Just about to embark upon WeightWatchers again..
Millie Muppet
Posts: 6,853 Forum Member
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Well, I think there should be a support thread sticky for people who are doing the diet, but that's by the by....;)
Anyway, I'm just about to embark on WW again and wondered if anyone had any tips for nice meals, snacks, etc, that aren't bog standard, predictable, cardboard-tasting 'low fat' affairs. I'd rather not venture anywhere near a WW or supermarket own brand low fat ready meal and just eat 'proper' food albeit in much smaller portions, which I found worked well the last time.
But if there is something you consider particularly yummy which is WW-friendly please share! Or any tips on food which is deceptively low in points.
Good luck fellow 'Watchers!
Anyway, I'm just about to embark on WW again and wondered if anyone had any tips for nice meals, snacks, etc, that aren't bog standard, predictable, cardboard-tasting 'low fat' affairs. I'd rather not venture anywhere near a WW or supermarket own brand low fat ready meal and just eat 'proper' food albeit in much smaller portions, which I found worked well the last time.
But if there is something you consider particularly yummy which is WW-friendly please share! Or any tips on food which is deceptively low in points.
Good luck fellow 'Watchers!
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For example (I track online so it's really easy for me to check) today I've had:
2x weetabix
semi skimmed milk
banana
tuna
light mayo
sweetcorn
pitta bread
yogurt
apple
roast chicken
potatoes
carrots
green beans
gravy
packet of crisps
1/2 grapefruit
All that came to 23points which is less than the daily recomended 29 points so I may have a glass of wine or 2
I hope this helps
I recommend joining the website, the esource has more amazing recipes than I can list here. I've got loads of them saved in a 'cook book' on my laptop.
With the WW own food, don't avoid all of it. Personally I do avoid the ready meals, but I highly recommend:
the cookies (double chocolate chips ones are amazing),
the chocolate bars,
the Belgium chocolate cake bars,
the jaffa cake rolls,
the bagels,
the garlic dough balls (amazing),
the tuna in tomato and herb sauce,
the pizzas (they are small and I usually add peppers, mushrooms and onions to them (all zero points) to pad it out.
That's all I can think off WW wise at the moment.
Other food wise, I eat a lot of Quorn now instead of meat. The burgers, meatballs and escalopes are fantastic. And the mince is brilliant.
French fancies are 3 points each, worth knowing for when you want a sweet snack. Also the Cadburys raisin and nut bars are 4 points (they sell them in our vending machines at work, yum)
Seafood stick are stupidly low in points, I think it's something like 1 point for 3, 1 point for 6, I think you have to get to 12 to eat more than one point, they're so low but they have to be worth something.
All fruit is now point free since the new system, so you can fill up on bananas. Most veg is still point free (root veg like potato and parsnip isn’t but it is still low).
For lunch at work I tend to have 2-3 carrots chopped into sticks, half a pepper chopped into sticks and a chunk of cucumber. That's all zero points. I also tend to tear up a few slices of Quorn sandwich "meat" which brings the total up to...2 points. On a bad day it's not the most filling but it's normally enough.
Or I sometimes do a tuna pasta for lunch. 40g of pre-cooked pasta = 4 points (it doesn’t look much when you weigh it out but once it's cooked and expanded its plenty for a lunch), 1-2 carrots all chopped up = 0 points, 1 tin of WW pasta (either the one in tomato and herbs or the one in mayo and sweet corn) = 2 points. A very tasty filling lunch for 6 tiny points.
That's all I can think of at the moment.
Does anyone have an easy way in their head of calculating points values? I could calculate the points of absolutely anything the old way and now I'm all confused.
Nice tip about seafood sticks, thanks! Also I think I'm gonna have to stock up on bananas. It's so nice that most fruit is zero now; that's the one thing I disliked about the old system.
I also agree about the WW cake products; they are very nice indeed, and I just bought some of the toffee chocolate bars from the meeting.
Happy 'Watching!
(Be nice if we could keep this thread up....I'm really contemplating asking the Mods for a sticky.....:cool:)
I lost 5 stone on old Points WW a few years ago and still loosely follow WW although I haven't been to a meeting for about 2 years (am still at goal though *polishes halo*)
I eat a lot more veggie food. Absolute favourite is a veggie curry made with onions, garlic, ginger, red peppers, mushrroms, tinned toms and curry spices. I will often thicken it out with a small handful of dried red lentils and bung in any other random veg like okra or aubergine.
I can get it to be around 1 ProPoint, then I serve it up with a dollop of Total 0% yoghurt some Geeta's lime pickle and a chapati if I'm feeling really racy. Total Propoints around 6 for the lot
I find most Propoints are around double original Points. Carb based foods are often slightly higher and protein based foods generally slightly lower but for a rough calculation, you'll not be too far out.
I did struggle with Propoints so I still point fruit (despite what WW say as I eat quite a lot) and I rarely use the 'bonus' points.
I exercise 3-4 times a week and avoid eating processed rubbish. Seems to work for me:cool:
Good Luck!!
There is a weight loss thread in advice where a few of the regular posters in there do WW and of course, there is the community on the WW website too which is really helpful and motivational to me.
My tips for the plan in general:
*Eat all your daily points and most, if not all your weeklies. DO NOT be scare of your weekly points. They aren't extra or bonus and you can still lose weight if you eat them. They are part of your weekly allowance and similar to the 4 points you used to be able to save every day. The only difference is they are pre-saved for you.
*You can split your weeklies up and use a few extra each day or use them all in one day/night out/meal out. It is really up to you how you use them.
*You may think your starting points are way too many, what you need to do is get out of diet head mode. This isn't a diet, it is a lifestyle and you can have crisps, chocolate, alcohol, fatty foods, sweets etc... IN MODERATION. Don't try to do too much at once and just eat lean meat and veg. It isn't sustainable long term and you will quickly crave what you are telling yourself isn't allowed. Nothing is banned. Have it, point it, enjoy it.
*Best thing about PP is that fruit is now 0pp. This includes fresh, frzen and canned as long as it is only in juice, not syrup. If you have canned fruit in juice, you must drain the juice for it to be 0pp. The juice itself is pointed, if you want to drink it/use it in what you are making then measure it and point it as fruit juice.
*Most fruit and veg is 0pp (2 examples of things that aren't are peas and sweetcorn). If you buy a prepacked bag of veg and it contains all 0pp veg then it is 0pp. The bag will have nutritional information on it and if you pop the information into a calculator it will come up with a points value. But WW say fruit and veg is 0pp so it is 0pp. Again, just double check it doesn't have anything point-able in it, and in the case of something like a bag of stir fry veg, if it has a little sauce sachet with it that will need pointing.
*Water! You need it to lose weight. At least 2 litres a day to keep your body ticking over, more if you exercise. IF you don't drink enough, you will retain what you do drink which can lead to a gain on the scales from the extra water weight you are carrying.
*PP is designed to burn fat whereas the old plan burned calories and would also burn muscle (NOT GOOD!). However, with PP this means that you might find your weight loss is slower than the old plan, but as long as you are sticking to the plan this should only be far you are losing.
To go with this, because fat is burned rather than muscle you might see your measurements go down faster than your weight. So, when you start, take your measurements and then take them again on about a monthly basis. Then, if the scales don't necessarily show what you expect, hopefully your measurements will. PP is designed for you to lose 0.5-2LB per week
Food wise, I don't really think I have changed my main meals much to what I used to eat. However I am more aware of what I am eating and everything that I do eat is weighed and portioned. Having done WW in the past you will know weighing food is essential and helps you to learn portion control which is one of the best things about the plan.
The biggest change I have made is eating breakfast. Before WW I never had it and my first food of the day would be 1pm'ish. Now I always have breakfast.
Just remember, as said before nothing is banned. You could have if you wanted, a rack of ribs. It might take up most of your daily points but with planning that will be fine as you can use weeklies or you can have 0pp items for the rest of the day.
There are loads of recipes on the WW website too which are great and can easily be scaled up and down to fit into your points allowance.
Sorry, for my long ramble and I know you asked for food tips but a lot of people that were on the old plan seem to get a bit stuck with PP at the start, I have a list of low points snacks somewhere that I will dig up and post for you.
And lastly, I have been on it for 17 weeks now and have lost 33.5lb. So it does work, for me at least. I only hope you have the same success.
1 pink & white (microwave for about 10 secs delicious) 1pp
Fruit and ww yoghurt.
Meringue nests - 1pp
WW lemon cup cake.
Half a pot of ww chocolate dessert with strawberries (very rich choc, often split with other half or save the other half for the next day, if you want a choc fix consume the whole pot for just 2pp!).
2pp...Asdas/Tescos own chocolate wafer bars = 2pp
cadbury's treat size chocs are all between 2-3pp
Go Ahead Fruity Cake Slices - Apple and Sultana = 2pp
Asda Vitality Chewy Banoffee cereal bar = 2pp
Asda Vitality Chewy Cranberry Cereal Bar = 2pp
Skinny cow choc dipped stick = 2pp and yummy!
All Alpen lights = 2pp
Special K Bliss = 2pp (yum yum)
WW new limited edition coconut slice and bluberry slice cakes = 2pp each (they are lovely!!)
French Fries = 2pp
Cadbury's thick coated milk chocolate biscuits = 2pp each
asda white cholocate mini bubbly bars for 2pp
tesco value snow balls 2pp
tesco value chocolate tea cakes 2pp
Velvet Crunch 2pp
3pp...
m&s mini hot x buns 3pp (but more if you add butter)
Curly Wurly = 3pp
Echo (yum yum) = 3pp (and worth it!)
Aero sundae dessert (I think its new) = 3pp (lovely)
Walkers cheese and onion lights (currently on special offer £1 for multipack of 6) = 3pp
Mini (6) jaffa cakes = 3pp
Cadbury's low fat chco trifle (individual portions) = 3pp
Rocky caramel bar = 3pp
5 squares of cookie crumble Galaxy choc (taken from a large bar) = 3pp (a real treat, as it is rich chocolate- yum yum)
Small bag butterkist 3 pp
Small bag mini oreos 3pp
2 mini Carmel eggs 3 pp
chomp
One of my staple puds is, as much fruit as you like, such as strawberries, blackberries, etc. 1 meringue nest and 25g ancor light squirty cream = 2pp!
He's 5 feet 7, so he imagined himself to be around 17 stone. He was staggered to find he weighed 21 stone on the WeightWatchers scales. :eek:
He's been dieting since March 1st 2011, and has already lost 2 stone. However, he cannot believe he has EIGHT MORE stone to lose because he thinks he's only about 15 stone now.
And I must admit, I agree with him.
PS. I'm 5 feet 10, and 13 stone, yet he doesn't look much more than me.
Possibly.
I lost 2lb this week which I'm really pleased with since I only went to the gym once last week which brings my total to 54lbs off. I still have quite a way to go to goal but I'm more than half way there now and on a bit of a high today
I hope everyone else has a good weight loss this week. It's a great feeling.
Bloody hell, well done you! I reckon you deserve a sneaky glass of something for your efforts.
Just wondering, does anyone else give themselves one 'day off' a week? I used to do it the last time I was 'Watching, and I can safely say it didn't do me any harm. Saturday was always my 'takeaway and wine' night.
Thanks, I'll be having a wee glass of wine later. Just the one though because that's all I have left.
I don't really do the day off thing but I do use pretty much all of my weekly points and have a good drink at the weekend with my friends so I guess that kinda counts.
There is a girl in my meeting that swears by the day off method and she's lost 63lbs although she says she only has half a takeaway because she shares it with her mum but saturday is her "takeaway and wine night" and it obviously works for her.
I tend to let myself go a bit on a Wednesday evening after my weigh in.
Lost 3 pounds this week
Hey well done you! *high fives*
I'm still wondering which day to have my points-free. My weigh-in is on a Tuesday but Saturday is a better day to go points-free as it's perfect for takeaways and drinking. I'm going out this Saturday and don't want to be worrying about counting the points in my alcohol.
The way I argue it (which my WW leader would probably not want to hear) is that is I have Wednesdays as a freebie I've got the whole week to loose anything I put on
I would make sure you save the 'extra' weekly points and put them all on a Saturday if you want that as your down time day. But then you need to make sure you stick to your allocated points for the rest of the week and not go over at all (I say at all, we all have little slip ups)
Why not list what you had a maybe we can suggest some alternatives to keep you fuller? Things like grains in bread and wholemeal pasta and brown rice will keep you much fuller than their White counterparts. Also a meal based on protein, veg and complex carbs should keep you full for quite a while. Try and load up on more points free things like veg and fruit if you can too, especially veg.
Also bear in mind that just because you are on WW it doesn't mean you have automatically stopped eating "crap". I could use all my daily points on a meal from the chip shop. I would be starving for the rest of the day.
Think about what you are eating - not JUST the points. This was the biggest change I've made and so far have lost 2st 3.5lb.
It also helps to bulk out meals with vegetables. Eat more regularly through the day.
Don't forget to use your weekly points. They would cover the honey and crisps.
And if you are still hungry, 0pp fruit and veg is a saviour.
I lost 4lbs then with the 4 bank holidays, I tookd the additional 3 days off work and so in all had 11 days off and went on holiday. I didnt eat to bad but I drank lots of Cider (I was in Somerset afterall) and I didnt realise till I got home that its 5 points each! Needless to say I put the weight back on and another 3lbs :-( but in the 2 and a bit weeks that Ive been back on it Ive lost the 4lb I gained. I havent weighed myself for afew days but Ive been good so I hope I can do it.
I like the fact that fruit and most veg are 0 points. I use the online tracker and on my Ipod. What I usually do is start with my dinner (my biggest meal and so I would prefer to have something nice but within reason) then work backwards adding in lunch and breakfast. I will then go back and tweak if needs be. For example on my dinner if Im having sausage and mash and Ive put 3 sausages, if I go over I will reduce down to 2. Same with lunch if needs be.
My eating is ok most of the time. Ive still eaten takeaways but used my weekly points and Ive checked on what to eat first to reduce the damage. This week Ive also decided that if I want something Ive got to exercise to get all or most of the points, if I cant do the exercise then I wont eat it!
talking of exercise I do alot of walking. I walk to and from work which is nearly 2hrs per day, plus other walking if I go into town during my lunch break so I am accumulating quite afew points, which I dont mind as I use them if I want a takeway or little treat.
keep at it everybody and post your results!
OK, sorry to be super-dense, but how exactly does the weekly points quota of 49 work? The little starter pack doesn't explain it well.
I have extra points to use every week? Can I spread them over several days? Arrrgh, someone please help!
Yes, you have 49weekly points in addition to your daily allowance, you can use them however you want, i.e. All on one day or over the week. You can't roll them over to the following week though if you don't use them.
Oh wow- I can have another glass of wine tonight?!
Seriously though, the new ProPoints system seems so generous compared to the old way, I don't see myself losing any weight this week...?
My friend is doing it and has lost 1 stone in just over a month. I think they take more of the nutritional info into account when they calculate pro points as opposed to the old point system so it's generally better for your health