[msolarchick]

I am new to WW. I just bought the books from e-bay and want to get started. I feel overwhelmed. Is there somewhere I can go to get sample menus? Is there something special I need to do to jumpstart the diet? I only got the "pocket points guide", the "complete food companion", the "dining out companion", and a list of points daily for different weights. Is there something else I need to know? I tried to look myself on this site but, I didn't find this specific info. Thanks in advance!

[Emerald]

Welcome to the world of WW! You have most all the stuff you need to get started. I really LOVE the points slider card, though. It is great for calculating packaged items. Sample menus? Well, there have been some listed as forum topics. Or, I would suggest dwlz.com and go to the message board. There is a forum titled Journals where people daily post what they eat.

Happy eating, happy losing!

[Kelly_S]

1) Where in your points range (range meaning utilizing your TPs, APs, and FPs) are you eating? Most people find they lose better when eating most if not all of their points for the week. Especially if you are exercising you need to eat toward a high point total and not the lower end. The reason is because your body thinks it is starving and slows down your metabolism and holds on to the calories you intake.

2) What are you spending your points on? Review the POINTSPIES (Also make sure you get in some REAL fat (butter, margarine, mayo, real salad dressing, etc) however your fats really should for health concerns come from non-saturated sources. I had subconsciously removed almost all fat from my diet and had plateaued for SIX (count them 6) months. Make sure you get in some fat. Again W/W and nutritionists recommend for health healthy fats such as olive, canola oils etc but the important thing is to not eliminate the fat and get in at least 2 points in real fats (this is from nutritional courses).

3) Are you drinking your water?

4) Are you eating a lot of processed foods (canned, frozen, etc.) which contain a lot of sodium, which causes water retention. What about diet sodas? They can cause bloating and water retention.

5) Are you exercising? Have you taken your measurements to see if you are building muscle while losing? Remember muscle weighs 2.2 times more than fat volume for volume (this means for a 3”x3” piece of muscle and a 3”x3” piece of fat the muscle will be 2.2 times heavier). If you are exercising remember to eat high in your point range.

6) Are you journaling? This includes every BLT (bite, lick and taste). Those BLTs can add up in 'hidden' points. My leader suggested for each BLT or freebie to put a tick mark in your journal and for each 4-5 add 1 point to your day.

7) Are you calculating points correctly? Ninety percent of new members don't count points correctly. I have a favorite muffin and I realized my 3-point muffin is really 6 points because it is 2 servings. Make sure you use the nutritional information rather than the 'generic' list W/W puts out. You'll find a lot of differences.

Points Pies

Balanced (under 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 8-9 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 6-7 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 0-3 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 2-3 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

20-28 points a day

Higher Protein (under 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 5-6 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 9-11 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 0-1 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 2-4 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

20-28 points a day

Higher Carb (under 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 9-10 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 5-7 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 1-3 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 1-2 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

20-28 points a day

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Balanced (over 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 11 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 10 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 3-4 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 2-3 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

30-34 points a day

Higher Protein (over 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 8 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 12 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 2-3 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 4-5 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

30-34 points a day

Higher Carb (over 250 pounds)

Complex Carbs/Grain Based Foods – 13 points a day
Protein-rich Foods – 8 points a day
Fruits and Veggies – 2-4 points a day
Fats, added sugars – 3 points a day
Milk and Milk Products – 4-6 points a day

30-34 points a day


Activity Points:

Light Activity (you can talk and sing):
Weight X Minutes X .000232 = Activity Points

Moderate Activity (you can talk but no sing):
Weight X Minutes X .000327 = Activity Points

High Activity (you need deep breaths to talk):
Weight X Minutes X .0008077 = Activity Points

Points to Calories:

18 points = 1050 calories
20 points = 1150 calories
22 points = 1250 calories
24 points = 1350 calories
26 points = 1450 calories
28 points = 1550 calories
30 points = 1650 calories
32 points = 1750 calories
34 points = 1850 calories
35 points = 1900 calories (Weekly Points Allowance)
36 points = 2050 calories

Remember this is not always true but a good guide and DOES NOT include the 200-250 calories a day W/W built into the program for free veggies. Fat and Fiber play into the computation (more fat more points, more fiber less points) so it can be a bit up or down.

[Sonjastwin]

Weight Watchers magazine has a few sample meal plans in it every month (3 days worth for each the flex and the core plan). It won't hold you for the month, but can give you some good ideas about how to structure your day. There is also a weight watchers website. I'm not sure how much of it is free, but I think that if you join the paid part of the site, they'll give you weekly meal plans. But if you just want to get started, just follow your points allowance and make sure you're getting plenty of good food (fruits, veggies, whole grains), not using your points on high fat or highly processed crap. You can't go wrong that way.

In terms of jumpstarting, I say just follow the plan. It's natural to want to lose quickly, but in my experience, the quick plans are fads and don't last. If you follow the plan as it's written, you will naturally lose a bit more in the first few weeks, then will stabilize at something in the .5 - 2 lb range per week if you're diligent and not on a plateau.

Good luck,
Josie