As many of you already know, I have made some significant lifestyle changes over the last few months that have impacted me and my family quite positively.  One of the biggest changes was embarking upon the Weight Watchers program.

For those of you who know about the program, you know that you are allotted a certain ‘budget’ of daily points and a certain number of ‘weekly’ points. It’s kind of like a game, figuring out how to eat things that you enjoy and to be satisfied ( NOT hungry!) and stay within your points budget.

I realized quite early on that there were places that I was ‘spending’ on small amounts of points that before you knew it, added up to lots of points. I thought that sharing some of these “Point-Shavers” would be helpful to those of you embarking upon a new lifestyle with WW 🙂

1. Stevia instead of sugar in my coffee. I actually started doing this when I did the online version of WW years ago. 1 tsp. of sugar = 1 point. 1 packet of Stevia = 0 points. To facilitate this I keep boxes of Stevia packets at home, in my office and a small ziplock with a whole bunch in my purse at all times. ( Keep in mind that I can have several cups of coffee per day…so this adds up!)
2. Skim milk instead of 1% in my coffee. I put approximately 1/8 c. of milk in my coffee – using 1% milk, that’s 1 point. I got myself used to taking skim milk in my coffee ( it was easier than I thought!) and 1/8c. of skim milk is 0 points 🙂
3. Switching Tablespoons into teaspoons. When I first embarked upon the program, I proudly made myself a salad using ‘only 1 Tbsp. of olive oil’. That cost me 4 points per salad.  I decided to try an experiment- What if I used a teaspoon of olive oil instead?  It worked…and 1 teaspoon of olive oil is only 1 point!  It’s actually at the point that I have mastered the art of making a salad that serves the entire family with only 1 teaspoon of olive oil.  Well-tossed, it actually works & everyone loves it!  That’s virtually 0 points if I am eating 1/6 of that salad 🙂 Similarly, spreading 1 tsp of peanut butter on my toast or rice cake costs only 1 point, but when I was using 1 Tbsp, it cost me 3!
4. Weight Watchers bread has been a ‘lifesaver’ points-shaver!  Most sliced bread is 2 points per slice (and round up to 5 points for 2 slices).  Weight Watchers brand is 1 point per slice ( but rounds up to 3 points for 2 slices). Super-easy way to shave off a point or two to save for something better!  The bread is great so I don’t feel like I am giving anything else up.
5. Having my go-to points-friendly treats.  For example, I found that the Traditions Organic Fudge Bars from Costco (a very thick chocolate ‘ice cream bar’) are only 4 points!!!  Most ice cream treats that are points-friendly will run you at least 6-7 points.  I keep a who;e bunch in our freezer.  Guess what?  They are so good that the kids started eating only this and have left all of our other ice-cream treats in the dust?  So now I ONLY keep these in the freezer.  When I want one, I can usually ‘afford’ the 4 points and having it readily available makes it easy 🙂 And by the way, they are really satisfying so you don’t feel like you need to have another like what happens with this thin little ones!

I have lots of other tips to share and will be sharing again next Wednesday.

Meanwhile, I hope that you have found these ‘pointers’ helpful!

Wishing you a great point-shaving day!

Tanya