Hey Yall,
Caitlin here- Some of you may or may not know that I am currently following the new weightwatchers program. At first I wasn't a fan of it and found myself constantly hungry. That was until I learned what worked for me. I would have 10 pointsplus meals, and only get 3 meals a day. This did not work and I found I was always hungry. Thus, I tweaked it. Instead of having a 10 pointsplus meal I would have a 3-4 pointsplus breakfast and then a 7-8 pointsplus lunch, and then a 4-10 pointsplus dinner. This left me with anywhere between 7- 15 pointsplus leftover for the day, which meant I could have some small snacks in between. This also means that I get to have a small ice cream cone every night and still lose weight. Let me tell you, tweaking my diet has made all the difference. I have also found how to make my pointsplus work in my favor. For example (i know yall probably don't care what I eat, but bear with me, it has a point) yesterday I had scrambled egg whites, 3 turkey bacon, fruit, and a yogurt for breakfast, for lunch I had a hamburger with an order of fries, and for dinner I had roasted chicken, green beans, broccoli salad, fruit, and for dessert I had an ice cream cone- and never once did I go over my pointsplus for the day. Then today I had a big breakfast- 2 big chocolate chip pancakes (like from a restaurant- so I mean BIG), 3 real bacon (turkey bacon will never quite compare), and half an order of home fries, I then had a tall java chip frappe from Starbucks with an extra pump of mocha, and for dinner I had 3 oz of roasted chicken, 2 oz of cajun fish, broccoli salad, corn, and fruit, and for dessert- an ice cream cone. Again, I did not go over my pointsplus allotment. How could I eat all that and still not go over points? Easy- learn to use your pointsplus or calorie allotment wisely. You just learn to delegate them wisely. On Friday I chose to have a lower point meal- it came out to 5 pointsplus. I then used some of my bonus points for my lunch, and it came out to 30 pointsplus. Yes, that is a huge amount, but I had the pointplus available, so I used them and have no need to feel guilty for it- I call it a win! I then had a dinner that came out to 5 pointsplus and an ice cream cone that came out to 4, totaling 45 pointsplus for the day.
With the new weightwatchers system I get 29 daily pointsplus and 49 weekly bonus pointsplus to use at will. My plan of attack is to be on target Mon-Thur. During those days I stay right at the 29 mark. This gives me all of my bonus points to use on the weekend. I have weekends off so I usually like to go out to eat, thus I really try to save my bonus pointsplus for the weekend. I then split up the bonus pointsplus between the three days and I usually split them evenly. Which means 16 extra points two days of the week and 17 the other day. I then get to add that to my daily allotment of 29 pointspplus so I get 45 or 46 pointsplus each day over the weekend. A lot can be done with 46 points. What this means is that I still get to enjoy the foods I love without feeling deprived that I am not getting them and without feeling guilty that I am eating them. Another way I help is to still eat healthy on the weekends. Yes, I may have one meal where I choose an unhealthy item (hamburger/fries/ big breakfast, etc) but I make up for it by having chicken for dinner with veggies and fruit. This allows me to use my pointsplus for items that I otherwise wouldn't get to eat because they are too high in pointsplus. I also throw in exercise. I usually exercise 3-4 times a week. This gives me extra pointsplus I could use, but I choose to never use them because then I know that I have an extra cushion should I need it.
All of this has been said to leave you with this: do not deprive yourself. You will struggle greatly if you try to live a healthy lifestyle and cut out everything you love to eat. You are setting yourself up for failure. However, if you plan your meals accordingly you can still enjoy what you eat and not feel like you are trapped in some horrible diet. Again, if you throw in some exercise this could also give you a few extra pointsplus or calories you get to have, which can aid you with what you want to eat. Just make sure you don't give yourself too many bonus points/calories. Needless to say, I got to have a burger and fries yesterday and two absolutely fantastic meals today (I ended up not needing a third because of the big breakfast and starbucks), I still stayed within my pointsplus allotment, and I am feeling anything but deprived and I certainly don't feel guilty. In fact, I am the exact opposite. I am in a rather good mood because I got to enjoy my day and eat food that I love. Can you say the same? If not what are some changes you can make to make your healthy lifestyle work for you?
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