So for the past two weeks, I've been talking a lot about Weight Watcher Menus. But what I haven't talked about is this lifestyle change that I've been on for two years, that has helped me lose around 40 pounds post-baby.
Although my weight has stabilized quite a bit now (and I've even put a few pounds back on), these changes I've made are part of my EVERYDAY meal planning.
I think anyone can do this successfully. Just stick to a couple simple rules to
make this work. So, here you go. My no bullshit cheat sheet to Weight Watchers Weight Loss:
- Write down everything. Everything. Because a
bite here and there adds up. If you don't want to take the effort to
write it down, then it's not worth eating!
- Using apps can help. I have two apps I use to keep on
track. FoodScanner allows you to scan anything with a barcode to get
the nutritional stats. So logging your food is as easy as running
the scanner. It also has stats on basic items such as an apple, and
it has restaurant chain food stats as well. You can even add your
own favorites in. At the end of the day, I have the stats on my
entire day, and I can plug that in to calculate my points. The other app I
use is FastPoints. This is just a fast version of the Weight Watcher
Points Finder.
- Eat at home. Restaurant food is terrible! There is
generally no foods that are Weight Watcher-friendly when dining out.
You would be shocked to find out that even a seemingly innocent rice bowl
can rack up 10 Weight Watcher Points! So limit dining out to one full
meal, and one half meal a week if you can, and try to choose sensible
items even then. Don't order the salads...they are loaded with fat
and calories and usually have more points than a plain old burger.
Instead, look for a vegetarian dish or something with limited carbs or
meat. If you plan your order ahead of time, that can also help.
- Stock your cabinets with good food. Having a kitchen full of
food do's (string cheese, fruit, vegetables, whole grains, greek yogurt)
and ridding of the don'ts (ice cream, chips) can help you make sensible
decisions when you're hungry. I make my husband take all junk food
to work, so I'm not temped to eat it. Out of sight, out of mind.
- Always opt for high-fiber. Just about all carbs come in
high-fiber varieties now. Choose your breads, cereals, rice and
pastas based on this.
- Treat butter as if it were a treat, not a staple. This one is hard for me
because I LOVE butter. But a little adds up.
- If you don't love it, don't eat it. Think of points like you would
think about your virginity. Weight Watcher points are special and hard to
come by, don't give them away to just anything!
- Switch from red meat. Switch your ground beef recipes with
ground turkey (I swear you won't miss it!) and your pork with
chicken. There are turkey and chicken burger, sausages and meatballs
that are just as good as the real thing.
- Lose the extra carbs and fats. Your meals should look like
this: 1/2 Veggie/Fruit, 1/4 Lowfat protein, 1/4 Other Stuff. So
calculate how much your veggie/fruit and protein are going to cost you,
then determine how much is left for the other stuff: dairy, carbs, salad,
alcohol, condiments, beverages.
- Switch to non-fat and low-fat dairy. A simple switch to Non-fat
milk, non-fat sour cream, non-fat half-and-half, lowfat cottage cheese,
and light whipping cream can do wonders for your wasteline, and it's easy
to get used to the taste.
- Weight loss is 80 percent what you eat, and only 20
percent exercise. Do you know that 60 minutes of walking only earns you
2 extra points a day? Yeah, so until you get the eating under
control, don't think about splurging just because you walked at lunch.
- Read my blog. Ah, hah! Just kidding, it won’t make you skinnier, but hopefully it will inspire you!
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