CORE list

So, Wendy asked me to post a simplified CORE foods list.

Here's the gist of it: there are 10 CORE food groups.

• Vegetables and fruits

• Soups (non-cream based)

• Whole wheat pasta, brown rice, potatoes, and grains

• Whole grain cereals, without added sugar, nuts, or dried fruit

• Lean meats, meat substitutes, poultry, fish, and eggs

• Coffee, tea, and sugar-free beverages

• Condiments (like ketchup, mustard, etc. - not full-fat mayo!)

• Healthy oils (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, and flaxseed)

• Fat-free milk, milk products, or dairy substitutes (like soy milk)

Yes, that's only nine groups. The other includes Weight Watchers smoothies and Fruities, their chewy-fruity-snacky things.

You can eat what you want from those groups. The idea is to learn your own hunger cues, only eating when you're hungry, and stopping when you're satisfied.

Not full. Satisfied. That's going to be my biggest challenge, I'm telling you now.

You do, however, have 35 POINTS to eat stuff that's not CORE each week. And, if you have a food with several different items, you see if everything in it is on the CORE list. If it's just a couple of things (like reduced-fat cheese on top of a dish that's otherwise CORE, instead of fat free) you just count those POINTS. If it's more than a couple of ingredients, you count POINTS for the whole dish.

In addition, you are limited to one serving per day, in total, of whole wheat pasta, brown rice, or potatoes. And bread, apparently, is never a CORE food.

It's relatively low-carb, yes, but in a more South Beach Diet type of way.

Know what you can have, though? 94% Fat Free Popcorn! The whole bag! And you don't have to count POINTS for it!

I'm still learning all this, and I'm constantly referring both to my materials and to the CORE message board at www.weightwatchers.com. And, if you want to know more specifics on the food list, you can Google it. Seriously. I would, though, limit my searches to pages updated in the last six months or so. That way you're assured of getting the most up-to-date information because WW sometimes changes their materials.

Hopefully, the novelty of this won't wear off before its done my body some good.