I think the new progam is an adjustment for a lot of people. Also, as a runner, you may need more food energy than someone who is less active. So, if you are satisfied with your weight loss, I think it would be reasonable to set the program so that you can swap some of your FitPoints (I wouldn't swap all of them, maybe 1/3 of them or 1/2).
I am at goal and am not hungry at all on SP. I do exercise, but mostly walking, elliptical and weight training. That may help me not to get hungry.
A few ideas/questions:
Is your yogurt plain yogurt? How do you feel about oatmeal? My husband eats a mix of plain nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with plain oatmeal, fruit and some walnuts. He finds that very filling. One piece of whole wheat toast is fine but it may not be filling.
I think the egg is fine. In general more protein is more feeling. Perhaps make an omelet or frittata with some veggies and lowfat cheese. A way to get more protein without adding a lot of protein is to mix 1 egg with 1 or 2 egg white. 3 egg whites is only 1 SP (SmartPoint) but adds almost 11g of protein.
Muesli usually includes dried fruit in it which tend to be high points. If you make it yourself you can use fresh fruit which will be 0 points. I would avoid packaged muesli since all the fruit will be counted in it.
Your turkey sandwich sounds fine, but instead of splitting it I would have a small snack at mid-morning. I sometimes have a turkey roll up. I take a slice of turkey breast and small piece of lowfat cheese and then roll it up and just eat it without any bread. It helped me to not feel hungry.
At lunch, I would add to the turkey sandwich some fruit. For me, I like berries since they are lower in sugar and calories than some other fruit. But if you like other fruit that could work as well.
What do you usually eat for dinner? For one meal of my day -- sometimes lunch and sometimes dinner - I often have a really big salad. I put in 3 cups of greens and usually something like 1/2 cup of shredded carrots, 1/4 bell pepper, some tomato, maybe sliced cucumber. The veggies add a lot of bulk to the salad. For my protein I usually put in 3 ounces of chicken breast or turkey breast (1 SP!). Occasionally I may eat tuna or salmon instead. I make my own vinaigrette dressing. I simply mix 1 T. of balsamic vinegar with 1/2 T. of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on how my points look for the rest of the day, I may put in 7 to 14g of sliced almonds (for the crunch) or 1 or 2 T. of lowfat shredded cheese. This ends up being a low point meal and is very filling.
I personally eat several snacks a day. I usually have 1 serving of pistachios (5 SP) each day (sometimes I eat almonds instead). I also sometimes just make my own protein mix of some cubed low fat cheese (occasionally I eat full fat cheese if I have the points), some chopped up chicken breast and a half cup of berries. Depending on points I may throw in a few almonds or walnuts.
I'm happy to report that I just decided to pick the highest weight that I could and still qualify for Lifetime Membership at WW which is 164 for my height... I really wanted to go lower... But after bouncing around between a low of 158 and high of 174 over the last several months.... I just want to deal with "maintaining" and I'm sick of the constant struggle of just trying to lose a "few" more pounds... I wound up losing -3.8lbs the first week on Smart Points but felt like CRAP!!! But it got me to 163.2lbs and I just called it GOAL... This second week I've managed to stay right at 164lbs on the DOT which is my exact goal weight, so that was great... And I'm pretty confident I'll be able to keep within the +/- 2lbs to make Lifetime at the six week mark... So that's my plan...
Tracking on the app is still a PIA.... And Smart Points requires way to much tweaking on my part to work for me... It's just too low carb for the amount of running I do... I mean I'm cool with the whole lean protein, low fat, low sugar thing... BUT I just had a sandwich for lunch with smoked salmon on whole grain bread that was 500 calories BUT added up to 15 Smart Points... That's almost half my SP's for the WHOLE DAY... and sure I could cut it down... Lose the bread... Lose the carbs.... Which for me means LOSE THE ENERGY...
To be honest if I wasn't SO close to getting Lifetime Membership... I would have canceled...
I think picking the highest weight in your range is a reasonable thing to do. In fact, it is what I did also. I do plan to probably lose 10 more pounds or so. After getting to goal I spent about 4 to 5 months just settling there and maintaining. I think I am now ready to get the other 10 pounds lost. But, I will keep my official goal at 146.
On SmartPoints and carbs - I find I'm eating about 30% to 35% carbs on SP, although I tend to be a lowish carb eater (I average about 100g a day). Remember that on maintenance you will get 6 more daily points that you didn't have while in losing mode. Also, as a runner, you fall within the group of people where you may need to eat some of your FitPoints for extra energy. It is entirely reasonable for you to use them. I think you will find that between the additional points for maintenance, plus using FitPoints you will have plenty of SP available without cutting carbs too much for you.
Well.... I'm actually happy to report that I finally had ENOUGH with the CONSTANT glitches and bugs with the app and website and I just went ahead and canceled my WW membership... Thankfully, I was able to get a full refund... SO I will at least give WW credit for that...
The last straw was when the Connect feature of the app stop working properly for Android (and it never had all the features that were provided for iPhone users anyway...) AND of course trying to get any kind of "tech" support from WW is a constant exercise in futility...
I just COULD NOT deal with the constant and ON GOING aggravation of that app anymore...
I'm hoping I can still go to my meeting and just pay by the week and since I only have one more official weigh-in in order to achieve Lifetime Membership...that's what I'll be able to do...
There are plenty of people who are meeting only members and don't pay for online. BTW, once you get to lifetime each month if you weigh in no more than 2 pounds above goal you get a voucher that is good for 2 months of free eTools. You can get a voucher each month. Currently I'm on free eTools until the middle of next year since each month you can get a voucher worth 2 months. I've been frustrated with the app problems too but since eTools is free that takes the sting out a bit.
I didn't realize you could just do meetings only anymore... I'm planning on going to my regular meeting tomorrow and just pay for the meeting... AND hopefully they don't try to give me any crap and screw with me now that I'm at goal and about to qualify for Lifetime Membership...
Unfortunately, due to the weather here I didn't get to my usual meeting yesterday... So I wasn't able to see about just paying "as you go" per week... I really hope this doesn't create a problem for me with making "Lifetime"
I was considering just buying another Monthly Pass again... so I would have access to Connect which I liked... although it wasn't working right for Android this past weekend when I cancelled... And from what I can gather from Facebook it still isn't...
I just can't get over the whole mess that WW is in... It actually has me a little depressed... And I wouldn't be surprised if WW actually goes out of business in the next few years the way things are going... Or just becomes and online only thing... I mean who is going to pay $44.95 a month to attend meetings BUT not have an app and website that isn't a mess all the time and where the tracking has constant issues as well... Don't get me wrong... I don't love MFP by any means... But at least it's reliable... I never once had a problem with it... I just don't understand how WW can't come up with app that actually works for what they charge... Like I said... The whole thing just makes me sad...
I honestly don't understand how they did so badly on the technology either. I do think it is getting better though. I'm not having app problems any more (using an iPhone) and they added in some features I wanted, such as being able to search the foods I added. I have more problems on the browser website right now.
Since you are so close to goal, honestly, if it was me I would probably hang in there with a monthly pass until you get through maintenance. Once you hit lifetime you will get free etools and they will refund you for the unused part of the month that you paid for (you need to call them to do it).
Hello all hope everyone had a good holiday. I finally weighed in and I'm not as bad as I thought. I do understand how you Pinkie Pie the points do go quickly. I plan on buying their cookbook and just revamping how I eat as the points do go quickly. Having to mentally adjust can be a good thing though, I find that routine can sometimes lead to complacency. I'm pumped for the new year. I also feel dorky because I love earning those charms so looking forward to my next opportunity to earn one. I'm excited to be back.
I love the charms, too, habakuktwo. In another thread I did a post with pics of the Pandora charm bracelet I made with the charms. Wearing the bracelet in a restaurant is really powerful for me as it reminds me of where I want to be weight wise.
I think the new progam is an adjustment for a lot of people. Also, as a runner, you may need more food energy than someone who is less active. So, if you are satisfied with your weight loss, I think it would be reasonable to set the program so that you can swap some of your FitPoints (I wouldn't swap all of them, maybe 1/3 of them or 1/2).
I am at goal and am not hungry at all on SP. I do exercise, but mostly walking, elliptical and weight training. That may help me not to get hungry.
A few ideas/questions:
Is your yogurt plain yogurt? How do you feel about oatmeal? My husband eats a mix of plain nonfat Greek yogurt mixed with plain oatmeal, fruit and some walnuts. He finds that very filling. One piece of whole wheat toast is fine but it may not be filling.
I think the egg is fine. In general more protein is more feeling. Perhaps make an omelet or frittata with some veggies and lowfat cheese. A way to get more protein without adding a lot of protein is to mix 1 egg with 1 or 2 egg white. 3 egg whites is only 1 SP (SmartPoint) but adds almost 11g of protein.
Muesli usually includes dried fruit in it which tend to be high points. If you make it yourself you can use fresh fruit which will be 0 points. I would avoid packaged muesli since all the fruit will be counted in it.
Your turkey sandwich sounds fine, but instead of splitting it I would have a small snack at mid-morning. I sometimes have a turkey roll up. I take a slice of turkey breast and small piece of lowfat cheese and then roll it up and just eat it without any bread. It helped me to not feel hungry.
At lunch, I would add to the turkey sandwich some fruit. For me, I like berries since they are lower in sugar and calories than some other fruit. But if you like other fruit that could work as well.
What do you usually eat for dinner? For one meal of my day -- sometimes lunch and sometimes dinner - I often have a really big salad. I put in 3 cups of greens and usually something like 1/2 cup of shredded carrots, 1/4 bell pepper, some tomato, maybe sliced cucumber. The veggies add a lot of bulk to the salad. For my protein I usually put in 3 ounces of chicken breast or turkey breast (1 SP!). Occasionally I may eat tuna or salmon instead. I make my own vinaigrette dressing. I simply mix 1 T. of balsamic vinegar with 1/2 T. of extra virgin olive oil. Depending on how my points look for the rest of the day, I may put in 7 to 14g of sliced almonds (for the crunch) or 1 or 2 T. of lowfat shredded cheese. This ends up being a low point meal and is very filling.
I personally eat several snacks a day. I usually have 1 serving of pistachios (5 SP) each day (sometimes I eat almonds instead). I also sometimes just make my own protein mix of some cubed low fat cheese (occasionally I eat full fat cheese if I have the points), some chopped up chicken breast and a half cup of berries. Depending on points I may throw in a few almonds or walnuts.
Hope some of this helps.
Sorry for the late reply. Thank you very much for your response!
Re: your questions -
I eat plain yoghurt or kwark. Always. Well, I mean I add fruit to it and I can definitely add oatmeal. I like the combination. In fact I tried it a few times last week.
I was also thinking about maybe eating my eggs differently, so an omelette sounds like a great idea. Maybe prep up my veggies the night before since I'm usually making salads anyway.
At lunch I generally have a huge salad. Dinner is generally the most spontaneous of our meals. Sometimes we (hubs and I) are actually at home together and he will cook something. He's very health conscious as well. But this is where things go wrong for me. We'll have pasta or rice and then I end up with too much. What we put on or in the pasta or rice is often very low in points simply because we use a lot of veg and lean meat like turkey or chicken and not so much fat (but say 1 tbsp per meal split between two people).
I've been trying to eat more fruit - funnily enough AGES ago when we first switched to fruit having zero points I was at a weight loss plateau and everyone said "stop eating so much fruit!!" so I'm relearning to eat fruit again. I like it and I try to have a couple of pieces a day but I'm not consistent. I do have blueberries, for example, in my yoghurt. I don't eat cheese because the low/no fat cheese is just awful here, I try to eat as much protein as possible as snacks but sometimes I am just super hungry and I can't do an interval workout on the treadmill if I'm empty and headache hungry.
So now I'm trying to find helpful and value-added recipes for bread that I can eat before a workout. I am tweaking and testing out a banana oatmeal bread recipe that hopefully won't break my smartpoints bank (replacing sugar with all natural applesauce).
I think it will still take some time to figure out what is going to work. It doesn't help that the holidays have thrown me off plan here and there, though I know it's down to my choices, so I don't blame WW for that.
I am 6KG above my goal weight and workout 5 times a week, plus I only ride my bike or use my feet to get anywhere, so I'm definitely active. I am pretty much always hungry though and have been for years. This is an ongoing battle to figure out what I can eat that makes me at least feel less stabby hungry than I normally do.
Well.... I'm actually happy to report that I finally had ENOUGH with the CONSTANT glitches and bugs with the app and website and I just went ahead and canceled my WW membership... Thankfully, I was able to get a full refund... SO I will at least give WW credit for that...
The last straw was when the Connect feature of the app stop working properly for Android (and it never had all the features that were provided for iPhone users anyway...) AND of course trying to get any kind of "tech" support from WW is a constant exercise in futility...
I just COULD NOT deal with the constant and ON GOING aggravation of that app anymore...
I'm hoping I can still go to my meeting and just pay by the week and since I only have one more official weigh-in in order to achieve Lifetime Membership...that's what I'll be able to do...
I am back on the app and online for 2 more months but I still go to a meeting occasionally and just pay as I go. You should not ever be required to have the online membership to be lifetime.
Hello all hope everyone had a good holiday. I finally weighed in and I'm not as bad as I thought. I do understand how you Pinkie Pie the points do go quickly. I plan on buying their cookbook and just revamping how I eat as the points do go quickly. Having to mentally adjust can be a good thing though, I find that routine can sometimes lead to complacency. I'm pumped for the new year. I also feel dorky because I love earning those charms so looking forward to my next opportunity to earn one. I'm excited to be back.
I really hope to figure this all out by beginning of March when my sub expires!
I love the charms too. you guys have great charms in North America! here in the Netherlands it's the charms the US had like 20 years ago... I went to a meeting in New Mexico (where my parents live) about a year and a half ago and the leader was so sweet she gave me the key ring and the first two charms because I had the old ones!
