New Weight Watchers!

[katluvr]

I never said that.

I stand corrected!
But some said that...I think I am just always hungry. And even more so when I wound out regularly!

Day #2 of REALLY eating only 29 points. We shall see!

K

[maillotpois]

I don't know if it is the new program or new motivation because of the new program or what but I have lost 8 pounds since the end of November when they rolled out the new plan. You do need to give it a chance and let yourself re-learn the new plan.

Good luck!

[katluvr]

So today I ran 9 miles, gives me 13 activity points. I did not record the G2 or shot blocks I did partly because I don't really plan on using my activity points. So far this week I have not used any of those 49 points weekly points...what does one do with those? Are they for a splurge meal/day? I must admit I may use some of either of those extra points on a bit larger glass of wine!
K

[ASammy1]

I'm going to a WW at work intoduction meeting tomorrow. They are rolling out the new program for us and I'm curious to see what has changed based on all the posts in this discussion.

[gnat23]

So today I ran 9 miles, gives me 13 activity points. I did not record the G2 or shot blocks I did partly because I don't really plan on using my activity points. So far this week I have not used any of those 49 points weekly points...what does one do with those? Are they for a splurge meal/day? I must admit I may use some of either of those extra points on a bit larger glass of wine!
K

katluvr, those weekly points are for either spreading onto each day or saving them for a special bigger meal, your choice. I usually end the week with about half of them still in the bank.

If you're running 9 miles, I would absolutely track those activity points and the stuff you eat during the run. Then I would eat the heck out of the rest of those activity points. If you're just doing a half-hour of yoga or something, fine, don't eat the 1-2 points. BUT if you're exercising a LOT, then you really do need the fuel to keep moving.

Another way of putting it: skip a few weekly points or a few activity points, but don't skip 'em ALL.

-- gnat! (is my opinion, be it not-so-humble)

[Tri Girl]

I became a Lifetime member 5 years ago (and then subsequently thought I knew everything, quit going to meetings and gained back all 30 lbs I lost).

I rejoined the second week of December. I LOVE LOVE LOVE the new plan. I actually like that it leads you to more of a low-carb way of eating. Carbs are my nemesis, so I like that it leads me to choose lower-carb things.

I also LOVE that fruit is free. Before when I had the choice of a 2 pt apple or a 2 pt package of cookies, I'd go for the cookies. Now I find I eat the apple first, then realize I don't need/want the cookies after all.
I have no problem eating my 29 pts daily. I felt like I scrounged before with 18 pts, but now I feel like I have so much more. I don't even keep track of earned activity points. If I eat a gu or any kind of nutrition during exercise, I figure the activity points I earned even out with the nutrition I ate.

I do try to eat most of my 49 extra points (figuring my activity makes up for that). In the last 3 weeks I've lost 4.8. Not great, but not too bad considering it was the holidays. I'm looking forward to less temptations and more focus in the new year.

I hope to be at goal by May. I will NEVER stop attending meetings this time. I have learned my lesson. I may only go to meetings every other week once I'm at goal, but when I stop going, I stop being accountable. I wish I'd learned that lesson the first time so I wouldn't have to lose 30 all over again. This time when the scale goes up, I will STOP it then and there.

I'm curious how I'm going to track once I start Ironman training in March. Last time I did one I was hungry ALL THE TIME during the training. It will be interesting.

Good job to everyone! We can do this together!!!

[maillotpois]

Trigirl - ditto everything you said except replace the details with I lost 60 lbs and made lifetime 21 years ago. And kept it off til I had that silly kid. The new plan is so much better. Real food.

Let's do this.

[GLC1968]

The new plan won me over. I just joined WW for 3 months. We'll see how it goes. I've tried using them before and was not successful (it wasn't enough food for me in the past), but this new plan seems promising.

I just keyed in today's food and I'm at 28 pts, so I doubt I'll have trouble eating everything!

I've signed up mostly for some new tools and new motivation. My current regime was getting a little old and uninspiring.

[roadie gal]

I tried using the old point system and felt hungry all of the time. I didn't join WW at the time. Someone gave me a copy of the point calculator. I just couldn't stay on it for more than 3 days.

Do you guys think that I'd do better with the new system? I love fruits and veges, but I also love bread. This time I'd sign up for 3 months online.

[maillotpois]

I find it much more satisfying than the old plan. I also had trouble sticking with the old plan and given my history w/ WW I really wanted to try, and to be positive about it. The 20 years ago plan was a life changer for me. The points plan, not so much.

Give it a try.

[Triskeliongirl]

I too earned my weight watchers lifetime status more than 20 years ago. But I could not keep the weight off with weight watchers over the long haul. I think a big difference between the old programs and newer ones are the carb content, which is particularly problematic for me since I am a mild type I diabetic. While some of you commented that the new program is an attempt to be lower carb, if fruit is unlimited, that is not low carb in my book.

Because of my carb sensitivity, I have a rule that I don't eat anything that lets my blood sugar go higher than 120. If I follow this rule, and of course control calories and exercise, I was able to permanently lose my excess weight, and maintain it. When I have gained a little, its because I have let carbs, even 'healthy' ones like fruit slip into my diet. So, for me the new WW plan wouldn't work. But even for a normal person, there are good metabolic reasons to keep the ratio of protein to carbs high in your diet. The idea is that you want to be in a state where glucagon>insulin rather than the other way around to burn fat. When insulin>glucagon, as when you eat a high carb diet, you are actually in a hormonal state that favors fat storage.

While the WW tracking tools are nice, I have been using the Livestrong tracking tools. You can enter food, exercise (and there are MANY categories for cycling as you can imagine), even blood sugar. What I think is key, is that every person needs to figure out how their body reacts to different foods and exercise, and develop a strategy that works for them. Tracking can be really helpful in doing that. One also has to be careful to not be fooled by water fluctuations. My weight always goes up temporarially if I suddenly increase my exercise due to DOMs, but then it always comes back down if I just stick with my plan no matter what. GLC, I read your posts on the weight loss thread, and I bet this could be what happened to you. So, don't throw out a plan that works (I know you lost a lot last year) due to a temporary fluctuation.

[GLC1968]

Yeah, I should mention that I'm not throwing out my old plan, not by a long shot. I'm just using the WW tools to track and motivate. The part I like about this new plan is that my normal, healthy W.O.E. fits it. Previously, my choice to add in lean protien to a meal would send my points over the limit. I felt that the old points system favored low fat foods over quality foods. If I wanted to meet my points target, I'd have to cut back on protien and fill up on veggies. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, particularly if one tends to skimp on veggies...but I could not meet my protien targets and my points targets the old way. Now I can. So now I don't feel 'guilty' for choosing 2 oz of lean chicken to eat with my apple because 1. the apple is free and 2. the chicken points are still well within my range.

I am not a low carb person. Not by a long shot. I am also not a high carb person, either. People who don't track their intake *think* I'm low carb because of the foods I choose, but in the overall picture, my carbs are typically equal to or slightly higher than my protein (on a daily basis). I am also not a carb-sensitive person in terms of weight loss. My problem isn't that carbs (even bad ones) cause me to not lose weight. My problem is that carbs (particularly bad ones) cause me to overeat. THAT causes me to gain weight. I feel better when I eat a higher protein, moderate carb diet. That's why it works for me. When I feel better (emotionally and physically), I train more. I train more, I lose weight. It's really quite simple and often I lose sight of it.

Right now, I'm in a bad place. I'm hoping the upbeat, positive nature and simplicity of WW helps me out of this bad place. I certainly don't expect that counting points is going to magically melt fat the way that counting calories/macronutrients didn't. It's all the same, in my book.

[lauraelmore1033]

I am just loving WW! I had sworn never to diet again, having lost and found the same 50+ pounds over and over and over again since the age of 13, but this thread (and the Jennifer Hudson commercials) caught my eye. I've actually lost 4 pounds since just after Christmas, but have only been on WW since last thursday. I'd started out with the very virtuous, mostly salad and veggies diet, but was starting to realize that it just wasn't something I could sustain. Now I have some guidelines about adding some more "regular" foods to the salads and veggies and am getting a clue about how training impacts the amount of food I need to/get to eat. Activity points are so motivating during the off season! I put on 15 pounds very quickly after the last century ride of the season and I was no longer training like a maniac, and piled on even more over the holidays. Hopefully, there will be no more of that. This feels like something I can sustain, even if I don't lose much weight--and is certainly healthier than the way I was eating before!

[okraftw]

I lost 40 lbs on WW last year. Then due to extended work travel/vacations/holidays, I quit for the last two months of the year and gained 15 lbs back. I just started the points plus this week, and I love it. Last autumn, I was struggling to get by on 19 pts a day and I found myself dipping into my weeklies on a daily basis instead of my normal method of saving them until the end of the week and having a treat meal out with friends. Almost everything I ate every day had to be "filling" or I wouldn't make it until the next meal time. That was a lot of pressure on every single thing I put in my mouth every time I did it.

Now I get 7 extra points to play with (my points of my typical day only went up by 3 from the oatmeal and random grain with dinner, everything else was already veggies, lean meats, fruits, milk, etc.) and I don't feel like I have to make a decision between an orange (which I would want) or a piece of cheese (which would keep me going until the next meal.) I can have have the orange, see if that works, and if not, have cheese in another hour because I have the extra points, and fruit is free.

Granted, it's only been 3 days, and the scale movement is most likely due to the cessation of junk food (and the un-retaining of water that goes with it) but mentally, it's a lot easier for me to follow.

[GLC1968]

but mentally, it's a lot easier for me to follow.

I'm finding this to be true for me, too. It's helping me even out my 'bad food' vs 'good food' issues. Of course, I'm only on week one so it's a bit too early to pass final judgement.


I have a question about recipes though - can someone explain to me why if I put my little 'baked peach' dessert/treat in as 3 separate items (unsweetened canned peach half, brown sugar, walnuts) it adds up to 2 points but if I make it a recipe it turns it into 4 points for the same quantity??