I have been on the Weight Watchers program for over a month now and it has been rather eye opening. I would like to say that I have seen a lot of progress, but I have only lost 2.5 pounds so far. I will say that I am think that I am finally getting a hang of it, but I think that the learning curve would not have been as slow if I was going to weekly meetings instead of just doing the program online (it is less expensive that way).
LIQUIDS
I knew beforehand that I was ingesting too many calories via liquids and boy does this program make that SUPER CLEAR. The Starbucks Via packets of Cafe Mocha are 7 or 8 points which is almost a third of my daily points for the day! Uhhh no. I am now pairing black coffee with a 2 point flavored creamer which is still delicious and allows me to eat real food instead of air. Although if I was really eating air then maybe I would have lost more weight?
I have essentially cut out all soda, even though a Coke Zero would be 0 points. We don't have it in the house at home anymore and I haven't been that tempted to get it when eating out, so that's been great. A definite plus.
I have mostly been drinking water, coffee with creamer, and some tea for some caffeine. It has been a month or so of testing and trying new things to see what I like/don't like. Two things that I found I didn't like? The Weight Watchers flavor packets for coffee. It's too bad because they are only 1 point, but they were TERRIBLE. I also have decided that I don't like powder creamers, I only like the liquid ones.
FOOD
Because I am doing the online program only, I also joined a local weight watchers FB group and the women in that group have been helpful in recommending different lower point foods in lieu of things that I had been eating. For instance, I have swapped out zucchini noodles for pasta and they have been great! Yesterday for lunch I ate sauteed zucchini noodles with rotisserie chicken on top and 1/4 cup of store-bought alfredo sauce- the whole lunch was only 4 points (it would have been less if I had used the rotisserie chicken breast but the kids ate it earlier in the week). Today I tried riced cauliflower in lieu of rice and it tasted great when I put a sauce on top.
Because I am doing the online program only, I also joined a local weight watchers FB group and the women in that group have been helpful in recommending different lower point foods in lieu of things that I had been eating. For instance, I have swapped out zucchini noodles for pasta and they have been great! Yesterday for lunch I ate sauteed zucchini noodles with rotisserie chicken on top and 1/4 cup of store-bought alfredo sauce- the whole lunch was only 4 points (it would have been less if I had used the rotisserie chicken breast but the kids ate it earlier in the week). Today I tried riced cauliflower in lieu of rice and it tasted great when I put a sauce on top.
As I start to learn more about swaps and as I get better about bringing 0 point foods to snack on while I am at work, I hope to start to drop more weight. My go-to snacks tend to be sugar snap peas, apples, bananas, and grapes.
ACTIVITY
I could absolutely be doing better in this regard and it would help with increasing my weight loss. I don't know what is going on because the days are getting longer, but I am EXHAUSTED ALL THE TIME these days. Just thinking about getting up to work out at 5am while CP is in the shower makes me tired. Plus I still have my heel pain that won't seem to go away (which means no running). I MUST DO BETTER.
POINTS
Some people in the online community eat all of their daily points and then throughout the week eat all of their weekly points AND most/all of their fit points. So I have been doing that since people were saying that it was working. However, this week I have switched it up since I not losing that much and I will (hopefully) just be eating my weekly points. Fingers crossed it makes a difference!
I do think that I am steering the ship in the right direction after losing my way for a while. Come on weight loss!
6 comments:
Hey, I’m with you! We can help keep each other accountable if you want...just send me an email and we could exchange info!
I got WAY off track for a while. Just paying no attention to what I was eating, not excercisng at all, eating late...all the wrong things. I am back using beachbody on demand and cleaning up my diet...for Lent I gave up soda, Starbucks, and all fast food to give myself a jump. Once I get out of the habit of having these things I do fine, but I had recently been on a soda and Starbucks kick. I need to start wearing my Fitbit again.
My hormones are all out of wack and I feel terrible and tired, so I am hoping dropping some weight will help. Trying to remember that slow and steady is the best way, and trying to stay away from those elimination diets.
This sounds super reasonable! I think swaps are great. I used to have that book "Eat This, Not That" that wasn't as much swapping as sensible choices when eating out (and calorie/fat/sugar counts on the stuff that you'd usually order, yipes). It reminds me of that. The liquids... Yes. I feel like I do okay with not drinking much else but water and my coffee (with real creamer but not a lot), but then there's the wine. Which I'm sure is full of points. A friend was doing weight watchers and she told me a margarita was something insane like 13 points. I am finding that a food diary is incredibly useful, myself. It's amazing how writing down every single thing you put in your mouth helps you to control what you put in your mouth and be more mindful. I think the balancing food and activity helps, too. But I agree (and I don't have littles at home sucking away my energy and sleep) that lately I just feel EXHAUSTED and it's hard to get the motivation to move. I wonder if the crazy weather patterns have anything to do with it! Good luck, it sounds like you're off to a great start! I am a firm believer that slow and steady wins the weight loss race. Too much too fast and you're probably not going to be able to sustain those changes and have it be livable.
Eat all your daily and weekly points. Leave your fit points and see how you do. I am a massive fan of ww and the food points are given for a reason. Good luck x
I’m with you! I tried not to get discouraged this week as well, when the scale didn’t move. But it moved last week (a little) so at least I didn’t go in the wrong direction, right? We’ve got this! Don’t give up.
I think it's fantastic that you are committed to making changes! I know it's easier said than done, but PLEASE don't focus on the scale so much. Have you taken measurements? Because sometimes you are making yourself healthier, even if the scale doesn't necessarily agree. I recently saw a results picture of someone on Facebook that started her program at 190 lbs, but at the end of the 6 week program she actually GAINED 8 lbs! But... she lost a ridiculous amount of inches! You could see a huge difference in her belly overhang. Very impressive, even if the scale didn't reflect her success. Also, if you are feeling exhausted, I would wager that you may not be taking in enough calories. Remember, food is energy. When I worked as a personal trainer, I was always surprised at the amount of food people should/could eat in order to lose weight. All that said, I am super impressed and inspired by you and hope to give myself the same kick in the butt to make changes soon.
My nutrition guru says he hates to drink calories and that is one of the first changes he recommends. I have a single serve blender and I keep a can of lite coconut milk in it and blend to whip up before serving 1/3 cup in my coffee. Only 50 calories and I top with pumpkin pie spice. It’s a pumpkin spice latte year round for me!
Post a Comment