Friday, February 22, 2008

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.

4 comments:

Wendster said...

thank you thank you thank you!!!
That looks like something I can do.
I'm not sure what to do with the "wheat" part of the list because I am allergic. I guess "whole grain" is the key.
I will copy that to my journal and study it.
It sounds very similar to Dr. Phil's list of foods.
Basically, if its processed, can be prepared quickly, and slides down your throat easily ... it's out (think microwave bean and cheese burrito... how many of those can you suck down in ten minutes? No time for your hunger center to announce you are satisfied) What you CAN have is anything that takes time to prepare it AND it is NOT processed: fruits vegetables, a computer-mouse-sized protein at lunch and dinner, a no fat dairy at breakfast and for a snack, the veggies are unlimited and you can have two fruits a day. Look out for the fruits and veggies that are "sweet". And exercise at an appointed time. A specific day and time each week, then up it.
Thanks for sharing that core list. I really appreciate it!

Sharon said...

Thanks for the list! I love it and I'm sure it will be most helpful!

I love your blog!
Sharon
sharonweightloss.blogspot.com

Steff said...

I can't do core. If I knew when I was "satisfied" I wouldn't be going to WW!!!

Down 13.6 but will probably go up because this week I gave into my weakness for Rocky Road. Bad girl...bad bad girl.

Melissa said...

That's the best thing, I think, about eating better - it's got to be better for me than processed foods, right? Our bodies just HAVE to respond better to the food that takes more time to digest.

Steff, I thought the same thing - the EXACT same thing - when I first started WW - and two and a half years ago, it probably would've been true. But now, I've been eating smaller portions, and not stuffing myself, so I'm thinking that's going to be an advantage.

Congratulations on that loss!