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Most of you are probably familiar with Weight Watchers point system. You are given daily points, weekly points and points for exercise. I currently have 35 weekly points to play with.
I have been using my weekly points either in one day or over two consecutive days. I didn't start off doing this deliberately. It just happened that I usually went to a party or out to dinner on the weekend and ended up using them like I stated above. Since I've been losing consistently for the past six weeks and I like using my weekly points this way, this is how I'm choosing to do it.
I know these weekly points can be a controversial topic. So, for the record, here's what Weight Watchers has to say:
"Use your weekly POINTS allowance for indulgences. Just because you’re trying to lose weight doesn’t mean you should be deprived of your favorite foods — it just means that you need to practice portion control and remain within your POINTS budget."
and:
"Use your Allowance all at once, on a dinner out or a special occasion. Divide the extra POINTS values up over the week. Choose not to use them, to boost this week’s weight loss."
So when Saturday came around this past weekend I was debating when to use my weekly points. We didn't have any plans for Saturday and had a church picnic scheduled on Sunday.
I did not want to use my extra points at the picnic because I wouldn't know the exact point value of the foods that would be there. I decide that Saturday would be my extra point day. (Just a side note - Jim did the exact opposite and used his weekly points at the picnic and stayed within his point totals too)
Saturday morning I had a granola bar and some yogurt with Kashi cereal before Zumba. After class I had an egg sandwich and pretzels with hummus. Snacks were dark chocolate with organic peanut butter, another granola bar and some triscuits with turkey pepperoni and cheese. By late afternoon I had used all of my 30 daily points.
I debated what to do for dinner and decided on Five Guys. Oh my, I can't tell you the last time I had french fries and I must say they were delicious. I also got a little cheeseburger. Together they were 20 points.
So here's something I'm proud of ... Like I mentioned, our church picnic was Sunday. I had already used most of my weekly points on Saturday so I went to the picnic knowing I would be very selective of what I ate and only choose things that I could accurately guess point values on. I had a hot dog without bun (5 points), loaded my plate with a leafy, green salad, added carrots (no dressing), watermelon, grapes and a corn, onion and pepper salad (I guessed the fruits and veggies were 4 points). At one point I had scooped up a spoonful of cheesy potatoes but as I thought about how many points it would be, I put it back knowing it wasn't worth it.
The thing is, I don't even remember eating most of the food. I do remember thinking the corn salad was pretty good. But I was so busy talking to friends that it was more about getting food into my belly so I wouldn't get famished.
It made me think - how many times have I been at a picnic like this, filled my plate full of high-calorie food and then eaten it without much thought to the taste because I was busy socializing?
I don't know about you, but now when I choose to eat something that's a treat, I savor every bite. Like Five Guys on Saturday. The anticipation of having our number called. I can still remember the taste of that cheeseburger and fries. Enjoying the meal knowing that I wasn't being "bad" according to the weigh watcher plan.
Things continue to click for me. I'm figuring out new things every day. It makes me happy to know that I have control over picnic eating. It makes me proud that I can make these choices so easily now.
August Goal Update
Lose at least four pounds. - Met. Woo Hoo!
Track WW pointsdaily. - Met.
Exercise at least three times aweek. - Met. I rocked this one and exercised five times this week.
Drink at least 48 oz ofwater a day. - Not Met. I didn't get in enough water on Saturday.
Limit Diet Dr. Pepper to two cans a day. -Not Met. I missed this one several days.
Cut out one WW ice cream bar a week. - Met. No ice cream Sunday.
Read stories every night to the kids. - Met. With Jim's help.
Game night once a week. - Not Met.Forgot about this one.
Read every night before bed. - Not Met. I still haven't gotten a new book.
Finish all laundry at some point during the month.I'm very close on this one. Only a few more baskets. Side note - Jim took five garbage bags of clothes to Goodwill for me on Saturday and I sold one basket of the kids clothes to the consignment shop for $70!