I am new here and am very excited to begin the core plan.
It seems like a lot of you are having success on it.
I hope you wont mind if I have a few questions for you:
Does soy milk have to be fat free in order to be Core?
I have seen a lot of recipes that call for Oatmeal to be crushed and used like bread crumbs - is that Core?
Near East Plain Cous Cous- Is that Core?
Do any of you eat "Core food" only and not use your WPAs? DH and I like to eat out a couple of times a week, and I know that most of my WPA's will be devoted to that.
Gr8 Welcome to Core! I love the plan and have been very happy with the results. I lost 45 pounds the first year. I've maintained the loss just eating Core in the past 6 months while I was unable to exercise. I hope you hang out with us. We post daily, currently on Core Board Number 40. Our profiles are posted at the top of this board. You can read about us and maybe post your own so we can get to know you. The support here is wonderful; no sniping or Core police!
Now for your questions.
Near East Plain couscous is Core and does not have to be whole wheat.
WW said that crushed oatmeal is not Core because it lowers the gylcemic index. In other words, it's more filling and takes longer to digest when it isn't all ground up. We call these "tweaks". If you could do it and still lose weight then it's probably ok. I wouldn't start doing that kind of thing from the very beginning.
The Complete Food Companion (I'd invest in this if you don't have it. It's a GREAT resource) says Soy original is Core. It also says Soy light is Core. I don't see any mention of FF Soy milk. It seems that it does not have to be FF. You could call the 800 WW number if you are unsure or maybe hold off and ask your Leader to be sure. I don't drink soy milk so I'm not an authority. Maybe someone else can help here.
I use my WPA's and managed to lose when I was exercising. Without exercise, I'd caution you not to use too many. I'm still after 18 months, struggling with my comfort zone. I'm great at breakfast, lunch, and snacks but I still think I eat too much at dinner time. I'm a work in progress.
I recently posted on the Core Recipes forum about ff cream cheese not being Core because it has sugar.
I advise you to check the ingredients of the ff soy milk. So many commercial ff products have added sugar (or corn syrup or high-fructose yadda yadda, or whatever). Sugar—and all variations thereof—is definitely NOT Core.
Most fat-free items have more sugar than their comparable full-fat or even reduced-fat counterparts. I have no idea why FF cream cheese isn't Core, but my guess is that it's not something you eat by itself. If I were spreading it on a bagel or something though, I'd just count the bagel and not the cream cheese (but that's just me).
My info says that all soy milk, whether fat-free, regular, or powder, is Core.
i have a question about what someone raised about the ff and sugar thing.....
i totally agree that ff stuff has more sugar which is why i never understood why ff stuff is core and why potatoes are core but white rice isnt?
Vickie, you are right. Duh. I'm sure some of the commercially prepared stuff that's core DOES contain sugar. I do know, though, that Core is low sugar. If you follow it exactly and don't go beyond your WPA, you wind up eating very little sugar.
Like everyone else, though, I don't get why ff cream cheese isn't Core and all the other ff dairy products (and ff soy milk) are. Maybe because ff cream cheese has MORE sugar than Core foods should have? In any case, I'll ask my WW leader about this.
Thanks for the info!
Last edited by Laura Lena; 03-22-2006 at 10:42 PM.
Laura, I think they think FF cream cheese would be a red light trigger food for too many people and the potential for overeating it is too great. Personally, I could eat a whole lot more avocado than FF cheese and avocado is Core. I agree with Kathy. As long as you don't add too many tweaks, you could probably get away with eating a small amount of FF cream cheese and still lose weight.
I choose not to use points on bread on Core, so I don't really use ff cream cheese. But every once in a while, I buy lox, spread a thin layer of ff cream cheese on it, and roll it up. It makes a very satisfying meal or snack. I don't count the ff cream cheese. I'll have this once or twice a month.
For me, ff cream cheese isn't a trigger food. But maybe it can be for others. Personally, I think it's too gummy to eat on its own.
In a related subject, I found some brown-rice cakes at a health food store. The ingredient is just "brown rice." My leader said they aren't Core because they are a trigger food, that someone would eat more of them than the equivalent of regular brown rice. However, I eat ONE every few days and don't count it. My leader said if I can do that, then it should be fine.
A few Core questions from a Newbie
We love to have new people join us! 
Duh. I'm sure some of the commercially prepared stuff that's core DOES contain sugar. I do know, though, that Core is low sugar. If you follow it exactly and don't go beyond your WPA, you wind up eating very little sugar.
