A Milestone

Way back in September, I blogged about my wedding ring. I haven't been able to wear it for a few years now because it is too tight, so I've been wearing cheap cubic zirconium rings from Walmart. One of my goals was to be able to wear my real ring again. I finally tried it on again yesterday, to see if I was making any progress. It slipped right on. I accomplished one of my milestone goals! I would post a picture, but I have yet to figure out how to get the picture from the digital camera to the computer. I know it involves a cord.

I am so glad I decided to go back to the Weight Watchers points system. It goes a step beyond just recording everything I eat and assigns a value. I have to weigh and measure everything and read labels to check serving size, calories, fat, and fiber. It's almost a game, discovering the combinations that give me the most food for the least amount of points. I have to make conscious food choices, rather than just grab whatever looks good.

I can also splurge if I want to. If I want a chocolate truffle candy bar once in a while, I can have one. But I know that it's going to cost me 8 points. When you have a budget of 22 points a day, you have to decide if that 8 points is worth it. Some days it is, some days it is not.

Just to put those 8 points in perspective, I could have 1 egg (2 pts.) fried with 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil (2 pts.), 1/2 cup oatmeal (1 pt.), 1/2 cup skim milk (1 pt.), and two mandarin oranges (1 point) for breakfast for a total of 7 points. Or I could have 1 oz. string cheese (2 pts.), 7 Triscuit reduced fat crackers (2 pts.), and 1 cup V8 Fusion Light (1 pt.) as a snack for a total of 5 points.

The system takes eating off of automatic pilot and brings it up to a conscious level, which is huge for me. I am learning to make better food choices in the real world.