Frequently asked core questions

What is the core plan?

The core plan gives you a list of foods to eat from with a low energy density. They are whole foods, not processed. The aim is to eat until satisfied, not 'stuffed'. The core lists contain lean meats, low fat dairy, grains, vegetables, fruits, some cereals and breads. Their are limits on some foods each day such as potatoes, bread and pasta. It is a healthy way of eating for life, which teaches us about hunger levels and fuelling our body with good foods.


How do i get a copy of the core lists?

The core plan is a weight watchers copyrighted program. Sometimes well meaning people will offer to send you a core plan list. thats great but the biggest problem is you are not getting the overall picture. you need to also learn about hunger signals and limits and are doing the program with only some of the information. do yourself a favour, go to a meeting where your leader will explain the program to you, or join the online for 3 months. it is an investment in you.

Can i eat as much as i want on core?

NO. You should eat until you feel satisfied, not overfull. you must learn to listen to your hunger signals. if you continue to eat beyond satisfied, you will be taking in excess kilojoules and hence weight loss will be slow or non existant. You need to remember to follow the good health guidelines in your book 1, ie 5 serves of vegetables and 2 of fruit, 2 of dairy and one of protein minimum. Dont forget to take a meal break about halfway through. put down that knife and fork and assess if you are still hungry or not? drink some water. continue your meal if you feel you need to. a good guideline to serving size is to fill a small dinner plate with 1/4 protein, 1/4 carbohydrate and 1/2 free vegetables. Distinguising your level of satisfaction will take some practice so dont worry if you dont get it right up front.


If an item is 0 points, is it core?

Not necessarily. if it is a non core food for example a teaspoon of honey, which is 0 points, is counted as 0 points. however if you have another teaspoon tomorrow, that would be .5 out of your 21 weekly points allowance. if you have 1 teaspoon of honey, and a teaspoon of sugar today, which come to .5 for 2, then you count .5! tricking the counter by having only 1 teaspoon of something or the amount which will be 0, is only fooling yourself. count your points properly.


I find many foods that i think should be core, such as flavored popcorn. why arent they?

Weight watchers has done much reasearch into these foods and found they have 'abuse potential'. In field tests people ate more of these foods than they needed to fuel hunger. Mixing some fruit and yoghurt and splenda together takes effort. It is harder to abuse the amount, you have to think about it, where opening some low fat yoghurts is easy and the potental to overeat that food would be strong.

If i make something with core ingredients, is it core?

Not necessarily, no. Baking many foods would change the density of those foods, thus rendering them non core foods. Once again, there is abuse potential.


What if a recipe is 'mostly core' but contains a non core ingredient?

if you are making something for a meal that contains a non core ingredient count that ingredient as points from your allowance. for example, a spaghetti bolognaise recipe that contains 4 tablespoons of parmesan cheese and serves 4. this would be 1 point per serve for the cheese, or alternately, you may be able to make a core substitute like ricotta cheese instead. if a recipe has lots of non core foods, it shouldnt be considered core!

How should i get started on core?

Learn your program. sit down and read your literature and get familiar with the rules.
Plan which foods you would like to eat and write a shopping list.
Making sure you have core choices at work and at home so that you have something to eat is a big part of doing the program. it does take more planning than points in my opinion, but its worth it.
be sure to have fruit, popcorn, yoghurt or ww fruities around so that you have a quick snack to grab when hungry. dont forget milk and smoothies are allowable.


Does it get easier?

Yes, core does become second nature. It is a learning curve at first, and may take you a little bit of getting used to. it is an easy plan to follow once you get your head around what you can and cannot have.


Can i eat out on core?

Yes of course, but you are a bit limited i guess. Try a steak house with vegies, ask for no butter and dressings on the side.
fish, vegies, salad
napolatana pasta at an italian restraunt or a vegetable pasta
sushi
grilled fish and salad at the takeaway, but beware the way it is done, some just put it on the hamburger grill which makes it taste yuk and it is oily


Will i really lose all those sugar cravings?

Yes! its amazing how the taste for sugary foods disappears after a few weeks on core. yes, it is hard at first but try and substitute some nice sweet fruit in its place. You will be much more satisfied eating whole foods and your tastes will change. take it from this 'pepsi' junky, who cannot stand it now.

Will i lose more weight on core?

No, both programs work, but you have to follow them! if i sort of do the program it sort of works.

What if i decide to have low fat dairy instead of skim, or do other little changes?

I guess everyone will 'tweak' a program to suit themselves. From time to time, you may have a low fat instead of no fat milk, or a yoghurt tha t isnt on the core list but find the program will still work for you. its all about moderation and using your common sense, and really listening to your bodys hunger signals, and learning to live with this for life. As long as you are losing, and are comfortable and following the basic principles, you are enough of an adult to make your own choices. Lets just be sensible, 'own it' and do what we are here to do LOSE WEIGHT.

Most importantly, make sure you dont pass your tweaks onto others as 'core'. they arent core, and we know it..so lets be honest. i always say

THE TRUTH WILL SET YOU FREE.


What is a typical Core Plan menu:

Breakfasts:
weetbix with blueberries and skim milk
kellogs miniwheats (plain) with a fresh chopped date or fresh or canned in juice fruit and milk
scrambled eggs on a big pan fried mushroom (yum)
eggs, lean bacon eye and cooked tomatoes
toast, baked beans and ricotta cheese
toast with spaghetti in tomato sauce, canned style
fresh fruit with yoghurt
plain rice boiled in milk with stewed fruit
porrige with fresh or canned fruit

Lunch

couscous with cubed roast vegies, corn kernals, baby peas and chopped shallots and red capsicum and a squeeze of lemon juice

'fried' rice

grainy bread roll filled with salad and smoked salmon, or chicken, or tuna

any leftovers from last nights dinner such as spaghetti, rice, pasta meat and vegies etc

risoni with assorted grilled vegies

red salmon and salad

sardines and grainy crispbread and salad

home made hamburger with lean mince and salad


Dinners:

pan roasted chicken breast with your choice of seasoning and roasted vegies

fish, home made potato wedges and vegies

steak, cooked mushrooms corn on the cob and assorted greens

pork steaks, jacket potatoes and broccoli spears

stir fries, go wild

risotto

spaghetti bolognaise

moussaka

hamburger - lean mince patty, just use all mince and shape into a patty and pan fry. salad, cooked onion. cut a potato into 8 wedges and paint with your oil allowance and cook at 200deg cel for 25 mins.

apricot chicken made using a can of apricots pureed and a pack of french onoin soup mix, served with rice

omelette

fritatta

prawn salad

panfried calamari with salad



snacks

fresh dates
popcorn
any fruits
vegies, i tend to like roasted carrots and parsnips, celery stix, capsicum strips and fresh mushrooms as snacks
no fat yoghurt or nestle diet yoghurt
low joule jelly
skim milk
tea, coffee, cocoa


dont forget to drink a litre of just water per day.

The core plan is a great way to eat and live, but it takes planning. It is wonderful not to have to count those basic foods, takes away a lot of the dramas. For me, its good because my family all eat in a core fashion anyway, they just like the occasional pie etc

Learn your basic core lists, which are basically whole, healthy foods, lean meats, lots of fruit and vegetables, skim milk and grainy breads/crispbreads and cereals.

Sit down and plan what you are going to eat! You should do this with either plan.

Be prepared. Keep storage foods such as pasta, tinned tomatoes, rice, couscous, tinned tuna/salmon/sardines, fruits, fresh vegies, frozen vegies and cereals such as oats, weetbix, special k and bran flakes in your pantry. Fill your freezer with grainy breads and rolls and try making a few different soups and freezing in the winter months. I freeze soup in snap lock bags, remembering to leave room for expansion. That way they are flat and can be taken out of the freezer every day for use later. I also buy bulk chicken breast fillets and trim and score them and freeze in small flat one serve packages. Lean mince is frozen in flat serves in freezer bags.

Make sure you have plenty of dairy on hand, ie skim milk, lowfat ricotta or cottage cheese and core yoghurts such as nestle diet yoghurt or plain diet yoghurts. You can have milk or yoghurt between meals which is good for filling an empty tummy. Fruit smoothies are great, and easily prepared.

Try new things. I had never had couscous until i started core. Now i eat it regularly. I find roasting carrots and parsnips and pumpkin good to keep on hand for those days when you need to eat between meals. I have a small serve of them heated and a dash of soy sauce, and its quite filling. I also enjoy a cob of corn between meals too! I also eat vegetable soup with my main meals on hungry days, it gives me a full feeling and keeps me going through to the next meal.

I find it a good idea to cut oranges, watermelon, rockmelon, strawberries, kiwi or whatever fruits you like and store them in an airtight container on the top shelf of your fridge, so that when you open the door to find something, you can grab it and eat it quickly, no prep required. I can be food lazy....dont feel like peeling an orange etc so if its already cut, i eat more of it.

Popcorn can be your friend. I bought a black n decker air popper from Kmart for $20 and its a wonderful piece of machinery. McCormick makes a popcorn salt but it seems to only be in woolies. I also like mediterranean sprinkle on the popcorn. Hint: dampen your hands then run them through your popped corn, then add your salt, herbs, whatever. It will stick to the popcorn.

Make sure you drink your water. Remember 4 cups a day of water and the other 4 can be green tea, clear soups, diet cordials etc


CORE BREAKFAST IDEAS:

Porridge. I make mine by soaking 40g of oats and a fresh date chopped in milk overnight. I then just microwave it for 90 seconds in the morning while i do something else, and let it cool slightly. I find soaking it good because it doesnt overflow in the microwave as its already swollen. Other things you can add are stewed fruits, canned fruits, cinnamon

Scrambled eggs with toast

Lean bacon and egg toasted sandwich or roll

Spaghetti on toast

Special K, weetbix or all bran, guardian or Bran flakes



CORE LUNCH IDEAS

Brown or white rice topped with chicken, tuna, any left over meats really with assorted fresh or frozen vegies


Cous cous with roasted vegies and mediterranean seasoning is nice


Multigrain or soy lindseed roll or 2 large slices of bread with salads, lean meats, canned fish etc


Dinner leftovers


Pasta, cooked with vegies, canned tuna or chicken breast and topped with ricotta cheese while hot and stirred through is divine.


Standby for me: stir fried vegies with changs dry instant noodles and oyster sauce. i have all the vegies chopped in containers so i can just throw it together.


Soups with a big crusty roll

CORE DINNERS:

Spaghetti Bolognaise


Chicken hamburgers made with your bread for the day plus chicken breast and salad. serve with some homemade wedges or sliced potatoes cooked in the oven. Ive never found anyone who didnt like this meal.


Lamb steaks with corn on the cob, mash potatoes and baby carrots.


Your own style fried rice


pasta dishes are frequent in our house, especially pasta bakes made with a tomato style sauce and ricotta cheese


Dry roasted meats with roast vegetables