Happy Sunday all! Thanks for sharing your 8 Week Thanksgiving Goals and where you want to be in the next 56 days with me on Facebook today. I really enjoyed this week’s Weight Watcher’s Countdown to Thanksgiving Challenge topic for that reason ~ it made me think outside the box about what I want to achieve…..then, put a number on it. It is crazy to think that if we all lost 1/2 a lb a week that would be 4 lbs and 1 lb a week that it would add up to 8 lbs. It is so easy to say I want to lose 5 lbs, 10lbs, 15 lbs, but, when you break it down it helps you to reflect and see what is truly achievable for your body type.
My Countdown to “Almost” Thanksgiving (we leave for Jamaica on November 16th!) Challenge is going to be:
- Track 100% even if I don’t want to admit it.
- Continue with my every other day workouts, maybe adding in an extra day
- Focus on Simply Filling Foods
If I can achieve my 1,2,3 then I can see myself losing 5 lbs and maybe even exceeding it too.
I also totally dig the week by week breakdown with something to new to focus on over the next 8 weeks.
Week #1 ~ you all guessed it ~ Tracking!!! I sort of failed on this one the past 3 days which is why I am ok with my 0.8 lb gain ~ I earned it and I plan on losing it again next week!
This weekend The Husband and I decided to get away for a little mini road trip on Saturday to Reno & Lake Tahoe. Even though I took over 146 pictures this weekend, I am just going to post the highlights so I can relax.
Every year I give into the “fallness” of it all and tell myself I NEED to try a Pumpkin Spice Latte…..and every year, I am reminded how much I do not like pumpkin spice lattes ~ even with just a half a pump – it tastes like burnt coffee LOL. (SF + 1 WPA) – 4 points+
Whenever we travel, I always pack snacks…..I took all our Farmer’s Market Finds with us.
I would travel to Reno just so I could go get this salad at Michael’s Deli.
“Vine ripened tomatoes, and fresh mozzarella cheese served over mixed greens with a honey mustard vinaigrette, Pesto, balsamic vinegar, & avocado”
The weather was amazing ~ in the 80’s for the entire trip. I should’ve stopped to take pictures but instead, just snapped as we drove from Reno over to Lake Tahoe.
Today was all about getting stocked up for the week, doing laundry and cleaning house. I actually got rid of my 4 foot tall magazine stack finally (The Husband is happy about that one lol)
I made a new recipe for lunches ~ Spicy Sweet Potato Corn Chowder with “Bacon”.
It’s 100% Simply Filling & completely amazing ~ sweet, spicy, salty, crunchy, heart, smoky…..I cannot wait for lunches this week! (SF) – 5 points+
My Keurig September Promotion arrived and it is perfect for this weekend as we move from Summer into Fall. How cute is this lunch box it came in??
I love that the Green Mountain Naturals Hot Apple Cider is made with real apples and a total of only five simple ingredients. There are no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives – just honest apple goodness with a hint of brown sugar and just a touch of cinnamon. Yum!
Did you all know you can now brew lemonade over ice??
Green Mountain Naturals Lemonade combines the refreshing, sun-splashed flavor of freshly squeezed lemons with the convenience of the Keurig® single cup brewing system. This variety also contains no artificial colors, flavors or preservatives.
I am such a fan of lemonade and of apple cider this time of year so I cannot wait to share this month’s promotion with you all.
Head on over to Green Mountain and enter this promo code GMN8128 to get 15% off all Green Mountain Naturals K-Cup® packs. The code is now active, and will be available through October 3 on GreenMountainCoffee.com.
Just because I have been craving them, I made up a batch of Parmesan Almond Crisps to go with my lunches. (SF + 1 WPA) – 1 points+ per cracker!
I also made up a big 2 Foot Long Best Ever Cheesesteak Sandwich.
Steak Sandwiches are by far The Husband’s favorite food…he really did ask me if this was “his” sandwich and where mine was 
The recipe makes 4 sandwiches….so he had to share lol.
This sandwich is so good, you really do not need to serve it with anything else. It is one well seasoned steak, mushroom and onion sandwich with hints of cheesey richness for only 8 points+.
(SF + 2 WPA for the hollowed out bread)
HERE IS WHAT IS ON THE MENU THIS WEEK:
- Honey Chipotle Chicken Fajitas or Fajitas Salads
- BBQ Ribs, Sweet Potato Fries or Homemade Tater Tots!, Roasted Squash
- BLTA’s, salad
- Shrimp Scampi, salad
- BBQ Buffalo Chicken Salads
STATS:
- 2,522 calories burned
- 5,567 steps taken
- 5 WPA used, 44 WPA remaining
- AL – 104% of my daily goal achieved – 4 AP!
Q’s
What is your 8 week Thanksgiving Day Goal? What do you hope to achieve and where do you want to be?
Night all!
Loving your weekly menu as usual! I’m still trying to get up the nerve to stay on SF for a whole week…I switch for a day or so, then go right back to points…I’m trying to read as much as I can and then maybe need to sit down and write up a weekly menu? When you first switched, how did you make the transition seemless?
I started by gradually adding SF food to my regular Tracking for two weeks. Then, I made sure I had plenty of the SF foods in the house before I started SF as my plan This really worked!
Thanks so much Mary Ann! I really need to try this!
Good Luck, Gail! It works for me! BTW, if you want to receive the weekly newsletter from my WW group (free, of course), send me your email address (directly), and I will make sure it gets to you every Monday evening. Write me at: awilliam@yahoo.com I would love to share it with you.
I go to a Saturday morning meeting so I am happy for the preview. I am going to go with 8 pounds, a pound a week. More importantly , exercise has not my friend of late so I think the main goal is to get in another day of cardio per week over the next 8 weeks.
Considering the Canadian Thanksgiving is only 2 weeks away (October 8th), my 2 week goal is to try to reach my 15% goal. I have 10 pounds to go. My next goal is Halloween. Maybe I can get to size 14 by then. I finally reached size 16 this weekend. Literally the ladies at the clothing store had to call Security on me. I was in the change room with a size 18 and 16, deciding to try to 16 first to get the disappointment done and over with. Lo and behold they fit with room to spare! I screamed. And then came Security ^_^ Needless to say I was dancing all weekend.
Our Thanksgiving is in 2 weeks so my goal is to stick with the simply filling right through to Thanksgiving and including Thanksgiving 🙂 I’m loving the Simply Filling so far and I have to thank you Danica because there is not a lot of support for it on Weight Watchers.
No pics of the bikes @ Street Vibrations?…lol
haha – nope, totally poor planning on our part for a trip up there. There were like 0 rooms available due to Street Vibrations so we just took a long day trip.
Danica
LOL I have a foot tall magazine stack too! I go through my cooking magazines twice to make sure I don’t miss any recipes.
Does the Apple Cider have any points?
Hi Kathy,
Yes, it is 2 points+ per cup but totally worth it.
Danica
Congrats on having the guts to wiegh-in! I, on the other hand, was a total whimp and took the no weigh-in pass option! I just didn’t want to see the result of too many beers and too much pizza in BIG DIGITAL numbers! I am over it now (weighed myself this morning) and am ready to take this 8 week challenge by the horns! I think I can get my body to do 10lbs in 8 weeks. When I’m REALLY on point and not using any flex points (I only use what I activity points I aquire), I average out to about 1.25 per week. I plan on making these next few weeks COUNT!! WOOHOO! Let’s ROCK AND ROLL! Good Luck everyone!
I thought I was the only one who had a four foot stack of cooking magazines! I actually just sent a huge box of them to a blog reader of mine who just had a baby and decided not to renew her magazine subscriptions – I was happy they went to a new home!
Happy Monday!
Can you post the recipe for the Sweet Potato “Bacon” chowder? Sounds delicious! Also, I saw that someone else asked (as I was wondering as well) if there are any points in the apple cider.
Hi Julie,
I just posted the recipe last night. Here is the link.
http://danicasdaily.com/spicy-sweet-potato-corn-chowder-with-bacon-3-points
The apple cider is 2 points+ per cup but really delicious.
Danica
Danica,
I love your ideas and tried the simply filling for a week and it was a disaster as I gained weight. I must have been doing something wrong. We have a new leader and it is very frustrating changing new leaders. This leader is very difficult for alot of us to work with. I am certain that is some of my problem. I am trying to focus on the positive and perhaps find another group to join. It is just that the time and day work so well with my schedule. Thanks again for your great ideas and allowing me to vent. Perhaps others will have some ideas for me as well.
Dotty
HI Dotty,
Did you still weigh and measure your foods? Were you aware of your hunger levels and stopped when comfortable? Did you find yourself eating more than you normally would? These are a few things I tend to ask myself if I gain when I am on Simply Filling as usually I find the answer in one of them. I’d be more than happy to help find a solution to see how to make Simply Filling work for you.
It does take a week or two to get the hang of it, but, I know you can do it.
Just let me know if there is anything I can answer/help with.
Danica
Danica,
Please post the recipe for the Spicy Sweet Potato Corn Chowder with “Bacon. It sounds delicious! Can’t wait to try it.
Thanks!
Vonda
HI Vonda,
Here you go.
http://danicasdaily.com/spicy-sweet-potato-corn-chowder-with-bacon-3-points
Danica
Avocado + tomato + salt & pepper ORRR avocado + cottage cheese + salt & pepper on top of plain rice cakes is my absolutely favorite combo right now 😛
Great menu comong up! And that avocado with pesto looks soo good! I love the 8 weeks till thanksgiving challenge. It was mentioned in our WW meetings on Sunday. Very doable! Good luck and I’m a big fan of your blog. You made me want to start blogging, which I am right now! Thank you!
Awww, so cool Julie, I am flattered. Your site looks great!
Thanks,
Danica
Thanks for such a wonderful website. My goal is to lose 20lbs by Thanksgiving. I often struggle with a meal plan but you made the food look great. Thanks for the postings. Do you have a post for when people will travel on business and living in a hotel. I am nervous about an upcoming business trip.
Hi Chrystal,
Sorry for the delay in getting back to you. I have not done a single post on business trips but I should do that. Here are my tips.
* Make sure you pack oatmeal (just add water), snacks and fruit so you have quick goto healthy options. You could always stock up on a few things if your hotel has a fridge.
* Don’t be afraid to ask for what you want at any restaurant you go to. I have found they will often customize a meal without butter, oils, sauce on the side, etc.
* Do you research of places you want to eat before you go and pick out what you will order. This way you will not be tempted to order something else when y9u see a picture of something delicious on the menu.
* Do start with a salad and/or soup to satisfy you and ask for the bread or chips to be removed if they will be a temptation.
* Get out and explore the city walking around to earn some activity points or use the hotel gym.
Hope these help a bit – good luck and keep me posted on how it goes.
Danica