Everybody needs a plan, and every plan has to start with some basic assumptions. We knew we couldn't follow a straight Weight-Watchers plan because it's not really diabetic-friendly. By that, I mean that we need to eat a certain number of carbs per meal, and that doesn't always correspond with low WW points. Our plan is based on the carb limits set by my doctor: 30-45 carbs each for breakfast and lunch, and between 45 and 60 carbs for dinner, plus a 20 carb snack in the evening.
There are numerous websites out there that will tell you how to calculate the number of WW points you are allowed, based primarily on your gender and weight. Here is the one that I used to calculate ours.
According to the reader comments below the article, the above link is a bit outdated, and one reader cautions that you should never use more than 44 WW points or fewer than 19 WW points. Our number came in between so we decided to use this.
Next I needed a simple way to calculate WW points per food item. I kept digging and found this simple formula for calculating WW points in food and put it into an Excel spreadsheet:
Calories / 50 - (Fiber * 0.2) + (Fat * 0.08)
This means that you will need columns for Calories, Fiber and Fat, plus a column that contains the formula above. If Calories are column C, Fiber is column D and Fat is column E, then your formula in Column E will look like this for each row of your spreadsheet:
=C2/50-(D2*0.2)+(E2*0.08)
Armed with this simple formula (plus a column F for carbs), I am quickly and easily able to calculate the WW points and carbs for each and every item we wish to put into our mouths. I use this spreadsheet to plan meals on a weekly basis, using one sheet for point counts, another for the weekly meal plan, pulling from the point counts sheeet, another for a weekly grocery list, etc. It's installed on every computer in the house, complete with links to recipes and notes we take as we go along.
We are also creatures of habit and comfortable eating the same exact breakfast and lunch every day of our lives. Well, okay, not really, but mostly the same Monday through Friday. Here is my breakfast (Peter's is slightly different):
small can V-8 juice: 30 calories, 1 fiber, 0 fat, 0 WW points, 7 carbs
1 granola bar: 160 calories, 2 fiber, 7 fat, 3 WW points, 22 carbs
black coffee
Okay, it's only 29 carbs and I'm supposed to have 30, but close enough.
Our meal planning spreadsheet contains two rows at the top with each of our breakfasts and lunches, and then the dinners for Monday through Thursday. I grocery shop for 4 meals per week and we eat out on the weekends, except for our Sunday evening meal, which typically consists of some kind of soup made from the week's leftovers. More about that in a future post. Here is a sample dinner - this one's for next Monday:
Surf and Turf (Hey, it's Valentine's day!) with a small baked potato, 1 oz reduced fat sour cream and snipped chives, creamed spinach for me, baby lima beans for him. Total carbs: 48 for me, 45 for him; WW points: 15 for me, 12 for him.
So once we combine our WW points and carbs for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, my Monday looks like this:
1291 calories, 29 WW points, and my carbs are within limits for all three meals.
A note about carbs: Foods that are higher in fiber will result in lower carb counts. If a food has more than 5 grams of fiber, you can subtract the fiber number from the carb number to obtain your net carb count. I have used an IF statement in my spreadsheet to come up with this - (IF fiber >5, CARB - FIBER, else, CARB).
Finally, to find nutritional values in foods - easy these days because labeling is required and has been simplified over the years - check out this nifty website, where you can enter virtually any food or ingredient and get the nutritional information. I also have an ap for my android phone so I can check things when we're out.
That's about it ... I'm off to the nail salon, followed by a trip to the grocery store, armed with my grocery list for next week's meal plan!
Next post: Eating Out and Sticking to The Plan
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