Hi there,

My name is Andrea and I'm 4 weeks into the ProPoints programme. So far, I have lost a grand total of.... 700 grammes in 4 weeks! I started off with a loss of 1.2 kg in the second week and from then on I have had small gains.


The problem is I am having difficulties in lots of areas.. remembering to track, not "budgeting" my points properly throughout the day, so it gets to dinner time and I dont have many points left, and also guessing portion sizes - knowing how many points my dinner works out to be (all my dinners are home cooked from scratch)

I have a sweet tooth (I quit a heavy smoking habit two years ago - hence the 10 kgs I want to shift) so I like to have a coffee and a biscuit (or two) after dinner. Does it matter with weightwatchers the time of day you eat carbs/sugar as per some other diets? Do carbs really matter? or should I start limiting bread and sugar?

I pay to attend meetings but due to the day and time the meetings are held, I am only ever able to weigh and go. The leader is quite scary and I do not find her approachable at all. I have looked at the e tools online thing and it looks a but of a minefield. I like simplicity and not fiddly things.

I REALLY want weight watchers to work but I know what I am like.. I am not very disciplined left to my own devices and I am left wondering whether I am more suited to a diet thats all laid out for you what you must eat and not eat.. ( which I dont want to go on but...)

How does everyone else do it? How do you divide your points up throughout the day? How do you look at a meal that someone else has made and be able to see instantly the value of the points? Without saying "wait a minute let me consult my shopping guide!" I find myself wildly guessing. I have no idea what 6 oz of fish fillets looks like but I have put it in my tracker that thats what I had for dinner!!

Any tips? Ways to do things which have been a lifesaver?

This is my second go-around with WW- I lost 35 lbs @ 7.5 years ago and got pregnant so i stopped. I am now on week 5 and just last week came here for some help because it looked like I was going to have a gain that week. I got some wonderful advice... there are some very smart and experienced folks on these boards.
Let me tell you what works for me...
I weigh EVERYTHING that is not in single-serving sizes. Meat, cheese, potatoes and rice. I bought a great digital scale and use it for every meal. I always weigh my food before I serve the meal and that way there is no guessing about portion size. I actually know my points before I eat the food so if I am still hungry afterwards I can adjust accordingly.
I tend to save points for a healthy (or sometimes not-so-healthy) treat at night. Popcorn with butter is one I like because it feels like a splurge but is high in fiber and fills me up. A little butter goes a long way too.
If you are paying for meeting but don't attend, I would certainly consider the on-line tools. I use my iphone to track and calculate my points with the iphone app and actually very rarely use the on-line tracker.

I am sure others have great ideas too- don't give up!

I figured that I should eat 6ish times a day, so I took my points plus allowance and divided by 6. That's about 5 points for me. So for my main meals, I try to keep my points between 5-7 points. If my main meals are closer to 5, my snacks can be up to 4 points. If my main meals are closer to 7, I keep my snacks around 2. So really just try to keep that balance of bigger meal, smaller snack or vice versa.

Also, there are many low point sweet things out there! Weight watchers makes really good ice cream bars, some of which are only 2 points. Danon's light and fit vanilla yogurt is my favorite sweet thing for 2 points as well, which is great mixed with fruit. And measure everything, especially meat!

Hi Andrea =D

1) Track. There's a saying "if you bite it you must write it". Before ANYTHING goes in your mouth you write it down. It's going to take a couple weeks before this habit sinks in, but you MUST do it to start. That should help you look at where you need the most budgeting. If you find you really like to have a big dinner, then skim down on your lunches and instead use some more fruits and vegetables for snacks.

In a word "Nope". Every human body is different. So the answer to your question is individual. BUT Weight Watchers itself is purely a way to track your calories in vs calories out. While they urge people to make sure they get in their good health guidelines there's no rule against "sugar" or "carbs" or even what time of day you eat. It's all 100% individual. If you enjoy a coffee and some cookies after dinner. Budget them in as a "must" for you. As long as you keep the cookies in moderation there's absolutely no reason to avoid them. Do carbs really matter? *shrug* Not to me. Some people avoid too many and it works for them for their own reasons, but I'd fall off the wagon so fast on a plan that told me to avoid carbs. Not gonna happen.


Losing weight is about MAKING time for yourself and MAKING time for things. I realize that attending meetings is not an option for everyone, but there are usually weekend meetings, too, that most people can take 30 minutes for. Most leaders really aren't scary. They WANT every member to succeed. Try approaching them. If you find you can't ask them what you want, then go to a different meeting time and talk to a different leader. You have to make the effort to find a leader who clicks with you, as not all people are the same. =)

Alright. This is a lot of stuff. lol, but I'll try to explain as best I can.

I semi-plan two meals of the day. I plan out what food I'm going to eat for breakfast and dinner. One day a week (Monday for me) I sit down, and 15 minutes later I have a basic idea of what foods I'm going to have for two meals out of the day. Example: I planned to have hot cereal with dried fruit and maple syrup today for breakfast. I got up, looked at my list and that's what I had. You can make this a regimented or as loose as YOU see fit to work around YOUR life. If you need a list to tell you what to do each day... then sit down and make that list! As time goes on that list gets easier and easier to make.

How do I look at a meal and instantly know the points? I -never- do. Never. I always look up points for a meal I've yet to eat.

DO NOT GUESS. If you need a minute to figure out what's on your plate, then take the minute to figure it out.

I usually make my meals, but sometimes my husband makes them. You know what he has learned to do? He leaves out the boxes for what he made, and over time I've learned to size up what a serving of meat is. But, I never, never, NEVER put anything into my mouth that I don't know how much of it is.

Chicken, for example, 3 oz (a serving) of it is ~about~ the size of you palm excluding your thumb and fingers. Or you can just get a kitchen scale and weigh the chicken before you cook it.

It's going to take time to acclimate yourself to the program, but it comes down to weighing & tracking everything. At first it's a little bit of a pain, and comes with a learning curve. Overtime, I've made this just my new routine.

I look at the nutritional info before I eat it. I write it down. I use my measuring tools, cups, tablespoons, etc. And I weigh my meat if I need to.

There's no guessing. Just one tiny minute to ACTUALLY figure out what I'm putting in my mouth.

You sound a little overwhelmed. I can understand, anything new can be that way.

I think Lovely covered everything really well and I would take her advice to heart, especially NEVER eating anything you do not know the point value of.

One thing I did a while back when I was counting calories and am doing now that I am counting points, is make a list of your "usuals" or "go to foods". What I mean is we all (I think) eat very similar things every week and we all have those favorite go to meals and snacks. Figure the point value on these things, complete meals and individual items. Include things like staples as well, things like bread, cheese etc... It takes a little time to compile your personal list, but it is a huge timesaver in the long run.

Before you know it, you will have these things put to memory and eventually be able to know the amounts without weighing. Weigh and measure until you are sure about you "eyeballing" something without measuring it.

Good luck with it all!

Maggie

I sit down every night and track what I will be eating the next day. I have to pack a lunch for work so that also gets packed the night before. I know what I'm eating and when I'm eating all day as soon as I wake up. No guessing required!

Dont give in Andrea! The plan works! I have been doing Propoints since December. One thing I love about it is that WW dont say what not to eat! You can eat anything! I had chocolate everyday last week and still lost 1.2kg.

How did I make this work? I grocery shop on Sundays for the week. Sunday morning I get up and plan my evening meals... I then know how many PP each meal will be. Invest in a scale. I weigh my portions so I know what 60g of snow peas looks like. It doesnt take any more time to weigh it.

Try and get to a meeting, the people there are just like you. Struggling with weight loss. At the meetings you make a goal for you to focus on throughout the week. In my 20th week my goal is finally to look at the healthy eating guidelines... up until now I havent focused on those, and this week I am trying to eat the 2 fruits, 5 veg, 2 protein etc... and ticking them off in etools.

Spend an hour getting to know etools. Its the best thing about WW, you can build your favourite recipes and work out the PP. Add your favourite foods into favourites so that it doesnt take long to track. I spend 10 minutes after dinner each night tracking, then I know what I can have after dinner. I am also like you and find that I have to eat after dinner.

If you are still struggling, think back on why you walked into WW the first time... do you want to go back to what that was like for you?

Hi Everyone..

Thank you SO much for your advice and tips. I am now more motivated than ever to make this work! I have found an application for my smart phone and have downloaded it and now tracking is super easier! Will keep you posted.. have a good day and thanks again xx

That's great!