Week 26 Weigh-In: Not-As-Fat Tuesday

Every week I get nervous heading to my Weight Watchers meeting.

Even though I follow the plan closely and work out regularly, that stupid scale spooks me every week. I had no reason to be worried this week, I didn't do anything "wrong."

But I know what it's like to get screwed at the scale, and every week I worry it will happen. It's stupid. So what if it does? As long as I did my best, if it's a small loss or undeserved gain, so what. It'll come off - and then some - next week.

Not sure why I got on that rant today as I certainly didn't get screwed at the scale. I was -3 to bring me to an even -70. So close to -75! Donna The Wonderful receptionist was thrilled. I was thrilled. And my leader was psyched, I even got a hug.

This week's meeting topics was celebrating all victories - no matter the size - and I was flattered that the leader highlighted my milestone and asked me lots of questions in front of the group. It was fun to share.

When I got home later, I input my new weight into Weight Watchers very helpful eTools site. I got the CYA/ridiculous "You're losing too fast!" admonition from the site (you get it if you lose more than 2 lbs a week). Which at the bottom features what friends and I call The Loneliest Link on WW.com:

In which I question the accuracy of the Weight Watchers PointsPlus pedometer

I purchased the new Weight Watchers PointsPlus pedometer for two reasons:

1. I love that it automatically calculates how many Activity Points you earned. No more over- or underestimating!

2. I love gadgets.

But I've worn it for several days and the numbers it's producing are fantastic. "Fantastic" as in Wow, look how many APs I earned! And, unfortunately, "fantastic" as in Can I really believe the numbers?

For example, last Friday I put on my pedometer upon getting out of bed at 5:30 am. I went to the gym for my workout, ran for 30 minutes and then went about my normal, everyday activity. When I took it off at 5:30 pm, the pedometer informed me I had walked 18,000+ steps for the day, logged more than 8 miles and earned 11 APs (see the picture above).

Now, I'm an active person, but I can't believe I am that active, as nice as it read. (I did pause the pedometer any time I was in the car in case the vibrations were calculated as steps.)

Thinking about it over the weekend, I thought that perhaps the average stride I used (set by the pedometer according to my height) was too long. I lost the manual, so I went online to try to find a manual to figure out how to customize and reset my length. My Googling found no manual, but evidence that others were questioning the pedometer's accuracy as well.

I remembered I owned another pedometer, an Omron HJ-112, so I decided to conduct an experiment.

Today, I wore both pedometers on my right hip from rising (7:30 am) for 12 hours. Each was updated with my height, weight and my custom stride length (21 inches). The Omron doesn't feature a Pause button like the Weight Watchers pedometer, so I didn't use the Pause button today. Anytime I was in the car, before I drove I wrote down the current step numbers on each and then the step numbers when I arrived at my destination, ensuring I could subtract any "false steps" generated by the car vibrations at the end of the day.

I was in the car three separate times over the day and each time the Omron pedometer did not register time in the car as steps. Each time I got to my destination, the number of steps taken on the Omron unit was unchanged from the time I started the trip.

Without employing the Pause button, the WW Points+ Pedometer racked up hundreds of false steps - 459 to be exact. But, I would argue that's why they built in a Pause button. And, I remember it is clearly stated in the manual to hit Pause if you're riding in or driving a car.

So, what were the numbers at the end of the day?


Steps taken: Weight Watchers PointsPlus pedometer: 18,585 (subtract 459 as false steps). Adjusted minus false steps: 18,126.


Steps taken: Omron HJ-112: 10,992.


Miles walked per Weight Watchers PointsPlus Pedometer: 6.15


Miles walked per Omron pedometer: 3.46

No doubt, the Weight Watchers pedometer's senor is super sensitive. And, you could argue, inaccurate in its assessment of steps and miles walked and APs earned.

This post isn't meant to bash Weight Watchers or its products, but serve as a PSA that the numbers on your hip may not be as great as they read. I'm concerned that members using the pedometer would trust the number of APs earned and eat all or some of them, which would perhaps affect their weight loss.

Given I'd rather be conservative in my estimates of APs earned, I'm putting my PointsPlus pedometer in my drawer. I hope Weight Watchers will sometime offer a more accurate pedometer that calculates APs. I will miss that feature.

Recipe: Salsa chicken

My friend and WWer extraordinaire, Flo, tipped me off to this insanely easy yet delicious recipe (although "recipe" may be a stretch given how easy it is).

Ingredients
Chicken (any parts, bone-in or boneless, fresh or frozen)
1 jar of your favorite salsa.

Directions
1. Put chicken in crockpot.
2. Add jar of salsa.
3. 8 hrs on low, 4 on high.

As awesome as it is easy.

I like using boneless breasts and topping with a jar of Newman's Mango Salsa. I spread a little on the bottom of the crock, then add the breasts (usually 4). If I use more breasts, then I add a little more salsa, enough to cover.

I cook it on High for 4 hours, then take off the cover and with two forks shred the breasts so it looks like pulled chicken. Then, I put it on Low and let it simmer for another hour.

It's so good! I normally eat it with a baked potato, but it would work over or with rice, or in a sandwich or wrap.

It freezes and reheats beautifully, so when the chicken is cooled, I freeze it into 3-oz portions in 1/2c Glad containers. It leaves you a lot of food for future meals. One of my favorites is having it with a wedge of Laughing Cow Blue Cheese, on its own or even on a Fiber One Whole Wheat English Muffin in a sandwich.


Ready for the freezer.


3 oz of Salsa Chicken on a Fiber One Whole Wheat English Muffin, with 1 wedge of Laughing Cow Blue Cheese (7 Points).

Recipe: Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

I've been cooking a lot this week. On Wednesday I roasted my very first chicken (easy) and then made homemade stock (surprisingly easy).

All the effort was geared toward the end game: Chicken Noodle Soup.

I never made it before from scratch and it's soup weather, so I looked up the recipe at WW.com.

It was very easy and delicious, and 1.5 cups/svg is a decent deal for the 8 Points. I ate it over two days and then froze the rest. Will definitely make again.

WW Classic Chicken Noodle Soup

3 pound(s) skinless chicken drumstick, or/ and tights, trimmed of all visible fat (I substituted 1 lbs of roasted chicken)

6 cup(s) water (I substituted chicken broth)

 5 medium carrot(s), cut into 2-inch pieces (I doubled the carrots)   

 3 stalk(s) (medium) celery, cut into 1-inch pieces   

 2 medium onion(s), each cut into 8 wedges   

2 clove(s) (medium) garlic clove(s), minced   

1/8 oz parsley, about 3 sprigs, falt-leaf variety   

1/8 oz thyme, fresh, 2 fresh sprigs   

2 leaf/leaves bay leaf   

1 1/2 tsp table salt   

1/4 tsp black pepper, freshly ground   

2 cup(s) uncooked egg noodles (I used No Yolks brand)

1/4 cup(s) parsley, flat-leaf variety   

Bring the chicken, water, carrots, celery, onions, garlic, parsley, thyme, bay leaves, salt, and pepper to a boil in a Dutch oven. Reduce the heat and simmer, covered, until the chicken is no longer pink inside and the vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes. Discard the parsley, thyme, and bay leaves.

Remove the chicken from the soup. Skim any fat from the top of the soup with a large spoon. Add the noodles and return the soup to a boil. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, until the noodles are tender, about 5 minutes. 


When cool enough to handle, remove the chicken from the bones. Cut the chicken into chunks and return 2 cups to the soup. Reserve the remaining 2 cups chicken for another day. Sprinkle the soup with the chopped parsley just before serving. Yields generous 1 1⁄2 cups per serving.

In which I see tangible results

One of the best things about weight loss are the little victories, the ones you don't expect that creep up on you on an average day.

Sure, weekly weigh-ins are great, but it's those wonderful everyday surprises that really pack a punch.

Today I reached into the backseat of our family car and pulled out the Beco baby carrier you see on the left (no, that's not me). Due to the weather, I hadn't used it since before Thanksgiving, maybe even October, but I was thinking about it today and needed it.

I put my arms through the straps and snapped the belt around my hips, then it hit me, Oh, yeah. I lost weight. This is huge!

Last time I used the carrier I remember the hip belt was a little loose (it's supposed to be very snug). I must have been on WW for at least a month and I remember cinching the belt tighter and being happy I needed to do that already.

I also remember buying the carrier last summer and kinda freaking out in my mind, wondering if the hip belt would buckle at all, fearing embarrassment in front of the saleswoman. It clicked, with maybe less than 2 inches to spare.

So I'm standing there with this hip belt dangling and I think, I need to take a picture of this before I adjust it.

I didn't take any measurements when I started last September, but these are great indicators:


Wow! (Excuse the grandmotherly socks-and-sandals look.)


Leeway on the hip belt when I first tried it on (4.25 inches).


Leeway after adjusting it for a current fit (12.5 inches).

In which I celebrate

Every Tuesday after my WW meeting, I head over to a local grocery store that has a sushi chef & sushi bar to celebrate with one of my favorite foods, avocado maki.

I know I probably shouldn't be "celebrating" with food, but it's a weekly, low-Point treat to which I really look forward. Plus, the chef makes the rolls to order, so they're super fresh. It's somewhat frightening how little it takes to make me happy these days.

Week 25 Weigh-In

Good stuff this week. -2.4 to jump past the -65 mark and reach -67 lbs gone. The only "bummer" is I lose another daily point, taking me down to 32, but I'll gladly take it!

Getting pretty close to -70 and then the next big milestone -75!

This loss was very gratifying this week as I missed 2 days at the gym due to a lack of childcare.

That means I lost 1 run and 1 45-minute elliptical session - big calorie burners. I substituted a 45- and 60-minute Leslie Sansone DVD for each, and apparently it was a decent swap.

That said, I really miss the gym.