I tried WW in high school with my mom but I didn't really stick to it like I should have. I just don't think I was ready at that time in my life to make a big change like that. Now, I'm totally ready! I left the meeting informed, excited, and with a feeling like, hey, maybe I really can do this.
It's day 3 on the PointsPlus program and so far so good. Just tracking my points each day has already made a huge difference in how much I snack, what my portion sizes are, etc. I went to Sprouts on Saturday and armed myself with tons of yummy produce and healthy snacks. The funny thing that I've realized over these past few days is how much I love eating healthy. I didn't think I really liked fruits and veggies before, but wow was I wrong. I'm loving me some blueberries and zucchini right now and could seriously eat them everyday. I made a thin crust veggie pizza on Saturday and couldn't believe how much better it tasted than greasy pepperoni pizza.
The best part of the new program? I am not depriving myself of my favorites. I am not saying "no sugar at all" or "no french fries ever again!" That kind of limitation is only going to make you crave the banned food even more. WW allots extra points each week that you can use to treat yourself to those things you love. The key is figuring out what is worth it to you. The leader mentioned how she loves chocolate but if she is going to eat some it will only be from Godiva or Sees. She's not going to waste those points on a crappy candy bar.
How do you stay accountable to yourself? Do you write it all down? What healthy foods do you enjoy?
3 comments:
Yeah, it really is the best of all worlds. Glad you're doing well. I need to do a WW write-up as well!
First of all, I LOVE WW! I think it is the most realistic "diet", though I wouldn't even call it a diet. Its not a temporary change. Its all about changing the way you look at eating...and IT WORKS! Anyways, writing it down ALWAYS works for me. And I do it WW style-I write EVERYTHING. keeping track of veggie and fruit servings, glasses of water, minutes of exercise that day...i try to document EVERYTHING. not only does it make me more accountable but its the same idea as having a to-do list and being able to check things off. it makes me feel good when i can check things off (like drinking all 8 glasses of water that day). PLUS, i have a terrible memory. If i don't write it down, I don't remember it...even if it was only 4-5 hours ago, much less a day or two ago.
WW has a great chart for keeping track of what you've eaten, etc. But if you don't have access to theirs it can be frustrating to find a easy to use/access system/chart for keeping track. Any suggestions for that?!
Great job doing this! Just starting it makes the battle already halfway won!
Some of the things that have really helped my clients in their weight loss success are, of course the basics like writing it down, etc.
But the things that've been most beneficial for them have been these:
Get up and do 20 situps then do your hair FIRST THING EVERY MORNING! Don't let your kids keep you from doing hair and makeup!! If you feel pretty, you'll be more motivated to STAY pretty, and that will really reduce temptations. Along the same lines, do some exercise. He-he, now I get to step on my Zumba soapbox for a second. I absolutely LOVE Zumba! It's fun girl time and energizing exercise, but even better, it's a little bit spicy-sexy, too. Stepping out of your "mom" mode to be an attractive salsa dancer for a few minutes is an INSTANT esteem boost. And again, when you feel attractive, you'll want to keep yourself attractive!
The other thing that really helps my clients (and me, too!) is to have a plan for when you make mistakes. WW somewhat helps with this by using points so that if you eat unhealthy food, you can deduct it from your points; but what is really important for you in sticking to it is to plan what you will do one day when you go over your daily limit? Realize from the get-go that mistakes will most likely happen.
Are you going to beat yourself up or eat more "because I already screwed it up anyway?"
I actually tell my clients to EXPECT that they will mess up.
If you don't plan for the mistakes, you will feel like a huge failure when you are surprised by them. But if you know that mistakes will happen at times, it is easier to accept yourself and move on if and when it does occur.
Lastly, keep things simple. When you're changing to different eating habits, the really fancy, complex dishes really are the most appealing, but be aware of yourself and your situation. Do you really have time on a normal day to cook up their lo-cal strawberry-stuffed whole-wheat french toast? Are lunch times open zones for you, or is it usually just trying to feed the kids before they get hungry and start picking on each other? Again, what can you actually handle?
I'm always running it seems, so most breakfast and lunch foods that require cooking, and dinner foods requiring more than maybe a half-hour of cooking, are unrealistic for me during the week. I HAVE to have easy grab things!
Quick grabs should be foods that preferably don't require any preparation beforehand, even just peeling or cutting. For instance, except for soups and casseroles I buy the pre-peeled baby carrots,because in a hurry, if all I have are unpeeled carrots, I will either end up eating the carrots unpeeled (which some people don't mind), or I will LOOK FOR SOMETHING ELSE. That's where the danger lies. You need to be realistic with yourself about the time frame you will have. Before you started your diet, how much time did you spend preparing breakfast (and the other meals) on a typical weekday? Be honest with yourself, and don't buy foods that are going to require you to add more prep time. You are already making HUGE changes in your life and don't want to become overwhelmed. I have NEVER seen a diet last when the person had to tweak his or her schedule to make more time for food prep. ...If health food is inconvenient, it will have subconscious negative connotations, and you will seek other foods.
Phew! What an earful of info, huh? -- although, since we're online, what would you call this? An eye-ful? Anyway, I hope this helps. I LOVE this stuff, so I'm always excited to talk about it. Your husband has my cell # and you can text me anytime.
Keep up the great work, girl!
Come to my house sometime and I'll do a Zumba and training class with you! We ought to do a ward Zumba thing. I'd just need a place to teach it and I'd be down.
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