I'm going to buy the WW Eating Out Guide. But I have a question - it takes every meal (I'll use a grilled chicken sandwich as an example), and gives a Point value, right? But since some of the meal is Core (chicken, veggies), those wouldn't go toward our WPA, right? So shouldn't each meal have a Flex Points value and a Core value? Say - if it's 6 Flex, it's 4 Core? Obviously some would be the same, if they had no Core ingredients, but some wouldn't.

Those 1 and 2 points really add up.

WW doesn't really consider fast food Core and they don't especially support the notion of dissecting meals. I'm not saying that I necessarily agree, I'm just explaining their logic.

A big problem with fast food is that it isn't really whole and unprocessed. Even a plain chicken breast is injected with sugar/fat to make it taste better. That's more likely the reason that WW doesn't mark it Core. WW rule is that if more than one ingredient is not Core then you should count points for the whole item.

We call that "tweaking" here on the board. I've certainly done it and been sucessful. But....it's also gotten away from me until I was tweaking more than doing Core. I still eat at restaurants often....just not the fast food ones.

Good luck!

I wasn't really talking about fast food - I barely consider that food at all. But at a decent restaurant, say I had Chicken Parmesan. I'd think that the chicken itself is Core, and I should only count points for the cheese.


But I see what you're saying about dissecting meals. I don't really agree with it, but I get it. I mean - at home, if I make a meal with all Core ingredients, it's Core. If I make a meal with one non-Core ingredient (say, non-FF cheese), I count that ingredient towards my points.

But thanks for answering my question!

Well, Eggie, the chicken is usually breaded and pan fried before it's decorated with cheese. And....it's likely that the marina that goes on top has some fat in it as well. But....if it was just chicken and cheese I'd only count points for the cheese.

I don't mean to preach or give bad news. You can tweak however works for you. My old girlie metabolism doesn't let me get away with much.

Being that I am a sugar addict, I tend to lose weight better when I stick to higher protein foods. I tried core the first week I was on WW and I lost 4 lbs that week, however, having 5 kids, it's soooooooo hard to stick to core so I ended up going with flex. The problem is that since I did that (which was in the beginning of my membership), I haven't lost hardly any weight. I still think I would do better on core, but how can we really stick with core when we have to cook for the rest of the family (who will not eat the core foods)? It's so tempting. I just can't seem to get back on track. (Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that, I've gotten off track for probably the last month or so?)...I've stopped logging food, stopped tracking points and just can't get back into the program, but I'm still attending WW Meetings. I guess my question is, how do we keep from being tempted when trying to do the core plan? How do we cook for the rest of our family and we just eat core foods? And we do eat fast food often, how do we stick with core for that? Should I not even think I can do core plan and just try to stick with flex? Your opinions are very much appreciated. Thanks so much, tink

How do you keep from being tempted....dont buy it!! Dont keep it in the house...if you dont have it you wont be tempted!~ As for how to cook for the rest of the family.....don't! Convert your day to day recipes you use know to Core. If it calls for cheese..use fat free..calls for rice? use brown rice,,that sort of thing. Eating healthy isnt just for people who are overweight it should be a lifestyle.
As for eating fast food often..if you plan ahead and keep meals in your freezer you will benefit from that. You wil save money and save calories. It does take time to do though,,,if your making a meal of pasta,,,make enough to freeze..chili same thing. When yo buy chicken throw a core sauce over the chicken and freeze it! Lay everything flat to freeze...it thaws much quicker that way. Hope this helps tink

More than likely that chicken has been marinated and grilled with oil and is not Core. If more than 2 ingredients aren't core you should count all the points. My husband was a chef in a 4-star restaurant until he retired...you'd be amazed at what is in your food. The better the restaurant, the more it'll have added in the way of marinades and added oil or butter while cooking.