Weight Watchers Chat #310: Is My Weight Loss Goal Right For Me?

News and Reviews: March 2023

We experienced my least favorite day of the year last night…the spring forward time change. We lost an hour of sleep and every clock I see is still wrong so I’m all kinds of jacked up. Please excuse my Daylight Savings discombobulation!
Ok…I’m only going to mention this because I am getting a lot of questions. Yes, WW did purchase or is purchasing Weekend Health Incorporated which operates a telehealth platform called Sequence. This news comes with a lot of questions about telehealth, weight loss drugs that are prescribed through the same company, and more. I am NOT ready to answer any questions as I want to study this from all angles and get some input from other trusted resources. Please please do me a favor and do not turn tonight’s chat into a frenzy over this topic. This will change how some potential new members come to the game but it doesn’t not change what you are doing today. Just do you today and don’t get distracted, ok?

Last week in Chat #309: What Happens To My Body When I Lose Weight, I first started Weight Watchers some 25+ years ago and I thought the only thing that happened to your body when you lost weight was you weighed less “duh.” Turns out I was wrong…

Weighing less and even your body getting smaller aren’t the only things that happen when you lose weight. Here is some brain food for thought on the subject!

More than an apple a day can keep the doctor away
Studies prove that losing somewhere between 5 to 10% of your body weight can improve your mood and sleep, lower blood sugar (A1C), lower cholesterol, improve joint pain, and can actually decrease the risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. If you weigh 200 pounds that means you only have to lose 20 pounds to start seeing these health boosting results!

The scale is still not smart
I harp on that poor scale a lot… good thing they are inanimate objects without a central nervous system or their little feelings might be hurt. But seriously, the scale still doesn’t know what your body does about weight loss and the after effects. It’s hard not to give it power, but if you want smart advice listen to your body and not that appliance that lives in your bathroom

Give me an N…N! Give me an S…S! Now give me a V…V!!
NSV’s or Non Scale Victories…you’ve heard of them, yes? These are victories that the scale can’t reward you with. NSVs are things that happen to your body when you lose weight whether the scale agrees or not. Things like moving over a notch in your belt, lowering your meds, getting a hug and the friend’s arms go all the way around and touch!

Your homework for last week was #CheerLeader. Last week’s homework is a twister, I wanted you to be a #CheerLeader (not a cheerleader, a cheer LEADER) and cheer on another member here, on Connect, or in your in person workshop tell us one non-scale victory you think they should celebrate…. 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!

Julie cheered on an entire team of encouragers, energy givers, recipe sharers and more. Go check out her post in the IYHAE group to see who got cheered!
Ramona says cheers to everyone on the chat and in the group for all their ideas and encouragement!
Lynn says Marilyn at her in town meeting is always so sweet, upbeat and with a positive attitude. She is a widow living on a farm and does all the work herself. Cheers to that hard working friend and encourager!

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: Is My Weight Loss Goal Right For Me?

No matter what year it is, what the most popular weight loss program is, or how old you are…science still agrees it takes a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose one pound.

A healthy rate of weight loss is deemed to be 1 – 2 pounds per week. That means you have to take in 500 calories less per day (through food intake or a combo of food and exercise) for an entire week to lose one pound. That’s 1,000 less per day to get to two pounds per week…if you ask me two pounds is looking like a pretty good achievement right now! But how do you know if your weight loss goal is right for you?

When?

If there is a timeline on your weight loss it can make a HUGE difference in what a realistic goal might look like. For example:

If your loss revolves around an event you may need to do some math. Let’s say it’s a beach trip in 12 weeks. If you start today you might expect a reasonable loss of say 10 pounds if all goes well. But if you wait until week 10 to start maybe 2 pounds is more likely!
If you are looking at your long term goal try breaking it down into smaller bite size portions so the end result won’t be so overwhelming

Pounds Lost versus Actual Weight?

When you think about your weight loss, are you more interested in total pounds lost or what you will actually weigh when you get there? If you haven’t thought about that, give it a minute to roll around in your head a minute. When I first set my Lifetime Goal I chose a nice round number of pounds lost. Turned out that wasn’t the right number for me so I reset my goal to a management number on the scale. Neither one is right or wrong, just something to ponder!

The Ups and The Downs

Remember at the beginning when I said it is a scientific fact that there has to be a 3,500 calorie deficit to lose (or gain) a pound? That means setting a weight loss goal whether short term or long term we need to understand a lot more than just calorie deficits affect the scale. There are many factors that can land us a temporary weight gain or sudden loss like:

Whoosh – this is not scientific but many of us have experienced the “whoosh” when your body just seems to be hanging on to weight for dear life and suddenly lets go
Sodium – a major culprit for many of us showing a gain at the scale
Hormones – ohhhh those lovely hormones, nuff said
Exercise – don’t let this one scare you, but you can show a loss after an intense workout and sweat out some H2O. But you can also show a gain while your plasma stores up water “just in case.” If you don’t drink enough to stay hydrated you could be holding onto extra water, not real pounds

Just remember, whether your roller coaster is going up or down to enjoy the ride (maybe scream a little) and be ready to hi five your friends when you get to the end

This Week’s Homework: #RollercoasterRoundup

Your homework for this week is #RollercoasterRoundup. This week’s homework is for those of you who have been around the block, ridden a weight loss coaster or two, and have some sage advice for those just now getting on. I’m serious, we are better on this journey together and just one little piece of advice you give today might be what it takes to keep someone from jumping off the ride. Tell us one thing you know for sure affects your ride on this weight loss roller coaster that has nothing to do with calorie deficits…. 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 #RollercoasterRoundup 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: TikTok Tortilla Hack!

I mentioned earlier that I don’t have a TikTok account and don’t intend to get one, but John has started using it to find quick “how to” videos and I happened to come across this recipe hack that I’m going to share with you tonight!

First things first, you need tortillas! Choose either a low carb or high fiber option to keep the points low. Then, use clean scissors or a knife and cut halfway across the tortilla so you have a single slit that runs from one edge to the center.

Think about your tortilla being in quadrants at this point – we’re going to put a different ingredient in each quadrant.

For the first version, I’m going to put a fried egg in one quadrant, refried beans in the next quadrant, guacamole in the next, and shredded cheese in the last one. (6-7 points)

Start on either side of the slit and begin folding your quadrants over on one another to create a wedge. At this point you can finish up your “sandwich” in a panini press, air fryer, or other kitchen appliance of your choice!

If you’re looking for a full walkthrough from the creator, you can find that here: https://parade.com/1149882/katieworkman/tortilla-fold-hack/

For the second version, I’m going to make a DIY tuna melt starting with tuna in my first quadrant (Starkist ranch flavor), shredded cheese in the second, more tuna in the third, and spinach in the fourth.

And finally for my last option, I’m making a ham and egg “sandwich” starting with fried egg in quadrant one, palmetto cheese in quadrant two, lean ham in quadrant three, and spinach in quadrant four.

What would you put in your tortilla sandwich? Let us know in the comments below!