Something I heard last night....

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ChubbyBunny
ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
in Health and Weight Loss
from some family members who are currently doing WW, this does not mean I agree with them, but it's information that is being circulated.

One of the members is a marathon runner and she was talking about how she kept gaining weight. The leader told her that just because she was working out so much didn't mean she got to eat necessarily more. When the figured their "point" work for the activity level it only gave her 3 extra points.

Now, I know nothing about WW or how it works. So I am not sure what 3 points equats in calories. However, I was kinda put out by this leader...mainly because at MFP our attitude is to make sure you are eating enough calories to sustain weight loss and stay active.

I was just curious about opinions, ideas, maybe if someone is in WW their input. :flowerforyou:

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  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    from some family members who are currently doing WW, this does not mean I agree with them, but it's information that is being circulated.

    One of the members is a marathon runner and she was talking about how she kept gaining weight. The leader told her that just because she was working out so much didn't mean she got to eat necessarily more. When the figured their "point" work for the activity level it only gave her 3 extra points.

    Now, I know nothing about WW or how it works. So I am not sure what 3 points equats in calories. However, I was kinda put out by this leader...mainly because at MFP our attitude is to make sure you are eating enough calories to sustain weight loss and stay active.

    I was just curious about opinions, ideas, maybe if someone is in WW their input. :flowerforyou:
  • allaboutme
    allaboutme Posts: 391 Member
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    maybe her calories were too high to begin with ?
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    maybe her calories were too high to begin with ?

    See that's what I was thinking or maybe her food choices weren't the best.
    I would assume though that WW would have some kind of calculation so you would be at the right calorie intake....don't they?
    Again, way ignorant on what WW has to offer.... I am concerned though since it's my family and I don't want them discouraged. I mean right now they are all pumped cause it's the first week and they lost....well as much as I have in 6 months.
  • eHarris
    eHarris Posts: 160
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    They do, its kind of like you do here. You give your weight and how much you wanna loose and they estimate your points per day based on that.

    Here's a great article on how that stuff is calculated.

    http://www.healthyweightforum.org/eng/articles/weight_watchers_points/

    But I know from dealing with my husband ....most people don't think about what they put in their mouth as long as they think its "healthy" or "under the limit". Like he, for instance, tried Atkins. And instead of getting up and making lean protein and some steamed veggies, one day he decided to eat beef jerky and cashews all day. WHY? Because these foods were labled "acceptable" in the diet book. Gotta look at WHAT your eating ..not just the points. You might be willing to give up the points for a Big Mac...but that doesn't mean its what you SHOULD be putting into your body if you want to loose weight. lol
  • yoginimary
    yoginimary Posts: 6,784 Member
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    My dietician said that I wasn't getting enough calories on MFP, for the amount of exercise I do (I was at 1 lb a week, now I don't count any more). She explained that your "caveman" body thinks you are the hunter - meat winner if you will - and has to save every calorie you get. If your relative is training 2 hours a day or more, she should focus more on when she is hungry or satisfied and less on points - IMHO.
  • Phoenix_Rising
    Phoenix_Rising Posts: 11,417 Member
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    I mean right now they are all pumped cause it's the first week and they lost....well as much as I have in 6 months.

    Yes, but the moment they stop dieting with Weight Watchers, all that weight will come right back. That is the problem with dieting, which we MFP'ers know.
  • Periphria
    Periphria Posts: 358
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    I mean right now they are all pumped cause it's the first week and they lost....well as much as I have in 6 months.

    Yes, but the moment they stop dieting with Weight Watchers, all that weight will come right back. That is the problem with dieting, which we MFP'ers know.

    My sister-in-law does WW and any time she goes off the program, she put on lots of weight. I'm not sure if it's because she goes crazy and eats everything bad, or if it's the way they lose, they can't keep it off. :angry:
    All I know is I am exercising regularly and eating right and my weight may change by a pound or two, but she goes up and down ten or so pounds at a time.:tongue:
  • DjBliss05
    DjBliss05 Posts: 682
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    WW is one of the more reasonable porgrams out there. I felt like my "points" that I was given was just not enough food to keep me satisfied. I haven't done it in years, mostly because the several times I have tried I really wasn't able to keep up with it.

    Keep in mind that the leaders aren't dieticians, they just go by what the program tells them. I didn't agree with a lot of the things I was told at meetings. It didn't feel like they really got what I was going through. It can work for some people though.
  • vonalj
    vonalj Posts: 124 Member
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    I was on WW before and it does work. I actually think that you are able to eat more on WW than on MFP! But anywho I disagree with if you go off of it you gain it back from the "ww program," its just like this. I would bet most of my paycheck that if anyone stopped recording their daily calories and exercise and were less conscious of what they were sticking in their mouths they would gain the weight back also....no matter what "plan" you follow. Its all about a lifestyle change! Weight watchers works and so does MFP! But i'm willing to say that, that women that only got 3 activity points was either A-not working out a high enough intensity or B-not calculating her activity correctly!!! Sorry if i sound defensive!!!! Just trying to be informative!!
  • LovelyLady1977
    LovelyLady1977 Posts: 428
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    ...But anywho I disagree with if you go off of it you gain it back from the "ww program," its just like this. I would bet most of my paycheck that if anyone stopped recording their daily calories and exercise and were less conscious of what they were sticking in their mouths they would gain the weight back also....no matter what "plan" you follow. Its all about a lifestyle change! Weight watchers works and so does MFP! ...

    Well said! I totally agree.
  • LovelyLady1977
    LovelyLady1977 Posts: 428
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    I never went hungry on Weight Watchers because took advantage of the Free foods when I needed to. For instance, there was always a pot of 0-Point Soup in my fridge. I hear quite a few people say that they weren't satisfied on Weight Watchers and have always wondered why they didn't do the same.

    If I had to pick plan, I would choose Weight Watchers...I just didn't like counting Points. I don't mind counting calories but I dislike counting Points. How crazy is that???:laugh:
  • Helen43
    Helen43 Posts: 43
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    At WW, for food 1 point is basically 50 calories. If the food is high in fat, it may be more. And if it is high in fiber, it may be less than 1 point. I don't think that exercise points use the same calculation as food points, but I may be wrong. As rule, they don't encourage you to eat your exercise points. In fact, at a meeting that I attended, they said that you can eat your points, but if you stop losing weight, then you need to stop eating them. So that sort of scares you out of eating them. They also give you an extra 35 (flex) points to eat during the week, but don't really encourage you to eat all of those either. WW works, if you stick to it and count your points.
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    I have seen people get results with WW, my aunt is one of their spokes...people.
    My brother lost 50lbs on it, but gained it all back....Which was probably because of his eating habits after he stopped going. Which of course makes me wonfer, will he do that again this time. I don't think WW is the problem, I too believe it's a rather reasonable program from the very limited knowledge I have. My brothers needs that...mental support they offer...he know's as family we'll love him regaurdless of size...but with leaders....they can get in your face about it. (Which is why I won't do WW, my personality flaw).

    I wonder though, if my family members are getting the REAL point of the program. I mean, when they came home from meeting last night they were figuring out points for ice cream or something like that....that they got as a "reward" for doing so well. Which is their owm mentality.... I am wondering if they are being taught how to have a lifestyle change for good....not just for the weight loss. Does that make sense....I worry... It's a bad trait.

    I mean, they give me a really bad time and call me weird cause I choose not to eat what I used to before I started on MFP. I mean, I splurge now and then, but nothing like before.
  • eHarris
    eHarris Posts: 160
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    I wonder though, if my family members are getting the REAL point of the program. I mean, when they came home from meeting last night they were figuring out points for ice cream or something like that....that they got as a "reward" for doing so well. Which is their owm mentality.... I am wondering if they are being taught how to have a lifestyle change for good....not just for the weight loss. Does that make sense....I worry... It's a bad trait.

    I mean, they give me a really bad time and call me weird cause I choose not to eat what I used to before I started on MFP. I mean, I splurge now and then, but nothing like before.

    My Atkins loving husband can't get out of that "no gray area" mentality either. For me ...I know that there are days where I'm going to crave carbs/chocolate/sweets, and there will be days where I want protein/veggies/and maybe some salty food. I try not to see it as rewarding or denying myself anything. I try to see it as, "ok ...if I've done everything I can to curb that craving and I still binge....I document it and go from there." My husband on the other hand likes to question every time I put a carb on my plate. lol The other day I had a turkey sammy on 100% whole wheat with EVOO mayo and a bit of spicy brown mustard. I threw 100 cal's worth of gold fish on the side cuz I like crunchy stuff. He asked..."should you really be having those if you're already eating bread?" He still views things as a diet that you have to adhere to religiously. Its hard to talk to him about stuff like that.

    I think the best thing you could do for them is be supportive, but suggest alternatives. Maybe offer them the hungry-girl.com site so they can see trade outs for all their favorite old foods. That way you're encouraging them to look into healthier alternatives but you're not being pushy. Just a suggestion tho. :happy:
  • ChubbyBunny
    ChubbyBunny Posts: 3,523 Member
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    Oh I soooo insisted on getting the Hungry girl cook book. It's got stuff we'd never do....but the things that we will....sooooo worth it.

    I just want them educated in the process I guess. Since I don't know tons about the program and I am sure EVERY leader is different...I just hope theres is really teaching viewing food differently from the past (which is both of their issues).
  • theresamasucci
    theresamasucci Posts: 37 Member
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    one point usually is about 100 calories -
  • pettmybunny
    pettmybunny Posts: 1,986 Member
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    So... I just went and pulled out my weight watchers slider scales... And, personally, I would consider running a high intensity level exercise... and she's a marathon runner, so probably runs for an hour or more... And if she's in WW, she's probably (total guess here.... no idea for real) 150ish? According to my thing to figure exercise points, she'd get another 7 or 8 points for that hour of running.

    One thing about WW, as LovelyLady said, there are lots of free foods, most of your veggies are free. A cup of sliced strawberries was only 1 point. Their point system is not based on just calories, it also incorporates fiber and fat counts. The lower the fiber, the higher the point. The higher the fat, the higher the point.

    That being said, I don't believe that everyone who goes off of it gains weight back. Just like on MFP, they try to teach you good food choices (at least our leader did), but also you knew how to figure the points in a margarita or a bloody mary or ice cream. We learned that the slim a bear ice cream sandwiches were fewer points than the Ben and Jerry's. And just like on here, you get to eat more if you exercise. I think the program does try to teach you better eating and exercise habits, it just has a different way of doing it, by counting points.
    -Robin
  • TheHottestMama
    TheHottestMama Posts: 141
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    ice cream as a reward??
    oh jeez
    i make a habbit to NOT reward my self with any FOOD
    ill say wow ive done great how about another 15mins on the tread
    or run an extra mile way to go holly!
    but thats because im training my self to not celebrate things with food
    that was my problem...id lose 5pounds and celebrate with a cheat dinner
    or my son did good at school and id celebrate with ice cream or cake
    and no way...ill be big as a house!
    so i try to reward with activites!

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