Something that helps me is this: I’ve become quite fond of Ginger Snaps. (Boxed cookies, you can usually find a generic brand at the supermarket.) They’re one point apiece. Because they’re pretty crunchy, I can make 2 of them last almost as long as my cup of tea.
I’ve found that I can leave the dinner table far less than full, knowing that I’ve saved myself 2 points. In an hour or so, I’ll be having that tea and gingersnaps in front of the TV.
By then, I’m no longer hungry… my stomach has had time to catch up with what I ate for dinner. So the 2 gingersnaps and cup of tea are plenty.
Thanks @bjkmom! Your specific suggestions are very very helpful. I love ginger snaps, but will have to work very hard to keep it to two. I can see that planning a post dinner treat will help.
Wondering whether you or any others on this thread have incorporated almonds as a snack. I was doing 6 almonds (1 point) as a snack but I think the fat content may be too high. I have substituted bite size shredded wheat or raw veggies as others have suggested.
I never thought about chickpeas @doschicos, thanks. Roasted sounds yummy. Do you buy then prepared or do you roast them yourself? Could you share portion size and point value? Thanks so much
Here’s a basic recipe, @RonnieGirl. I’m not sure on points. I know that chickpeas are zero point foods now (in moderation) so you would probably just need to count the olive oil and since the recipe makes many servings, I don’t think it would be too much. Plus, a little olive oil is good for you. You can adjust spices to your liking. Just sea salt and a little lime juice, cumin and a pinch or two of cayenne is good. You can find all kinds of recipes on the internet for different flavor combos. Good for when you want something crunchy. Not zero calories but packs a fair amount of protein so not empty calories.
Well, end of week one and I’m down 4 pounds. I tried to eat effectively last week and not waste points on processed carbs I really didn’t want or need but that I had pretty needlessly eaten before. I also added more fruit (but not too much) in place of more caloric (and more points) nuts for snacks. I love the zero points concept for things like fish and chicken breast…not that I found myself overeating them, but it was good to build a meal around something other than vegetables. I know my body and this will likely be the greatest one week loss since I now only have about 11 pounds to go, but it sure feels good to see progress, even though over the weekend I had some wine, some movie popcorn and a few mini-pastries on Mother’s Day! The rollover points ( I probably had 1-3 per day) allowed me to hit the weekend with a bit of a cushion, but I only ended up using a few of those and none of my original weekly points. Hope that I can keep it up - I am notorious for getting the top end of the excess off and then slip sliding back into bad habits! Thus the need to pay to essentially track my food.
Hope everyone else had a lovely Mother’s Day and all are happy with their commitment to good health and good eating!
@runnersmom, the nice thing about WW is that by the time you’ve lost those 15 pounds, you’ll have learned some habits that will help you keep them off – like good choices for breakfast, lunch, and snacks.
I’ve been doing WW for a while (I had more to lose than you do), and I noticed this morning that I don’t even want the donuts and candy that are in the break room at work today. I had a rather large (though low-point) breakfast and I’m still full, I have a zero point snack with me for later, and I know what I’m planning to have for lunch (a relatively low-point meal because tonight’s dinner will be high in points – because we’re having one of my husband’s favorites). Thinking this way has become natural now.
After reading through all of this thread, I went ahead and joined for 3 months to give it a real try. I am hoping to stick with it, but I made myself promise to really commit for at least these 3 months. To get to my goal weight, I need to lose 49 lbs all of which I have put on in the past 10 years or so. And that is just to nudge me into a “normal” BMI range - but honestly, I don’t think I could get any lower than that. I did WW about 6 or 7 years ago and lost 20 pounds, but I have put all of that back on along with about another 20 or so. I’ll be checking back in here regularly!
@my2sunz, that would be in the Points Plus era, right?
You may want to read through the introductory materials for the current plan and check the point totals on some favorite foods before you go shopping. The point allocations are VERY different now.
I was a member for a couple of years during the Points Plus period, and I rejoined WW after SmartPoints went into effect. (The current Freestyle plan is an outgrowth of SmartPoints.) Without looking at the new materials, I went to the grocery store and bought a cartload of my old low-Smart Points favorites – only to discover that many of them were terrible choices on the new plan.
@Marian I know what you mean! On the old plans some things were not as high as they are now such as 100 calorie packs of little cookies and various other processed, carby foods. I like this new plan because it really does make me think about those processed choices. Most of them are not worth it.
I am finding this program easier to follow and achieve results. Not having to track absolutely everything has helped. So has the automatic link to my fit bit. I am not perfect in tracking the points and find my weekends blow out the extras, but I can still have my wine at night and I have lost 10 lbs. I would probably lose more if I adhered a little more, but results with minor changes are working for me for the long haul.
After almost 2 weeks of being good (but not perfect) I am happy to say that I’ve lost about 5 pounds. I really like the app for my iphone and the barcode scanner. I have been tracking EVERYTHING that goes in my mouth and I think that really makes a difference. Overall I’ve been good, but my anniversary was last weekend and I not only ran through my daily points, in that one day I blew through most of my weekly points. But for a change, I didn’t give up and just picked right back up. So far this week I’ve done awesome. Graduation weekend is coming up, so I’m trying to save those weekly points because I know that I’ll go over my daily points. The other funny thing I noticed: shortly after I began, I was driving somewhere and my stomach started really growling… and I realized that was something I hadn’t felt in a long time. I tend to nibble my way through the day, so I never felt hungry. What a wake up call - I can only imagine how many calories I was taking in in small increments!
Well, I had a week vacation in the Caribbean and my mother passed away at the beginning of that vacation so I’ve had a lot of eating challenges and missed my first weigh in (week 3). I did have a Pina Colada and sips from some other tropical drinks (yum) but tried to not go overboard…I thought there would be lots of tropical fruit available - no such luck unless I bought it at the grocery store. However, I still lost at weigh in on Tuesday so after 4 weeks I’m down 9.8 lbs. I would love to pick up a good loss this week but everyone seems to be slowing in our group - we are going into week 5 of the program at work…I guess the body adjusts. I am going to focus on protein and be concious of the sugary fruits. I wish everyone a great holiday weekend - choose wisely and safe travels!
Well, a whopping .8 loss this week, but after yo-yoing up and down 1.4 pounds over the course of 10 days (i have to weigh myself every day to stay on track - I know not everyone agrees with this process), I’ll take it. With this new plan, I’m finding it easier to stay on track and, if nothing else, to eat healthier and cleaner. I’ve pretty much eliminated processed carbs, not because of the number of points but because I have no willpower and if I start, I can’t stop. I have, however, been successful with measuring out limited amounts of nuts for a filling snack. So, down a total of 4.6 lb. I know my body…this will be a long slog to lose not so many pounds, but I’m determined to get where I want to be.
Well the seven day road trip for D’s graduation added several pounds. Too much eating fast food or going places with few options. I have celiac and have to eat gluten free and that meant the only filling options several times was salad with meat and cheese. There were too many moving parts to be picky and the priority was not getting sick as oppose to points. Tired, hungry and stressed doesn’t work well with points! OK enough whining - back to it.
all of which I have put on in the past 10 years or so. And that is just to nudge me into a “normal” BMI range - but honestly, I don’t think I could get any lower than that. I did WW about 6 or 7 years ago and lost 20 pounds, but I have put all of that back on along with about another 20 or so. I’ll be checking back in here regularly!