Day four: Lessons learned

Breakfast

A few lessons learned on the new plan today.

Day Four
Breakfast
Bowl of mixed fruit (Sainsbury's do a nicetub of strawberries, blueberries and raspberries perfect for this): 0 ProPoints
Muffin with low fat spread: 6 ProPoints*****
Lunch
Weight Watchers Curry: 8 ProPoints 
*****
Dinner
Steak and kidney stew with dumplings: Unsure on PP!
*****
Snacks
Slice of bread: 2 ProPoints
Handful of crisps: 1 ProPoints
Carrot sticks : 0 ProPoints

A bit of a mixed day really. I find it quite easy to stick to the plan until dinner time, then I tend to have a splurge. I was also a little surprised to see the ProPoints of the Weight Watchers curry is now 8, a significant rise from 4.5 points. Presumably this is down to the higher carb content of the white rice.
I learnt a few things today about the plan, which should help in the next week.

• The 49 weekly points can quite easily become an excuse for snacking throughout the week, with very little tracking. It's essential to track those 49 points, or you can quite easily go over them. As I probably have. Twice.
• In fact, next week I'm going to keep the 49 points for after weigh in, as I think it'll be easier to be good throughout the week then have a treat, then treats throughout the week that lead me to fall off the wagon!
• Dumplings are not a good addition to stews. They're pastry-filled bundles of yumminess with a ProPoints value to give you a heart attack. If anyone has got any homemade, low PP alternatives, please let me know!
• I really miss eSource! I find it all to easy to cheat a little when I'm writing it down on paper, whereas I'm far stricter when using the online plan. I'm looking forward to switching over on Sunday.

Image by Smaku via Flickr

Nigella: Probably not bothered about ProPoints

• I'm much more likely to stick to the plan if I plan each day ahead. Yesterday was a bit of a case of grabbing whatever was available, hence the bad choice of dumplings. I've also clearly been watching too much Nigella, as I indulged in some bread dunking in the leftover stew. 

Have you got any great tips for staying on track, on either plan? Share them in the comments!