Living the Lifestyle Monday 1/2/2017

Jerdtrmndone

Everyone says it, but just how do you do it? How do you take the guidelines of the WW program and turn them into a lifestyle you can live every day...from now on? That is what we are here to explore. Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Newbie? Join in! Veteran? Join in! Your thoughts may be just what someone else needs to hear.

Monday -- Jerdtrmndone (Jerry)
Tuesday -- whathapnd (Emmie)
Wednesday -- DavidKuhnsSr (David)
Thursday -- Imastar2 (Derrick)
Friday -- Al_Howard (Al)

Today's topic: Saturated fats and sugars

With the new guide lines in 2016 watching sat fats and sugars more so sugars how did you manage foods you may have eaten more of when the guide lines were fats and fiber.

Jerdtrmndone

I get that they're looking more for a healthy lifestyle than weight loss.

I still have those foods about the same amount but more aware extremely high sugar foods.
I have tried cutting back to WW recommendations but started getting hungry more often and craved for sugar and my pt. values increased so much it was a major cut back in foods I like and I started gaining every wk. I manage my self a little better but I still like going by fats and fiber and controlled my self so much better.

minimyzeme

Great question Jerry! I started WW on the Points Plus program (one before the current Smart Points) and was on it from May 2014 to December 2015. Over that timeframe, I had cut the saturated fats and sugars substantially from my diet. I still had some, but far less than I'd had pre-WW. Even before WW, I didn't eat a whole lot of majorly processed foods, fast food, etc., but I had my fair share...

By the time SP rolled out, I was already leaning in the direction it was going so making the transition was actually pretty easy for me. I still have the occasional baked good (but it's got to be worth it). I gave up the small amount of Ben & Jerry's ice cream I had almost nightly the previous summer (NEVER had a pint of ice cream lasted beyond a single serving before!) and that was a surprise. However, after a short time, I really didn't miss or crave it.

I didn't notice any huge change in my weight loss one plan to the other but reading other sources (mainly Connect), it seems like a lot of people have. If it is a 'pattern', the one I think I've seen is that many people hated SP and giving up the sugars and carbs, but with a little time, found it actually worked well for weight loss. I remember reading many stories about people who break their own weight loss barriers with the SP program.

podkey

I too took a bit of a hit on pointsplus and cut down a bit with some carbs. No big difference for me when I tested out SP for a couple of weeks. I do sft now by memory.
If counting all the time I would use more weekly/AP points to cover the gaps.

Al_Howard

I'm not sure SPs are the problem (probably just me), but I gained this last year, and had been losing well with PPs. Reassessing, recalculating, resetting.

DavidKuhnsSr

I have been intuitive for a long time, so shifts in WW's corporate philosophy don't affect me. That said, I know that my weak spot is a hankering for sweets. I have always had to be careful about how much sugary food I allow myself to enjoy.

gadgetgirlIL

I've always counted calories and have never done points. The changes in the guidelines had no effect on me other than getting annoyed with the sugar and fat shaming I saw in many threads on the old boards. I do a lot of endurance exercise and fuel those activities with easily digestible carbs, aka sugars.

Perhaps if I was sedentary, diabetic, and/or had cholesterol issues I would tweak my diet composition. But at this point I'm none of those. No family history of any of those either so that colors my worldview.

That being said I do believe in the GHGs (except I can't do dairy) and strive to get sufficient veggies into my diet each day.

imastar2

Since I started my journey I've always been to be mindful of sweets because I've always been on PP. However when they concentrated on the sugar I found it difficult and of sorts deprived. On the journey however if I choose the low fat options the sugar content was higher in most cases.

When I let my guard down in August 16 and started to eat some sugar items my weight gain went up like a rocket.

I personally haven't paid a whole lot of attention to the Saturated fats. I do check on them daily. So with the new PP program the carbs are pretty much restricted as well and since the they turn into sugar their deffinitely on the PP radar.

It all boiles down to eating less to lose weight for me.

Jimb376mfp

Being a Type 2 diabetic I was happy to go with the new SP sugar penalty. I take my fasting blood sugar count every morning and notice the difference if I indulge. My Dr said I may get off my Rx meds this year IF I CONTINUE as I have been doing for past year.

DW buys Fiber One cookies, I quit eating them (processed food). I'm not a chocaholic so can get by without it. I quit buying SF chocolate covered peanuts too.

BTW I saw a comment on WW Connect about "healthy oils" that GHG also was dropped in 2016. The comment reminded me to revisit my choices when preparing my meals. I plan to incorporate more healthy oils into my daily/weekly Points.

minimyzeme

Jimb376mfp wrote: »

My Dr said I may get off my Rx meds this year IF I CONTINUE as I have been doing for past year.

Fantastic Jim; that's some great incentive!

leeless511

I've been almost a lifetime lean protein eater, so the saturated fats aspect has not been an issue for me. Did not need to change anything.

The change in sugar was much bigger and turning out to be very positive. I stopped eating sweets (desserts, candy, chocolate etc.) on a regular basis of 2-5 times a week ranging from 4-6 pointsplus. Now I eat sweet treats for a special occasion, maybe dinner out or when I have a craving I can't get rid of, which is rare.

Once I adopted this less sugar approach, I started losing weight more consistently. The first few weeks of SmartPoints (WW) I was traveling for the holidays and following the program, I still ate Tiramisu several times that week and some holiday chocolate, but I lost weight multiple weeks in a row after making the change. Which until then that was unheard of, I was a lifetimer that was over goal by 12 pounds and they were stubborn but the sugar change helped me get rid of them and have gone below my goal weight now.