There are people who pre-plan and pre-write their journals (trackers for those down-under) for the whole week. They find this helps them mentally prepare for their meals, stay within points for the day, eases their menu planning and grocery shopping (thus keeping unnecessarily tempting foods out of the house). I am not that disciplined ! But on those days that I roughly pre-plan the DAY, I find it helps. Occasionally I do it the day before. Sometimes I do it in the morning. I enter my breakfast, and then, pencil in (don't use a pen, it makes a mess to change the entries!) what I think I will have for lunch and dinner, as well as a rough idea of what the points will be. It helps me stay a lot more balanced than if I just enter each meal and snack at a time, as I eat them, and then find I've used more points than I wanted by dinnertime.
Plan for your treats. Put them right into your journal (tracker). One of the secrets Weight Watchers teaches you is to plan for and include your treats, so that you don't feel deprived, and then go on a binge. For some people that may mean having some small chocolate bars at home, or reduced calorie frozen deserts, or low fat ice cream, and including the treat as part of your points. I don't have a sweet tooth. My downfall is usually salty things (potato chips, popcorn, pretzels, nuts), but I have been controlling the cravings for chips pretty well, occasionally allow myself some pretzels, and make low-fat popcorn. These days, what does still cause me problems, is alcohol. I'm afraid I like my beer and wine too much. (I rarely have hard liquor any more.) However, when I can, if my brother goes out for beer, or I am breaking down, I try for the light beer. (Here in Canada, a few of the breweries make mixed cases of 24, that have 12 light beer and 12 regular beer. That helps my cause often.) But still, from Monday to Wednesday, I'd be on programme, by the weekend, I'd be going over on points. I'm learning a new trick, though. If I have light beer here for myself, I can stretch it out over several days, and I've started to write in a couple into my journal for the evening, so that when I am planning my lunch and dinner, I am already preparing mentally for these points, and that helps influence me in my choices. Previously, I was finding that my food choices were fine, but then, all of a sudden, a couple of unexpected beers would push me over my points. I know I'm exceeding my weekly alcohol points, but heck, trying to lose weight is hard enough, without trying to break two addictions at the same time ! I am better than I was before. I'll get to the point I want eventually. (I do find, that the last several times now, I may have had more beers than I planned for (eg. 4 instead of 2), but then all of a sudden I reach a point (usually around 9 pm) that all of a sudden I stop. I just don't want anymore, even though there is more available. So there is light at the end of the tunnel !)
I use the internet for support daily. I started with the International Weight Watchers site. Canada's site has information, but not recipes or articles. The US site has so much information , though. The recipes and articles are changed daily. There is BMI calculators, quizzes, articles in the archive, fashion tips, several message boards, etc, etc. I also visit The United Kingdom, Australia, and Finland at least once weekly, to check out their articles and recipes. I used to go onto the Australian forum daily, but no longer do. Their "Site Index" led me to on-line journals, and the SFL Forum, and that has become my addiction. I never realized that people might have websites for weight loss journals, until I checked out Karen's Journal to Health, and Anne's Slimming For Life. That led me to The Slimming for life Forum. The nice thing is that it isn't actually a real-time chat line (although it almost can be), but a message board. So even though most of the posters live in Australia and New Zealand, and they are often in a different day than I am (16 hours difference between Sudbury and Sydney), I can read what the rest have posted, add my questions or comments, and come back for the answers. The group of people there are so supportive, and encouraging - you have a lot of weight loss buddies! You get encouragement, motivation, a shoulder to lean on, hugs, and a kick in the pants when you need it. A great number of the regular posters also have websites and on-line journals, and of course, each one has links to others, so you can read other people's stories, know you are not alone, get motivation, and get good tips, all at anytime of the day or night, when you need it the most. Also, when you are at the computer, you're not in the kitchen eating ! It is a good time-filler, and a distraction. You can get lost in the net for hours at a time ! Your housework and sleep suffer, but we all have to make sacrifices, don't we !
Drink lots of water daily ! It helps to fill you up, so you might not eat as much, it flushes your body out, it keeps you from getting dehydrated, and it's healthy for your body. I don't usually have a problem having much more than my required minimum (6 - 8 glasses daily), as I naturally drink a lot of water. For years now, I have had a humoungous water glass at work on my desk, and I am constantly re-filling it. People actually laugh at me and my water. However, I take drugs daily for hypertension and an underactive thyroid, so I figure the more I drink, the healthier I can keep my kidneys. I even take a HUGE water glass to bed with me at night, and sip during the night ! I don't need to add lemons or bitters to my water, in order to get it down !
Get a dog ! Although I wanted to get our year old pup, Spencer, for my older brother so that he would have a hunting, fishing, blueberry picking companion, in the back of my mind, I did think that he would be a good excuse for me to go for daily walks. Mind you, I've been such a wuss since January about our Canadian winters, that we have rarely gone - the 4 feet of snow doesn't bother me nearly as much as the -20 (and even - 30) C temperatures !
However, what better motivation is there to go walking, than to have a companion. It's pretty hard to resist when he's sitting up by your feet, looking at you with soulful eyes, wagging his tail, and whimpering. Or keeps going over to his leash, and nudging it with his nose ! This would be especially true in an apartment, because the dog HAS to go outside to do his business. I live in a house with a yard, so my pup has a chain right outside the door, so I can just reach out and clip him on, which of course, I have been doing a lot of lately !
You don't have to eat the leftovers off your kid's plate with a dog. He'll already be waiting to clean off the plate for you. That saves those extra nibbles and bites. Also, if there isn't enough leftovers to pack away into the fridge, let the dog clean that last little bit of mashed potatoes or gravy out of their pots, rather than putting it into your mouth !
Take your measurements, when you begin your weight loss journey, and are at your heaviest, and at whatever intervals in between that you decide is right for you - monthly, weekly, or on a day when the scale says you've gained and you need inspiration ! I didn't do that when I first started, and I regretted it afterwards. There are three main reasons for taking measurements. (1.) Many people find that on the weeks when the scale says you've lost weight, your tape measure doesn't show a difference, and on those weeks that you've lost inches, you don't lose pounds. (2.) If you are exercising, you are building muscle, and muscle weighs more than fat. You will find as you continue that as your muscles begin to tone, you will get tighter, lose inches and look better, even if for a short time you don't seem to be losing as much weight as you want. And once the muscles begin "kicking in", your metabolism will improve, as muscles burn a lot more calories , all day long. (3.) Mr. Scale is not the end-all and be-all - it is just a tool to evaluate our progress, and Mr. Tape Measure is just an effective a tool.
Have variety. Try new things. This works for both your food and your exercise. I have been buying some things I don't usually buy - vegetable juice, clamato juice, feta cheese, brussels sprouts, tortillas, whole wheat breads, low fat sour cream and cottage cheese, etc. I am trying to get a variety in my meals, just to make them more interesting. It also tends to help with the healthiness of my food choices - adding no-point vegetable juices (I throw in Clamato Rimmer , a seasoned celery salt into it, to make the taste more palatable to me) and vegetables can only help by filling me up and/or taking the edge off my hunger. We don't want to restrict any nutrients if we are aiming for healthy weight loss, and healthy lifestyle changes. Weight Watchers stresses a good balance of proteins, carbohydrates, dairy products, fruit and vegetables, fat etc.
In the case of exercise, I am actually a couch potato (or these days, a mouse potato), as you have read. BUT - several of my on-line buddies have learned that you should also vary your exercise routine. This is especially true if you do only one type of activity, at the same time of day, each day, and find that suddenly you're not losing very well. Then try varying the time, or introducing another type of activity into the mix, and you may just perk up your body, so that it doesn't become too complacent.
I was finding it hard to stay on points for more than 2 or 3 days at a time. Even though Weight Watchers gives us star stickers for every 5 lbs lost, to put onto our weight booklet, it wasn't enough. I needed more motivation to stay on programme. For awhile, I was marking my total daily points on the back of my tracker, so that I could see the week at a time, without having to unfold the whole journal. However, my brainstorm came several weeks into January. With all the new calendars we get as freebies in the New Year, we usually end up with a couple of spares. I took my favourite one, with pretty flower pictures on it, to use as a points calendar. In each square, I mark my total points for the day. If within my range, I put a circle around it. If over, I put a notation saying why (eg. Beer, wine, dinner at Barry's, Valentine's Day...). And I went to the dollar store, and bought a pack with multicoloured stars for myself. On the days I stay within points, I give myself a star, alternating the colours, to make it look pretty and colourful. I know - ever childish ! But we have to play mind games, don't we, just to fool ourselves ?
I don't have to worry a lot about getting munchies at work. If I did, I would bring low-point snacks to work to put into my drawer, for those danger times. But one thing I always kept in my desk was cup a soup (the instant packets of dry soup mix that you either mix with boiling water, or cold water, and throw in the microwave). That would often save me at 10:30 - 11 am , or around 2:30 pm, when I was getting hungry. It's fast, easy, warm, and takes the edge off your hunger. Only the cream based one are more points, most of the broth based soups are low point. I have also on occasion kept packs of instant oatmeal, a spoon and bowl (for a fast breakfast), and herbal teas in my drawer at all times.
For special occasions, like New Year's Eve, Valentine's Day, a Saturday evening with wine at your boyfriend's, you might want something to nibble on. Plan ahead of time to make it point friendly. While preparing it, calculate the points, and then write them down, and tuck your journal in your pocket or purse, so that you can, even if only roughly, keep track, and mark things down, rather than relying on your memory the next day, or panicking that you went way over on points. For New Year's Eve, I chose a pretty platter, and used teeny mini bunches of grapes, and fresh strawberries as a garnish, rather than parsley or lettuce, so that I could eat low point fruit. I used whole wheat tortillas, steamed asparagus, and flavoured low-fat cream cheese to make spirals (roll, and cut crosswise into slices). I also had 4 varieties of crackers (the most point friendly ones from my cupboard), small slices of low fat cheese (marbled cheddar and mozzarella), and some low-fat chunks of kielbassa and ham. It looked most attractive and extravagant, and I knew everything I had put on was okay to eat.
To encourage me to eat more raw vegetables as a filler, it helps if I take the time to prepare them, even if I'm not sure I want some. I use a small pretty glass platter of my mother's and fill the sections with small pieces of raw cauliflower, broccoli, celery, carrots, etc., whatever I have in the fridge. I'm more likely to throw some into my mouth, even without a dip, every time I go into the kitchen, if they are actually sitting out on the table, already done. Also, an added benefit is that my son likes raw veggies, so if I have this on the table, he also eats them ! God forbid, he'd never actually get them out himself ! The only difference is that he usually gets himself a small dish of salad dressing to go with them (ranch or caesar are his two favourites with vegetables).
Where you can, buy low fat versions of your grocery items - mayonnaise, salad dressings, sour cream, cream cheese, etc. In most cases, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. And you'll probably find that the family doesn't care, if you don't tell them. My son and brother haven't complained once yet in the last year that they want me to buy full fat salad dressing, etc. In hard cheese, it is a discernable difference, so I buy regular for the guys, and low-fat for me. If we can keep eating what we want, but stay within points, that's half the problem solved.
Save fat and money. As I said, I'm a salt fiend. I LOVE popcorn. I do buy microwave popcorn (extra buttered for my teenager, low fat for me). I do have an air-popper, although I find that a bit dry, and the top of the chute keeps breaking apart, so it's a pain in the bum. But - I read that you can microwave plain popping corn yourself, without having to buy special microwave packages. Just use a brown paper bag. I measured in 1/3 cup of kernels, and it gave me 8 cups of dry, no fat popcorn ! Although I immediately sprinkled it with salt, it was still dry. So I did experiment, and sprayed a bit of cooking spray right on top, and then salt. Much better. But you need a really light touch, or they feel wet. Perhaps try pouring the popcorn onto a platter, rather than a bowl, so it's spread out, and then give it a light spray. You can use seasoned salt, chili powder, cumin, whatever you want, as a flavouring.
In order to have low point snacks and foods around, you must pre-plan, and buy low-point foods. Make sure you have a good variety, so that when you don't know what you feel like putting in your mouth, you have some choices available to you. By the same token, it's hard to binge on high-point foods, if you don't buy dangerous foods. Different foods will be triggers for different people. For some it's chocolate, for some it's cookies or cake, for me it's potato chips and cheese and Golden Grain Light Rye Bread (from a local bakery). I haven't bought regular potato chips since December (only the flavours the guys like), and normally I would buy at least one loaf of our favourite bread a week, but I have gone almost two months without buying any. It's easier to avoid temptation that way.
If you're eating, sit down and eat. Don't sit and eat at the computer, (especially if you're reading the SFL Forum). Besides the danger of spilling something into your keyboard, you get so distracted you don't fully appreciate what you're eating, and get full satisfaction from it. Or, you can overeat. The same thing goes for eating while watching TV. If you can, a nice thing to do is to set a proper place setting, so that your environment looks pretty - complete with flowers, a placemat, music and candles if you so desire. Then you are treating yourself, even if it's just warmed up leftovers. (Of course, since I have already admitted that my house is cluttered, I can tell you that my kitchen table is often buried with mail, junk, and things that should be on their way elsewhere ! ) And the food on your plate will look more appealing if you garnish it with a few slices of cucumber and tomato, or some slices of pickle, or something else that is low- or no-point, adds eye appeal and piques your tastebuds. My honey always does this, even at breakfast, and his plates always look like they were served in a restaurant.