No meeting last week, since school was closed.
Today down another 1.8, for a total of 8.6 pounds. 
@traveler98 - thank you! I see it now.
I had my first weigh in since I went back, and I lost 3.2 pounds. I’m loving this diet and feeling very motivated. I’m not sure I would have gone back if it wasn’t for this thread. As I said I’ve done so many different versions of WW over the years and this is my favorite. I used to like to game the system and I would opt for the low fat cupcake over the apple. Fortunately, that’s no longer possible. It never made sense to me that fruit had points.
It’s been very interesting learning about the new points system and I find it helpful to have this method steering me toward more fruits, veggies and lean protein. I am LOVING that whole eggs are zero points now! I do enjoy egg whites but usually prefer whole eggs, and it’s nice to have them as a zero point option.
Yesterday I wanted ice cream, and for me ice cream means full-fat Ben & Jerry’s. I’ve learned by now that when I want ice cream I won’t be able to satisfy that craving with any low-fat or low-sugar options; if I try to make myself settle for the lower calorie option I will invariably overeat the unsatisfying lower calorie substitute and still end up eating the Ben & Jerry’s a day or two later, usually overeating that too. If I just go straight for the Ben & Jerry’s I’ll have one serving or at the most two, and then not even think about ice cream again for a couple of months.
The “treat food penalty” in the new WW points system was really brought home to me with yesterday’s ice cream treat. One 240-calorie serving of Ben & Jerry’s is 12 points…over half my daily point allotment! Meanwhile, five low fat string cheese sticks, for a total calorie count of 250, is only five points. It works for me to reinforce the idea of building a base of mostly whole foods that are lower in sugar and fat, and keeping a closer eye on the high sugar and/or high fat foods because those are easier to overeat.
To celebrate today’s snow storm, I dug into my weeklies for the first time ever.
I made a turkey with stuffing, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and a glass of wine.
Fortunately, it looks as though WW at Work may be snowed out tomorrow, so I may get another week before I have to weigh in.
I’ll get back to business tomorrow, but that dinner sure was good!
I too am on track, but for me what’s coming off immediately is inches! In the past that’s been something I wouldn’t notice right away. As for weight I’m down almost 3 pounds (doesn’t sound like much but I’m looking at an 11-15lb loss) - I’m back to the gym - I may be the only person I know who enjoys it. I truly go to some zen place and 90 minutes later I’m skipping out of there. Overall I feel great.
Not a fan of the leader where I go - it’s a very lively group though and she let’s 'em go. It works and I have to say I enjoy the spirit of the room. I think there’s close to 20 of us.
I was talking with my daughter on the phone Sunday, and I happened to mention Weight Watchers. It turned out that she is also a member now; she joined about a month ago. She’s 28 and therefore one of the youngest members at her meeting, but she seems to like the plan (though not her particular meeting group).
It was interesting for me to hear about the program from her point of view as a new member. I had forgotten how important it is that there’s ALWAYS something you can eat on WW. I tend to take this for granted, but it’s an important feature of the program. On many other plans, if you’ve hit your quota of food for the day and you’re still hungry, your only choices are to stay hungry or cheat. On WW, you have other options.
Yes @Marian, and unlike previous iterations of WW, the current version has more than just veggies as zero-point options. With zero points left a hungry person can have an actual proper meal (e.g. chicken and veggies stir-fried with cooking spray, and a serving of fruit). I first tried WW back in 2000 when the only “free” options were non-starchy vegetables. Of course the points values were all different but still if you were hungry after eating your daily point allotment it was celery sticks or cheating. My first WW leader even told us “Do you know what you do when you eat all your points for the day? You go to bed.” Not very sustainable as a long term solution :))
OK, so even with last night’s storm celebration I’m still down half a pound, for a total of 9. Doing the happy dance, and back on track.
OK, a huge step back over the weekend as I fully enjoyed every morsel of Irish Soda bread in the house.
I dropped the last loaf off at mom’s yesterday, and I’m back on the wagon today.
@bjkmom Irish soda bread only happens once a year! But you were smart to get the last loaf out of reach.
I’m down 5 pounds since March 1, drinking more water, walking 5 days a week, it’s all good! I need to keep it going!
What is Irish soda bread?
A small slice of heaven, slathered in butter
How’s everyone doing? I’m closer every day to my goal, and feel so much better, my clothing fits (again) and am grateful to the OP for the nudge.
I rejoined WW at the start of the year and I’m 20 pounds down. Still a way to go, but this time round the free points food certainly has helped to curb the usual “diet hunger.” If you’re really hungry and you choose one of the healthy foods that are zero points, you can eat and not feel guilty. Plus it’s just so much easier when eating away from home because you know as long as you stick to fish or chicken or an omelet, you don’t need to worry too much about portion size and counting points for it. It’s working for me so far. 
@smookypie100 - I’m on the other end of the “free points” spectrum. I had a relatively small amount to lose and have steered far away from the zero point foods, other than at mealtime. Some in my meetings are snacking on them day in and day out - that would be “dangerous” for me. I’m basically sticking to the old points program, with a little bit of leeway thrown in for good measure.
@JustaMom Yeah, I guess when you have a small amount to lose, you have such little leeway when it comes to the weekly fluctuations. It certainly gets harder, not easier, the less you have to lose. Changing the mindset is key. This isn’t a diet for a finite period of time. It’s a lifestyle change and we each have to figure out what works for us. Sounds like you’ve got that down!
I just joined WW (online only) and I’d love to join the community in this thread! Everyone seems so supportive and helpful.
I had done WW back in 2001 after the “baby weight” refused to come off, but found I was hungry a lot of the time. I did lose weight but it came back over the years. The program seems different now, with all the new zero point foods. It’s crazy how you can have a whole meal for zero points now!
Part of me worries that it won’t work well because of this, though, since it’s so much less restrictive than what worked for me years ago, but I know WW works for the majority of people so I’m trying to have faith! I’ve been so frustrated to see the scale go up about five pounds a year since my early 40s even though I feel my eating is not bad at all. My attempts to lose weight are rarely successful. 
I hate clothes shopping because I carry my weight in my belly and I feel like every shirt or blouse or sweater has to be loose around the middle, but then in photos this seems to make me look even bigger. Until I got pregnant in my late 20s, I was always one of those naturally thin people. Not anymore. I’d love to lose about 30 pounds, but even 10 or 15 would probably make me ecstatic. I’m pretty short (about 5’2”), so 30 poiunds on me has made a huge difference. A good three-pants-sizes difference, which is slowly threatening to become four sizes.
I do have a pretty sedentary life, unfortunately. I sit for my job and I live in the suburbs and have to drive everywhere. I wish I loved exercise but I don’t. I try to get on my home treadmill a few times a week and do some yoga. I hate going to gyms. I’m much happier if I can do something enjoyable, like go hiking in a park with someone whose company I enjoy. This extended winter stinks!
Anyway, yesterday was WW day one and I shopped for food, followed my points, and was a little hungry throughout the day but not too bad. I made one of my usual recipes for dinner and discovered it was only 4 points per serving, because of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, the rest was chicken breast and veggies, so I was even allowed to have a little brown rice on the side. All in all, it felt like a successful start! It’s easier with my daughter away at college because there’s less likelihood of danger foods being in the house. I’m seriously thinking that when she comes home, if she wants to have chips or cookies or anything like that, I’m going to ask her to keep it in a sealed plastic tub in her bedroom!
Someone mentioned chicken chili upthread; is there a post with the recipe? I saw another recipe on here for a zero-point chicken tortilla soup that I plan on making today.
Re: exercise. Consider starting small, but start. A few years ago, I got myself in the habit of walking the dog every morning (rather than just letting him out).
With time, our walks got longer. I listen to podcasts or audiobooks, and we go year round, as long as the weather is dog pad friendly. It’s now one of my favorite parts of the day.
Last summer, I joined a local hiking group that goes out every Sunday for 8-12 mile hikes. I would never do that on my own, but I’ve found it very enjoyable in the company of others.
In my area, there are several Meetup groups that hike for shorter distances, and I’ve joined a few of those when the timing & location works. It’s motivating to join others for some walking-hiking.
Do you think something like that would work for you?
I agree that having the kids out of the house, and therefore having yummy snacky high calorie food out of the house makes a difference.
Good luck!