I'm Freestyling!

Calvin2008Brian

3 days in. It's interesting. I haven't been a paying WW user for probably close to 7 years, so to say there's been a few changes would be a gross understatement. The best thing is the upgraded tracker. At long last, WW is seemingly doing tech better than their competitors who give it away!

A few quick notes:

- I'm having trouble eating all my points. [no, not really, but I haven't touched my weeklies yet and really haven't felt the need].

- zero point eggs taste like regular eggs.

- zero point chicken is ... just weird, man. ;-)

- Connect is every bit the shitshow you guys have described. I was there for two minutes and won't go back.

steve0mania

Welcome "back" Brian! Ha ha!

I've been Freestyling for a couple of months now, and I totally agree that there are some interesting/weird aspects about it. It's kind of a hybrid between the SFT and points.

When I'm eating "well," I hardly eat any points. When I want a little "splurge," I rapidly blow through my points. It's really a knife-edge, so to speak. I guess that's the big push to learn how to eat "well."

Anyway, welcome aboard!

myallforjcbill

Welcome aboard. I am in week 2. Easy to do really well point wise, but the splurges slam you pretty hard. But it seems to work well. I am still not ready to pay the fee for etools.

Calvin2008Brian

myallforjcbill wrote: »

Easy to do really well point wise, but the splurges slam you pretty hard.

Ain't that the truth? I didn't touch the weeklies until Friday, but then blew through the whole batch with one special dinner with wine. I didn't worry about it much as I thought I made decent - though obviously not point friendly - choices.

minimyzeme

Good for you Brian! It took me a long time to figure out Freestyle and not really because I went hog-wild on the 0-point foods. After 4-6 weeks though, I have had pretty good success for maintenance on it though I have experienced some of the balance problems you mentioned.

All in all, I think the concept makes sense: The average WW client seems to come in eating a lot of sugar and carbs. Freestyle weights those kinds of foods heavier than lean proteins and (obviously) the 0-point foods. I read of many people who were initially resistant to the program that later confessed to losing weight after a long period of no losses. Our leader told us that in the aggregate, many people who don't lose, also don't track and that Freestyle was intended to help those people still lose weight. In my meeting--typically 25-30 people--even today there's only a handful that track. Makes no sense to me, but not my circus or monkey.

Calvin2008Brian

Updates: the first week was easy, and - with the exception of the one big splurge I mentioned above - I pretty much breezed through the week on adrenaline and the excitement of doing this big, new thing.

The second week has been more difficult, and I probably should have done a better job of anticipating how I would feel. The past two days, in particular, I've struggled with the feeling of wanting to eat constantly. I'm keeping up with my tracking and have only been outside the "blue dot" once this week.

Today I purposely set out to feel full after breakfast. I scrambled two eggs, stirred in sauteed mushrooms, asparagus, and scallions, and added 1/4 avocado and some feta on the side. This whopping plate-full of a meal cost me only 4 points, and I felt full afterwards. I'm trying to pay attention to see if the urge to graze is different today.

What's weird about Freestyle: many things, frankly, but for what truly bugs me today I'll offer up zero point Original Pam versus 2 points for .5 Tbsp EVOO.

Calvin2008Brian

WI this morning: down 2.4 this week, 7.9 total loss in two weeks on Freestyle. I did not expect the numbers I saw this morning and instead thought I'd have a 1-1.5 lb loss. What a nice surprise!

I feel like I'm very much still in the early part of getting synced up with Freestyle. I haven't yet been to a meeting, and might hold that in abeyance as long as I'm staying on plan and logging losses.

Note: unlike WW of old, I have not been cautioned about losing too quickly.

linmueller

@Calvin2008Brian I've been away for a while, and was scanning thru the old posts.

I'm curious, now that some time has passed, how do you feel about freestyle?

Al_Howard

Meh! The zero point foods can trap you, but, having the flexibility to have really low SP meals allows for more "yummies".

Calvin2008Brian

linmueller wrote: »

I'm curious, now that some time has passed, how do you feel about freestyle?

Some quick hits:

- I eat my weeklies. All of them and then some. In the old plan years ago, I could reserve weeklies as beer points. I don't find that kind of cushion in Freestyle.

- I'm losing. Almost 10 pounds in 6 weeks. Can't say the program doesn't work!

- Bill and Steve's points above are absolutely true. It is easy to stay within points and not feel hungry, but is is easier to blow through points in a hurry with anything resembling a splurge.

- Case in point: I had a zero point breakfast yesterday, three points at lunchtime, and then at the ballpark I had what I would regard as a not-particularly-splurgy ballpark meal: hotdog with mustard and relish, a 1 oz bag of chips, half a soft pretzel, and half a bag of Cracker Jack. My pretty good day ended up 6 points over my daily allotment.

- Overall, I would say I like the plan. I needed to do something different to get my head back in the game, and Freestyle is helping in that regard.

Jerdtrmndone

I do online Freestyle. My problem is I eat more pts. foods and go through weeklies early. I do eat Free foods but not every day. I am still trying to get it ( maybe a bit stubborn )

Al_Howard

@Jerdtrmndone Ain't any "free" foods. Zero SPs, yup. Big difference in mindset.

linmueller

Thanks for the update @Calvin2008Brian . I am working the program with very similar challenges. ... One minor difference, I'm not a fan of freestyle. I'm considering going back to PP. I do appreciate your take on it though.