Wow. That seems an odd way to get to the answer. 2 yellows down to 1 yellow up to 5 greens.
If the first word produces nothing viable, I use a second word to eliminate as many consonants as I can. Some days, the answer jumps out at me and other days, I have to really work at it.
But as I’ve said before, I’m always working word puzzles, and I’ve done them since I was a kid. It’s how I spend my time on Mondays while I’m waiting for my clothes to wash. And I’ve never lost a spelling bee.