If you’ve read any of my blogs that have recipes, you’ll see that I will often point out various lower fat/sugar alternatives, since I have been doing WW since March. Honestly, every year I come out of the winter feeling like a sloth- things not fitting me and just overall ugh. I try something every year, usually WW, and I’m not going to lie- I HATE IT. I hate tracking every morsel of food that goes into my mouth and realizing that, on my limited points budget (23), there are a lot of things I simply can’t afford to eat- hello pizza (9 points).

It’s weird to call this a bonus, but what motivated me this year, more than usual, is that my husband is overweight and was diagnosed with congestive heart failure in February. So it’s of critical importance that he loses weight, and if I can help support that- I will! Fitting into clothes and looking better is one thing, but this is life or death. Not funny actually. 

So like I said, I’ve been doing the program for about six months, and woohoo, I’ve lost a whopping 12 pounds! Being summer and in bathing suits a lot- this has been a good thing, but most importantly, I FEEL so much better. So I really do recommend trying this program! Here are a few things I’ve learned along the way that I’m hoping will be helpful to first-timers or even veterans of WW.

• 1. Weigh yourself ONCE a week. Same time, same clothes, same scale. I weigh on Monday mornings when I wake up, after I use the bathroom and before any water or coffee. Monday works for me, since although like a lot of us I tend to indulge more on Fridays and Saturdays, Sundays I have always used as my ‘clean eating’ day, so I start the week off with good habits. I recommend only once a week, because weight fluctuates daily for a million reasons, and you don’t want to get discouraged or falsely excited either. So keep the circumstances around your weigh-ins consistent.
• 2. Tell people you’re on the diet. As much as it’s kind of a bummer to feel singled-out, I think this is really important. You have to tell people, and also reinforce that you’re serious about it. This is challenging with having children- my daughter and I love to try new recipes and dishes and I’m repeatedly disappointed to find out they’re loaded with points. But it’s funny, she knows now and really helps me! She went to a special cookie shop the other day and brought one- so how could I refuse? But she said,’you may just want to eat a small piece every day”- because she knows a whole cookie would blow my points. She knows I’ll only have a small serving of rice, and won’t have bread with dinner. Sometimes she’ll give me something and can just tell by my face that I can’t have it. She’s like, ‘no?” Nope- but thanks anyway 😦
• 3. Zero Sugar Drinks! I’m really a bigger drinks person than food. Zero sugar drinks are abundant now thank goodness. I’ve found these to be my faves, they truly taste just like full sugar but have ZERO points! 
• Minute Maid Zero Sugar Lemonade, Turkey Hill Diet Iced tea, Ocean Spray Zero Sugar Cranberry, A&W Zero Sugar Root Beer, Coffeemate Zero Sugar Creamers (Italian sweet cream- yum)
• 4. One or Two-Point Options. Anything that makes you not feel deprived of flavor but is allowed on the diet is what you’re going for! I like to have a big piece of artisanal bread toasted from the farmers market for breakfast with an egg. But I don’t like toast without butter- so I opt for I Can’t Believe it’s Not Butter light, which is only one point. I can still have a latte, but ask for almond milk and a sugar free syrup. And I love a good sandwich (sliced lunchmeat like turkey, see below, is great!)- so 647 bread and sandwich thins are really good low-point options. With some low-fat mayo, a sandwich is perfect with tomato, lettuce and onion. And so filling!
• 5. Substitute turkey for beef. You save SO many points, I was honestly surprised. We love our hotdogs, hamburgers, ground beef (meat sauce, tacos..)- and all of these come in turkey versions- make your ‘hamburgers’ with ground turkey. There is even turkey bacon and pepperoni! 
• 6. Portions. I mentioned above that pizza is a no-no for me for the most part. But if it’s a special occasion or I’m seriously craving it (no matter what it is), I eat it. It’s honestly what the extra weekly points are for…and even if you use those, you will still lose weight. The trick with something like pizza is to make good choices. Fortunately the thin crust pizza where I live is seriously the best ever. It is so light on cheese, that it feels like you’re eating air (delicious air). So when I eat three small slices, I count those in WW as 1.5 slices. I think that’s fair. If you’re guestimating like I do, just try to be honest about it. It’s kind of easy to underestimate. A food scale is a good investment if it’s tough guessing what an ounce of something looks like!
• 7. Really limit eating out. This is a hard one but I think important. Although WW has a whole section on their app listing popular restaurants and point values, when you check it out you’ll see there isn’t much wiggle room. I was particularly surprised that fresher ‘healthy’ restaurants (CoreLife, Panera) have barely any low points options. For fast (cheap) and fresher decent options, I actually prefer Taco Bell and Chipotle, where you can build your own salad or bowl in a healthier way. At a nicer sit-down restaurant it’s easier, since there are almost aways fish and chicken choices, and plenty of salads as well. 
• 8. Watch dressings and sauces. They have a lot of hidden points, and I at least, often forget to track them. Fat free dressing are great like No Fat Hidden Valley Ranch, and you must check out the Skinny Girl dressings- they have ZERO points, and taste really good- especially the Poppyseed! I’ve recreated the Panera strawberry poppyseed salad using that, and it tastes amazing- highly recommend!
• 9. Experiment with Ways to Add Flavor. Marinading is my new best friend, because chicken (which you make a lot of on this program- zero points) can be bland, let’s face it. My summer go to has been salad with chicken on top, because it’s so filling, and if the chicken is done well- it’s tasty too (with a salad dressing above). You can make marinades easily, and as long as they have an oil and something acidic (lemon and garlic are great), they work to break down the meat and make it tender. But you can also just use a pre-made salad dressing! I marinate some chicken breasts or tenders in Italian or Greek dressing for a couple of hours. Bake for 10-12 minutes at 350. Easy! I’ve done the same thing with a hearty vegetable like zucchini or green beans. Especially in the summer, consider grilling for flavor. My daughter and I have been obsessed with foil packets that take literally 15 minutes, and no fuss. A protein like chicken or fish with veggies and seasoning. Somehow the taste of grilled food is so much better, in my opinion, and it’s easy to throw the contents of that packet into a low carb (2 points) tortilla as well. 
• 10. Budget for things like alcohol. I love a good vodka and seltzer at the end of the day- like at least one. So I know the points I have to play with. Do the math to know how many you’ll have left, and if that means compensating with a smaller, no points dinner- do it! Unfortunately you can’t avoid points with alcohol, but you can be smart about it. Titos vodka, weirdly has less points (3) per shot than other brands. I mix that with a little zero sugar lemonade (or cranberry, or some lemon or lime juice) and seltzer- and that is the perfect cocktail for me.  (See my summer cocktails coming out soon!). As a guideline, most alcohol has 4 points per shot, and wine has 4 points for 5 ounces. If you’re a wine drinker, Amazon sells an awesome wine glass that lists the ounces and points right on it. Definitely look for tools like this that help keep you on track and motivate you.

When you start to see weight the coming off, you’re really going to be that much more motivated. Just be mindful and take it day by day, meal by meal. You can do it.

Good luck!