YOUR HOMEWORK because I promise there is something in your fridge or pantry that needs to either be seen or unseen! Whatever it is let us know, I promise your decision to participate this week will help you AND someone else! 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 #PickAPlan 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: Smart Swaps Thanksgiving Edition
I’m not going to artificially sugar coat this, but I will be eating foods laden with butter, fat and Lord knows what else on Sunday (we are not having our family Thanksgiving meal until then) and I’m going to love every minute of it. BUT, for the foods that I am bringing and I have control over there will be some smart swaps to help keep those points down to use on family high point favorites! Here are a few of my smart swaps and a lightened up recipe from Jody in our in person Powell Group so stick with me until the end 🙂
| “Normal” Thanksgiving Ingredient | Smart Swap! |
| Jell-O Gelatin ¼ pkg – 5 points | Sugar Free Gelatin ¼ pkg – 1 point |
| Can Sugar 1 cup – 56 points | Swerve Granular 1 cup – 0 points |
| Turkey Leg 3 oz – 4 points | Turkey Breast Tenderloin 3 oz – 0 points |
| White Gravy ¼ cup – 2 points | Turkey Gravy ¼ cup – 1 point |
| Pasta 1 serving – 6 points | Whole Grain Pasta 1 serving – 4 points |
| Sweetened Dried Cranberries ¼ cup – 4 points | Reduced Sugar Dried Cranberries ¼ cup – 3 points |
| Cream of Mushroom Soup ½ cup – 4 points | Healthy Request Cream of Mushroom Soup ¼ cup – 2 points |
| Cream Cheese 1 cup – 42 points | My Fat Free Cream Cheese Recipe 1 cup – 0 points! |
| Canned Cranberry Sauce 1 can – 34 points | Fresh Cranberries 12 oz – 0 points |
I mentioned the gelatin and the swerve in particular because my friend Jody has been working hard lightening up one of her favorite Thanksgiving recipes from her grandmother. She was sweet enough to share this recipe with me Tuesday and I’m going to work out all the points for you when this is posted as a recipe on Tuesday. For now my rough calculations from grandma’s recipe to Jody’s are a difference of a whopping 98 points for the entire recipe or 10 points per serving!
What recipes would you like help with to lighten up? Let us know in the comments below!
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