WW (Weight Watchers) Chat #272: How to Be Kinder To Yourself!

WW News and Reviews May 2022

Instead of “news” today I want to tell you a fantastic story. (To read the entire story, hop on over to If You Have an Egg closed Facebook group and see Jennifer’s post) A teacher at Jennifer’s school gave every student a balloon with instructions to write their name on it. After throwing them in the hall the teacher gave them 5 minutes to find their own balloon, no success. Then the teacher told the students to grab the first balloon they could and go find the student whose name was on it. 100% success within 5 minutes! The teacher said “these balloons are like happiness. We will never find it if everyone is looking for their own. But, if we care enough about other people’s happiness, we will find ours too”. My heart could explode!

The month’s theme is “Myth Busting” and we will spend the entire month discussing some food, weight loss and other myths and busting them!

Last week during Chat #271: How To Say Yes to Carbs, we raised our little virtual hands if we had ever done a low or no carb diet

If you are currently doing an extreme low carb (almost no carb) diet do you even have energy to raise your little virtual hand? Somewhere in my early 20’s I decided that at 140-ish pounds I was HUGE. Stop rolling your eyes, it was real back then but man oh man if I only knew then what I know now right? I decided to try a “proven” diet because it was led by a group of physicians. I’d like to meet these MD’s…as far as I can remember 35 years later it was a bunch of other people who wanted to lose a bunch of weight fast and somehow ended up employed there. Kind of like drug rehab but we thought we were all recovering from carb addiction right? We all lost a ton of weight and then spent our free time hiding in parking lots eating wheat thins…not much of a long term plan if you ask me.

Here’s the fallacy of doing such low or no carb diets. Your body needs them!

Carbohydrates (carbs) according to The Mayo Clinic are important for creating energy, preventing some diseases and even may be useful in weight control. We have been trained to think of carbs as something that fuels a jog or physical activity but they also create fuel for even just breathing or thinking. I don’t know about you but I like to think and I’d really like to keep breathing! For more info visit The Mayo Clinic article here: https://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/carbohydrates/art-20045705

Myth #1 – All carbs are bad carbs

Carbohydrates found naturally in fruits, vegetables and grains are good for you. Highly processed or sugar added foods are the ones we should avoid.

Myth #2 – Carbs are only found in bread, pasta and rice

Nope, not true. Oats, beans, blueberries, even green beans all contain naturally occurring carbohydrates

Myth #3 – Avoiding carbs altogether will help me lose weight

On the contrary! Avoiding all carbs will leave you without energy to do normal activities, leave you hungry and shaky, and remember the thinking and breathing…you need to do those too!

Your homework for last week was #TheGoodCarbClub. Let’s fuel our bodies (and minds!) with some good carbs…to join the club simply post “Today I will fuel my body and mind with good carbs by enjoying __________”. Let us know what you picked ….and then type it, snap it, share it however you like, and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Let’s see how you did!

Karen B made a delicious plunge into the good carb club by making Almond Joy Overnight Oats!
Vickie fueled her body with good carbs by making a turkey sandwich on a whole grain sub and adding veggies!
Jennifer fueled her body AND mind by adding gluten free old fashioned oats in her overnight oats. Did you even know you could get gluten free??

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: How to: Be Kinder To Yourself

How many times have you had a setback (even a small one) and found yourself playing the internal blame game? Why did I do that? How did this happen again? What were you thinking?

Sound familiar?

Now imagine the same situation if it happened to a friend? What would you have said to him or her?

Myth: I have to be tough on myself to achieve my goals

FACT: Tough love doesn’t work! A healthy amount of self compassion does!

Myth: If I tell myself it’s “ok” I will just keep repeating the same behavior

Forgiving yourself and showing a little compassion does not equal throwing caution to the wind for an indefinite amount of time. Decide now that when setbacks happen (and they will) that you will get back in control at the next meal, or at the latest the next day

Myth: If I keep stumbling over the same things every time I must be (fill in the blank)

On the contrary! If you are stumbling along the same paths more often than you’d like, maybe you just need to visit different paths! As an example, if going to your grocer in the morning while they are baking bread creates a situation where you either buy the bread (or eat everything else in your path trying to avoid the bread) maybe you need to change your shopping time to the afternoon. Or try a grocery pick up service and avoid those impromptu shopping decisions all together!

This Week’s Homework: #ThePositivePathClub

Your homework for this week is #ThePositivePathClub. Think of a situation that always seems to trip you up…the break room at work, not packing a lunch, talking to someone who upsets you…and tell us a different “path” you could take to avoid that stumble and keep your positive attitude intact! Let us know what you picked ….and then type it, snap it, share it however you like, and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Don’t forget to do your homework #ThePositivePathClub and tag me when you share on social media!

Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on Instagram
Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on our Facebook Page
Tag @Kelly Green Milligan in our Facebook Group
Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on WW Connect

Extra Credit: So Many Strawberries!

As you might already know, Alyssa and I have a raised bed garden plot that we enjoy working (and playing) in and our strawberries are thriving this year! Seriously, I don’t know what I’m going to do with all these strawberries.

So with that in mind, we’re going to spend the second half of our chat making lots of fun things with my abundance of strawberries! But first, let’s talk about some strawberry tips that I’ve found and you all have suggested to me:

Tip #1: Don’t Wash Until You’re Ready to Eat

This one is pretty self-explanatory. Wait to wash your strawberries until you’re ready to eat them to keep them looking delicious for longer.

Tip #2: Keep Ahead of Birds and Bugs

In our garden, birds love to peck holes in our strawberries. To keep them from doing so, we’ve put up some shatterproof red Christmas balls and you can also paint rocks to look like strawberries. It doesn’t keep them out forever, but they will get tired of pecking on the “bad strawberries”. Alyssa also requested two patriotic pinwheels and the spinning seems to be helping

Tip #3: Refrigerate Store-Bought Strawberries

Some people recommend leaving them out on the counter in their original packaging. This can work if you’re planning to eat the fruit within two days, but can get messy and attract fruit flies if left out any longer

Tip #4: Cap Strawberries & Lay on Paper Towels

Using this method, the strawberries last for about a week. You can store these in the refrigerator or crisper drawer.

Tip #5: Use a Vinegar Bath to Preserve

This did increase the longevity of my strawberries, but it was too tedious a process and I didn’t feel it was worth the effort.

Tip #6: Cap and Freeze Strawberries

Your strawberries will last up to 2 months in your freezer.

Tip #7: Store in a Glass Mason Jar

This is the method I’ve chosen to go with for strawberries that I plan to eat in a reasonable amount of time. So far, mine have been in the jar for a week in my refrigerator and they still taste as fresh as if I picked them today!

And of course, we couldn’t have all these strawberries and not make something delicious! Tonight, I’m making a point-friendly strawberry shortcake with a 3-2-1 mug cake base. And during the coming week we’ll be making strawberry jam and other goodies!