From the monthly archives:

April 2009

Home » Family family_fitness » weight watchers momentum.

weight watchers momentum.

by Allison on April 30, 2009 in Family, family_fitness · 39 comments

So you know how I’m trying to eat healthier and exercise, and lose a few lbs in the process? Well, it turns out I need a little help. Somehow {magically I think}, I gained 15 pounds over the Winter. I know, right? Unbelievable.

I don’t know if it was all the cupcakes {yummmmmm} or sitting at my desk for hours every day, but somehow I went from my ideal weight to….15 pounds around my middle. Blurg.



Well, in addition to exercising I’ve started doing Weight Watchers. They were kind enough to sign me up for an online membership so that I can get my rear seriously in gear. It doesn’t fit into my crazy life to go to meetings so I’m keeping track of my points, my meals, my occasional indulgence, and my weight all online. Works for me. It’s actually kind of {very} painful to write down every single bite I eat; I have to be accountable for that sprinkling of M&M;’s and a bite of my son’s granola bar. However, it’s been really useful to see what portion sizes are really supposed to look like, and how many points I’m using up on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich {12!!!}.

I’ve been doing it for a couple of weeks and I’ve already lost 2 lbs! I know, I still have 13 to go, but the point is that it’s working. Between Weight Watchers and exercising faithfully for an hour 3 times a week, I’m on the right track.



Why should you care about my love handles? Weight Watchers gets that you have to actually move your booty in addition to watching your calories, so they’ve started the Momentum Weight Watchers Walk !t Challenge. It’s a really smart idea. Basically you can sign up for free and monitor your fitness from couch to a {walking} 5k in 8 weeks. It’s doable, I promise. I want you to do it with me so we can motivate each other, be accountable to one another. Anyone want to play? If you sign up you’ll have access to an eight-week walk it guide so you can figure out how much you need to move from day 1 to the finish line.

To make it a little less painful for you I’ll even take photos of myself once a week so you can track my progress and get motivated yourself. I’ll even post a few photos of myself in a sports bra so you can see how my belly busting is going {yikes!}.

Are you in? You can totally do it with me, we’ll hold hands virtually. Seriously, we’re in this together folks and the more of you who sign up, the less likely I’ll be to wander down to the local coffee shop for a giant sized cupcake with extra frosting. Plus? I have 3 Weight Watchers memberships to give away. For reals.


Giveaway Details:

  1. Leave me a comment telling me why you are going to sign up and do Weight Watchers with me. Come on, don’t make me do it all by myself! Or, if you’ve already had success with Weight Watchers in the past, tell me why you love it.
  2. If you blog about this, you get an extra entry. Email me at allison@petitelefant.com to let me know you’ve posted about it, with a link to the post.
  3. If you twitter about it, you will receive an additional entry. Again, email me. You can email me once for both, just send me two links in one email. This means you can get TWO extra entries for this giveaway!
  4. Leave only one comment please.
  5. Anonymous comments will be ignored.
  6. The deadline to enter is Thursday May 7th, Midnight MST. Winners will be announced Friday May 8th.
  7. If I don’t hear from you within 7 days to claim your giveaway another winner will be chosen. Seriously folks, come back and get your Weight Watchers Membership!
  8. Good luck!



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Home » family_fitness Home home_recipes » how to: look for whole grains in ingredients.

how to: look for whole grains in ingredients.

by Rachele Foushee-Beck on April 30, 2009 in family_fitness, Home, home_recipes · 3 comments

April’s theme for the month is………..Fiber

This is the last week of the month……so how did you do with eating more fiber? Were you surprised at how many foods have fiber? I hope you were all successful. The last question about fiber is….. What about all the fiber bars, and high fiber cereals…what is really in them. Is that all real fiber?

When you are at the grocery store, I am sure you see a variety of new products that claim to have 9 plus grams of fiber, and all that fiber is found in a granola bar!! How can that be… you might ask??? Well there are 2 different kinds of fiber that are in foods. The fibers are called Intact Fiber, (which also contain soluble and insoluble fiber) and Isolated fiber.

Intact Fiber


Intact fiber is found in whole grains, fruits, veggies and especially in wheat bran cereals. Intact fiber are found naturally in foods. The benefit of intact fiber is that your body digests intact fiber better, and they are nutrient dense. You want to try to get 25-30 grams of intact fiber a day.

Isolated Fibers

Isolated fibers are fibers that are added to food. There has been such an increase in popularity of high fiber foods, and food companies have now added a slew of ingredients that can be counted as fiber. Among the most popular is: Inulin (also called chicory root extract), oat fiber, soy fiber, maltodextrin, starches(corn, wheat, tapioca), polydextrose, psyllium and gums (arabic, guar, and acacia). These fibers are called Isolated fibers.

Research hasn’t shown us yet what or if these isolated fibers affect your health like the intact fibers. We do know from research that the Intact fibers do lower your risk of heart disease, diabetes, and constipation. We all want that!!

Next time you are in the grocery store, reading labels and trying to decide what cereal, bread or granola to buy……use these simple guidelines.

Best Bites
1. Look for the first 2 ingredients to say “Whole.”
2. Count Bran as a good thing
3. Ignore claims like “made with whole grain,” whole grain guarantee,” or “multi-grain.” They can appear on cereals, breads, and granola bars with just a little whole grain.
4. Look for 3 gms of fiber for every 100 calories
5. Look for foods that contain no ingredients that could be counted as an isolated fiber.

I hope this month you have felt successful as you have incorporated more fiber into your diet. Try adding a little more fiber every day! Remember fiber is your friend!! Experiment in the kitchen and before you know it, healthful whole grains will become a dietary staple.


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Home » cleaning and organizing Home » Spring centerpiece

Spring centerpiece

by Kimberly on April 29, 2009 in cleaning and organizing, Home · 4 comments

spotted at Martha…I love this idea of recycling tin cans into such pretty centerpieces or gifts. Just right for May Day, Mother’s Day, a baby or bridal shower, or even a birthday party, for no reason at all! These hydrangeas are gorgeous, but I can see this with gerbera daisis, sunflowers, or any flower with a large blossom. 


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And now onto a brighter subject.

by Michal April 29, 2009giveaways

Let’s talk giveaway winners. E-Cloth EarthDay giveaway winners.  There are three to be exact. Congratulations to: Kristen said… Ooooh, that would help me on my quest for lessening the paper towel situation in our house. I already try to use cloth for dinner and clean up, but the counters, stove, etc. are my downfall. Thanks! Emily said… I [...]

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what it was like to live in Poland during WWII

by Michal April 28, 2009Family

Both my father and my mother were born in Poland in 1937 and 1941 respectively. As a child, my father lived outside of Warsaw in a two story house in a small town built within a forest. I suppose that back then forests were not clear cut to make room for a city, but the [...]

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Summer Sewing

by Alma April 27, 2009Baby and Kids

Earlier this week was bright and sunny in Utah. Yay! But then it snowed Saturday and Sunday. Boo! It was a good weekend to stay indoors. So this weekend I got (almost) all caught up on my laundry, and I decided on the spur of the moment to sew a sun hat for Little O [...]

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love and prayers to a blogging friend

by Allison April 24, 2009Family

I had known in a very peripheral way about Nie Nie Dialogues before last Fall, though I didn’t know Stephanie personally. I still don’t, but I love her. If you don’t know her story, Stephanie and her husband Christian were in a terrible airplane crash last Fall, barely made it out alive, and were severely [...]

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weekly fit tip: set yourself up for success.

by Allison April 23, 2009Family

I still need you to keep coming forward with your fit tips. I’m squirreling them away for a rainy day and I want as many as I can get. Please. Today’s fit tip? Set yourself up to succeed. What does that mean? It means: assume you are going to meet your goals. Know you are [...]

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quick tips for getting more grain in your diet.

by Rachele Foushee-Beck April 23, 2009Home

April’s theme for the month is…………..Fiber The question we are looking at this week is Why eat more whole grains? “The strongest evidence is for cardiovascular disease,” says Eric Rimm, an associate professor of epidemiology and nutrition at the Harvard University School of Public Health. We all need more whole grains in our diet. So [...]

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