I'm baaaaaack!
steve0mania
Posts: 3,140 Member
Howdy GOADies! Well, it's been a long-time coming, but I am (not so) proud to declare "I'm back" on WW again!
Although I've been below my official WW goal weight for over 8 years, I've been hovering about 10-12 pounds over my personal target weight for a few years now. I've been wishing those extra few pounds off for a long time, but apparently wishing them off isn't the best possible strategy.
Also, there are a lot of things going on in my life right now that I don't have much control over. Someone recently reminded me, however, that what I put into my mouth *is* something I can control.
Probably the biggest issue I will need to get under tighter control is my alcohol intake. I was playing around with the WW tracker and was reminded by the "alcohol penalty" that is baked into the Smart Points system. I imagine if I can eat well, cut back on my alcohol intake, and avoid replacing it with other snacks and desserts, that things would likely go in the right direction.
Please bear with me as I ask all of the routine dumb newbie questions. I'm going to take on the program like I was truly starting fresh. I'll be looking back into my standard meals, etc., and see what needs to be changed. I hope you'll be willing to help this newbie out!
On a good note, I got my old username back (after a phone call with WW Customer Support)!
I just gotta remember: It works if you work it. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. Onward and downward. Make the better choice. Avoid BLTs: bites, licks, and tastes. Dare to soar! There is no finish line. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!
Although I've been below my official WW goal weight for over 8 years, I've been hovering about 10-12 pounds over my personal target weight for a few years now. I've been wishing those extra few pounds off for a long time, but apparently wishing them off isn't the best possible strategy.
Also, there are a lot of things going on in my life right now that I don't have much control over. Someone recently reminded me, however, that what I put into my mouth *is* something I can control.
Probably the biggest issue I will need to get under tighter control is my alcohol intake. I was playing around with the WW tracker and was reminded by the "alcohol penalty" that is baked into the Smart Points system. I imagine if I can eat well, cut back on my alcohol intake, and avoid replacing it with other snacks and desserts, that things would likely go in the right direction.
Please bear with me as I ask all of the routine dumb newbie questions. I'm going to take on the program like I was truly starting fresh. I'll be looking back into my standard meals, etc., and see what needs to be changed. I hope you'll be willing to help this newbie out!
On a good note, I got my old username back (after a phone call with WW Customer Support)!
I just gotta remember: It works if you work it. Nothing tastes as good as skinny feels. Onward and downward. Make the better choice. Avoid BLTs: bites, licks, and tastes. Dare to soar! There is no finish line. I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone it, people like me!
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Whew, at least I have over 200 posts. You will all be able to talk to me now!2
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I always enjoy your posts, Steve.
I wish you good luck in tackling your weight issues.
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steve0mania wrote: »Someone recently reminded me, however, that what I put into my mouth *is* something I can control.
Do you need my refrigerator magnet that says, "There are some things in life I can't control. What I eat isn't one of them!"
Welcome back! Like you, after being at or below goal for 10+ years, I found weight steadily going up. Right now I'm focusing on getting back to my "official" goal weight. As of this morning, I'm 4 pounds above. Which sounds good. But it really isn't because I'm 14 pounds above my "personal" goal weight.
Thanks for all the "pithy" reminders from the days of old. LOL My least favorite has ALWAYS been, "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels" My response is the same as always -- then you haven't eaten some of the things I have.
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And you DO know that you aren't on the WW message board here, right? LOL1
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Welcome back Steve! I was bigguy075 on their boards.0
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Welcome back! I will look forward to your opinion if the NEW WW Freestyle Plan.
Are you going to meetings or on line only?
We don’t get many Newbies here on MFP. But WW Connect is loaded with them.
Since you’re are an Old-timer GoaD I did want to know let you know I stuck with GoaD and WW. Getting close to GW!
SW 376 (2013)
CW 189
GW 184
Jim
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Yeah, I recognize the usual gang here! Jim, that's impressive that you've continued to just-about-goal.
It was a nice stroll down memory lane when I was trying to remember my old WW password! When I asked the website to send me my password, it sent it to an old email address I don't have access to any longer. The woman on the Customer Service call I made noted that I dropped my etools back in 2010!
In many ways I stuck with aspects of WW over the years. I still try to get in my two teaspoons of oil every day (does anyone know if that's still a requirement)! But, as many of us used to discuss, I transitioned from counting points, to simply filling technique, to intuitive maintenance. It's probably not a bad thing to re-engage with more structure and then slowly transition back towards intuitive maintenance over a longer period of time.
I guess time will tell.0 -
Welcome back Steve. Now YOU can start the Friday Weigh-in thread. LOL0
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Alcohol- I found myself in a place in life where I could either eat or drink. I chose eating. No one was more surprised than I was. Welcome back.0
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Welcome back Steve. Sounds like you have the right mindset.0
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steve0mania wrote: »I still try to get in my two teaspoons of oil every day (does anyone know if that's still a requirement)!
As far as I can tell, there are NO GHG's any longer. Plus the 2 tsp of oil is not zero points -- unlike Core/Simply Filling where you didn't have to use points for the first 2 tsp a day.
I rejoined WW online a couple of weeks ago (with the one month plan). I got 23 points a day and 21 weekly points -- down from 35 weeklies when I was using Core. After 3 days I had already used all my weekly points because I had gone over my daily points every day. Things I was accustomed to eating on Core/SFT for which I didn't need to count points are now points-worthy. I'll be dropping my online subscription as soon as the month is up.
I'm continuing to track here on MFP and it's working great for me so far.
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Good to see you0
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So many of us are above our "personal target weight". Maybe WW was just too lenient with the official goal weights.
Welcome back Steve.0 -
@steveOmania Hey Steve it's great that your back. I'm around 20 lbs up after hovering around 300 lbs which was way over the weight I need to be but after I had lost 100 lbs.
So we are glad your back as I always was inspired by your post and inspiration to many of us. Welcome Back! and yes I'm also my WI is still Friday.
SW 400.8
CW 318.0
Next GW 300.0
Final GW 185.0
82.8 lbs Total lost0 -
Welcome back Steve0!0
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Another 'welcome back' from me, Steve! You've already ridden this bicycle so if your mind's in the right place, I suspect you'll get the results you're looking for. I have long-admired long-term maintainers like you--great examples for me of what can be accomplished over time. In my relatively short time, I plug along day after day but there's not enough year after years yet for me to prove to myself I can do it too. However, I do subscribe to the one-day-at-a-time philosophy. I take care of the day and let it create weeks and months--eventually years.
Anyway, the word of caution I would offer on the Freestyle plan is not to overdo it with the freebies. My meeting leader stresses eating them to satisfaction, not to the point of being stuffed.
Reducing alcohol for me has been a must-do to accomplish and maintain the weight loss, which is not to say I haven't regained a few pounds myself. But I know it's nothing compared to what it would be if I went back to my old eating and drinking habits (and oh--did they ever go hand-in-hand!).
For me, the bottom line has become I enjoy life more in a smaller body. I still remember the chore of hauling my sorry *kitten* around weighing an additional 80 pounds. I can live with the five I've fluctuated between since reaching goal but any more than that (and I'd prefer less), is a no-go for me today. And that's all I worry about--well, maybe today and tomorrow.
Great to have you back. I look forward to your insights!0 -
Welcome back Steve. "Whew, at least I have over 200 posts. You will all be able to talk to me now!" I had forgotten about those rules. Thank for the memories!
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Wow, thanks for the welcomes! To be honest, I've still floated around on the MFP GOAD site on-and-off, but I haven't paid for WW for a long time. C'est la vie. It will be worth the small financial outlay if I can "retune" my eating again.
I spent some time perusing the new program information on-line. I'm surprised that there isn't that much detail, but I do recognize that the latest program seems to really *push* you towards healthier eating by carrots and sticks. Zero points for the healthiest options, and lots of points for the less-healthy options. You may recall that I am a firm believer in the standard calories in versus calories out model, and that hasn't changed. But...I will admit that I recognize the benefit of teaching people healthier habits overall, and it's easier to take in fewer calories if you tend to stay with the healthier foods.
I haven't (yet) spent time trying to understand the underlying equations for points, etc., like I used to enjoy doing. Perhaps I won't bother this time, and will just let myself follow the rules instead of trying to sort out all of the details. Or maybe not. ;-)
I did see that my usual wine/snack combo is mostly my full day's worth of points! Ouch! No wonder I wasn't losing! Ha ha.
I get 23 points per day and 35 weeklies. It's so hard to compare with the old numbers because the values have changed so much, and there are truly so many zero-point foods!
And Imastar (Derrick, right?), I set my official weigh-in to Friday too (like I used to have it)!0 -
Welcome back, SteveO!0
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steve0mania wrote: »I get 23 points per day and 35 weeklies. It's so hard to compare with the old numbers because the values have changed so much, and there are truly so many zero-point foods!
How did you get 35 weeklies??? I get 23 points a day and only 21 weeklies
UPDATE: I just "chatted" with one of the customer service people. Apparently weekly points are now personalized by gender, age, height, and weight too.
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I get 42 weekly and 31 daylies.
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That's interesting Cindy! I guess that thwarts my "they must like me better than you" answer I was going to suggest!
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Miss ya Steve for sure.0
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Cindy it depends on your personal stats but as a 158 LB old guy I get 28 daily and 35 weekly points. Oh I see you had the chat. Suxxxx that you don't get more weekly points. Usual bigger guy discrimination.
ALSO that includes 5 xtra pts daily for maintenance.0 -
Hey Steve! Good for you for rejoining. Makes sense to go to what's worked before.
Re. oils, no requirements at all. They were dropped in the change from PP to SPS. I do still tend to get them though. After years of WW telling us how important they are for heart health, it just makes sense.
As for how points are calculated, while PP was basically ~38 calories = 1, SPs started there and increased points for sugar and fat, and decreased for protien. And with Freestyle, point values haven't changed except for the 0 point foods.
Re. alcohol, I can't remember if you just preferred wine or if spirits were an option, but in case they are ... Gin and diet tonic are my low point friend. 1 oz of gin is only 2 SPs. Though i do still enjoy a glass of red wine on occasion
Looking forward to your input! I love a scientific/fact based viewpoint!
Lin (viviansdd)1 -
linmueller wrote: »As for how points are calculated, while PP was basically ~38 calories = 1, SPs started there and increased points for sugar and fat, and decreased for protien. And with Freestyle, point values haven't changed except for the 0 point foods.
PP worked out to ~38 calories per point, but the underlying math actually started (if I recall correctly) at 35 cal/point, and then also had "charges and discounts" for different macronutrients (that worked out to be 38 cal/point when you used it for real foods). WW seems to have tweaked that a bit more to get to SPs.
Good advice on the gin. I'm not a gin fan, but I'll have to look at other drinks. Generally I'm a wine and beer fan, but that's probably going to be too costly, and it's probably time to take a significant cut-back on that anyway. As Carmen and I used to chat about--I'm going to try to have only two weekend days per week, rather than 5 or 6!
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So many of us are above our "personal target weight". Maybe WW was just too lenient with the official goal weights.
They use BMI to set goal weights. There's a range of weights for a "healthy" BMI. For me, 140 was the top of the range and that's what I chose as my goal weight so I could stop paying. But that has never been my personal goal weight
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beachwoman2006 wrote: »the top of the range and that's what I chose as my goal weight so I could stop paying.
Exactly!0 -
steve0mania wrote: »
I get 23 points per day and 35 weeklies. It's so hard to compare with the old numbers because the values have changed so much, and there are truly so many zero-point foods!
I was wondering how that works their cut the daily point from 43 to 32 and i got 58 weekly whit carry over from the daily not that i use them but is very tempting to use them.
Welcome back Steve.0
This discussion has been closed.