Topics covered in this weeks video…

Links [...]]]> Another week another video podcast! I’m on a roll! :)

Topics covered in this weeks video…

• Best way to keep a food journal
• Question for you.. Best way to archive old podcasts?
• Eating all your points
• Training advice and gaining new readers
• My favorite headphones

Links Mentioned in Video….

• Link to all the running gear I use —> My Running Partner – The iPod/Nike+
• My fav headphones —> Sony MDR-EX33LP/GRN EX Style Headphones (Green)
• My fav armband —> DLO Action Clip Armband for iPod nano 5G (Black)

Unless you are reading this on Roni's Weigh or your RSS reader, it is stolen content!

I have a question about points and exercise. I am 5’7″ and this morning the scale said 196.7. I have completed week 4 [...]]]>

Hey there! I just love the work you do to help people realize their dreams are possible. I appreciate how real you are about this journey. Congrats on your 1/2 marathon too!

I have a question about points and exercise. I am 5’7″ and this morning the scale said 196.7. I have completed week 4 of the couch to 5K program this morning. On the days that I don’t do couch to 5K I am doing Jillian Michals 30 Day Shred video and 20-30 minutes on the elliptical. I have only seen about 2 pounds of weight loss. I am following WW by myself, I’ve done meetings and online before but I’m a mostly stay at home mom (I work one weekend a month as a social worker at a hospital) so I cannot afford to pay right now. I have been giving myself 27 points per day. I am getting SO frustrated to be exercising SO much and not seeing significant weight loss…do you think my points are too much, too little? Advice appreciated.

:)

Sincerely,
Elizabeth

Hi Elizabeth!

WOW you are really attacking the exercise front, aren’t you? Awesome!

One thing you need to take into account is that you are building some major muscle. That’s good. When you are working out like that sometimes the scale will not be your friend. But that’s ok! What’s your goal? is it to reach some stupid number on the scale? or is it to look and feel your best?

I only ask because sometimes I think we let the pursuit of that number actually hurt our efforts. Remember it’s about focusing on the change and not the result (sorry, I could help myself since I just psoted that quote. ;)

That being said I think 27 points may be too little. Although, it may be a good guide to help you stay accountable don’t stress too much if you feel the need to add a point or two here and then. I’m not a dietitian, a Weight Watchers leader, or even a trainer so take my advice with a grain of salt.

A few things to thinks about… Are you keeping a food journal? Drinking enough water? What are you eating? Are you following the healthy Guidelines? Those are just a few things I can think of off the top of my head but I’m sure others will chime in with some advice as well.

What do you guys think? Is Elizabeth eating too little?

Unless you are reading this on Roni's Weigh or your RSS reader, it is stolen content!

Topics covered in the video. . .

Links Mentioned in [...]]]> Does anyone remember these?! I thank the snow storm for giving me a little extra time to record. :)

Topics covered in the video. . .

• Calculating Weight Watcher Points
• Finding Motivation
• Eating While Pregnant
• My Thoughts on VSG
• More on Points.

Links Mentioned in the video. . .

• FitBloggin
• http://recipes.sparkpeople.com
• http://www.nutritiondata.com/
• VSG Vertical Sleeve Gastrectomy

Unless you are reading this on Roni's Weigh or your RSS reader, it is stolen content!

Topics included in this video…

So, to you Flex, I say good bye. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be back for visits when I’m feeling alone and vulnerable. It’s comforting to know you will always be there for me if I [...]]]> Just over a year ago I wrote a post called Food is NOT the Enemy. Here’s a snippet…

So, to you Flex, I say good bye. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be back for visits when I’m feeling alone and vulnerable. It’s comforting to know you will always be there for me if I need you but you must understand, our relationship is starting to become toxic. I can see that and I hope you do too. It’s been a fabulous 2 and half years and you know as well as I do, I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for you. I owe you a lot and I will be forever thankful we had the pleasure of meeting.

I feel the same exact way now. I love keeping my food journal but I’m starting to feel points are becoming counterproductive again. At this point in my journey (now over 3 years at goal!) I don’t need to feel pressure to calculate and monitor them. Honestly, they feel irrelevant to me at this point. I workout 5-6 days a week. I’m training for a marathon. I eat good healthy food *most* of the time. Most importantly, I trust myself.

WOW I can’t believe I just said that! But it’s true.

So what I’m trying to say is, I’m ditching points. I’ll still be keeping a food journal on twitter. I actually really enjoy doing so (sick, right?) I’m just not going to track points for my entries. Tweet Eat Post still works, there will just be a "N/A" in the total field.

Here’s today’s menu as an example. I get accountability without the pressure. Which is exactly what I need right now, especially with all the working out I’ve been doing.

Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.

Unless you are reading this on Roni's Weigh or your RSS reader, it is stolen content!

It’s Flore people, It’s FLORE!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about click here to read one of my old Weight Watcher Rant posts. In short, "flore" was the underground name for a combination of (at that time) both [...]]]> Before I get into any specifics I just have to say this…

It’s Flore people, It’s FLORE!

If you have no idea what I’m talking about click here to read one of my old Weight Watcher Rant posts. In short, "flore" was the underground name for a combination of (at that time) both Weight Watcher plans (CORE and FLEX). From the very beginning I followed Weight Watchers Flex Plan by counting points while eating as many Core Foods as possible and it always seemed like a no brainer to me. Sure I could have just counted points for what I was eating before Weight Watchers but considering 1 – 12 inch sub would pretty much be my daily allowance I decided to not only start counting points but change, fundamentally, what I was eating.

Weight Watcher’s new plan, Momentum, takes this same exact concept and finally admits it’s not all about Points. What you eat counts as well. FINALLY, Weight Watchers, Finally… thank you. :)

The Momentum plan is designed to teach you the fundamentals of weight loss and help you stick with your weight-loss efforts, all the way to your goal.

What are the fundamentals of weight loss, you ask? Well the tried and trusted "burn more calories then you take in". Yes people, Weight Watchers has repackaged the basic foundation that we ALL KNOW is true. We need to eat less and move more. It’s not rocket science yet somehow it’s more complicated then quantum physics.

The new plan still uses the tried and trusted Points system. Nothing has changed there. You still get a daily allowance. There are still 35 weekly points to fall back and use how you like. The big change is the focus on what Weight Watchers is calling "Filling Foods" that are pretty much, yup you guessed it, CORE foods.

Specifically these "Filling Foods" are..

• Whole Grains
• Fruits & Veggies
• Lean Proteins (meat, fish, eggs, beans)
• Fat Free Dairy

The Momentum plan also introduces the concept of "stretching" your points. Or what I always liked to call "bulking". Way back when, I talked about this concept is my Does Size Matter? post.

In the new materials Weight Watchers even puts side by side images up of this idea which eerily reminds me of the ones found in Volumetrics. Another plan that focuses on what you eat and how you can stretch your calories.

Again, this isn’t new stuff. It’s the same tried and trusted theories we all know work, Weight Watchers is just wrapping it up all nice for us in new packaging and just in time for Christmas… how thoughtful of them. ;)

In addition to these changes the 8 healthy guidelines have changed slightly and now there are 9. FINALLY addressing something I think they should have a while ago, Activity. In summary the new healthy guidelines are…

• 5 servings of fruits & veggies
• 2 servings of milk products
• 6 glasses of "liquids" – they used to say water.. they changed it. Why? I DON’T know. Bad move in my opinion
• 2 tsp healthy oils
• 1-2 servings of lean protein
• 1 multivitamin a day
• Choose Whole Grains when possible
• Get in at least 30 minutes of activity in a day most days of the week
• Limit sugar and alcohol

Other then those changes the plan is just like the old Flex plan. The points are exactly the same. The formulas have not changed so all your point calculators are still relevant. Again, the big difference is emphasizing what you eat not just how many points it is.

In my opinion these changes are in response to people generalizing the Flex plan as the "eat whatever you want as long as you count it" plan. Which we know is not true. If you ate whatever you wanted your points would be gone by breakfast and you’d never be able to stay on plan. Have you ever calculated Danny’s Grand Slam^* breakfast? Ummm yeah.

Anyway, right now I’m thinking the hard core CORE followers are up in arms as they are being told they need to start tracking points (which we all know is not true — if old CORE is working for you then why change your plan.) However, if you are a CORE follower, I’ve been informed that the week 6 materials for the new plan will include a no counting strategy. Which is basically old CORE concepts as they don’t expect everyone to track what they eat forever. Not everyone is cut out for that.

So here’s my take on the new plan… It’s Flore. Eat as many whole, lean foods as possible. Start by counting points to learn about your food choices and to get an idea of portions. When you feel comfortable or when you reach your goal try to eat portions that feel right and learn to read your body’s fullness signals. If you start to need more accountability, start food journaling again.

They should have just called it the "Roni Plan" as it’s EXACTLY what I’ve been doing for the past 3 years. That sounds a bit egotistical but it’s true and I think most maintainers will agree that they’ve been following a similar plan as well.

Personally I applaud Weight Watchers for constantly changing their plan. The seem to adjust based on what is and what isn’t working for their members. When push comes to shove they are a company trying to make money but overall I do believe their plan takes a common sense approach and it did work for me. It’s about finding what works for you.

Now, if when can just get them to make healthier products! Considering most of their Weight Watcher brand food doesn’t even come close to meeting their own healthy guidelines! What is up with that?!?

Instead of a separate weekly question this week, I’d like to hear your opinions on the new Momentum plan. What are your thoughts?

^*20, that’s right TWENTY. Almost 800 calories and 50g of fat!! YIKES!

Unless you are reading this on Roni's Weigh or your RSS reader, it is stolen content!

I get a little nutty in this [...]]]> I almost forgot I had this video waiting in the wings. I recorded over a week ago! I seem to be having audio issues again, the volume and the syncing seems off. Sorry about that. I figured out the audio thing but after I recorded, of course!

I get a little nutty in this one, showing my arm "wing" and talking about relationships! I even got a little too honest about my opinion on the American diet.

Topics in this video include…

• Obsessed with Points
• Staying Motivated
• Loose skin on arms and inner thighs
• Relationship Advice?!?
• Another Veggie Hater

Links mentioned in the video or that you may be interested in…

• Matter of Motivation
• Weight Training and Body Image
• 7 secrets to a long — and happy marriage
• Video with "hate vegetables" answer.

Unless you are reading this on Roni's Weigh or your RSS reader, it is stolen content!

Topics in this video include…

Topics in this video include…

Topics in this video include…