Biggest Problem You Face As A Single On Ww?

[SAANN]

Hello fellow singles!!!

This is my 3rd time on WW over the past 30+ years, but my first time as a single. I've already seen both pros & cons to staying OP and was wondering what pitfalls other singles have faced and how best to overcome them? For example, I LOVE the WW and other brand frozen dinners....points already counted and serving sizes already measured....but on the rare occasions I do cook, the leftovers are a real temptation for me to overindulge! I try to send most the food home with my guests, but that doesn't always happen.

Any insights and tips to staying OP would be greatly appreciated.

Also, I noticed LOTS of introductions on this site but very few new threads started. I don't know if people just move on to other boards or what, but I'm hoping we can get more activity going for those of us single folks!

S(an) A(ntonio) ANN

SW 2/14/05 160.6
CW 5/16/05 144.6
PGW 135

[ThegirlinSeattle]

I often eat out with friends or boyfriend and that makes is harder to keep on points.

I try to eat more salads and use my knowledge to make smart choices and if I really want something, half it!

Aditi

[travelingop]

Ann,

I have tried WW a number of times... been successful to then put it all back on. This time I am so committed that you will have shoot be before I would quit.

I am single as well and I also travel extensively with with work, which make staying OP that much more challenging. Suggestions that I have for cooking for one(even though, we like to eat for 2 or 3 sometimes:-) )

1. Make the 0 point Veggie soup. You can eat that until your heart is content. I make bunch and eat it a lunch etc. If you need the recipe let me know.
2. If you make a larger meal, before you serve yourself, freeze what you aren't going to eat right away, dividing it up into smaller more reasonable portions.
3. Drink lots of water during dinner/lunch etc. That will fill you up.. or at least make you think you are full.
4. I would also set mini goals for yourself.. for me.. exercise has been a Huge part.. and I have decided to run a 1/2 marathon in Dec. .. so looking at my weight loss as a long term thing.. not just today or this week.
5. Use a WW cookbook. It calculates everything for you and I have found everything very tasty.

I am sure you know most of things that I told you.. Everyone told me too..Sometimes you just need to hear it again and again.

Great Job for getting back on program.. Keep up the great work!
Elizabeth

[SAANN]

Aditi & Elizabeth -

Thanks for the input! I acutally love salads and the 0 point veggie soup has been one of my favorites since I discovered it on a "crash" diet a few years ago! (About the only good thing about that diet!!) And taking 1/2 portions or freezing dishes in smaller portions sounds like a perfect way to remove the tempations of seeing all that food just sittin' there 'weighting' :clown: to be eaten.

I really have problems with motivating myself to drink all the water and do the exercises. I envy you, Elizabeth, for your self-discipline. My problems are not so much when I travel, but more when I'm home alone and just feel like emptying the fridge at one sitting!

Again, thanks for the input and encouragement!

Ann

[travelingop]

Ann,
Well, you have the support now that you need BCB. I would be happy to be your cheerleader as well. I am sure there will be times when I need that extra push as well.
Weight loss this time has been more challenging because I travel 90% with my job, but I can't let my job determine the way I look, so I have to make the best of it.
As far as the excercise is concerned and the water.. just take baby steps.. if you can't drink all the water.. drink some.. If you aren't into hard core excericse.. go for a walk with a friend or just park your car further away from the entrance to the store. We all had to start somewhere.. You can do it, I know can!!

Elizabeth

[manx]

Take the leftovers and just like a tv dinner, separate them on several sturdy paper plates or you can get the plastic ones and freeze them right away. That way they won't be in the fridge to tempt you to just take a bite here or there. I will cook more on the weekends and do that so I still have my homemade dinner during the week (without the mess of cleaning up)!!! And better yet, by making it homemade you can be assured of what is in it.

[GotThatFIre]

SAAN:

I think I hold the record or joining and rejoining WW since 1992 :) . I've lost count, but very much like travelingop, someone would have to hold me hostage from now for me to stop before reaching goal this time.

You asked what pitfalls others have...my main pitfall is the opposite of yours, which is not cooking. I don't like to have the frozen meals for lunch, when I usually do have them, and for dinner as well. I just get tired of them easily when I have them for both meals and then start to drift program-wise. So my path to success means planning and cooking.

In ref to tips, in addition to what everyone else has told you, I would decide ahead how much I want to have leftover and cook accordingly, especially since you know that you won't be able to give all that's usually left over to your guests. I'd cook enough for us to eat only or enough to send the usual amount of take home and maybe one leftover meal for me.

GTF

[ThegirlinSeattle]

Also, perhaps gets a sectioned plate and mark

Dinner Tues
Lunch Thurs.

etc to help with that!

Aditi

[ashlee]

I have a sectioned plate - 3 sections - to it. I often use it. Half the plate is one section (veggies/salad), then one section for protein and one for carbs - smaller.

Ashlee :walking:

[infinitereverie]

I think the biggest problem I've faced as someone who is "single" and on WW (granted I'm only 19, and I have plenty of time to find someone... but still. I'm without a significant other)... is not exercise or food related. It's more in my attitude and my motivation. It is so easy for me to see weight loss as a way to make myself appealing to men... often when I visualize myself after reaching my goal I picture myself at a club wearing hot jeans, a pretty halter tops that shows off my shoulders and back, and heels... and this makes me feel sexy. It does motivate me, don't get me wrong. But I want to be sure I'm not just doing this so that guys will look at me.

[candyb_21]

The one thing i hate food wise, i love to cook but most recpies are servings from 3-12. I'm one person, and i hate frezzing food i like it freshly cooked. But my WW instructer brought in a book called cooking for 2 so it gives you only 2 servings. I thought that was great.

Candy:kiss:

[Jazzz56]

It does motivate me, don't get me wrong. But I want to be sure I'm not just doing this so that guys will look at me.
I'd say use that motivation. Just the fact that you're asking that question of yourself shows that you are really doing it for more than just having guys notice you. But if that thought is what motivates you, focus on it. Feed on it. And I know when you reach your goal you'll realize your not nearly as shallow as that, and you'll have the benefit of a healthy body AND any male attention that might come along.

I'm a former WW leader, trying to find my way again, and that's the advice I used to give my members. Use whatever you need to to motivate yourself. We don't all have to have the noble thought that "I want to be healthy for _______ (fill in the blank)." If your motivation is to show up the snarky witch that stole your guy, use that. If it's to fit into the midriff-baring fashions that everyone's wearing now, use THAT. You'll still have the healthy body.

[IceFae]

The one thing i hate food wise, i love to cook but most recpies are servings from 3-12. I'm one person, and i hate frezzing food i like it freshly cooked. But my WW instructer brought in a book called cooking for 2 so it gives you only 2 servings. I thought that was great.

Candy:kiss:
Thats my biggest problem too. I have been looking at the mexican recipes on this site - most of them are for 6-12 servings. Even if I did freeze the left overs I certainly wouldn't want it 12 times within any reasonable time period. And dont want to fill my freezer with leftovers. Likewise a lot of the mexican food would not freeze well.:sobbing:

[AmyLynn]

My biggest problem is dating. After all this time dining out and making healthy point friendly food choices isn't difficult so the food thing isn't really an issue. I've pretty much stopped drinking because I don't want to use my points for alcohol. The hardest thing is the intimacy issue... getting naked and looking like a Shar pei puppy (or a 90 year old woman). I look great in clothes but after losing more then 140 pounds the skin is just hanging. I hate it and feel like a freak. I hope to eventually have cosmetic surgery done but I'm not quite ready to deal with the pain and scarring. I'm so afraid with the long recuperation period and not being able to exercise at the level I do now that I'll gain weight, and that would be disasterous. I've probably got about 20 pounds of skin hanging off my well toned muscles. It's very sad, but I guess it's the price I have to pay for allowing myself to get as big as I was. I've worked so hard and so long to get this weight off this time that it just doesn't seem fair to have to deal with this.

[R1 GIRL]

Hi everybody, I don't post up a heck of a lot but thought I might in this thread. Being single and staying OP is certainly challenging but I think it has its pros and cons, just as everything does in life. I find that I do go out with friends more while single, which leads to more drinking... don't want to waste those precious points on alcohol so what is a girl to do? Also, dates... you go out for dinner. I don't want to be known as the lady that always orders salads, haha, nor do I want to eat a salad in a nice restaurant anyway!! I try to save my flex points for those occasions AND make sure I work out that day also to gain a few more activity points also. Being from Canada, we don't have as much variety of WW products as you do in the US, so I use the cook books a bit and Lean Cuisine frozen dinners for lunches.

The Pros... seeing myself losing weight and knowing what I looked like before (down 13 lbs), I feel good about myself and know that I am prettier and smiling more, therefore more likely to attract a handsome man. :D

[ashlee]

Keep your mind occupied, then it won't be thinking about food.

I cook all the time. Very seldom eat out for meals.

One point chili
baked oatmeal
Zero pt. veggy soup
Broccoli soup
Various salads
Stirfrys are great too - just put in veggies/add your meat

A lot of these things can be frozen (chili/veg soup) in individual servings and just taken out as you need them.

Lot of the "dinners" ready made have a lot of sodium in them so I eat very few of them.

Found some new flavours in Source yogurt - lemon meringue (sp), raspberry crumble, etc. - 2 pts.

Ashlee

[kimmibear]

i love to cook, but with my work schedule, i can't slave in the kitchen during the week. one thing i did was go to a place called let's dish and split the meals with a friend. the ww points are posted and the portions they dish out are huge. i split what they consider 3 portions into at least 4. anyway the dishes are very quick to make, so i can have non-preservative filled good food fast (20 min to 45 min) and all the prep is done and it's portioned. if i don't do that, then i cook a few big meals on the weekends and portion and freeze them. i gotta keep it pre-portioned right now.