Tag: weight watchers

Getting ready for December

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Go Fit Girl! has a lot of exciting things planned for December.

Are you excited? I know I am.

I have been doing a lot of planning and writing and researching in preparation for December.

Just some of the coming attractions are:

The next GFG! Monthly Challenge, which will be posted on Saturday, Dec. 1. This Monthly Challenge is a little different than the past challenges.

Week in the life of Ann on Weight Watchers. A reader wanted to know what I regularly eat to be successful on WW. So I am going to share that with you.

There will be TWO, yes, TWO Comment Contest Tuesdays in December.

There will be THREE, yes, THREE Review Wednesdays in December. And these items could be possible Christmas or Hanukkah gifts or New Year’s or just because gifts.

And all three items can be found in GFG!’s Amazon store.

So make sure to come back in December and read and comment and win prizes and learn lots of good stuff.

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Go Fit Girl! is thankful/grateful for many things

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Today is Thanksgiving and I have many things to be thankful and grateful for.

This list is just some of the things Go Fit Girl! is thankful for. (If it was Ann … it would never end.)

I am thankful and grateful for:

Yoga.

Meditation.

Setting intentions.

In-Shape City Gym and teachers: Jenn, Jessica and Will.

Namaste yoga studio and teachers: Vickie, Baxter, Lily and Hannah and the occasional sub.

Being healthy all year long.

My supportive husband.

Grace and Gratitude Thanksgiving workshop.

Weight Watchers.

My readers, the regular and occasional, the new and the old.

My laptop in which I can write my posts and do my research.

The salad bar at work.

My gym friends.

Wellness plan at work.

My weekly weigh-in.

New spin bikes at the gym.

Exercise/health/nutrition challenges at work.

My friend Monica who is my Monday night gym class buddy and motivator.

That I can afford to grocery shop every week (or really anytime) and buy healthy food, especially fresh fruits and vegetables.

Namate yoga studio focusing holiday workshop proceeds on charity (and yoga mat rentals going to charity as well.)

My subscription to Yoga Journal.

My husband being my new-ish gym buddy.

My Camelbak … Continue reading

Fruit, veggie tips & tricks

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I have recently gotten into eating grape-nuts. Funny, I hated them as a kid. (My brother and I weren’t allowed to eat a lot of sugary cereals.)

Grape-nuts are crunchy, yummy, filing, healthy and have some fiber and protein.

But that’s not really what this post is about.

Over the summer I was eating my grape-nuts with about a half sliced up nectarine. Perfect combo!

But sadly summer fruits are disappearing …

A tip I learned when attending Weight Watchers meetings was you could use canned fruit and just rinse the syrup out so you were just eating fruit and none of that yummy sugary syrup. Yes, that is the best part, but the unhealthy part.

So this morning at the grocery I bought the little snack packs of peaches. I rinsed one out and added it to my cereal. Not quite as good as the fresh nectarine. But good enough.

As I was thinking about this I was thinking about some other quick, easy fruit/veggie food tips I have learned along the way, either from trying something or from advice from someone else:

Accountability=successful weight loss

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At one point over the summer I realized I needed accountability with my food and drink intake. Even though I worked out almost every day I wasn’t monitoring my food intake and I wasn’t losing weight even though I wanted to get back to my goal weight.

I needed accountability with food tracking.

In the middle of June I rejoined Weight Watchers (just online) and started tracking my food again. I have had some downs–weeks where I wasn’t tracking or just didn’t want to track, weekends where I decided to be “off plan.”

At Week 2 I had to unexpectedly go to Tucson because my 90-year-old grandpa was going to have surgery. I decided because I knew I would likely be busy for the week that I would not worry about my caloric intake for that week.

Luckily all went well with my grandpa and his surgery. I spent a lot of time at the hospital. But I also was able to spend time with both of my parents, which included some eating out–drinking, Mexican food and other delicious stuff.

I recently hit my goal weight. I decided to lose 2 more pounds, which gives me a little wiggle room.

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Why is there such a need to define size?

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Recently a plus-size model was featured on the front of People magazine with the quote: “I’m proud of my size.”

Robyn Lawley is 6’2″ and is a Size 12.

Wikipedia features Robyn in a photo and mentions her throughout the plus-size model article. Also mentioned is: Synonymous and interchangeable with plus-size model is “full-figured model,” “extended-sizes model,” and “outsize model.”

Where do I begin? First, a woman who is at least 6 feet tall and a Size 12 is considered plus size? Wow! Then I was definitely a fatso years ago before I lost my 30+ pounds at 5’3″.

Second, I find the term plus size offensive. The other terms mentioned above I find even worse than plus size.

Why is there a need to define someone who has excess weight, curves, a big butt, thicker thighs, is tall, isn’t super skinny? We don’t call thin models a super-skinny model. They are just models.

In October of 2006 I was at my highest weight ever. I didn’t feel good about myself. I hated shopping and buying clothes because I had to try them on and nothing ever looked good. I wasn’t obese but could definitely be healthier with … Continue reading

Are you eating healthy this weekend?

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Anyone who has been on Weight Watchers, any sort of diet and/or healthy lifestyle may have someone ask them, are you eating healthy right now? Are you on plan? Are you off plan?

I usually hear one of those questions before going out to eat at a restaurant. I can almost always find a decently healthy thing or two on the menu to eat.

And sometimes I decide to indulge and eat whatever I want.

We had a friend visiting over the weekend who is also on WW. So at some point I asked, are you eating healthy this weekend?

She decided to enjoy her food and booze.

At the point I asked her I hadn’t decided yet my plan for the weekend. But by the multiple beers ordered at McNally’s, the Mac & Cheese for dinner … I answered my own question.

Neither of us went too crazy. But we enjoyed ourselves. But we also made sure to get some exercise in: spin on Saturday and yoga on Sunday.

AND I still lost a tiny bit of weight. I am on my way to hitting my goal weight … very soon.

And yesterday I was back on plan.

As … Continue reading

Go Fit Girl! va a la Ciudad de México

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According to Google Translate the headline above says: Go Fit Girl! goes to Mexico City.

Almost two months ago I made the decision to rejoin Weight Watchers.

I needed accountability with my food intake. And I am proud to say with my food tracking and really paying attention to what I put in my mouth I am on track to hit my goal weight (again) soon.

There are times I let myself go “off plan,” like when my mom was in town. I didn’t go too crazy. But I did enjoy my food and drink. Now I didn’t lose weight that week, but I also didn’t gain either.

When I go on vacation I like to eat and drink whatever I want. So in Mexico City I will be doing just that. And then a week later when I get home, I will get back on plan and lose my last few pounds.

I likely won’t be posting much while on vacation. If you want to know what I am up to over the week check out my personal Facebook page. We are staying with friends and will have wi-fi so I will be status updating or uploading photos … Continue reading

Tips on forming good, healthy habits

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A friend recently asked me if I had any tips on how to eat healthier. She may regret that she asked.

Just a reminder to my readers … I am not a doctor, nutritionist or personal trainer. This post and all of my posts are based on personal experience and my own research.

So here we go:

It takes time to break old habits and form new good habits.

Drink lots of water. I try to drink at least 64 oz. of water a day. Yes, you will pee a lot. But that’s the point. You are cleansing yourself.

I recommend keeping a food journal. My weight loss and healthy eating is most successful when I am tracking my food. I am not saying you have to join Weight Watchers. Though if you are asking for advice on losing weight I would definitely recommend WW. Regardless the food journal keeps you honest, accountable and makes you aware of what you are putting in your mouth.

Always eat breakfast. Eat something that will keep you full and satisfied. High protein and fiber foods keep you feeling full longer. My regular breakfasts are: oatmeal with fruit; Kashi cereal; Sara Lee Delightful bread … Continue reading

To stay on plan or to not stay on plan?

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My mom comes into town tomorrow night. Curt is heading to Missouri for a high school reunion. So I invited my mom out here for a girls’ weekend.

I haven’t decided yet whether the time she is here I will be counting points and tracking my food.

I am gonna just go with the flow.

But seriously, with all the booze I bought in anticipation of my mom’s visit …

If I decide to not track and indulge I will. And I won’t feel guilty.

I can give myself permission to “slack off” because I know on Monday I will be back on plan.

This long weekend will be full of shopping, mani/pedis, brunches, lunches, lounging on the couch watching Lifetime and SVU, chatting, a yoga class or two, dinners, drinks, movies.

I can’t wait to hang out with my mom, my friend.

It’s OK to splurge once in a while. But it just can’t be done all the time. Picking and choosing events or times will help you keep things under control.

Next month Curt and I are heading to Mexico City. When I am on vacation I am not on plan. A big part of travel for me … Continue reading

Skinny doesn’t mean healthy

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I used to be considered skinny. I hate that term. To me it has a negative connotation.

According to Merriam-Webster, skinny means lacking sufficient flesh, very thin, emaciated; lacking usual or desirable bulk, quantity, qualities or significance.

But it seems like so many of us strive to be skinny. Why is that? Why do we think this looks better than this?

So here is the skinny on skinny …

A skinny person can have a high metabolism. So they think they can eat anything they want and they won’t gain weight. (That used to be me. I could eat or drink pretty much whatever I wanted and not gain weight.) But that doesn’t mean that skinny person is healthy.

Have you heard the term skinny fat? Skinny fat means a person looks thin but has a high body fat percentage. That can be dangerous.

Someone who ingests a lot of fat and calories and carbohydrates can have health issues. Someone who eats too much fat can be at risk for heart disease. Too many carbs can contribute to conditions such as Type 2 Diabetes, according to Livestrong.

When the wellness program started at work … Continue reading