WW Plans
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Actually, the plan always works. Because there’s a little caveat in every version that basically tells you if you’re not losing weight you need to adjust the parameters.)
But if "adjusting the parameters" includes the need to calculate calories outside of the plan being used, I'd argue you're not really following a plan that works.
I lost weight on Freestyle, but I was frequently/consistently WAY over my points allotment. The numbers were literally all over the place. If I ate within the allotted points, I was usually (but not always) stll very hungry. I found this frustrating, and it begged the question, "How many Freestyle points can I eat and still lose weight?" Once I started double-tracking in MFP, I learned the answer was, "It depends on what you eat."
For me, that's not a plan that works.
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I don’t know the name of the plan I started with in 2006. But we had the slide rule and men and women had the same number of points. I lost steadily to goal and the women at the meeting appeared to hate me for it. Or maybe there was some other reason.1
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But we had the slide rule and men and women had the same number of points.
I remember when I joined WW under the first iteration of PointsPlus. I'm a little over 5'6 and wanted to lose 40lbs. (Thirty to reacg WW goal.) I was given 29 daily points and was told it was the minimum for women. I asked "So a woman who is 5' tall and wants to lose 10lbs gets the same number of points as me?" The reply was "Yes." I told the lady that one of us would hate this program.
BTW, I may have one of those slide rules somewhere. Happy to get rid of it if someone wants it.
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For what it's worth (certainly not very much), I encourage anyone who deemed themselves successful on prior plans to go back to them for the sole reason that success often breeds success.
I don't believe we're here to be tested or tortured. I firmly believe as people step on the stepping stones of weight loss, they get encouraged by weight loss. They experience the NSVs. They feel better. They sleep better. They have better interactions with their doctors. They're less of a burden to themselves and probably, less of a potential problem to their families. Once that process starts, I think some re-evaluate the nuances of how they eat, how they "spend their points" , what they want to put in their body, how they want to incorporate activity (because it's easier to do so), etc.
Much of my challenge in weight loss was in my head and learning to re-learn about my relationship with food and drink and the triggers for same. I lost the majority of my weight on PP. It took me a while to figure out what worked for me with the newer programs, but I realized my body really didn't care that WW changed up their gig. I could easily have kept on PP and it would have worked. I transitioned to the newer programs because I actually appreciated the weighted-emphasis on sugars and carbs. It's worked out OK for me, but if hasn't for you and you were on a program that was working, maybe going back to it is the best thing you could do for now.
Options are always open down the road but if you're stuck and discouraged, I don't think it will work to try to force yourself to an eating style you don't like and doesn't work for you. Ultimately, we live better lives in a smaller body. Consider the method as a stepping stone. Use what works, evaluate the result and your happiness & satisfaction with it, and periodically adapt as necessary. That includes leaving WW behind (here we are on MFP, right?).
I'm quite sure my view wouldn't be sanctioned by WW, but I get so damn jazzed when people get to experience the benefits of weight loss, I think the tradeoffs are worth zigging and zagging to your heart's content.1 -
I’ve never done Freestyle. I’m fairly certain I would hate it. There is no doubt the Freestyle approach is more unmoored from calories than prior plans. It so punishes saturated fats and sugars that it would be easy for me to be done with my points by noon every day.
Even without considering sugars and the evils of trans fats, some the judgements are just ridiculous. And illogical. So, even though boneless skinless chicken thighs have only about 10 more calories per serving than breasts, they are not zero points. (I know lots of people who got fat by eating too many chicken thighs. Not.). Conversely, farmed salmon, which is much fattier than chicken thighs (and probably some cuts of beef not on the zero points list) is a zero points food.
So, yeah, I could see an uncoupling between points consumption and weight loss, calorie counts, and satiety.
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And pork tenderloin is pointy, and about the same NI as chicken.0
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(I think it was the FiberOne yogurt that officially put the fad over the top)
I remember that! Although I got my favorite brownie recipe from this era of Weight Watchers (can of black beans, brownie mix, and water).
I have a hard time with Freestyle feeling too restrictive unless you're eating off of the prescribed food list (and as someone who can easily eat 4 bananas a day, it didn't seem like a good fit for me!)1 -
So, yeah, I could see an uncoupling between points consumption and weight loss, calorie counts, and satiety.
Exactly. And when this uncoupling happens on the regular, the true learning of how/when/why weight loss happens goes away (or possibly accidentally gets replaced with magical thinking.)
Learning the real facts/lessons is what increases the chance of long-term success. IMHO.
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Don't know how long they'll keep this up, but....
And no land animals.
All 200 Zero Points Foods
With over 200 zero Points foods to choose from, there’s always something delicious to eat.
Here it is: an expanded list of zero Points foods.* All foods on this list form the foundation of a healthy eating pattern, so you don’t need to weigh, measure, or track any of them. Enjoy!
Jump to: A B C D E F G H J K L M N O P R S T V W X Y
A
Apples
Applesauce, unsweetened
Apricots
Arrowroot
Artichoke hearts
Artichokes
Arugula
Asparagus
B
Bamboo shoots
Banana
Beans, including adzuki, black, broad (fava), butter, cannellini, cranberry (Roman), green, garbanzo (chickpeas), great northern, kidney, lima, lupini, mung, navy, pink, small white, snap, soy, string, wax, white
Beans, refried, fat-free, canned
Beets
Berries, mixed
Blackberries
Blueberries
Broccoli
Broccoli rabe
Broccoli slaw
Broccolini
Brussels sprouts
C
Cabbage, all varieties including Chinese (bok choy), Japanese, green, red, napa, savory, pickled
Calamari, grilled
Cantaloupe
Carrots
Cauliflower
Caviar
Celery
Swiss chard
Cherries
Chicken breast, ground, 98% fat-free
Chicken breast or tenderloin, skinless, boneless or with bone
Clementines
Coleslaw mix (shredded cabbage and carrots), packaged
Collards
Corn, baby (ears), white, yellow, kernels, on the cob
Cranberries
Cucumber
D
Daikon
Dates, fresh
Dragon fruit
E
Edamame, in pods or shelled
Egg substitutes
Egg whites
Eggplant
Eggs, whole, including yolks
Endive
Escarole
F
Fennel (anise, sweet anise, or finocchio)
Figs
Fish: anchovies, arctic char, bluefish, branzino (sea bass), butterfish, carp, catfish, cod, drum, eel, flounder, grouper, haddock, halibut, herring, mackerel, mahimahi (dolphinfish), monkfish, orange roughy, perch, pike, pollack, pompano, rainbow trout (steelhead), rockfish, roe, sablefish (including smoked), salmon (all varieties), salmon, smoked (lox), sardines, sea bass, smelt, snapper, sole, striped bass, striped mullet, sturgeon (including smoked); white sucker, sunfish (pumpkinseed), swordfish, tilapia, tilefish, tuna (all varieties), turbot, whitefish (including smoked), whitefish and pike (store-bought), whiting
Fish fillet, grilled with lemon pepper
Fruit cocktail
Fruit cup, unsweetened
Fruit salad
Fruit, unsweetened
G
Garlic
Ginger root
Grapefruit
Grapes
Greens: beet, collard, dandelion, kale, mustard, turnip
Greens, mixed baby
Guavas
Guavas, strawberry
H
Hearts of palm (palmetto)
Honeydew melon
J
Jackfruit
Jerk chicken breast
Jerusalem artichokes (sunchokes)
Jicama (yam bean)
K
Kiwifruit
Kohlrabi
Kumquats
L
Leeks
Lemon
Lemon zest
Lentils
Lettuce, all varieties
Lime
Lime zest
Litchis (lychees)
M
Mangoes
Melon balls
Mung bean sprouts
Mung dal
Mushroom caps
Mushrooms, all varieties including brown, button, crimini, Italian, portabello, shiitake
N
Nectarine
Nori seaweed
O
Okra
Onions
Oranges, all varieties including blood
P
Papayas
Parsley
Passion fruit
Pea shoots
Peaches
Peapods, black-eye
Pears
Peas and carrots
Peas: black-eyed, chickpeas (garbanzo), cowpeas (blackeyes, crowder, southern), young pods with seeds, green, pigeon, snow (Chinese pea pods); split, sugar snap
Peppers, all varieties
Pepperoncini
Persimmons
Pickles, unsweetened
Pico de gallo
Pimientos, canned
Pineapple
Plumcots (pluots)
Plums
Pomegranate seeds
Pomegranates
Pomelo (pummelo)
Pumpkin
Pumpkin puree
R
Radicchio
Radishes
Raspberries
Rutabagas
S
Salad, mixed greens
Salad, side, without dressing, fast food
Salad, three-bean
Salad, tossed, without dressing
Salsa verde
Salsa, fat free
Salsa, fat free; gluten-free
Sashimi
Satay, chicken, without peanut sauce
Satsuma mandarin
Sauerkraut
Scallions
Seaweed
Shallots
Shellfish: abalone, clams, crab (including Alaska king, blue, dungeness, lump crabmeat, queen) crayfish, cuttlefish, lobster (including spiny lobster), mussels, octopus, oysters, scallops, shrimp, squid
Spinach
Sprouts, including alfalfa, bean, lentil
Squash, summer (all varieties including zucchini)
Squash, winter (all varieties including spaghetti)
Starfruit (carambola)
Strawberries
Succotash
T
Tangelo
Tangerine
Taro leaves and shoots
Tofu, all varieties
Tofu, smoked
Tomatillos
Tomato puree
Tomato sauce
Tomatoes, all varieties including plum, grape, cherry
Turkey breast, ground, 98% fat-free
Turkey breast or tenderloin, skinless, boneless or with bone
Turkey breast, skinless, smoked
Turnips
V
Vegetable sticks
Vegetables, mixed
Vegetables, stir fry, without sauce
W
Water chestnuts
Watercress
Watermelon
Y
Yogurt, Greek, plain, nonfat, unsweetened
Yogurt, plain, nonfat, unsweetened
Yogurt, soy, plain
* All fruits and vegetables are fresh (raw or cooked), frozen, or drained canned without added sugar or oil. All poultry and seafood are fresh (raw or cooked), frozen, or canned in 0 SmartPoints value sauces or spices, without added oil.
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I totally thought pork tenderloin was on the zero point list! When I was still tracking on WW I definitely ate it and I would have said without any doubt that it was zero. I'm baffled!0 -
All hail the pork tenderloin - - with a hearty side of Brussels sprouts!
Weren't skinless chicken thighs on the Core zero point foods list but not on the PointsPlus Power Foods list? Core pre-dates my joining WW, but I seem to remember this being discussed on the board. I considered them zero when I did Simply Filling on PointsPlus.
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All hail the pork tenderloin - - with a hearty side of Brussels sprouts!
Weren't skinless chicken thighs on the Core zero point foods list but not on the PointsPlus Power Foods list? Core pre-dates my joining WW, but I seem to remember this being discussed on the board. I considered them zero when I did Simply Filling on PointsPlus.
Now I'm sure of the reason you had so much difficulty with Freestyle.
Let's blame it on the pig. Or lack thereof.0 -
It’s funny that I just happened to come across this while going through some old papers:
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LOL0
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Winning Points.0
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The good ole slide rule. Don't leave home without it0
