WW (Weight Watchers) Chat #241: Overcome Obstacles – Control Your Schedule

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WW News September 2021:

  • WW is having a 20% off sale! Get your favorite breakfast gadgets from your favorite wellness and weight loss partner until Sept 25th. Details from WW are: “Breakfast Sale!  Get 20% off select Breakfast Products in the Promos and Offers category page only when you enter the promo code BREAKFAST exactly as shown at checkout. Through 1‌1:59 pm PST on September 25, 2021. Excludes Sale, WW Good, and WW Marketplace products. While supplies last. Discount is applied to order total before shipping and taxes are added. Cannot be redeemed for cash. For one-time use only. Cannot be combined with other promo codes. Not valid for prior purchases and no rain checks. Not available in WW Studio locations. Offer is subject to change without notice”
  • Did you know there is a filter feature already built into your WW app? I can’t believe I’ve never noticed this and it took technology-challenged leader Gwen to show me how to get there. On your WW app go to:
    • My Day
    • Use the “explore recipes and food” toolbar
    • Type in any word like “apples or Applebees”
    • Next to the header Food Items, a blue Filter option pops up
    • Touch Filter and choose
      • Sort by SmartPoints
      • Food Type
      • How Many SmartPoints?
      • Dietary Preference
    • Hit apply and you are ready to go!
    • Done filtering or need to try a different filter? Hit Clear in the upper right hand corner and apply again…all set!

The month’s theme is “Obstacle Breakthroughs” and will help us find a way to recognize our obstacles, face them, and crush them!

 

Last week during Chat #240: Overcoming Obstacles – Emotional Eating  we were reminded that experiencing emotions is not a character flaw. Actually, not showing emotions could mean you are a sociopath…so having and more importantly “feeling” those feelings actually means we are clinically normal human beings!

The issue at hand is that we are trained from a very early age that some feelings equal food. It wasn’t the same in every home and some families had other emotional “fixes”. Do any of these sound familiar in your childhood?

  • Skinned knees = crying/sadness = lollipop
  • Classes/homework = stressed out = cookie dough
  • Breaking up with boyfriend/girlfriend = sadness/anger = ice cream
  • Being alone = boredom/loneliness = bag of chips

So adult feelings that get fed is just a normal habit that we’ve been practicing for our entire lives. Great…so now what do we do?

Take 5 minutes. Seriously, 300 seconds may be all it takes to break that loop. You may still circle back to the food after you wait it out but it will be a conscious decision and not a blur of forks and food this time.

Your homework for last week was #TakeFiveMinutes. Make a plan with your playlist! The next time you feel yourself headed to the fridge because you are feeling (fill in the blank) and you know trouble is coming:

  1. STOP
  2. Set a timer for 5 minutes
  3. After the timer goes off decide if you still want whatever you were headed for
  4. If you don’t, great!

If you do, it’s a-ok…at least you know why you’re eating it and can track or plan how to handle that feeling next time…..and then type it, snap it, however you want to share it and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Let’s see how you did!

  • Malinda said she would be thinking about last week’s chat as she has opportunities to stop and wait 5 minutes this week and in the future!
  • Cindy was under a lot of stress and stopped for her favorite comfort food. Her five minutes to wait was the drive home. When she got there she still wanted the food but separated it and put half away before she started eating!
  • Alyssa was happy to be home with mom after a trial baby run and excited to get cookies from the vendors at our pop up. Mom and I let her have one cookie and then she had a meltdown for more. Since she’s a toddler we didn’t set the timer, but Casey distracted her by letting her start helping with the double stroller. Not only did she figure a lot of it out herself, she never circled back around to the cookies!

Bravo, you did it!

 

This Week’s Topic: Overcome Obstacles – Control Your Schedule

Before your feet hit the floor, kids need lunches packed, dogs are whining at the door, co-workers are calling in sick – your schedule is blown and you haven’t even made it out of bed yet!

 

So today might be shot but let’s do something about tomorrow, shall we? I’m the world’s worst and Covid did not help. My lunchtime routine was more of a midday stress out and the morning walks I had enjoyed were a distant memory just a few months into the pandemic. What about you?  

Let’s check our schedules and find some ways to squeeze in some time for our wellness and weight loss healthy habits!

You could only find 5 minutes:

  • Try a 5 minute Head Space while the coffee brews
  • Track your next meal during a commercial break
  • Walk to pick up your office mail or print to the farthest printer

You wiggled in 20 minutes:

  • Take a walk with a friend while the kids are at sports practice or dance class
  • Wash and prep some veggies for the next day while dinner cooks
  • Make 3 containers of overnight oats to have for the next three mornings

Somehow you found 60 minutes:

  • Turn off the tv and read a real book before bed
  • Take the dog for a stroll and let your senses take in everything you usually hurry by
  • Take a nap!

 

This Week’s Homework: #MasterYourMinutes

Your homework for this week is #MasterYourMinutes. Write the following sentence filling in the blanks for your homework this week

“On ______ (fill in a day/days) I will take _____(fill in # of minutes) minutes before/between/after _______ to _______(fill in activity like Head Space, walk, meal prep, take a nap!)”

….and then type it, snap it, however you want to share it and then tag me for your next cool badge!

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

 

Extra Credit: WW Five Ways

I’ve been getting a lot of questions lately from successful, long time WW members who are having trouble getting back with it after this last 18 months of hullabaloo. The #1 question (and I heard it this week from one of our local members) is “Which plan do you think I should be on?”

Every WW member knows there are three plan colors right now: Blue, Green, and Purple

Over the next few weeks while we wait on Beau Watch 2021, I will help you realize there are actually FIVE current plans and also how to choose the one that’s right for you.

 

Confused? Think I’ve lost my mind? Hang with me…it’s not gone yet!

 

  1. WW My Way Blue – This is the plan I think is most like the previous Freestyle plan
    – Minimum 24 daily points
    – Over 200 zero point foods
  2. WW My Way Green – This plan is almost identical to the previous SmartPoints Beyond The Scale plan
    – Minimum 30 daily  points
    – Over 100 zero point foods
  3. WW My Way Purple – A simpler way to the old Simply Filling plan
    – Minimum 16 daily points
    – Over 300 zero point foods
  4. Intentional Maintenance (not an official WW branded plan name) – Whether it’s because you are at goal or for another reason you have chosen to maintain your current weight
    – WW can help you with the number of points you should have to maintain your goal weight (a more permanent maintenance solution)
    – For a temporary maintenance period, navigate to your account in the WW app and touch the gear icon to access your settings. Here you can update your food settings by changing your current focus to “healthy habits” and your points will be recalculated accordingly
    – I’ve used intentional maintenance in a variety of situations: when my parents were in and out of the hospital and caring for them was my priority, during busy periods of life and work, and I’ll use it again when Beau is born
    – Learn more about intentional maintenance in Chat #80: Maintenance Mode and Chat #165: Hey, Nobody’s Perfect
  5. 2 On, 1 Off (not an official WW branded plan) – Kelly’s backup plan for times you need to hold on for the ride!-
    If you’re following this method, your goal is to eat two meals of the day on-plan (with filling low or zero point foods) and one meal off-plan.
    – Don’t go crazy with your off-plan meal. I’ve done that and it’s not worth it! Enjoy what you’re eating but don’t take this as an opportunity to stuff yourself or make yourself sick.
    – Sometimes life gets hectic and you don’t have the ability to eat point-friendly foods for every meal. I use this plan when unexpected things force me to change my schedule and when we are on vacation at Disney and I want to enjoy out-of-the-ordinary meals

 

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