What I Ate

This week I thought I would give you a quick overview of how WW works and little things I do that make it easier for me.

When you go to WW, they weigh you (big surprise) and then give you your points plus daily number depending on your weight, height, and age. This number is how many points plus you should eat in a day. (Eating less doesn't encourage weight loss; in fact, usually it slows it down.) In addition to your daily points, everyone is given 49 extra weekly points to use how they want during the week. It is your choice to use these points, if you want. You can also earn extra points by being active. They give you a chart to use to figure that out. (That definitely encourages exercise!) Every food has a points plus value and you can buy a nifty calculator to figure out this value using protein, carbohydrate, fat, and fiber information off of the packaging. All fruits and most vegetables are 0 points plus (Hallelujah!).

That is pretty much it in a nutshell.

As for myself, I try to never use my weekly points. Just knowing that they are there, oddly, is enough to keep me satisfied. But tell me I'm restricted and then that's all I think about. You can definitely use the extra points, but you will lose the weight at a slower pace. For now, my desire to drop weight quicker has outweighed my hunger or cravings. That may change.

Also, when I do exercise (I'm trying to be better at that!), I don't typically give myself extra points. Once again, my goal is to lose weight as quickly as possible. Besides, I'm not doing all that much physically, so I can't really justify it. Someday, maybe ...

I stick to my daily points target and try to eat all of my points everyday. It's not that hard to do, but there are just some days where the points really stretch and I find myself not eating them all up. Those days are few.

One other thing I try to do concerning my points is to keep myself in a similar rhythm everyday. I eat about 4 points of food for breakfast, about 8 for lunch, and leave about 12-15 for dinner (and dessert - can't forget dessert!) with some snacks in between. I am not able to do this everyday but it helps on most days to keep me on track and remembering how much I have eaten and what I have left. I started out tracking on my iPod (WW has a great app) but now just track in my head. (I'm a numbers person so this isn't all that hard, but staying with the same pattern everyday helps a lot, too.) Otherwise, I would be the type of person who eats 75% of her points for breakfast without realizing and then I would basically starve the rest of the day. I need to pace myself.

I also try not to eat past 7:00 pm. There are occasionally days when I end up eating a late supper but I really try to cut myself off by 7:00 pm. Most days I have my little dessert after dinner and that is like my grand finale for the day. After that, I know I am done eating for the day (and what a way to finish - yum!)

Planning is really the key. Have a plan of attack. Know what make really great low point snacks and keep them in the house, or wherever you are, to eat when you need something. Snack. Don't let yourself get too hungry or you will binge when you get the chance. Eat a little now to keep yourself from eating a lot later. Find meals that you like and are lower in points and keep the ingredients in the house for those days when it's 6:00 pm and you're thinking "what are we going to eat?" It will save you from the drive-thru.

I'd better stop or I will be all out of incredible insight (yeah, right) come next week.

Just know that YOU CAN DO IT! If I can, seriously, anyone can. I believe in you, now believe in yourself.


Here is a day of What I Ate:

Breakfast
3 1 cup regular Cheerios with strawberries and bananas sliced on top
1 1/2 cup skim milk

Snack

Lunch
5 Smart Ones mini cheeseburger
3 10 Pretzel Crisps
1 single serving cauliflower with cheese sauce

Snack
0 apple
1 WW string cheese

Dinner
10 4 Stuffed Shells
3 New York ciabatta garlic bread with cheese

Dessert
4 Pumpkin bar (recipe coming soon!!)