I love it when I see people who I have not seen for a while and they say, “You look great. Have you lost weight?” Because, the answer is “Yes, I have!”
A while back, I made the decision to drop off the 12 pounds that I had slowly put on over the past couple of years. I had clothes in my closet that no longer fit and I felt old and tired. I decided to use Weight Watchers because with their point program, I was able to change portions and ratios of my favorite foods instead of eating “diet food” in a way that would be impossible to manage. The food I eat is generally pretty healthy so what I really needed was a strategy to work around special occasions and pizza with the Little League team.
And now the dreaded holiday season. which for me, runs from Halloween to New Years, is upon us. On top of everyone else’s holidays, our family adds in two birthday celebrations to the season. But this year, I will not be adding on a few extra pounds to drop off in January. Or not.
Here are a few examples of changes that I have made that have been extremely helpful:
Fill my plate with green/orange/yellow vegetables and fruits such as berries and melon, then add the right proportion of lean proteins. It is satisfying, appealing and balanced so I am not hungry.
Using the Weight Watchers meal planner, I “budget” special meals for the week ahead.
If we are going out to dinner or there is a special occasion, I will plan ahead what foods I will eat for that meal and how I will compensate around that meal so that I don’t blow it.
For ongoing events like baseball games, I have charted out meals and how to cut back around those meals. I also bring low point foods in my bag to snack on so that I can eat a small meal of the high calorie, high fat stadium food. I even budget in a cold beer to wash down that delicious grease!
The weight watchers website has lots of great ideas to help with meal preparation and eating out. And by keeping track of all of the food that I eat, it is so much easier to avoid the pitfalls of forgetting what I ate. The system also allows me to track fluids, proteins, vitamins, fruits and vegetables. Daily workouts are also calculated into the point allowances.
Coming back from vacation is so much easier now. I have strategies that help me to avoid making a meal at the dessert table. I am very careful the week before vacation and the week after so I find it reasonable to level out pretty quickly. Its the weight that hangs on after the vacation is over that usually adds “friends” to the party on my hips!
I highly recommend the Weight Watchers system as a resource, a tracking system and a strategy for maintaining weight while keeping a healthy balance of lifestyle and food choices! What have you got to lose? And Keep off?
Click here to learn more about the Weight Watchers Online Program.
