WW Points for My Thanksgiving Feast

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My daughters and I are already planning the menu for Thanksgiving.  I know that day will be a day filled with tempting food with lots of WW Points, but I don't dread it.  As I posted before, I plan to enjoy it.

I recently started tracking using the iTrackBites app on my phone just to get in the habit of tracking, intending to really limit points after the holidays, but as soon as I started tracking, I started caring again and have stayed within my 26 points for 3 days.  I guess I'm on the wagon again!

I've already looked up the WW pts for the foods we will be serving.  No matter how I might gorge myself, I vow to track all the points I consume all day.  Basically, these are the foods we are now planning to serve for our Thanksgiving and their WW pt values:

Ham, per slice                                     3 Pts         

Scalloped Potatoes, 1/2 cup                5 Pts

Green Bean Casserole, 1 1/2 cups       4 Pts

Roasted vegetables, 1 1/2 cups            2 Pts

Stuffing, Stove Top 1/2 cup                  5 Pts

Gravy, Heinz HomeStyle, 1/2 cup        1 Pt

1 serving is 1/8 of a 9 inch pie:

Pecan Pie                                           14 Pts

Pumpkin Pie                                       11 Pts

Caramel Apple Pie                              11 Pts



I figure my meal point total will be between 30 and 35 points. Of course we'll have other goodies like a cheese ball and crackers, plus some snacks when we play games later in the day.  I can track that as I go.

My rule is to calculate everything ahead of time, so I can choose how to best use my points. I'm okay if I use my daily and all of my weekly points on Thanksgiving.  This is NOT a day to stress over Points...but I find KNOWING helps me choose better during the holiday and feel better afterward!

Hope your Thanksgiving is full of family, food, and fun!

The Importance of Measuring and Storing When on the Weight Watchers Program

Measure and Store for Portion Control

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A key component of the Weight Watchers Program is portion control.  For me, I think this is the most important thing that has kept me on target with my weight loss.  My previous mindless eating, over the kitchen sink, sitting at the computer, or in front of the TV, had a large part in causing my waistline to balloon.

Day One on the Weight Watchers Program, I started figuring out how to eat a "Portion" and stay within my daily and weekly points allowance.  And to my amazement, it wasn't really all that hard!

Measuring

I use my measuring cups and spoons all the time now. I realized in the beginning that I wasn't very good at eyeballing how much 1/2 cup of rice or 2 Tablespoons of grated cheese was. When preparing my meals now I always measure or weigh ingredients.  I use my scale every time to determine how much of a cut of meat to portion off. When snacking, I count out the estimated number of pretzels or chips, etc. that the package reports as one serving.

I like soups and I bought a set of ladles that serve up a specific measured portion of soup, so I always use one of those ladles now. (example here). When adding mashed potatoes or rice to my plate, I scoop with my one-cup measure. When adding olive oil to the pan before cooking, I pour the oil into my measuring spoon first.  If you do this, you'll quickly learn that often you underestimate how much you use, but also, that sometimes you are OVER estimating!  Be as accurate as possible in the beginning until you have a good feel for portions.

Storage

When I make a dish that provides multiple meals (which is often since I am single), I divide up the dish as evenly as possible, serve myself one portion, and then store the remainder in one-serving portions.  My set of Rubbermaid meal prep containers have turned out to be perfect for this task. I love the way the lids snap on!  And they make my next meal a no-brainer for calculating my points! Here’s a link to the ones I now use. 

I guess all this is common-sense, but I was not this logical or disciplined about my food until I started Weight Watchers.  You might find a method for measuring and storing that is different from mine, but the point  is to find a method that you will use consistently.

Weight Watcher friends: Measure it, Store the leftovers, and Smile on your weigh-in day!

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