Weight Watchers Chat #365 “Making Activity More Interesting”

News and Reviews

Today is the first day of the “Workout and Support!” Challenge hosted by Julie over on the If You Have an Egg Facebook Group. Hop in any time, it’s not a competition with anyone but yourself!
Tomorrow is Memorial Day in the US, what point friendly foods are you planning?
Last, I don’t think we’ve talked about the most recent updates to the WW app.
- The “hamburger bun” three horizontal line menu in the upper left corner has been replaced with your profile picture which used to appear in the upper right hand corner. It appears most of the features from the two sides have been combined into this one drop down except for Connect, which is it’s own icon in the bottom right hand corner of your screen
- The little icons for everything for everything have been updated to cute little “chibby” line drawings that I have personally found more visually descriptive of the area/section it is describing
- When you click on an area to track like Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner, Snack or scan an item the information on the screen is much larger and I think easier to read
- What do you think so far? Did you find anything I haven’t yet?

Last week we discussed the Oprah Winfrey 3hr WW Special on YouTube.

Did you watch it? Did you like it? What did you learn and how are you feeling about WW moving forward?

The best quotes I took from the WW Special were these three moments:

Sima in a public apology to body image advocate Katie Sturino and everyone who has ever felt let down, abandoned or even shamed by the WW program said “weight health is no longer about a number or a size.” When asked why we still need WW by Oprah she answered that this is still the best resource for nutritional literacy, community and now supported by a medical team to provide real science whether it’s in what we eat or the addition of weight loss medications for those who need them.
Guest Jen Hatmaker creator of the “For The Love” podcast told the audience “it’s YOUR body and I trust you to be grown in it. Not to feel like any foods are good or bad. Weight is just ONE metric. We have to change our behavior and realize body size doesn’t equal health”. Then she asked “how do we make the sift so that discussions about weight don’t involve body shaming?”
Jamie Kern Lima, co-founder of IT Cosmetics said it best “we are waiting on our weight to tell us our worth. What has waiting on your weight already cost you? 10 years from now hold old will you be? Your kids? Your grandkids? What will waiting cost you in 10 years? What’s one thing you’ll do TODAY to stop waiting on your weight?”

Your homework for last week was #ByTheWay. Last week we spent alot of time discussion the 3 hour WW and Oprah sit down and came away with some homework from one of the celebrity guests. YOU are pretty amazing, no matter why you joined WW, left WW, joined again, decided to lurk and see how it all works out, no matter Why #ByTheWay you are amazing because____

Let’s see how you did:

ByTheWay Sarah is a great encourager to others during our chats!
ByTheWay Sherry is a good grandmother!
ByTheWay Casey is making great (and delicious) decisions about her meals!

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: “Make Activity More Interesting!”

Tonight’s definition is brought to you by The Cambridge Dictionary…just because I liked it and it’s my chat 🙂

activity

noun

US /ækˈtɪv.ə.t̬i/ UK /ækˈtɪv.ə.ti/

activity noun (MOVEMENT)
the situation in which a lot of things are happening or people are moving around

This week a lot of things are happening and people ARE moving around. So let’s make it more interesting!

Pro tips for amping up your activity:

Ditch the distractions

A lot of us walk, workout, run, etc to some sort of noise like a podcast, music, phone conversation. This week (and maybe more weeks ahead!) find a simple activity to do without the distractions and see what else you notice. Things like:

Birds chirping
Mushrooms along the path
The sound of your own heart beating

Reverse it up

Yep, you heard me. I didn’t say change it up, I said reverse it up. Whatever your path or where you stand or what order you do your activity in, reverse it! When John and I lived in downtown Knoxville we walked the same path the same way every time. One day we reversed our path and saw things we had never even noticed, even several hundred trips around!

Make it small, report it big

One of the most exciting yet simple things I’ve done lately to amp up my activity is to join two small “check in” groups. One is Julie’s challenge for us over on the IYHAE Facebook Group for this week. The other is Melisa’s squat and now countertop pushup challenge. The challenges are not overwhelming, there is no competition, you simply do it and then report in. 10 squats a day, report in DONE!

This Week’s Homework: #DistractionDitched

Your homework for this week is #DistractionDitched. This week’s homework is easy because all you have to do is put down your phone. Turn off the noise. Do one small activity (indoor or outdoor) and tell us what you noticed when your distractions were ditched! Type it, snap it, tell it. Now DO YOUR HOMEWORK because I promise there is someone who needs the idea you have already rattling around in your head. 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 #DistractionDitched 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: Day Trip Snack Packing!

Tomorrow is Memorial Day, so we are nabbing the grandchildren and going somewhere fun. John is usually off on Memorial Day, and not many people are after his attention either. So we take advantage of that and take a day trip with the girls. So let’s pack up some day trip snacks!

What we had planned was for a picnic, hiking, and somewhere that has water. Buuuuuut its supposed to rain. I am going to pack like we are still having a picnic, because these foods can still be eaten regardless if its a picnic or just a car snack. Here is a list of tips, tricks, and food suggestions to keep you on track and have a great day trip!

Tip #1: I highly recommend packing two different bags. One dry bag (items that do not need to be cold or wet) and a cold bag (that can get wet and needs to be kept cold).

Tip #2: Get some zipper bags to keep some things away from your food. Please do not just throw sunscreen, wipes, and bug spray with your food. But you can put them in a zipper bag so they can still go in your dry bag, and you can guarantee that it won’t leak on to your snacks.

Tip #3: Freeze water bottles instead of putting ice or ice packs in your cold bag. We freeze several water bottles and/or Gatorades and line the sides of our cold bag with them. They keep everything cold, while also insuring that we have something cold to drink while we are hiking or running after crazy grandkids.

Tip #4: Reuse containers! I love using detergent pod containers, but you have to WASH THEM THOROUGHLY. We use them a few times before recycling them, so we don’t have to buy new containers. I use them for things that need easy access. Small snacks for the girls, individually packed items, or fruit that might get bruised easily if in a bigger bag with other items.

Snacks I keep in the pod containers:

Fruits like apples, bananas, grapes (smaller containers recommended for that one)
Hummus and pretzels or crackers
Individual packs of trail mix, peanut butter crackers, or popcorn
Bagel Thins
Jif To-Go Peanut Butter or Babybel Cream Cheese
Simms Turkey Sticks – there are other brands, but I think these are the best! And they are only 1 point per stick!

Tip #5: Bring protein shakes. We love the Fairlife Protein Shakes, even though we haven’t found the vanilla ones yet. They don’t have to be refrigerated and are a great source of protein!

Tip #6: Just bring the cheese sticks. They are not low in points, but if they keep you out of the line at McDonalds… they are worth the points! Add a fruit or veggie and you are preventing a blunder in a drive thru line!

What snacks are you bringing to keep yourself on track while day tripping? Let me know in the comments below!