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So I saw a lot of posts about Weight Watchers in the Fit For Summer Challenge Thread and Losing Weight... One Man's Problem Thread.  But I thought it deserved a dedicated post (Hey Moderator, can you add this to the index under Specialty Diets). Weight Watchers has always been touted by experts as being the healthiest, most sustainable diet you can be on to lose weight of the diet programs, so I thought I would try it out.

This thread is for tips, tricks, good things to eat out, good things to cook, all things to help make Weight Watchers a little more fun and manageable. And if you need a little support, this thread is for that too.

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So I am through one week of Weight Watchers, whew!  I have found a few friends who are doing it, which has made it easier to do and more fun.  The first week was fine.  This week I am a bit more like- ok, I am sick of salad what am I eating.  My system has also just been adjusting to all the extra dietary fiber. I pretty much bought out the frozen  vegetable noodle, riced vegetable situation at Giant, just because I will eat things like Indian food or boar ragu over that and be pretty happy. Anyway, I do like that I can choose when and how to use my extra points, that makes the week more manageable. I saved all mine last week to be able to eat Bao Buns and drink wine over the weekend. 

Meals I have made/am planning this week: Fajitas with carb smart whole wheat tortillas, kale white bean and chicken sausage soup, chicken breast topped with sliced tomato and mozzarella cheese. A packet of TJs jaipur veggies, with riced cauliflower for me (rice for Hubby) and a serving of these thin whole wheat flatbreads in the freezer section at Lotte (and any leftover chicken and veggies from the fajitas will be tossed in with this). 

 

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Ok, so on week 3ish: I have lost 2 pounds.  I still need to work out more, will work on that goal.  I am trying to be pretty good about tracking things and not just guessing they are points and no points.  Homemade items are hard, and I hate plugging in recipes still.  I can sometimes find something close enough. Eating out- sushi is super easy, places that have good salads, these are the yeah, yeah of course things.  I went to Wendy's the other day when we needed to eat fast food and between a large chili and chicken nuggets had a reasonable point lunch for fast food, Lebanese Taverna was very easy, a good amount of options. With beans being a preferred option for eating, Indian food isn't as bad as you would think, if you avoid the butter heavy options, and go for like chana masala, dal and tandoori chicken.  The carb smart tortillas are kind of a life saver, I am going to use those to make some wraps this week. I am not a big mustard person, so trying to find some decently low point dressing/sauce options for sandwiches that I can be happy with.  The thing I really miss the most is cheese.  I have put a little shredded cheese in a few items, but main cheese is a lot of points when just eating it. 

I am really happy with the Trader Joe's Everything Pretzel slims, and their greek yogurt dip as a snack. If you really need some dessert, the yasso bars aren't horrible in points for what you get size wise compared to other things.

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I also just joined! I lost 30 pounds on Weight Watchers when I was 30 and have slowly gained a lot of that back over the last 16 years despite religiously jogging 3 days a week for most of that time. 😭I blame pregnancy and my already lame metabolism taking a nosedive when I turned 40. ANYWAY, I started on November 1st and took the weekend off (which I don't plan to do regularly) so today is only my second day tracking. I'm amazed by all the zero point foods! I'm hoping that I can drop some weight with just a few tweaks of my already (I think) reasonable diet along with more discipline about tracking (which I've definitely been slacking on -- I used to at least track calories even though I wasn't doing WW). Good luck to us!

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4 hours ago, ktmoomau said:

Ok, so on week 3ish: I have lost 2 pounds.  I still need to work out more, will work on that goal.  I am trying to be pretty good about tracking things and not just guessing they are points and no points.  Homemade items are hard, and I hate plugging in recipes still.  I can sometimes find something close enough. Eating out- sushi is super easy, places that have good salads, these are the yeah, yeah of course things.  I went to Wendy's the other day when we needed to eat fast food and between a large chili and chicken nuggets had a reasonable point lunch for fast food, Lebanese Taverna was very easy, a good amount of options. With beans being a preferred option for eating, Indian food isn't as bad as you would think, if you avoid the butter heavy options, and go for like chana masala, dal and tandoori chicken.  The carb smart tortillas are kind of a life saver, I am going to use those to make some wraps this week. I am not a big mustard person, so trying to find some decently low point dressing/sauce options for sandwiches that I can be happy with.  The thing I really miss the most is cheese.  I have put a little shredded cheese in a few items, but main cheese is a lot of points when just eating it. 

I am really happy with the Trader Joe's Everything Pretzel slims, and their greek yogurt dip as a snack. If you really need some dessert, the yasso bars aren't horrible in points for what you get size wise compared to other things.

How many points in TJ's Amba (which is a savory fermented mango sauce and very tasty)?  

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I needed a lifestyle change, but I am trying to be careful not to get too comfortable and I am trying to be really good about tracking things pretty honestly (there are times where like a turkey sandwich can range from 4-10 points, so it can be hard sometimes).  We moved last year, and between moving, work getting really busy for a time, and then Orange Theory changing a bunch of rules to make it complicated, I just didn't have the will or funds to make it all work.  I am finally at a place that I can change that.  But honestly my diet was the issue, and the gym should be a focus, but diet is the bigger thing.  And my lackluster attendance at my work gym this past year meant, I gained likely 10-12 pounds and was the heaviest I ever was. I lost the same 5 pounds twice this summer by working out. I knew that my previous diet was only supported by about 3-4 days per week at the gym, but I didn't realize by quite how much. I wish I had paid more attention sooner, oh well.  It is what it is now. That is why I am doing this, and I feel good about it, so progress!

Amba is only one point per 1 tbsp.  Would it be a good sandwich condiment?

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12 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

 

Amba is only one point per 1 tbsp.  Would it be a good sandwich condiment?

In my opinion yes.  Also, now that we are moving into colder weather, I like to make a big pot of vegetable/bean heavy soups, which are high in fiber and very filling.  When I was doing WW, I could get a couple of servings into the 6-7 point range which was a huge win at lunch time.

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I lost 45 lbs on WW and kept most of it off for about 5-6 years. A confounding health issue curbed my exercise and then a job shange with big challenges got in the way and I gained it all back. Been getting better and the mild exercise thing of late, but diet is indeed an area that needs attention - mostly on portion control.

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I tried making some ranch dip with greek yogurt and the hidden valley packet, and to me despite liking ranch dressing made with greek yogurt with a recipe, the packet mix to me just tasted awful. So nixing that.  Well trial last week and Thanksgiving gave me my first week of not eating under my points.  But after Saturday (my second family Thanksgiving) I went back to eating pretty healthy.  So I don't expect to lose anything this week.  I am hoping I don't have a big gain.  I mainly used extra points for bread, wine and cheese and 2 slices of pumpkin pie!  So I enjoyed the splurge briefly, but now back to reality.

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I started WW on November 1st and basically took every weekend off in November between visitors, two Thanksgivings, and other events. I lost 4 pounds before this past weekend's debauchery. I usually weigh myself on Fridays so will hope I didn't erase my loss when I weigh myself this week. I figure at this time of year if I manage to lose anything that's a bonus -- I'm just looking not to gain too much. I'm thinking January will be a more realistic time to see some sustained loss.

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I gained 4 pounds over Thanksgiving (not all in one day -- I took a 4-day trip to visit family). Worth it! I'd lost 4 pounds before Thanksgiving. I weighed myself this morning and my scale told me I lost 5 pounds since last Friday? This seems odd, but maybe last Friday I was still carrying water weight from all the salt I ate during my debauchery. So since I started WW on November 1st I'm down one pound. At this time of year I'll take it!

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I am following your advice, and being content with staying steady and not gaining during the holiday season.  I have tried to pick my poison in terms of not going crazy on sweets, booze and cheese.  I try to make myself pick 1 or 2, sometimes I eat all three though- oops. And I am trying to make up for it on other meals, so there is a balance.  And I am trying to pick cheats that I will really enjoy. I have been holding since Thanksgiving at the same weight (well I went up and down 1 pound) but just hoping that Christmas week isn't a big gain. I am going to my Mom's and then in-laws.  I might bring a few foods with me that I know are safe things just to add in.

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Well during this whole thing, I haven't been counting my points- groceries, especially chicken and eggs, are too hard to source for that.  BUT I will say having been doing WW, I scrutinize what I eat and drink a good bit more than what I would have during this whole thing. I had just started my free trial week of crossfit when this whole thing went down.

Also, my thyroid plummeted, causing me to go back to about 2 pounds under my starting weight, and had to go get meds and blood tests. It is super frustrating to have my body get off track just a bit and gain back 5 pounds over a super short period of time.  But it is what it is, not a lot I can do about that. 

BUT I am back on track.  I have been trying to do at least a 30 minute workout everyday.  Some days I go run 3 miles outside (it's a slow run, but don't you dare tell me I am jogging, it feels like a run to me). With the new meds, I have lost 1 pound, so now down 3 pounds since my initial post, but I also can see I am losing some inches that haven't shown up on the scale yet, and I definitely look a little bit more fit. And I am definitely healthier than I was.  So it's positive despite the lackluster number.  And correction of the thyroid meds should help me continue to go down and not up. The struggle is real. 

I am trying really hard not to snack or over eat during this time, which is easy to do, but honestly I have been pretty good.  Luckily we have a lot of healthy-ish snacks around the house still.  

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It's definitely not all about numbers! And I agree it's very hard not to eat, eat, eat during this time, especially comfort foods. My husband lost like 20 pounds recently and he gained it all back. He's been going nuts on comfort foods. Everything feels out of control now -- especially trying to telework with a 6-year-old in the house 🤪-- but being able to (mostly) stick to my diet and my exercise regime definitely helps me.

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I weigh myself daily, too often.  Being home now for 4 weeks, I resurrected my Concept II rower and have been rowing again after a 30 year hiatus.  Still the best piece of fitness equipment bar none, kicks my ass regularly.  After 4 weeks of almost daily use I have become accustomed to torturing myself and am starting to row hard and long.  It does take being a nut job as this isn't like Peloton where you watch a fit instructor on the screen

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I have found every excuse not to run for the past week.  This includes lots of manual labor around the house- in good news- lots of manual labor around the house has been done: deck scrubbed- I mean large deck scrubbed by hand vigorously that bad boy is clean, outdoor rug scrubbed too, pots prepped for garden, fence painted, car washed, mending, ironing, laundry- you name it, I've done it.  Anything a lay person can do should be in tip top shape.  BUT I still have been making myself do at home workouts, none the less for at least 30 minutes, if not longer.  Just not running.  But I need to do it.  The 3 miles behind my house is calling me. I have been eating a lot of vegetarian lunches, but my carb intake is definitely a bit higher than it was.  It doesn't help that this whole thing has made me had odd cravings for things I generally don't crave- I think just because I can't go right out and get them, I want them.  Cereal, potato chips, frozen yogurt, meatball sub.  None of these things, except potato chips, did I even eat in the last 6 months, at least. My normal snacks at work are almonds/cashew/pistachios, dried apricots, 2 andes mints unless I am really stressed out then once every two weeks maybe, I might have a small individual bag of chips- that's it.  Anyway, I haven't gained any weight, so I am obviously somehow burning the calories.  

And non-WW related- Hubby is on so many conference calls per day, I feel like I might die from secondhand conference call fatigue.  I don't know how he does it. 

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If you have the discipline a Concept II rower may be the best bang for the buck to getting in shape.  After 8 weeks home and hitting the rower hard 3x week I can say weight is moving down, getting leaner(more important then loosing weight IMHO) and my VO2 Max has increased such that my Garmin says I have the heart of a 20 year old, at 60.  Granted rowing is dull and I keep putting together playlists to get me through the workout.  It is also easy on the joints and hits most of the muscles.   With 2 replacement hips running, a former passion, is not on the agenda.

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Fascinating enough, I am still very, very, very slowly losing weight and toning up.  I think it is mainly a variation of the HIIT, resistance band, cardio dance and sculpt classes I have been taking on my phone. As I haven't been running very much still.  I would like to do it, but between the weather, and crowded trails, the in house work out has been an easier alternative.   My goal has been to do at least 30 minutes a day, but that isn't always happening.  I think 4-5 days a week is more likely.  In good news, this is fairly sustainable. 

I also think I am just moving more throughout the day, certainly doing more stairs, eating out a bit less, snacking a little less.  Even despite buying all the snacks, I have been eating them very slowly, I think more slowly than I did at my office, and having to go down to the first floor from floor 4 for a snack helps not do it. A rower sounds lovely, previously to this all happening, I had been looking at fold up rowers and thinking if there was anywhere in my house I could hide one, as Hubby would row too. I liked rowing at OT and Crossfit- well I didn't enjoy it, but I thought it was a good all around work out, and it was harder to plateau on then say the elliptical. 

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12 minutes ago, MarkS said:

On my creek there is an old guy who rows on the water in a racing shell from March to November, 5-7 days a week.  I asked him if he rowed crew in college and he shouted back  "hell yea"

😆😪 There are some days I miss Annapolis.  The Potomac is fine, but it is not the bay, and all the creeks, and etc. Of course I miss Deep Creek Lake far more, but I shutter to think how could it likely is right now.

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I've lost almost 20 pounds since starting Weight Watchers in November. With full-time telework I've been running 3-5 miles every other day and I'm actually to the point where I enjoy it and the prospect of missing a run saddens me (at least in this weather; ask me again in July). I'm 46, though, and not exactly lithe even with my 20-pound weight loss, so I wonder how much longer running will be viable for me.

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A year later and I'm still on my Concept II rower.  I have been averaging about 50-55KM per week which comes out to 4 sessions weekly.  Sometimes these sessions are what is keeping me sane.  My weight is very stable but it does help battle the daily wine consumption.

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I ultimately lost 25 pounds since November 2019 but then I gained about 5 pounds back and I've been fluctuating between having lost 20 and 25 pounds for the last few weeks or months. I'm still on full time telework and still running 3-5 miles every other day. I just need to stop cheating so much!!

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On 3/20/2021 at 9:12 PM, dracisk said:

I ultimately lost 25 pounds since November 2019 but then I gained about 5 pounds back and I've been fluctuating between having lost 20 and 25 pounds for the last few weeks or months. I'm still on full time telework and still running 3-5 miles every other day. I just need to stop cheating so much!!

Winter is hard.  With Spring, those 5 pounds won't even chase you!  Wow on the running.  So great you are getting out.  A super cook, food loving friend has had to go on a low sugar, vegetarian diet- bunch of other stuff that are "no"'s.  She is not so happy- but they did not take all her lactose away.  (Medical diet)
Congrats on your success.  It is not easy at all.  I rarely eat out these days, but do buy expensive fruits from 99 Ranch and Hmart (leesburg highway).  Logan, passion fruit, jack, guava.  I also buy fresh turmeric to make a night milk drink.
Just keep healthy and happy.  Sounds like you are on a great path.  (I am usually veg and a bit of lamb, but KibbeNaya sends me down the raw meat road!).
Weather is picking up and lots of great stuff will come in season.  More sunlight, better temps, you are going to be great!  

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15 hours ago, Torshi said:

Winter is hard.  With Spring, those 5 pounds won't even chase you!  Wow on the running.  So great you are getting out.  A super cook, food loving friend has had to go on a low sugar, vegetarian diet- bunch of other stuff that are "no"'s.  She is not so happy- but they did not take all her lactose away.  (Medical diet)
Congrats on your success.  It is not easy at all.  I rarely eat out these days, but do buy expensive fruits from 99 Ranch and Hmart (leesburg highway).  Logan, passion fruit, jack, guava.  I also buy fresh turmeric to make a night milk drink.
Just keep healthy and happy.  Sounds like you are on a great path.  (I am usually veg and a bit of lamb, but KibbeNaya sends me down the raw meat road!).
Weather is picking up and lots of great stuff will come in season.  More sunlight, better temps, you are going to be great!  

Thank you so much! I live right by a paved hiker-biker trail (Sligo Creek Trail) and a parkway (Sligo Creek Parkway) that's closed to vehicular traffic every Friday through Sunday. I actually enjoy (slow) running now after starting to run (recreationally -- and did I say slowly?) in college (30 years ago!). Getting out for runs and dog walks has kept me sane during this pandemic!

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1 hour ago, dracisk said:

Thank you so much! I live right by a paved hiker-biker trail (Sligo Creek Trail) and a parkway (Sligo Creek Parkway) that's closed to vehicular traffic every Friday through Sunday. I actually enjoy (slow) running now after starting to run (recreationally -- and did I say slowly?) in college (30 years ago!). Getting out for runs and dog walks has kept me sane during this pandemic!

Wrote something with too many "i" and "me" things.  Age- behind you, but not too much.  Sounds like you have a great spot for exercise.   Watch out for those feel free shoes. Had some Nike Fly somethings, landed on a rock wrong and spent the summer in an awful boot for my fractured heel.  If you are clocking up the miles- I have seen lots of people with "OC"- on a cloud.  I love my Ice Bugs- goofy.  Take care of those tootsies!.  

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I stopped doing the WW App during covid, but I still try to follow a lot of the eating habits.  I lost 10 lbs during covid, but my thyroid has been just going crazy suddenly dropping and etc so it's been hard to keep the 10 off let alone lose more.  But hopefully the increased dose of medicine will help.  We got an echelon bike, and I make myself exercise 4 times a week, sometimes more.  The increased working out has helped so that I could worry just a little less what I was eating during covid.  I haven't gone crazy by any means though. 

Good on everyone for the above!!! Going back to the office more regularly, I really have a lot fewer steps during the day (and I don't have to go up or down 3 flights of stairs anytime I want something) so I need to remain diligent about the workouts. 

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My bi-weekly CSA share started last week, so even more vegetables in my diet.  Which helps weight.  My wife is convinced I'm crazy with my rower and my neighbor has complained if I start too early, open the windows and blast old school rock. 

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