I keep a basket in the fridge at work, and I've started pre-planning my lunches, so on Mondays I bring in a bag of lettuce, dressing, and the stuff I want in it - reduced fat feta, tomatoes, tuna, dried cranberries, etc. Then every day I have the stuff to make my lunch and I don't have to worry about remembering to plan and pack EVERY night of the week. It's a great time-saver. I know a lot of people like variety, but I am happy to stick with the same meals for a couple of weeks, and then switch up. For example, I baked the Orange-Cranberry muffins from the WW site, and I have one of those with a cup of coffee every morning. Then when they're all gone, I'll make a different kind of muffin. If I keep breakfast and lunch pretty consistent, then I can play around with dinner. I live with my parents (until the economy picks up, I'm all about the rent-free), and sometimes my dad doesn't understand the meaning of 'portions'. However I've stopped letting his overcompensation be my downfall - now, if I know it's too much for me, I simply eat as much as my points allow and do NOT clean my plate. Maybe eventually he'll stop giving me so much!

New WWer here! I'm not doing meetings since it's out of the budget, but I'm tracking points. Hubby is doing it with me. I'm only on my second day, and I'm hungry, but I'm determined that something has to work. So count me in!

Gids -- Welcome! I'm really new at this too and find that some days I feel the same way. My major problem is snacking, especially when bored. Last night even though I had dinner I still felt like I was starving so I made some popcorn and totally satisfied that craving. Try to find foods that will fill you up.

Also, for me personally I find that because I'm not used to eating breakfast, I become hungrier earlier in the day. WOOHOO boosted metabolism. I like to keep 0-1 pt snacks on hand so I can munch.

Hi! I love Weight Watchers! I was so into it a few years ago (when I lost 30 lbs., which I put back on... booo!) that my friends called me "The Points ****" for a while. :)

hiimnatalie... I make almost the same breakfast sandwich, except I use Neufchatel cheese (lower fat than cream cheese- 1 tbsp. has like 35 cals) instead of mayo. Mmm!!!

Another good one is a 1 point English muffin, toasted with an egg/egg whites/Egg beaters, FF cheese, and a Morningstar Farms veggie sausage patty. Mmmm! When in doubt though- Cheerios, FF milk, and sliced banana!

I'd love to have a group of people around my age on here to help eachother out! It sounds so cheesy but I keep channeling Florene and telling myself, "New Year, new YOU!"

aggh, i'm not on weight watchers, but HEY FELLOW ALABAMA RESIDENT.
i have friends in auburn! do you go to school there?

<peeking in for first time>

Hi, fellow weight watchers! I just started ww this week. Back in 2003, I lost 90+ pounds on ww (I went from 215 pounds to my lowest EVER of 124.5) - unfortunately, due to certain circumstances (a marriage, immigration process, a pregnancy & baby) I wasn't able to maintain and I'm in the 190's now. I've tried to lose weight off and on the past 2 years since my daughter was born - tried just "doing it myself", tried counting calories, etc. It all worked, but nothing long term and I kept gaining back - ugh! They just werent working for ME.

I finally decided to start back on what worked for me BEFORE and will again. Back to ww! So, here I am. I don't attend meetings (just as I didn't back in 2003 when I lost my 90 pounds)... I did it all from home, and I'm doing the same now. I don't use the online version, either. I have a points calculator, the books, websites, etc... and do it that way.

I started on Thursday of last week (so, on day 6 now) and I'm already down 4lbs (but, that's not official yet since weigh in is Thursday)... now I remember why and how this used to work! I'm enjoying counting points again and finding new foods. And, I remember now how much I love those 0 point veggies!

Go ww! :carrot:

Yaaaaaay, just back from my second meeting and I lost 6.4 pounds! I know a lot of that is just water, etc., but it still feels really good! Bye bye Christmas pounds!

:cheer2: That's a great loss! WTG!

Jenny you rock!!! Thats awesome!

Wow great losses! Well Done!

That's so funny! It's also really annoying that guys get so many extra points and still lose weight really easily.

The other girls in my office are all calorie counting at the moment and they make me laugh when they say WW looks really complicated with all the calculating points. I'm like "I have to look in a book and count to 19 every day. How is that harder than counting to over a thousand!"

I've been doing WW online for a year now. I absolutely love it. I haven't lost super fast, but I have lost 40 pounds and haven't gained any of it back.

My main tip is to meet the Good Health Guidelines (they're also called Healthy Checks in the online Points Tracker) every day. I lose faster when I make sure I do those than when I only focus on Points.

For snacks, I love edamame. Yum! Also, lately, yogurt tastes like such a creamy treat.

For breakfast I usually have oatmeal with either some fresh fruit or Craisins. I get up super early, and that's one of the few breakfasts that doesn't feel like a chore at 4:30 in the morning.

Oh and a yummy way to get in your veggies: sweet potato fries. Just make sure you bake them and don't actually fry them. ;)

Ohhhh I LOVE edamame! Good call on the sweet potato fries! I'll have to try those. Also, the suggestion of the Good Health Guidelines, but I think I've been pretty good about getting those in between apples and cheese for snacks as well as a glass of V8 juice here and there!

I tried the WW ice cream cups last night. OMG yum! I had the Turtle Sundae. Totally satisfied my after dinner sweet tooth and it was only 3 points. Not too bad for ice cream [although, I haven't really compared it to other ice cream].

Yogurt and grape nuts are another really easy breakfast for me. Although 1/2 c of grape nuts is a BIT much for me, I cut it down to 1/4 c and mix it in my yogurt. Only 3.5 pts and fills me up.

If I make breakfast sandwiches I have to make them at night. I'm not a fan of waking up any earlier than I have to. :)

The WW ice creams ARE good! I like the mint chocolate ones ... it's like a chocolate cookie crust with mint ice cream on top and a drizzle of chocolate .... SO GOOD!!

I almost lost it tonight. I came home and there was a caramel chocolate bar on top of the fridge and I was so tempted to just grab it and eat it and not think twice about it. But I forced myself not to do it, then I ate a very healthy dinner (pasta with broccoli and a salad) before going on a big walk with my doggy. Now I don't want the big bar of chocolate anymore, and I've got points left over for a big mug of hot chocolate (all the chocolate goodness for only 3 points).

Do you guys find that there are certain foods you can't go low/no-fat with? Like, I hate sugarless hot chocolate. It tastes like slightly chocolate flavored water to me. I'd rather spend 3 points on the real, good, Godiva stuff. Same with bread - I hate the low calorie bread that is only one point. It tastes like clotted cardboard in my mouth and I'd honestly just rather spend an extra point and a half on a slice of real, sprouted grain bread. I envy those people who can make the substitutions without being bothered by it, but there are just certain foods where I'd rather have the real thing.

OMG I AM EXCTIED TO SEE A 20 SOMETHINGS WW THREAD.....I post in the WW side but this is awesome. I guess I will staying over here. Okay here is my background. I started WW on Aug 28, 2008 three days before my birthday. So far I have lost 21 pounds (10%) I started out at 215. I go to meeting faithfully and for people who dont attend meeting I can let you know what we are discussing.

Right now my most favorite breakfast is Fat Free Light Yoplait with one granola bar crunched up in it for a total of 4 points.

Fumes - my trick to not starving is breakfast and then every two to three hours after a snack or meal. I know it is hard to drink water but it so helpful in your diet.