WW...my verbosity is kickin in now.

Mom, Do you still have the points slider I think I gave to you a while back? If you do, that will help a lot, in fact you'll need it. I don't buy anything that doesn't have the nutritional info on it. For produce I use this page, but it has just about every food on it.
http://quiddity.cc/rachel/diet/wwfoods.htm (it's a lot of pages, you should print it at work)

It might be good to remember that it is generally true that vegetables are zero points and most fruits are 1 point for 1 C. except bananas which are 2 points.

Just so you know, nuts and trail mix are really high in points. I usually avoid them and see them as an indulgence. I know that 1/2 C. of trailmix is about 6 WW points which is the same as a 6" subway turkey sandwich. that's a big diff in quantity. Many yogurts are high in points too because of so many sugars. I buy WW yogurt which is really good and is only 1 point for the whole thing. Granola bars can also be high, I buy Fiber 1 bars which are 2 points each so yogurt and a fiber 1 bar is only 3 points and that's breakfast. There's tons of little WW tricks and products that are good to get you through a day like their cookies and their ice cream bars. (yeah, they're pricey but I'd rather pay the money than struggle with food). And sugar free jello is zero points and those sugar free jello pudding cups are 1 point. Yum. I also get the veggie steamers and they're usually 2-3 points for a whole bag. So one of those and a pudding for lunch is only 4 points. Another trick many WW folks use is to eat less of the main dish at dinner which is usually high in points because of meats and cheeses and to eat more veggies on the side instead. and remember if you do WW, you get your daily total and you get 35 extra points to use throughout the week or to splurge on one day.

and just a thought on the salad "add-ins"...would you miss them if they weren't there? every little bit counts. I don't even miss cheese in my subway sandwiches anymore.

To figure out how many WW points you are allowed this is how:

Female score 2

Male score 8

Nursing Mom score 12

17 - 26 yrs old score 4

27 - 37 score 3

38 - 47 score 2

48 - 58 score 1

over 58 score 0

Enter the first 2 digit of your weight in pounds, example 175 enter 17

Under 5' 1" score 0

5'1" to 5'10" score 1

over 5'10" score 2

What you do all day....

Sitting down at work score 0

Mainly standing score 2

Walking most of the time score 4

Physical work score 6

Total points ______

To do WW, you need to figure out how many points you're allowed, and add up what you eat every day. I usually did it in my head before, but now I have an app on my phone that calculates it right there. I have to say, it's extremely handy at the grocery store. Otherwise, you can write it down on a sheet of paper just as easily.

One last thought...since I have watched what I put in my body very closely I do very little baking. You can still do it but it is definitely an indulgence and it's time consuming to do the math but it is TOTALLY worth it to do the math because like I said before, KNOWLEDGE IS POWER and then you know exactly how bad those things are! :)

btw, the rest of my text just said I earned 4 points on Friday at the gym.