Hi there!
WHAT? You only appreciate MOST of my posts, not ALL of them??!!
I think for me what happened was this -- I recognized that my eating was seriously out of control and I had to get a grip. I've tried a bunch of diets and found that while I could stick to a highly restrictive diet for a period of time and get great results, I couldn't KEEP it off. I'd learned nothing about managing food and LOTS about restriction. So will-power really wasn't the issue.
It was that the diets didn't fit the reality of my life because unfortuantely, the reality of my life is that I want to eat like "normal people" and not obsess about my food. I didn't want food to be the ultimate focus -- I want to go on vacations and say that "MAN the buffet wasn't great but I had plenty of choices and accounted for everything" rather than "MAN, I'm a low carb, organic, raw foods, no-sugar eater, and there was NOTHING there for me" or worse yet, have to take my shakes or meal substitues with me so I wouldn't "break my plan". And how would I deal with a buffet AFTER the shakes/meal substitutes were over? I'd eat and eat and eat and regain the weight.
So I went to WW and started. I had enough points to really pretty much eat what I wanted without too much impact -- I had a chocolate bar a day, and still fit in the dietary recommendations. I could have a donut on the way to work, and still fit it in. And I lost weight! Seriously!
But the more I LOST, the fewer points I got. And it got to the point that the junk in my life was, well, EXPENSIVE, points wise. I get 22 points a day. A chocolate bar is between 6 and 8. Doesn't leave me very full. Doesn't feel me feeling good. So to maximize my food intake, I had to change my food choices. Or else I was HUNGRY ALL THE TIME.
So, I could eat a 60 gram Oh Henry chocolate bar for 8 points
OR
1 English muffin (2 points), 1 oz low-fat cheese (2 points), 1 tossed green salad with mandarin slices and toasted almonds and no-fat raspberry vinagrette (2 points), 1 cup cherries (1 point), and a small cafe au lait using 1/2 cup milk (1 point).
Same points, different consequence...
And there are TONS of different ways to get 8 points -- you can low carb it, replace the cheese and the vinagrette as they are processed, and swap out the coffee because it has caffeine. I just like cheese, and English Muffins, and coffee, that's all.
I guess my choices have evolved naturally to get the most food for the points. There ARE foods for which the points value are the same: white rice vs brown rice, for example. 1 cup is 4 points for each. IF I eat rice, I prefer the taste of white in some dishes and brown in others. So I'll choose accordingly even though brown rice has more fiber and is less processed. But since 8 oz cooked potato is only 2 points, I'll choose potatoes over rice almost every time as a side dish because I get more food volume bang for the buck. On the other hand, I have a friend who eat 3 chocolate bars a day. That's it. She's within her points for now and losing weight, but clearly is not healthy. Which is why WW has dietary guidelines about fruit/veg/healthy oil/dairy servings per day to make sure you have a balanced diet.
And, there ARE times when I want something "junky", and I'll just go for it and suck up the consequences. Like, if I really want some baked Lays (2 points for a small bag), I'll have it. I KNOW I'll be hungry later and I have to swap out something for it, but sometimes a bag of chips just fits the bill. Other times, I'll say "I really WANT it but I'm having a HUNGRY DAY today and just can't afford it. So I'll stick with 2 cups of grapes, instead".
Today, my diet is mostly whole grains, veg, fruits, and low-fat protein. I plan for and make my own desserts and I don't have the points to eat them regularly because they too are expensive -- 3 or 4 points is HUGE when you only have 22 a day! I don't buy pre-made or frozen entrees, but cook everything myself. I have a TON of WW cookbooks and cook almost exclusively from them. The other recipes are calculated for points, too, but tend to be "expensive" -- one small serving of lamb tagine with fruited couscous comes in at 16 points, for example. So I'll make this maybe once every 3 months when company is coming and use Flex points for it. I figure that my diet is 85-90% healthful and 10-15% not so healthy in any given month.
But there ARE days when I wake up and say, "I want a sour cream glazed donut and a coffee" for breakfast, and I'll account the 7 points for it. And I KNOW that I'll pay for it later and have to plan accordingly to stay within my food budget. And I'd say that this happens maybe MAYBE once every 3 or 4 MONTHS, because the consequences are too great.
And with the WW system, my DH and I went on a super vacation at an all inclusive for 10 days, and I actually LOST 1.5 lbs. Seriously. Cause I could account for everthing (I've been on this so LONG that I have the counts pretty much in my head!), and stayed within my points for the day. Go figure!
Anyway, this is what worked for me and how it is working for me now. Everyone has a different path which works for them and I really make no judgements about it. I must confess that I DO grumble a bit, when I have vegans, lactose-intolerants, high lean protein no carbers, and onion allergics over to the same BBQ because I firmly believe EVERYONE should be accommodated and respected. It just makes for a TON of work and a TON of dishes!!! Which I get DH to do
PM me any time...
Kira