Staying trim was never a problem for me… until I had a child. I don’t know if childbirth does something funky to your metabolism, or that by tending to another’s needs it becomes more difficult to tend to your own. I do know that many adults spend way more time sitting than we did when we were young and especially when we were carless. Not careless… “car-less”… as in “I walk everywhere”. We car-driving grownups sit at desks… we drive, we sit, we drive, we sit, we drive. Whether you have kids or not, modern adult life can be much more sedentary than it should be.

Whatever the cause of my added poundage… the reality is that I now have to watch what I eat. Oh yeah, and exercise.

Weight Watchers has been a big help to me because its Points system makes it very easy to keep track of how much food I’m consuming. On Weight Watchers, you are allotted a maximum number of points per day and once you’re out of points, you’re out. That’s it. Step away from the fridge. The other really cool thing about Weight Watchers is that vegetables and fruits have been assigned very low points values. Many vegetables count as 0. What? Free food? How clever is a diet that encourages you to eat more fruits and veggies? Very!

While my diet resolve waxes and wanes, having home-grown fruits and veggies is giving me added incentive to stay “on plan” until my summer trip to Mendocino. What happens in Mendocino… stays in Mendocino.

Sauteed Yellow Garden Zucchini

Slice zucchini (about 2 to 3 cups), saute in 2 teaspoons olive oil. Season with garlic salt and cracked pepper. Enjoy.

W.W. Points for 1 cup zucchini = 0
2 teaspoons olive oil = 2 points

Garden Strawberries

1 1/2 cups = 1 point

25 to 27 Points per day is a typical maximum, so you see you can stay quite full eating healthfully from the summer garden.