Weekly Meeting Topic : If You Bite It, Write It : Tracking

First of all, my weigh in was not bad... well not bad considering the kind of weekend it was, a long weekend!  Long weekends are often a field of landmines for us folks on Weight Watchers!  There is food galore, it doesn't matter what you do on a long weekend you're faced with lots of temptation... well unless you decide to be a hermit for 3 days!  But where's the fun in that?  I was once again spending the Labour Day weekend with my stitching friends down in Brighton, relaxing, eating, and stitching for three days!  I brought a fruit tray and a veggie platter for the weekend, and my good friends were a huge support to me by also bringing healthy foods!  I packed my running/walking gear but between the exhaustion I had been fighting (still am) and rain or it looking like its about to rain I never got out (I hadn't exercised since Wednesday of last week to Tuesday of this week).  So, I was a little surprised when I registered a 0.5 lbs loss at the scale!

Our healthy lunch on the long weekend!

This week's Weight Watcher's meeting was all about the key component to the program : TRACKING!  Tracking has honestly been the key to my success at loosing my 60lbs through the WW program (that and attending weekly meetings, and I still do as a lifetime member).  Tracking is essentially counting calories except its been simplified to points.  Each member has a certain number of points he/she needs to consume to loose weight (based on age, height, current weight, and activity level on a daily basis), to under eat this number of points can cause your body to go into starvation mode, to over eat could and eventually will lead to weight gain.  Weight Watchers is also very nice to us, they also give us 35 weekly points above and beyond our daily point allowance.  These we can choose to eat, or not eat... not eating may accelerate your weight loss slightly.  Also you can earn even more points to eat through exercise!  One can earn activity points, these points are calculated based on your current weight, how long you've been exercising, and intensity level.

Online tracking, this was how my day went -- food wise!

Weight Watchers provides us with a member's book that has a basic listing of food points in it, more in depth books can be purchased.  Each week at the meeting you can pick up tracking books, perfect for a full week to keep track of what points you've used and what points you've earned.  Personally I can't stand those silly little books... I write too big!  I found the perfect alternative by subscribing to eTools on the Weight Watchers Canada website.  Its an extra cost each month but to me, worth every penny!

There are some key points to keep in mind while tracking

• Track points of combination foods (if you're making a recipe, add up the points for each ingredient then divide by the number of portions)
• Round up when calculating points, no half points! (I use them because the online tracker lets me)
• When is the best time/method for you to track?  I tend to do it right after each meal.
• You can pre-track and post-track
• Weight Watcher's math : 1+1 does not always equals 2

Tracking everything you put in your mouth may seem like a real chore, but if you make a point of doing it... it just becomes a habit, and a good one to have!

I'm looking forward to a low key weekend at home!