Not really, but if I say it enough I may convince myself otherwise. Right now, I am officially about 40 days into my Weight Watchers ‘cleanse’. It has gone pretty well this year, and as of this morning I am down about 7 pounds from my starting point. I have done a ton of strength training over the last year, and have been very consistent with the other workouts, so I think the results have been pretty good. I don’t normally walk around with a ton extra, and to give a reference I am about 1 pound higher than when I did my first Ironman. I wouldn’t call it too leaned out, but I don’t think there is much further to go.
There are other free options out there, but I have always had success with WW, and they have great apps to help you track and give you good support options. There are several different payment plans, and you can opt into different programs based on what and how you eat. I am on the blue plan, and get most lean meat, vegetables and fruits for ‘free’. Meaning they don’t count against my daily totals.
The key to my success with WW is 2 things. First I need a consistent diet. To give an example, I start most days with 2-3 eggs, Fage Total 0% Nonfat Greek yogurt with frozen organic blueberries, and two slices of Pepperidge Farm Light Style 7 grain bread (dry, but I dip in the eggs). All in that is 2 points. If I am still hungry I will eat a banana or Honeycrisp apple.
For lunch I will do Boars Head Over Gold Turkey breast, a Tumaro’s multi-grain wrap, pickles, lettuce etc, and spicy mustard. I will also cut up a Honeycrisp apple and dip it in 2 tablespoons of the Chocolate PB mix. If I am hungry I add in another wrap. With two wraps and a ton of meat, that is 3 points. I get 23 points a day, and after lunch and breakfast I still have 18 left.
Dinners are shared with the family so I don’t expect them to eat the same thing everyday like I do, but I cook, so I control how the food is made. Typically, dinner will be some type of lean meat like ground turkey breast or chicken, salmon and shrimp are also pretty common. We tend to stay away from the pastas when we can and opt for rice (6 points a cup) or potatoes more often. I also will load up on salad and vegetables typically finishing out whatever everyone else doesn’t eat. I use the Olive Garden Light dressing which is also low in points. My issue is usually volume, and the fruits and vegetables get me to that full feeling.
With the left over points I will normally have a drink after my workouts and I have a chance to settle down for the evening. With my FIT points, I am way safe from my points limits, as I am getting about 150 of those a week on about 9-10 hours of working out.
Is that a hard routine? I don’t think it is, but I don’t need much variety in my life. Eating the same thing everyday doesn’t bother me and I feel like when I have something that works, stick with it.
I haven’t felt my performances decline in any measure, so the power and endurance is still there. I don’t have any real goals except to shed the Winter weight and get ready for the tri season. It seems like I am almost there, and once I hit what they call goal weight, I might relax a bit more and start having take out again. At that point though the workouts will be longer and harder, so hopefully the effects will counter balance each other.
Float. Spin. Walk. 