Weight Watchers Core Plan - The Juicy Details

The full Weight Watchers Core Plan food list is available online only to Weight Watchers' online subscribers ($10/month, yikes!), it's here. If you're not a member, that link will only take you a subscribing pitch. If you're considering subscribing but still skeptical, I suggest you ask your WW Leader for a trial access code or brochure. I highly recommend online subscription, because of:

• the online POINTS tracker which automates and rewards journaling, complete with activity points tracking, Flex points tracking and notes so you can record your moods, challenges, successes
  
• Complete POINTS lookup function which is more complete than the booklets they sell, I find, and
  
• the Recipe builder, so I can easily figure out the points for one of my mother's Angel Biscuits is, or my homemade Cornbread stuffing, for example.
  

But here's the jist of the core foods list as I understand it. I in no way guarantee this is correct, but please help me correct any misconceptions you notice, or I won't lose weight and I *will* get frustrated.

It's NOT just like Atkins - Fruit! Whole-wheat pasta or brown rice daily! Conspicuous absence of fats! And if I can stick to it faithfully, I'm pretty sure it'll be successful, as well as good for my slender husband and son.

Meat and Meat Substitutes

• Lean beef, lamb, pork and veal (loin or round and trim visible fat)
  
• Ground beef (7% fat or less)
  
• Organ meats (eww, for me!) fresh, frozen or canned (canned organ meat? double eww!)
  
• Poultry – Chicken and turkey, again trim visible fat, no skin
  
• Ground chicken or turkey, once a day only
  
• Fish and shellfish, fresh, frozen, or canned, any variety as long as not packed in fat or oil. Sign me up for all-you-can-eat shrimp with homemade cocktail sauce with Splenda instead of sugar.
  
• Tofu, any type
  
• Frozen veggie burgers - wonder if this means not the large, delectable ones in restaurants? Probably not.
  
• NO deli meats or hot dogs - so much for the Atkins connection, but how many of us have followed Atkins only to remain fat? I know I have!
  

Eggs, Dairy & Cheese

• Whole eggs or whites (yay, rah!) as long as we prepare without butter or fat OR count the FLEX points
  
• Eggbeaters and other egg substitutes
  
• Fat-free milk, cheese and sour cream
  
• Soy milk and soy cheese
  
• Plain yogurt. I take it that the aspartame-only - no sugar varieties would be OK, or that it's OK to sweeten it myself and add my own fruit.
  
• Weight Watchers Smoothies (or ALBA) or fat-free, sugar-free instant hot cocoa are OK, but only once a day (danger, will robinson)
  
• NO real, yummy cheese, unless you spend your Flex points on it, apparently not even Parmesan over the lowfat spaghetti sauce
  

Fruit

• Any fresh, frozen or canned fruit (no added sugar; canned must be packed in water or juice (not syrup); AND drained before eating, as they don't allow JUICE, see next item
  
• NO juice - too easy to overdo, I suspect
  
• Unsweetened applesauce
  
• NO Dried fruits, too high caloric density, they're too dangerous
  

Veggies

• ANY fresh, frozen or canned veggies without any non-Core-Food ingredients, especially watching for added oil or sugar.
  
• Yes, potatoes - no, French Fries
  
• Yes, sweet potatoes
  
• Yes, corn
  
• Yes, beans and lentils, fat-free refried beans are OK
  
• Tomato paste, puree and sauce
  
• NO vegetable juices; I suspect they think I'll gorge on carrot juice or somesuch. But does this mean no more free v-8? Doesn't that contradict the tomato sauce or tomato soup ruling?
  

Soup

• If you make soups only with core foods, we can go for it!
  
• Bean soups like lentil or split pea are fine, even corn chowder, though I'd go sparingly on that unless on maintenance!
  
• Bouillon broth are fine, add core foods only
  
• Tomato soup is allowed; again, why not V-8 then?
  
• NO Cream soups, though it's OK to use soymilk or fat-free evaporated milk.
  

Cereal and Grain
Once a day, we can have:

• all-grain cereal with fat-free milk or soymilk (I like Silk). For dry cereals, this means ONLY puffed wheat or rice, shredded wheat, and all bran cereals with no added sugar. Rice Krispies and Special K and the like have added fat AND sugar, unfortunately. Look them up on the web, like at Kellogg's. For hot cereals, we can have Cream of Wheat, oatmeal and such. I'm liking Fiber One, Puffed Kashi and Spoon-sized Shredded Wheat.
  
• Hot cereals: Malt-o-Meal is tasty and filling, also Bob's Red Mill oatmeal, which is thick, and doesn't cook up slimy.
  
• Add fruit! It makes the cereal sweeter, and not so boring and tasteless. Sliced apples, peaches, blueberries, strawberries make it so pretty! Splurge on the fruit you buy. Shake a little frozen fruit out ofo the bag into your hot cereal and stir; it'll defrost in no time.
  
• Add a packet of Splenda if you need extra sweetness. Sometimes I go for cereal as my "bednight snack" (as my son calls it).
  
• Once a day, we can have whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, or potatoes. Note: Beware of the new American Beauty Healthy pasta, which is secretly regular pasta with a smidgen of added whole grain.
  
• Other whole grains, such as barley, grits, cornmeal and couscous, are unlimited. (Thanks for the correction, Linda!) Try cooking couscous in ff broth instead of water; it's quite tasty!
  

Fats, Oils Dressings

• 2 teaspoons (NOT tablespoons :( heart-friendly oil per day
  
• other than that, none, nothing, zip, nada. Get ready to use your Flex points for this good stuff.
  
• Nonstick cooking and baking spray
  

Other Free Stuff

• Ice and water, including sugar-free, clear beverages such as any diet soda (NOT coke's new C2 though)
  
• No-calorie sweeteners like Splenda, Equal or Sweet - n -Low.
  
• Seasonings and herbs, without added sugar - have to read those labels.
  
• Fat-free salad dressing; I find all the fat-free butters and dressings yucky, myself and will be using flex points.
  
• Fat-free margarine (I stay away from this hydrogenated stuff; it's supposed to be bad for the arteries, isn't it? Besides just dampening the bread that I already can't have)
  
• Fat-free mayonnaise (I'd rather spend flex points for the real deal)
  
• Extracts and flavorings. Vanilla extract in FF cottage cheese, with cut-up pears and wheat germ is great in a cheesecake-y sort of way.
  

My Flex Points Will Be Going Toward

• Tiny dabs of real butter, sour cream and mayonnaise to liven up the veggies
  
• Bread - bagels and tortillas mostly, for me
  
• Alcohol, when I can't stay away from the red wine or the occasional Fat Tire ale
  
• Eating out - because how the heck can you ensure following Core Plan unless it's a side salad with fat free dressing?
  

I am very interested to hear how people are doing on this, so please let me know by commenting. I need your encouragement and ideas. Thanks to all those who've already commented!

Comments

[morgen]

I'm five days into The Core. I'm feeling satisfied & energetic, but hungry if I'm without food for too long. It seems like I really need to plan some meals in advance instead of just flying by the seat of my pants and logging points whenever and wherever I am. I tend to have nothing at the quick fast-food stop while traveling with my family since there isn't much core food there. My home scale says I've lost 3 pounds since Thursday, but I've used almost no points. I hate keeping track of them anyway, which was my failure on the Flexpoints system. I am feeling like I'm eating healthfully as opposed to before when I didn't mind spending 11 points on a cholocate dipped cone. I really ate a lot of junk before on WW. I'm encouraged and inspired by this new plan and (so far) I would recommend it-if only for a good jump start.

[lindaab]

Just wanted to take a minute to clear up a couple little errors in your list of core foods. Grains are not limited to once a day. Cold cereal is limited to once a day, and one meal containing your choice of wheat pasta, brown rice or potato. Other grains (couscous, barley, bulgar, oats, etc) maybe eaten at anytime.

[Karen]

Just started on the Core Plan this week. I liked this plan because it #1 didn't require me to keep track of much other than the extra points consumed and #2 it consisted of foods that I normally consume...it's like exercise - if you don't like it, it won't last very long...Appreciate all receipes being posted. I miss my fruit juice but I'm making up by fresh fruit.

[Sandra]

Hi, I am doing the ww and have a book coming on the core. I would like to start the core now as counting points leaves me hungry from 1:30 til I eat breakfast the next morning. Anyway, I just don't do well with the points thing. Can you clear up something for me. As I understand what you have said, you can have as much as you need or want of any of the foods listed except the ones stated once a day or portions given. Thanks for your help. I hate points......

[Johnny]

Hey.
Just started the core plan today. Seems pretty good overall, but I'm a little baffled by the fact that whole-grain bread isn't treated the same way as pasta/potatoes/rice.
Can anyone shed light on this little mystery?

[Carrie-Ann]

Hi, my friend has done ww for a long time and I've been a Protein Power advocate but recently found out my cholesterol was too high so at the age of 30 decided i better get better with my plan to lose the pounds in a more healthy way. I have been asking my friend about the core and she said that you can have as much food as you like as long as it's on the core plan. Little bit confused though when i looked at her booklet it said that you can have potatoes but then it gave a list of foods that are "core" foods and potatotes weren't checked off????? What's the tater deal? Also I didn't understand which foods you could only have once a day? Please help i'm a core beginner!!!

[Josephine]

Am I correct in reading it is only 35 points per week?
Is anyone finging this hard to stick by?

[Carmen]

I am doing Core and attending meetings. Here are a few things I can offer to the questions asked above:

On Core you eat the Core foods PLUS you get 35 points a week to use any way you like. So if you want bread, you subtract the points for bread and eat it.

You aren't supposed to eat "as much as you want" but more like "until satisfied." My leader makes sure to emphasize this every week. The Core will only work for you if you are able to judge when you are satisfied and stop eating before you are "full" or "stuffed." There is no way anyone can lose weight if they overeat, whether those are Core foods or pie & cake!

Bread isn't treated like whole grains because it is too easy for folks to overeat bread, even whole grain bread. That is also why you can only have brown rice/whole wheat pasta/potatoes once a day. They are more commonly trigger foods than other grains. Almost nobody overdoes, say, oatmeal. So potatoes are Core, but they aren't "unlimited" like other foods on Core.

Well, hope that helps. I have lost 4.4 pounds with the Core and hope that continues.

Carmen

[Judy A]

I work for WW but have been on an extended vacation so am just know absorbing the Core Program and from what I am seeing at meetings....it works!! I was disappointed when reading over the material that there were no food plans or sample meal guides for the Core pgm. Very strange or else I missed them. The new cookbook is on way back order and I like the other WW's am very anxious to get it. Take care all and if you find a meal plan for the Core please send it to me. Good luck everyone.

[reese]

I think I'm missing where it's $10/month. Everything I'm reading says more like, $5/week! (for the online version). Any suggestions?

[queen]

The online website subscription is $10 a month IF you pay in advance. It's more like $16 a month if you don't. :(

Meetings costs are from $8-$12 a week. It's pricey, they're obviously in business to make money.

The good news is, Core plan means cheaper groceries. Produce and whole foods are relatively cheap. Think of how much money you'll save in cokes, chips, doughnuts, fast food....Good luck!

[queen]

The different Weight Watchers options and their pricing:

The meetings themselves, show up in person and get coaching, group support: $8-12 a week. You must pay for missed meetings.

Weight Watchers Online: $17 a week, includes access to the full Weight Watchers website, including online Points tracker, all booklet info at your fingertips, recipe search and save, Points and Activity tracker calculators.

Weight Watchers eTools: $13 a month, for access to the online Points tracker, including online Points tracker, all booklet info at your fingertips, recipe search and save, Points and Activity tracker calculators. For 3 years I did this in addition to paying for meetings.

For all options, if you prepay, you get price breaks.

Weight Watchers website also has free stuff, including the extremely helpful message boards and success stories.

Hope this helps!

Weight Watchers online (the free area)

[morgen]

I'm now 5 weeks into the Core and have lost 10.5 pounds. I've had consistent losses even though I've had a couple of tiny "wine disasters". There are certain things that I've found I can't live with, so I don't do them and I'm still losing anyway.

I won't eat non-fat cottage cheese, I substitute 1%, and I won't count non-fat, low carb coffee creamer or sugar-free hard candies. I won't count non-fat, sugar-free yogurt since it has the same point value as plain yogurt. Other than that, I'm pretty honest with the plan.

I haven't felt the need to binge, but I sure do miss the artisan white and sourdough bread.

I'm sticking with this plan. I think it helps to attend the weekly meetings. It keeps me accountable.

[Mary]

I have lost 7 lbs. in five weeks on Core Plan. I love that I don't have to count points. The challenge really is to recognize when you're satisfied, before you get full. At my WW center, they received a new supply of cookbooks. The recipes are pretty basic, i.e., how I cook most of the time, but sometimes, I just need ideas and this book works for me.

On other plans, I've stalled at the 5-lb. mark, so I am definitely pleased with my results so far. I believe that I can eat like this for the rest of my life, which is always another challenge. I'm finding it easier and easier to resist treats and I'm finding slightly creative ways to satisfy my dessert craving.

[Kathy]

I started the core plan 4 weeks ago! I was on the flex plan for over 2 years and had seen a good loss of 70 pounds - but then health issues caused me to get on pednisone and I gained back about 20 pounds...So, I was getting very discouraged. (Especially since I still have about 100 more pounds to lose).

Anyway - I LOVE the core plan and it works great for me! The first week I enjoyed wraps with Aunt Millies Low Carb Wraps (1 point each) and fresh avacado, chicken, lettuce, tomatoes and a fat free sour cream "dressing" that I made up. (3 tsp. fat free sour cream, 1 tsp. olive oil (remember we have to get in 2 tsp. of oil a day), 1 tsp of lemonjuice, and a garlic herb seasoning.) I just spread that on the wrap, laid in my other ingred. and enjoyed to my heart's content! I have also enjoyed whole wheat pita bread (1 point per half) with fresh tomotoes, fat free cheese slices, and canadian bacon microwaved for 20 to 30 seconds. YUMMY!

I love my morning hot cereal (oatmeal is perfect with the sugarfree maple syrup that is on the core plan!) or I enjoy scrambled eggs with a piece of fruit.

The other evening for dinner I just had apples cut up and put in the microwave for 2 minutes and sprikled with cinn. and splenda. Then I enjoyed a whole bag of 94% fat free popcorn with Kraft fat free shredded chedder cheese sprinkled on it. Again - all core foods!

I've lost 12 1/2 pounds in the last 4 weeks and don't feel at all like I am dieting. I've even tried the whole wheat noodles, and made a whole wheat noodle lasagna with fat free cottage cheese, and fat free shredded mozerella cheese - My hubbie really liked that!

I hope those of you on the plan are encouraged! (I gained 3/4 of a pound my third week, but since I have not strayed off the plan at all - I even stopped drinking creamer in my coffee and now put in sugar free hot cocoa in it- I didn't get discouraged.)

For those of you choc lovers out there - remember to use the sugar free fat free choc pudding with skim milk! Also - frozen fruit with milk and sweetner makes a great shake!

[debbie]

I have a job where I have to eat out most of the time 3 meals I am on my 2nd week of the core plan and I need help with dining out suggestions food to eat and restraunts help

[Linda Bastos]

What about natural peanut butter, and nuts, almond nuts.???
Thanks
Linda

[Melinda]

Ok, do I understand right that you're limited to a bread list item to one time per day? So, for example, if I eat oatmeal at breakfast, I can't have bread at lunch or dinner, or pasta, etc? Am I understanding this right . . . . I'm SOOOOOOOO confused!!!

Melinda :o)

[qotu]

On Core, we're limited to one serving of whole grains per day _as CORE_. Bread, even whole wheat, isn't on the Core list at all, but grains like Oatmeal, Malt-o-Meal, couscous, whole wheat pasta and such ARE on the Core list. Those whole grains are what they suggest we limit - since overeating them will impede the weight loss.

That said, we all get 35 points a week to use *however we want.* So it's not that we can't have breads, or sweets, or enchiladas if that's what we want - we're just limited to 35 points' worth of whatever it is per week.

And we can earn extra points through Activity - you get a couple of points for going on a 20-minute walk, for example. And the day you earn the points, you can use those points toward extra "reward" food.

So I have bagels for breakfast many days, or real cream cheese instead of the fat-free kind, or a real piece of cheese, or a few triscuits, or corn tortillas.

At first I quibbled about "why not" let us have whole wheat bread, or corn tortillas, or shredded wheat whenever the heck we wanted it. But I realized I'm at risk for overeating those foods, so it makes sense to me that they're limited.

If I can learn to live within these limits, I can maintain this weight loss. For the first time, it really feels like I can do this for the rest of my life. I couldn't say that about any previous diet attempt, including my earlier attempts at Weight Watchers. It always felt like something I had to do "until" I lost my weight. But then I'd go back to my old ways of eating, and was surprised that the weight crept back to where it had been before. Doh!

Good luck!

[S Reynolds]

It's a great plan. I need to get back to it. What are some good resources to continue motivation? I feel like I need to hear it all the time or something.

S

[newsdiane]

I have been on Core a couple of months now... and I do think it will help me get to my goal of 30 pounds. I'm down 9 so far. This week, I decided to give up wine altogether... and perhaps that will speed things up.

I'm confused about sugar free/fat free Jello Pudding (made from a mix). Is it Core? I thought it was, so tried it for the first time yesterday. Perhaps I went overboard... because the scale this morning was not friendly!!!

[tina marie]

hey all!! i have been doing core for a week and i have lost 2.1 pounds so far!! i was very excited especially because i had already lost 45 with flex and i wanted to try somthing new. what i did find out was some of the things i ate this past week weren't flex. NO GRAPENUTS, NO WHEAT BREAD/WHEAT TORTILLAS, NO FREE COOLWHIP. i am glad my leader cleared it up for me though:) keep it up ladies!!

[JenniJ75]

I have a question - why no deli meats or hot dogs? Many deli meats, like turkey are very lean. Also, I LOVE Ball Park Fat Free Hot Dogs! They are so low cal & no fat, and protein! Why are they restricted?

[Linda]

Hi I love the points system myself, the core is not giving me the freedom to eat what I want.
I have tried the core plan for one week and didn't lose a pound, but have lost 10 pounds in four weeks on the points.....

[Linda]

Hi I love the points system myself, the core is not giving me the freedom to eat what I want.
I have tried the core plan for one week and didn't lose a pound, but have lost 10 pounds in four weeks on the points.....