Anyone use this like they do in WW ?

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willowbee4me
willowbee4me Posts: 7 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
My question: I like the use of having some extra room to eat for special occasions or a Friday/Saturday night dinner or treat in the week. WW will allow you to eat a certain amount of points for this reason or spread it out in the week, if that is how you choose to use these extra points; how could this be incorporated into MFP?

Any ideas?

Replies

  • eekface
    eekface Posts: 44 Member
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    I think the only way really is to have 5 or 6 days with lots of calories left over each day (a couple hundred) and then go negative one day and know 'mentally' that it works out. I dont think MFP offers a way to exchange them :(
  • willowbee4me
    willowbee4me Posts: 7 Member
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    I wonder if that is a good thing though. That weekly treat can so easily become full blown pigout if not managed. Hmm. I am just so used to the WW point system that it is hard to imagine no breathing room.

    Thank you for the response.
  • ron2282
    ron2282 Posts: 2,772 Member
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    I allow myself one day a week to go over my calories, usually by 200 - 400. If I know I'm going to eat a high calorie meal, I work out extra hard that morning.
  • Dawn_2013
    Dawn_2013 Posts: 170
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    I used the WW site and honestly, this site is so much more encouraging!! (at least I think so...) Points are a fine way to track and WW is a great program, but I like to log real food and real exercise and see the calorie deficit that activity creates. I found the focus on the WW site was not fitness (although they made provision for it...) the feedback I ot was 'working out was extra' or 'don't count working out as extra calories available.' I found that discouraging. If you work out a lot, you actually need to eat more, that is healthy (although not a whole cake or anything :laugh: ) This site seems to allow you to live a healthy balanced lifestyle that does not disregard something as great as exercise (again disregard is probably too strong a word). I can cut calories, or even better, workout and then enjoy (with sensible moderation) a night off without feeling like quitting. If you access all the tools this site offers, I think you will find it gives you options to balance a healthy lifestyle, not restrict it. The choices are yours!
  • brattyworm
    brattyworm Posts: 2,137 Member
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    its actually good to occasionally go higher.. or lower then usual.. it keeps your body guessing so it doesn't hit a plateau as quickly. As far as pigging out on that day. Thats just part of the discipline that comes with the whole regime. And if it helps plan your meals around that. Like say you want to go to dinner. Then ensure you plan your breakfast and lunch to be satisifying yet healthy and that way when you go to dinner the guilt will not be there. As well as ensure the next day you get back on track. And as suggested above maybe give your workout a little extra to compensate.
  • eekface
    eekface Posts: 44 Member
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    I understand, I did WW for a long time and lost some weight on it, so I get it. I do think I eat better not having extra points I can get or use!
  • twingirls05
    twingirls05 Posts: 52
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    I used the WW site and honestly, this site is so much more encouraging!! (at least I think so...) Points are a fine way to track and WW is a great program, but I like to log real food and real exercise and see the calorie deficit that activity creates. I found the focus on the WW site was not fitness (although they made provision for it...) the feedback I ot was 'working out was extra' or 'don't count working out as extra calories available.' I found that discouraging. If you work out a lot, you actually need to eat more, that is healthy (although not a whole cake or anything :laugh: ) This site seems to allow you to live a healthy balanced lifestyle that does not disregard something as great as exercise (again disregard is probably too strong a word). I can cut calories, or even better, workout and then enjoy (with sensible moderation) a night off without feeling like quitting. If you access all the tools this site offers, I think you will find it gives you options to balance a healthy lifestyle, not restrict it. The choices are yours!

    This is VERY well said and I could not agree more. I feel like MFP focuses a lot more on diet and exercise where WW seems to focus a lot more just on the diet portion of becoming healthy. I'm a lifetime member of WW and have been doing their system off and on for the past almost 7 years now. While I've gained great success with it, I needed a change, so I switched to MFP. I love seeing my intake and output of calorie exhange with my exercise. I didn't "see" that with WW. I mean, I'm training for a marathon right now. My daily calorie count is around 1440. Well, yesterday, I did a 14 mile run and burned 1800+ calories. If I had ONLY eaten my 1440 allowed for the day, I still would've been negative with my calories burned during my run. I made sure after my run to up my protein for the day and get in some healthy carbs. I ate around 300 of those "extra" calories. As my runs get higher and higher, I'll eat more and more of those calories on that long run day. My body needs that to recover. When I was diong WW, I think they only allow you to eat back 4 of your earned exercise points. That just wouldn't have been enough for that day. So, I think it's fine to use extra "calories" in moderation, as long as you aren't going overboard. You are the only one that knows YOUR body!
  • countrymama08
    countrymama08 Posts: 92
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    I left WW. I had success about 14 years ago and became lifetime after losing 60 lbs. I have gained all plus some back when I stopped counting points. This time around I had a lot of trouble with it. Those flex points were usually gone the first day or 2. I would then think I'll try and then I would fail and figure I would start anew next week. I did not lose this time. It is a mindset but I could not figure out using those flex points.

    With this I can see my calories. I can go a few over and be ok or I can be a few under. No splurge points that can lead me down a path. I think you can look at your calories like a range as WW used to do with points ranges. It gives you flexibility but also structure.
  • willowbee4me
    willowbee4me Posts: 7 Member
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    Perfect. I will use my calories and exercise points naturally on a daily basis. This is the most true to life way to eat anyhow. This may also stave off any obsessions over eating that occurred before on WW.

    Thank you all for the info and advice.
  • Michaela722
    Michaela722 Posts: 68
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    I think it works like that a bit. I get 1200 calories a day. On a day that I don't work out or do something very light, it's HARD to stay within those calories - even while eating very well. But there are days of the week (right now for me it'll be Tues/Fri) where I have very long and/or tough runs scheduled in my 1/2 marathon training. Days where I burn well over 1000 calories in a single workout (like Becky said earlier in the thread - she burned 1800 calories last Saturday). I figure as long as I eat well the day I have a really tough run and have a bunch of calories left over at the end of the day, it makes up for coming close or going a bit over the other days of the week. For me Saturday is a recovery day after my long run on Friday, so I don't workout.

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