[peanutt]

It seems that many people are reporting bigger losses during their first weeks on Points Plus. WTG!

I'm curious....if you had a bigger loss than your average loss, did you eat much differently than you had been eating before? Or were you eating pretty much the same way you were on the old plan?

[traceriffic]

I am eating some things differently. With snacking, instead of reaching for a Vitatop or popcorn or some other previously "low point" snack, I reach for fruit. I love fruit, so being able to have a banana with impunity is huge for me. I NEVER ate them because of their point count. Now, I will supplement a meal with a little fruit, maybe some sliced tomato and cucumber, and I've bulked up my dinner. I'm still having the 6-point burger I would have had before, but for some reason I'm taking advantage of the "free" food a lot. I know WW must have factored in this psychological boost.

There are some things that have gone up in points for me so that they're no longer worth it. But mostly, I'm eating the same with minor tweaks and feeling a lot less pressure because I have 29 points. It seems like a 100 points sometimes! I finished my week with 25 weeklies left over. And I wasn't hungry or unsatisfied at all. I even had a day where I splurged and ate a huge serving of mashed potatoes and gravy. Overall, I know my nutrition was better this past week than any other week I've been on WW.

I hope that people who are wary or don't like being "forced" to eat healthily give it a chance. I truly believe that there is a fruit or a vegetable that even the most diehard haters can enjoy.

[derrydaughter]

I totally agree with what traceriffic said. But, I would add that I tried a more balanced approach, or almost like an exchange that a diabetic would use?

We went out to dinner twice last weekend. I was scared that eating out would keep me from losing, but it did not.

I love bread/butter and do not want to give up that when I go out to eat. Usually, I would have an entree and also have a baked potato (figuring it was healthier than French Fries or something like that) but then there is always the irresistible butter/sour cream and goodness knows how many points I was really having in the end. On both occasions, I had a small piece of bread (may an inch this but the loafs in these places and not huge) with as much better as I felt like having. I counted 4 points for it and enjoyed every bite. But, I decided that I would exchange that for the carb that would accompany my meal. So, night no. 1, I had steamed mixed vegetables with my steak (it was a plain steak, no sauces and I looked up the lowest point beef entree in my dining out companion and had the sirloin strip). Night no. 2, I had baked haddock. It had crumb topping and I'm sure there was butter on it. I counted 4 points for that. I did not order a potato or pasta, etc. to go along with it, I had the vegetable of the day.
In each case, I had salad but asked for vinegar and oil. I was careful to try to portion the oil to about 2 tsp. I asked for no croutons. On Friday night, the salad came with cheese and I had to count 2 points for it. Next time we go there, I will ask for no cheese and croutons.
I feel I did very well. I could have blown it, but I rationalized and learned my program. I know the places we eat at fairly well so their menus were no surprises. I took notepaper before we went and wrote a few things I would enjoy ordering and figured out the points and made a plan. I knew before walking in to each place what my plan was and stuck with it.