I'm such a loser! And that's a good thing!

When it comes to weight loss, a lot of people only stop at counting calories. I can't knock this practice, because obviously it works. But because of my experiences with Weight Watchers, I firmly believe that calories are not the only thing you should consider. If a food is high in fat, but has very few calories, you're not doing yourself any favors.

As a Weight Watchers member, I've learned a lot of helpful tips that should have been as obvious as a Robert Pattinson's decision to ditch Kristen Stewart in response to her "momentary indiscretion." (BOOM.) Per WW's advice, I have made a significant effort to drink more water. I read in multiple articles that if you drink a glass of water about 30 minutes before each meal, you will not only eat less, but it helps your body break down the food. Also, thirst is commonly confused for hunger, and water can be incredibly filling. But if you're a crazypants like some people I've met and you don't like water, there are other options. Black coffee, diet sodas, or a bouillon cube dissolved in one cup of water are all appetite suppressants worth zero points. My mom and I also really like Ice.

A concept that I struggled with for the first 10 weeks is WWs' claim that you can eat whatever you want. But let us consider the following scenario: you could either eat 6 McDonald's Chicken McNuggets for 7 points, or you could eat 7 ounces of a boneless, skinless chicken breast. Seems reasonable, right? It's 7 points either way. But when you consider the way Points Plus Values (PPVs) are calculated—the PPVs increase the higher the fat, carbs, and protein are—it really doesn't make any sense that you should be eating McNuggets over a grilled chicken breast. With McNuggets, your 7 points are fat and protein, and with the chicken breast, your points are mainly protein, making the chicken breast the healthier choice. The chicken breast will also satisfy you much longer because it takes your body more time to process protein than it does carbs. Also, you get way more food with a 7 ounce chicken breast than 6 McNuggets. (And just to cover my ass, I am by no means trying to bring down McD's. I used to work there, and I love their food. In fact, I love their food so much that I can guarantee I wouldn't be as heavy as I am had I made healthy choices during my 2.5 years as their employee.)

A hearty "mmm" to both.

I'm really not trying to argue that the WW's slogan of "you can eat anything you like" is misleading. Quite the contrary, I'm pointing out exactly what WW has taught me to realize through this motto. You can absolutely eat anything you want, but they just want you to make smart choices. If you decide to have a WW-friendly meal, you can indulge in a HUGE plate for about 12 points (think corn on the cob, chicken or steak, a vegetable of your choice, and a side salad with light dressing). But if you know you want to splurge, I would suggest you save your weekly points (you get 49 extra points per week) and control your portion sizes when that moment comes. Take the time to read labels, and be cognizant of the food you're putting in your mouth, and you can't go wrong.

Hi, my name is Death von Temptation. I live at Dairy Queen, and while I am probably the most delicious thing on earth, I’m worth 37 points, which is 76% of your weekly points. Don’t I seem so much less tempting when you realize what else you could have eaten if you'd ordered a small?

Shall we take a moment to elaborate on what I mean by "cognizant of the food you're putting in your mouth?" I heard a story at one of my WW meetings that made me face-palm, even though I was new to the program. One of the members had decided to go out to eat at Portillo's, an American-style restaurant in Illinois. Portillo's has an amazing chopped salad, which sounds like a great choice because lettuce, tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions are free of points. Even icky celery is free. But the ditalini pasta, bacon, and Gorgonzola cheese are a lot of points, not to mention Portillo's super fatty housemade dressing. The salad is huge, though, so I'm sure you could get away with eating half of it and not completely slaughter your points for the day. Like I said, just pay attention to the foods you're eating, because buzzwords like "diet" or "light" or "100 calories" aren't synonymous with low point values.

And now to be very, very clear. I would suggest WW to anyone who is down on themselves and completely at a loss on how to get started. I started WW in May, and I've lost a total of 15 pounds (which could have been more had I dug my heels in and stuck to the program the entire 3 months). However, I only follow the program and weigh in on the same day every week. I do not stick around for the meetings. For some reason it just doesn't do it for me to have everyone clap for my success. While I appreciate the sentiment, it doesn't motivate me. In lieu of meetings, I surf the web site. The WW site has everything you need if you're willing to take the time to sort through recipes, advice columns, and success stories. With the web site, you have endless meetings at your fingertips. And when you go to weigh in, they will give you a weekly pamphlet that is totally worth the whopping 5 minutes it takes to read, and it pretty well sums up the meeting highlights.

If you do start the program, my main suggestions are: 1. Track every single point that goes in your mouth, and 2. Do not quit. A lot of people think that with the knowledge they gain about making smart choices and counting PPVs, they can stop spending the money and do it on their own. I have heard so many stories about how this theory fails. Every. Single. Time. I'm not exactly sure why this is, but considering the weight I've lost while on the program, I'm really not in an experimental mood. My guess is that is has something to do with the fact that you're spending money every month. It would be a huge waste to spend $50 per month and not benefit, so that keeps me motivated. (Keep in mind that this is way less than you would be spending on any other weight loss program.)

Track like crazy, stick with the program, and make smart choices! Ironically, by posting this blog I have made a very poor choice. I should have chosen something other than the turtle pecan cluster to pick on.

You can be done reading here, but if you want

suggestions about good foods to eat, keep reading.

For those of you who are like me and you can't stand handling food unless it's on its way to your mouth, here are some quick and easy ideas on how to feed yourself, no pans or ovens involved. (And for those of you who like to cook, the Weight Watchers web site has a tremendous amount of recipe ideas, and most of them look delicious.)

Taco Bell has a Fresco Menu. I order 3 grilled steak soft tacos "fresco style," and that is only 11 points... but whenever I eat out, I add a 1- or 2-point buffer. You can get hard or soft shell, with steak, chicken or ground meat, but you do have to specify "fresco style." It's delicious.

Jimmy John's has the Unwich. You can get any sandwich on the menu as an Unwich, which means they remove the bread and wrap your sub in lettuce instead. A Turkey Tom, Pepe or Big John unwich will cost you  2 whole points. The Thinny chips will cost you 3.5 points per ounce, and there are 2 ounces per serving. But with a 2-point sub, you can probably spend the 7 points on the bag of chips if you want them, like I would. And pickles are free of points, so consider those too!

And even though I might have spoken against McD's earlier, they still have options. The 10-piece McNugget is 13 points, which is good for a lunch or dinner if you ate lightly during other meals, or skipped snacks. The Big Mac (without Big Mac sauce) is 12 points (14 points with the sauce), and the Quarter Pounder without cheese is 11 points. Their fruit and maple oatmeal is 7 points, which is a great breakfast or dinner idea.

Don't forget about Weight Watchers endorsed products like Smart Ones, Lean Cuisines, Lean Pockets, and Healthy Choice, just to name a few of the more popular brands. If you are craving Chinese food or pizza, they have a crap-ton of choices to satisfy you. Lean Pockets have pizza varieties that are 6 or 7 points, and I've eaten plenty of delicious Healthy Choice Steamers meals for 8 points to kick my craving for Chinese food. There are also individual serving thin crust pizzas out there for 8 or 9 points, depending on if you get just cheese, pepperoni, or margarita.

Also, Skinny Cow is a godsend. They have a Heavenly Crisp bar that, granted, is not at all filling, but holy buckets is it the most delicious chocolate bar I've ever had for 3 points. As opposed to a Hershey's bar, which will cost you 6 points, and I just think Hershey's isn't as good anyway. There are other things too, like Special K Pastry Crisps, worth 3 points for 2 crisps.

Progresso Light makes a MEAN clam chowder, and they have a ton of other varieties as well. Each serving is 2 points, and there are 2 servings per can. You can have a huge bowl of soup for 4 points!

If you like eggs for breakfast, I would suggest using refrigerated eggwhite substitute. Eggs themselves are actually kind of high in PPVs (I think 2 points per egg), but 3/4 of a cup of refrigerated substitute is 1 point. That's plenty for an egg, canadian bacon, and (1/2 slice of) cheese on an english muffin in the morning.

At work, I like to snack on Triscuits, which are (for most varieties) 1 point for 2 crackers. I also really like Pretzel Crisps (which Weight Watchers has their own brand of) at 3 points for 11 pretzels. Also, Laughing Cow Cheese has Light cheese wedges that are less than 1 point each. I like to get plain pretzel crisps and top them with cheese for a 4 point snack.

I think the snack that will give you the most bang for the least...uh, buck... is chips and salsa. For most baked tortilla chip varieties, you can have like 24 chips for a whopping 4 points. And most salsas are FREE of points. You could have 48 chips (which is a PILE) for 8 points! The other option is beef jerky. If you shop at Aldi, you can get a CHEAP bag of beef jerky and the whole bag is only 6 points because it's all protein.

Never forget: fruits and vegetables are zero points. I usually bring an apple, nectarine, grapes, or cherries to work for snacking purposes. Keep in mind that even though corn and potatoes come from the ground (which I think technically classifies them as vegetables?), I don't consider these items vegetables, because an ear of corn is 2 points, and a baked potato is enough points that I haven't bothered to look it up. So I call these "starches."

Lastly, I will never ever ever give up on popcorn. I searched high and low, and Jolly Time Healthy Pop is a dream come true at 3 points for 4 cups of popped popcorn. I think you get something like 8-10 cups of popped popcorn per bag, and it's totally worth the 6-8 points in my book.

My point is: Don't think you're limited or have to start cooking. When I started with the program, I had a panic attack for the first two weeks. I wouldn't eat anything that wasn't in the book, or had a point value on the box. When my mom cooked a keish for breakfast our first weekend on the program, it pissed me off and a half. I was all, "How dare you cook something that I can't count?!" But if you measure all the ingredients you're using, and calculate the PPVs, you can eat ANYTHING. Don't panic. There is an answer for everything, and always a healthy substitute to consider.

Sites that have helped me on my 3-month journey:

Exercise 4 Weight Loss: Weight Watchers Points

Dotti's Weight Loss Zone: Restaurant List

PPV Calculator

One More Pound