Finally taking the WW plunge

[neenee]

Okay, I am finally signed up for WW. I did online.

OMG...there is so much information. I am shopping for the week tomorrow morning and have no idea where to start and what to eat. LOL

Is there like somewhere to get like a menu of what I should eat for each meal each day? I want easy. lol

My daily points are 23. What is everyone elses? Just cuz I'm nosey like that.

[neenee]

Did I really say "like" that many times in one sentence? Geez...teenagers are rubbing off on me. Sorry.

[Milmomma]

No clue but they have these yummy chocolate with chocolate icing brownies that are 1 pt each. I keep them in the fridge so I have a chilled sweet treat.

[misfitinmn]

I'm not sure on the menu thing, but I have found a ton of great recipes at healthdiscovery.net (and some good ideas for snacks & stuff that are low point) or check out hungry-girl.com, she also has a ton of great recipes & ideas (and several books which I just bought and are FABULOUS) - these all have points listed so it makes it really easy. I particularly like hungry girl because she uses things that we would actually buy and use frequently, instead of something we have to buy once and then figure out a way to use all of it before it goes bad!
Good luck!

[jenn7]

I have 23 points also and doing it online. There are no menus as far as I know but I haven't delved into that too much. I just mainly track my points online. Once you get the hang of reading for points it will get easier. I'd start by stocking up on fruits & veggies, ground turkey and reduced fat stuff like cheese. I tend to stay away from Fat Free cause I haven't found much that is good. I do get these fat free spicy refried beans though and pair that with a tortilla and some reduced fat cheese and make a burrito. That and some baked chips and some lowfat cottage cheese is pretty much my usual lunch.

If you really want a menu planner, I have used e-mealz and got some really good recipes from there. They have a WW option if I remember correctly.

[leeann77]

The WW website has some free menu ideas. Are you already signed up? Do you have the monthly pass? If you do then you can search etools for weekly menu ideas. I personally don't eat a ton different than I did before...just smaller portions, more whole grains, and more conscious eating. I have 23 points each day...don't forget the extra 35 if you aren't satisfied with the 23...you can spread them through the week or eat them all at one sitting.

You will really like WW once you get used to it. It's just a way of life for me now. I have lost 35# and have about 16 more to go to reach my ultimate goal. I know I can live this way for the rest of my life...it's not a diet. I swear I was not paid to type all this. I have gone to WW on and off since I was 11. I lost 30# when I was 11 and kept most of it off until after I was married @ 23. Now I am going to get rid of my "baby weight" and I really like the people who attend my meeting (my leader is great too).

Good Luck with accomplishing your goal...I know you can do it!

[lovely1m]

WW online is FULL of fabulous recipes. Do some searching there. I have made some awesome food from recipes from there. I have 24 points, but I haven't weighed in or counted on a regular basis in a long time. Bad Mari.

[sarahbhb]

Hmmm...it's been about 6 years since I did WW online but there used to be meal plans tailored to your points and needs which I followed pretty religiously at first until I got used to the system. Yikes If those aren't available anymore I'm not sure I'm going to pay the money for WW online...I can do the points and such without the online tools but I was really hoping for the meal plans again because they really helped me out so much (I even made a bunch on them into index cards that I used when I didn't have online access but of course I don't have those anymore). Really hoping they still have them because they really did make the whole WW thing easier.

[Kat Stokes]

Here are a couple of recipes to get you started. I'll start with dessert first. :P

Caramel Apple Salad

8 oz. tub of Cool Whip FREE
1 box sugar free instant Butter Scotch Pudding mix
14 oz. can pineapple tidbits in juice
4 large Red Delicious or Fuji Apples (or more)
4 large Granny Smith Apples (or more)

Directions
Combine pudding mix and pineapple (with juice) in large bowl. Mix well and set aside. Dice apples into small pieces and combine with pudding mixture. Fold in Cool Whip FREE till well mixed. Chill and serve.

* This is also delicious made with Sugar Free Vanilla pudding. It doesn't have the same 'caramel apple' flavor, but it is incredibly yummy!



Number of Servings: 16
1 Pt. for 1 cup


Nutritional Info
Calories: 90.7
Total Fat: 0.4 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 27.8 mg
Total Carbs: 20.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 3.1 g
Protein: 0.2 g



Black Bean Salsa Chicken


4 4oz. chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can petite diced tomatoes (either with green chiles or jalapenos)
oregano to taste
salt & pepper to taste
4 oz. reduced fat shredded cheddar cheese
Pam spray


Spray skillet with Pam. Heat over med high heat. Sprinkle chicken with oregano, salt & pepper. Fry until golden brown and almost cooked through. Reduce heat to med-low. Mix rinsed beans and tomatoes together. Pour over chicken and simmer until heated through. Top with 1 oz. of cheese on each breast.



*Serves 4

It's about 5 points per chicken breast with about 1 c. of the bean mixture. I usually serve it with broccoli or green beans. Sometimes I cook some small red potatoes to go with it if I have enough points left.




Sweet & Spicy Pork Tenderloin


1 lb. pork tenderloin, thinly sliced into 1/4" thick medallions
salt & pepper to taste
crushed red pepper, to taste
4 tbsp. brown sugar
4 tbsp. soy sauce
4 tbsp. water
1 tsp. cornstarch
Pam spray



Slice the pork thin. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and crushed red pepper. Spray pan with Pam and heat over medium high heat. Cook until done. Mix brown sugar, soy sauce, water & cornstarch together. Pour over meat and simmer until warm and slightly thickened.



*Serves 4
About 4 points per serving.


I usually serve this over rice with a fresh veggie. Be sure to count you additional points for this stuff though.

[Susan Bartolini]

Congrats on getting started. I am on 20 points a day, which can be a little tough sometimes, so I use my weekly points and workout to earn activity points. Here are some of my tips:

I would recommend definitely starting your day with breakfast. Don't skip meals. I usually do a bowl of raisin bran and skim milk and a coffee.

Also, I would put a couple WW or Lean Cuisine frozen meals in the fridge for those moments when you are busy, in a hurry, or just can't figure out what to eat. Grab one and go. Generally, I don't eat those meals, I try to cook or make things in advance, but I have them as back up.

Get a digital food scale. I needed it to understand how much was actually the correct portion (i.e. 3 ounces of chicken, or 1 cup of cooked rice). Once you measure things a few times, you get the hang of it and can eyeball it. (Which will eventually help you when you are in situations where you have to eat out.)

And I would recommend this site: Gina's Weight Watchers Recipes. You can search by points which is awesome!

Drink lots of water and take a multivitamin!

Good luck!

[carriesmom]

Congrats on starting! I have just rejoined WW online as well and I am on 25 points a day, everyone has given great advice so far, so a big ditto. Honestly, if you are eating fairly healthy already you shouldn't have to adjust eating too much. And those weekly 35 are meant to be used. Alot of people will tell you that the lose the most weight when they eat those points so don't be afraid to experiment with consuming and not consuming your weeklies.

[MamaBee]

good luck!!! I wish I could join, but diet food has me annoyed with NFCS and other artificial sweeteners added... and now going gluten free, I still need time to figure that out... but I've lost 6 lbs not eatting wheat the last two weeks... LOL!

[Stacey42]

I love Gina's site because she uses real food, not artificial stuff. There are some things I just won't eat, like sugar free things with fake sweetner in them or fat free dairy products. I think they taste horrible even cooked. I'll use 1% and low fat in cooking but I can't just eat them, so I have to do this points trade off if I eat cottage cheese or put 2% milk on my cereal. Gina's recipes are real food, like chocolate crepes with strawberrys, though I skip the whipped cream becuse I don't like the fat free stuff, or I use just a little real whipped cream & accept the extra point or two.

[nesser1981]

Good luck, I'm down 9.2 pounds in 3 weeks. Today, I used a lot of weekly points.

We hadn't planned on eating bad, but we decided to go to the movies and stopped at Olive Garden for lunch, but I've got like 23 weeklys left right now. So, not too bad. I can stretch them. LOL

I really like Halfmysize.com too. I've used a lot of recipes from there.

[neenee]

Gosh, thank you so much girls for this information! I got my shopping done, worked out today (earned me activity points - woohoo!) and am sitting here eating some 94% FF popcorn while smelling some yummy chili cooking in the crockpot from the recipes that Carrie (ty sweetie!) sent me. I think this is going to work out great for me. I can't wait to see what the next few months has in store for my health and wellness!

[Davita]

Wow, you all have really inspired me. I have been trying to decide whether to do online or meetings. I love the idea of being held accountable at meetings but it is so hard to fit them in. I would love to join those of you that are doing WW because I could use the encouragement. Kat, those recipes look delicious!

[Jengerbread88]

I'm seriously considering joining WW online TONIGHT!

I really want to talk it over with my best friend first, before I take the plunge.

[Jengerbread88]

Okay, so I dug out the Original Hungry Girl cookbook. And oh my gosh. I had only ever glanced through it, and made 1 recipe from it, but it is going to be my new go-to guide.

Not only can you look up the point values and see photos of each dish on her website, but they're also easy recipes! And, I found out I can have THREE SLICES of french toast with her french toast recipe.... for only 3 points!

By the way, my daily points are 27 right now, plus the 35 weeklies and any APs I earn. I set my starting goal at 5% of my starting weight. That means my goal is to get to 198.6. I'll be so happy to get back down to below 200!

[carriesmom]

Originally Posted by HappyLilGrahamCracker

Okay, so I dug out the Original Hungry Girl cookbook. And oh my gosh. I had only ever glanced through it, and made 1 recipe from it, but it is going to be my new go-to guide.

Not only can you look up the point values and see photos of each dish on her website, but they're also easy recipes! And, I found out I can have THREE SLICES of french toast with her french toast recipe.... for only 3 points!

By the way, my daily points are 27 right now, plus the 35 weeklies and any APs I earn. I set my starting goal at 5% of my starting weight. That means my goal is to get to 198.6. I'll be so happy to get back down to below 200!

The feeling of getting below 200 is wonderful! I can't wait for you to get there.

[neenee]

Congrats if you are taking the plunge and go for it if you are on the fence. I am now on day 3 and feel so good. I don't know if it's just a coincidence or it is the clean eating I am doing but, after 3 weeks of constant pain with my fibro, I feel pretty darn good the last 2 days. I have even been able to go out for walks with DH in the evenings!

I am loving this and I am really not even hungry. I have earned 5 AP's and haven't used them and I still have my 35 WP's too. I am saving them for the weekend so DH and I can go have some sushi probably!

[Jengerbread88]

I've decided already the ways my weeklies are probably going to disappear. I go to coffee once a week with my best friend, on Wednesdays, after my therapy appointments, as kind of a nice "me time." But a large coffee WITHOUT whipped cream is 10 points!
Luckily, it's a once-a-week habit, not a daily habit. I am going to try to cut back on the size I order, but I'm not making myself quit completely right now.

Also one of my friends is studying to be a chef, so when he cooks for me, I'll probably save weeklies for that, too, cause he goes all out, dessert and everything!


But I am at 27 points per day (before weeklies and APs), and it's after dinner, and I still have 8 points left! I also got in 4 of my 6 glasses of water (I'm typically only to 2 glasses right now).

I also found a recipe in Hungry Girl's first cookbook that is ZERO POINTS! It's a frozen pumpkin treat- I can't wait to try it. I love frozen treats in summer. I'm going to figure out if I can make a popsicle bar out of it!

[carriesmom]

Just remember to eat all your dailies and get your GHGs in too.

[Davita]

I find I am having the hardest time with breakfast. I have never been much of a breakfast eater anyway and I am not crazy about eggs (or cereal or oatmeal). I need something that I can just grab because first thing in the a.m. is my busiest time. Does anybody have any breakfast recipes that they could share?

[Jengerbread88]

I have no problem with eating all my dailies, but I know if I don't save some for night time, I'll feel deprived... so I was happy to have some left over for some tortilla chips and cheese for a nice evening snack!

What's a GHG?

[ashleyprugh]

i second the hungry girl suggestion. we've got two of her books. a lot of the recipes are good.

did you subscribe to ww magazine? they've usually got a bunch of good recipes in each issue.

[carriesmom]

Originally Posted by HappyLilGrahamCracker

I have no problem with eating all my dailies, but I know if I don't save some for night time, I'll feel deprived... so I was happy to have some left over for some tortilla chips and cheese for a nice evening snack!

What's a GHG?

GHG-Good Health Guidelines. They are those little things you tick off on the bottom of the Points Tracker. The fruits/veggies, healthy oils, water, etc. Those make sure that you get all the nutrients you need.

For breakfast, I make a shake for myself. Milk, greek yogurt, banana and chocolate protein powder. Fills me up until lunch. I hate eggs, cereal and most breakfasty stuff so this works for me. You could always eat dinner stuff for breakfast. My mom does that all the time.

[SeattleSheri]

Good luck Nee Nee. I've unofficially started WW. I haven't joined, but I figured out how to calculate my daily points needed, etc ...

Susan, thanks for the link to Gina's that looks like a wonderful resource!

[neenee]

Originally Posted by SeattleSheri

Good luck Nee Nee. I've unofficially started WW. I haven't joined, but I figured out how to calculate my daily points needed, etc ...

Susan, thanks for the link to Gina's that looks like a wonderful resource!

You go girlie! I am picking up the hang of it now!

Did I mention that DH is doing it with me? It is so cute when he says "so, how many points do I have left for snack?" I didn't sign him up officially, he is just getting a couple more points a day then I get since he only has like 10 pounds to loose and he's a man who is very active all day. I don't want him to pass out or anything. It is so nice to have someone to do it with. The kids are loving our meals too. So far it's a win all the way around! I can't wait to weigh in on Sunday!!! Woohoo!

[Davita]

Originally Posted by carriesmom

GHG-Good Health Guidelines. They are those little things you tick off on the bottom of the Points Tracker. The fruits/veggies, healthy oils, water, etc. Those make sure that you get all the nutrients you need.

For breakfast, I make a shake for myself. Milk, greek yogurt, banana and chocolate protein powder. Fills me up until lunch. I hate eggs, cereal and most breakfasty stuff so this works for me. You could always eat dinner stuff for breakfast. My mom does that all the time.

I will try the breakfast shake. I think I could do that. I generally don't eat until noon even though I am up at 6 am and I realize that is just a set up for snacking later.

[carriesmom]

Originally Posted by Davita

I will try the breakfast shake. I think I could do that. I generally don't eat until noon even though I am up at 6 am and I realize that is just a set up for snacking later.

I was so like this too, so I feel your pain. I actually hate having to eat really early in the morning, it makes me sick. But on WW, I have to eat breakfast or else I go off program and overeat. The shake is easy and you could mix it up if you wanted. I do protein powder because it helps fill me up but put in there what you like. Fruit, peanut butter, chocolate syrup, nutella, honey, just count the points. This morning I had a Bagel Thin with some light spreadable cheese and a couple of slices of turkey. I feel satisfied without stuffed and I know I can make to lunch without wanting to chew my arm off.