Core Guidelines

In a nutshell...

  • Vegetables and fruits (no juices or dried fruits)

  • Soups (non-creamy)

  • Whole Wheat Pasta, Brown Rice, Potatoes and Grains

  • High Fiber and other cereals without added sugar

  • Lean Meats, poultry, fish and eggs (93% lean or better)

  • Fat-Free Milk Products

  • Healthy Oils (2 tsp of olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, or flaxseed oil per day)

  • FF Condiments

  • Coffee, Tea and sugar-free beverages



The general rule is, you can have anything in the Core list TO SATISFACTION (except for the noted limitations) at mealtimes (see new snack rules further down). If it takes more than one serving to satisfy you, that’s okay. But just be sure to stop eating when you’re satisfied & not FULL.

 

There are limitations on some of the Core foods...

 

  • WW smoothies or SF/FF Hot Cocoa is limited to once per day.

 

  • Ground meat (whether beef, pork, chicken or turkey) is limited to once per day (must be 93% lean or better).

 

  • You can have either potatoes (sweet or white) OR whole wheat pasta OR brown rice once per day.

 

  • You can have cold Core cereal once per day & it must be eaten with skim milk or plain ff yogurt.

 

  • You can use 2 tsp. of olive, canola, safflower, sunflower, or flaxseed oil per day without counting points. Anything over that you need to count points for. The 2 tsp. of oil is part of your healthy 8’s and should REALLY be included every day.

 

These are individual rules that do NOT affect each other. In other words, you can have ground meat AND a potato for lunch, cold Core cereal for breakfast, and hot cocoa for a snack. You can NOT have a potato for lunch and whole wheat pasta for supper. Also, these rules are all ONCE PER DAY. It’s okay to have more than one serving at a time, but you may not have ½ a potato for lunch & the other ½ at supper.

 


These are the healthy 8 guidelines. They are VERY important!

 

  • Eat at least 5 servings of veggies and fruit each day.
 
  • Choose whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and oats, whenever possible.
 
  • Include 2 servings of milk products per day.
 
  • Have 2 tsp. of healthy oil (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, or flaxseed) per day.
 
  • Ensure that you are getting enough protein by choosing at least a serving or two of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, dried beans, or soy products each day. Many milk products are also good sources of protein.
 
  • Limit added sugar and alcohol.
 
  • Drink at least 6 glasses of water each day.
 
  • Take a multi-vitamin each day.

 

 

You have 35 additional points to use however you like each week, in addition to any Activity Points you earn through exercise. You must use AP’s on the same day that you earn them.


New rules (2007):


  • At Mealtimes: Choose from the Core Food List - as much as you need to feel satisfied.


  • At Snacktime, choose:
-Fat-free milk
-Fruits and vegetables from the Core Food List
-Weight Watchers Fruities
-Popcorn (air-popped or 94% fat-free microwave popped)
-A Weight Watchers Smoothie (limited to one a day)
-Vegetable soup made with vegetables from the Core Food List

  • At ANY time: To spice up your meals or have extra snacks: You have an optional weekly POINTS allowance of 35 that you can use for ANY food that isn't on the Core Food List.


  • Follow the Good Health Guidelines.

New Core Quiz (07/25/2007)

  • If I make ice cream using fat-free milk, splenda, and vanilla, I can consider it a Core Food.

Answer: True.
Foods such as ice cream, cakes, cookies and muffins are not included on the Core Plan in our materials and on our website due to their abuse potential.

However, we want to make our Food Plans livable for our members. If you wish to makes items that are generally considered trigger foods (such as ice cream) using all Core ingredients, and you do not have a problem with your weight loss, then you may feel free to make any food you wish using ingredients from the Core Foods List.

If you are experiencing a slow-down in your weight loss, you may want to evaluate the kinds of foods you are creating using Core Food ingredients.

  • You make fajitas (without the tortillas) with all Core ingredients. If you jazz it up with a touch of regular sour cream, low-fat shredded cheese and broken up tortilla chips, you only have to count the POINTS values for the toppings.

Answer: False
Adding all those toppings makes this dish a lot more indulgent. If you were only adding a tablespoon or two of regular sour cream, you could consider the fajitas a Core dish and just count the POINTS value for the sour cream toward your weekly POINTS Allowance. But two or more ingredients puts it over the top, and you should count the POINTS value for the entire recipe. The same holds true for any recipe that you have to dissect layer by layer to determine the Core versus non-Core ingredients.

  • Top a fresh bowl of berries with fat-free whipped topping and you’ve got a fabulous Core snack or dessert.

Answer: True
Well, mostly. You’re only adding one ingredient to the berries, so they remain a Core food. Technically, you need to count the POINTS value of the topping. Lucky for you, two tablespoons of fat-free whipped topping has a POINTS value of zero anyway, so it would not affect your weekly POINTS Allowance total. But if you were topping the berries with frozen yogurt, you’d have to count the yogurt’s POINTS value.