Jamie's Maintenance Page | I've made it to goal...now what?

I have been at this for a year now, which in the grand scheme of things isn't that long. But it's long enough for me to have gathered up plenty of knowledge about this program. Here are some tips for being successful on the program.

Basic Stuff

Journal!! Simple as that. You will not be successful if you don't journal. Write down what goes in your mouth. Journaling ensures that you keep track of your points. It's a lot easier to know how many points you have left if they're written down somewhere than if you're trying to keep a running tally in your head. But beyond the points, journaling keeps track of what you're eating too. By this, I mean that you can see what you've used those points on. You can stay within your points by eating cheesecake and donuts, but you're not going to be successful at creating a healthy lifestyle. Through your journals, you can see if you're spending way too many points on junk. Finally, journaling is a way of being held accountable. You're going to feel terrible if you have to write down the 25 point cheeseburger you had for lunch, and you'll think of that when you're looking at the menu. Knowing that you have to write it down just may encourage you to choose the grilled chicken instead.
Stay within your points. They are there for a reason. Basically, if you're not staying within your points the majority of the time, you're not following the program. What are you throwing money away for? You get out what you put into it, and if you don't try to stick to your points, don't wonder why you're not losing. Yes, there are going to be days you go over. That's what flex points are for. And yes, there are going to be days that the flex points don't cover it. But try to make those days few and far between.
Get in your good health guidelines. I lost best when I focused on getting in my oils, my dairy, my fruits and veggies, my water. Check them off in your quick track or journal as you go along. Yeah, it might seem like it sucks to use 2 points for a glass of milk when you could use them for some chips or something, but that milk is giving your body something it needs. Same with the oil. See the good health guidelines tip section below for more info about getting in the guidelines.
Exercise. This is the single most important thing when it comes to long term weight loss according to all the research. You need to do all three aspects of fitness: cardio, strength training, and flexibility work. Cardio is what burns the fat and calories. It involves getting your heart rate up for an extended period of time. This trains your heart which is so beneficial because your heart is powering your awesome, amazing body. Strength training builds muscle (not like body builder muscle!!) which will make you look toned. Do you have some flabby areas? Well, once you burn the fat off through cardio, you're still going to look flabby if you don't strength train. Muscle takes up less space than fat, so keep that in mind. Muscle also uses more calories than fat, so the more muscle you have, the more calories you burn DOING NOTHING! Finally, flexibility keeps your joints healthy and it’s so relaxing to just stretch. Do some stretching every day and always before and after cardio and strength training. Pilates and yoga are good for flexibility too.
Don't beat yourself up over your slip ups. There are going to be bad days. Deal with it and move on. Guilt is such a waste of an emotion. I really shouldn't be preaching about this because I have serious guilt issues. But really, there is no point in feeling guilty. So you ate that piece of pizza (or the whole pizza…). Feeling bad isn't going to give the calories back. Write the points down. Hopefully you have some flex points or activity points to cover it. Even if you go over your points and don't have any back up points, oh well. It happened. Remember how that made you feel the next time and think twice. Walk an extra half hour tomorrow. Although you can't use those activity points for a different day, it will still help. If you missed your workout for whatever reason, don't feel guilty. Just make sure you get your next one in. Take the whole journey one day at a time.
Whatever you do, don't just say screw it. I don't know how many times I have done that. Don't let one bad meal turn into a bad day. So you overate at lunch. Don't say, tomorrow I'm back on track. Get back on track as soon as the slip up happens. Just because you ate 25 points at lunch doesn't mean you should eat 30 at dinner. Eat a good, nutritious, balanced meal and remember how you felt for next time. Same thing for exercise. Just because you missed your morning aerobics class, don't just give up on exercise for the day. Missing one makes it easier to miss two, and then three, and then next thing you know, you haven't hit the gym in a month. Go for a walk after dinner to make up for it. Although you might only get in 30 minutes of moderate activity when you meant to get a 45 minutes of high intensity activity, it’s better than none!
Don't pretend you're not watching your weight. Although this really depends on the person, I have found that letting people know I was on Weight Watchers really helped me. I was never really embarrassed to talk about it. Here's why: first, if people who support you know that you are trying to lose weight, you feel accountable because they know. You’re going to want them to see you succeed. Second, talking about Weight Watchers made me more of an expert on the program. People are curious, and ask questions that might make you think and have to go look up the answer. Third, you never know who might want to join you on your weight loss journey. And finally, if people know you're watching your weight, then hopefully they will support you by not pushing bad food on you or selecting terrible restaurants. Of course, this really depends on you and the people in your life. You don’t want you mom or significant other or something to become your food police and constantly second guess what you’re eating, so if you think that someone might be this, then by all means, don’t include them in your support group.
Go to your meetings! They are amazing sources of information and support. Listen to what people have to say and contribute. I couldn't list half of what I have learned at meetings. They have been so beneficial and I have met some great, inspiring people. Knowing people who are going through the same stuff you are, or even better, have already gone through it, is such a huge help. They can tell you things they have learned o you don’t have to learn it all on your own. Don’t be scared to ask questions. Also, share your experiences with the group. It also helps if you like your leader, so if your schedule permits, try out some different meeting times till you find a great leader and group.
Weigh in once a week. Try not to miss weighing in unless you have a really good reason, like your kid has a ballet recital that night, and even if you can't make your meeting, try to just go and weigh in. Missing one week is the first step to missing two...and then three...you get the idea. Also, try not to weigh in more than that. It will make you crazy. Your weight fluctuates from day to day and seeing those little scale changes all the time can make you crazy. Although, I have read that, especially once you get to maintenance, weighing more often can be beneficial because you can catch any problems early. But if you do weigh more than once a week, don’t let little scale fluctuations bother you. Salt intake, time of the month, strength training, whether you’ve used the restroom…all these things have an impact on your day to day weight. Oh, and a side note, if you only weigh in at meetings, wear the same or similar clothes every week. Like, always yoga pants and a tee shirt. Don’t wear your heavy jeans one week and then a sundress the next. That can skew results. And bring little slippers or flip flops or something to weigh in with (a lot of centers won’t let you weigh in with no shoes…I think. At mine, they have never said anything, but who really wants to walk around in a public place totally barefoot?)
Do research. Frequent the boards on the Weight Watchers site. They have been indispensable to my loss. I think I should have been fired at work for the amount of time I spent on them! Surf the web. Check out the websites I have in my links. Wander around the grocery store with your slider checking nutrition facts. You can come across so many great food finds. Check out my food finds page for the things I can't live without!

Getting the Good Health Guidelines (I'm not going to get into why these are good health guidelines. Weight Watchers does a pretty good job of that. I'm just going to mention ways to incorporate them into your life.)

Eat at least 5 servings of fruits and veggies each day.

1 serving = 1 piece medium fruit, ½ cup cut up or small fruit, ½ cup cut up or small cooked or raw vegetables, 1 cup leafy greens, 1 cup fruit juice (although I never have gotten a serving this way, too much sugar, not enough fiber), ¼ cup dried fruit.
Keep vegetables and fruit in the fridge in a ready to eat manner. Wash, chop, and package fruits and veggies in single serving containers when you get home from the grocery store. I do all my grocery shopping on Sunday morning. I get out the big cutting board and the chef’s knife and the baggies and plastic containers and chop and package as I put stuff away. Unless I am in a huge hurry, veggies don’t go into the fridge unless washed, chopped, and packaged (unless they’re for a recipe or something, and even then I do a lot of pre-prepping on weekends).
Have a wide variety of vegetables on hand. The same thing gets boring every day.
Fresh, raw veggies make great snacks. Dip is optional, but keep it low or no point. Salsa, fat free sour cream, spicy mustard, black bean dip, fat free or low fat salad dressing, etc. If you’re dipping carrot sticks in massive amounts of nacho cheese dip, you’re kind of just shooting yourself in the foot…Bell pepper strips, carrot sticks, celery, snap peas, zucchini or cucumber slices, cherry tomatoes, etc. are easy to eat and dip.
Try new fruits and veggies because you never know what you're going to like. I’ve been meaning to pick up jicama and radishes for a little while now for a new crunchy veggie snack…they’ll have to go on next weeks list.
Add veggies to recipes like pasta, casseroles, soups.
Freeze fruits and eat like dessert. Frozen bananas are to die for.
One word: smoothies! Blend milk or yogurt with some frozen or fresh fruit for a quick breakfast or a yummy snack. I have even heard about people putting spinach in too, although I have never tried it. I guess if you have a real problem getting in vegetables that might work.
Eat a salad every day.
Throw dried fruit into your salads. They can have sugar added though, so watch the ingredients. Also, the serving size is much smaller, so watch the points.
Eat vegetable soup. 0 point veggie soup can be your best friend.
Make it habit to get at least one or two at every meal. If you get one fruit with breakfast, a fruit and veggie with lunch, and two veggies at dinner, you’re good to go.
Don’t stop at 5 servings if you’re going strong. I think that the government recommends something like 9. I probably average 10 or so. Challenge your self. Don’t accept the status quo.
This has got to be the easiest guideline. Learn to love fruits and veggies. I did. You’ll seriously start to crave them.

Choose whole grain foods whenever possible.

Just don't buy the regular stuff. The only time I eat non-whole wheat pasta, white rice, etc. is when I have no other choice. I only buy whole grain bread, pasta, english muffins, pitas, and brown rice. I don't even miss the refined stuff. Pretty much anything you could ask for is available in whole grain. There are so many different pasta shapes, and you can get hot dog and hamburger buns, dinner rolls, tortillas. I have even seen whole grain gnocchi and Stove Top Stuffing!
Try new grains. Quinoa, whole wheat couscous, barley, oats, the list is endless. Find some recipes using these and give them a try.
Make sure your cereals have whole grains. And wheat on the package doesn't mean it’s a whole grain. Check the ingredients and fiber content. A whole grain should be one of the first ingredients listed.
To jazz up brown rice, cook it in low sodium fat free broth instead of water. I have Andy hooked on this stuff. He doesn’t even want those super salty flavored Rice A Roni things anymore, just brown rice in broth with a little oil and garlic. Amazing!
If you don’t like or don’t think you will like the taste of whole grains, ease into it. Try whole grain white bread, whole grain blend pasta, you get the idea.
But whole grain baking products: flour, all purpose baking mix (kind of like Bisquick), bread dough mixes, cookie mix, cake mix, brownie mix…I could go on.
Cereal can be a great source of whole grains: Make sure that a whole grain is one of the first ingredients and that there isn’t a lot of added sugar.

Include 2 servings of milk products each day.

1 serving = 1 cup (8 ounces) milk or calcium fortified soy milk, 1 ½ ounces hard or semi soft cheese, 2 ounces processed cheese, 1 cup yogurt, 2 cups cottage cheese, ½ cup ricotta cheese, 16 oz. unsweetened cappuccino or 12 oz. unsweetened latte, 1 cup pudding made from the fat free, sugar free packets, or the smoothies they sell at the meetings
Smoothies again. Make your own and get in dairy and fruits. Or buy those ones they sell in the meetings. If you make one of those with a cup of skim milk you get both servings in at one time.
Have a yogurt instead of dessert. Try freezing yogurt cups…I have never done this. I should give it a try.
Don't forget that partial servings add up. Like, 4 oz. yogurt with lunch, and a quarter cup of milk in coffee both at breakfast and at work add up to one.
Lattes can count. Drink your fancy coffee drinks and know that they are good for you. But of course, you have to count the points. Get them unflavored with fat free milk and NO WHIP!
Cook with dairy. I have heard of people adding powdered milk to recipes just to get in a dairy. 1/3 of a cup is a serving.
Eat low fat cheese as your snack. String cheese is great and there are 1 pt. versions.

Drink 6 glasses of water each day.

Just do it. Make it a habit and it will become ingrained. I don’t let myself have any other drinks (except my 2 cups of morning coffee) until I have had at least half my daily water. This means no diet soda, no iced tea, no Crystal Light mix ins, nothing until I have had at least 32 ounces of water (I drink at least 68 ounces a day which is 8 glasses).
Carry a bottle with you in the car, at work, to the gym, when shopping. For home and on the run, I buy 20 ounce bottles and refill them (I know, this is unhealthy…blah blah blah.) and I have a 32 ounce bottle at work. I try to drink at least 2 bottles at home before work, at least 1 of the big ones at work, and then usually drink some once I get back home too. Although this is when I let myself have a diet pop or some Crystal Light. Having bottles that you know the ounces on is helpful. The 16.9 ounce ones count as 2 glasses. You only have to drink 3 of those a day. That’s not too hard, is it?
Drink one glass at every meal.
Don't say you don't like the taste. It doesn't taste like anything...you're just used to drinking flavored drinks. You'll get used to it.
Flavor it up with lemon slices.
Drink with a straw. This supposedly makes it go down quicker.
Try those Crystal Light add ins. But don’t use them in all your water. You can count caffeine free, sugar free beverages for only half your water intake.
Get water with meals at restaurants. It’ll save you money too.

Have some healthy oil each day.

You need 2 tsp of olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, or flaxseed oil.
Cook with them. This is the easiest way. Tons of recipes call for oils. Just make sure its one of these.
Use oil and vinegar on your salad.
Drizzle oil on your popcorn or use it in your popcorn popper or on the stove.
Put it in soup.
Use a less flavored oil like canola if the taste of olive oil is too strong.
Saute veggies in olive oil or toss them with oil and roast them in the oven for a low point meal, side dish, or even a snack.
Put it on whole grain bread with herbs. It will feel very indulgent.
I have heard of people doing some weird stuff with oil like putting it in their coffee or smoothies…I guess if you can’t get it any other way, do this, but it makes food taste so good, why not use it to your advantage?

Make sure you get enough protein.

This is a fun one. This is a lot of the good stuff! Eggs at breakfast, turkey on a sandwich at lunch, a chicken breast on your salad for dinner. It's easy!
But make sure to go lean, and have variety. Don't eat tuna every day. Try something different. There are so many options.
Try soy and plant based proteins. I am a Boca/Morningstar Farms/Gardenburger addict. I love that stuff. Try it even if you don’t think you’ll like it. You might be surprised. They make lots of different products too, so even if you don’t like the burgers, you might like the chick’n patties, or the corn dogs, or the breakfast meats…
Also, beans and legumes are protein. And they are cheap. I love beans now. Chickpeas in salad, black bean patties, chili with every kind of bean you could think of.

Limit added sugar and alcohol.

Check labels for added sugar. You'd be surprised what it’s in. Try to eat food as close to its whole, natural form as possible.

Take a multivitamin every day.

Put it somewhere you'll see it so you remember.
Make a note on every day of your quick track or journal so you have to check it off.

A little tip: Make sure you stretch them out over the day. Don't leave everything for dinner, or you'll never get them in. Try to make sure that each meal and snack takes at least 1 guideline into account. For example: get a fruit and some whole grain at breakfast, a dairy for a morning snack, some veggies, protein, and whole grains at lunch, veggies for an afternoon snack, some oil and a dairy at dinner, and some fruit for an evening snack. You get the idea.

Be Prepared! I think this is the best way to be successful. Here's ways to do it:

Write points values on packaging so you know at a glance what your options are. When I get home from the grocery store, as I put things away, I write the points on the nutrition label. Also, if I will be eating a portion other than what the label says (ex: I usually mix cereals, so I eat half portions) I will write the different points and what portions they are for.
Portion snacks into individual servings. Zip lock baggies come in lots of sizes and are great for this, as are those plastic containers. If you can, write the points on the bag too. I wouldn’t write points on reusable containers though…
Have fruits and veggies ready to grab for a quick snack or meal. If you know you’re going to be away from your healthy food stocked kitchen for a while, like running around doing errands or something, grab a piece of fruit or a bag of carrots so you won’t be tempted by the fast food or vending machines.
Eat before you go to the grocery store! Being hungry leads to lots of impulse buys, which is bad for your waist and pocket book. If you haven’t had lunch, those chocolate snack cakes are going to look awesome, but if you just filled up on a delicious sandwich with whole grains, proteins, and healthy fat, you won’t even look twice at the refined garbage.
Plan out meals to some extent at the beginning of the week. Decide what your main meals will be so you can have a grocery list. If you know what you're having for dinner in the morning, then you won't be tempted to stop for pizza or fast food on the way home. Also, you'll know if you need to take something out of the freezer to defrost. You can even go so far as to prepare as much as possible ahead of time (perhaps on the weekends) to make midweek meals as easy as possible. If you at least figure out what's for dinner during the week, you will know how many points dinner is, so you can choose breakfast and lunch accordingly. It sucks to get home after work and realize that you have 3 points left for the day and have to figure out dinner. I plan lunch and dinner out for at least Monday through Thursday, and I have some breakfasts that I always choose from. Then snacks fill in the points from there. I sometimes give myself days to be spontaneous, and I never really plan weekends…you have to have some mystery in life…
Have lots of quick fix staples on hand. Brown rice and frozen chicken breasts can be made into tons of different dishes. Have a few go-to meals that you can throw together with what you've got at the last minute.
Add to ready to serve foods like canned soups or frozen entrees. Throw some pasta and chicken into veggie soup to make it a meal. Have a salad with your frozen pizza. You often need to round out those prepared foods to be satisfied and to get all the nutrients you need.
Those frozen dinners like Lean Cuisines and Smart Ones are good to have on hand for emergencies, but don't rely on them too much. Watch the sodium in them and other prepared food, because they can get really high.
Have foods on hand that will satisfy your cravings so you don't binge. If you know you're a sucker for chocolate, have some low point options like 1 pt. fudge bars or chocolate pudding or small portions of dark chocolate. But you have to have the willpower to not eat the whole box, so be careful if you have a trigger food. If you do, it might be a better idea to go to a store and get one portion of whatever you're craving when the craving strikes so you won't be tempted.

Restaurants - Eating out doesn't have to be your downfall.

Check the website for nutrition info ahead of time. If they don't have nutrition info, they might at least have a menu that you can figure out points from item descriptions or from similar dishes at other restaurants.
Salads aren't always healthy. Hold the cheese, bacon, fried chicken, and high fat dressings.
Get sauces and dressings on the side always!
Plain baked potatoes are a good option. Use salsa or even hot sauce instead of butter or sour cream. Salsa is also a favorite of mine as a salad dressing. In fact, salsa can really jazz up anything for no points.
Order lunch or kids portions if you can. They are usually smaller sizes, so therefore lower points.
Box up half of your meal right away.
Ask for substitutions. Fruit instead of fries. Salad instead of mashed potatoes.
Soup is often a good choice if its broth based.
Ask for no bread basket, or have the waiter bring out just enough for your dining companions.
Decide what you're going to eat ahead of time.
Always start with a side salad with low-calorie, low- or no-fat dressing.
Choose restaurants that you know have good choices. Lots of restaurants have healthy menu sections now.
Choose things you can figure out the points for: chicken, vegetables, fish, potatoes...go as simple as you can and it will be easier. Baked, broiled, poached, and steamed are good preparations to choose for these items.
Avoid the menu watch words: battered, breaded, buttery, cheesy, creamy, crispy, crunchy, fried, loaded, stuffed...etc.

Low Point Meals - You should be using your points on healthy and nutritious foods, but there are going to be days that you need to conserve points for a special occasion or a party when you have no control of what's going to be served.

Oatmeal and cereal don't have to be just for breakfast. These choices have lots of fiber and with milk can get in a dairy serving.
Saute veggies in olive oil. Big bags of frozen stir fry veggies make this an easy option too.
Make lettuce wraps. Wrap things that you would put in a sandwich in a big piece of lettuce.
Soup can be very low or even 0 points.
Canned water packed tuna can be a great option. Just don't mix it with full fat mayo or the like. Try fat free sour cream and salsa, or fat free Italian dressing. This is something you could put in a lettuce wrap!
Salad. You can make a huge salads with veggies and some low cal dressing or oil and vinegar and get by with very little points.
Make a sandwich with light whole grain bread (find one that's 1 pt. for 2 slices). You can find some low point lunch meat and cheese. Put lots of veggies on it.
Veggie burgers can be really low in points.
Egg white omelete with veggies.
A baked potato can be the base of a great meal. You can be so creative with what you put on it. One can definitley move from a side dish to a meal depending on the toppings. Of course, veggies are a great option!
Notice a trend: veggies! They fill you up for 0 points and you can be really creative with how you prepare them.