One of the hardest things for me when I first started trying to lose weight was finding a system that worked for me. I wanted a realistic solution, not a temporary fix. For me, that meant avoiding systems where you cut out a staple food such as bread. Joining programs that sent you meals was a no go as well. So what's left?
At first I tried to count calories. That just didn't work for me. There are a couple of reasons for that. I used an online calorie calculator to determine I could consume around 1,700 calories a day if I wanted to lose weight. It was difficult for me to grasp how much something impacted my daily allotted calories when I was dealing with such a large number. It's not that I am bad at math, because I'm not, but for some reason I just couldn't quite get used to counting my calories in this way. Secondly, all that is evaluated using this method is the amount of calories you consume, not how bad those calories were for you. That just wasn't good enough.
So what do you do when the simplest option doesn't work and you also don't want something that will be complex and take a lot of time. For me, the middle ground was weight watchers. I have never actually joined or followed the program exactly how it is laid out. I turned to the internet and found some helpful sites to guide me in the beginning. At some point, Weight Watchers switched to a newer version called Points Plus. I decided to stick with the original system since I wanted to avoid paying a monthly fee to Weight Watchers and it was simpler.
The first step is to determine how many points you get daily. The best calculator I found for this is in a web forum. Here is the link. Currently I get 22 points a week. That number is much easier for me to grasp and understand than the 1,700.
Not only is the number more user friendly, but Weight Watchers takes fat and dietary fiber into account when calculating the point value of food. I recognize these variables are not the only ones that matter, but it's a lot better than ignoring all of them. A good example of how this really can impact your diet is a small fry at McDonald's. It contains 230 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 3 grams of dietary fiber. If I was just counting calories, that would be about 14% of my daily intake. However using Weight Watchers, it comes to 5 points - or 23%. That's a pretty big difference.
To calculate the points, I again use an online calculator. The link to the one I use is here. Obviously I use the one labeled "Previous" since I am not using the points plus system.
The best part of weight watchers for me is that it has helped me to understand what foods are healthier options for me. I may not always have access to the calculator or to the nutritional facts of the food I am eating, but I feel better prepared to make a knowledgeable choice after using weight watchers for a while. It has also taught me that eating what you like is okay - as long as it is in moderation and it may mean cutting back somewhere else that day.
I have had a lot of success with Weight Watchers, but it took me a while to find a system that worked for me. Good luck finding one that works for you!
So what do you do when the simplest option doesn't work and you also don't want something that will be complex and take a lot of time. For me, the middle ground was weight watchers. I have never actually joined or followed the program exactly how it is laid out. I turned to the internet and found some helpful sites to guide me in the beginning. At some point, Weight Watchers switched to a newer version called Points Plus. I decided to stick with the original system since I wanted to avoid paying a monthly fee to Weight Watchers and it was simpler.
The first step is to determine how many points you get daily. The best calculator I found for this is in a web forum. Here is the link. Currently I get 22 points a week. That number is much easier for me to grasp and understand than the 1,700.
Not only is the number more user friendly, but Weight Watchers takes fat and dietary fiber into account when calculating the point value of food. I recognize these variables are not the only ones that matter, but it's a lot better than ignoring all of them. A good example of how this really can impact your diet is a small fry at McDonald's. It contains 230 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 3 grams of dietary fiber. If I was just counting calories, that would be about 14% of my daily intake. However using Weight Watchers, it comes to 5 points - or 23%. That's a pretty big difference.
To calculate the points, I again use an online calculator. The link to the one I use is here. Obviously I use the one labeled "Previous" since I am not using the points plus system.
The best part of weight watchers for me is that it has helped me to understand what foods are healthier options for me. I may not always have access to the calculator or to the nutritional facts of the food I am eating, but I feel better prepared to make a knowledgeable choice after using weight watchers for a while. It has also taught me that eating what you like is okay - as long as it is in moderation and it may mean cutting back somewhere else that day.
I have had a lot of success with Weight Watchers, but it took me a while to find a system that worked for me. Good luck finding one that works for you!
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