Jul 3
1st Goal- 10% of my weight
I will be starting ww on Thursday July 5th, after the holiday. I can not afford to go to the meetings. I will try my hardest to do it on my own. I will also try to walk at least 3 times a week if not everyday. I live in a town that has a lake.. its approx. 3 miles to walk around it, lucky for me its just down the street from where I live.
 I am not the heaviest I have ever been but pretty close to it. I have not been doing much to change that in the last few months. I stepped on the scale the other morning and almost cried that’s when I know I need to do something. I am not engaged or anything yet, but when that day comes, I would like to be skinny for my wedding!!
 I have at least 40 lbs to lose. I will make my 1st goal 10% of my current weight, which means I have to lose 17 lbs. The hardest part for me is I work 2 jobs, and i don’t have time to cook.  I need to make myself get up earlier so I can get out for a walk in the morning before work. I work 9-5 in an office, sitting at a computer all day so I will have no problem Blogging!  My 2nd job is a convenience store clerk ( i work til 9 during the week and 10 on fri and sat), so it is very hard for me to not munch on junk, especially when I don’t have a home cooked meal to often. Any tips would greatly be appreciated! 
Good luck on the journey. I think the meetings offer a much-needed support, but understand your dilema. I presume you have all of the paperwork and stuff to start. The things you really should have are the quick reference guide. Most of the stuff they give us I read then put away, but the quick reference guide for basic foods I’m always looking up and carry in my purse. It’s the Eat Wisely week 1 book.
I tend to go with 1 of 4 breakfasts - all of them were in the book or a version of them. They are, 1C Yogurt, 1C Berries or fruit, 3Tbsp Granola (4pts); 1/3C Bran Buddies, 1/3C Granola, 1C LF Soy drink (5pts); Slushie with 1/2 banana, 1/2C LF Yogurt, 1/2C Juice, 1/2C Milk, 1Tbsp wheat germ, 1tsp buckwheat honey (5pts); Scambled egg w. LF Soy drink and frozen veggies, grilled tomatoe slices, 2 pieces WW toast, cheese or bacon (5pts). This was my most difficult meal as I tend to sleep in. These are 4 more breakfast menus than I used to eat, and I avoid the breakfast bars I used to buy.
I’m in Canada, and the PC Blue Menu items are great. The double-fruit jam is 0 pts for 1 Tbsp (enough to cover 2 slices of toast without using butter). I buy frozen veggies and fruit in large bags and bulk up things, such as frozen dinners, cereal, etc. The fruit will cost 1pt/cup, but it’s so filling. Eating too many veggies may not leave enough room to get all of your daily points in, so you may want to limit ‘free’ foods to 5/day.
If you’re waiting for supper and need something to get you through 1-2 hours, try a few cracker with some cheese. It may be a few points, but you get the protein and energy you need while satisfying your hunger.
Finally, drink all of your water, especially if you’re retaining fluid. Good luck.
Candace
Can you cook on the weekends and make your own frozen meals? I love eating leftovers all week!
I actually have a very messed up schedule. I work on the weekends as well. I dont have time to do anything… I need to become a morning person again like I used to be! Anyway a typical week for me is
MON- work 9-5 then softball
TUE- work 9-5 & 5-9
WED- work 9-5 then cleaning my grandmothers house.. she passed away in oct and we just put the house on the market so i have to work at getting that cleaned out.
THUR- work 9-5 & 5-9
FRI- work 9-5 & 5-10
SAT- work 9-2 & 2-10
SUN-usually sleep in , then go to the groc store then work 12-8
Candace-
The only material I have is the points calculator. I ordered 3 WW cook books the other day that should be here sometime next week. I was thinking about just going to the meetings for a month.. I think I can spare $50 bucks… I just dont want to. I bought a house almost a year ago, and things are a bit tight.
I’m super busy too (at least during the school year) and I spend about one day a month making a ton of food and freezing it. It’s awesome to pull it out of the fridge, nuke it, and presto you have a great meal! I’ll be working on posting as many recipes for freezing as I can on my blog! Good luck! You can do it!
The program is definitely do-able without going to meetings. There are enough resources online that a person who doesn’t need the weekly weigh-ins and support can certainly figure out how to safely lose the weight WW style. As for your on-the-go lifestyle, you may have to set aside an hour or two a week after a grocery shop to pre-package your fruits, veggies, and grains so you can just grab and run. Trader Jo’s has been great for me, as I buy the individual packs of almonds, fruit leather, string cheese, 100-calorie packs, and frozen goods. The crock pot is your friend, too…..before you go to bed at night, just throw everything in and let it cook. Fix It & Forget It Lightly has some good recipes– you can get the book on Half.com for pennies used. Good luck with the program! You can do it, you just need to FIND the extra 1/2 hour or hour to prepare your week and make sure you can stay on track.
I understand that, but if you have a portable points calculator you should be able to work from there. At the first meeting you really do get the most important stuff and can pick up the ‘Beginner’ package that has a 3-month journal.
Keep us posted.
I am also doing WW from home without attending meetings (granted, I did join a few years ago, so I do have the old booklets and points finder.) Good luck in your journey. I live close to a lake as well and always love my morning walks around it in the morning!