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Fitness coach Kendra Fletcher shares 4 tips that can help us follow Weight Watchers successfully. She joined Weight Watchers in October 2011 after having her second child and realizing that she needed a structured system to help her lose weight. She lost 20 lbs within 6 months and today she is a Weight Watchers Lifetime Member. That means she has free access to the plan for as long as she manages to keep her weight within 2lbs of her ideal weight. Her goal is to help people achieve their fitness, nutrition, and well-being goals.
1. Track Your Points
At the beginning, since you don’t know the points of most foods, it’s going to take you around 15 minutes a day to track your points. Some people think it takes a lot of time to track points, but that’s not true. Are you willing to invest 15 minutes a day to have higher chances of success and to be able to lose weight? I think most of us can find that time and make tracking points a priority.
There are some tools that can help you track your points. In the Weight Watchers website, there is a recipe builder where you enter the different components of a recipe (the amounts of carbs, protein, fat, and fiber) and the tool calculates the points. There is also a huge database of foods, including restaurant foods, and their points values. All this is accessible online from your computer or Smartphone. Make sure you use the Weight Watchers Scanner. This is a separate app that you can download. When you scan the barcode of a food item in the grocery store, the app will give you the points value.
2. Weigh and Measure Your Food
In order to track your points correctly, you need to weigh or measure your food. I encourage you to invest in a food scale because this will help you more accurately measure your portion sizes. You can also use measuring cups and a measuring spoon. For example, when I put olive oil in my pan, I measure exactly how much I am using with a measuring spoon.
Of course, don’t track your food to the point you get obsessed with it. If you start counting points with the expectation that you will always be able to track with absolute precision, you will get disappointed and eventually quit. The truth is you can’t always know exactly how much you are eating. But even if you can’t be precise, it’s still better to track than not to track, because this will still give you an idea of where you stand with your points. And if sometimes, at the end of the week, your estimated points are 10-15 points off of your actual points, this will not prevent you from losing weight.
3. Focus on the Power Foods
Power foods are lower in fat and carbohydrates but higher in fiber and protein. Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, and lean meats are Power Foods. They keep you fuller longer because. They make you feel satisfied. Power Foods are marked with a green triangle in the little pocket guide you got when you signed up for Weight Watchers. Being healthy and nutritious food, Power Foods give you a good nutritional value for your points. In other words, they have few points but they keep you full. All fruits and most vegetables are free on Weight Watchers so make sure you eat plenty of them, as they will keep you full.
As you are trying to shift your eating to Power Foods and healthier foods, some of the Weight Watchers Cookbooks that you can buy online or get them from your Meetings will help you.
4. Start to Exercise
Take small steps toward exercising every day. Can you walk 15 minutes a day? Start really small and then add some more exercise into your routine as you progress. Exercise will rev up your metabolism. It’s going to make you feel good about yourself. It will make you stronger and healthier.
When you exercise you earn extra Weight Watchers Points. This is a great motivation as this 2-point Hersheys miniature you are craving may only be 30 minutes of walking away.
Krystle Cook – the creator of Home Jobs by MOM – put her psychology degree on a shelf and dived into a pile of diapers and dishes instead. She is a wife and mother to two rambunctious boys, sweating it out in her Texas hometown. She loves cooking, DIY home projects, and family fun activities.
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“Every day is another chance to get stronger, to eat better, to live healthier, and to be the best version of you.”
I’ve never used any of the fad diets but this is a fantastic time of year for folks that are looking for assistance. Nice post by Kendra here, Krystle 🙂
Yes, this is def the time of year that people really start considering these diets. Here’s hoping the New Year is great!
I took the time to weigh and measure my food a few years ago, and it really was eye-opening what made up a serving size of many different kinds of foods. My exercise has been next to nothing lately, so I need to get back in the habit because it definitely helps keeps pounds away.
My husband plans on exercising more this upcoming year too supposedly. He said it last year too and it didn’t happen. I faith you will actually do it compared to him.
Wow, that’s quite the transformation! I’m not on a program like weight watchers but I track what I eat and how much I work out on an app called myfitnesspal. These are definitely some great tips for successful weight loss!
I’ve heard of my fitness pal but not exactly sure what it is. Does it track your exercising goals and such?
I read a personal review about The 3 Week Diet, and it seemed like the person had great success using the product so I gave it a try. I couldn’t have been more excited about the results, as I am now 50 pounds lighter than when I first started using it. The article was very helpful to me.
Sounds like a great diet plan. SO glad it worked for you!