Ways to stop feeling deprived on Weight Watchers?

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laurenmcallister
laurenmcallister Posts: 37 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
Hey all,

My parents just started doing Weight Watchers together and I am so pleased for them - they find it much easier to count points than calories so I'm all for it. However, Mum mentioned to me that she always feels deprived doing WW. She has a major sweet tooth and can't have much in the way of treats or wine. The WW snacks are ok, but pretty small if you consider 2 points is 1/14 of her daily allocated intake for one tiny snack!!

I'd really like to encourage her to stay with it, as historically my parents have been much more successful when they follow the same plan, but having never done the program I am reaching out to the MFP crowd.

Does anyone have any experience with WW and any suggestions on how to not feel deprived, or suggestions on low point options for sweet tooths?

Thanks!

Replies

  • JDBLY11
    JDBLY11 Posts: 577 Member
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    Hey all,

    My parents just started doing Weight Watchers together and I am so pleased for them - they find it much easier to count points than calories so I'm all for it. However, Mum mentioned to me that she always feels deprived doing WW. She has a major sweet tooth and can't have much in the way of treats or wine. The WW snacks are ok, but pretty small if you consider 2 points is 1/14 of her daily allocated intake for one tiny snack!!

    I'd really like to encourage her to stay with it, as historically my parents have been much more successful when they follow the same plan, but having never done the program I am reaching out to the MFP crowd.

    Does anyone have any experience with WW and any suggestions on how to not feel deprived, or suggestions on low point options for sweet tooths?

    Thanks!

    I am doing WW online and coming to these forums. I prefer to count points like your parents. I like their etools system too. Fruits and veggies are 0 points so if she is really hungry she can eat more of those, getting the GHG's ( especially dairy, fat, and exercise) in helps too. She should eat the weekly points and activity points if she feels deprived for special treats. I don't feel deprived unless I don't eat my meals regularly and don't have any fruits and veggies around to eat. Oh, and I still have sweets regularly. I eat ice cream or dark chocolate mostly.
  • BigBrunette
    BigBrunette Posts: 1,543 Member
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    Frozen grapes are sweet, refreshing and zero points.
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
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    I've been doing WW for over a year now(I'm at goal) and I will be doing WW for the rest of my life. I very rarely feel deprived because I work any indulgent food items into my points. It takes some pre-planning a lot of the time, but it is now pretty second nature to me. Figuring out when the cravings are happening can help too. I know that after lunch I'm going to want something sweet, I just do. So I plan for it and pre-track a treat into my day at that time.
  • rekite2000
    rekite2000 Posts: 218 Member
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    Is she using her weeklies? How about activity points? It is designed to have the person eat at least weeklies and daily. The activity points are like eating some of your workout calories back (I think it is 1/3 or 1/2 of the calories). That is why I dropped WW- felt deprived and too hard to find out points of treats quickly. Knowing I have 100 calories makes it easier versus 2 Pts
  • oiseau17
    oiseau17 Posts: 142 Member
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    I just quit WW because I didn't want to pay for it anymore, but I was very successful on it. I became an expert at finding WW-friendly treats :) The secret for me was eating very healthily (other than my sweets) and tracking my treat for the day in the morning so I knew I could have it later when I wanted it. My go-to indulgences:
    Trader Joe's mini frozen blueberry cheesecake wedges 3pts
    Trader Joe's Hold the Cone mini ice cream cones 2pts each
    Skinny Cow frozen treats 3-4 pts
    Sliced banana with 1-2 tbsp Better n' Peanut Butter and Fat free Cool Whip 2-3 pts
    3-2-1 cake 3pts (if you need the recipe let me know)
    And my current absolute favorite: Yoplait Frozen Greek yogurt bar Honey Caramel flavor 2pts (so good!)
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Have your parents check out Emily Bites and Skinnytaste for dessert recipes. And as it's been said, suggest that they dip into their weekly points if they need to. A lot of people get it in their mind that using the weekly points is cheating, but they are part of the program.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.
  • jkal1979
    jkal1979 Posts: 1,896 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.

    Not all are 0 points. Starchy veggies like corn and potatoes have points as well as avocados.

    WW made them 0 points to encourage their members to eat more fruits and veggies. Before when these items had points I think there was a problem when people were not willing to spend the points on these foods. They recommend 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day but the problem comes when people interpret 0 point foods as being a free for all, don't track the 0 point foods and then don't know when they need to stop.
  • cappri
    cappri Posts: 1,089 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.

    WW figures in the calories for 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies when they calculate points, even those calorie dense bananas. Avocados are not 0 points. I double track with both WW and MFP and even with eating more than 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies I'm rarely over my calories or if I am not by much. Without the fruits and vegetables my Daily Points allotment from WW translates to around 1,000 calories, pretty low, so with my calories at 1,600 on MFP that leaves room for around 600 calories worth of fruit and veggies. I usually eat at least two of those calorie dense bananas daily!
  • JessieTangerine
    JessieTangerine Posts: 91 Member
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    I have what I call a "dessert tooth" which made WW very difficult for me since fats make foods very high points. Three desserts I found very satisfying and that I still eat are the following

    1. Quarter cup of gelato eaten with a tea spoon to make it last longer. Took care of ice cream cravings and was worth the extra one point over skinny cow or some other low fat ice cream that tastes nasty

    2. Blueberries drizzled with hot fudge

    3. mix strawberries with a tiny bit of sugar and some basalmic vinegar. let them sit a couple minutes to break down then mix with ricotta (fat level depending on points allowance) and if your feeling really awesome, some cream cheese (laughing cow has some strawberry flavored servings that work well in this.

    Dont have any advice on the wine since I almost completely stopped drinking it while on WW. Actually that was one of the reasons why I stopped WW was when I realized that I had given up many of my favorite foods to keep in the my points allowance and that that was not sustainable.

    My advice would be for your parents to stock up on fruits (they've already been calculated into your daily allowance so unless you go on a blueberry eating binge you will not gain weight by eating them) and to use their weeklies and activity points, they are meant to be used and who wouldnt want to eat more.
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.

    WW figures in the calories for 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies when they calculate points, even those calorie dense bananas. Avocados are not 0 points. I double track with both WW and MFP and even with eating more than 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies I'm rarely over my calories or if I am not by much. Without the fruits and vegetables my Daily Points allotment from WW translates to around 1,000 calories, pretty low, so with my calories at 1,600 on MFP that leaves room for around 600 calories worth of fruit and veggies. I usually eat at least two of those calorie dense bananas daily!

    Ooooh I just figured since avocados kinda fall into the veggie category they would be. And bananas aren't bad, I love them! They just have a high caloric content per gram, comparatively. I was under the impression fruits and veg are unlimited with them, but the 6-8 servings makes more sense! Thanks!
  • DalekBrittany
    DalekBrittany Posts: 1,748 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.

    Not all are 0 points. Starchy veggies like corn and potatoes have points as well as avocados.

    WW made them 0 points to encourage their members to eat more fruits and veggies. Before when these items had points I think there was a problem when people were not willing to spend the points on these foods. They recommend 5 servings of fruits and veggies a day but the problem comes when people interpret 0 point foods as being a free for all, don't track the 0 point foods and then don't know when they need to stop.

    Thank you, as well! This makes more sense, lol. I think the big problem with that would be people going overboard with it, 'cause I know I would lol
  • mcaffreyg
    mcaffreyg Posts: 69 Member
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    I am really surprised if her starting points is only 28 points. because the lowest it goes to is 26. So she would have to be really close to her goal weight already is that correct?
    I started with 42 points and have now moved to 37 after losing 30 lbs. So I would check to make sure that that is the correct number of starting points.

    But my advice- half a cup of half the fat dreyers ice cream is three points! yummm! and she should have weekly points to help with those cravings. She can have a half cup of ice cream on top of her daily points every day and still be able to lose weight
  • mcaffreyg
    mcaffreyg Posts: 69 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.

    Some frutis and veggies are points. Avocado is not free, olives are not free , potatoes are not free as well, ect
    It is to encourage weight watcher members to eat more fruits and veggies when hungry instead of other foods. Most people don't go crazy with it, but yes it is possible to not lose weight if you eat a **** ton of fruits and veggie.
  • dsalveson
    dsalveson Posts: 306 Member
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    The 49 weekly points allow for a 7pt "treat" each day or a bigger treat 3-4 days a week. If she's feeling deprived she could evenly distribute her weekly points and use them for a daily treat or glass of wine. 7 points will get you a pretty decent sized desert. Also a glass of wine is only 4pts. I wouldn't bother with the WW snacks as they're nutritionally void so she'd be better off putting those points towards ice cream or another desert that would actually satisfy her.

    I buy mini dark chocolate squares and they are only 45 calories each, so if I need something sweet at the end of the night I'll grab one of those with some berries and it does the trick. Another easy and low point desert is berries or other fruit with some fat free whipped cream on top. Sometimes I slice an apple, sprinkle it with cinnamon, put it in a sealed container and microwave for 2-3 min- points wise, it's technically free since the only ingredients are apple and cinnamon but it tastes like a cheat! I ate McFlurries, Nutella, chocolate covered nuts and all sorts of other goodies on WW and lost weight. You just have to track everything you eat and decide what you're willing to exchange for your desired treat.

    The key is figuring out what works for you personally. She will have to figure out how and when she needs to spend her points to create a plan that is manageable and livable for her. 28 points a day plus 49 weekly points is more than enough to eat good meals and also treat yourself, especially if you're eating enough fruits and veggies. Good for your parents for joining WW and good luck to them!
  • junco1971
    junco1971 Posts: 26 Member
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    I eat blue bunny no sugar added ice cream bars or weight watchers ice cream bars. I used to eat a huge bowl of ice cream before bed every night and this has helped me wean myself off of that. also when I am at work I will eat a skinny cow pouch of chocolates. the ice cream is about 3 points and the chocolates are 4 points.
  • laurenmcallister
    laurenmcallister Posts: 37 Member
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    Thanks for your help everyone! I feel like it's hard to help her as a motivator since I live so far away but I will pass on your suggestions! :)
  • jennifershoo
    jennifershoo Posts: 3,198 Member
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    Can someone explain why fruits and veggies are 0 points? I have heard this before, along with that they are unlimited, but certain things are very calorie dense (like bananas, avocados) and those calories can add up quickly and easily leave you in a surplus rather than a deficit if you eat them enough. Perhaps it is not making sense to me because I haven't heard it directly from the horse's mouth, so if someone could explain that, it'd be great.

    Because fruits and veggies have zero calories. Doesn't everyone know it??!!!!
    /sarcasm
  • RoadsterGirlie
    RoadsterGirlie Posts: 1,195 Member
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    The BEST advice somebody gave me when I started WW was to choose foods high in volume and low in calories. Home made salads and meals loaded with veggies will help.


    You should see the size of the 5 point salads my husband makes. They are ENORMOUS, and will make you feel stuffed afterwards!!!!

    They're tasty too...

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