It’s been weighing heavily on mind lately how and where Weight Watchers and Paleo intersect and if they can be complementary to each other.
You all know that I joined Weight Watchers after the birth of my son and lost 55 pounds (If not, read about it here). That is why I started this blog in the first place, to share Real Food Weight Watchers recipes for those out there like me, who need the structure of a weight loss program but aren’t willing to compromise on eating clean, real food.
I hit a plateau in my weight loss and it just seemed that no matter what I did, I couldn’t lose anymore weight.
I upped my exercise, restricted my calories even further (and was quite miserable about it), started taking a closer look at wine consumption and Point heavy meals. After months of tweaking and tweaking, it just seemed that nothing was working.
That is when I decided to try an elimination diet to see if there was something in my “healthy diet” that was affecting my blood sugar or ability to lose this last 20 pounds.
A few friends had recently completed the Whole30 and I, like everyone else, had been incessantly hearing about the magic of the Paleo Diet. I was really apprehensive about the whole Paleo thing when I first heard about it – honestly, I thought it was a crazy fad. That was just ignorance on my part for not really digging in and learning more about the science behind it.
So, in January I started to slowly eliminate a lot of grains from my diet. Then I started reading more books. Some of my favorites are It Starts With Food and Practical Paleo (highly recommend). I kept counting Points Plus and managing my portion control and did see a little bit of weight movement (down) but not as much as I was hoping for.
The more I read, the more conflicted I started to become. Weight Watchers restricts fat and calories and is all about moderation – which is a concept I really like when applied to a Whole Foods diet.
Paleo is Whole Foods, all the time, without exception. No processed anything – including grains, legumes, refined sugars and most dairy. Paleo advocates for high food quality (something I already feel strongly about) and eating to fuel your body and maintain stable blood sugar levels.
About 7 to 10 days into the Whole30, I started sleeping solidly through the night. The food cravings I used to have for crackers, chips, cheese and crunchy, salty foods were completely gone. My skin started to look bright and fresh and people were stopping me and asking me what I was doing because I looked, “so refreshed”.
Fast forward to today – I’ve done a Whole30 and have been eating 95% Paleo diet and guess what?
The dry skin I had on my hand is pretty much gone, those stubborn pounds I have been battling for months and months are coming off and most importantly – I have to say – I feel better than I have in a long time.
Am I Paleo? I don’t know. I don’t know that I need to label myself.
Am I still doing Weight Watchers? Sort of. I still have the rest of this weight to lose.
So, what does that mean?
As for Weight Watchers, I am still going to the meetings for accountability and for the most part eating “Simply Filling” minus the grains, dairy and legumes, which is Weight Watchers alternative to counting Points. If you aren’t familiar, it is basically eating real, whole foods until you are full, anything with a green triangle next to it in the food book or in eTools.
I will still provide the Points Plus for all of my recipes because I know so many of you are counting Points and I want to be able to count on me for Real Food recipes that help you eat better and get healthier!
As for Paleo, I don’t like the idea of assigning a label to myself because there will be a time where I eat dairy or grains or sugar. But as you have already seen, my recipes are getting cleaner and cleaner and more “Paleo” friendly.
I think that is a good thing thought because it means that more and more of us are eating Real Food and that has always been my mission!
Shelley says
Not sure if anyone is reading this post anymore but thought I would post a comment.
Love this site & the recipes.
I am a 61 year old female who has been struggling with weight issues since I was 4. As you can imagine I have been on them all.
In Sept I went on an elimination diet, but really did not notice any difference in how I felt & lost minimal weight. My Doc told me to do the Paleo diet for a solid 30 days which I did. My problem is that I feel no different in any way & I am not loosing any weight. Something should be happening for me. I have cut my calorie, fat,carb intake by an amazing amount & have had no sugar, grains, soy for 2.5 months. Just so frustrated but feel compelled to eat this way.
Just needed to vent. Thanks
EverydayMaven says
Hi Shelley,
Thanks for reading! I am not a nutritionist by any means but from all of the reading I have been doing, cutting fat isn’t necessarily the best for losing weight when eating a whole-foods, paleo-style diet.
The other thing I would say is that your metabolism could be really out of whack from a lifetime of dieting and struggling with weight issues. Eating real food is not going to hurt you and since you feel compelled to stick with it, just give it a little more time and listen to your body.
I bet you feel frustrated! Sorry and I hope you feel better soon 🙂 Alyssa
Patti says
I love this blog started ww and am in conflict
with all the non fat food. I just happen to
type in google to see if anyone did WW and
paleo. I am so happy to have this.
EverydayMaven says
Yeah! Glad you found me Patti 🙂
elle says
It’s odd how different diets work with different people…as a former diabetic, Paleo was loudly touted but the diabetic listserves 15 years ago-yet I was losing weight on whole grains and vegetable soup,on beans and squash and 1 avocado a day for the essential oils. If I added meat, or bless me, bacon to my diet, I got sluggy, slow and gained weight. Mc Dougalls vegetarian low fat worked for me-but my diabetic friends swore I was killing myself.
We had 6 month group meetings in Reno and after I’d been on McD’s for about 5 months, everyone said how good I looked. I was down 20 lbs, and it was easy. However the craving for some chicken or fish drove me crazy. As soon as I added animal protein to my diet, back on came the pounds, even though I was doing the 3″ x 3″ piece of baked as WW says is appropriate. My doctor followed me on this diet-I’d tried everything and when I couldn’t take off more weight doing low fat vegetarian, thats when he suggested Bariatric Surgery. At the time I was on 5 hypertension meds and still not controlling my blood pressure, using more and more insulin, which puts on weight, had developed a serious heart murmur, could no longer work out due to swollen knees and ankles, and my doc said at age 60 I was a candidate for a stroke, which scared the hell outa me.
Your recipies are good, solid healthjy ones and as I do the cooking for my daughter, her husband and my granddaughter (aka little miss 8 year old picky eater) I’m hoping I can put some healthy and different menus together. I’ve gotten into a rut, food wise. Grand daughter was raised vegetarian and is perfically happy with a Morningside Chix Soy Pattie, green beans and a baked potato. She’d eat that every day if I’d make it for her. When she was a baby, we all were doing McDonalds..I was in my first 2 years following surgery and thats the key time to lose weight so the baby got used to vegetarian food as a 1 year old. No salt, no sugar and what a slender muscular athlete she is. So that works for her..this kid hates fast food except for Wendys potatoes.
I was baking boneless skinless and carefully trimmed chicken thighs today for tonights dinner and chicken salad for daughters lunch (made with fat free mayo and yoghurt as a dressing, and plenty of veggies and raisins) I decided to pop the butternut and 2 sweet potatoes in to bake. I eat the sweet potatoes every week-a touch of butter, some pumpkin pie spice and 1/4 tsp of brown sugar on each half, wrap in aluminum foil-it’s like pumpkin pie sans crust and whipped cream! Tres yummy!!
Take care and looking forward to soup tomorrow night.
Elle
Liane R says
My story is so much like yours. WW member forever, lose weight but not really eating healthfully and my body wasn’t really improving. My husband and I followed Whole 30 during the month of August.
Now we are basically still eating the same with a few modifications – a little wine and a little coconut creamer in my coffee. Yes, it has a little sugar, but I needed something to have a happy medium.
Through the course of all of this, I’ve lost about 15 lbs. I have more to go, so plan to continue on like this. The weight loss is a bonus, but I just FEEL better. Like you, I know there will come a day when I’ll eat a grain or cupcake 🙂 but for now this is what it is.
I struggle what to call it, but lately I’ve just been calling it whole foods –mostly meats, vegs, and fruits.
Your recipes are always fantastic–I’ll be watching for more “whole foods’ recipes from you!
EverydayMaven says
Thank you so much Liane! Glad to be in it together 🙂
Joellen says
I did WW a decade ago, lost 53 pounds and have now gained 90 pounds. I never changed my relationship with food as a comfort and life issues sent me into a eight year eating frenzy. Plus, lifestyle change and eating out rather than cooking as I’d always done added to the gain. I am on my fifth day back on WW and exploring Paleo, as I know processed foods have been my downfall. Thanks for the great recipes you have here as I embark on this journey. I am sure I’ll be visiting often.
EverydayMaven says
Hi Joellen,
So true – it really is all about changing your relationship with food. Cutting out “fake” foods is a huge help, as it normalizes your cravings and helps manage your blood sugar. Good Luck – I’m rooting for you!!!!
Megan says
Hi,
I emailed you a while back about WW points and your recipes and how to write them up on the WW site. I figured it all out 🙂
Anyway, I am doing a whole foods WW and after 2 weeks I have lost wieght on the scale and inches.
I think I am going to keep going with what works (some dairy, but very little, as I won’t use low fat, some legumes, very little grains, as I would rather eat a tablespoon of tahini than 1 and half slices of bread etc). I am eating whole grain rice, but otherwise just loads of veggies. I would say I am eating about 3 times as much produce, based on my shopping (of course the kids are eating more too, as they want to eat what I am eating). And eggs/fish/meat.
Anyway, I needed to find your blog to even entertain WW as a tool for me to take better care of myself. I had always outright dismissed it as I refuse to eat diet foods.
I also find it helpful to not have any rules imposed other than using my points on foods that I want to eat, in portion sizes that are significantly reduced. The good and bad lists of foods has been a very easy trap for me to fall into. It creates such extremes in my emotions and my behavior, that I really need to avoid it now.
Anyway, I am just rambling.
I really liked this post of yours, and I am sure I will come back to it when I need to shake things up a bit, or I feel like just counting points is not working for me.
EverydayMaven says
That is fantastic Megan! So glad that I could help in any way. And I totally agree – listen to your body and follow what is working. We are all different and there isn’t a one size fits all (in my opinion). 🙂
Jessica says
I’ve done Weight Watchers off and on for a few years now. I’m interested in the Primal/Paleo diet and have been contemplating combining WW with Paleo. What’s your take on WW’s view on dairy? I’m planning to do a Whole30 and then do 80/20 or more Paleo. I prefer whole fat dairy when I use it but WW encourages fat-free dairy. If you are tracking the Simply Filling way, do you use full-fat dairy and count points for that?
EverydayMaven says
Hi Jessica! Great questions. So for now, I have been mostly staying away from dairy all together. I have had it maybe 3x in the last couple of months and each time was full-fat, pastured and organic. I have always had a hard time with low-fat dairy because by design it is not a “real food” and has to be processed to become low-fat. Good luck with your Whole30!
Kiran @ KiranTarun.com says
Congrats on getting so close to your goals! And thanks for sharing the wonderful insights 🙂
Faith says
What a great post! I’ve been dabbling a little in paleo since last fall and I’ve been seriously thinking about the Whole30, particularly because my allergies have been so bad this spring and I’m wondering if there’s some inflammation going on that’s food-related. Hmmm…lol!
EverydayMaven says
My allergies have significantly improved since doing the Whole30 Faith – they are not completely gone but almost gone!
Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says
What an interesting question. On the surface they seem to be incompatible but I agree with you that the accountability is an important component of achieving goals so if a mix works for you then that’s all that matters!
EverydayMaven says
Truthfully Sylvie, I think WW and the Paleo style of eating are more incompatible than compatible but there are some crossover areas and that is the grey zone for me.