A Product Review

After reading about how wonderful these are; I finally broke down and paid the high price for them:

PopTarts are very high in points on WW.  These are much lower in points and are high in protein.  People rave about them online.  They are pricy, it cost me $10 for a box of 4.  I would have preferred the option to just purchase one, but that wasn't a possibility at my Walmart.  Anyway, I just had one and must say I wasn't impressed.  It was nothing like a poptart.  It was more like a soft sugar cookie with icing and a smear of filling on the inside.  I'll finish them up, but I won't be buying again.

One Bad Meal.......

There's a lot of truth in this meme!!

A bad meal won't make you fat.  You didn't gain weight from one bad meal.  Just like you won't lose weight eating one good meal.

However....  don't let one bad meal derail you!  Shake it off, pick yourself back up and get back on track!!

The one good meal???  Hey, keep eating those!

 

Week Update!

So how did my week go????

Well I managed a 2.1 lb. loss!!!  It probably could have been more, but Thanksgiving being the day before weigh-in most likely threw me off.  However, I expected no loss or even a gain due to the holiday - so I did really well!!

How did I do with my tries?

I did track my food and though not perfect with choices, I did track...so I'm on plan.

I walked a mile each day with the exception of one (cold and pouring rain) and the holiday.

Water I wasn't as good at, I do much better with that when I'm working (I was off all this week), so I'll get back to that this week (though I still need to try to work on that when off work).

Book?  Nope haven't read a thing; need to find a good one!

So my week has started over today and I've tracked my breakfast and lunch and have walked my mile!!  So off to a good start, now for some water!

Let's Try

I'm not a resolution maker , mostly because I never keep them and then I feel like a failure.

I feel the same way about goals.

So I  do "tries".

I'm going to try to walk a mile each day.

I'm going to try to drink 64 oz of water a day.

I'm going to try to stick to the WW program.

I'm going to try to read one chapter of a book per day.

If I don't walk the mile or drink the water or read the book or do the WW program, it'll be okay...as long as I'm trying my best.

So what are your "tries"?

Sent from my T-Mobile 5G Device

 

May you enjoy your day!  Don't stress over the food - YOU GOT THIS!!

Water, Water & More Water!!

Water always seems a big topic in the weight loss communities.  Everyone has an opinion on the amount and what counts as water.

For starters - plain water is best for your body; your body needs it and knows how to process it; but some just have a hard time with plain water.

I see a lot of people with HUGE jugs/cups/mugs/etc.. filled with water to drink throughout the day.  Hey, if that works for you GO FOR IT!  But me?  That is so overwhelming I'd never get it done.

I prefer drinking water in smaller amounts; I do 8 oz. servings at a time.  Why?  A serving of water is only 8 oz. and once you see that measured...getting 6 or more of that size in seems doable.

I do six servings of water a day.  Why 6?  Because when I initially started WW, that was the healthy guideline to follow.  However, they allowed any type of liquid to count (sodas, juices, broth) as long as you counted the points (if the liquid had any) as well.  Over time that has changed and they now kind of say plain water.

I personally can drink plain water, but I realize not everyone can and that's okay - you do you! I start my morning with a serving, another before I leave the house, another on the way to work and pretty much by lunchtime, I have my six servings in!  After that, I pretty much drink whatever I want!  

Some people drink 8 servings a day and some say you should drink 1/2 your weight in ounces.  I don't know what is the correct method but again YOU DO YOU!

Also keep in mind that almost everything (food included) has some amount of water in it; so consider that as well.

Comcast / Xfinity

 Shall we discuss Comcast/Xfinity or whatever they refer to themselves as.

One of my email accounts is requiring me (by Comcast) to change the password.  When I hit the Reset Password button it takes me to a message to go to a link to reset (that does nothing more than take me back to the same message).  Calling customer service?  Yeah, that doesn't help - it's all automated - so it wants to email/message me links that do nothing more but take me to the same message.  It takes FOREVER to get a live person and then they are not understandable or sound so far away I can barely hear them.

I've tried online chat, reddit forum, xfinity forum, etc....  all run me through the same things over and over and then tell me to call Customer Service that can offer no more.

I don't want to change the password on this account.  Comcast is FORCING me to; but cannot advise on how to do so.

So what are my choices Comcast?  Am I forever not allowed access to my account????

Don't Be Negative With Others

I was on one of my WW FB groups where a new person was asking why fruit wasn't free anymore on the plan.......  the first response pretty much told her that nothing is free and everything has calories, blah, blah, blah....

I really hate that answer and see it all the time.  Don't play the know-it-all...you know what she means "She doesn't want to count points for fruit".  The person, of course, answered somewhat confused...as she should of been, you didn't answer her question.  Immediately the person who owns the group (yep, the influencer) commented that the person who answered was telling her how nothing is free.  Alrighty....we still haven't answered the question.

I, of course, answered it as did a few others.  All she said was that she was not eating healthy at all and wanted her fruits and veggies to be on her food list.  There then was a few comments basically asking her how she expected to lose weight if she didn't eat healthy! Don't be the downers people! Answer the question, be encouraging.  There was so many ways this could be have been answered.  For example:

"Hey, you must have answered that you are pre-diabetic or diabetic; go into settings and change it and then fruit will be on your zero food list but if you are diabetic, you may want to count fruit.  Oh and FYI - zero points doesn't mean zero calories, nothing is free.  Good Luck!"

See?  It was an easy way to answer the question and give your know-it-all advice as well.

And when she mention not being a healthy eater?  Rather than berate her; a simple:

"It's great that you want to add healthier foods to your diet.  Good Luck with your journey."

Don't be negative with others struggling!

Our Journeys Are Not The Same

Your journey is not like mine.

My journey is not like yours.

No two people share the same weight loss journey.

I love the bloggers and vlogger and influencers that I follow.  They are inspirational, they give good ideas, they understand your journey BUT, I know my journey won't be exactly the same.

And that's where people fail....

We all want the easy journey, so we follow someone that posts "What I Eat In a Day on "some number" points." or "What I Eat In a Day That Helped Me Lose "some number" pounds".  It would be nice to eat those exact same things and lose that same weight.  Guess what? That's not going to happen.

Why? Because we're all different.  We're different ages, body type, metabolism, genetics...it's not going to be the same.

I've nothing against someone who wants to try whatever their favorite "influencer" is doing.  You need to try and try to find out what's right for you; I do have an issue with those that immediately follow and then question after question on why it's not working for them.

Case in point.  A lot of members are hopping on the low carb bandwagon right now - which is fine, mostly due to an influencer being diagnosis as pre-diabetic.  This person purchased a monitor to find out what foods caused her blood sugar to spike.  Nice tool to have; BUT people started suggesting foods they were interested in.  That would be nice except what makes her blood sugar spike, may not make yours.  Asking and then saying "Thanks, I won't be eating that." Why???  Why would you not eat something that makes her blood sugar spike???  You will need your own monitor plus your own doctor to make those decisions.  Diabetes is a health condition that needs monitored by your doctor, not your influencer.  This influencer I've followed for a while, I love her vlog and think she's a wealth of information; but I know her intent is not to replace your doctor.  When dealing with a health issue - always check with your doctor first.

The Healthi App

 Due to the recent changes with WW (weight loss meds, meetings being eliminated), I'm seeing members choose to give the Healthi App a try....and then I'm seeing people getting frustrated and mad that Healthi isn't exactly like WW and that Healthi is giving them a ton of more daily points then WW did and that the points of items aren't the same....  Please EVERYONE, say this with me:

HEALTHI DOES NOT OFFER A PERSONAL POINT PLAN!!

Again....

HEALTHI DOES NOT OFFER A PERSONAL POINT PLAN!!

And let's say this together:

ALL POINTS ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL AND DIFFERENT PLANS HAVE DIFFERENT WAYS OF CALCULATING POINTS!!

Now that THAT is out of the system....

If you need a plan that is closest to what WW is now offering...the best choice on Healthi is the Better Balance plan.  Better Balance is the old Blue Plan also known as Freestyle.  This plan uses the calculation for smart points (which is not the same calculation as personal points uses); so some items will be off a little when it comes to points. You may also notice that popcorn is not a zero food on Better Balance. It's different, but it's the closest you'll get.

Healthi also offers Sugar Smart, which is the old Green Plan and also the plan introduced in Beyond the Scale.  Sugar Smart uses the smart point calculation also.

Carb Conscious is the Points Plus plan.  Guess what?  It's calculation is entirely different than smart points and personal points.

Conquer Cravings is the original point plan and it's calculation is entirely different than points plus, smart points and personal points.

Different plans, different methods, different zero point foods.  You have to know what you're choosing.

I bring this up because I was just seeing someone whining that Healthi is no where near like WW because she's getting 15 pts more in dailies.  I asked the obvious - which plan are you doing?  Her answer? Conquer Cravings.  WHOA!  Conquer Cravings doesn't even have a zero point list!  It's not even close to what WW offers now.  That's why your dailies are so high, not because Healthi is a bad app, it's because you aren't paying attention to what you're doing!

It's extremely important that you read the available material and videos about the plans that Healthi offers, and they offer a lot!  Also, it's a learning curve...don't expect WW and take the time to learn you're way around the app.  You weren't always familiar with the WW app (and it's changed a few times).

Healthi is a good app though and if you're tired of WW or just want a different option; I recommend it!

Wait...Isn't It A Lifestyle Change?

Isn't it a lifestyle change?

Diet:  the kinds of food that a person, animal or community habitually eats

What you are eating is your diet, not the program you are doing.

I get it, you've been taught "diet" is a bad word. You're being taught to say "lifestyle change" because "diet" means "temporary", you're doing this for life.

Guess what?  The food you are eating on this Lifestyle, is your diet!

Try not to get caught up in the terminology of things.

I Rejoined Weight Watchers

I rejoined Weight Watchers.

Oh yeah, I've done it before. I have a long history with Weight Watchers. 

Back in September 2010, I walked into a Weight Watchers meeting and began my first journey.

Back then it was the original point program, mostly referred to as "classic points" these days. When Weight Watchers used the phrase "eat all your favorite foods and still lose weight"; this was the plan they were referring to. There were no phone apps, most people didn't have smartphones anyway, but there was a point calculator and pen & paper. Classic points calculated using calories, fat and fiber. You had daily points and everyone got 35 weeklies. It was a pretty simple plan actually..forget your calculator? That's okay, 50 calories equaled 1 point. The math was easy.

I lost 20 lbs. in my first 3 months on classic.

Then they changed the program to Points Plus. 

Points Plus took those bad nasty carbs and made all the snacky things go up in points.  You still had your daily points and everyone got 49 weekly points. Using a calculation of fat, carbs, fiber and protein and making fruit "zero pts" led to hits and misses.    This plan also introduced the mobile app.  The math was still easy with 39 calories equaling 1 point (to make it easier most did 40 calories for 1 point).  The "misses" with this plan took the zero point food too literal.  They over ate it.  They used it in place of vegetable servings.  They then complained that the program didn't work.

Though not everything works for everyone, most were failing because they over ate in fruit.

None-the-less, like it's predecessor...Points Plus was a popular plan.

This plan was a hit for me...losing another 20 lbs and becoming a Lifetime Member by August 2011.

At Lifetime, I realized that the weight I was at was not sustainable for me in the long term.  Not wanting to pay for being over my goal, I walked away from Weight Watchers.

Then you know what happened.......  I maintained at a weight approximately 5 lbs more than the goal for a while.  Then the weight started coming back on.  It doesn't happen all at once, it sneaks up on you and you try to convince yourself you have it under control and it's okay.  You know, the pants are a little tighter - but hey they still fit and I can take off a pound or two to make it right.  Then you're up a size - buy hey, I still look great and what's a size?  Just a number!

You get the picture, you try to convince yourself that it isn't happening.  Then one day you look in the mirror and realize you are back to square one.

I don't know how many times over and over I rejoined Weight Watchers.....I'd lose, I'd regain and nothing more really happened.  That newbie feeling wasn't there and that gave me so much success last time.

Back in September 2016 I walked back to a Weight Watchers meeting.  I had to.  The first thing I noticed was all the signs about the "biggest change in 50 years coming to Weight Watchers".  You know what I thought?  Hurray!  Something new, something different and hopefully no more points!

Was I ever wrong.....  nope, not really a big change at all just another point program.  And thus, Smart Points was born!  Attacking that nasty sugar....and making all those sweet treats balloon in points.  Using calories, saturated fat, sugar and protein as the calculation.......  Smart points was a huge fail for me.  I tried really, but I was losing and relosing the same 10 lbs over and over.  I couldn't stick to it.  I craved sweet things, which isn't the norm for me (salty yes, sweet no) and since that sweet stuff cost so much in points?  I just didn't track it.  Yes, I know it was my fault, but I couldn't get on board with this plan.  I wasn't stupid though....I knew what Weight Watchers was doing...with each plan it was pushing you to be a little bit healthier.  I understood.

Then Freestyle came along.  Now there was a list of 200 plus foods that you didn't have to count points for.  Remember when I mentioned the "misses" with the zero point fruit when Points Plus came out?  Well you can imagine what's happening here.

Freestyle is a good plan.  I imagine over time more will be added to that no count food list to everyone is just eating the way they should.  I failed at Freestyle then, because I just wasn't in the Weight Watchers mood.

Weight Watchers got crazy and changed their name from Weight Watchers to WW (pronounced double you - double you)...made their receptionists "guides" the leaders "coaches" and the meetings "studios".  Sorry Weight Watchers, I'll never use these stupid terms!  But after a few months I knew I needed a break from Weight Watchers.

But I was back a few more times!  I did the Green-Blue-Purple plans, the Personal Plan (where you chose your own zero foods) and now they're back to a version similar to Freestyle(Blue) but with a different point calculation.

Most in person meetings have gone away and the ones I could get to do not have times convenient to for those of us that work.  I kind of think WW thought that due to covid we all became stay at home workers.....nay..... I never worked from home, even during covid!

I dropped out of WW (it is pronounced Weight Watchers again) not that long ago.  Giving up the Lifetimer not at Goal deal they offered a while ago.  I wasn't really using it anyway and I couldn't get to a meeting.

BUT - now I'm back!  No meetings this time, I'll do digital for a while.  I'm hoping my head is in the right place for this!  I know I'm crazy for doing this around the holidays....but I'm gonna try!!