The number one rule of Weight Watchers is tracking.  "If you bite it, you write it!"  You are supposed to log and account for all food and beverages, even the zero point ones.  This is to help you visualize what your eating, enable you to recognize trouble foods/portion sizes and to provide a reference guide for the future.



There are many ways to track your points.  The traditional method is with a pencil and paper tracker that is provided to you at the weekly meetings.  You can…

Well many of you know I am the carb queen, and you all can have chocolate....To some that may seem as crazy as me not having my carbs.  Give me a french fry over a chocolate bar any day of the week. Chocolate is the heart of many foodies existence, are sugar cravings real? I did a blog on general cravings, they can be emotional. But, I stumbled across a study I found so interesting I had to research it further...

Unlike craving a favorite restaurant where happy memories are…

Last night I was hungry and wanted to raid the refrigerator.....sound familiar? We have all been there, was it cravings? No, I couldn't put my finger on just one item. All I new was I was hungry, I know you can spend your points/calories on anything but, are there foods that can disrupt a good sleep?

Some experts say you shouldn't eat after a certain time at night...is this true? The answer is no! But, there are certain rules that can help you get a good nights rest. I am not a…

Why is Calcium so important? How does it help our body? I have heard that yogurt eaters in other countries are healthier....So lets get the real skinny on the benefits of calcium.

Lets start with why is it so important, 99 percent of the calcium in the human body is held in the bones and teeth. The remaining 1 percent of calcium circulates in the bloodstream, where it performs a variety of important functions. It helps to contract muscles and helps regulate the contractions of…

This blog is such a fun topic, When researching this one I always find something amazing.  I can't believe the marketing and false rumors out there.  I wonder where they start...oh well that can be another blog.  So let's get started on the myths...

Fat free food is calorie free: This is a great one, that is why so many manufacturers market to "fat free," "low fat," "reduced fat". The best example I have is ff sour cream, I add Hidden Valley Ranch dips and my family all then…

I have heard many rumors on this topic, and also heard to only eat red meat twice a week.  Let's take a look at what is fact and what is fiction. Fortunately, I could live on just fish, but there are many steak lovers out there too.

 

Meat can take longer to digest than vegetables do, because breaking down the long protein chains into individual amino acids does take time.  But I'd call that "digesting" rather than "rotting".  

So how long does it take? Well let's…

Close to 20,000 studies in the past 30 years have tried to determine caffeine's effect on the body.  After writing my blog on antioxidants and their good effect it has on your body...would you believe most people get their daily antioxidants from coffee!! Yes, you read that right...In study of 100 food items, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, spices, oils and common beverages.  They concluded that the average adult consumes 1,299 milligrams of antioxidants daily from coffee. The closest…

e all hear blueberries are high in antioxidants, we see the activia commercials....but what are antioxidants? Why do we need them?  Okay antioxidants fight free radicals, but what the heck is a free radical?  I going to get a little technical but with my research free radicals and antioxidants go hand in hand.

The Holistic Theory states that your body is already full of foreign bodies and free radicals but is able to function normally because antioxidants will “disarm” the…

I love my apples...and we have all heard an apple a day keeps the doctor away!  Is it true? Does apples help you lose weight? Is there a difference between green apples and red apples?  After all I am from the midwest and it's apple season!  So let's get to the research I have found on apples and weight loss.

Let's first start with the doctor....the answer is YES... but, just eating an apple a day doesn't make everyone healthy.  Wow how simple would that be, the little juicy…

I have struggled with fruit being free when Weight Watchers changed their program.  That was no secret (I posted it on my facebook wall)  I do support both programs and what works for one person my not work for another.  When push comes to shove the bottom line still is calories and 130 calories for 45 grapes adds up...But, Weight Watchers later came out and said everything in moderation.  A fellow foodie had gained weight and couldn't understand why.  I asked them to email me her tracker…

This question is one that I have needed to research for awhile...When my cousin, son and I started our journey we decided to eat out on Saturday's after our weigh in...We all know that fat is flavor, so when you eat out you can't control the fat completely.  With that said...I feel that eating out would kick start my next week. Does my body need more fat then I am giving it?  Can we eat to healthy?  Let take a look at the facts about fat...

Too little fat can be detrimental to…

Whole eggs have a long nutritional history of being good for you, then bad for you (during the low-cholesterol craze), and then good for you again. The main reason why eggs were placed in the "don’t eat" basket several decades ago was due to their high cholesterol and fat content; a large egg has 200 mg of cholesterol and 6 grams of fat. The belief was that by removing cholesterol from your diet, your cholesterol levels would go down – sounds like it makes sense, right? Wrong, your body is…

Many of us middle age adults can agree, at some point, your body just starts hurting.  It can be sudden or gradual, but we begin to notice pain in places we didn’t before.  What can we do? How do we continue to exercise? Often people’s first reaction is that they should stop exercising to avoid more damage to their joints. But research has shown that regular, moderate exercise is better than no exercise at all even when it comes to arthritis.  Exercise can actually reduce joint pain and…

The first myth buster blog was so popular we will add to it from time to time.  To recap it's all about marketing, after all marketing sole purpose is to sell the product.  Whether it is the spectacular super bowl commercials or just the packaging.  With that said let's dive back into busting some myth's.

Organic foods are are better for me? Depends on the product....if you peel a banana then no, but if you eat a strawberry then yes. If you eat the skin or the outer layer then…

I read this quote 'Why were people so surprised when the New England Journal of Medicine reported that obesity is a contagion you catch from your friends?' and truly felt the need to research this topic further. Some friends cause hypertension, some cause inebriation and some, it is now confirmed, cause obesity. Or the opposite. After all, food and drink are the ampersands that unite so many of us: it's how Ben found Jerry, how Mike met Ike, why Baskin embraced Robbins.

If your…

Are liquid calories getting in the way of your weight loss?  We talk about tracking BLT's (bites, licks and tastes) but what about your liquids....we all drink water and we know that is zero points. Sugar sweetened beverages are the number one source of calories in the United States.  In fact, most american's down an average of 11/2 cans a day....that's 600 a year!! 

Consider this, a 12 ounce can contains the equivalent of 10 teaspoons of sugar.  Over the course of a year that…

I can make the sandwich into a simple snack or a gourmet meal, we can toast them, we can wrap them and put them in the oven.  If your idea of a healthy sandwich is a slice of meat between two slices of bread — you can do better!  How about a chicken parm sandwich, crab salad stuffed pita, avocado & white bean wrap, is your mouth watering yet?

While you might think of sandwiches as just for lunch, they are great for dinner too. Sandwiches are endlessly versatile—you can pile lots of…

Let's face it to truly change your lifestyle...you need to start cooking!  Don't get me wrong ...you can live off of smart ones, progressive soup, packaged products and still lose weight, but you better watch your blood pressure.  Processed food is load with sodium.  For every excuse you make not to cook, I can give you a better reason why you should.

Pressed for time?  Cooking a complete dinner can be faster than going to a restaurant.  Too tedious for you? Cooking can be a creative…

All of us suffer from tummy trouble at some point in our lives.  Let's first take a look at how the digestive system works.  The digestive tract is a series of hollow organs—the mouth, esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine (colon), rectum, and anus—through which food and liquids pass and are absorbed or eliminated. Along the way, two solid digestive organs, the liver and the pancreas, add digestive juices. These juices help break down food into nutrients that can be absorbed…