The Chocolate Book Gone Light?

I've been neglecting my little Chocolate Book lately.  I realized this today when I was scanning through old photographs and saw all of my foodie pictures from last spring.

The truth is, I have a confession to make:

I joined Weight Watchers last October.

And, I've felt a little weird about posting this on here, where I ramble on about chocolate and cupcakes.  There are also a million dieting blogs out there and I didn't see myself jumping on that bandwagon (neither the dieting bandwagon nor the writing about dieting bandwagon).  That's just not me.

But, I have to say, Weight Watcher is going well.  I like it and it's working for me.  And, as I reach the 7 month mark, I'm feeling the need for some inspiration and motivation.  So, here I return, to The Chocolate Book.

Now, don't worry, this isn't going to become a blog of celery and Splend@.  I've seen so many of my Weight Watchers peers focus on volume over quality of food.  I've seen many of them forgo a food group or try to keep their daily point totals as low as possible in the hopes of making things happen fast.  I've seen them completely eliminate treats and eating splurges from their lives.  But, that that has not been (and won't be) my path.  I've done that before and it hasn't worked over the long term.  Instead, I follow my familiar food rules: "eat food, not too much, mostly plants".

I've learned a lot.  More than I thought I would.  I've always been a 90% nutritious, 10% crap kind of eater.  This seems pretty normal to me and I didn't understand where I was going wrong.  But, the biggest lesson I've learned is that, nutritious often = very high in calories.  I've also learned that I need to "make up" for splurges within any given day or week.  But, that doesn't mean I've said goodbye to nutritious or yummy foods.  I've made choices.  I have given up granola and my afternoon coffee run.  I rarely add nuts to my salads anymore.  I NEVER buy treats from the bakery case at St@rbucks.  But, I still go to St@rbucks.  And, I refuse to give up butter or real (cultured) yogurt, in place of their inferior uber-processed alternatives.  I still go out for delicious meals with friends, but I'm more mindful about it.  Being realistic and flexible is what allows me to stay on track.

However, it's not easy (which I why I am here!).  For the uninitiated, Weight Watchers runs on a point system and the points just keep on dropping.  I began with a daily point total of 33 but, over time, this has reduced to 27 points per day (the lowest option available is 26 . . . I am almost there) and I find it tricky to get below 30.

Today, I was five points over my assigned daily total.  This is what that looks like:

Breakfast 
Plain yogurt (5) with applesauce (0) and chia seeds (2)
Tall homemade latte (3)

Lunch
Soft Pretzel from the farmer's market (6)
Peach, banana and coconut water smoothie (2)

Snack
Strawberries (0) with vanilla yogurt (3)

Dinner
Polenta with spring vegetables (8)

Dessert
2 squares of a good quality chocolate bar (3)

= 27 daily points + 5 (these 5 come from my 49 weekly flex points)

It was a healthy, realistic day.  I had treats, but I also made good choices.  The flex points are there to be used, I just wish I wasn't relying on them (or smoothies) quite so much.  What I am doing has worked so far, but I know I am going to have to compromise some more to move forward.  I've got work to do!  But, can I do this as a chocolate loving gourmet?

I am hoping that my Chocolate Book will keep me heading in the right direction.

Hallelujah for local berries!