4/11/08

My weightloss tips....

These are the things that have REALLY helped me stick to Weightwatchers for 6 months now and lose 30lbs. I have broken them down into foods and attitude:

FOODS

V8 'LOW SODIUM' drink - I am not a fruit & vege' lover so every single day I either have one of the large cans or 11oz from a bottle. That is 1pt and 2 vegetable servings

Frozen Wild Blueberries - again a way to fulfill my vege'/fruits, I have 1 cup (1pt) of DOLE frozen wild blueberries on my cereal everyday, not only does it sweeten the cereal but the wild ones have 50% more antioxidants in them. You could use any berry like this

Hummus - this is a European tradition and extremely healthy, it is basically a dip/spread made from chickpeas and olive oil. But I get the different flavoured one's from Wild Garden (see link down in my list) and it's only 1.5 pt for 4 tbspn. I spread it on veggies, pita bread, crackers or a whole-wheat bun as a sandwich with salad. I buy it by the case from Wild Garden and get it shipped to me

Hostess 100 Cal Cakes - 1pt for the 3 pack of mini chocolate cream filled cakes - a god-send for cravings!

Organic 100% Wholewheat Buns - Mine are made by Rudi's an organic bakery (see links) and I have to either order them through our local co-operative by the case or get them in the city at a health food store. But they are so worth it, only 2pts and amazingly tasty and filling, you can check their website for stockists near you

Baby Spinach - I hate lettuce, so I put this in all my sandwiches

I Can't Believe It's Not Butter Spray - an essential!

Subway 6" Club on wheat - my go to meal for when we have to eat out and it doesn't need to be a restaurant. No cheese, and mustard as dressing brings this in at 6pts and very filling

Lean Cuisine, Smart Ones, Healthy Choice meals - absolute essentials for my freezer. I have a few meals and a few of the panini/pizza sandwiches, great for quick meals or taking to work

The Laughing Cow Cheese Triangles - I use the Garlic or French Onion flavours on sandwiches instead of butter. 1pt each, very tasty and solves the butter issue

BBQ Sauce - I use Head Sauce but it's local to OK. However all BBQ sauces are low pt and this one is just 1pt for 2tbspns. I slather it on chicken breasts and lots of other things

Skinny Cow Ice Cream Sandwiches - essential sweet craving solution for just 2pts and very delicious and filling

Homemade Smoothies - I throw in a banana or blueberries or both, Breyers FF Ice Cream, 2% milk, sometimes sugar-free Nesquick and ice cubes. Whizz it all up and I have a delicious meal in a smoothie

2% Milk - not Fat Free, same pts anyway and tastes so much better

Breyers Fat Free Ice Cream - makes all the difference to a smoothie!

Water - I drink at least 80oz daily and constantly carry a water jug with me everywhere I go.

Herbal/Flavoured Tea - I have at least 2 x 16oz mugs of hot tea a day, I love the Celestial Seasonings Bengal Spice as it's sweet and warming, but also have Cinnamon Apple, Wild Raspberry, Earl Grey and Green Tea. if I get hungry after my evening meal, I just keep drinking tea until I am no longer hungry!

Pop/Fizzy drinks - I have totally given them up since starting WW

Alcohol - never touch it due to meds, but wouldn't anyway due to pts!


ATTITUDE

For the first 2 months I turned down every social occasion where eating was involved, or I turned up after the meal. This helped me tremendously in getting a great start and the initial weight loss which then keeps you motivated

I don't do Church Dinners, or if I must I take a Lean Cuisine (etc) with me to heat up. Just by nature, rarely is anything prepared healthily and you have no control over what you are eating

If I eat out I usually choose Applebee's where they have WW meals available, but now I am at the point where I can judge a menu and make wise choices

If I really want something I have it, but then I compensate the rest of the week taking a few pts off everyday

I nearly always use most of my Flexie pts and certainly at least half of them every single week without fail, I don't want to starve when I get to goal and am on Maintenance!

I have done this without exercising at all yet, but I do not recommend this and will be starting soon. Just making the point you can lose without exercise

If friends try to pressure me at all, I get firm with them and if necessary I will just stand up to them and say "NO I am not doing that as I know I can't deal with the temptations there"

All along I have been buying smaller clothes I like as I see them and putting them away, it's a great motivator to try them on occasionally

I have an excellent online/phone buddy to help me also on WW

I TRACK EVERYTHING THAT I EAT RELIGIOUSLY - IT's CRUCIAL. If I can't find, can't estimate or don't know the pts, I won't eat it

I really watch my sodium intake, for my thyroid and water retention

Mindset - this time is different, I know I will succeed, failing is not an option

I am open with everyone about my diet and how much I have lost, now people are saying to me "no way do you need to still lose 40lbs" - I ignore them and carry on!

I finally accepted I need to lose weight to be healthy, NOT just skinny

When people say they can't lose weight, I just say to them "If I can with a thyroid disease working against me, then you certainly can"

I have finally learned to like myself and accept this is not a diet, it's how I will live from now on

I do WW online, no meetings necessary and alot cheaper, but I have iron-clad willpower and a WW buddy of my own

If I am no longer hungry, I stop eating and if I crave something, I wait 10 minutes and really think through the implications of eating it

My mantra = "Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels"

I am making a Scrapbook of my weightloss journey for motivation

I'm all about facing up to 'the truth' with myself and everyone else - that's essential for success, don't kid yourself

If you can think of a diet, I will have done it at sometime. No other diet works as well or allows you to eat anything like Weightwatchers - it's the best, end of story

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

These are such great tips. I'm going to print them out as we are trying to begin the weightloss journey and so far it's going nowhere because I simply have not developed any self-discipline for myself or for cooking for my family. It will come though.

Mary (Bookfan) said...

Excellent tips, Sarah. Thanks for posting them! I admire your resolve.

Its Just Me - Daring to Dream said...

Good luck Sarah. It's tough, but the work is worth it.

Vickie said...

Sarah: Thank you for sharing! My friend, Marie-Louise, over on Booktalk on the GDT board has gone from 425 to 176.5 in two years and without exercising. She has health issues, too, but made this a life choice. All of you are my icons to keep me going.

jennifer said...

You drink 80 oz of water a day? I barely make my 8 cups a day. You're my god LOL

Linda Jennings said...

Excellent tips! Thank you for taking the time to share. I lost 20 pounds in 2007, but have gone back to some old and bad eating habits and am at the point of going up a couple of pounds and down a half pound. Your tips have inspired me to do better!

Teresa said...

I think it is wonderful that you have shared these tips for others to get inspired by and to help them. That list is an absolute wealth of wisdom that did not come over night I am sure.

I am a big Weight Watchers fan. It is the very best "lifestyle" eating plan in my opinion. Fiber is SO important and WW give it the place it should have in an eating plan. It is amazing, if you are suppose to stay within 24-27 points and you go under a few days a week, you lose less than you would if you hit your target points of 24-27. In my case, I lost nothing! WW knows what they are doing.

And, so do you. All of your tips are great!!! Thank you, for taking the time to post them. But, your the realization that "I finally accepted I need to lose weight to be healthy, NOT just skinny. is exactly why you will succeed and keep it off after you hit your goal weight. When we focus on a size we lose heart and gain weight. When we value ourselves and take good care of ourselves, and want to be as healthy as we can, weight loss comes more naturally.

I am very proud of your success and I am eager to see you finish your goal.

Being upfront and honest with other about your losing weight keeps you accountable as well as the strength you receive for yourself by being assertive about such a personal matter. Wow!! You are going to make it!!!

One little thing I picked up along the way is:

If I bite it, I right it!

And a weakness of mine in the past was tasting everything at every stage of the cooking, baking or preparing. So:

No BLT's, bites, licks and tastes. The points REALLY add up when you do that, I tracked it once. OUCH!! To break the habit, I even quit nibbling on veggies when preparing salads... no nibbling at ALL!!

With comments this long, I am never going to get through your blog.

Anonymous said...

Great!! Your weight loss tips are fabulous, I have taken notes of them.

Shirlee Woline said...

Great tips! I will definitely use these.