I just started Weight Watchers yesterday, and I'm not sure that I'll be able to stick with it.

I love journaling what I eat online, love planning out my points, working for Activity Points -- basically love everything about the structure of the Points system, but . . .

I have 20 points, and I just don't feel like I can eat as many healthy foods as I'd like. For instance, my breakfast -- for 5.5 points -- was 1 cup Kashi GOLEAN Crunch Honey Almond Flax cereal and 3/4 cup skim milk. Ordinarily, I'd have a banana with this meal, but I can't spare the points.

I know that I could have reduced my serving size of the cereal and milk (maybe 3/4 cup cereal with 1/2 cup milk) and given myself room for a banana. I guess that's part of the learning process.

Just before lunch, I'd usually have another fruit or yogurt snack. No room for that now. I understand I was probably eating too much before, but I just don't see how I can fit in my milk and fruit/veggie requirements with these points unless I have, say, only fruit for lunch today.

It's only day 2, so I know I have a lot to learn, but it is frustrating me a bit.

Did anyone else have these problems?

I love Kashi Go Lean Crunch too, but it is a very calorically heavy cereal (almost like a granola). Can you substitute some other good tasting, healthy, lower point value breakfast? Like an eggbeat wrap on a La Tortilla factory tortilla with salsa and vegetables? You definitely need more for lunch than just fruit!

Well, for one thing, I would try 1/2 banana with my cereal and then the other half for lunch. I wouldn't eat that cereal everyday either. You don't have to give it up, just space it out so you aren't always point starved so to speak.

I agree, you need more than fruit for lunch. You can buy great deli turkey, ham and even roast beef in your grocery that is only one point a slice or even two slices depending on brand. Wrap a slice around a dill pickle or use a leaf of lettuce, put some chopped tomato, a little brown mustard with your slice of meat in the center and wrap the lettuce around it like a tortilla, only one point there and with a piece of fruit it is only two points! You can even make a peanut butter sandwich with two slices of 100% whole wheat and 1 tablespoon of low fat peanut butter and it is only 3 pts. A TBL of peanut butter is plenty for a sandwich, btw. There are lots of little tricks you can try that will reduce your points but not have you starving all the time.

Your meeting time is a great time to ask questions like this. You can get stupendous tips from other people on what to do at meetings!

Faye

I've found the Heart to Heart cereal to be a little lower in points, and switched to that. I only eat it once or twice a month though. I opt for a bowl of Sturm's blueberry oatmeal in the morning. A bowl clocks in at 2 points. I usually have 2 pieces of whole wheat toast (2 points), 1/2 tablespoon of Fleischmann's Olive Oil Spread (1 point), and 4 oz 1% milk (1 point). Which is 6 points for a fairly large meal as opposed to 5 points just for a bowl of cereal.

I'm on 20 points a day too and it really is hard to get used to (having a full, healthy breakfast instead of a quick bowl of cereal for instance) but it can (and does) work if you stick with it. And it does get easier, I swear.

You definitely do need more for lunch than just fruit though - I can't think of the brand name offhand - but it's a sliced lunch meat that comes in GladWare containers (Deli Select maybe?) and it's not that bad in points at all. You could have a sandwich of that (roughly 3-4 points depending on what kind of bread/meat you use) and a side of fruit. I buy the little 100 Calorie packs of wheat thins for my partner's lunch, he loves them. That may be something worth looking into for an occational treat as they're only 2 points and they don't skimp on taste at all.

As for your dairy, you can get that from 2% cheese. Also the crave control yogurts, or the light n fit smoothies are great too, and they only have one point! and they are lower in sugar.

For breakfast I have a whole wheat english muffin, a piece of 2% cheese, and two poached egg whites and a cup of coffee with the creamer I WON"T give up and that is 4 points. I am stuffed. And then a cup of the crave control yogurt and a piece of fruit for morning snack is only 2 points, so that is quite a bit of filling food (and two servings of dairy) with only 6 points.

I can't wait to be back down to 20 points! I am at 23 right now, but points are kinda like money- if you don't make smart choices, no matter how much you have, it will never be enough.

You have more points that that...you get 20 MINIMUM then you can add to that with points for excerise (activity) PLUS those 35 weekly points.

DO NOT be afraid to use those points!

I understand what you're saying - My target is 20 also. Some days it's easy for me to stick to it other times I feel like I"m starving. So, I solved that problem by switching to CORE. I still eat around 20 pts. a day with the core foods + I still have the 35 pts for extras. I'm not hungry I usually eat something every 2 hours (usually choose a fruit, veggie or milk for snacks) and so far for me it's working.

I also agree to bring any issues you have up at your meetings that's what the leaders are there for and also the other memebers may have been or be in your situation and can give you some great ideas.

it can be hard to start with, trying to work out your points etc, but if you find you aren't able to eat as much as you'd like, try to switch your regular foods, for diet/lite options... and a lot of vegetables are 'free' points too

Poppins, I only get 20 points as well and even by using all of my 35 flex points a week, I was starving and feeling nearly faint and obsessing about hunger and food all day long.
I switched to the CORE plan and I am satisfied. My weight loss is a bit slower and I have good and bad weeks but at least I am not starving myself.
I have learned certain foods just work for me for breakfasts and lunches as well, you have to play around with different things that keep you feeling satisfied and recognize what doesn't work. Hope that makes sense.
Don't give up. Talk with your leader.
I still miss certain foods, I am going nuts wanting breads lately and have to use some of my flex points to get those in, I think, as I just feel the need for them.
Maybe you should start a journaling type of thread and see if people join in and tell you what they are eating for meals on flex or core? It might help to see what others each and how often? I did that for awhile and it helped me to see, for real, what others were doing.

Poppins, hang in there! You can adjust and make these great changes.

Try the Hillshire Farms Deli Select lunch meats that come in the gladware containers. They are only one point for a serving of 5 slices. Add that to two slices of Wonder Light bread, any flavor but I like the wheat or italian, for only one more point. Add some mustard and you've got a great sandwich for only 2 points! For lunch I also tend to add some baby carrots with a wedge of laughing cow cheese for one point and one of those little bitty bananas that the grocery stores have right now for another point. A healthy, filling lunch and it only costs 4 ww points!

For the sweet treat that some need at the end of a meal, try the new Hostess 100 calorie packs that have the three little iced cakes in each pack. I've seen them in yellow cake with chocolate icing, carrot cake with cream cheese icing, and chocolate cake with chocolate icing. Now, you may be wondering why I recommending these to you? Well, my ww leader brought them in last week and we calculated them.....the chocolate ones are only ONE POINT because they have higher fiber than the others! Woo hoo!

Gma2one....please share your peanut butter brand! The only low-fat one I've tried it Jiff, but it still came in at 5 points, which I'm not willing to use. I'd love to try the one you're using!