Weight Watchers

On October 14th, my boyfriend and I will be starting Weight Watchers. Why that date? Because the most convenient meetings for us to attend are early on Saturday mornings, and this upcoming weekend is the Canadian Thanksgiving and we're attending two separate turkey dinners (my family's on Saturday, his family's on Sunday); although I realize that there will always be a "food-heavy holiday" coming up, it seemed self-defeating to start counting points on a day filled with food we both love.

Does anyone have any advice or tips that would make this easier (or at least less frustrating) for a pair of foodies? I'm pretty fearless when it comes to trying new recipes, and my boyfriend will try anything -- plus, we're both good cooks and have already been making an effort to eat healthy foods. Also, I'm wondering about lunches ... I brown-bag it to work, where I have access to a fridge and a microwave but not much else; does anyone have any WW-friendly/brown bag-friendly lunches they can recommend? (There's at least no risk that I'll have fast food take-out for lunch, since there's nowhere around here to eat!) I'm also interested in healthy snacks, particularly of the salty variety because that's my biggest downfall.

I already have an excellent support network set up for this, because several of my friends are on WW (one has met his goal of 60 lbs lost, another has lost 90 lbs and has ten more to go), but it can never hurt to get more support and a wider perspective!

I am on it for the second time! I love WW, it's the only thing that works for me and my DH!

The cookbook is actually really yummy! Last night I made pork tenderloin with WW teriaki glaze (from recipe) and grilled zuchinni. I love that I am not just eating boiled chicken all the time!!!

Some favorites:
snacks: tomatoes in 1 tbsp of balsamic vinigarette(1 point)
lunch: Smart Ones (5 pts)
dinner: grilled chicken with herbs stuffed with spinach and fat free mozzerella (4 pts)
dessert: those toffee ice cream bars, YUMMY! (2 pts)

I have been on it for 2 weeks and have lost 4 pounds! Last time I went on it before our wedding I lost 20 pounds in 3 months!

Oh good luck with Weight Watchers!! I'm a 110% believer in that program - my mom recently lost 60lbs on it!

They have books that you can purchase there (at the meetings) a few reciepe books, books that help count your points - and another one that my mom got that has the easy lunches/dinners - for work and brown bags. You'll find something in those books. Take a look around when you go to your 1st meeting, or look online too, there might be something there.

Hey my mom and I just joined this past Tuesday!!! I've never done the program but she's a lifetime member

I was having the same problem you are talking about- yesterday I didn't have time to pack a lunch so at noon I was struggling to come up with something healthy I could eat- I ended up at Subway which I hate because their sandwiches are never satisfying to me for more than a half hour.

So... last night my boyfriend and I went grocery shopping and got a ton of stuff for my lunches. He's really supportive about me losing weight so we took my points slider thingy with us and just spent some time figuring out the points on snacks & things. Even with regular stuff we figured out which was the best point-wise (considering serving size too!) so that we were buying things I could eat too. We compared lunch meats, breads, lunchy-type items... everything!

Also- once I got home I went through things and wrote the points down on the packaging so in the morning/night when I'm making my lunch I don't have to re-figure it out. I'm just trying to keep things simple since it's definetely a lot more work to prepare a healthy lunch than it is to just throw one together like I used to do.

I don't know all of the point values off hand- but I do know they were good enough for me to buy each product... but here are some suggestions based on my shopping experience!

* Nabisco 100 calorie packs (2 pts) [I got the peanut butter cookie crisps ]
* Yoplait light/fat free yogurt
* Special K snack bar- right now I have no clue which type it is- you'd have to check them out!
* Progresso soups- I got vegetable & minestrone... some are better than others but these two were good
* Dill pickles
* Tuna
* English muffins- again I don't know the brand but it was a multi-grain, very high fiber & protein... I had one with my breakfast today and it was very filling!
* Fruit of course
* Applesauce- you'll have to check which is the best
* Eggs- hard boiled eggs are easy lunch items\\
* Low-fat cottage cheese
* Rice cakes- the flavored kind (I didn't get any- they didn't have them!!)
* We got some hard candy for me to suck on when I'm getting the munchies- it was just a variety pack but it was 1 pt for 4 pieces...


That's all I can think of for now without looking through my cupboards! You also might want to try googling "weight watchers recipes" which I did today when I got to work. I found a ton of stuff that doesn't look like it would be too bad. I hope it isn't- because keeping track of home-made food is the hardest for me... how the heck do you figure out how many points are in something you make for dinner?!

My friend has been on weight watchers for a few months, and has lost 55 lbs.. I've never been lucky enough to lose on weight watchers..

I'm having the Roux-n-y surgery as soon as I get approved through insurance....

Originally Posted by angelkitty

I'm having the Roux-n-y surgery as soon as I get approved through insurance....

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What is that? If ya don't mind me asking!

It's kind of like a Gastric Bypass Surgery.. Except is done laproscopically. Less evasive.

Never heard of it! I hope everything goes according to plan

Sorry to but I'm curious how anyone else on WW deals with determining the point values for foods they prepare themselves??

For example we're having vegetable soup tonight (with venison not beef) but I have no clue how many points that is! I'm sure it's not very much considering the ingredients... But what about a meatloaf or spaghetti sauce that isn't from a jar?

I've been on Weight Watchers for just over a year, and I've lost 70 lbs so far. (I'm hoping to lose another 45.)

Being fearless about trying new things and good cooks will help you a lot. The big thing will be to cut down on the amount of fat you're cooking with. That's actually easier to do than you'd think. I've even figured out how to fry chicken breasts in 2 tsp of canola oil! Weight Watchers has several cookbooks that they sell. I seem to have an addiction to these...because I have pretty much all of them. I've found that most of the recipies in them are really very good, though. (And you can get creative and adapt a lot of their recipes into other things.)

My biggest piece of advice is to make sure that you always have healthy food on hand. I've found that the times I get into trouble are when I'm stuck somewhere with no good options and I'm starving. Then I'm likely to eat anything. For the first week or two, I'd advise being overprepared. Bring more food to work with you (or wherever) than you think you'll actually need.

I brown bag my lunch pretty much every day. I bring a very big salad, which I eat with white basamic vinegar and pepper (0 points). I also bring some kind of entree that I can heat up in the microwave. It's usually a dish that I make up on Sunday and bring with me all week. (This week it's herbed cous cous with chicken and veggies.) There are some great recipes for things like red beans and rice or stir-frys in the cookbooks I like to make, too. If I'm too busy to cook, I'll bring a WW frozen entree or a Lean Cuisine. Soups work out well, too. (In fact, I keep a couple of those ready-to-heat soup bowls in my desk for emergencies.)

My favorite points-friendly salty snack of all is popcorn. You can eat tons of 94% fat free popcorn for very few points. Other salty snacks are Fat Free Pringles or the new light Ruffles, Doritos, or Tostidos chips. (Not the baked ones...the light ones in the blue bag. They taste just like the real thing...in fact, DH can't even tell the difference.)

Originally Posted by SarahBeez

Sorry to

but I'm curious how anyone else on WW deals with determining the point values for foods they prepare themselves??

For example we're having vegetable soup tonight (with venison not beef) but I have no clue how many points that is! I'm sure it's not very much considering the ingredients... But what about a meatloaf or spaghetti sauce that isn't from a jar?

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You have to count up the total points of all the ingredients, then divide by the number of servings. So for your soup you'd count up the number of points for the broth, the veggies and the beef. Then divide by the total number of bowls it made.

Yeah I've done that in the past when I was making this dish we like (called Turds but it's actually very good ) it's just a lot of work and it's difficult when the ingredients nutritional information isn't based on the same serving size.

I suppose the answer is to just do the best you can! Or... wing it!

Oh- Tari- I saw those chips yesterday & figured the points out in the store but we didn't buy any. I missed the Pringles though (RATS!!! They're my fav!)... Congrats on the 70#'s so far- that is amazing!

Thank you all so much for the advice! I'll probably keep pestering everybody once we actually get started on WW, but it's good to know a lot of this stuff in advance -- especially since I'm trying to convince my boyfriend that it won't be nearly as painful as he thinks it is. (Although he needs to lose weight himself, his biggest motivation for joining WW is to support me.)

I lost 23 lbs since May.. I'm trying to maintain now so I can get Lifetime member status. woohoo! My major thing to change was eating enough milk and fruit and veggies. So i always bring an apple and carrots to work, and a splenda flavored jello pudding (1 point) to help get the dairy intake going.
Usually I eat a 2-3 point breakfast with some milk, then have 7-9 points at work, including the above mentioned items plus a lean cuisine, smart one or healthy choice. Then a light dinner that includes salad with a dressing, plus a 2 or 3 point treat. The first few weeks are rough because you may be eating less, but you get used to it. Measure your portions esp at first. I keep about 3 1/2 cup measures around. Make sure you follow the healthy guidelines.

This isn't 100% accurate but weight watchers points:



One point = (calories/50) + (fat grams/12) - (min{r, 4}/5)

The last part of the formula — min{r, 4} — is equal to the number of grams of dietary fiber or 4, whichever is the smaller number. The formula means that one point is equal to the number of calories in a food serving divided by 50. The value increases by about one point for every 12 grams of fat, and drops by about one point for every five grams of fiber.

In simple terms, total fat becomes a point penalizer, while fiber is a point enhancer.

Originally Posted by SarahBeez

Oh- Tari- I saw those chips yesterday & figured the points out in the store but we didn't buy any. I missed the Pringles though (RATS!!! They're my fav!)... Congrats on the 70#'s so far- that is amazing!

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Buy the chips! They're awesome. Seriously, Pat has no clue he's been eating low-fat chips for months. And thanks for the congrats.

Originally Posted by Mirinae

-- especially since I'm trying to convince my boyfriend that it won't be nearly as painful as he thinks it is.

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It actually won't be. Pat started following the Core food plan on Sunday, and he's having a pretty easy time of it. (He refuses to actually join or go to meetings, against my advice, but at least he's eating healthier.) With either food plan, you get 35 flex points a week, that you can for indulgences. That makes it alot easier to stick with it.

Congratulations, zak&rocky on making your goal weight! I totally agree that the first few weeks are the roughest. Keep lots of popcorn and other high-fiber, low-points food around that you can dive into when you get hungry. (I swear, the low-fat popcorn was the only thing that got me through the first week.)

Hey I have a question for those of you that have already been on WW and have lost weight...

Did you start exercising more or just mainly concentrate on following the rules for eating?

So far (since Tuesday ha ha!!) I haven't exercised (which is normal ) but I have been trying to be more active doing house work & all that shhtuff...

I realize this is a WW thread but I thought that I'd add my voice of support. I've recently lost 95lbs (43kg), and I'd share part of my journey. Try not to look at the big picture. If you need to lose 100lbs break it up into smaller pieces. I did mine in 5lb (2.2kg) increments. For each five pound loss I would celebrate with a Hot Fudge Sunday with the works! Take this time to learn more about who you are. It's a wonderful place to be after loosing it all, but taking the first step was the hardest thing I've ever done. Good luck!

Originally Posted by lookingglass

I realize this is a WW thread but I thought that I'd add my voice of support. I've recently lost 95lbs (43kg), and I'd share part of my journey. Try not to look at the big picture. If you need to lose 100lbs break it up into smaller pieces. I did mine in 5lb (2.2kg) increments. For each five pound loss I would celebrate with a Hot Fudge Sunday with the works! Take this time to learn more about who you are. It's a wonderful place to be after loosing it all, but taking the first step was the hardest thing I've ever done. Good luck!

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Congrats on the weight loss! That's about the amount I'm estimating I will need to lose in order to reach my ideal BMI (which, incidentally, I've never been at), and I think your suggestion would be really helpful for me -- it's not as daunting to look at the weight in smaller increments. And I do like the idea of rewarding myself for reaching my goals; it's really hard to just stick with something when the only reward is this vague concept of being healthier ...

Originally Posted by Mirinae

Congrats on the weight loss! That's about the amount I'm estimating I will need to lose in order to reach my ideal BMI (which, incidentally, I've never been at), and I think your suggestion would be really helpful for me -- it's not as daunting to look at the weight in smaller increments. And I do like the idea of rewarding myself for reaching my goals; it's really hard to just stick with something when the only reward is this vague concept of being healthier ...

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It worked really well for me. Also my husband and I lost weight together. If at all possible try to get a weight loss buddy.