ProPoints

So today was my first day tracking ProPoints on the new system. Most of my saved recipes didn't convert, but since I didn't have too many of them I just deleted them. I figure that I will learn more about the new plan by entering and calculating recipes again and let's face it, I hardly ever cook the same thing more than once, and never exactly the same way.

So, how do I feel about the new plan? Mostly I'm feeling positive about it. I really get the feeling that it is based in true and current scientific research on weight loss. I think that there is still more for me to learn about how a body processes and uses different kinds of foods and I think that by learning the new plan I will learn the best things for my body.

I love that fruit has moved to point free! But I can't help but think this is cheating somehow :)

I'm worried that it will be too hard for me to adjust to the new points calculation after so long on the old points program. All my built in estimation I have developed is now out the window and so I kinda feel like I'm starting from square one. I think this will be the kick up the butt I need to start the next phase of weight loss off right. At least I am determined to take it that way!

I really like the idea of weekly points, especially compared to points borrowing which I never managed to do honestly :P I think it will help me see occasional treats as good and normal not as failures or weakness.

My online tracker did not convert seemlessly which is a dissapointment as I mentioned. The database has changed in more than just the points values - they've changed some of the entries. For example, I had chicken stock cubes in one recipe and the database now has it listed as 'stock cubes, chicken' or something and I would have had to go through and find all those things myself. How annoying.

I'm feeling a little sceptical that WW are just out to get more of my money (but that's silly - so far the fees haven't changed:) Maybe there were too many knock offs available on the market. But, truth is its probably more accurate. I had found that sometimes I was staying within my points and still not loosing weight. It seemed to matter HOW I spent the points as well, so maybe the new plan has accounted for this.

Will it change my eating habits? I think so. Take breakfast for example, my cereal is still the same, which is good, oatmeal seems to have gone down ?! thats cool. But my occasional comfort breakfast of french toast and maple syrup will now cost me a lot more points that it did before. Hmmm, maybe I'll have to use weekly points for that one, maybe that's a plan.

Anyway, how are the rest of you finding ProPoints? I kinda wish I could go to a meeting and get a bit of a presentation on it, but such is life...

PS. I hear theres an iPhone app for this one? Should check that out.

hypnosis for weight loss

A while back I was reading on the WW message boards and someone mentioned a weight loss hypnosis program with the comment: "what can it hurt?". Initially my reaction was something along the lines of "that silly girl, weight loss is gonna take more work than she thinks it will", and if what your looking for is a quick fix hypnosis not going to help. But the more I thought about it, the more I began to realise how hopeless people must feel when they don't have God to turn too, or have forgotten they can, or are not willing to. Because just like anything in life, there is a spiritual dynamic to weight loss too. We are spiritual beings, and we search for spiritual significance in everything we do. I think generally, people are aware of this again in our day. Which is why personally, I think there is potential danger in hypnosis for weight loss. Think about it this way, you are turning over control of your eating habits to an unknown entity, or spiritual reality. Its the spiritual equivilent of opening your front door to strangers. It can hurt. But more to the point - weight loss success will have more to do with learning to control yourself and your food habits than handing over control to someone else. Along these lines, there is a verse in the new testament where 'self-control' is listed among the fruits of the Holy Spirit of God. What this means is when I relinquish control of my life to God I don't become a puppet, because one of his purposes in my life is to help teach me and give me self-control. So, unlike hypnosis, turning to God the creator will not mean giving up control, but rather gaining it. And, you can know the God who you are turning to, he's done everything nessisary so we can approach him directly, so unlike hypnosis, you are not relating to an unknown spiritual reality, but a loving, caring Father. And there's one other advantage. If God created our bodies then he knows exactly how they run the best, so there is no one better to ask for weight loss advice.