SPOILER WARNING – Don’t click on the “movie popcorn” link if you ever want to be able to enjoy it again!

So…week one is over. I have to say, it really wasn’t bad. It’s an interesting experience to write down everything you eat during a day and to really think about all of your food choices. After one week of this (well, one day really) the 20 lbs that magically appeared this year made a lot more sense. Were any of you aware of just how horrible movie popcorn is for you? Well, I didn’t have a clue, until I was heading to the movies Friday night with Kelly and realized I had quite a few points left so perhaps I could have some of that delicious buttery goodness. Wrong!

I am a firm believer in non-deprivation eating. If this is going to be a permanent change, then I can’t feel like there are “bad foods”, foods that I can never eat. All things in moderation. This movie popcorn discovery…a little disheartening. But, I was not going to be discouraged so easily. I decided to do something my mom would have done (and something I would have that would have mortified me as a teenager). I pulled out some microwave popcorn, popped it up, put in some Ziploc bags and stuffed it in my purse before heading to the theater. I was totally satisfied, not deprived and happy to have found a solution.

As the week progressed, I discovered all sorts of little changes that made a huge difference in what foods were available to me; a little Splenda here, some non-fat cream cheese there. It’s amazing how quickly you can cut calories if you just pay a little attention.

The great thing about Weight Watchers is you really can eat anything you want, but with all of the fruits, vegetables, milk, water and healthy oil you need to get in, there’s not a whole lot of room for poor choices…well, not if you are trying to follow the program the way they have it set up. In my efforts to not feel deprived, I also discovered all kinds of “cheap treats”. Cheap, not because of the cost in dollars, but because of the cost in points. Healthy food is definitely more costly than the cheap, fast stuff, but so worth it.

In the process of this paradigm shift, I rediscovered just how much I love to cook, and I figured out ways to cook for one that made it much more enjoyable. For instance, when buying meat or seafood, I went right to the meat counter, as opposed to trying to find the prepackaged stuff. That way I was able to get exactly the amount I wanted, nothing wasted. I also menu planned so that when I purchased produce, I could use it for multiple dishes and not waste any.

But, my discovery of the week was Cooking Light magazine. There are all of these great recipes and all of the nutritional information is there, as well as the serving size. I tried a number of them and like all of them, with a few I absolutely loved. My favorite was this fabulous Grilled Salmon with Apricot-Mustard Glaze. I tweaked it just a bit to lower the calorie content, and because I didn’t have apricot nectar available. I used Diet Coke instead (I’m not drinking it, but I had some, so I threw it in) and it turned out great.

So, how did my first week turn out? I lost 5 lbs! I am thrilled!

The challenge this week will be traveling. Traveling always makes eating healthy and exercising more difficult. I welcome any tips you might have.