Give me Weight Watchers advice

[circa1978]

The pandemic combined with having no kitchen for months on end has...not helped my over 40 bod.

I signed up for WW today and I'm on the purple plan. A lot of stuff is point free, which seems easy. I'm going to try some dance classes and yoga for movement to start. If you've been successful, share your tips/fav meals. If enough people interested, I could start a regular check in thread?

[beerlover]

I would love a more regular check in for this! I am about 2.5 weeks in to WW, on the Green plan (you get the most points per day on this plan but not as many zero point foods- just fruits and veggies mainly). It's going very well so far, I'm down around 4 lbs and just feeling a lot better in general. I know that I am going to lose slowly because I eat the maximum amount I am allowed to, lol, but I'm okay with that. So far it feels sustainable, which it has to for me because I LOVE FOOD. I have still been able to splurge a bit on the weekends and have a couple drinks or a cheeseburger or something like that and lose.

I love Skinnytaste for dinner recipes. It's typically the place I start when I'm meal planning because she has the points for everything already listed, and she has a ton in her archives. Some recent favorites are her baked scallops, chicken parmesan rolls, and her mini turkey meatloaves. I love her low point Greek Yogurt "dough" that you can use to make bagels, pizza, stromboli, etc.

I also joined a FB group for the green plan and get some ideas from there too. And usually once a week or so I'll do something "boring" like a grilled meat or side and rice + veggies so that I don't have to think for a night.

Frequent breakfasts for me are an English muffin with a turkey sausage patty and Laughing Cow cheese, or a waffle with some lemon zested ricotta and blueberries (there's a recipe for this on the WW site), oatmeal, or peanut butter and banana on a heated tortilla. Lunch is typically dinner leftovers.

The main strategy I use is measure and weigh the foods for whatever meal I'm going to have, and then add a f*ck ton of veggies to it for volume since they are zero points. It does help keep me full and not wanting seconds. For example tonight, I added a ton of sauteed zucchini (in nonstick spray) to my scallop pasta so that it seemed like a bigger meal. So I've been buying a lot of fresh and frozen in a bag veggies to make this happen. We also have a ton of berries, kiwi, banana (I try to limit these though), and apples around to add as sides for meals.

I'm sure I'll be back with more on this lol. I'm all in right now. We'll see how long it lasts.

[Deleted]

I've been on it since July and am down 37 pounds. I started riding our Peloton the same day.

I use skinnytaste.com a lot to build our meal plan. She has points values for each plan (blue, green, purple). I like it because the food is good and my kids eat it so I am not cooking a separate meal for myself.

I am a creature of habit at this point. Breakfast during the week I'll do some greek yogurt with fresh fruit and a little bit of Kashi cereal or a protein shake. On the weekends I'll do an egg scramble with turkey sausage and veggies. Very low in points for me either way. 

I do a turkey rollup with hummus every day for lunch. I use these tortillas. On blue one is two points and two are three points. The turkey is free and the hummus is two points for two tablespoons. I'll add some veggies like cucumbers, spinach, etc. - whatever I have on hand - to add some bulk.




We do a lot of turkey tacos using the super lean Jennie-O turkey because it's free on blue. I think it probably would be on purple as well.

[Captain Catnip]

What plan should I sign up for? I don't think I want in person WW. Do I need the 360?

And what are these colors you are talking about?

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2021 19:11:32 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

What plan should I sign up for? I don't think I want in person WW. Do I need the 360?

And what are these colors you are talking about?

I am doing the app only. I didn't want meetings and knew I just wanted to be able to track. 

When you start the welcome process, it'll ask questions about your food preferences. There are three plans - blue, green and purple - and each has different benefits. 

[Captain Catnip]

Jan 19, 2021 19:24:36 GMT -5 @princessbubbleyum said:

Jan 19, 2021 19:11:32 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

What plan should I sign up for? I don't think I want in person WW. Do I need the 360?

And what are these colors you are talking about?

I am doing the app only. I didn't want meetings and knew I just wanted to be able to track. 

When you start the welcome process, it'll ask questions about your food preferences. There are three plans - blue, green and purple - and each has different benefits. 

Thank you!

[Deleted]

Jan 19, 2021 19:29:25 GMT -5 Captain Catnip said:

Jan 19, 2021 19:24:36 GMT -5 @princessbubbleyum said:

I am doing the app only. I didn't want meetings and knew I just wanted to be able to track. 

When you start the welcome process, it'll ask questions about your food preferences. There are three plans - blue, green and purple - and each has different benefits. 

Thank you!

No problem. You can also change plans once it assigns one. I've been really happy with blue since I started. I think it's a good middle ground. 

[underwaterrhymes]

I would love a check in thread.

I belong to WW, but mostly use it as motivation in the message board section because I prefer to count calories / macros / fiber.

I’ve lost 6.4 pounds since January 1 and H has lost 15.2.

[roni]

I’ve been on WW since summer and lost 25% of my body weight. I’ve been on blue until recently but I’ve had a terrible bout of gerd so I switched to purple since I’m only eating fruits and veggies basically. I think for me success has been: tracking every day, exercising every day and finding meals/foods I like that fit my points & I don’t mind eating again and again.

I was successful for many months loosely intermittent fasting (had to give up for now) and focusing on filling lunches and dinners. I like to browse the connect community for recipe inspiration and to get ideas. I tried some of the WW fad recipes early in (lots of sugar free things) but they didn’t agree with my stomach.

[mslhb]

I’m a huge weight watchers fan. I’ve only ever done the on-line membership. My best advice is keep logging. Even if you miss a day here and there. Or only log a portion of the day. It is a lifestyle and not a diet which is what I love.

[jordancatalano4ever]

I joined last year in January. Between January and March I lost 5 pounds. Then COVID came and I quit. I was on blue. I’ve thought about rejoining because I did lose 5 pounds. But it was only 5 pounds. It’s really hard to me to feel motivated to make such drastic changes to only lose 5 pounds. I’ve been considering trying my fitness pal instead. I don’t know. I just wanted to vent. Thank you for listening.

[Patsy Baloney]

I’m green plan and had a 93lbs weight loss on it before my son came along and ruined me.

I’ve lost 11lbs so far this month with this and C25K.

I don’t really have any good advice. Trying to lose weight is hard. I just keep telling myself to hang in because I won’t regret it if I just keep going.

[nicolewi]

I did really well with it, over a year ago!! I just signed up again in November but have been completely off and not tracking since Christmas. Now it's cake season (we have 3 Jan bdays and 1 early Feb, plus cousins, although not seeing them this year). So I plan to re-start again soon. But, I chose blue, b/c that's like what I was on last time and it worked well for me. I don't know if it really matters much. I tried to be easy on myself and not freak if I had a day that went way off the rails. Mostly, if I was mentally committed and not having any big temptation events, it was fine and even kind of an interesting challenge to plan my meals. Things that worked for me:

A lot if basically cutting down carbs, which I usually eat way too much of.
Using some Premier Protein drink in coffee along with a little half-and-half, instead of all half-and-half
Cooking plain chicken breast in the Instant Pot (or whatever) and having that around as a zero point lunch option along with whatever I had around
For breakfast, I would often have plain FF yogurt with fresh fruit and some Honey Bunches of Oats (sweet enough to add some taste but not a lot of points). Took some getting used to the plain FF yogurt...still not my fave.
Eggs are fantastic, but I might be semi-allergic and can't really eat them.
Ground turkey or chicken instead of beef
Fish is great--low points. Fish with a lot of veggies, and a small serving of rice.
Good quality turkey deli meat
Subbing low-fat cream cheese for butter on toast & similar

[hocus2]

I am on WW. I lost 40 pounds in 2020 and I've got about 30 more to go. I found the cool weather/holidays have slowed things down a lot but overall it is a great manageable program. I do not love the app but it seems to be essential to success.

What works for me to is to preplan. I often map out meals for the week days on Sunday. I like to leave a big chunk of flex points for the weekend. I eat a lot of lighter lunches and then bigger dinners. I've also found which foods are red-light foods (certain nuts and chips are problems for me) and so I don't keep them in the house.

Grocery shopping is key. It is hard to eat on this plan on the go. Getting fruits, veggies, lean meats in the house and ideally easily accessible really helps.

I use a lot of low point food and layer in more high point foods in small portions. So a basic salad is zero points. I might add a bit of avocado and cheese for extra flavor and protein.

I also find it important to include things you love. My group leader used to talk about fear and how it was totally unhelpful. Be fearless. If you plan to have cake on your birthday -- DO IT. Look it up, track it, make a plan.

[Velar Fricative]

I’m on purple too! I’ve lost almost 12 pounds since the day after Thanksgiving. I feel great.

I eat hard boiled eggs and coffee with almond milk every morning. Lunch rotates weekly - I make a mix of burrito-type bowls and salads, both of which include as much protein and 0-point grains to keep me full. Dinner is usually meat (mostly 0-point but sometimes not) and veggies. My evening treats are usually popcorn with seasonings and tea. I usually use all of my daily points, usually from things like olive oil, cheese (I cannot do fat-free dairy, yuck), Greek yogurt, certain condiments and sauces, avocado, certain snacks if I crave them like Pirate’s booty, and occasional takeout splurges. I rarely feel hungry.

I also work out about 5 days a week and set it up so that I use fitpoints before weeklies, because I feel like I should compensate for the hard work. I don’t use all of the fitpoints, but they are there when I need them or want to use them.

I like a lot of the recipes in the app - today I made a butternut squash and quinoa bowl with gruyere cheese and it was pretty delicious. Batch cooking is so important - I like leftovers and I need a lot of reheatable options.

Good luck! I love the purple plan - it’s so easy and I enjoy not tracking as much.

[dellabear]

I started on blue on Jan 2. It’s going really well but I didn’t weigh in at first because I was chicken. I have done WW before and successfully lost the baby weight twice so I know I can do it. Since I know the plan well I just use itrackbites for free.

I’m also a big fan of skinnytaste and bulking up meals with tons of veggies, meal planning and keeping some easy low point options on hand just in case.

I’d be up for a check in thread too. Hoping to lose 25 lbs total by summer.

[lilac05]

I’m considering getting back on. I lost almost 25 pounds on it and easily kept it off for 2 years without exercise...then Covid hit and I turned 40. Ugh.

I often find that playing mind games help me. I tried to keep my focus on all of the foods that I could eat for free! That appealed to my lazy self, as I hate counting/tracking things. I often was able to fit “treat” type snacks into my plan because of all of the zero point foods that I was eating. I tried to avoid zero point foods that were so only because they subbed a different sugar or whatever...like people making “cakes” with whatever and a diet soda. I don’t recall the specific things. If I wanted cake, I ate cake...just a smaller portion. I knew that was sustainable for life for me. Making weird diet food substitutions would only last until I hit my goal...and then I knew I’d switch back to regular and all of that weight would find me again. A nurse friend reminded me that you only stay that weight if you continue eating the way that you did to get to that weight, and that stuck with me. It helped me make sure that I was making choices that I could stick with long-term. For the same reason, I didn’t bother to measure all of my foods really closely. I did at first to get an idea of actual portion sizes, but then I switched to eye-balling it. The weight was still dropping and I knew it was sustainable. (That said, my friend who was doing it with me had the exact opposite approach. She tracked EVERYTHING and obsessively measured EVERYTHING. That’s what worked best for her and her personality...so you really just have to think about what feels right for you.)

I also tried to make a point of not eating while doing other things. I can eat 6 Girl Scout cookies while playing on my phone without batting an eye. But I was really shocked when I realized I could really be JUST as satisfied eating 1 cookie if I just paid attention when I ate it. Eat slowly. Notice the flavor, texture, etc. It sounds ridiculous, but it really worked for me.

[xokell2]

Lol I love weight watchers I lost 20lbs on blue last year and I’m back on it again and down 7 so far since the 1st.

I follow people on Instagram who show their grocery shopping carts/lists and post recipe links. I appreciate the fact that you can have some flexibility, yesterday my kids and I made cookies and I ate one and just counted the points and didn’t feel bad about it. I love that you can carry over a small amount of points per day so I’m able to save up for a meal out on the weekends. I just found Muscle milk zero sugar protein shakes are great and only 1 point

[marvine]

I do the green plan. I've tried all 3 and I like having more points and counting everything. It helps keep me accountable - instead of "oh, that's zero, I'll eat a bunch of that".

[liverandonions]

I would love a check in thread too! I'm on Blue, started first week of November and down 15lbs. It's been tough getting totally back on track after the holidays but we're going to the beach in March and I want to lose more weight before then.

[liverandonions]

I drink a smoothie everyday, which is a bone of contention in the WW world because for me personally I don't count blended fruit even though you're supposed to. I get up around 6:15 and start coffee with a little vanilla premier protein around 7:30. That holds me over until 9:30 when I take the remainder of the Vanilla premier protein shake and some frozen fruit and a heaping scoop of plain greek yogurt and blend it. So, the only points (for me) is the protein shake. It holds me over until 1ish when I have lunch.

Don Miguel three cheese and chicken mini tacos are only 1pt per taco and taste really good. So, if I don't have decent leftovers I'll eat those with some fruit and veggies like carrots or edamame. The other option is the mini chicken and cilantro wontons - 4 for 1pt.

My favorite "dessert" is chocolate graham crackers (one sheet is considered 4 crackers) split in half, spread light cool whip and sandwich them together and freeze - tastes like an ice cream sandwich -2 pts.

Quaker lightly salted rice cakes with a wedge of laughing cow cheese and a little Everything But the Bagel Seasoning is a really good salty snack with a little protein.

[flamingeaux]

I've lost 30 lbs since I've been on it. I'm on the Blue plan. It's definitely been helpful in training me to think about food differently. I like the rollover on the points because it allows me to be a little more forgiving of myself. I can spend that 9 points on a cupcake and not feel guilty. Also, if you have a fit bit or similar, make sure you add that into your exercise. One of my favorite things to do. is if I'm craving something sweet like a cookie or something like that, I'll crumble one up into a bowl of cool whip, that way I get the taste in each bite, and it's way less than if I had sat there and just ate the cookies out of the package.

[cjcouple]

I am on the Mediterranean diet which looks very close to the purple plan. I do lean proteins, whole grains and produce with some healthy fats. I lost 17 lbs since late October and right through the holidays I was losing. I have some meals I can share. I just can't promise it fits perfectly into the WW but you may be able to tweak to fit your plan and gain inspiration.

Last night I had cod tacos, I seasoned the cod with a little creole seasoning, and added to a Blue Good Grains shell with lettuce, homemade pico de gallo and homemade southwest yogurt sauce. I had 2 tacos.

Tonight I am making black bean burgers(on Whole Wheat flat) and I plan to add a little of the sauce from yesterday with tomato and lettuce.

Breakfast is overnight oats with almond milk, berries, and walnuts. or scrambled eggs with veggies Lunches I enjoy lentil soup, chicken or tuna salad made with hummus instead of mayo on a whole wheat fold it or sandwich thin with a salad. Or left overs. I have done black bean burgers on a salad as well and they are delicious. Might do that for lunch tomorrow since my recipes makes 3 burgers.

Upcoming meals:
Rotisserie chicken on a salad with homemade vinaigrette
Buffalo chicken (no butter) bowl over brown rice and broccoli and salad
Turkey meatballs on whole grain spaghetti (I only use a quarter of my plate for the spaghetti) with salad.
Chicken Buddha Bowls with a sweet potato, baby spinach delicious PB sauce I found online. So good!
Greek Chicken Bowls: Greek Chicken, chick peas, cucs, tomato, green beans, olives, hummus, tzatziki sauce, feta and sometimes I add brown rice or lentils or I toss over salad greens.
Stuffed chicken breast (stuffed with broccoli, sundried tomatoes, parm, seaosning and a little whole wheat breadcrumbs, with pearl cous cous and broccoli,

Snacks are things like tomato and cucs with a little feta and sometimes I add a whole roll bread with it and dip into Seasoned EVOO. depends on my others meals that day.
Piece of Fruit and some nuts
Hummus and veggies

I try to balance it all out so I am having no more than 2-3 servings of grains a day and following serving sizes on packages. When I do the spaghetti and meatballs I will do a salad with protein for lunch or my lentil soup. Technically with the med diet I can have grains with every meal but I am having a lot of success by limiting a bit.

Plus I walk almost every day, 2-2.5 miles paired with weights 3-4 days a week.

HTH :-)

[livinitup]

I joined WW 4 years ago, reached goal 44 weeks later (with a 45 lb loss) and reached lifetime 6 weeks later. I have been on maintenance and at/below goal for 3 years.

I still track (for maintenance) and attend weekly workshops (on Zoom)

I support lots of friends and family through their weight loss journey and WW lifestyle. The #1 advice I give newbies is to actually do the program as prescribed. Don’t treat it as a diet. It’s a lifestyle change. Track your points in the app. Not your head. If you are not tracking your daily and weekly points, you are skipping a vital component of the program. Track when your points go negative, too.

Spend some time on Connect and follow some favorites. Post often.

Give yourself a lot of credit for your NSVs - non scale victories. Diets are about the scale - almost exclusively only. This is a lifestyle change. So celebrate anything and everything you do right in your new lifestyle. The program leans heavily on doing things differently to achieve your goals. Celebrate yourself daily when you do. Share it, too.

[circa1978]

Lots of good advice in this thread, thank you! I lost a ton of weight once before on Atkins 14-15 years ago and have gained a little bit each year since, so now I'm back where I started or heavier.

I have a history of disordered eating so I try to avoid the scale, but I am thinking of getting that new one that is just colors that tells you one color if you are losing and another if you are gaining. I think I could deal with that.

[justemily]

I started on the purple plan 12/30 and am down about 6lbs - with 24 more to lose to get me back to my happy weight. I really like the flexibility of it and that I'm back to cooking more (I was getting lazy). There's a few great groups on FB for purple as well, with lots of folks sharing recipes and pics of their food, so I have a ton of ideas and options to switch things up when I get bored.

[cleo29]

WW has really good recipes. I have made them and my kids eat all of them. A lot of flavor, fresh herbs. Definitely look at their recipes.