Well another reason I never seemed to lose much or keep it off in the past......my portions were WAY out of control. I think in the other programs I had a "rough idea" but was still WAY OFF - I was "ball parking it" while with WW, you scan the bar code or enter the data and BANG you got your points PER PORTION. All these years I thought my nuts and seeds where doing me so good as they were a "healthy fat" but boy was I off on portions! I thought 1 Tbsp wouldn't be much - well it sure is when you are limited to a certain amount of points per day - suddenly 1/2 of the full portion of almonds seems like enough. That "extra bit of salad dressing" you would pour over your salad no longer takes control and you stick to the "portion" - or in my case lately 1/2 of the portion as I'd rather save my points for better things and a drizzle is enough just to give it taste. Those extra hand full of chips REALLY DO make a difference. I honestly have never really "got it" before this - while I thought I did, this point system just really brings it all into perspective, just another reason I am loving this new lifestyle change. Now off to the dollar store to pick me up some more measuring tools as when we "eye ball it" you KNOW our eyes are bigger than they should be ;) On one WW site, a lady had a basket on her counter with all her measuring cups in them so you aren't tempted to "eye ball" your meals anymore and they are handy to use (with extras for when your others are dirty and you are tempted to "wing it" yet again). What a great idea!
I used my "small plates" again as I find my mind still likes to see my plate FULL, so even though it's the same portion, if it's on a full small plate rather than a 1/2 empty large plate my mind feels like I've had a full meal. So now the money I saved on a juicer is now going to purchase our WHOLE FAMILY SMALLER PLATES so we all can control our "portions better" - only the guys wont know they are doing it ;) You're less likely to go for seconds if you leave the food on the counter rather than on the table and your less likely to eat more than you need with a smaller plate that you can't "cram" a bunch of food onto so you don't have to get up for seconds!
I used my "small plates" again as I find my mind still likes to see my plate FULL, so even though it's the same portion, if it's on a full small plate rather than a 1/2 empty large plate my mind feels like I've had a full meal. So now the money I saved on a juicer is now going to purchase our WHOLE FAMILY SMALLER PLATES so we all can control our "portions better" - only the guys wont know they are doing it ;) You're less likely to go for seconds if you leave the food on the counter rather than on the table and your less likely to eat more than you need with a smaller plate that you can't "cram" a bunch of food onto so you don't have to get up for seconds!