Joined WW - any buddies? Tips?

[Deleted]

Ok, I joined WW again yesterday. Thanks to those who answered my post about it earlier this week. I think I'm ready to commit to it and I will have to find a way to make it work. I just can't see anything else working for me at this point and I do like counting points far more than I like trying to hassle with counting calories, especially when I have to figure in exercise.

So - who else is on WW? Anyone want to do a weekly check-in or some other support/accountability activity? I joined online because I just can't stomach paying more than that right now with all the other expenses we have going on. I wish WW at Work was cheaper because we have that here but it is still $40 a month! Yikes. Anyway, hopefully some of you are interested in being my buddies for this

Finally, any tips for good things to eat for breakfast and snacks? I think I have a pretty good handle on the other meals but I always struggle to find breakfast options that I like. I am not a sweet breakfast person - my favorite thing to eat is 1 egg, 1 slice of cheese, and 1 piece of toast as a sandwich while I'm driving to work - but that has more points than I'd prefer and I would love some other suggestions.

I eat tons of fruit as snacks now, but sometimes I need something that sticks better. What do you eat aside from fruit/veggies as snacks?

[yellowbrkrd]

I'll do a weekly check-in. DH and I just started a week ago Wednesday. I lost 4.2 pounds in the first week

I use Skinnytaste for pretty much all of our dinner recipes but I've also used a few of her breakfast recipes. We made banana nut pancakes this weekend and they we awesome. I am a carb lover so I have had bagel thins a few times also.

For snacks I pretty much just eat fruit because I only get 26 points. If I know it will be a while before I eat again and I'm hungry I will eat a serving of dark chocolate almonds, they're 5 points but filling. DH gets more points so he snacks on Babybel cheese, Chobani yogurt, fruit, celery & nuts.

Also, did you check to see if your insurance offers a discount for WW?

[darkling_glory]

Your breakfast should be at least that much. It starts your day off right. What could your sandwich be? 5 or 6 points? Add a piece of fruit to that and you're gold.

I also do lots of oatmeal -- 1/2 c. dry oats, some soy milk, and maybe some peanut butter.

[audette]

For breakfast - try using low fat cheese and a lot point bread.

Eggs are 2 pp's each. Sargento low fat cheese slices are (mostly) one point each (more if you have more than one slice in a sitting). And there are a few bread options that are 2 pps or less per slice. Right now we have some Dave's Killer Bread Light Good Seed Bread that is filling and 2 pps per slice. Or, for lighter points bread, Sara Lee's 45 cal and delightful breads are 2 slices for 2 pps.


For snacks, I do fruit, veggies (raw, usually), sometimes some low fat cheese (babybel lights are 1 pps per, as are sargento's string cheese, laughing cow swiss light are 1 point for two wedges), sometimes some crackers (wasa crackers and kashi crackers are my go-tos right now).

[jene]

I am doing it but have been slacking lately, so I could definitely use some accountability!

[whitemerlot]

I didn't comment on the other thread, but am also doing WW. I am nursing a 10 week old, so I get 40 daily points, which is really nice because nursing can make me really hungry. I started July 5th and am down 6 pounds and have about 20 to go to get to my ideal or 12 to get back to lifetime.

My WI day is Thursday. What day should we do the check in?

[sjh722]

Aug 3, 2012 10:57:21 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

Your breakfast should be at least that much. It starts your day off right. What could your sandwich be? 5 or 6 points? Add a piece of fruit to that and you're gold.

Yes - I did much better once I learned not to hoard points for later in the day. Also, as a general rule, I was more satisfied in the long run with a little less regular cheese vs. a little more low-fat cheese.

I also liked greek yogurt for breakfast - I think the 2% Chobani was 3 or 4 points.

If you like pizza and are willing to make your own crust, you can eat a lot more that way - I'd do 1/2 a crust, 1 t. evoo, 1.5 or 2 oz mozzarella, a little pepperoni, and lots of veggies and the whole thing totalled up to maybe 13 or 14 points? Obvs not for every night, but homemade thin crust goes a lot further than carryout.

I'm pregnant right now, so obviously not on WW, but it is a good program. Good luck!

[Deleted]

I think my breakfast sandwich is currently 7 points. That seems like a lot, but I guess I do get 31 point so maybe that's not too bad. I used to eat a lot of fat free cheese and diet bread and I'm really more interested in whole foods right now (but I know that conflicts with being low point, hence my struggle with this program in the past I guess).

Check in day - I weigh in on Friday (so that if I mess up over the weekend, I know I'm out of points for the week and have to be good!). Is Friday morning ok for a check in? That should be close for the person who WI on Thursday, what do others think?

[whitemerlot]

Friday sounds good.

As far as breakfast, I make a lot of overnight oats. I like Skinnytaste and she have a recipe on there that was good.

[hocus]

Aug 3, 2012 9:31:21 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Finally, any tips for good things to eat for breakfast and snacks? I think I have a pretty good handle on the other meals but I always struggle to find breakfast options that I like. I am not a sweet breakfast person - my favorite thing to eat is 1 egg, 1 slice of cheese, and 1 piece of toast as a sandwich while I'm driving to work - but that has more points than I'd prefer and I would love some other suggestions.

I eat tons of fruit as snacks now, but sometimes I need something that sticks better. What do you eat aside from fruit/veggies as snacks?

The cheese is the killer. Have you considered something like goat cheese? A small amount can be about 1-2 points. I'd do a fried Egg (3), tomato (0), toast (2) and salsa if you generally like that sort of thing for breakfast.

BTW my weight watchers leader suggest limiting fruit to 2 servings a day. I know it say you can eat as much as you want but more people struggle if they eat more than that. Snacks to consider -- some low point crackers with laughing cow cheese, cream cheese on either celery or strawberries. Apple's with peanut butter. Veggies are the real winner. You can find cheese or garlic butter veggies in the freezer section that are only 2-3 points but will fill you up for a while.

[sjh722]

Aug 3, 2012 11:52:02 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

I think my breakfast sandwich is currently 7 points. That seems like a lot, but I guess I do get 31 point so maybe that's not too bad. I used to eat a lot of fat free cheese and diet bread and I'm really more interested in whole foods right now (but I know that conflicts with being low point, hence my struggle with this program in the past I guess).

I think the new program is much more friendly to whole foods vs. diet foods than the old one was. It also helped to pre-plan the whole day (like, breakfast is 7 points, lunch is 8 points, dinner is 10 - that leaves 6 points for snacking.) Roasted or grilled vegetables are a good 1 - 2 point way to bulk up dinners.

And I agree with pp about being careful with fruit - they said a lot of people who had trouble losing when they switched programs were those who were eating way too many servings of fruit a day. (A serving is only 0.5 c, I think). I wasn't terribly restrictive with it, but I tried not to overdo it and eat fruit with every meal and for a snack.

The America's Test Kitchen Healthy Family cookbook had a lot of good recipes in it that weren't too bad, point-wise, and I liked them better than the WW recipes or Skinny Taste recipes.

[cajunmom]

I'm doing WW right now. I weigh in on Mondays. I've been falling short on tracking my points and eating as well as I should be, but I'm playing softball 3 times a week so that's definitely helping. If I can get my eating back under control I'll be doing great. I've lost 11 lbs in about 5 weeks.

[ddi741]

I do one egg, a light english muffing and a slice of cheese. We get our cheese at the deli counter and get a 1/2 lb sliced thin so when I calc the points it's only 1 point per slice. The light English is 3 and the egg is 2. The light english muffin and the egg are both power foods. You could do light bread, that would bring down your point total and it is a power food.

Try light popcorn (the 94% fat free) for a snack. Again, it's a power food and it's only 3 points for 5 cups.

I love skinnytaste.com for recipes - Kalhua Pork, Summer Veggies / Chicken Sausage skillet, Asian Flank steak skewers.

I lose weight very slowly and I refused to give up food I really loved (like real cheese & beer/alcohol in general). It took me 13 months to lose 19lbs. I hit lifetime in February. I feel like this time I really know how to keep it off.

[darkling_glory]

I'd love to participate. Fridays work for a check-in.

I post mostly on Child-Free Thoughts, but lurk everywhere else. I recently started running. I lost about 16 pounds counting calories and switched back to WW when that stopped working. I like that WW just tells me what to do and then I just... do it.

Oh, and buckybells - check out the simply filling technique and see if that falls more in line for your whole foods eating. It's not for everyone, but it might work for you.

[lemonbasil]

There is an app that helps me research and log points, Ultimate Value Diary. I have it on my Android phone (not sure if there's one for iPhones).

[yellowbrkrd]

Aug 3, 2012 13:05:28 GMT -5 lemonbasil said:

There is an app that helps me research and log points, Ultimate Value Diary. I have it on my Android phone (not sure if there's one for iPhones).

There is a WW mobile app for the iPhone and a WW scanner app that allows you to scan barcodes to get quick points info. I love the apps, it makes it so much easier!

[ddi741]

Aug 3, 2012 13:01:11 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

Oh, and buckybells - check out the simply filling technique and see if that falls more in line for your whole foods eating. It's not for everyone, but it might work for you.

I started Simply Filling in the last month before I hit goal and still do it now. I really like it but it couldn't do it when I just started WW, I had too much to learn about better eating and portion sizes but it is definitely an option to look into.

[Deleted]

I would like to join in too! I joined in May, lost 10 lbs. However, I missed the last 2 weeks while on vacation, and will miss another 2 weeks later in August so I am taking a break- going to re-join officially at the end of August. (That is cheaper than paying for all my missed weeks).
But I am tracking again after taking the last 2 weeks of for my vacation.
Bucky I also get 31 points.
My only advice is to skip grains. I try to only have 2 servings a day as they use up a lot of points.

[marchmom06]

I'm not doing WW, but I track my calories regularly. Some tips/snacks that I like:

-Minimize carbs & focus on lean proteins & fruit/vegetables. You'll be fuller & won't feel deprived.
-For breakfast, I use 1/2 of a whole wheat english muffin, 1/2 of a laughing cow, & an egg (sometimes sauteed with spinach). That, plus my coffee & some fruit is 350 calories.
-I try to eat about 1000 calories (out of a total of 1500) before dinner. Then, my dinner is around 500 calories.
-I brush my teeth immediately after dinner to avoid snacking at night.
-I bring my own food (including snacks) to work.
-I exercise to maintain my own sanity (love the way I feel after a run or hard cardio workout), but the strength training & pilates really help with calorie burning & toning, respectively.

Good luck!

[loskadoodle]

Egg beaters or egg whites are a good option for breakfast. You can make a scramble or just egg beaters and cheese on an English muffin. I def need to eat protein in the morning to stay full. I am 5weeks post partum and keep saying I am going to join, I'm just lazy! Maybe I will now that there's a check in!

[luvmagoldn]

Ok damn it. I'll get back on the wagon. I lost 18 lbs last year then started slacking off.

I'm in!

[Deleted]

I'm glad several people are interested in the check in! I will try to post one every Friday morning. If I forget or can't get online on a Friday morning feel free to post for me!

I'm excited ladies!

[megs193]

Aug 3, 2012 16:29:02 GMT -5 loskadoodle said:

Egg beaters or egg whites are a good option for breakfast. You can make a scramble or just egg beaters and cheese on an English muffin. I def need to eat protein in the morning to stay full. I am 5weeks post partum and keep saying I am going to join, I'm just lazy! Maybe I will now that there's a check in!

I am 5 weeks post partum too and keep putting it off. I am up 11 pounds from my pre pregnancy weight and I already had 5-10 pounds that I wanted to lose. I am in my sister in-laws wedding in 4 months and she picked a very tight bridesmaid dress so I need all the support and encouragement I can get.

[blue1980]

My breakfast are pretty boring but I am not a big breakfast person -
*1 egg (with or without a little reduced fat cheese) on a low carb tortilla and salsa
*Bagel thin with reduced fat cream cheese
*Greek yogurt
*plain oatmeal with a teaspoon of splenda brown sugar
and I always eat fruit with my breakfast.

Snacks are usually 2 oz hummus with veggies, veggies with a little fat free ranch, fruit, mini bag of pop corn, fruit, or mini rice cakes.

I also LOVE the skinnytaste website.

[fakejew]

hardboiled egg
0 to 2 pp hot drink
ff greek yogurt with sweet fruit
egg sandwich with an Arnold's sandwich thin (or similar) and veggies. Sometimes I'll add cheese if I feel like it. I think it's reasonable to use 5 pts. for breakfast.

my snacks are rarely anything besides 0 pt. foods, but that's also because I usually only have 1 snack a day (between breakfast and lunch. Usually my lunch is big enough it tides me over until dinner)
but sometimes I will have some Light Laughing Cow cheese on bread or crackers with some tomato or something. So yummy.

[fakejew]

Aug 3, 2012 13:01:11 GMT -5 darkling_glory said:

Oh, and buckybells - check out the simply filling technique and see if that falls more in line for your whole foods eating. It's not for everyone, but it might work for you.

I agree with this. It's not completely whole foods but it's a huge step in that direction if that is where you want to go. There is a "Power Foods" board on the WW site that is comprised mostly of WWers who follow the Simply Filling Technique (SFT.)

I had the same problem at one time and I struggled with buying what I wanted to buy vs. what was low point. In the end I decided that I was better off getting the weight off FIRST, then once I do that I can try working in more whole foods and less diet food. But for now portion control and emotional eating are my biggest problems, not processed foods.

This is a bit of a tangent, but I have to say I think leaders telling members to limit fruit servings is crap. Actually, it's just plain wrong. If WW thought we needed that restriction we would have it. And *some* members may need it due to how much fruit they're eating. However, if you just eat the amount of fruit that comes naturally to you and you still lose weight then obviously you don't have this problem. I mean, how many of us got to where we are by eating too much fruit? And I think it goes without saying that fruit is a much better choice than most snacks even if you choose to count the points for it.

[Deleted]

Portion control is definitely my issue. I don't know if I'm an emotional eater - I am definitely a tired eater and a celebration eater and a social eater and a bored eater (does that make me an emotional one? lol). I just eat a lot and always am thinking about my next meal.

So, until I can kick that I think the filling foods method might not work. I've tried that on my own and I don't stop eating when full. What I've liked about WW in the past is measuring my portions and calculating exactly how much I can eat and stay within points. I do hope someday I can get to a point where I can just eat things that are good for me when I'm hungry and not eat them when I'm not - but I don't know how to get there.

[fakejew]

Aug 4, 2012 21:31:02 GMT -5 @buckybells said:

Portion control is definitely my issue. I don't know if I'm an emotional eater - I am definitely a tired eater and a celebration eater and a social eater and a bored eater (does that make me an emotional one? lol). I just eat a lot and always am thinking about my next meal.

So, until I can kick that I think the filling foods method might not work. I've tried that on my own and I don't stop eating when full. What I've liked about WW in the past is measuring my portions and calculating exactly how much I can eat and stay within points. I do hope someday I can get to a point where I can just eat things that are good for me when I'm hungry and not eat them when I'm not - but I don't know how to get there.

Yes, that is emotional eating.

I know. It's one step at a time.

One thing that has helped me a lot is to ask myself if I'm hungry when I feel as though I'm about to reach for some food (no matter what that food is.) And if I'm not hungry I ask myself why the heck I was reaching for some food. It hasn't helped in all situations but, for example, I figured out that I use food to avoid/put off doing difficult tasks at work.

[orchideous]

I'll be participating in the check-ins too.
DH and I have been doing WW for ~4 months and love it.
Follow the plan and it works.
Good luck!