Hi Tracy! First of all welcome!! Checking into these boards are very helpful, I do it almost everyday and for me it is like a "mini-meeting" every day. This is also my third time on WW and for the first time I feel like I am going to do it right. I have been paying major attention to eating my fruits and veggies. And I definately think that variety is important. So, go out and buy a bag of apples, I buy the smaller ones and always have one of those at the ready. I also buy breakfast bars, the ones I buy are 3 pts each. I don't eat these everyday, but there are some mornings where I have no time...so I eat a breakfast bar and apple on my way to work. I pack sandwiches a lot for work. They are filling...and I can usually make one for 5 pts. (lite wheat bread, deli ham, lite cheese and mustard) Fat free pringles are great and they are 1 pt for 15 of them. I usually eat some baby carrots with my lunch and/or a piece of fruit. I also like ff pudding. it takes me a long time to eat it and keeps me full.
Eating out is tough, but not impossible. I keep sample menus with my points tracker so if I am going to go through a drive-thru I will know in advance what i am going to have.
Okay....those are just a few things I do that helps. Oh, and DRINK YOUR WATER!! That is sooo important!! I buy at Wal-mart the individual packets of crystal-light (but in the wal-mart brand) It helps me get in some of my water. Hope all of this helps!

Tracy, I find the same thing helps me. If I eat smaller meals more often during the day it keeps my blood sugar levels even and I don't get hungry. I never go more than 3-4 hours without at least a 2-3 point snack.
P.S. We all fall off the wagon. The trick is to just keep getting back on!

Tracy, I would also say to plan, plan, plan. I make menus up a week at the time and grocery shop for only those things I need for the menu. It's not rigid; I can change things if I want to. But, I'm trying not to ever catch myself really hungry without healthy choices in the fridge. Last night, for example, I THOUGHT I had planned the week well, but a miscommunication caused me to be out of the house all day and no time to cook my planned meal. I found myself at a fast food drive-through too ravenous to choose a salad like I should have. Luckily, I always keep huge salads and ff dressings at home. SO, even though I indulged, I was able to round out the meal with something ff and good for me.

To encourage you, I'll tell you my favorite thing about WW. It alleviates my guilt. I know I'm doing something good for a change instead of beating myself up all the time about my weight.

Good luck, and I can't wait to hear your success story from beginning to end.

Before I leave home in the morning, I grab all the good things I should have: fruit, 94% popcorn, lots of packaged salad stuff, my crystal light, whatever I have that is low in points. I leave my home with a bag of food every single day.

I eat all day long, whenever I feel like it. True, I'm not eating the foods I used to eat, but I have food around me, and I like to eat, so I make do with the healthy options I've packed for the day.

Journaling is the most important thing I can do to force myself to stay on track. No journaling, well, then I must be on vacation from WW. We all know where that leads.

And I wake up excited again (I'd fallen off the plan for a while there, so in a way, I feel like I'm at a new starting point, too). I know that I'm BETTER than I was yesterday. I just know it. I was on plan all day yesterday, so today I'm lighter, healthier, more energized. I just wake up feeling that. It doesn't have to be earth-shattering, because I KNOW I'm losing weight every single day. O.K., so the scale might say I'm exactly the same. I know I'm better.

Welcome back to the WW world. We're here for each other.

Wow newmom... now you got me pumped. I was on track all day yesterday. I dont get off work til 3 in the morning though and this morning i made a trip to mcdonalds for a double quarter and fries. i basically just used up all my flex points, i really didnt crash.

Well, i went for my first WI today. and im Down 10 points.. whooo hooo.. I am soo excited.

Hi Tracy,

Congrats on your loss! Keep it up and don't get discouraged when you have weeks where you don't lose much. Slow but sure is a healthier way to lose weight anyway. You can do this!

The moderators have a good post on eating out on the main WW board. I think every restaurant has good and bad choices. Lots of fast food places have salad or fruit these days, just watch out for their super-high-fat dressings. Subway, Mr. Sub, and Wraps have choices that aren't too horrible, as long as you chose whole wheat, and don't let them put any mayo or sauce on them. Choose a low-fat meat like chicken, hold the cheese, and load on the veggies. Watch out for toasted sub places that oil their bread to give the toasted bread a better texture. Pack crystal light in your book bag, so you can just order water instead of pop.

When I'm going out, and know I won't be home for a meal, I pack a bunch of low-points food to munch on. Along with veggies and fruit, I might pack flavored rice chips or low-fat block cheese cut into 1-2 point servings, or a 1 point yogurt. This is usually cheaper than eating out anyway.

A good eating out tip that our leader gave us is to put a coin in your change purse with a sticker with a weight goal on it. So when you are at the restaurant, you will see that coin and it will make you think about whether or not the food you want to choose (or how much of it you eat) is going to get you to that goal.

Ohhhhhh I like the coin idea. Ive just been reading everyones posts and they have given me so great tips, im going to start packing my lunch from tomorrow with low point goodies cos I love to eat!

All the ideas are great here...

One thing that I always have to remember is that life happens are you....if this is a lifestyle choice, one little mishap is really not very revelent in the big circle of life...learn from everything you do, the good choices and the bad ones.

Thanks guys, i really appreciate all the help. I have had a pretty bad past three days. I have written down what i eat, and such. But reading back over the posts gets me motivated again. Thanks again.

Tracy
I laughed when I read you were down 10 POINTS ..I assume you meant pounds!

Hang in there..................planning is important.Take it a day at a time.Try not to "overthink"it.Just do it is a good motto! Keep in mind all change,big or small.make a difference over a period of time.

Try to have fun with the plan.Enjoy your journey because when you get to your desired weight you will contunue doing the same thing you are doing now except they will be more "second nature"!

One more thing.why dont you keep a journal....................and record all of the small sucesses you do daily.?In other words.record all the things you did with your eating daily that are improvements! Concentrate of your sucesses daily!

Good Luck.keep us posted!

Hi Tracy
Everyone is soooo right when they say you need to plan and eat more. I was the type of person that hardly ever ate, and am rarely ever hungery. I have to make myself eat. I am getting so use to writing everything down that I eat, and it helps a great deal when you can see the points and know that you are still within your point range. I have to lose about 150lbs, but am doing it in groups of 10lbs. Looking to far away seems like a HUGE thing, I don't want to set myself up for failure...thats why the 10lbs things seems good to me. Good luck in your weight loss. YOU CAN DO IT!!!