Variety is the Spice of Life

Hope you are enjoying a great day!  Mine is particularly great - especially after my weigh-in.  I was down 4 pounds this week - which more than made up for the 1 pound gain from last week!  Its amazing how motivating a great day at the scale can be!  Plus, we finally are getting a little sun after days and days of rain.  I love how whenever I feel great, I make better choices.  So welcome back, sun!

I watched as my husband, Chuck, fixed his own breakfast this morning - and was inspired!  Looks good doesn't it?  2 frozen waffles (4pp) with zero points bananas and blueberries and 1 Tbsp regular pancake syrup (1pp).  Five pointsplus for the whole thing!  If you need more syrup, you can easily substitute low-calorie syrup and get 2 Tbsp for 1pp.  You probably guessed that I made the same thing for myself - if you did - you were correct!

Ever notice how easy it is to slip into a rut where we eat the same 4 or 5 things for breakfasts, the same tired lunch selections, and how we struggle finding inspiration for family dinners?  I think that is why we start searching the internet for inspiration and motivation...and why some of you may be checking out this blog.  Our leader discussed that subject last week at the meeting, too.  Its typical for everyone to feel they are in a rut once in a while.  But its really important that we choose not to dwell in those ruts.  Face it, in everyday life, every family often eats the same favorites over and over - but then we venture out and try something new.  Why should we expect our new eating habits to be any different?  Remember, its not all about taking the weight off...although we love when that happens!  Its not all about the finish line.  Its about learning to do things differently from the way we've been doing so that once the weight is off, we keep it off.  Its about learning the types of food that we can eat that will keep us full, satisfied, nourished and happy...and will support us staying at goal weight.  Embrace your choices - learn to love to eat this way - and learn to want to eat this way forever! 

So take some time each week and think about the great things you are eating and enjoying.  Don't you just love having all the zero points fruits and veggies?  Its like "mom tricked us" into eating foods that are good for us!  Haven't we been told over and over that a healthy diet incorporates at least 5 servings of fruits and vegetables - yet WeightWatchers is getting us to do it!  Good for them and Great for US!

Don't you love having snacks each day?  If you are feeling hungry all the time, you are miserable!  What a breakthrough - you can have some snacks to keep hunger away - so plan some great ones! 
About those food ruts, though - if you need some help to shake it up a bit - check out these links to some of my previous posts:  "Breakfast does a body Good", "Building a Satisfying Lunch" -and the post that hopes to inspire you to choose better snacks.  They are full of photos of foods my family has eaten on program...and I have to say, just looking back at them has re-inspired me!  Also - there are menus, grocery lists and many recipes on this site to try -just see the tabs above- and even some ideas to inspire your own creativity!

Try a quick exercise like I did last night...make a 1 minute list of every type of healthy sandwich you can think of that you could make or order out and save your list for when you need inspiration:
Tuna salad, egg salad, chicken curry salad, tarragon chicken salad, ham salad, shrimp salad, roast beef, turkey, ham, chicken, bbq chicken, buffalo chicken, corned beef, BLTs, etc.  Then list the bread assortments like whole grain, flat breads, wraps...then list toppings like lettuce, tomato, pickles, hot peppers, mayo, lite mayo, ranch dressing, mustard, spicy mustard, cranberry mustard, dijon mustard, honey mustard, oil and vinegar, etc.  Don't forget the pull out section of your Getting Started Book - it has great ideas to help you build your meals!  If you really want to go crazy - think of it like you are creating your own Menu! 

So - what will your menu look like?  After choosing the graphic above, I'm thinking I may need to make a "Specials" section for my "menus" and a section for Desserts and Beverage ideas, too, ha ha - sometimes that's all it takes to shake things up!  Please be sure to come back and share your great inspirations by way of comments to this post!  And don't forget to check out Jared's Story tab above - he keeps updating it every week - and I'm sure he'll appreciate your ideas and encouraging comments, too!