Week #12: Discovering What Works (And What Doesn't)

In both the meetings I led this week I'm pretty sure I mentioned the old saying "the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again expecting different results." I've been known to have bouts of temporary insanity over the years, but this past week I had a revelation that is timely for me to share based on this past week's topic.

I have an "official" Weight Watchers goal weight, but then I also have the super-secret "Steph's Happy Goal Weight." Right now my actual weight is somewhere between those two numbers. And it has been for quite some time. This past week I finally decided to make a change that I hope will make a difference in bridging the gap between actual and happy.

For the past week I've been following the Simply Filling Technique. What that means is that I have been eating strictly Power Foods and not counting their PointsPlus values. On the rare occasion I desire a non-Power Food (okay, that dark chocolate egg just JUMPED into my mouth, I swear!), I have my Weekly PointsPlus Allowance to dip into.

For a long time I've said that I eat mostly Power Foods anyway, but opt to track PPV because I simply don't trust myself to adequately manage my portion sizes to fully embrace Simply Filling. But this week I decided to go for it and dive all the way in. And it turns out...I ate more non-Power Foods than I realized.

Subway veggie delites, Pop Chips, Baked Lays, pudding cups, regular (not reduced-calorie) bread...none of those are Power Foods. What I learned is that my meals are about 95% Power Foods, but the quick snacks and gap fillers I have throughout my day often are not.

So this week those "gaps" were filled with things like hard boiled eggs, applesauce and popcorn. All foods that I enjoy, and eat from time to time. But I had to make a concerted effort to have those in the house or in my lunchbag at work.

Simply Filling is really a great way to eat, and I'm going to continue with it this next week. I'm posting this the night before my weekly weigh-in so I can't tell you what difference it has made at the scale yet, but I notice the difference in the way I feel. I am feeding my body such healthy food! All the time! I'm not feeling hungry! I'm not taking in empty calories! I've still been tracking my food on eTools (after having switched my settings to "Simply Filling") so that I'm still mindful of what I'm eating, but the numbers don't matter.

Trust me - if I'd eaten this way before Weight Watchers, I'd never had to have joined. Want to learn more? Open your "Meet PointsPlus" booklet to page 54-55. Need a portable listing of Power Foods? Our trackers have it.