Things that I do:
v I try to eat a minimum of 30 grams of fiber per day. I try to get more if possible but a minimum of 30 grams. If I go over 30 grams of fiber I make sure that I also increase my water. Eating lots of fiber and not getting enough water in is bad news. Eat lots of fiber as that helps with the hunger as well as keeping everything moving but make sure you drink your water!
v The WW materials say that Flex points are optional. Who are they kidding?!!! If they say that I get an additional 35 points per week you can bet that I am going to use them. I use them to my benefit to not only keep my metabolism moving but also to allow me to enjoy some things that my daily target point allowance will not make possible. I use all of my Flex Points on Saturday, Sunday and Monday and typically what I do is use 15 on Saturday (my weigh-in day) and 10 on Sunday and 10 on Monday. I have been known to move the 10 that I typically use on Monday to Friday if the need arises such as having company or going out to dinner with friends. I also don’t limit myself to the fact that if I need to use them in the middle of the week I will move them to be able to use them to stay on program. I never ever divide the flex points to 5 points a day. My Lecturer has said that using the Flex Points to keep the metabolism guessing as to what you are doing keeps it from slowing down and hitting a plateau. This has worked for me.
v I try and keep an accurate count of my activity points. It has been my goal not to eat the first 4 points because I want to enhance my weight loss. My lecturer has taught that it is very important to eat anything over 4 points so that the body doesn’t go into starvation mode (the slow down of the metabolism) Of course if I have a bad day or need the extra points I will eat all of my activity points or just some. They are there for me to use but I really try hard not to use the first 4 points and just eat the others (if I earn them). This also keeps me pushing to earn more than 4 which is a good thing because WW would like for us to earn 28 points per week. That is my ultimate goal but right now it is hard for me to get exercise in 3 times a week. I hope as my weight goes down that this will just get better and I will be able to meet what WW says that I need to do.
v In the very beginning of my journey (back in 2004) my Lecturer encouraged our class to never look at the total number of pounds that we need to lose but to only look at 5 lbs at a time. Did I listen to him? NO! Did I feel like I was facing the impossible? YES! So this time, on this journey I decided that I would take that tip and I now look at 5 lbs at a time. Boy does it make the journey easier because 5 lbs is easy to lose and boy do they start adding up and then the excitement really gets going.
v At my last meeting my Lecturer talked about sitting small weekly goals. They could be to lose a half a pound to not gaining more than 2 lbs or even to get all the water in. Just something that is attainable during the week. I really like this idea and I can tell that this will only enhance the time it takes waiting to achieve the small 5 lb goals. I think that is too is a very good and important tip.
More to come as I progress on my journey! But for now these are the important things that I do to enhance it and make it as rewarding as it can be!
