Hop, skip and a jump away from a better you

So, if i told you there was a way to enjoy your favourite summertime treats - guilt free - would you be interested? Of course you would...

This isn't the part where i talk about the benefits of going to Zumba 4 times a week, or hitting the gym every morning (of course those things are great however), I want you to think outside the box and find ways of getting a hit of activity, while making the most of the warmer weather :)

So where to start... well, lets start with the basics :) 

*WALKING - this is the easiest way to get some extra activity ProPoints clocked up. Walk everywhere... to the shops, to the town, to the school to pick the kids up, to the park - just walk for walkings sake - especially in the evening after dinner when its cooler. Maybe get the family out with you and have a 30 minutes stroll and bond at the same time.

*CYCLING - again, like walking, its free and easy to do. Substitute the car with a bike and you will get lots of sunshine and fresh air, while earning ProPoints. There are lots of cycle routes around and you might find some lovely picnic spots along the way that you may never have known about before.

*SWIMMING - some of you may be lucky enough to have your own pool, if so - make the most of it :) If not, then what about cooling down from the summer sun with a lovely dip in the water. Be it the Sea, at a leisure centre, even a huge paddling pool in your garden - it all counts, and its a great toning activity too.


What about the more unusual?

Skipping?
Hula Hooping?
Roller Blading?
Football with the kids?
Row Boats?
Trampolining?
Frisbee
Gardening?

The possibilities, and opportunities are endless.

Wearing my pedometer this week has really opened my eyes to how little i actually do when the weather heats up! These brilliant little gadgets are programmed with your height, weight, stride length and gender - it then accurately measure how many steps you do on a daily basis along with the distance. When you get to a healthy "beep" all the movement you do after that builds up and earns you ProPoints that you can either eat... or save to boost your weight loss :)

If you need to alter your normal routine around to fit in with the warmer weather, so be it - a cycle ride in the evening, a quick run in the morning - So, it really doesn't matter what you do, as long as you do something!

Thats it for this week - enjoy the sunshine :)

Becky xx

How to be a Fruit Ninja

Those of you that were members before the ProPoints plan launched in late 2010 will remember the days where we actually had to allocate points for fruit...  0.5 for an apple, 1.5 for a banana.... Shocking, but true!

I was not alone in jumping for joy when fruit became a zero ProPoint food! It was like all my Christmases had come at once and I made the most of it... however a few years down the line, and slipping back in complacency... I know I don't take full advantage of this wonderful gift... do you?

So lets go back to basics and look at how we really can embrace our love of these Zero Heroes again :)

* Having a FRUIT BOWL in plain view, full of fruit will make it easier to grab a healthy snack - and by eating the WHOLE fruit, basic, as it is...you get all that extra fibre and vitamins that hide in the skin (i wouldn't recommend eating the skins of Bananas, Pineapples or Citrus however - yuk!)

*If eating whole doesn't float your boat... how about making a lovely big bowl of FRUIT SALAD up in the morning while you're making breakfast / lunches for work - maximise your time in the kitchen and do it early in the day so its done and ready for when you are feeling peckish... lets face it...we can be lazy, and we can't really be trusted in the kitchen, so the more we can make up in advance - the safer we'll be :)

*Add to Cereal/ Porridge - this is the easiest way to make that 30g worth of cereal or porridge go much much further while packing in a couple of portions of fruit - AND making it more filling. Bananas, berries, chopped apple - the possibilities are endless.

*Why not make a huge filling SMOOTHIE? add whatever fruit you want with either ice, yoghurt, milk etc... and you can have a guilt free treat with just minimal ProPoints values.

*FRUIT JUICE.... now... this is important...

Whole fruit - ZERO

Blended fruit into a smoothie or puree - ZERO

Juiced - ProPointed - 1pp per 100ml (basically, because you're removing all the filling pulp and leaving the calories and sugar)

So, although you have to ProPoint it - it is still fruit, and does still count towards your 5 a day :)

*Ice Pops - what a brilliant way to cool down on a hot day for 0pp! We sell Ice Pop Kits in our meetings... have you tried them yet? Blend up some lovely fruit combo's and freeze them - perfect!

*Frozen - a great cheaper alternative to fresh... and still 0pp! what about freezing your own fresh fruit as its coming to the end of its life? Saves throwing out food and wasting money. A favourite of mine is frozen bananas - peel them, chop them, freeze them, eat them (at a much slower rate ;) - and again - great for this hot weather!)

*Pre-prepared - OK, so this is more expensive than preparing it yourself...  but if you know you are the sort of person who buys fruit with the best of intentions, but never get around to peeling, coring, chopping it all up, then end up throwing it away because it's gone bad... then actually... buying pre-prepared is cheaper!

*Tins... yes really... and why not!? As long as they are in juice and you've drained them - they still remain ZERO ProPoints :) These are handy for those end of the week - cupboards running empty - all fresh food gone - eating meals with the word "surprise" in them situations.

Why not add drained tinned fruit to your sugar free jelly - a double hit of filling food still for Zero ProPoints :)

Buying from your local Market or Greengrocer will also make your £'s go further for your Fruit, as do those "Pick Your Own" farms that you can go to.

So.... before you rush off to make an Eton mess type desert with fruit, meringue nest and yoghurt - adding extra fruit to that jug of Pimms - or simply chopping up an apple to enjoy in front of the TV this evening... bear in mind that the more you fill up on these lovely ZERO HEROES, the more satisfied you'll be - therefore more in control of whether you are actually hungry... or simply just wanting to eat something.

See you soon! 

Becky xx

Fancy a tipple?

Hey.. people have suggested many times that I start a blog... but I've never really got around to it - until now. So here it is, my very first blog post. People said you should write about what you feel passionate about - so what better topic than Weight Watchers... It helped me lose 91 lbs and changed my life for the better - so why wouldn't i choose that? I'll post on the different topics that we help you with and help you to incorporate them into your life :)
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So, the sun is shining, the birds are singing and you are relaxing in your garden after a long day... what goes nicely in your hand? Chances are you are already imagining a nice glass of chilled wine.

When you are trying to stay focused on a weight loss plan... sometimes we can be so good when it comes to the food... only to be let down by those liquid calories.

So "what can we do?" i hear you cry... well fear not, because the beauty of Weight Watchers is that you can have whatever you want, as long as you stay within your points - yes really!

Bread? YES!
Chocolate?? ABSOLUTELY!
Wine??? HELL YEAH!

So... how do we do it??

Well as always - KNOWLEDGE IS POWER - so find out the ProPoints value of your favourite drink!
Its no good knowing the ProPoints values, and then going crazy with the portion sizes. Seriously 2pps of Vodka DOESN'T fill half a glass... nor should a wine glass that holds half a bottle of wine count as 4pp (if only!) The Eat Out guide or eSource will tell you the values :)

Pub measures for spirits and a jug telling you mils will be your best friend.

"But i want to drink more than a pub measure!" - then go right ahead - you just need to allocate the ProPoints accordingly.

So, we've established you can enjoy alcohol and still lose weight - but are there any tricks to get more punch for our points? - OF COURSE!

So, some of you would rather stick pins in your eyes rather than dilute your favourite tipple - I understand that... but Weight Watchers is a bit of a game - you need to find what you can have LOTS of for very little points... so you can still include and indulge in all your favourite foods and drinks - the cheese, chocolate, bread and ultimately the alcohol...

So that 2pps of Gin will go sooo much further with lots of ice, slimline Tonic and lemon - all adding 0pp values.
175ml of Wine would last you much longer in a big glass topped up with diet Lemonade or Soda - again, adding 0pp values.
If having that bottle of beer in your hand is ultimately what your after (3pps)- how about switching to a low alcohol version (1pp) and save 2pps per bottle!!

No one is judging you when you want to relax with a glass of Wine every evening - however planning that in then becomes imperative. You could choose to spend your Weekly Allowance on it... maybe make that glass of Wine the first thing that goes on your tracker in the morning in advance. There are many ways to plan it in.

Keeping a track of the alcohol consumed at social occasions can prove difficult - (counting the empties the next morning isn't really the best way of doing it) - lots of suggestions such as estimating in advance what you think you will drink, using your Clicker to keep track of the glasses, maybe getting a receipt from the bar for each drink. Have a bottle to yourself - then you know that it will cost you 18pps. Again there are many options for keeping track.

When all's said and done - after a few drinks, that "sod it factor" kicks in, and we become far less careful about our food choices (that's why Kebab shops do so well after the night clubs kick out - no one eats them sober, right?). We start picking at food that we'd normally resist (8pps for a handful of peanuts!) - maybe you order a take-away etc.

So... imagine that innocent glass of wine turns into 2, and before you know it, one thing leads to another and you've drunk a whole bottle of wine - 2 sambuka shots - and stopped for Chips on the way home - fear not ALL IS NOT LOST!

Can you change it? NOPE!
Can you reflect on what happened and think on ways to handle it differently next time? ABSOLUTELY!

So... you try and remember what you had, you ProPoint it as best you can, you take what you need away from your Weekly Allowance - and then YOU MOVE ON! Its done, it's happened, no point feeling guilty about it - just stay on track from now and work on some damage limitation like earning Activity ProPoints, having some Filling and Healthy days and generally just go easy on what you eat and drink.

Do you skip Weigh-In knowing the results MAY not be great? Definitely not! This is when you need your meeting most to draw that line and start a fresh week.

So, whether its a relaxing glass of wine in the evening, or a social get together at the weekend. You really CAN still enjoy yourself and still lose weight.

Your local Weight Watchers meeting is packed full of useful info like this - dealing with a different topic each week - we will provide you with the tools and tactics you need to deal with the overloaded food environment that we live in - be able to lose weight - AND keep it off :)

That's it for today - I'll be back soon!

Becky xx