WW Freestyle Revisited

The author and her husband before Weight Watchers
Mother's Day 2016
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After months and months at a standstill, WW Freestyle has started working for me again.
This is not a random occurrence, for I have made two significant changes:

(1) I have re-evaluated how Freestyle can work for me specifically.
For example, I have accepted the fact that some zero foods cannot be zero points for me, such as corn. I have gone back to counting it.
Also, I am very careful about how much I use as 0-points food.
After three small servings of fruit, I now start counting any additional fruits.
I weigh all fish, chicken and beef and limit them to 2-3 ounces at lunch and 4-5 ounces at dinner, less if it’s beef, salmon (or any high fat fish), or ham, then it’s no more than 2/4. I count points for additional ounces of fish and chicken (Except steamed shrimp – I will eat up to six ounces without counting points).
Like many people prone to gaining weight, I have never had a problem with overeating protein, so this was not a difficult change. In fact, I tend to eat too little protein, so I have added protein shakes or other sources of protein. But here’s a caveat: a lot of the shakes found on the grocery and pharmacy shelves are high fat and/or sugar and, shockingly, low protein, so I have learned to read labels.
My problem has always involved sugar and carbs, mostly of the junk-food kind, so I have had to cut back on this kind of food, even the low points versions.
I do eat unlimited lettuce and other raw green, non-starchy vegetables. For my “sinful” treats, I enjoy an Enlightened Bar each day. I really like them, and they satisfy that need for something dessert-y.
I also enjoy a product that tastes sinful like a candy bar: Built Bar protein bars, which has taken the place of Quest Bars in my diet.


These bars can be used as a meal replacement (with a side salad or fruit) or a snack -- so much better nutritionally than the WW snack bars sold at the meetings – bigger, too: at 53 grams, almost 2 ounces.
I also like Quest Bars, but they are higher in calories (180-200) and points (4-5, depending on flavor). In terms of flavor, they are less satisfying and sometimes causes bloat.
My daily points remain at 23. It may seem a stricter version of Freestyle, but I find it necessary to put the brakes on my eating. It’s just the reality of being older.

(2) I changed my Probiotic supplement.
I’m now using an Ultimate Probiotic-10, containing 25 Billion Active cultures, 10 Probiotic strains. It contains Lactobacillus, which can help with appetite control, calorie “harvesting,” and eliminating belly fat (too soon to tell about this so-called benefit, though – I’m always skeptical about claims made).


The brand I’m now using: “Nature’s Truth” – it was on sale (BOGO), so this was an accidental discovery. For what it’s worth, I am not a brand-loyal kind of consumer. But what I have learned: when it comes to supplements: use what works best, not what’s cheapest or the brandiest.
This is what seems to be working for me right now.
I’m not advocating these specific changes for anyone else – just that we must sometimes tweak and personalize our own diets (and not just the weight-loss kind) to that which works best for us.
I’m just grateful that after months and months of not working, WW Freestyle has kicked in again.

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