WW (Weight Watchers) Chat #281 How To Grow Your Personal Points Budget

News and Reviews July 2022

Thanks for letting me take a week off to rest my vocal chords!
If you haven’t been on your app lately there has been an update. You will need your login information so I hope you have it (I mean I’ve only warned you like 20 times to keep it handy LOL). I’m sure I haven’t found everything but it looks like tracking Weight, Activity and Sleep just got easier along with a weekly check-in. Comment below and let me know what updates you have found!
Carol Lou reminded me that August 8th is “Sneak Some Zucchini Onto Your Neighbor’s Porch” Day. Mark your calendars LOL! And go see Carol’s post over on the IYHAE Facebook Group for some great recipes in case you are the prankee instead of the pranker!

The month’s theme is “Live Flexibly” and we will spend the entire month learning how to avoid life’s curveballs when they come your way!

Last week during Chat #280: How To Plan For a Roadblock, we dreamed of a life planned and perfect…

Your meals are tracked. You are in control of your day. Whew, it’s feeling good to feel good.

*PANIC* The power goes out at work and you can’t open the door to get the lunch you carefully prepared and already tracked.

**PANIC!** Your spouse calls and there is a dinner date you can’t miss at a restaurant you’ve never been to.

***PANIC!!*** The hotel with the in-house gym and pool didn’t get your “guaranteed reservation” and now you’ve got to stay somewhere without one.

Ok, it doesn’t have to be that extreme, but even the little things can put our perfectly planned day in the ditch and that’s ok! Here’s how to keep from completely running off the road.

Identify The Detour

Is it a special event?
Is it one meal, one event, one entire day?
Is it something you can do a little differently and still stay on plan?

Open Up Your Toolbox

You’ve got skills, this isn’t your first rodeo and it sure won’t be your last. Take a moment to remind yourself of 3 things you use to stay on track on a normal day and then pick one to use in this situation.

Hands On The Wheel, Eyes On The Road

If you came upon a literal roadblock in your car you wouldn’t take your hands off the wheel and cover your eyes…same here. Keep your hands on that wheel, eyes open and on the road, and decide what you will do next (example: track the next meal, order a healthy meal delivery, take a walk rather than use the hotel treadmill)

Your homework for last week was #FlexYourToolbox. Whether you started this journey last week or a lifetime ago, you ALL HAVE TOOLS. Tell us your #1 tool from your WW Toolbox that keeps your wheels on the road even when you want to close your eyes ….and then type it, snap it, share it however you like, and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Let’s see how you did!

Sherry dug into her toolbox and found: 1. Pencil and pad for tracking what she ate today. 2. Meal prep is usually what is on sale or ideas Kelly mentions Sunday night chats. 3. Kelly’s Sunday night IYHAE chat. 4. Water purified or bottled Spring water. 5. Little motivation messages on sticky notes you can find on her fridge or bathroom mirror.
Karan didn’t intentionally do her homework LOL but something she shared this week reminded me that I’ve seen her pull this tool out over and over and it always works. I’ve known Karan for years (and even had the pleasure of staying at her beautiful home!) and she is what I would call the Kodiak queen. The higher protein, full of flavor baking mix is a staple at her house and has been the building block of many a delicious meal!
Sandra uses her WW app and favorite workshops as important tools, but she has strapped on something called the Flipp app and is keeping her grocery list under control and on budget!

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: How To Grow Your Personal Points Budget

And now for the most controversial topic I think I’ve ever seen in my quarter century on WW…

While I rested my voice last week I had time to see what everyone else was saying about this week’s topic instead of worrying about what I was going to say. Until now. Daaaaannng people. Calm. Down.

I want you to listen to me, we are going to sort ourselves into two teams. There are no winners, no losers, no one is right and no one is wrong though ok? Just two teams.

Raise your hand (or comment below) if you are Team “yes I think adding back points is fun and a great way to get me to add more veggies, water, and exercise into my day”

Now give me a heart (or comment below) if you are Team “Are you kidding me? We will never lose weight if we have 80 points left at the end of the day because I ate my weight in broccoli today!”

I actually had to mute a group because they were so almost violently verbal about their outrage at the idea that adding back points could lead to anything but doom, gloom, and impending disaster. I’m here to tell you it’s ok, you’re ok, we are all going to be ok 🙂

Add Back 1+ Point with 60 ounces of water:

Yes, it has to be plain water
No, you do not have to participate
Yes, if you drink more than 60 ounces of water consistently you will not only add back 1+ point to be used or not used you WILL get in some extra steps going to the bathroom 🙂

Add Back Points with Activity:

Please understand you cannot out run what you eat. Trying to do so is not realistic or sustainable or in some cases mentally healthy. Also, the old Activity Points we were used to are greatly modified. Adding back a point or two a day is a great way to “reward” yourself with some mood boosting movement and also to not feel guilty if you need to dip into those points for an occasional treat

Add Back As Many Points as You Like with 1 Cup of Non Starchy Vegetables

This is where people lost their minds. Their questions, my personal opinion answers:

Q: If I add back 30 points a day how do “they” expect me to lose weight?

A: You don’t have to use all of the points you add back, and come on…if you are eating 30 cups of non starchy veggies where the heck were you planning on putting that extra food??

Q: If I eat enough vegetables to add back points to my day I will still be consuming that many calories. You obviously have to be in a calorie deficit no matter what it is to lose weight

A: I simultaneously agree and disagree with you. You do have to be in an overall calorie deficit to lose weight. BUT, most non starchy vegetables when eaten in their unprocessed form (1 cup of spinach, not 1 cup of blended spinach) actually are high in water and fiber, but low in energy density.

Q: So you’re telling me if I add back 20 points to my day I have to stay up late enough to make sure I eat them all and get my blue dot.

A: Nope. No one said that. Adding back points is a great encouragement and if you have a few extra points at the end of the day for a peanut butter sandwich and a glass of milk then go for it. But no one said you have to consume them all nor should you consume them all. And for the love of Pete, don’t use those extra points to sit in front of the tv and eat skittles every night. The plan is to encourage you to fill your body with things it needs, not to cheat your way back into an old habit. Get behind me skittles, you have no power over me!

This Week’s Homework: #FlexYourPointsBank

Your homework for this week is #FlexYourPointsBank. I want you to pick ONE way to add back at least ONE point for ONE day this week. Many of you will blow past this, but I want to hear from the people who are nervous that adding points will derail their weight loss ….and then type it, snap it, share it however you like, and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Don’t forget to do your homework #FlexYourPointsBank and tag me when you share on social media!

Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on Instagram
Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on our Facebook Page
Tag @Kelly Green Milligan in our Facebook Group
Tag @ifyouhaveanegg on WW Connect

Extra Credit: Summer of Savings – Egglette Pro Tips for Making Your Own Food

I wasn’t kidding when I said we are going to spend the next few weeks talking about ways to save this summer. Gas prices are through the roof in most areas and grocery prices will be right behind them. This week we are going to talk about some Egglette Pro Tips for making your own food!

Egglette Tip #1: Make Your Own Cold Brew

Casey loves a good iced coffee drink and is a frequent offender at the green mermaid drive thru. But when the price of formula skyrockets and hubby has to start going in for work she finds a way to save while still enjoying that mandatory mom juice!

This single cup of cold brew cost me $8 yesterday at our pop up. At the store I found a 48 ounce green mermaid cold brew for $6.29. Using something like a Bodum Cold Brew maker and a good ground coffee I can make 4 each 51 ounce containers of cold brew for $15. That’s A FOURTH of the price of the store made and for the same amount at the food truck it would cost me $136!!

Egglette Tip #2: Make Your Own Fat Free Cream Cheese

I poo poo’d both Debbi and Carol when they told me about this a couple of years ago. They (whoever “they” is) make cream cheese, I don’t need to fix what’s not broken. Guess what? It’s broken.

During the pandemic I couldn’t find cream cheese much less fat free cream cheese. And when I did, the price tag just kept going up and up. Today I saw the name brand for $3.99 for 8 ounces. No fat free in sight. But then I grabbed this container of Nonfat Plain Greek Yogurt on sale for $5.99 and guess what? Debbi and Carol were right! I can make at least 3 – 4 “blocks” of cream cheese as I need it and save almost $10 bucks! Bonus…there is a chat for that! Learn all about how to make my fat free cream cheese here: https://www.ifyouhaveanegg.com/homemade-fat-free-cream-cheese/

Egglette Tip #3 Make Your Own Mug Cakes

So many of you told me about this one I don’t even know who to credit. Just know I thank you. Mug cakes are a simple way to make a quick treat that is contained to a single serving. Mug Cakes range in price from $1.50 to $2.75 per cake and there is a limited number of flavors. Using our Mug Cake Mix from a couple of week’s ago you can make up to 32 mug cakes for as little as 19 cents each!

Egglette Tip #4 Make Your Own Ground Chicken Breast

Julie has been a long time member of our IYHAE group and if I’m not mistaken was one of the original Egglettes. Julie is also a long time WW member who likes to eat well, be creative, and here lately doesn’t mind saving a buck when she can. Lo and behold a couple of weeks ago she had a package of ground chicken in her hand and realized it was a whopping $8.99 a pound…wow. Not one to be duped, Julie checked in with her chef husband and confirmed that you CAN grind your own 99% fat free chicken breast in a food processor and BONUS, you know what’s in it!!!! No filler, no added sodium, just chicken boobies. Julie motored over to Aldi and grabbed 2.5 pounds of chicken breast for only $10. You do the math. Yes, she got almost 2 ½ times the amount of ground chicken with no fillers or additives for just $1.01 more than a pound. Wowzers. She’s having such great success her gal pal Deanna has joined the bandwagon, and later this week we will be too! Stay tuned for details, Julie’s ground chicken breast will be put to the test later on this week’s episode of If You Have an Egg!

Comment below with your favorite ideas of how to make your own and save some money while doing it!