Counting points

Weight watchers is based on a points system...it seems to get more confusing over time, and you practically need a Phd to figure out what you ate for the day. ;-) I've done weight watchers several times, so I'm used to it, but it always surprises me that people bother to jump through the hoops they need to in order to follow the points program. Believe me, I think it's worth it, and I think the points program is a good one, but we are lazy about our health, so the success of the program is impressive.

For the 2 of you out there who haven't done WW before, the points system basically assigns values to the foods/drinks you consume, adding up to a daily recommended amount of points, based upon your weight, height, activity level, age, etc... In addition to your daily points, you get 35 extra points per week to be used however you want. You can have a few extra points each day, or one really high calorie meal, or you can choose not to use them at all.

Points are based upon calories, fat and fiber contents of food, but fat (unless it's extremely high) isn't much of a factor. It's a safe bet to assume that ever 50 calories (roughly) is one point. If there is a lot of fiber in a food, it reduces the point value because fiber is our friend, so you can have 100 calories and still have only 1 point if there is a high amount of fiber. Still, 50 calories = 1 point is a good rule of thumb.

I used to be really annoyed by the people at the WW meetings who would whine that "I just can't possibly get all of my points in each day - it's too much!" Okay phatty, that's why you're in WW, because you can't get your calories in. ;-) And yet, I am now one of those people. Ugh. I could very easily eat high calorie foods and get the calories in, no problem, but because I'm trying to eat healthy, I don't want to eat all the calories WW would have me eating. I'm still tracking both my points on the WW site and all of my calories on fitday, and I would go way over where I try to keep my calories if I ate all the WW points I get. No thanks.

I know I should follow the program, but I also know that WW doesn't take into consideration the fact that I've been surgically altered. I don't need as much food as I would have, at this weight, in the past. Yesterday I had 15 points left over, and the day before I had 12. I wouldn't mind if I ate my full point allotment, but if I'm eating healthy, it's just hard to get to that number.

Darcy and I are going to a Saturday morning meeting this week. It will only be 4 days since our last meeting, so it's not really fair to count it as our first week (for weigh in purposes), but I can't plan to go every Tuesday at noon. It's just not practical. I'm hoping we can make a good dent in the four days. I know we are on the right track.

Darcy has been great about keeping track of her points, and I'm very proud of her! This is her first time trying WW, and I hope it's a program that works for her. We are all so much happier when we are healthier!