Day 13: Second Weigh In on WW ProPoints

Image by Timo Kirkkala via Flickr

Low ProPoints treat

Today was my second weigh in on WW ProPoints, and I'm pleased to say I lost...

4.5 lbs!

After my first shaky week, I'm pleased to see the weight is finally coming off.

It was lovely to go to a Weight Watchers meeting today to chat to the other members about how they're getting on. Overall everyone seems to be full of energy from all the extra fruit we can have, and really excited about the changes. It seems to be the same situation on the eSource messageboards too, with some of the nervous people seeing excellent losses this week.

The 4.5 lb weigh loss meant I got my first 7lb loss sticker today, and I'm just 1.5lbs off my first 5% goal.
Stuck for food ideas on the new ProPoints plan? Here are a few of my favourite finds this weeks.

• Fish fingers: Around 5 ProPoints for 3.

• Quorn chicken slices: 2 ProPoints for half a pack

• Birds Eye Fish steaks in butter sauce: 4 ProPoints

• Roasted veg (butternut squash, carrots, swede): 0 ProPoints (most of the supermarkets are doing mixed bag of winter root veg for £1-2)
  

  Found any low ProPoint food this week? Share them in the comments!

Day Nine: Fast (Healthy and Filling) Food

Day Nine
Breakfast
Special K Bliss, Strawberry and Chocolate: 3 PP
Semi-skimmed milk: 2 PP
*****
Lunch (right)

Beef frying steak: 4 PP
Ainsley Harriott Cous Cous: 5 PP
Muller Light Raspberry and Cranberry: 2 PP
*****
Dinner
2 slices of garlic bread: 6 PP
4 dough balls: 4 PP
*****
Snacks
WW Cookie bar: 3 PP
Fruit Snacks: 0 PP

I'm a big fan of fast food. Not only because I'm busy and lacking in culinary skills, but also because...well, I'm lazy. For years, I've been so used to throwing some cheese on carbs and popping it in the grill, that fast food has become synonymous with fatty food.

But I'm starting to find ways to create quick, healthy and filling meals that don't require half a block of cheese. Or salad leaves. Because, to be frank, lettuce feels like a big, tasteless waste of space on my plate (I know, I know, it's healthy!)

Today's lunch only took me 5 minutes, and still tasted damn good. All it took was a quick rehydration of the cous cous (add boiling water and cover for 5 minutes) and a quick dry-frying of the beef frying steak (a much slimmer slice of beef with very little fat on the outside. Also, dirt cheap.) in a frying pan for a minute on each side. In total it works out at 9 ProPoints. You can always throw a bag of frozen veg in the microwave if you want a little bit more.

So, what's your quick Healthy and Filling meal? Do you have a go-to ingredient that makes a meal in minutes?

Day Eight: ProPoints has officially arrived!

Ah, the day I've been waiting for all week. The official launch of the Weight Watchers ProPoints Plan, and an update on eSource (so I can't cheat using the paper calculator ;D )

Day Eight
Breakfast
2 Crumpets: 5 PP
Low fat spread: 1 PP
Tea: 0 PP

Banana: 0 PP

*****
Lunch
Pork Loin steak: 5 PP
Broccoli: 0 PP
Cauliflower: 0 PP
WW Rich Chocolate Pot: 2 PP
*****
DinnerWW Curry: 8 PP
Slice of bread: 2 PP
*****
Snacks
Milk, semi skimmed: 2 PP
WW Cookie bar: 3 PP
Fruit Salad: 0 PP

Total: 28 ProPoints

I had an email from a lady called Louise, who is using the Oats So Simple sachets for her breakfast. They're only 3 PP (not including milk) so I'll be trying them soon for a lower PP breakfast. I bet it's lovely loaded up with summer berries or sliced banana.

If you've got any other low PP products, feel free to share them over email, twitter or in the comments section below.

I'd love to know how you're all getting on with the plan. Excited? Confused?  

Let me know in the comments!

Day Seven: Weighing in

Image via Wikipedia

Heaven

Day Seven
Breakfast
Special K (Red berries and chocolate) with milk: 6 ProPoints
Bowl of red berries
****
Lunch
2 WW Petite Pains: 6 ProPoints
3 slices of lean bacon: 3 ProPoints
*****
Dinner
Chinese buffet
*****
Snacks
WW Cookie Bar: 3 ProPoints

The last day of the week! As you can see, I went for a cheeky Chinese buffet last night before the cinema, which could have been a disaster. Unlimited food? Bye bye self-restraint! However, they do give you little plates so you can't completely gorge yourself. I'd also read the pocket guide for a few restaurant suggestions. Chicken and sweetcorn soup, chow mein, crispy duck with pancakes and chicken and cashew nuts are all considered ok in points, so I don't think I did *too* badly. The odd sesame prawn toast might have snuck onto my plate though...

So, this morning I weighed in...*drumroll* and I've lost 0.5 lb. Considering I've had several large slipups, a big learning curve and a bucketload of PMT, I'm quite pleased with that. I also had a weigh in on Saturday, where I'd put on 2 lbs, so I think the effect of a few good days has kicked in today. I'm hoping to have a good result next week, as the boyfriend is away for a week so I won't be eating out as much.

I've learnt a lot this week about the ProPoints plan, and I'm looking forward to putting that knowledge into action this week. I've got my list of easy meals too, which should help me be a bit more prepared. At the moment I can't login to eSource (anyone else having problems?), but I'm looking forward to getting back into using it, as it's a fantastic tool for keeping you on track.

On a side note, I've had a few compliments on my skin looking 'glowy', which is probably thanks to all the fruit and water I'm consuming!

So, what do you think about the new plan??

Day six: Wedding bells and weight wobbles

Image via Wikipedia

Little sis, gettin' hitched

Day Six
Breakfast
2 slices of toast, dry: 5 ProPoints
*****
Lunch
Carrots to nibble on: 0 ProPoints
4 Weight Watchers Dough Balls: 4 ProPoints
Piece of Southern Fried Chicken: 6 ProPoints
*****

Image by WordRidden via Flickr

Nom nom nom

Dinner
Gammon Steak: 7 ProPoints
Egg, poached: 3 ProPoints
Low Fat Chips: 4 ProPoints
Snack
Mini digestive biscuit: 1 ProPoint
Fruit Salad: 0 ProPoints
Total: 30 ProPoints

Had a lovely day yesterday, pottering around wedding venues for my sister next December. Most of the venues are generous with tea and biscuits, but I managed to restrain myself and limit myself to one bitesize digestive biscuit. I'm hoping all the walking I did burnt it off!

I'm starting to get more used to the new ProPoint plan now. I'm still struggling a little with changing the points in my head, particularly when it comes to allocating ProPoints for each meal. So I'll be spending some time today putting together a list of quick and easy meals that fits breakfast, lunch and dinner. Hopefully this will stop me panicking every time I open the fridge.

I'm a little worried about weighing in tomorrow, but I think by next weekend, I'll be seeing some good results. 

So, with eSource revamping tomorrow, how are you preparing for the ProPoints plan?

Day Five: Back on track

Image via Wikipedia

Winter Winner!

Day Five
Breakfast
Two slices of toast: 5 ProPoints
Low Fat Spread: 2
*****
Lunch
Roasted Vegetables
1 small parsnip: 1 ProPoint
1 swede: 0 ProPoints
2 carrots: 0 ProPoints
Butternut squash wedges : 0 ProPoints
2 tbsp of Olive Oil: 3 ProPoints
*****
Dinner
Small Pork medallion: 3 ProPoints
Cous Cous: 4 ProPoints
WW Triple Chocolate bar: 2 ProPoints
Snack
Fruit salad,  of raspberries, strawberries, bananas & pears: 0 ProPoints.
Total: 20 ProPoints

Thanks to a filling lunch, low in ProPoints, I've managed to stay under my daily allowance. I can't carry the points over in the new plan, but it's good to know I can have the odd low point day without feeling deprived.
I'm also pleased to note I'm exceeding my 5-a-day on most days now. If you've got an iPhone, it's worth downloading Munch 5-a-day. It's a bit gimmicky, but it basically lets you tick off each piece of fruit or veg you eat until you reach your goal, and you can earn achievements too. You can then share the results on Twitter/Facebook.

If you want to know more about the switchover and the plan, there's a great selection of Weight Watchers ProPoints Plan resources on the weight watcher blog by Reflextions.

Concerned about the new plan? 

I've been chatting in the Weight Watchers forums this week, and a lot of people seem concerned or resentful of the new plan. Don't be. You won't have to make any huge changes, it's just a slightly different way of working out your points. The main changes, 49 treat points and zero ProPoint fruit, are for your benefit and will help you stay on the plan long-term.

Obviously it's a little frustrating if you've bought the scales and the calculator, but the new pack will come with a card calculator, and a conversion sheet for all the recipe books they've released in the last year. Otherwise you can use the Recipe Builder in eSource to convert them. One lady on the forums suggested getting busy with a pen and labels, on all the food in your freezer and your cookbooks.

If I'm honest, this week's TGI Friday Fail might have made me fall off the WeightWatcher wagon altogether, but instead I've put it down to the 49 weekly ProPoints and started afresh the next day. I'm not expecting a huge loss this week, but I know I'm making healthier choices that will benefit my weight loss and health long-term. Isn't that what Weight Watchers is all about?

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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!