November 13, 2011
|
Healthy Thoughts/Healthy Actions
Weight Watchers Newsletter #103
|
|
|
|
|
Hi Everyone!
Recently I had a complaint come from a member who did not feel supported by me in the meeting room. I said something which felt disrespectful to her and this member spoke up.
This is truly a heartbreaking thing for me to hear, as it means I am not doing the job I am meant to be doing. My goal in my 10 years as a WW leader is make all of you feel appreciated, respected and championed. I do not believe there is one "right" way to do the program, so generally simply encourage you to follow the path which works for you. But this member did not feel I did that, and instead felt I was critical and judgmental.
I have no reason not to believe her, despite what I aim to do. I do offer opinion or suggestions on occasion, and it seems it can sound judgmental, even if I do not mean it at all that way. And I also know for any one person who is brave enough to speak up there have to be others who feel the same but simply keep quiet, or worse yet, quit because of something I say. There are no words to express how sad this makes me.
So I am writing this in the newsletter and asking for your help. I am looking for honest feedback, negative or positive. I know it is so hard to be completely truthful on occasion: most of us cringe at the very idea of confronting someone and telling them how you REALLY feel. But probably my single biggest value is honesty, and I would way rather feel the "ouch...I said that???" pain which goes with knowing I have hurt or offended someone, versus the "I wonder if my members are getting what they need from me" kind of ickiness which goes with the unknown.
So take the time to write me an email and tell me how you feel about my leadership skills. I promise I will not comment to you in person about it, but I will use the information to become a better leader, and I think for all of us that would be a great thing!
And thank you to all of you for being a part of my world. You give me the gift of your friendship, your enthusiasm, your ideas and your joie de vive. I love this work and would like to do it for many years to come. Help me to become the best I can be so I can do the same for you!
|
|
MEETING TOPICS:
WEEKS OF November 13, 2011 & November 20, 2011
NOVEMBER 13 - 19, 2011
This meeting will focus on the first major holiday of the season. We will go over the points plus values on the common Thanksgiving fare and share strategies for making this the best holiday for each of us.
NOVEMBER 20 -26, 2011
HOLIDAY STRESS
Nothing like getting together with family, preparing big meals or having the Christmas season looming to bring a little stress into our lives...And lets face it. For many of us the above humorous image is all too true. Let's share strategies for coping with the challenges of the holiday.
|
|
RECIPES FOR THIS ISSUE
Since this is the issue prior to Thanksgiving I thought I would have recipes you could use for your feast. These are both found on the Weight Watchers website and I accessed them via the "Find and Explore" link on E-Tools.
I am excited to announce that my website is finally updated! Here is the current recipe page (if this page appears the same as when you looked at it last click the "refresh" and the new page will appear):
CLICK HERE FOR WEBSITE RECIPE PAGE
CANDIED SWEET POTATOES
Ingredients:
| |
2 large sweet potatoes, about 2 lbs, peeled, halved lengthwise and cut crosswise into 2-inch thick pieces
|
1/4 cup orange juice
| |
2 Tbsp packed light brown sugar
| |
2 Tbsp maple syrup
| |
1 Tbsp butter, melted
| |
1/2 tsp table salt
|
|
Instructions:
- Preheat oven to 375ºF.
- Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes and arrange them in a single layer in bottom of a shallow baking dish.
- Whisk together juice, sugar, syrup, butter and salt; pour mixture over sweet potatoes.
- Bake for 30 minutes, then stir to coat potatoes with liquid and bake for 15 minutes more, until sauce is thick and bubbly. Stir once again before serving.
Yields about 1 cup per serving. 5 points plus per serving
CRANBERRY APRICOT SAUCE
Ingredients:
- 12 oz cranberries, fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup dried apricot halves, chopped
- 1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup spreadable fruit, orange flavored
Instructions:
Over medium heat combine all ingredients in saucepan and cook until cranberries pop. Cool and serve at room temperature.
1/4 cup serving 10 servings 1 points plus per serving
|
|
Little "Ahas" for the Holiday
 This section generally features a product recommendation, but I decided I would include some tips instead.
For product suggestions go to the newly updated product page of my website (the updates were done in Sept 2011, so if the page still says 2010 click "refresh"):
CLICK HERE FOR PRODUCT SUGGESTIONS
It occured to me that one of our biggest challenges during the holidays is not the turkey, stuffing, and pumpkin pie, but more the little teeny things that add up along side of the major foods which can secretly derail us.
Half and half in our coffee for example, instead of something lighter we might have in our own house, can certainly add up. Full fat half and half is 1 points plus per 2 Tbl, which sounds reasonable until we measure and discover we usually put about 1/4 cup in our coffee. 2 points plus per cup...3 cups in the morning while cooking with mom, and one after the meal = 8 points plus. On coffee...Yikes!
And the nuts sitting out on Aunt Jane's coffee table. How bad could a few handfuls of these be? Well 16 almonds is 4 points plus. So a "few handfuls" is probably about 40 nuts. We could eat 12 or more points in nuts before the meal is even served! Ouch!
And then there is the alcohol. Now don't get me wrong...I would never  tell any of you not to indulge. For one thing, they would surely evict me from Sonoma County should I ever tell you all that wine was off limits, and quite honestly it is for many of us a crucial part of a celebration. But here are the numbers; 4 oz of wine = 4 points plus (keep in mind, this is about half to three quarters of a glass, so a full glass would be 6-8 points plus, depending on the size...), a bottle of beer = 5 points plus, and each jigger of hard liquor is 4 points plus. And on those mixed drinks we also have to consider the ingredients they are mixed with. So if you do the math you realize drinks can be upwards of 12 points plus or more, depending on our consumption. And unlike the other little items above, alcohol has the effect of dulling our senses, and perhaps making us much more casual in our careful planning of monitoring food consumption. So there is a double wammy from having too much.
So this holiday, as you go gleefully to your lovely family get together keep in mind that every bite, lick, sip and taste will color your outcome at the scale. Enjoy, indulge and celebrate the miraculous bounty we in this area have all been given, but also celebrate and be thankful you have this incredible knowledge of the Points Plus program so you can be a healthy, mindful eater...even during the holidays! |
AMAZING AND WONDERFUL PHOTOS! Thelma in Petaluma sent a collection of astonishing and funny images! These are a few of my favorites...I am tempted to put funny comments below some of them...but I will let you all use your imaginations! 
|
|
BUSINESS LISTING FOR THIS ISSUE
This is a new feature of the newsletter which began 3 issues ago. Send me information on your business and get some free publicity! Give me a blurb about what you do, a photo of you and/or a logo for the business and a weblink!
OAK FOREST DESIGN CANDLES
Located in the scenic Wine Country of Northern California, Oak Forest Design, established in 1994, produces the finest handmade 100 percent pure beeswax candle products available We strive to marry the highest quality materials in a wide range of colors to the highest quality craftsmanship. We take pride in producing the "original glittering beeswax candle."
Oak Forest will be combining with Leta and David Ross Ceramic Design to do a once a year studio sale on November 26th. Come find excellent prices on one of a kind works in both candles and ceramics.
Big Holiday Sale!
575 Solano Ave.
Or order off our website...Decorate your tables this holiday with candles made right here in Sonoma County by a fellow member. Thanks for your business!
|
|
NEWSLETTER INFORMATION
I frequently get questions about the newsletter so thought I would clear up some confusion.
The newsletter comes out every other Sunday morning. I schedule it for 5am so you can read it when you wake up, and since most of us are not working on Sunday you have time to spend with it if desired. I do not get up at 5 am to send it. I can program in any time I want, so I am fast asleep when the newsletter comes to your inbox. But thank you for the lovely notes I get now and again commenting on my early morning efforts...
Occasionally someone will tell me that they stopped getting the newsletter for no logical reason. The explanation for this seems to be you Internet Service Provider (ISP). I send over 1200 out, and I produce it in an email marketing program called Constant Contact. These 2 factors (a high volume going out at once and a commercial program being used to create it) seem to trigger some ISPs to read the email as spam. If you have your spam filter on high it may kick the newsletter out completely. Or it simply may end up in your spam folder, and if you do not check that it will get deleted with your other spam emails. The way to avoid this is to put my email address: jciel@sbcglobal.net into your contact list. This should keep the newsletter coming. If it does not I would recommend contacting your service provider.
I notice that people do not forward the email much, as I can see when it is forwarded. But I will talk to someone and they will tell me they forward it to all their friends. I realize now most people just click the "forward" at the top of their browser. When you do this the person who receives it gets a distorted version of it oftentimes. This program can do truly weird things, sad to say, even with the newsletter as I send it. There is a "forward email" button below the newsletter. If you use this it comes through as you are seeing it.
The"subscribe to the newsletter" link does not always seem to work. If someone wants to subscribe just send an email with "subscribe to the newsletter" in the subject line.
As I mentioned above, this newsletter can come through not as I produced it for some of you. Depending on your browser, the age of your computer, etc you may have it come to you filling the whole screen, which distorts the text and images, or you may find the color of the text unreadable against the background. This is not the way I created it, but just the weird phenomena computer programs manifest. So please forgive me if it comes to you looking odd...this was not because of me!
So hope this clears up whatever questions you might have had lurking and please please please continue to send me your food finds, funny videos, great photos, comments, stories, and certainly info on your business if you would like to be in the business listing. Thanks to all of you for keeping this alive!
|
INCREDIBLE!!!
Karen in Santa Rosa sent this astonishing video of computer animation at its most outrageous. This is projected onto a storefront in Berlin...enjoy...
|
Lifecoaching
Do you feel like you know what to do to lose weight but are not doing it? Maybe there is something deeper going on.
Outside of the meeting room I am a certified life coach specializing in weight management. I help clients focus on their lives from a different perspective and work towards manifesting what they really want.
If you have an interest please reply to this newsletter email or refer to my website for more information.
www.healthythoughtshealthyactions.com
|
|
|
|
|
Paula from Santa Rosa sent this great quote, which she found on the website 3 Fat Chicks on a Diet...Kinda says it all...
|
|
|
|
