In my post today, I plan on
explaining to you Simply Filling versus
CORE , the jist of how to work the Weight
Watchers Simply Filling Technique
officially and how I work the plan.
BACKGROUND
For those who have done Weight
Watchers for awhile, you may recall the
CORE Method. CORE was the first time
Weight Watchers introduced the concept
of not tracking points, focusing on whole,
clean, real foods and listening to your
bodies hunger signals. I know this
concept freaked out several people and I
loved hearing all the comments from
everyone like…..
“If I knew when to stop eating and eating
just until I was satisfied, I wouldn’t be
here”.
The thing that I am not sure most people
realized though is that there is so much
“healthy” stuff you can eat so it was hard
to go overboard on CORE. There were a
few foods that I absolutely loved on CORE
that I made sure I measured so I
wouldn’t go overboard like avocados &
olives. I did miss having breads and it
was often tough to decide which part of
the day I’d have my “one serving” of
carbohydrates.
I actually did the CORE method for over a
year when it first came out and
successfully lost/kept off 35 lbs . I lost
more on CORE than I did counting points
because it took away my obsession of
how much of this or that can I get for my
points and it helped me focus on Whole
Foods that were more nutritionally sound.
HOW TO USE THE SIMPLY FILLING
TECHNIQUE
Following the Simply Filling Technique is
pretty simple once you get the hang of
it.You do not have to track your food,
however, I recommend tracking and
measuring in the beginning until you feel
comfortable that you can control how
often you eat and the size of your
portions.
1 . Focus on Power Foods/Simply Filling
Foods ~ lean proteins, fat free dairy,
whole grains, fruits, vegetables, your 2 tsp
of healthy oil, reduced calorie breads and
broth based soups.
2. Use your Weekly Points Allowance
(WPA) for any foods that do not fit in the
above categories or do not fit into a
category on this Simply Filling Foods
List . You do not have to track the points
+ for any of the Simply Filling Foods you
eat. You only track the non-Simply Filling
Foods.
3. Eat just until satisfied making sure you
eat slowly, listen to your body and stop/
rest/assess as you are eating. The goal is
to not feel too full or too hungry, but, to
feel “just right”.
100% Homemade Simply Filling Ice
Cream ~ count 1 WPA for the Sugar
Cone!
I know there has been some confusion
over the little green triangles that show a
“Power Food”. I have learned that not
all Power Foods are Simply Filling
Foods and vice versa. It was this
Weight Watcher’s article that confused
me when I first started looking into it
when people were asking about the green
triangles.
Therefore, to keep things simple, I focus
on this Weight Watcher’s Simply Filling
List since it is very similar to when I
followed CORE. I look for similar items
that would fall into the categories, i.e.,
like light breads and thin buns.
MY SIMPLY FILLING RULES aka
“TWEAKS”
Before I jump into this part, I was to start
off by saying this is 100% how I follow
the Weight Watchers Simply Filling
Technique based on my experience with
CORE and what I can sustain as a lifestyle,
not just as a quick fix to lose. You do not
have to apply any of these “tweaks” when
you work Simply Filling, but, I wanted to
share for those who have asked.
1. The food items needs to be similar –
just like I do with the fat free versus
low-fat cheese. The low-fat cheese I use
has 2 g of fat and I am more likely to pick
that as a snack versus a fat free cheese
slice. Plus I can recognize the
ingredients on low fat over fat free
cheese.
Canadian Bacon falls in this category for
me too as it is a fat free luncheon meat. I
also will use a Simply Filling item when it
works the same – like I don’t mind
cooking with fat free cheeses. Soy Cheese
is Simply Filling so food for thought on
this one.
Another example of similar or close to
Simply Filling is I will “fry” my sweet
potato wedges in my 2 tsp of healthy oil
which is Simply Filling. Having Sweet
Potato Chips is NOT Simply Filling
2 . I will ALWAYS substitute something
that is more nutritionally sound if I
can keep my portions in check. My focus
is always on clean eating and foods I can
recognize the ingredients on – limiting
artificial things. This is one reason I will
often use the real deal for products.
3. I have to be real with myself – am I
losing weight with the tweaks I am
making and/or am I making too many? If
I find I am making too many tweaks or
not losing weight, then, I count the
points+ against my WPA or find a Simply
Filling Substitute.
4 . For packaged foods, I assess the
ingredient list to determine is it really not
Simply Filling or close. I read somewhere
if it has more than 3 ingredients, then,
count the points+ for the entire item/
recipe. I try to follow that.
I am not really a fan at all of any of the
Light Breads, but, I have found that I love
the Oroweat Honey Wheat Thin Buns . I
can totally enjoy sandwiches and burgers,
like this Better Than a Big Mac knowing
that it falls into the same category as a
Light Bread – stats wise.
5. Last, but, not least, when I am put in
challenging situation, I try to focus on
“Simply Filling Like” foods. I actually did
a post on this during The Husband’s
birthday week to show how I apply that
logic by making the most of our dining
out.
HOW DO RECIPES WORK FOR SIMPLY
FILLING
The way that I figure out my recipes is to
breakdown the ingredient list. You do not
need to count any of the points+/WPA for
foods that are Simply Filling. For all non-
Simply Filling Foods, take the total of the
ingredients and divide it by the total
number of servings.
This Italian Wedding Soup is the perfect
example
Here is what I did in this case:
1/2 lb Jennie-O Sweet Italian Turkey
Sausage = 9 points+
1/2 cup bread crumbs – although you
could make your own with light bread to
make it Simply Filling, I didn’t. = 3 points
+
2 Tbsp Parmesan = 2 points+
Total for non-Simply Filling Foods = 14,
divided by 6 servings = Simply Filling + 2
WPA per serving.
If there are more non-Simply Filling Foods
than there are Simply Filling, I count the
entire serving against my WPA (a good
example is real deal pizza).
Did I mention Nonfat Lattes,
Cappucino’s and Misto’s are 100%
Simply Filling?!
I personally feel that the Simply Filling
Technique addresses all the things I
LOVED and didn’t LOVE about CORE and
made it the ideal plan. As sad as I am
avocados and olives are out, I completely
understand why they are ~ for their
“abuse” potential. I know if I didn’t
measure them, I could eat a lot of
avocado!
On the other hand, they took away the
once a day restriction on a healthy
carbohydrate and adding in reduced
calorie breads. For me, that made up for
taking away AVOCADOS!