Any suggestions for 5 PM - 9PM?

[Alice Sr.]

I do really well during the day but blow it at night. I'm hoping someone might have experienced this also and have some tips on how to beat it. I know I have improved during the day, so I am happy about that. Thursday was my 1st class and I blew it Thursday night and Friday night. After seeing how far off the target I am (point wise) I'm surprised I don't weigh more.

I was reading the 1st book I was given at the meeting and it alluded to the "Points Activity System" that allows you to earn additional points through exercise. I have been doing crunches every day and walking or lifting a couple of times a week (yesterday I walked 2 miles) and I'm getting ready to go for a bike ride. Will this afford me more points? If it's not too complex and someone give me brief description of the concept?

Thanks for your help,
Alice

 

[tiggerlover]

If you are talking about WW I can answer. Their plan states that any 20 minutes of exercise beyond the first 20 minutes of exercise will earn you an additional food point. However, they say if you are exercising just so you can eat more, they don't recommend it.

To give you suggestions for 5pm-9pm I need to know a little more. What time do you eat dinner and what do you typically have? For that matter what time do you eat all of your meals and do you have scheduled snack times. I usually eat breakfast at 8am, lunch between 12 and 1 and dinner around 5:30 to 6:00. I also usually have a snack around 3pm. Are you drinking the recommended amount of water each day? I find if my stomach is growling a little than a 12 oz. bottle of water will help satisfy my stomach until it is time to eat. Do you try to balance your points during the day? By this I mean a certain amount of points for breakfast, lunch, dinner? I am following the old points system and I get to use up to 29 points a day, with the current points system I would only be allowed 27. The way I budget my points is to have no more than 5 points for breakfast, anywhere from 7-10 points for lunch, 2 points for snack, 10 -12 points for dinner and if I am under than I use those for my evening snack. I also eat a lot of veggies during the day since they have 0 points.

Not sure if I answered your questions or not, but I hope this helps.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Hi tiggerlover - Thanks for trying to help me. Sounds like the exercising is a mute point as my workouts are usually 30 min.

For breakfast I use 3 pnts. for lunch I use 5 pnts. I don't snack at work in the afternoon. That leaves me with 10-15 points for dinner. The 1st night I had Fazoli's fettucine alfredo w/broc.. a Tecate beer and an Oreo. I guess I really only went over by one but I had hoped to stay within 10.

The next night I got all worked up about what I could eat, 1st I ate a big salad then I ordered Domino's for the girls and I ate 1/2 of a thin crust cheese by myself, which is more than I would normally eat (I think it was psychological) and a Tecate beer. Mostly I think I miss chomping on something and have a fear of feeling deprived, I don't seem to get that feeling until night time.

I'm thinking I need to get more organized about dinner, find recipes and maybe have a certain time for dinner (which is pretty much impossible with 2 girls in sports) I also need something harmless to munch on, I used to eat a lot of pretzels until I learned they weren't the freebie's I thought they were. And I've been bad about the water, never been a big water drinker. I do like Perrier, is that ok?

Well thanks for your guidance,
Alice

 

[KathyTX]

Alice,

It sounds like you are saving a huge majority of your points for dinner, by which time you're STARVING.

I would recommend allocating fewer points for dinner, and maybe using them for a mid-afternoon snack. I would also look for choices that give you more nutrition for the points you spent. Alfredo sauce, pizza and beer are some foods that use a ton of points for not much quantity or nutrition. I would try to reserve those for only occasional treats.

Are you getting all 5 servings of fruits and vegetables each day? A piece of fruit (apple, pear, banana, orange) would be a good afternoon snack.

A salad or some fresh crunchy veggies (carrots, broccoli. celery sticks) with dinner can give you some good crunchy foods, fill your tummy, and boost your vegetable servings for little or no points.

Mostly, I'd recommend not saving so many points for dinner, and avoiding points-expensive but non-nutritious foods. (Perrier is fine! Any water with no calories or caffeine is fine to use for your water.)

 

[Disneyaholic]

Some of the WW "Just 2 Points" bars are really good as a snack, too! Check them out!

 

[anniet]

Just be careful of those WW bars. They are 2 points if you eat one, but they climb up to 6 points if you eat two of them in a 24 hour period!

I agree with everything KathyTx posted. I too fell into the trap of saving too many points for the end of the day, bur reallocating really does help. Filling your day with fruits and veggies makes a big difference too!

I also eat my dinner around 6:00 and then after dinner I make up a cup of herbal tea to signal to myself "I AM DONE FOR THE DAY!" It really keeps me in line.

 

[becka]

I read about a technique here on this board that some people who find they are big evening eaters actually start counting the days points starting with dinner. There is no law that you have to start counting at breakfast. Maybe you will find that by starting your points with dinner that it helps you stay in line.

 

[Alice Sr.]

Becka, what an excellent idea! I think this would work great for me.

Thank you so much for sharing that tip. I feel the pressure being lifted already

Alice

 

[Disneyaholic]

Originally posted by anniet
Just be careful of those WW bars. They are 2 points if you eat one, but they climb up to 6 points if you eat two of them in a 24 hour period!

REALLY???? Wow!

Well, fortunately, I have never done that, and now that I have this little tidbit of info, I'll be sure to not do it in the future, either.

I usually grab one when I'm "starving" and it's not lunch or dinner time yet. The two points not only doesn't hurt my point total for the day that much, and it also fills me up a bit so that I don't overdo at mealtime!

 

[TigH]

Good luck! You've gotten a bunch of great suggestions so far.

I've read that alcohol is metabolised differently than other foods. It might be a good idea to limit the Tecates to once a week. I enjoy my beer and it was hard the first week to limit myself, but it has been easier since then. Now one gets me really loopy! It's part of my "weekend treat".

GOOD LUCK!!!!