Hi Everyone! I am Erin. I am 26, vegan from Chicago. I just joined WW on Thursday and am excited to begin (finally) my weightloss journey. I look forward to posting here!

So, my usual brekkie of 2c white basmati rice I just realized has 8pts if I am reading that correctly. That's a loooot of points. I hate breakfast cereals and other breakfast foods...I am going to look into potatoes maybe instead. I have a feeling being vegan on WW is going to be harder than I thought!

There are many vegans on W/W and nothing says you have to eat breakfast foods for breakfast let alone other times of the day.

Potatoes are 3 points for 10 oz raw/8 oz cooked. You are right most rice is 4 points a cup.

Why not try jumping over to the official W/W page as they have a vegetarian section and they may be able to help you.

Welcome!

Have you considered trying the WW Core plan? You'd have to switch to brown rice to follow the plan, but with Core you can eat as much as you need to feel satisfied. Rice is limited to once a day, but there are lots of vegan foods that are unlimited: All vegetables, beans and legumes, tofu and other soy foods, fresh or frozen fruits, etc. You only have to count your extra 35 points for things that aren't on the list, like bread and sweets.

Hmmm I am kind of considering it but I'm afraid I'd tend to overeat without some points to keep me in check

I know the feeling. I think there are some things you can do to prevent that, though. One is to learn how to focus on your "comfort zone." I also imported some tricks from South Beach to help. For example, if I had your breakfast--even the whole 2 cups--I would be absolutely ravenous an hour later. But if I combined it with some kind of protein, I'd be much better off.

The program does limit some foods, mainly rice, potatoes and pasta, to a choice of one per day. I think it's mainly to prevent people from overeating and to help regulate appetite. I've found that eating mainly protein, fruits and vegetables, and using the other things sparingly has kept me on track.

Other people have other tricks, like eathing Core but counting the points, or switching back and forth. WW wants you to do a week of each program at a time, and not switch from day to day, but you aren't stuck with one forever.

I don't think being vegan will be a problem for you, but you may need to introduce more variety. For example, whatever plan you do, you need to get at least 5 fruits and vegetable servings, and probably one of them should be at breakfast.

What other kinds of things do you usually eat?

Well, here's a few food logs from veggieboards.com that I am a member of:

B: 6oz Chocolate Silk (with meds)
B2: (car) Banana, Soy mocha

S: 1c baby carrots, hummus

L: Romaine salad w/ Broc, cauli, zukes, sprouts & homemade Balsamic Dill vinaigrette. If still hungry, Asian Eggplant & Zukes in Chinese curry sauce w/ white basmati rice. Seltzer

S: 6 strawberries, 1 Mango

D: Homemade lentil soup w/ 2 slices vegan Greek crusty white bread (and smart balance light), few slices marinated portobello


Probably some cocktails too

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B: 6oz Chocolate Silk (for my meds)
B2: (car) Coffee
B3: 1-1/2c Zatarain's Red Beans & Rice

L: Romaine Salad w/ zucchini (sliced on my nifty new mandolin slicer!), cauliflower & brocolli w/ homemade Balsamic-Dill vinaigrette. 1c (again, mandolin sliced) asian eggplant, zucchini, and peapods in a chinese curry sauce w/ Basmati white rice. Seltzer

S: baby carrots

D: (planned) Portobello mushroom in an oil free marinade, baked, 1 sm. yukon gold baked tater.

====

B: Coffee, 1/2 onion Pletzel
B2: Slightly mushy banana, Seltzer

L: Huge romaine salad with Umeboshi plum & sesame dressing, Quick & Easy Bean soup OR whole wheat & Branston pickle sandwich, Diet Cherry Vanilla Dr. Pepper

S: baby carrots & Red Pepper Hummus

D: Chinese! Buddha's Delight w/ steamed rice, rooster sauce, seltzer

Dinner to be eaten until bursting point

That all looks pretty Core-friendly, aside from the sugared soy drinks. Any chance you could find lighter versions of those, or make your own from plain soy milk?

The only other potential problem is the "bursting point." I know where you are coming from, though--I can eat Chinese like there's no tomorrow.

Basically, though, it's just arithmetic, not rocket science. You seem to have a very healthy diet and if weight loss comes, it will be through portion control--either through points counting or using the comfort zone. You know better about how your appetite works, but the only things I would change would be cutting down on the sweet stuff at breakfast and maybe adding in some protein to meals that are mainly carbs and veggies.

If you do go with points, don't forget that you can use your 35 weekly points and will eventually get extra ones for exercise. When I (briefly) did points, I used them all for real food, not treats. That way I didn't feel so alarmed about an 8 or 9 point meal.

Thanks very much Cher. I am sure I will be full of questions
I think that I will try to start posting my food logs somewhere on this board...I need to look around a bit more but I am pretty sure I saw a thread for that

your lunches sound so good. yummm, and not a lot of points. do you make the sauces or do you buy them?
if you eat brown rice, I think its only 3 points a cup not 4.

My favorite low point breakfast is a one point English Muffin with a smear of fat free cream cheese and 1/2 oz. of Alpine Lace Reduced Fat Cheddar Cheese from the deli. It is only two points.