We often hear from our members, “just tell me what to eat” when they start on WeightWatchers – and that’s totally fair. We know weight loss starts with food and we are here to help with some guidelines for what to eat to start (or reboot) your weight loss journey.
One caveat (which is both freeing – and sometimes overwhelming): everything is on the menu. That’s what makes our weight loss program so effective: you do not need to give up a certain food or group of foods to lose weight. While that’s great and makes our program liveable and flexible – it can also be paralyzing because you may not know where to start! We’ve got your back!
Here are three super simple tips to help you start working the program right away. Think of these as a structure of how to approach healthier eating – not hard and fast rules (we’re so not about that!) and make sure to still incorporate your favourite foods here and there, because that’s the secret sauce in making weight loss liveable and sustainable.
Tip 1: Lean into your ZeroPoint foods
ZeroPoint foods form the basis of a healthy eating pattern. While they aren’t the only foods you should be eating, they can really help anchor your eating plan if you don’t know where to start.
Leaning into ZeroPoint foods is also helpful when eating out when you may not know the exact Points values of everything on the menu. Looking for menu items that feature ZeroPoint foods can help steer you in the healthier direction when choosing what to order.
Where is Your ZeroPoint foods list you may ask? Right in your app! Tap the hamburger menu (three horizontal lines at the top left of your app) and scroll down to ZeroPoint Foods – here you will see the list!
For a full list of all ZeroPoint foods check out this link.
Action plan: Review the ZPF list and pick a lean protein to centre a meal around. Adding protein can help you feel satisfied in between meals.
Here are some of our favourite recipes featuring foods from the various ZeroPoint food categories – find one that’s on your list to try this week!
Tip 2: Look for ways to add in non-starchy veggies
Not only are non-starchy veggies 0 Points for everyone – they are full of nutrients and fibre-dense, which can keep you feeling fuller for longer.
What is a non-starchy veggie you may ask? Click here for a list!
We’ve also curated a 7-day dinner plan that makes the most of non-starchy veggies, if you are looking for some easy weeknight inspiration! Check out the plan here!
Action plan: Make a short list of your top five favourite non-starchy veggies and search for recipes in the WW app that feature them.
To get you started, here are four recipes that are loaded with non-starchy veggies.
Tip 3: Start with a SIMPLE meal plan – and we mean simple
Meal planning everything you eat for an entire week is tempting as it eliminates any variables. But the more in depth, complex, and long your meal plan is, the higher the cognitive load to plan and effort to execute – which can mean it gets abandoned all together. Not to mention, you may end up not liking, or not wanting to eat what you’ve planned if its too prescriptive.
Here, we recommend starting small. Plan 1-3 days at a time. That will make it easier to come up with a plan, easier to make, and more likely it will fit into your life. An easy entry to meal planning is to pick one or two meals that don’t need to be thought about. Have oatmeal every day for breakfast? Perfect, no need to change! Just slot it in and that is one less meal to plan. Pick a couple of dinner recipes that may use overlapping ingredients which can make shopping easier. For example:
Action plan: Here is a simple printable meal plan and shopping list template that can help get you started.
More meal planning resources:
Meal Planning For Beginners: A Complete Guide
Where To Find Meal Ideas In Your App
Healthy High Protein Recipes For Every Meal of the Day
Bonus tip: Give yourself some grace while you figure out what works for you and your lifestyle. There is no one-size fits all approach to weight loss and eating, so take some time to experiment and see what works for you.