I'd like a little more information on protein shakes and powder... i've been hearing about people drinking them to help lose weight. So can anyone give me a little more information on them, and where to buy them?



Currently i'm on weight watchers and have lost 86.5lbs, and i have 101 more to go. I'm currently stuck on a plateau that i've been at for basically 6 months now.



I have eggs just about every day and always have a meat for dinner.... but i'm never really sure if i'm getting enough protein in a day. I know i get my fiber in, plus more... but just not sure about protein. So i don't know if maybe these shakes or powders will help.



Thanks in advance!

mmmmmmm I love that soup!!! So i'm going to have to try that. Thanks for posting!!!!

Do you know off hand how many points that crockpot breakfast is???? That sounds really really good!!!



Nevermind.... i'm dumb.

Andrea -



I've heard that quote a lot, but i have one problem with it that someone else brought up. I never thought about it till she said something.



I bet you're right. But, i've never been thin/slim. So i don't know what it feels like. I'm going to find out though!!!! And once i find out what thin/slim feels like, i'll be sure to use that quote often.

I really like the Wendie Plan because i also have a hard time eating the amount of points they give me, and never once touched my flex points. On my higher days i'd treat myself to real eggs in the morning instead of egg whites, guacamole with my baby carrots and almonds before my workout. So i agree with Kat, high calorie health foods.

1 pt. Chocolate Cake



Servings | 12

Estimated POINTS® value per serving | 1

Course | Cakes



Ingredients



1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa

3 items egg white(s)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 3/4 cup McNeil Nutritionals SPLENDA No Calorie Sweetener

4 Tbsp Musselman's Natural Unsweetened Apple Sauce

12 fl oz Coca-Cola Diet Coke

3/4 cup water hot

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp table salt



Instructions





Grease 9X13 pan. Mix all dry ingredients together. Then all wet except for 3/4 cup hot water. Then add together and slowly stir in hot water. Do not over mix. Batter will be super thin. Bake at 350 for about 20-25 mins. or until toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for 10 mins. then cut into 12 pieces. Each piece= 1 point!!!



Special Notes





This favorite recipe of mine has been put through the recipe builder several times. I realized that those dry cake mixes are 3-4 points per slice so I created a way to enjoy a Super Chocolately moist cake that is truly decadent, it feels like cheating. Enjoy!!!

Peanut Better Cups



Servings | 12

Estimated POINTS® value per serving | 1

Course | Snacks





Ingredients



1 8-oz. container Cool Whip Free

1/3 cup Better ‘n Peanut Butter, Regular Creamy

4 tbsp. Hershey’s Syrup, Sugar Free



Instructions





Line a 24-mini cupcake pan with mini cupcake holders, or spray pan with nonstick spray. Using a whisk, combine one cup of Cool Whip Free with Better 'n Peanut Butter. Fold in remaining Cool Whip. Pour the mixture into cupcake tin evenly Top each cup with a dollop of sugar-free chocolate syrup. Freeze. Enjoy. Yields 24 Peanut Butter Cups, you can have 2 per serving.











Other



They don't make the Better N' Peanut Butter where i live, so i use a peanut butter dip. It's 1 8oz package of FF Cream Cheese, 2 TBSP Peanut Butter, 1/4c Splenda.... mix it all together.

Core Crock Pot Stuffed Peppers





Flex POINTS® Value: 3

Servings: 6

Preparation Time: 20 min

Cooking Time: 6-8 hours

Level of Difficulty: Easy







INGREDIENTS



6 green peppers

1 pound 95/5 ground beef

1/3 cup uncooked brown rice

1 onion, grated

salt and pepper

oregano

parsley

garlic

basil

chili powder

1 cup tomato sauce

1 cup water



INSTRUCTIONS



Cut the top off and remove seeds from peppers. Combine beef, rice, onion and seasonings.



Stuff each pepper about 2/3 full. Stand the peppers side-by-side in the slow cooker (you can stack them if you have to).



Combine tomato sauce and water and pour over the peppers: (I haven't tried it, but you could probably use 2 cups of salsa instead of the sauce and water).



Cook on low for 6-8 hours. If desired, heat more sauce to serve with the peppers.

Core Taco Soup



Flex POINTS® Value: 2 (for 1 cup)

Servings: 12-14





Ingredients



1 lb ground beef, browned and rinsed (to remove all fat)

1 large onion, chopped

2 (16 ounce) cans chopped tomatoes

3 (16 ounce) cans Mexican style pinto beans, undrained

1 (16 ounce) can corn, undrained

1 (4 1/2 ounce) can chopped green chilies

1 (15 ounce) can rotel

1 1/2 cups water

1 (1 1/4 ounce) envelope taco seasoning mix

1 (1 ounce) envelope ranch dressing mix



Additional Ingredients if desired (will add more point value): FF Cheddar Cheese and/or FF Sour Cream



Instructions



Cook the beef and onion, drain and rinse.

Add the other ingredients and simmer until hot, giving time for flavors to blend.

What's your favorite WW Recipe???? Post it here!!!!

Ok, so we have one of the biggest number of groups in here. But yet, nobody really talks. Lets talk people!!!!



Someone start a conversation and let see if we can get this group talking.



Don't be afraid to start a topic!

Well i did switch.... and lost 5 pounds the first week!!!!! Which is very exciting, especially since i've been on this plateau of mine for about 12 weeks now.

I have a lot of weight to lose. I've already lost ~80lbs, and want to lose about 150lbs more.



Now, i thought, that since i was young and active that my skins elacticity wouldn't be a problem and it would just go back to form. Well, i just started to notice a little bit of loose skin under my arms. Is there anything that can help me, like weight training, so i don't have to worry about getting this medically removed later?



I should be happy that it's only a little, but i want to nip this in the butt now if i can!

After a few weeks of debating, i've made up my mind. I am switching to Core for a little while. How little? Not sure, maybe a month or two, maybe longer if i like it.



So, you Core people... tips, favorite foods, etc. Let me hear it!!

OH no i am i late?



No change from last week anyways.

Original Wt: 310

Week 1 Wt: 308

Week 2 Wt: 308

Starting Challenge Weight: 310

New weight: 308

Lost 2lbs or or .6% (ewe, that's it?)

First of all, thanks everyone!!! I've kind of hit a little slump since the holidays, but i'm trying really hard to get back into the swing of things!





I work out 4 days a week, and i mainly go for 45 - 60 minutes on the eliptical. I work towards my heart rate, about 125-130 BPM. I also try to walk, at the very least, a mile per day. Which is not a lot, but for me it is.

I'll put this in now, cause i might forget. I'm going to be busy the next few days. Starting Challenge Weight is 310lbs, and i am 5'6".

YAY! I'm glad i decided to look on here today before the challenge started!

Oh i'm not saying the WW way doesn't work... i'm just saying that this way helps me. I was never one for using my flex points. I was always too scared. I was afraid that if i started to go over my points, i'd go over by more, and more and more and before i knew it i'd be out of the extra flex points. I found that i needed to eat my flex points in order to lose the weight. So this gave me that scheduled without going over points.

Oh that's a good idea Aaron. Thanks!!!

Congrats!!!! Isn't it strange how the little rewards you get from WW makes you feel so good! Where did you put it? All 3 of mine are proudly on my fridge!

What has been some of your favorite things about WW? Please share! It doesn't matter if you go to meetings, do the online version, at home or on your own. Please share!!

No i'm not. It's a regulated way to use your flex points. It's for people like me, who is always afraid to use their flex points. I used to stick exactly to my points per day and that's it. I would not even think about touching the extra 35 a week.



But when i picked this up, i started losing weight a little faster because i was eating more. Without the Wendie Plan i'm still very afraid to dip into my flex.

The Wendie Plan is very simple. You follow a simple plan of eating. You eat your regular foods that you have on WW. You work within your point range. You drink the water, get some exercise, etc., etc., etc. What is different? You alternate the amount of points you use each day. What could be more simple?



Why does "The Wendie Plan" work?

Your body has this wonderful little thermostat inside of it. It regulates everything you do. If you feed it lots of food, it turns the thermostat up and burns it as efficiently as possible. This is why you have been able to eat as much fast food before WW and didn't gain the amount of weight that you should have. Your body became more efficient and was able to burn off much of the excess amount of calories. Otherwise, with the amount of food we porked in pre-WW, we should have been gaining 2-3 pounds per day!



When you go on a "diet" where you dramatically decrease the amount of calories that you consume, your body thinks "Oh-oh, we're going to starve to death here" and immediately turns the thermostat down to conserve energy. After all, your body will do whatever it has to do to ensure that you stay alive. It doesn't know that you don't want to carry those extra pounds around. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to convince my body that I really do want to shed those extra pounds through talking to it.



That is where The Wendie Plan comes in. If I can't get my body to shed the extra pounds by talking to it, then I have to trick it in to letting them go! The Wendie Plan is the trick.



If you are on WW, or even just counting calories, and you stick with a set amount of calories per day, such as 1400 or say, 27 points per day, your body will adjust to that. It will become extremely efficient at using just the amount of calories (energy) that you are giving it. You may lose fairly well at first, but after the first week or so, you will find that your losses may slow ... way... down, and even stop. Isn't it nice to have such an energy efficient body? However, the body isn't extremely fast. If you give it the same amount of food every day, it will adjust itself. But if you change the amount of food it gets every day, it doesn't have time to adjust itself! Which means on that day that you eat 10 points over your highest, it tries to adjust by turning up your thermostat, but it is unable to turn it down for the low points the next day. What you are doing, in essence, is keeping your body guessing. It doesn't have time to adjust the thermostat down, before it needs to turn it back up. What eventually happens is your body will never again feel as though it is going to starve to death, and it will never again try to shut down the thermostat, so you will continue to lose at a more rapid loss. This also means fewer plateaus.









POINTS TARGET - 20 (Weigh Less than 150 lbs)



Day 1 - 20 points

Day 2 - 25 points

Day 3 - 21 points

Day 4 - 35 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 20 points

Day 6 - 24 points

Day 7 - 22 points





POINTS TARGET - 22 (Weigh 150 -174 lbs)



Day 1 - 22 points

Day 2 - 27 points

Day 3 - 23 points

Day 4 - 37 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 22 points

Day 6 - 26 points

Day 7 - 24 points





POINTS TARGET - 24 (Weigh 175 - 199 lbs)



Day 1 - 24 points

Day 2 - 29 points

Day 3 - 25 points

Day 4 - 39 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 24 points

Day 6 - 28 points

Day 7 - 26 points





POINTS TARGET - 26 (Weigh 200 - 224 lbs)



Day 1 - 26 points

Day 2 - 31 points

Day 3 - 27 points

Day 4 - 41 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 26 points

Day 6 - 30 points

Day 7 - 28 points





POINTS TARGET - 28 (Weigh 225 - 249 lbs)



Day 1 - 28 points

Day 2 - 33 points

Day 3 - 29 points

Day 4 - 43 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 28 points

Day 6 - 32 points

Day 7 - 30 points





POINTS TARGET - 30 (Weigh 250 - 274 lbs)



Day 1 - 30 points

Day 2 - 35 points

Day 3 - 31 points

Day 4 - 45 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 30 points

Day 6 - 34 points

Day 7 - 32 points





POINTS TARGET - 31 (Weigh 275 - 299 lbs)



Day 1 - 31 points

Day 2 - 36 points

Day 3 - 32 points

Day 4 - 46 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 31 points

Day 6 - 35 points

Day 7 - 33 points





POINTS TARGET - 32 (Weigh 300 - 324 lbs)



Day 1 - 32 points

Day 2 - 37 points

Day 3 - 33 points

Day 4 - 47 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 32 points

Day 6 - 36 points

Day 7 - 34 points





POINTS TARGET - 33 (Weigh 325 - 349 lbs)



Day 1 - 33 points

Day 2 - 38 points

Day 3 - 34 points

Day 4 - 48 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 33 points

Day 6 - 37 points

Day 7 - 35 points





POINTS TARGET - 34 (Weigh more than 350 lbs)



Day 1 - 34 points

Day 2 - 39 points

Day 3 - 35 points

Day 4 - 49 points Super High Day (SHD)

Day 5 - 34 points

Day 6 - 38 points

Day 7 - 36 points

Wow everyone is doing great! I'm a flexer also. That whole "eat till your satisfied" thing with the core scares me. I don't have control of myself yet to be able to do that. Maybe someday waaay down the line, but now right now.



I've been doing the Wendie Plan every now and then, that seems to help a lot too. I just need to stay in the structure of sticking to the points with that one.





Write down everything you eat. I share mine on a journal at http://stephisonadiet.livejournal.com. So that way i'm not the only one seeing what i eat, so i'm more likely to eat things that are better for me. I get nervous if other people see that i'm eating unhealthy.



Activity! I don't push myself, i work on heart rate which works very well with me. I aim for 120-130, and that speed isn't too bad. I used to only be able to do 30 minuets on my elliptical at 150-160 HR. But now i can go for 60 minutes or more at 120-130 HR.

Which one are you doing?

Oh thank you thank you thank you. I've been looking for information on this for awhile, and then it dawned on me. Check traineo!



I got a heart rate monitor for my birthday and i've been noticing the little scale on the machines where i work out.



Do you think it's better to switch on and off working at a higher heart rate one day, and then to a lower one the next day? Or if my main goal right now is weight loss, should i always work out at the lower heart rate?

My last pictures were from when i lost 41.5lbs.... these current pics are from 59.5lbs lost. I'm currently at 67lbs lost. I'll take my next pictures at 75lbs lost.