B-double E- double R- U- N!

I read an article today in the Daily Beast about the 50 healthiest beers you can have- why one would think "healthy" and "beer" at the same time is beyond me, but it's still a helpful guide-- they evaluated "which beers packed the fewest calories and carbohydrates for the most amount of alcoholic punch—the best beers for your buzz." Works for me!

Some of these beers I've never heard of- probably because I would have never thought to stray beyond my Corona Light or Blue Moon. But enjoy the list- while I try to find out which ones on the list are carried at Buddy's Bar and Grill :) Enjoy the list-- nutritional info and brewery info are in the article!

1. IC Light
2. Michelob Ultra
3. Natural Light (EW. OH GROSS.)
4. Budweiser Select
5. Miller Light
6. Select 55 (Bud)
7. Busch Light
8. MGD 64
9. Modelo Especial
10. Milwaulkee's Best Light (BEAST!!)
11. Micehlob Ultra Amber
12. Miller Chill
13. Keystone Ice
14. Corona Light (YAY!)
15. Coors Light
16. Bud Ice
17. Milwaulkee's Best Ice (FROZEN BEAST!)
18. Michelob ULTRA Lime Cactus (How does that even sound appealing?)
19. Icehouse Light
20. Southpaw Light (Lefty beast!)
21.Keystone Light
22. Bud Light
23. Keystone Premium
24. Guinness Foreign Extra Stout (mmmm... meal-in-a-glass!)
25. Leinenkugel's Light
26. Natural Ice (...water?)
27. Yuengling Light
28. Miller High Life Light
29. Grolsch Light Lager
30. Molson XXX
31. Icehouse 5.0
32. Steel Six
33. Olde English 800 7.5%
34. Icehouse 5.5
35. Olde English 800 5.9%
36. Olde English High Gravity 800
37. Mickey's Ice
38. Steel Reserve High Gravity
39. Steel Reserve Triple Export
40. Molson Golden
41. Hamm's Special Light
42. Heinekin Light
43. Magnum Malt Liquor (YESSSS)
44. Mickey's
45. Tyskie
46. Molson Canadian
47. Yuengling Light Lager
48. Redhook IPA
49. Genesee Ice
50. St. Pauli Girl Lager

Off the wagon and ran over

I fell off the WW grid this weekend. Honestly, I hit the 5lb mark and went haywire. I *tried* recording everything... but that failed. And mentally, I *knew* I was going over my  daily points...

It started with the road trip on Saturday with Wendy. It started out well enough- I had cereal and a banana before getting to her house. I packed apples, pretzels, luna bars, and other healthy snacks. Then, we went to Vince and Joe's... It's a fairly healthy Italian market out by my parents. Of course, I ordered a HUGE piece of Spinach Pie (my FAVORITE), but changed my mind- more for budgetary reasons over diet reasons though (it was $7 for the piece!). Wendy walks out with a mini-container of cubed cheese. I should have known right there it was going to go downhill... we then head to the soccer game, where I ate pretzels and- of course- cheese. I figure I ate about... 8oz of cheese? Yeah, that sounds about right. Then, we go grab lunch and we split a piedmontese burger and onion rings from my favorite restaurant in the world- The Red Coat Tavern. Have you had piedmontese beef before? It only has 1.8 grams of fat and 114 calories/ serving. It's nuts - it's just as healthy as a piece of fish. Of course, the onion rings totally knocked out any health benefit I would have had from it... Dinner consisted of snacking at a housewarming party- "snacking" being a full burger, 2 ribs (only 2!), 6-7 tortilla chips with nacho toppings (but not cheese and only 1 spoonful of ground beef), and ice cream.

Sunday wasn't a whole lot better. I was learning to knit with Dana, so as a thank you, I bought pokey sticks to share. Dinner wasn't too bad, but I probably could have done without the quesidilla at Pancheros.

It's a new day. It's time for a new start. Right? I've written everything down today, I plan on going to the gym or taking Daisy for a looooong walk tonight, and I already have a plan for dinner. Planning is half the battle- the other half is getting back on the horse after falling off.

Staying awake without the sugar rush

Lifehacker had an interesting article today about how to maximize your energy levels while eating healthy. The highlights are below:

1. Structure your daily diet like a pyramid (big breakfast, medium lunch, small dinner- snacks throughout)
2. Eat protein early on (eggs, protein shake, yogurt)
3. Eat low  glycemic foods (vegetables, whole grains, meat, milk, nuts, and eggs) for breakfast and early snacking
4. Eat frequently (every 2-3 hours)
5. Stop dehydrating yourself (more water!)
6. Track energy levels (I don't do this because it just feels weird writing down "I'm tired" all of the time)

I thought it was an interesting spin, and I didn't know what a "glycemic" food was or how it would affect me. Makes sense- eating pasta/carbs early on in the day makes you sleepy...

Rediscovering Taco Bell

I remember eating a LOT of Taco Bell growing up. I mean, A LOT. It was cheap and covered in cheese- why wouldn't I? One of my friends/clerks was talking about wanting Taco Bell the other day, and the thought has been in my mind since- I wonder if the Nachos Bel Grande are just as good as I remembered? Ohhh how I missed the chalupas...

So, we go today at lunch after a few errands. Thankfully, my friend is UBER supportive of my weight loss and asked where it was good for *me* to eat on my diet. I remembered 1) that I wanted Taco Bell! 2) that I was on a diet, and 3) Taco Bell has its fresco menu- they take whatever you've ordered and remove the cheese and sour cream, and put pico de gaillo on it instead. I figured that, its still cheap, and it can't be that bad, right?

I was TOTALLY impressed. Not a phrase you normally hear after hearing "Taco Bell", but wow. I got 2 fresco hard shell tacos (3 points each), the pintos without cheese/with pico (2) points for a fast, filling, and nostalgic 8 point lunch. That's about what I would have spent point wise on the lunch I had packed, and to top it off, I got a large diet Mt. Dew (DIET DEW! WIN!) -- all for $5. Plus, they have gourmet sauces now- a fire-roasted boarder salsa and a salsa verde. Both VERY good and no points (and they still have their traditional mild, hot and fire sauces).

This was a great break from the normal diet fast food of Wendys and Subway. And, let's face it. Taco Bell has sporks. Any place with sporks gets a gold star in my book.

Runnin' Down a Dream

My God, I forgot how hard it is to run sometimes. I've found that, over the last month or so, I've made excuse after excuse to *not* run- I'll bike, I'll walk Daisy, I'll do anything BUT run. And I started to miss it. Last week, Bria asked me if we were going to do the Turkey Trot in Detroit again this year. It started out that we were going to run the 10K, but, after being honest with myself, I'm not ready for that. I've practically given up training for the last month! So, we decided to do the 5K again this year. Today, it hits- I'm not ready. I can barely run a half mile without passing out. I've never *been* a runner before. Sure, I've done the 5Ks before, and at "ok" times, but I was prepared for those. Not so much now.

I pulled up a training schedule from Hal Higdon, per a suggestion from a co-worker (and from some friends last time I started prepping for the 5K). I posted it below, more so my friends can ride me on the schedule and make sure I actually did what it says to do.

Day 1- rest. Check. Day 2: run 1.5 miles. Riiiiight. Today's personal goal- don't fall off the treadmill. I'm happy to report that I did the 1.5 miles in about 14 minutes, with only taking 3- 30 minute walk breaks. PROGRESS! 

Please, please PLEASE ask me how my training is going, if I did the run, if I set a good pace. I need to be held accountable, or this program will last 2 weeks. Ugh.
Training for your first 5-K

Week	Mon	Tue	Wed	Thu	Fri	Sat	Sun
1	Rest or run/walk	1.5 m run	Rest or run/walk	1.5 m run	Rest	1.5 m run	30- 60 min walk
2	Rest or run/walk	1.75 m run	Rest or run/walk	1.5 m run	Rest	1.75 m run	35-60 min walk
3	Rest or run/walk	2 mi run	Rest or run/walk	1.5 m run	Rest	2 MI run	40-60 min walk
4	Rest or run/walk	2.25 m run	Rest or run/walk	1.5 m run	Rest	2.25 m run	45-60 min walk
5	Rest or run/walk	2.5 m run	Rest or run/walk	2 m run	Rest	2.5 m run	50-60 min walk
6	Rest or run/walk	2.75 m run	Rest or run/walk	2 m run	Rest	2.75 m run	55-60 min walk
7	Rest or run/walk	3 m run	Rest or run/walk	2 m run	Rest	3 m run	60 min walk
8	Rest or run/walk	3 m run	Rest or run/walk	2 m run	Rest	Rest	5-K Race

Healthy Lunches

Back in 2009, Joe, Andrea, Eric and I started making healthy lunches to share during our weight loss competition. Every Monday, one of us would bring in a healthy lunch for the group. Sure, we've had our share of "I forgot- let's go to Panera" moments, but for the most part, we had awesome food. Fast forward 18 months later, and we're still going (minus a break for the summer months). The office newsletter, HOJ Podge, asked me to write an article about the healthy lunches. Not too exciting for most, but hey, this is something that has helped me get through my diet! And, to ask a formerly almost 300lb girl for healthy eating habits?! I felt amazing. I've posted the draft of the article below:
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I hate packing lunches. I find that it’s so much easier to run downstairs to our fabulous café, or jump in my car and pick up something warm and hearty for lunch. However, my waist line disagrees. A study conducted by the USDA Human Nutrition Research Center shows that about a quarter of Americans eat out at a fast food restaurant over their lunch breaks. Among the 9,000 study participants, those who consumed fast food drank about twice as many sugar-sweetened soft drinks as the individuals who avoided fast food. Not only did the fast food diners consume more calories, they also had substantially higher intakes of dietary fat and added sugar. And, by the end of the study, participants who visited fast food restaurants at least twice a week had gained an average of 10 pounds more than those who indulged in fast food less than once a week.[1]

My wallet was rebelling against my lunchtime habits as well. I found that I was spending an easy $20 a week in eating lunches out. MSNBC proposed a project, called “The Brown Bag Challenge”, where readers stopped eating out, packed their own lunches, and put that lunch “budget” into a savings account. Readers were saving about 30% of their restaurant budget by packing a creative, healthy lunch instead of eating out at a restaurant. [2]

This information started to sink in with the Health and Wellness Committee’s “Biggest Loser” campaign in 2009. 

With my waist and budget in mind, I talked to my “Biggest Loser” teammates, and the four of us decided that we would take turns bringing in a healthy lunch one time a week throughout the duration of the competition. The purpose of our weekly lunches was to check in with each other on our weight loss progress and start the week out by eating right. And it helped. While our team didn’t win the competition, we all lost weight and, as an additional benefit, we learned new recipes or new ways to prepare foods. I found that, if I’m cooking for other people, I take that extra step to make sure the meal is not only healthy, but unique. 

Although the lunches have taken breaks at times (during the summer), and the group that gathers is different in composition, the intent remains the same- we take turns cooking a healthy lunch for the rest of the group. Each week on Tuesday afternoons, we gather in one of the break rooms to enjoy each other’s company and to indulge an interesting, often new, and always healthy meal. This helps to break the food rut people tend to get into when dieting. With the Nutrition Bingo program in full swing, our lunch group has started developing meals around the board- for example, this week, we had a garbanzo bean salad over spinach, a veggie burger, and sliced apples with raisins and low fat caramel as a dessert. Healthy, filling, and accomplished 6 out of the week’s 25 squares. 

If you would like recipe ideas, or would like to join in on the lunch fun, let me know! We’re always looking for new people to join the group. Just be sure to have your healthy recipes ready!

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[1] http://www.creators.com/health/rallie-mcallister-your-health/packing-a-few-extra-pounds-try-packing-a-lunch.html

[2] http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/SavingandDebt/ConsumerActionGuide/TakeTheBrownBagChallenge.aspx

Nutrition Bingo

Work has been uber supportive of those who are trying to live healthier- for the last 2 years, the Health and Wellness Committee (which I am now on) have ran a "biggest loser" competition, where you work in teams and weigh in weekly, all to lose weight, be healthy, etc. That is what sparked the current weight loss (is 2 years "current"?). After that competition, we go into Nutrition Bingo. Here's where I need help.

Your goal is to complete the entire card by the end of the week for the full 50 points, otherwise it's one point a square. The first 2 weeks were pretty easy... now, they're getting hard. I'm having a hard time with some of them, and am asking for help.

This week's tricky square is going to be "limit yourself to only one cup of coffee/tea/soda"- I've had 1 pop so far today, no coffee (had sugar free hot cocoa instead)... fingers crossed that lasts for another 10 hours..

Next week's potential problems: 1) Snack on nut-butter and whole grain crackers (does peanut butter count??). 2) make your own trail mix with nuts and dried fruit (anyone have recipes??) 3) drink 8 oz of natural fruit juice, not from concentrate (I stay away from juice because of the point values)

Week 5 problems: 1) steam veggies instead of boiling (do the steamer bags count?) 2) Have a meal without any processed foods (this gets worse the next week when its go a WHOLE DAY without processed foods) and 3) eat less than 2400 mg of sodium today- I've never tracked my sodium!

The list gets harder as we get closer to Week 8...

Thankfully, this nutrition bingo fits nicely with my WW plan. And, it makes me try new foods and prepare things a new way. AND, there are squares on there to "Take a brisk 20 minute walk" or "weight train" and whatnot. It's great. It's just getting HARD. HELP!

Musings of a snacker

I just discovered an AMAZING 4 point sweet snack- kind of on accident. Hungry Girl suggested a bunch of 100 calorie snacks a few weeks ago, all equaling 2 points. I mixed and matched, and had 2 tsp of chocolate chips and 8 mini marshmallows (cut in half so it was like I was having 16 of them) made into a small snack. This was a "sugar emergency" snack only- I know it has no redeeming nutritional qualities. Pat brought me back some dried cherries from Traverse City a week ago, and I can have a 1/4 cup of them for 2 points (plus, I needed dried fruit, and MI fruit, for my nutrition bingo game). Both the cherries and the HG snack were in my drawer at work. I reached in to grab one, and grabbed both. Mixed it up, and it was like a party in my mouth for 4 points! And WOW did it kick the sweet tooth- for now :) 

Fall Cookin' Follies

I should be banned from cooking on Saturdays. This week, it started with me teaching a friend how to cook bacon (how you can be 32 years old and not know how to make bacon is beyond me), which then included making pancakes... I reigned in my bacon eating to 2 full slices (2 points of this particular bacon) and stuck with 4 strawberry pancakes with some sugar free syrup... I felt like I was going to explode. I estimated the points of that breakfast to be 12 whopping points, but after calculation, found it was only 6. WIN!

My friend, Jason, is celebrating his birthday on Monday. Instead of doing the whole gift thing, I offered to make him a cake for our get-together on Saturday . I asked if he wanted a regular cake (which I routinely make with apple sauce instead of oil now), or a cheesecake- he wanted regular. His girlfriend wanted the cheesecake, as did our other friend, Jonah. So, I made both. I did alright while baking- no snitching the cake, but I will admit to having a lick or two of frosting...

I go to serve the cheesecake, which looks and smells amazing, and before eating, I call up the recipe and check out the serving size and points. This small ass cheesecake was supposed to serve 12 people and it was 11 POINTS a slice. WHOA. I text Katie and talk to Amy, and decide that I can have a half of a slice- it's cheesecake. Come ON. So I get a half slice, count the 5.5 points, and walk away. After I'm done, I immediately box up the rest of the cake to go home with Jason/ to live in Jonah's fridge. Out of sight, out of mind.

After the game, I made a Hungry Girl Potato Soup recipe. HOLY good and easy to make! The recipe is online at http://www.hungry-girl.com/week/weeklydetails.php?isid=1649#potato - and it's only 2 points a serving! Ohhhhh I'm definitely making this a weekly treat.

To recap: Awesome, over pointed breakfast. Phenomenal cheesecake that is ridiculous in points. Hearty, warm soup that is totally worth making again.

Halloween Candy Break-Down

My roommate thinks I'm a nut. Here we are, shopping at Kroger after our healthy dinners, and BAM! I announce that I need to find my Caramel Apple Pops (not the tootsie roll ones- the green suckers with the caramel on the top), because they're 1 point snacks (but 2 suckers = 3 points!) and because people have been bringing Halloween candy into the office already.  In my brain, I say "well, I walked to their office to get the candy- I earned it!" and that's, well, not enough exercise to "earn" the candy. And... I wanted them because I saw a bag of them at home last weekend that I *should* have kidnapped when I had the chance.. At WW this week, we talked about shopping smart at the grocery store and how the Halloween candy is everywhere and oh-so-tempting. I spoke up and defended the candy, saying that the suckers are only 1 point and, dammit, I'm going to have them this season. Besides, you can't deprive yourself- that's one thing I learned on the program. If you want it that badly, have it, but PLAN for it. So I planned... to have suckers :)

So, we start looking for the suckers. We did 2 laps around the store, and no suckers. I did, however, find the Weight Watchers candies- coconut flavor at Kroger- being discontinued. WHAAAAT? Maybe it's just Kroger getting rid of them...? Either way, they were only $1.75/bag, plus I had a $.65 coupon for them... CHEAP Halloween candy for my office! Win!Too bad it was the last bag at that particular Kroger, but I will be looking for more later!

We give up on the sucker search, check out, and head to Meijer for frozen veggies and some other odds and ends. We circle Meijer twice looking for the suckers. Again, no luck. I even asked 3 staff people for help- one had no clue what I was talking about, one pointed me to the Halloween candy section, and another pointed me to their normal candy aisle. OK, I need to rant for a second. WHY do you have a half aisle dedicated to candy ON TOP of the Halloween display? Are you trying to make people nuts?! Anyway, no luck. Now I'm angry. How are these wonderful pieces of heaven-on-a-stick missing from these large stores?? I remember there is a Wal Mart on the way back to the house..

I'm not a fan of Wal-Mart. I'm not going to get all political, but I will point people to one of the best websites ever... So, I tell my exhausted roommate that we need to stop and check for the suckers, or there is going to be a major meltdown. NO SUCKERS to be found anywhere. The cashier at WalMart said they haven't received the suckers yet, but "should soon." She also said I should check QD for a "fix." So... I do.

I get to QD. Roommate stays in the car, thinking I am utterly ridiculous. I go in the store, right to the candy asile... and there is ONE sucker. Not one bag, but ONE SUCKER. I don't flinch- I take it and run right up to the register and ask if there are more in the back. Of course, they are out until Monday, but *WOOO!* QD carries the suckers YEAR ROUND. Whoa.

So, I have one sucker that is sitting in front of me for a treat later. However, I was told by a friend that she may have seen them at Target... so I'm going for a lunch run to the big red...target. I also called my sister and asked her to pick me up some and drop them off to me on her way back to CMU this weekend. My mom is going out on her lunch today to pick up bags of them for the two of us to take back to our respective cities. GO MOM!

I also took a minute to print out a list of mini-candies and their point values, just in case I stumble into someone's office and there is candy- it's preparation! The list, which is *really* comprehensive, is at http://www.freewebs.com/thewwchick/halloween_candy_points_cheatsheet_thewwchickdotcom.pdf