Fresh

To most people weight watchers is tempting and appealing because of the convenience foods. we do not always have time to cook meals from scratch and time to time I do have them and they are enjoyable.

Tonight when I was prepping tea I realized how much I enjoyed cooking with fresh ingredients from scratch to produce a great meal. The variety of colours in fresh vegetables and the smell of them lovely!

Now I have six weeks off I am looking forward to cooking majority of means from fresh over the coming weeks.

Tonights tea prepeating, top to bottom - my vegetable sauce, herbed potatoes and turkey meatballs.

Focus

Isn't it funny how things can change from day to day? Yesterday was a tough diet day, I felt hungry all day, partially down to a lot of exercise and partially down to boredom, I ended up using 9pp of my weeklies which isn't the end of the world but I knew I was not hungry. I thought that's it, its going to be a long week of feeling hungry down to boredom etc.

Today I woke up and knew I had a week of revision ahead which I thought might cause more hunger but in fact it has been the opposite. I got up and had a 4pp breakfast of toast and coffee, did 45 minutes revision, had a 30 minute walk where I earned 3pp, came home did another 45 minutes revision and before I knew it, it was lunch time. I had a lovely 6pp lunch of soup and toast with a big fruit salad, yet more revision, physiotherapy session and now its 3:30pm, about to do revision till 5pm then it will be tea time. After tea all my dailies will be used but then we are at the cinema and after that it is time for bed so will not need my weeklies. A totally different day to yesterday and feeling very focused. Hope the rest of the week works out like this!

Planning

Prior planning prevents piss poor performance - 6 Ps - essential I think!

Not everyone can plan a whole week in advance but even planning day by day can make such a big difference.

Not everyone likes to plan, they like to see what they want at each meal time, if this is the case then it's best to have plenty of good food in so you can have a healthy meal.

When I did not used to plan at lunch times it's what do you want? I don't know? Oh let's go out for lunch which leads to unhealthy meals, luckily I am now much stronger so make good choices eating out. At 6pm it can be the same, what to have for tea? It's Late, you can't decide do take away is ordered. Having good food in or planning ahead can make sure these situations are avoided.

Weight Watchers product review

I have tried lots of Weight Watchers products and have been satisfied with all, some make great replacements for high calorie treats some not so much but are still great products. Below are my reviews of a few and will publish more as and when I try them.


Thick sliced wholemeal loaf



This is my favourite bread out of them all! Its very versatile, great for toasting, making sandwiches with and dunking in soup! If your not keen on wholemeal there is a white version for the same pro points per slice but I am yet to find this anywhere I shop. OtherWeight Watchers breads can be a bit flimsy and less versatile so this is the one I buy the most and I prefer.

White danish loaf



In all honesty I do not rate this bread. It is very flimsy, does not toast well and does not make good sandwiches. This is what I purchase if thick is unavailable, it is lower in pro points but I would prefer to use more pro points on the thicker as it is more substantial. I was not very full after this, it went very crispy when I toast and broke into many pieces when buttered - not a big fan!

Bagels


I find these so addictive! They are so lovely, taste no different to your average bagel and only 4 propoints! I highly recommend these, they are gorgeous with butter on for breakfast and make a lovely sandwich too if you are wanting something a bit different.

Premium pork sausages



For low fat sausages I find these very enjoyable. I have heard comments about them being dry and tasteless but I did not find this true. I have had them as part of a cooked breakfast and with mash and gravy and find them lovely! They are very well seasoned and a firm favourite for 1 pro point per sausage - not bad for a sausage!

Chicken fajita wrap



I love, love, love this wrap! Full of soured cream and chicken very authentic Mexican taste. I have had these several times for lunch and love them every time. I do not think 7 pro points is bad for lunch and I was satisfied as part of my lunch along with fruit and a yogurt. They are not too spicy but do have the Mexican kick!

Southern fried chicken wrap



This wrap is very nice also. I do prefer the fajita but this has crispy southern fried chicken and lovely BBQ sauce, my only criticism would be more BBQ sauce as it was very thin on the ground and did not get much of a taste of it.

Ham and soft cheese sandwich



This sandwich was tasty, made a change for it to be on flat bread rather than normal bread but it was not very satisfying. I enjoyed it and the tastes were good but it was not a very filling meal and I was very hungry after this, not worth 7 pro points in my opinion.

Chicken tikka



This is part of the chilled meals range, I was not expecting much from a microwave curry but I was pleasantly surprised! It was very nice, authentic curry flavours and something I would definitely try again, a bit high on pro points but not bad as an evening meal.

Reduced fat cheese slices



I used these cheese slices as part of a ham, cheese and pickle wrap. They were very nice, just what you would expect from a cheese slice, they were not like plastic as some people may think. Not sure what they are like for melting as I have not tried this but will let you know when I do.

Thin & crisp hot & spicy pizza



I had this when my family had take away pizza and I did not feel left out. The pizza is a decent size, it is not like cardboard as people may think, it was divine. If people need a pizza fix this is the way to go. 12 pro points is not bad compared to what a take away pizza would be. I would have this again and would like to try the BBQ chicken pizza but have yet to see this in store.

Ice cream wave


I loved this item. Based on a vienetta, it is a great substitute. Plenty of chocolate, very creamy and a decent size for 3 pro points. I will definitely be having these again.

Sicilian lemonade



I love this. Still lemonade, lots of lemon taste and 0 pro points - cannot go wrong. I found this very refreshing on a hot afternoon, rare in England I know. If your wanting a still soft drink I would recommend this.

Hot chocolate with real chocolate sachet



I am a big fan of the options hot chocolates but this was lovely. Much more creamier and more of a real chocolate taste compared to options. As it says in the name made with real chocolate and it really satisfies your chocolate craving for only 1 pro point. I have tried the mint flavour too which is just as nice.

A new start

I recently joined Weight Watchers, I did great on Slimming World - 3 stone lost but I needed something new, a new challenge. I was worried about Weight Watchers  but I am loving it, I joined 5 weeks ago but in that time I lived in hospice for a week with my grandma very sick, my grandma passed away, it was my 21st birthday and I went to London - there was never really a good time to start.

I decided Saturday 7th July would be my official starting date, after London, in my first week I lost 5lb!!!! This was a combination of the Weight Watchers plan and swimming 200 lengths. I am doing a sponsored swim throughout July and August but I do plan to keep up the swimming after (you can find out more about my swim at www.justgiving.com/jessica-collings). I was so shocked with 5lb, I was expecting 2-3lb. Needless to say this big loss and spurred me on for the week ahead.

In the past I used weigh day as treat day and had a big blow out, today that didn't happen, I stuck to my 29 daily points and used 2 weeklies today. I have had a very busy day and earned 7 activity points - very impressed with myself.

Today's time line -

7:30am - Got up and used 2pp on a Weight Watchers  fruit crumble bar
8am - Swam 50 lengths in an hour earning 4 activity pro points
10am - Breakfast - 30g special K 3pp, 1 grapefruit 0pp
10:30am - Went for a walk in town
11:30am - A 50 minute, 2.5 mile walk around the local park earning me 3 activity pro points
12:30pm _ Lunch at Harvester - simply chicken, a chicken breast, baked potato and peas - 14pp and lots of 0pp salad
2pm - Cinema to see ice age, snack of Weight Watchers mini cookies 2pp
5pm - Home - 30 minutes weeding for 3 activity pro points and 10 minutes lawn mowing for 1 activity pro points
6:30pm - Dinner - Weight Watchers chicken curry for 8pp
7:30pm - Snack of 3 satsumas and 1/2 a honey dew melon 0pp
8:30pm - Supper, 4 Weight Watchers crackers 2pp and 10g of Weight Watchers daily spread 0pp

Total of 31pp used and 7pp earned.

A very busy and happy day but very tiring too!

This blog will be filled with Weight Watchers information, tips, recipes and reviews of products I have tried, any ideas are greatly appreciated!

Weight Watchers points are calculated on your age, height and weight and everyone gets the same 49 weekly points. Having the weekly points is very useful and what made me give Weight Watchers a try. I was always scared of being hungry, using my points and being hungry still and having to go to bed early! I can honestly say I have never felt that way! I fill out my meals with 0pp fruit and vegetables to fill me and make them go further and if I am hungry after meals I use my daily or weekly pro points for a snack or snack on fruit - its working for me.

My next entry will be reviews of some of the food I have tried and next my meals.

You can find me on facebook Jess Slimming Collings with all my food photos and regular updates and also on twitter @polkadot26 or email jcollings09@gmail.com all feedback is greatly appreciated!