The program is custom designed for my size, basically I am not eating the same amount of food as someone 50lbs lighter than me, but rather in accordance to my weight. The online tools have already helped me set some weight goals. My 1st goal is to lose 10% of my start weight. And after each time I hit a weight goal I will *reward* myself (Yay for reinforcements!) and create a new weight goal, which will be 10% of that current weight. This will continue until I reach my goal weight. I calculated and did a mini forecast...if I do the 10% goals, then I have to reach 4 goals total to make it to my goal weight! That doesn't seem so bad! And of course there will be times I hit plateaus, and I will have to overcome them.
So....WW has some great tracking tools that I plan on using to my utmost advantage! I can log in daily and track my food and activity. I am able to plan my meals and recipes (according to point value!) all in one place. And I will weigh myself weekly. A cool thing about WW is that not only do I get a set amount of daily points, but I also get a weekly allowance that I can choose to use in a number of ways. I can use the extra points on a day that I might feel a little more hungry, or maybe accidentally go over my daily allotment. I can divide it up for small daily treats or save it up for a bigger weekly treat. That at the moment is to be determined...(if you have done WW, let me know if you have found 1 way to be more helpful and why).
Food...right on the website are some tricks to measure food with my hands (thumb is an ounce of cheese or meat, fist is a cup of fruit or pasta, palm is 3oz of meat/fish/poultry, etc), so now I can easily figure it out without just "guessing"....Which is great, because I am normally a generous guesser! Breakfast: I think I am going to try doing a cereal along with a fruit for most days. I am just starting a new job and I am not sure how crazy my days are going to be. I don't want to set a goal of making a hot meal every morning until I know its feasible. Lunch and Dinner will rotate for me, since I will work some days and some evenings. So I am going to choose a WW friendly meal (like a SmartOne) while I am at work and then a sensible meal for when I am at home. Basically some days will be SmartOne for Lunch, sensible meal for Dinner and the other days will be Sensible Lunch and a SmartOne for Dinner. Snacks: I need to incorporate some filling and healthy snacks (please give me tips!). My cousin told me that Peanut Butter has helped her combat hunger. She advised a spoonful of it, and waiting like 30 mins. And I should feel satisfied and not hungry anymore. I will try to add some veggies and fruits for snacks, and possibly some protein bars.
WW Online suggests that I incorporate 5 servings of fruit/veg, 1-2 servings of meat, 2 servings of milk, and 6 glasses of water....(along with healthy fats and whole grains). That doesn't seem very overwhelming to me (wahoo!) I am also going to take a B12 and a multi vitamin.
Physical Activity: To start off, I am going to incorporate 30 mins of walking (either outside or by using my gazelle) everyday and challenge myself to add an additional DVD workout 3 times a week. As I get more comfortable, I want to increase both the walking and the extra workouts. Its been a very long time since I've consistently worked out. I also have an extra benefit that for the past 4 years I haven't had. A job that requires me to stand! My last job was in a cubicle, and the work was rather monotonous. So what happened? I sat all day and snacked all day too! Time to change! My new job will not allow me to snack constantly, which will help A LOT.
Okay, so this blog wasn't very exciting but it was informative. I am happy that its not a crazy plan, and it is extremely doable. I have been in a hotel room for the past 2 weeks making it almost impossible to start---but hurray! tomorrow I go back home :) I am going to hit the grocery store and get all my tools for success ready. Wish me luck! Tomorrow I plan on opening up about some of the emotions that come with being fat. Stay Tuned! Please share my blog with your friends if you enjoyed it!
-With much hope and a lot of prayer
Lizzy
*Sexy or Bust*
Love it! I did WW in the past and YES it DOES WORK! WW has a lot of tools you can buy, books that will tell you the point values of the food you are going to eat, and a dining out guide that list restaurants and some of their menu options. They also have a calculator that will help you figure out the points from the nutrition label. It is very helpful for when you are in the grocery store doing shopping. I found for me that worked was 100 cal. English muffin with peanut butter and a apple for breakfast. I think it was 5 points and under. Lunch meat is a good lunch option, I love the sandwich thins. Using the extra points is all about planning. If I know I had something to do at the end of the week, ie a social event I would save my points so I could eat or have a few drinks. Good Luck!
ReplyDeleteI am behind you all of the way, GO GET EM !!!
ReplyDeleteWW is great! I've done it a couple of times to great result and am back on it now! My word of advise - eat your weekly allowance! I found that the week's that I didn't, I would either not loose or would actually gain. Your body needs those calories! Some weeks I would divide those points up daily. Others, if I knew I had a special event or was going out, I'd save them for one meal/day. It really would depend on the week. I don't know what kind of phone you have, but the WW app has been a life saver for me! Especially at the grocery store and you can calculate points right in the aisle if something catches your eye. Good luck Lizzy! I'll be following along and I'll keep you posted on how my progress is going!
ReplyDeleteLet me knnow how it goes!!!
ReplyDeleteHey! I eat Oatmeal (flavored Maple Brown Sugar is my favorite). Two packets in the morning each day. I add cinnamon b/c cinnamon reduces the chance of diabetes and maintains your blood sugar so they are not so many low and highs during the day. Also it helps you lose weight. There are cinnamon pills available at Walmart. I have seen a difference bc of them!!! I eat it this every morning. And you know I am a cereal girl!!! LOL it actually keeps me fuller than cereal. I never used to like oatmeal ever. But like coffee, I tried it and I actually like it now. The best part is you can limit it better than cereal. I would serve a huge bowl of cereal but this way I get two packets of oatmeal and thats all with coffee.
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