My First Day on Weight Watchers

I signed up last night, along with two of my friends and regular eating buddies. Since our typical 'night out' these days is cooking in and drinking generous amounts of wine, I'm glad that these two are doing the diet with me. Weighing in was painful. My goal is to lose 20 pounds, which will put me back into a size 4/6, which would be a place I haven't been to in about ten years. :)

So, the diet started today. I'm on the 'flex-plan', which means that everything you eat has a point value that you track throughout the day and you have a certain amount of points per day. Once you reach your limit, you're done.  The good thing is that nothing is off-limits, as long as you factor in the points value. Okay, a few things are off-limits for awhile, like a plate of loaded nachos, which has more points than I'm allowed to have for the entire day. :(

But, I discovered a trick. Yes, I'm only one day into this diet and I'm already looking for ways to be bad. The day started off great, a banana and coffee for breakfast, scrambled eggs and a tortilla and salsa for lunch, snack of pineapple and strawberries. Then 2 o'clock hit, and I wanted substance. God only knows why, because I rarely eat fast food, but I had an overwhelming craving for a Burger King fried chicken sandwich. That's 13 points. More than half my daily total. But if I got a grilled one, it's only 9 points.

I thought about it for all of a minute before running up the road to BK and the drivethru. Got the grilled sandwich and a diet coke, came home, all excited and took a bite. Let's just say I was underwhelmed. The fried one is so much better. I'd eaten half when I had the best idea of the day, throw the other half out. That way I've only used up 5 points.  Next time I'll go for the fried one. :)

So, that's today's great diet tip. If you're craving something, have it, but only have half, or a small portion, so you satisfy the craving and still stay on track with your points.

Tonight's dinner is one of my favorites that happens to be low-fat. I make this on a piece of tin foil, just put the salmon in the middle, add the seasonings, and gather up the sides to cover it fully, like a packet. This helps it steam in its own juices and there's no mess.

     Salmon with Dijon, Honey, and Balsamic

     1 piece of salmon, 6 oz

    1 tsp dijon mustard

    1 tsp honey

    2 tsp balsamic vinegar

   1/4 of a tomato, diced

   1/4 of an onion, sliced thin

Preheat oven to about 350. Place salmon in middle of a one foot square piece of tin foil. Spread the mustard over the top of the salmon, then spread the honey evenly over the mustard. Lay the onions and tomatoes evenly over the salmon. Pour the vinegar over the top. Bring the sides of the foil up and close over the salmon. Bake for about 20 minutes.

One serving, 7 points

:) Pam

Comments

[debbie]

Good luck, Pam! I just went back to WW last week--I lost 100+ lbs on the program about a decade ago, and managed to gain back a bunch recently. It definitely works, if you're willing to stick to it--that's the only hard part!

[pam]

Thanks Debbie! That's great that it worked so well for you. I did it over ten years ago too, before their new points system, and it's really the only diet that has ever worked for me.

:) Pam

[cynthia]

why did u throw the sandwich out? why didnt't u just keep the other half and have it another day?

[pam]

Cynthia,

If I'd gotten the fried sandwich, I would have saved it. But the grilled one just wasn't good enough to want to eat again.

:) Pam

[Stephanie]

Happy New Year Pam! I've been a lifetime member on WW for a few years, and have found my weight SLLOOOWWWLY (okay, quickly) climbing back up so I'm back on the points. I had lost 60 lbs. If you want snacky ideas, or some support drop me an email. One great filler is a bag of Orville Red. Smart Pop 94% FF popcorn--you can eat the whole bag for like two points. That's usually a great 3 o'clock snack!

Good to see your blogging!
Steph

[pam]

Hi Steph! Happy New Year! 60 pounds! That is awesome. I love hearing that. My first few days were the hardest. But, it's doable. I even had a great 'cheat day' on Saturday, complete with wine, cheese and crackers, even pecan pie. And it was all 'legal'...thanks to those 35 extra weekly points. Thanks for the headsup on the popcorn, I will check that out. I'm always hungry around 3.

:) Pam

[Katy]

I second the recommendation of Orville R's 94% FF popcorn. I have at least one single-serving mini-bag every single afternoon at around 2PM. I have always *loved* popcorn, so this always feels like a major treat.

And I think having a "cheat" day is key. One of the things I love about WW is that nothing's off limits...so you're not fighting who you are as an eater, as well as those initial hunger pangs and the cravings and all the other baggage... If I couldn't have pizza and ice cream, I wouldn't have succeeded.

Katy, who lost 60+ lbs. on WW and who has managed to keep it off for 15 months

[pam]

Katy! I had no idea it was WW that you were on. That is great. And you look amazing. Now I can't picture you as any way other than tiny!

:) Pam

[Grace]

Hi, Last year I lost around 45 lbs doing WW and have added the dreaded holiday weight - putting back 15 of those oh-so-hard to lose, but oh-so-easy to gain back lbs.
I still hadn't reached my goal, but was pretty close to it. So, this is my dilemna, I have severe TMJ (TMD now) that is causing my popcorn snacking to be only twice a week or I'm paying for it in the pain dept. I'm looking for other low point snack foods that are easy to fix and won't weigh me down before bed time. With a 2 year old, I tend to watch all my shows after she's gone to bed (thank goodness for TIVO) and snack throughout. Any snacking tips or recipes would be greatly appreciated. Oh, and I'm more of a salty snacker than a sweet snacker. Thanks!!

[Sophie]

We would like to feature this recipe on our blog. Please email sophiekiblogger@gmail.com if interested. Thanks :)