New Product: Quaker 100 Calorie Bars

There's two new 100 calorie bars out in Canada now. Made by Quaker, they come in two varieties: Sweet & Salty (Almond) and Dipps (Chocolate Chip). Both bars are 2 points each and are similar in nutritional value. For the chocolate bar, it's 100 calories, 4g fat, and 1g fibre. The Sweet & Salty is the same, except it has 3.5g fat.

The taste? They're tasty. I will give them that. The sweet and salty is a nice mix and the dipped bar has a nice chocolaty coating. However as tasty as they are, I won't be buying them again.

One, they trigger my binge tendencies. I kept going back to the boxes and eating them. Two, they are unbelievably small and thin. The picture below just does not do justice to how small they are. That's a dessert plate, not a dinner plate. They're also less than half an inch thick.



These things are so small, it takes just four tiny bites to eat them (and even then that's stretching it). Because I like to get bang for my points values, these aren't worth it to me. I can think of lots of other things that I could spend those points on that are more filling, healthier, and don't cause me to inhale the whole box. That's the danger about tasty but excessively small snacks – it's too easy to eat lots of them.

But hey, if you don't mind the points values and trust yourself more than I do, it's worth trying if they're on sale.

Seventy-fifth Weigh-in – Lifetime achieved!

Bodies are mysterious things. I went down 2.8 lbs this week despite having eaten an average of 26 points per day. I know if you lose weight, you're suppose to add another point, but I'm going to give it another week just to see. Despite aforementioned surprise at the scale, usually my body takes two to three weeks to adjust.

In other news, I achieved Lifetime status. That's my charm. I kissed it when my leader handed it to me. It was a heady feeling when, at the end of the meeting, my membership was transferred over into Lifetime. I was also given a new weigh-in book and a Lifetime membership card.

It seems surreal that after all this time I no longer have to pay the weekly fee or even go every week. However, I plan on going as much as I can. It's my Saturday morning ritual and I like being accountable to someone.

I promised myself that on the day I achieved Lifetime, I'd do two things: 1) buy a Lululemon hoody and 2) take my wedding rings in to be resized. After my meeting, I did both. The hoody is so well made, so soft, and so cute. I'm really glad I splurged on it. And my rings? They'll be done around the 25th but that's another blogpost in of itself.

Lifetime feels good. No, it feels GREAT.

The benefits of weight loss

During one of my Weight Watcher's meetings, our leader asked the group what they thought the benefits of weight loss were. Maybe nobody had their coffee yet, but there was more than a few long awkward pauses during that discussion.

Today I'd like to fill in that cricket-filled pause. I often tell people that benefits and non-scale victories happen as you get to goal, not when you get to goal. So, I've put together a list of all the things that happened to me along the way as an example.

• Started to like fruits and veggies
• Discovered stomach and leg muscles
• Clothes started to fit looser
• Had the stamina to walk a 10k race
• Face started looking thinner
• First compliments came after only a few months
• Old tight clothes fitting again
• Became less afraid to appear in photos
• No longer felt tired after grocery shopping
• Bought a bra without crying
• Exercise is becoming fun and something to be enjoyed
• Lower back pains significantly diminished
• Was able to reduce medication for depression
• Dentist says I look like a completely different person
  
• Donated 28 lbs of too-big clothing to charity
• No longer had to shop in plus-sized stores
• Bought a new fall wardrobe in "regular" sizes
• Am told I'm acting more confident
• Walked a half-marathon
• Wedding ring falls off and has to be moved fingers
• Recurrent dream about being overweight no longer haunts me
• Doctor extremely excited and proud about my weight loss
• Fit into an old pair of "skinny" jeans
• Not embarrassed to go to social events
• Can finally fit into clothes at Mountain Equipment Coop
  
• Compliments keep flowing in
• Confident enough to sign up to exercise classes alone
• Discover I have a ribcage
• Wedding and engagement rings fall off completely; both put into safe storage
• An old ring fits again
• Can wear husband's underpants again
• Cat discovers there isn't a "perch" on my hips/bum anymore
  
• Lung capacity makes my voice stronger for voice-over work
• Discover that I like eating healthier more than eating junk food
• Ran a 10k race
• Can squeeze through tight spaces without brushing up against anyone
• Discover I have "neck things"
• Parents are extremely proud of me
• Coworkers are starting to emulate my healthy habits; am told that I was an inspiration for one of them to start losing weight
• No longer embarrassed to ride my scooter again
  
• Bad cholesterol lowered
• Doctor and receptionist both extraordinarily impressed with the improvement to my health
  
• Bought a bathing suit without crying
• Can wear size "small"
• Not embarrassed to go swimming
• Thighs no longer rubbing together
• Realize I'm more outgoing and self-confident than I've ever been
  
• Intrinsically believe that there's nothing I can't do

And that's just the tip of the iceberg! There's even more beneath the surface, ready to be discovered.

I hope that by looking at my list you'll be inspired, too. Whether you're just starting out or on your way, you have so much to look forward that it's downright exciting.

Recruiting fair

I managed to get off work a bit early and made it to the recruiting fair at my Weight Watcher's centre. There were two really nice ladies from head office who went through a little presentation about how the shifts work, the perks you get, and what they pay. The pay isn't much, but the perks would make it worthwhile to me. I get to give back what I was given and I'd also get discounts.

There were two other members aside from me and we were all asked to say how much we had lost, what we liked most about Weight Watchers and what we did for a living. When I said how much I'd lost, there was gasps all around. One of the ladies said that I was such a small woman it was hard to imagine me looking heavy. That was a really nice compliment :)

Currently, they're looking for people to work during the day. As I'm only available in the evenings, I don't think it's likely that I'd be hired anytime soon. I still put in an application (for receptionist) for them to keep on file. Whenever there's spots available, they go through the applications and call the ones they're most interested in for an interview.

Even if I never get called, I still really enjoyed learning some of the behind-the-scenes details for leaders and receptionists. All in all, I think it went pretty well despite the fact I was sporting some pretty awesome helmet head from my scooter ride, hehe.

Why I ♥ Maintenance

It's my fourth day of Maintenance and I'm really enjoying it. Really, really, really enjoying it. And yes, I'm kicking myself because I didn't start this sooner.

I'm told that some people are afraid of the extra points when they get to Maintenance; that they'll gain the weight back. I was a little hesitant at first. But when I got to the end of my first day, I felt more relaxed about eating than I have in a long time. I felt more in control and less deprived.

Up until Sunday, I'd been in losing mode. And consequently I was always like a twitchy rabbit. Always eating veggies and ready to bolt for freedom at the merest whiff of danger. Or, in my case, chips, cheetos, and cheesecake.

Now I can take my time, choose my foods and not worry so much about whether it'll put me over my points allowance or cause weight gain. In addition, those extra four points have allowed me to really expand my meals. I've been using them to get in more whole grains and protein. As a result, I've been in a constant state of satisfaction.

And while I've always tried to make sure I had enough to eat in losing mode and to indulge when I needed it, there was always that slight edge of hunger, deprivation, and hyper-vigilance. After 17 months, Maintenance was the right kind of change.

For those who are not yet to their goal weight, I'm hoping this post will give you something else to look forward to. You still have to be careful of what you eat, but there's a certain amount of freedom (and food) that comes with it.

Ironically, I finally broke the 120s on my home scale this morning. Yes indeedy, I do love me some Maintenance :)

Get your beat on

If you're like me and like to work out to high-tempo music but are a little sick of your personal collection of tunes, here's a couple of free podcasts that fit the bill:

• fitMusic: They've got tonnes of workout mixes available. Visit their site to download (right-hand column, under "Download this week's mix") or use iTunes to subscribe. To find it in iTunes, search the iTunes Store for "fitmusic.com fitmix archives."
  
• Podrunner: My absolute favourite of the two. High-beat and high-quality mixes perfect for running or any sort of exercise. Subscribe through iTunes (easy way) or download them individually from DJ Steveboy's website (click on Podcast archives and then expand the arrow next to each mix). To subscribe, search for "podrunner" in the iTunes Store.

Both podcasts feature hour-long mixes which are great for longer workouts. Best of all, they're perfectly free. Do you like free? I like free. Free is good!

Oh, and if you're new to podcasting, here's a quick tutorial on how to download them with iTunes. Anything more than that, I recommend using Apple's support docs or googling for instructions specific to your mp3 player. I barely know how to get them onto my iPod so I'm pretty much useless for support ;)

What a difference four points makes

Yesterday was my first full-day of maintenance. I never thought I'd be this excited about getting four more points. Having been at 19 points a day for so long, four points is a windfall. Giddy is an apt description.