In my ongoing weight maintenance efforts, I find it helpful to take a few minutes to recap each week and reflect a bit on what worked and what needs improvement before planning for the upcoming week.
Life can get out of control quickly, so this little pause helps me keep it all in perspective.
As I've learned from my favorite Weight Watchers leaders, it's not about perfection, but progress.
In this weekly post you'll find a recap of what I've posted this week, recipes and articles on other websites and blogs that I've bookmarked, a plan for my week and my quote for the upcoming week.
Today, is a milestone day for me: I officially began my career as a Weight Watchers leader, with my first At Work meeting.
Enjoy!
On Simple Nourished Living This Week:
Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs with Beer and Herbes de Provence - a simple yet delicious recipe that the whole family loves (3 PointsPlus value)
Easy 4-Ingredient Peanut Butter Cookies - flourless, simple and delicious cookies that are hard to resist so be prepared to share or freeze some of them to avoid temptation (1 PointsPlus value)
Weight Watchers Individual Ham, Cheese, and Veggie Frittatas - baked in hash browned potato lined muffin cups, bake up a batch on the weekend for a quick on-th-go breakfast during the week (3 pointsPlus value)
Lightened Up Spaghetti with White Wine Clam Sauce - easy and delicious, perfect for a quick weeknight dinner (9 PointsPlus value)
Southwest Stoplight Quinoa Salad - a colorful light and tasty salad perfect on it's own for a light lunch or alongside grilled meat or fish for dinner (4 PointsPlus value)
What I Bookmarked This Week:
Weight Watchers friendly recipes and tips from other blogs and websites that I liked and found helpful and thought you would too:
Weight Loss Tips that Really Work - Diet fads come and go, but sensible slim-down ideas stand the test of time. Here's a collection that Woman's Day magazine has gathered and printed over the past 75 years. I think you'll be surprised at how timeless these tips are and how in alignment with the Weight Watchers program most of them were. I was. (Woman's Day)
Why "Fat Talk" Is Damaging to Your Weight Loss Efforts - review of findings from a study done at the University of Arizona (RealAge)
A recipe for Lighter Almond Joys - combining crushed pineapple, coconut, sugar and egg whites into little baked macaroons that are then drizzled with chocolate, a perfect lighter alternative for almond joy and coconut macaroon lovers (Snack Girl)
A recipe for Healthier Macaroni & Cheese - that begins with a box and then substitutes cottage cheese for the butter/milk and bumps up the nutrition with chopped tomatoes (Snack Girl)
A recipe for Double Quinoa Cranberry Walnut Cookies - from the talented woman who helped me love quinoa with her lemony lentil and quinoa salad recipe (Enlightened Cooking)
A recipe for Eggplant Salad - greens, broiled eggplant, parmesan, tomatoes, and mozzarella add up to an inspired salad with 7 WW PointsPlus value (Everyday Maven)
A recipe for Naturally Sweetened Lemonade - using liquid stevia (Sugar Free Mom)
A recipe for a Skinny Citrus Margarita Sprizer - with tequila, cointreau, lime juice, orange juice and seltzer that has 5 WW PointsPlus value (SkinnyTaste)
A recipe for Best of Bridges Orange Sunshine Muffins - made healthier with 4 WW PointsPlus Value (Kitchen Parade)
A list of Healthy Breakfast on the Go Ideas (Cooking Light)
The Good & Not So Good This Week:
- I did a pretty good job tracking online with etools, only missing 2 days
- I walked Francie every day, sometimes twice
- I stayed up too late two nights and broke my rule to be off the computer by 9:00 PM. Not a good thing for weight loss as this interesting article on how Social Jetlag Contributes to Obesity in Psych Central News. When I'm sleep deprived, I get more hungry and have more cravings, so stepping away from the computer and getting my sleep is something I need to focus on.
- I successfully completed by Weight Watchers Basic Leader Training, Power Start Certification, and led my first At Work Meeting
- I went out to eat more than usual, but feel like I chose wisely for the most part
- I've taken a wine sabbatical for the past 4 days and am sleeping really well, when I finally get to bed.
My Expectations and Plans for the Coming Week:
- To enjoy a fun and tasty Mother's Day lunch with mom on Sunday at Season's 52 restaurant where each item on the menu is less than 475 calories. It's been mentioned several times at Weight Watchers meetings lately so I'm looking forward to trying it. Have you been there and if so, what did you think?
- Enjoy my last private yoga session of the season in Carefree Monday morning
- Successfully lead my first traditional Weight Watchers meeting on Monday night
- Walk Francie for at least 30 minutes Monday - Friday and Sunday
- Do yoga at least 4 times this week for at least 20 minutes (Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday) My personal practice has been slipping a bit lately and I am re-committing to it this week.
Quote For the Week:
"There's no failure; only feedback."
*PointsPlus® and SmartPoints® calculated by Simple Nourished Living; Not endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc. All recipe ingredients except optional items included in determining nutritional estimates. SmartPoints® values calculated WITHOUT Weight Watchers Zero Points fruits and vegetables using the WW Recipe Builder.
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Melissa Meek
Like your site, will be viewing it more!
Megan @ Weight Loss Mother
Congrats on becoming a Weight Watchers leader!
Alyssa (Everyday Maven)
Congrats on your new endeavor! Very exciting! Thanks for linking to my recipe and Happy Mother's Day 🙂