meal planning – Weight Watchers Simple Start week one review

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For the past week, I’ve been following the Weight Watchers Simple Start plan. It’s a plan without a plan, in my head. I’ve done very little tracking, but I’ve been sticking to the power foods on the Weight Watchers list.

ww_simpleplan

Basically with Simple Start, you are given a list of power foods you can eat. You don’t count those points. You also have 7 points to “splurge” with every day (49 points for the week.) They give ideas of how you can splurge. I chose the Weight Watchers ice cream bars (but you could have a glass of beer or wine, if you preferred.)

I thought I was going to starve on day 1. At breakfast. Have I ever mentioned I’m not a huge fan of eating eggs? I’ll eat them in foods (baking, and as a minor ingredient for recipes don’t bother me.) I just don’t like them. I almost ate them when I was pregnant. Almost.

So on day 1, I was thinking I could at least have a smoothie with my toddler. I was wrong. Orange juice is not one of the power foods. Neither is turkey bacon. I ate a bowl of strawberries, and then “splurged” on the turkey bacon because I was SO HUNGRY. Lunch that day was a little better and by dinner, I was getting the hang of things again. (Though I did eat jelly beans right before dinner, because I don’t think I was very prepared – and I shouldn’t have had the darn things in my kitchen.)

Day two was much better. I picked up some of the Weight Watchers smoothies Sunday afternoon and drank one for breakfast (with skim milk) the rest of the week. I also had a lot of fruit either with breakfast or as a morning snack.

Each evening I splurged. On Tuesday when I got home from work, I couldn’t contain myself and ate cashews because I was just so hungry. I thought I had just killed my whole day, but the next day I realized I was still losing weight.

Most days I did really well sticking to the meals Weight Watchers had listed in their Simple Start booklet. We meal plan regardless, so it was fairly easy to go through the booklet and choose what I thought would be easiest to make and the most feeling.

At the end of the week, I had lost 3.6 pounds. I probably could have lost a little more, but I was still unsure of the plan as a whole. I didn’t eat all of the points I had each day, and I didn’t know if I should eat more on days I had a lot of activity points. (I’m still getting conflicting information on the activity points – eat them or don’t? I have no idea.)

I’m not a fan of how many low-fat, no fat foods are recommended on this plan. I hate the idea of eating fat free cheese, and I’d prefer to not have to purchase two types of milk (because this plan recommends skim milk and I’d rather my son drink something with more fat.) Other than that, I don’t have too many complaints.

The husband is all in for week two of Simple Start. He was traveling most of week one, so it’s been nice having him plan with me. Next week I’ll be back to tracking points since I’ll be traveling. I don’t think I’m going to be able to make smoothies as easily. Or other foods. I’ll be at the mercy of the hotel my conference is hosted in.

Have you ever tried Weight Watchers? What about the Simple Start program as a part of Weight Watchers?

Note: I am not affiliated with Weight Watchers, other than I’ve been a Lifetime member for a really long time. They did not compensate me for this post, and honestly, they probably don’t have a clue who I am. And that’s ok. All opinions here are my own.

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34 Comments

  1. I’ve done WW a few times – the first was about 5 years ago and I lost 30 lbs counting & staying within my points. I think it’s a great program, if you use it and learn from it how to eat healthier otherwise you’re just finding a loophole to eat crap food – if that makes sense. I signed up again for WW last year, right about the time they changed the points system and started working on the same plan you are and had some success but ultimately it just didn’t work for me because I didn’t put the effort into it.
    3.6 lbs is awesome though (especially in a week)! I think you’ll find success with it, especially if your husband is on board. Whenever I go on a health-kick sometimes it’s not as gungho as I’d like it because it’s like I’m cooking 3 different meals and it’s exhausting doing that.
    I am with you on the low-fat foods – I’d rather have food with some fat to keep me fuller (healthy fats) for longer and the same goes for the milk. I buy Lillie whole or 2% because I think it’s important for her health at her age and I don’t drink enough to justify spending an extra $4 on ANOTHER gallon of milk.

  2. Congrats on the week #1 weight loss! Weight Watchers is a very healthy eating plan. I am sure with every week, it will get easier and easier for you. Thanks for sharing!

  3. I’ve tried Weight Watchers and every other diet known to man. It wasn’t until I ditched processed food and stopped dieting that I’ve been able to lose half my body weight (130 lbs). Now I help other people lose weight as a Beachbody Coach and personal trainer. Good luck to you!

  4. I did Weight Watchers a few times and it always worked really well. Sometimes I would get off track when I would forget to keep track of the points. This Simple Start sounds good!

  5. I have used SparkPeople.com and I had success with it. Once you shrink your stomach into not eating as much food it gets easier but I know how you feel about being starving those first few days.

  6. I have followed Weight Watchers a few times in the past. I’m starting to think it’s not restrictive enough for me. Having the ability to still eat what I want is a bad idea, at least in the beginning. I have been wanting to try Simple Start though!

  7. I’m really tempted to try this plan. I don’t tend to like low fat cheeses either. I don’t know why, I just haven’t liked them.

  8. Losing over 3 pounds the first week is a great start, congratulations. I’, totally with you on the non fat foods, most of them are not appealing. The Weight Watchers smoothies seem to be a good choice for breakfast.

  9. I was on WW a few years ago, but I find I have more success when I just cut carbs and eat whole foods. I do love eggs in the morning though!

  10. I have been a member of Weight Watchers on and of the last ten years. The most weight I lost was 50 lbs!!

  11. I hope that your next week gets better and that you are able to find a meal plan that works for you. Great job on losing 3.6 pounds in one week! That’s really incredible!

  12. I haven’t tried Weight Watchers, but I have a cousin who was very over weight, he’s a tall boy. LIke close to 7′ and is like 22 or something, he was always over weight and Weight Watchers helped him get to a healthy weight level!

  13. I’ve never tried Simple Start, but I did count points for awhile. It does help you lose weight, it’s just sometimes hard to figure out what points certain foods have! I count calories and try to stay within my ‘goals’ for fat, sodium, carbs, etc, and it helps me lose weight! I do best eating the same thing every day for breakfast and for lunch then eating a sensible dinner. I keep weight watchers ice cream on hand when I want some sweets, and protein brownies or bars.
    3.6 lbs in one week is great – Congrats to you!

  14. I’ve never used it but I need to do something. I’m unhappy with the weight I’ve gained recently.

  15. I’ve done Weight Watchers before. I like the plan because you don’t have to buy any pre-packaged food. You eat real food – but you learn how to moderate and what food/combinations work for you.

  16. I don’t do very well with meal or point programs because I like certain foods too much. The meals in the freezer aisle are pretty tasty though!

  17. I’ve never done weight watchers, but from all I gather it is a great program. I would be right there with you on the low fat, no fat foods though (I don’t know of anyone who likes eating low fat cheese). Some fats are very healthy for you.

  18. I initially tried weight watchers because I wanted to quit smoking and knew I would gain weight in the process. I did WW + the Lady Soma Detox – the combination of both – and I lost 30 pounds and went from a size 16 to a size 10. I quit smoking. The WW + Lady Soma Detox is the easiest program to follow !!

  19. I’m just starting the SS program after being an on and off WW member for 16 years since my son was born. Because I’m so used to counting points it has been very difficult to give up that control feeling as if it won’t work if I don’t count. That said I must say that this new program is making me eat mostly fresh, non-processed foods which I prefer and which are filling.
    I hate non-fat dairy products; my question is can I use 2% cheese or is that counted as points even if I don’t use any other cheese- thinking I should play it by ear and see what the first week brings- if I’ve lost I know I can use that product.
    My challenge is in preparing meals that I as well as my family can eat. I work full time so this can really be challenging so for now I’m making their food ‘and’ my food which I don’t love doing but keeps me on track.

    Any suggestions for not giving up this time? WW educates on what and how much to eat but the reasons we eat are what keep people like me from going all the way. I need motivation that this time I’ll go all the way aS I have about 85 lbs to lose. My goal is one year-but my fear is that I will give up again at some point.

    Words of wisdom would be helpful here šŸ™‚

    Thanks,
    ruth

    1. When I was doing SimpleStart, I counted the points for milk that was not skim milk. It was really great that first week (I failed miserably the second week and then went back to counting points on the regular program.) I would suggest going through their recipes and creating meals that your family will eat as well. I had to do that – I can’t make a zillion meals for the three of us! We meal plan, so planning was essential. And if you have vegetables that need to be prepped for meals, feel free to prep and store those on the weekend, so you’re not having to spend so much time on a weeknight cutting vegetables. I’m considering doing SS again soon. It should be easier since summer is here – and I have more access to fresh fruits and vegetables! Good luck (and I’d love to hear what ends up working for you!!)

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