Cutting Myself Down to Size--Part Two

I chose to do Weight Watchers online instead of attending meetings and it worked really well for me. Years ago I did attend WW meetings,  but I have this besetting sin of impatience with meetings  I'm not in charge of. This time I decided that with the WW apps for the phone and IPad, which include the tracker as well as a scanner that reads the barcodes in the grocery store and tells you the points for the item and a cooking app that has tons of recipe suggestions, I could just do it electronically. I love seeing the graph that appears as you track your weight loss on the app!

For months I was very faithful recording the points and then got more lax as I repeated the same meals and got closer to my goal. But anytime I start to slip I begin tracking again. For me, the new WW points plus plan that allows you to eat all the fresh fruit you want without counting it made a big difference. If you aren't a fan of fruit, then it won't help you. I also found I had fewer cravings when I kept my carbs low and protein high. Your experience may vary. My new best friends are Greek Yogurt, apples, packaged broccoli slaw (for extra fiber in sandwich wraps and salads) and hummus.

Mary Beth asked me in a comment what Dream Dinners is. It is a national franchise that provides frozen entrees. You make an appointment for a session together with your order then go in and assemble them yourself fresh or for a small fee they will put them together for you and you pick them up. You can make adjustments to fit special dietary needs. The orders come in either 3 or 6 serving sizes. I found most of the 3 size portions worked for us so El Jefe ate 2/3 and I ate 1/3. Nutritional information is available online so I work out the WW points and that guides my orders. The food is pretty healthy on the whole so I find enough suitable items for my diet each month. I spend much less at the grocery store  because I'm not buying as much meat when I shop and the DD prices are quite reasonable. I'm very lucky to have a DD store very close to where we live. 

This is a HUGE help for me because I use the dinners two to three times a week and that frees me from having to plan meals and think about food every night. Portion control is the key to diet success and the DD portions for the WW-friendly items are perfect. I do enjoy cooking but find I am more tempted to stray from the diet path when I have to think about it constantly. And, for me, it is important not to eat out frequently although over the last 11 months I have gained more control over the impulse to indulge when we're at a restaurant.

Shedding those pounds also means shedding the old "fat" clothes, which is a great motivation to stay on the plan. More about that in the next installment.