newbies and lurkers, what questions do you have?

[wwlynn 11]

Hi, thanks so much for taking the time to answer these questions! I am new to all of this, but I have tried 3 diets in the past year and either they didn't work (low carb) or I gained weight right afterwards because I felt so deprived. The idea of tracking and measuring sent a chill through me so when I read about SF I was really excited and inspired. I started this on Jan. 4th...

 

My questions... I know the focus can't be on how much we lose each week, but a part of me is concerned that I wont lose at all on this because I"m eating too much. When I add up the points each day if I were doing this under regular momentum I'd be about `10 points over per day on average. Should I be worried? I am stopping when I am full for the most part (messed up on some pudding after dinner the other night lol).

 

Here's yesterday as a sample... I'd really appreciate some feedback! Oh and also... when I look up most spray butters and ff margarine's on the tracker they count as points, but the literature seems to say we can have any ff margarine or spray and not count, insight on this??? I've been using I can't Believe Its Not Butter Spray on my veggies.

 

 

Sample Day:

 

Oatmeal w/ banana

coffee w/ fat free milk

 

chicken breast (2 small)

brussel sprouts (1 small bag) w/ I can't believe it's not butter spray

 

Apple

2 slices of cheese

1 1/2 cups cottage cheese w/ mandarin orange

 

Filet Mignon (6 oz)

sweet potatoe

diet coke

 

1 or 2 servings ff sf pudding

 

First, if you are eating to satisfaction i wouldn't worry about the points. Second, that doesn't look like too much food, but only you can judge that. Most people worry they won't lose on SiFi for the same reason, and most people DO lose. Of course it won't be quick weight loss. It will be healthy rate of weight loss. I do notice only one vegetable. You might want to try to eat more than that. Also, are you getting your two tsp of healthy oil? It looks like you are getting your milk but I wanted to be sure the cheese/cottage cheese were fat free, otherwise they aren't filling foods. That's about all I'm seeing. You might want to post a new thread titled "menu review" to get more responses...

 

As for the butter spray, I am not sure about the ff margarine and sprays, sorry...I don't use them. I'll have to look into that. Maybe another buddy will answer sooner!!!

 

Let me know if this helped or if you have any questions and feel free to jump in down below on the regular threads!!! (with the new format I'm not sure people will notice there's a new post on here)....

[fairfight 10]

Thanks so much Lynn! I will repost as a new thread as you suggested. I am still learning how to navigate! The cottage cheese is ff and you're probably right about veggies. I have no idea what "Healthy rate of weight loss" means lol, that may be part of the issue. I think it's 1-2 pounds a week??? But maybe its less. Anyway, thanks again!

[wwlynn 11]

WW says .5 to 2 lbs per week.

[Trysha 10]

OK- So I am trying the "Classic Core" and this is my first week.

 

Did I read correctly that you can now save all your AP's for the entire week? WOW!

 

Also, I think I made an error, I have been eating FF Activia flavoured yougurt, not plain. Is this the wrong thing?

 

First week I am sure will be a little adjustment period.

 

Then it's smooth sailing, RIGHT? ha,ha

[wwlynn 11]

Trysha, welcome! Sorry no one answered your question until today! I didn't see it. First of all, Classic Core and Simply Filling Technique are the same thing. Second YES you can bank your APs for the week! And third, only plain, fat free yogurt is a filling food. So flavored yogurt isn't. No biggie. Just follow the rules from here on! There is definitely an adjustment period and it can take a little while to figure out the rules.

[goddessRu 10]

I have a question about a strawberry spread I have in my fridge- it is all fruit and no added sugars. Any sugar is from it's own natural sugar and fruit juices. I don't remember the ingrediants exactly, but it was basically the fruit and juice and I remember seeing citric acid... is this item core?

[wwlynn 11]

No it is not a core/filling food; but it is probably 0 points per serving.

[Marie_D 10]

Hi! I am just starting SF and have read all the newbie posts, but still have some questions that I hope someone can help me out with...

 

1) If my ff SF salad dressing has oil in it, does that count toward the 2 t. of oil in the GH guidelines?

 

2) If I choose the vanilla ff yogurt over the plain ff yogurt, do I have to count ALL the pts for the vanilla yogurt (2 points), or can I just count the points difference (1 point) between the vanilla and the plain?

 

3) I see that grinding oatmeal into powder would not be a filling food. I often eat UNCOOKED old-faisioned oats with apples and milk as sort of a museli. Would this then be counted as a cold cereal and therefore be limited to once per day?

 

4) At the end of a meal, I often crave something sweet even though I'm not hungry anymore. Should I indulge and have fruit or something small, or do you think it is promoting a bad habit to eat when I'm not actually hungry?

 

I am SO excited about SF. I attained LTM on the WW flex program, but got really tired of how focused I was all day long on measuring portions, calculating points, etc. and I quit tracking all together and slowly gained some weight back. I think SF will be a much better fit for me, especially since I was already eating mostly SF foods.

[wwlynn 11]

Hi! I am just starting SF and have read all the newbie posts, but still have some questions that I hope someone can help me out with...

 

1) If my ff SF salad dressing has oil in it, does that count toward the 2 t. of oil in the GH guidelines? If your salad dressing is fat free, there IS no oil in it, I'm confused. Regardless you have to have measured out your oil, it can't be contained in a premade thing. If you ADD oil to your fat free dressing and know what you added you can count it.

 

2) If I choose the vanilla ff yogurt over the plain ff yogurt, do I have to count ALL the pts for the vanilla yogurt (2 points), or can I just count the points difference (1 point) between the vanilla and the plain? Yes count ALL the points. Not just the difference.

 

3) I see that grinding oatmeal into powder would not be a filling food. I often eat UNCOOKED old-faisioned oats with apples and milk as sort of a museli. Would this then be counted as a cold cereal and therefore be limited to once per day? This, to me, is questionable. By not cooking it (in liquid) it is much more energy dense. I'd use my results as a guide. You could consume a lot of calories worth of uncooked oatmeal that way.

 

4) At the end of a meal, I often crave something sweet even though I'm not hungry anymore. Should I indulge and have fruit or something small, or do you think it is promoting a bad habit to eat when I'm not actually hungry? Use your own judgment and don't make yourself crazy. If you want a small sweet treat, I don't think there is a problem. Again, use your results as your guide.

 

I am SO excited about SF. I attained LTM on the WW flex program, but got really tired of how focused I was all day long on measuring portions, calculating points, etc. and I quit tracking all together and slowly gained some weight back. I think SF will be a much better fit for me, especially since I was already eating mostly SF foods.

 

I'm excited FOR YOU!!! SFT is FANTASTIC, WELCOME!!!!!!!

[Marie_D 10]

Lynn - Thanks for your reply. That makes sense about the dressing - I wasn't looking at the ingredients, just assuming it had oil, but of course ff dressing would not. I would like to get my oil in by making salad dressing with it, though. Are there italian dressing mix packets that would be SF-approved, do you think?

[wwlynn 11]

Yes dressing mixes, soup mixes, those kinds of things are generally no count foods for SFT. You can also just mix your own spices in with oil and vinegar. IF you google I bet you'll find stuff.

[goddessRu 10]

Is Chipolte core? I was reading through some of the newbie FAQs and one of the links said this:

 

"I was in a big pinch for dinner at Chipotle so I ordered a 'Bol' (has no tortilla). They put a ton of lettuce on the bottom, then fajita veggies (spicy onions and peppers), then grilled chicken and a serving of guacamole (which they said had no added oil, just lime and lemon juice). Finally, I topped it with the fresh tomato salsa, which is more like a chopped salad than a sauce. It was delicious. "

I'm wondering if the other meats are core...

[wwlynn 11]

Personally, I would count points for unknown oils involved in cooking the chicken. A lot of those places, can't remember if Chipotle does or not, also squirt a whole bunch of dressing into the salad as they make it. As for other meats, I doubt it. It would have to be one of the filling foods CUTS of meat to begin with. You could ask what cut of meat it is (good luck with that!) and then I'd add some points for the oil used in cooking

[Marie_D 10]

What about fat free cream cheese - is that SF?

[wwlynn 11]

FF cream cheese and FF half and half are NOT filling foods.

[allison130 10]

I use Sugar Free hazelnut coffee creamer which only has 1 carb per tablespoon. Do I have to count the points for it? Also, if I have a healthy choice fudge bar which is one point then I just use my 35 weekly allowance? Lastly, Jolly time 94% ff butter popcorn is on the list of foods however, is the Jolly time 94% ff kettle corn okay also?

[wwlynn 11]

I use Sugar Free hazelnut coffee creamer which only has 1 carb per tablespoon. Do I have to count the points for it? Also, if I have a healthy choice fudge bar which is one point then I just use my 35 weekly allowance? Lastly, Jolly time 94% ff butter popcorn is on the list of foods however, is the Jolly time 94% ff kettle corn okay also?

 

Allison if there are any points in the coffee creamer, then count them from your WPA. Same thing with the fudge bar. It comes from your WPA (or AP). JOLLY TIME® 100 calorie healthy pop kettle corn, 94% fat free is marked as a filling food. You can also just add Splenda to a filling food popcorn.

[allison130 10]

Thanks Lynn!

[tanyacwebber 10]

My husband and I just started the SiFi technique after being on Flex for a year. We hit a plateau, but wanted to stay with the WW lifestyle, rather than switching to a different eating plan. So, we have MANY questions about the Simply Filling plan. Here are a few:

 

- My husband LOVES cereal for breakfast. But a 1/2 cup of Fiber One is not enough to satisfy him. Is he limited to just that amount??? Or can he have more than the serving size?

 

- Whole wheat bread - is that a core food? We like the Sara Lee bread that's only 45 calories a slice. We could always count it as a point, but if we can count it as core -- woo hoo, score!

 

- Barilla whole grain spaghetti - is this core? We have the 2009 Complete Food Companion book, and it isn't marked as a FF, but I'm wondering if that's an error. Not sure why it isn't filling...

 

- Couscous - accidentally bought the regular one, and not the whole wheat. Is it still core? I read a posting where a woman ate it on the core plan, and lost weight, but she didn't indicate whether it was whole wheat or not.

 

- Panko whole wheat crumbs - is this a core food? I'm guessing it's a newer food, and that's why it isn't in the book. I bought Ian's Panko breadcrumbs whole wheat style, and figured it would be core?

 

- Fat free cheese - Similar to the Fiber 1 question, are we allowed as much as we want, or is there a certain amount we can have. I can eat a cup throughout the day!

 

So, that's it for now! Thanks in advance for sharing your answers!!!

[wwlynn 11]

My husband and I just started the SiFi technique after being on Flex for a year. We hit a plateau, but wanted to stay with the WW lifestyle, rather than switching to a different eating plan. So, we have MANY questions about the Simply Filling plan. Here are a few:

 

- My husband LOVES cereal for breakfast. But a 1/2 cup of Fiber One is not enough to satisfy him. Is he limited to just that amount??? Or can he have more than the serving size?

 

- Whole wheat bread - is that a core food? We like the Sara Lee bread that's only 45 calories a slice. We could always count it as a point, but if we can count it as core -- woo hoo, score!

 

- Barilla whole grain spaghetti - is this core? We have the 2009 Complete Food Companion book, and it isn't marked as a FF, but I'm wondering if that's an error. Not sure why it isn't filling...

 

- Couscous - accidentally bought the regular one, and not the whole wheat. Is it still core? I read a posting where a woman ate it on the core plan, and lost weight, but she didn't indicate whether it was whole wheat or not.

 

- Panko whole wheat crumbs - is this a core food? I'm guessing it's a newer food, and that's why it isn't in the book. I bought Ian's Panko breadcrumbs whole wheat style, and figured it would be core?

 

- Fat free cheese - Similar to the Fiber 1 question, are we allowed as much as we want, or is there a certain amount we can have. I can eat a cup throughout the day!

 

So, that's it for now! Thanks in advance for sharing your answers!!!

 

Tanya, you might want to read through this whole thread, if you haven't, I believe you'll find a lot of answers to questions your have.

 

Fiber One is a filling food. No need to limit it at your one meal per day that cold cereal is limited to.

 

Bread is not a filling food. That is stated clearly in the materials.

 

Barilla Plus is not a filling food. 100% whole wheat pasta is. Also brown rice, kamut, rye. They have to be 100% whole grain.

 

Only whole wheat couscous is a filling food.

 

Panko whole wheat crumbs are also not a filling food.

 

Fat free cheese is a filling food. Eat it to satisfaction.

 

Please read, read, read, here (this thread and the board in general). It sounds like you don't quite have a grasp of the plan yet! But you will definitely find the answers here (and in your materials). It is a GREAT plan!

[emmabelle47 10]

Back when this plan first came out, there was a complete list of foods you could eat on this plan. I found this list but it was done in 2005. Is there an updated version of this list? I've been off track for about 2 years and need to jump back on and was hoping to find an updated version to get started with. Thanks!

[wwlynn 11]

http://www.weightwatchers.com/images/1033/dynamic/GCMSImages/FillingFoodList_US.pdf

 

This is the current list. The plan has not changed though. You should read the stickies at the top of the forum regarding semantic changes. Specifically, the FAQ thread with the changes for 2009.

[werforpsu 10]

Hi Everyone, I have hit a bit of a brick wall with my weight loss and have had a lot of problems tracking lately. my meeting leader recommended that anyone who is trying to work through a plateau, try Simply Filling for a week or 2, to help get on track and to jump start losses again.

 

I like the idea for short spurts at a time, especially during the summer when fresh fruits and veggies are all around and she said that you could go back and forth from week to week as you desired. since i have never done SiFi, I have a few questions and wanted to post them.

 

I know that you can have 1 Weight watchers smoothie a day and then you have to count. is this true for SF FF pudding as well or any other dairy products?

 

In my week 6 book when it explains simply filling, it mentions that teriyaki sauce is okay to use...does this mean store bought teriyaki sauce, because i like to marinade lean meat in it before grilling, but was concerned about adding points when doing SiFi.

 

If you make a pot of soup (for example) and it includes non SiFi ingredients, do you just add those totals together per serving or does the entire soup become points. an example would be if you made chicken noodle soup with non-whole wheat pasta. the pasta is the only item in the soup that is NOT SiFi, so would you measure your pasta and then divide it by the number of servings? another example is salad, if I put Parmesan cheese or croutons on a salad with greens and grilled chicken, do i then have to count the chicken since i made the meal not simply filling? I hope this question makes sense...

 

Thank you for your help, I really want to do well and this is nerve racking after being a tracker for so long.

[wwlynn 11]

Welcome Meghan!

 

Unless something is listed as limited, it is limited only by your satisfaction level. You can have as much sf/ff pudding per day as you need to feel satisfied (just note that no premade puddings are both sf and ff, so only homemade instant or cook n serve are ffs).

 

Purchased Teriyaki sauce is a no count food. You can marinade with it or whatever!

 

You can just count points for the non filling foods per serving. Personally, I would make chicken noodle soup with a filling foods noodle though...If the main ingredients or most ingredients are not filling foods just count points. In the salad example DEFINITELY only count points for the non filling foods added!

 

SFT is really quite SIMPLE! It seems to good to be true but it IS good! GREAT really!

[werforpsu 10]

thanks for the info...i could never do it every week, but i think it will be a nice thing to try every once in a while when i know i am going to be busy, but have control....i just love to munch on fruit!