I can't lose *every* week.

I went over my Points this week. Ugh. I ate 8.5 more points than I am given. To give you a sense of how much food that is I get an average of 28 per day (daily Points of 23 plus 35 "extras" a week). The other thing is I ate a good amount of Activity Points this week, something I usually don't do. I know I say this a lot but I'm really not expecting a loss this week. Funny thing, my work is having a pizza party for our clients this afternoon. So I have to go from a Pizza Party to the weigh-in. Talk about motivation to skip the pizza!

Talk about skipping...I skipped the gym last night. I had to get up earlier than usual for work yesterday and just felt like I was dragging all day. Then at lunch I went to BBQ with a colleague and ate more than I'm used to and felt full all afternoon, further dragging me down. Top this off with a road trip to take a client to Lake County and I was just done. I also had plans to go dancing at a local place that gives a Salsa lesson...didn't happen. I didn't even make dinner! Miguel bought fast food and I ate a Choice Ramen.

So, I skipped the gym. What am I going to do about that? Move on. I thought about going tonight as a make-up and then finish up with the gym tomorrow like I normally would but I'm still feeling a bit haggard so I'm not going to push it. I have a colleague who goes to the gym regularly and has for decades. She told me once that when she's feeling really tired she doesn't push it because then she starts resenting the gym, hating it, feeling like it's work when it should be something she enjoys. I am going to adopt her thinking and just let it go.

Food...yes, let me write about that...much more exciting. Zero point foods are the holy grail of Weight Watcher members. Something to snack on that has no effect on the bottom line. First, I found these marinated mushrooms at Trader Joe's. I was never an olive snacker because I knew they were evil, but I love olives, and these remind of me of that. Sometimes when I open the fridge just to make sure the food is still cold I pop a couple of these in my mouth. In 1/3 cup there are 10 calories, zero fat. Fridge check done safely :)

Another similar snack, this one found at Costco, is Gertie's pickled asparagus. For the same 10 calories you get 6 of these yummies. Another fridge check done without harm. I also think these are both great for appetizer trays at parties. Beats olives and nuts and the normal fat-laden offerings.

Finally, while these aren't zero points I'll share two other recent finds. First, Trader Joe's Prig Khing Green Beans. I love! spicy green beans. I always order these at Chinese or Thai restaurants if they're on the menu. I'll eat them in any form. They were easy to prepare and very flavorful. I ate more like 2 servings so it was 2 points. I served them with another new TJ's find, Punjab Spinach Sauce with chicken over rice. Yummm! The whole meal was super quick to cook and a grand total of 7.5 points.



Alright, hungry yet?

It's Thursday. Woot woot! What's on tap for this weekend? Saturday is looking like a road ride somewhere. I've picked two (both about 20 miles) out of my biking book that look right up my alley (or path?). Then on Sunday I'm going on some kind of monster hike (11 miles & 1900+ ft elevation gain) with a group of folks at Big Rock Ridge and on Sunday night I'm going on a baby hike to view the full moon over a lighthouse out at Point Bonita. Wow! Sounds like fun. I'll let you know how it all turns out if I still have energy to type.

Update: I gained... 1.2 pounds. Uck. But, I learned something. You can only eat a maximum of 4 activity points a day. I didn't know that, I used all 12 I earned on Saturday! I know that's not the only reason for the gain. Between the 8 points I went over on Saturday and the 8.5 I went over for the week, that's 16.5 points. Well, not my first gain, won't be my last. I'll carry on.