Weight Watchers - zero point foods?
leanitup123
Posts: 489 Member
Nearly all fruits and vegetables are zero smart points, meaning dieters can eat them endlessly. I have a hard time understanding/agreeing with this.
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Replies
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Yup - I've worked with various coaches who use a "add low starch vegetables/greens to your meals" instruction without specified amounts.... I've had to tell them I need specific guidelines or I'll overeat them! I can eat hundreds of calories of vegies, if I didn't count them I'd be in trouble!3
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It's a good way to encourage people to increase their consumption of fruits and vegetables. They'll be getting more water and fiber. They'll also potentially be filling up and eating less later. There are people who can wipe out a deficit with the zero point foods, but for the general population that's just not going to happen.7
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I did WW a long time ago- but I think that it's a good way to encourage people who more than likely aren't eating many fruits & veg to eat them & learn to try new recipes, etc. Also for them to learn how their bodies feel more full on healthier foods. Most people aren't obese bc they eat too many natural (grows in the ground) foods. People who try WW are more likely, imo, to eat frozen items, fast food, and lots of processed carbs. And I was one of them until a few years ago
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livingleanlivingclean wrote: »Yup - I've worked with various coaches who use a "add low starch vegetables/greens to your meals" instruction without specified amounts.... I've had to tell them I need specific guidelines or I'll overeat them! I can eat hundreds of calories of vegies, if I didn't count them I'd be in trouble!
Same... vegetables make up a good majority of my intake so WW would be challenging.1 -
You can not count fruits and vegetables as calories all you'd like, but know that your body isn't that dumb. 2
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They account for it in the Points allowance, which provides for a lower intake than a calorie allowance calculated for the same person. The idea behind it is to get people to eat fruit and veg rather than something else - if they actually allocated the Points to fruit that they clearly have (if you put the relevant macros into a Points calculator, they tend to be around 2 Points, from memory), people would go "Eh, 2 Points for an apple, I may as well have X instead".2
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suzannesimmons3 wrote: »You think that's twiddling the noggin. .on s.w all.pasta/rice/potato/lean meats/eggs/fruit/muller yogurt are also "free"
yet you cant eat bread... bread is evil... :huh:2 -
As someone who could easily eat 3 apples, two bananas, tons of berries, and a couple oranges PLUS all my other food in a single day, that just won't work for me.5
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suzannesimmons3 wrote: »You think that's twiddling the noggin. .on s.w all.pasta/rice/potato/lean meats/eggs/fruit/muller yogurt are also "free"
That's.... that's just odd.0 -
leanitup123 wrote: »Nearly all fruits and vegetables are zero smart points, meaning dieters can eat them endlessly. I have a hard time understanding/agreeing with this.
That seems on since many fruits have a ton of sugar. I try to stick to low carb fruits and veggies. If I add bananas or pineapple to a smoothie, I try to stick with 1/4-1/2 cup and use berries for the remainder.1 -
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When I was on WW (points plus) the idea was that you could eat a reasonable amount of free fruit and vegetables. "Reasonable" was never defined, and led to endless banana smoothie threads, where people wanted to know why they weren't losing weight when they were always under their points. It would inevitably turn out that they were drinking 6 or 7 servings of fruit in smoothies every day, plus a few more servings of veg with meals and maybe an apple for dessert.4
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I was on WW. For people like me WW does not work. I was pre diabetic on WW and now I diabetic. I would eat lots of bananas & grapes. My Blood Sugar was probably through the roof. The veggies Like spinach, kale, zucchini, lettuce, tomatoes, etc. I can see myself eating lots of it. But as my nutritionist said, I can eat them as much as I want. For fruit I have to limit to 2 servings. I am now loosing weight with MFP, slowly I will get there.4
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I lost 50 lbs on WW following points plus. I liked the program until they changed it. I like fruit but nothing I'm going to OD on. I know I don't have a weight issue by eating too many fruits and veggies.0
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nevadavis1 wrote: »As someone who could easily eat 3 apples, two bananas, tons of berries, and a couple oranges PLUS all my other food in a single day, that just won't work for me.
Unfortunately for the heath of the US, you're somewhat of a special snowflake. Most people don't eat anywhere near the recommended 8-10 servings of fruits and veggies a day so the WW process on 0 points for these items should not be an issue for most.
Latetia Moore of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and Frances Thompson of the National Cancer Institute went through data from a large national survey to calculate just how close Americans come to meeting national recommendations.
“These results indicate that fewer than 18 percent of adults in each state consumed the recommended amount of fruit and fewer than 14 percent consumed the recommended amount of vegetables,” they write in the CDC’s weekly report on disease and death
You're Still Not Eating Enough Vegetables – Jul.09.2015 https://www.nbcnews.com/better/diet-fitness/youre-still-not-eating-enough-vegetables-n389466?cid=sm_npd_nn_fb_bt_170710 via NBC News0 -
I was on WW and lost 20 lbs before I became a little OCD with couting points. I enjoyed the fruits and veggies and didn't see them affecting my blood sugar as much as I thought they would. I am an insulin dependent diabetic and honestly, WW worked well. It just got to a point where I couldn't fathom not knowing how many points something was and end up eating the whole thing. No evidence = No points, right?1
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I need to heavily curtail my fruit consumption or else I'd be snacking on it all day. I could easily eat 1kg of just watermelon and cantaloupe in one sitting, as it is now i have to keep it at 500-600g which is hard. I wish i had this problem with eating too many veggies, I reeeaaally need to work on that!1
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Alatariel75 wrote: »They account for it in the Points allowance, which provides for a lower intake than a calorie allowance calculated for the same person. The idea behind it is to get people to eat fruit and veg rather than something else - if they actually allocated the Points to fruit that they clearly have (if you put the relevant macros into a Points calculator, they tend to be around 2 Points, from memory), people would go "Eh, 2 Points for an apple, I may as well have X instead".
Yes, it's accounted for. I don't know the exact numbers, but say if MFP gave me 1500 calories to lose weight, WW points would equal 1300 calories (or whatever) expecting the difference to be made up for in fruits in veggies.0 -
I have been on WW (this time) since January 2013, lost 169# and still losing.
I'm T2D but recently my Dr took me off Rx meds because my blood sugar is now controlled by my diet/exercise.
WW doesn't say eat endless fruits and veggies. There are no Smart Points (SP) for most F/Vs and as my WE Mtg Leader says "Eating too much fruit did not make us overweight."
Blending fruits in a smoothie and fruit juices have SPs.
I eat a reasonable amount of fruit daily, 3 to 5. My fasting blood sugar is fine, my A1C dropped from highest 8 to below 6!
Moderation in ALL things!1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »
Yes, it's accounted for. I don't know the exact numbers, but say if MFP gave me 1500 calories to lose weight, WW points would equal 1300 calories (or whatever) expecting the difference to be made up for in fruits in veggies.
But if you eat close to 1000 calories in fruits and veggies, then that's an issue
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The closer you get to goal, the more even smaller amounts matter. I have a cup of seedless grapes with breakfast every morning (weighed out, it's usually 145-160 grams). That's around 100 calories. If I have eight cherries (79 grams weighed with the pits in, using the USDA data), that's 50. If I'm trying to lose 1/2 lb per week, then I'm shooting for a daily 250-calorie deficit. Trust me, I want to know to count those 150 calories because at that point, they matter.
(Right now, I'm further away from goal, so it's less of an issue.)1 -
kshama2001 wrote: »Alatariel75 wrote: »They account for it in the Points allowance, which provides for a lower intake than a calorie allowance calculated for the same person. The idea behind it is to get people to eat fruit and veg rather than something else - if they actually allocated the Points to fruit that they clearly have (if you put the relevant macros into a Points calculator, they tend to be around 2 Points, from memory), people would go "Eh, 2 Points for an apple, I may as well have X instead".
Yes, it's accounted for. I don't know the exact numbers, but say if MFP gave me 1500 calories to lose weight, WW points would equal 1300 calories (or whatever) expecting the difference to be made up for in fruits in veggies.
Yes, but only 2 bananas would bridge that gap.
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I think fresh fruits and veggies are hard to binge on. It's true that you could, but I've never done it. Bread? I could eat it all day.0
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storyjorie wrote: »I think fresh fruits and veggies are hard to binge on. It's true that you could, but I've never done it. Bread? I could eat it all day.
Some people with BED or with BED-type behaviors can share stories of binges that consisted of or included fresh fruit and vegetables. Virtually any food can be an issue, unfortunately.5 -
janejellyroll wrote: »storyjorie wrote: »I think fresh fruits and veggies are hard to binge on. It's true that you could, but I've never done it. Bread? I could eat it all day.
Some people with BED or with BED-type behaviors can share stories of binges that consisted of or included fresh fruit and vegetables. Virtually any food can be an issue, unfortunately.
Yep. This describes me. I've eaten 6 bananas during a 2 hour, late afternoon binge (along with lots of other items).
This is one of my (many) issues with WW. I did WW last year - joined 5/1/16, lost 50# & hit goal 8/20/16, lost 5# more & made lifetime on 10/1/16. I've kept the weight off, but stopped using their app & points method on 3/1/17 when I switched to calorie counting on MFP. I struggled to maintain with their points program (kept losing despite many attempts at point adjustment). I didn't like not knowing what all I was eating from a calorie & macronutrients standpoint. I also didn't like that any size portion of avocado would have points, but I could eat 3 giant bananas for 0 points? What?...
*I say 3 bananas because WW *does* suggest limiting servings of fruit & vegetables, but doesn't really push this information, so people happily eat entire watermelons & count it as 0.2 -
I have been a weight watcher for years yes fruits are zero points , but that doesn't,t mean you can eat endlessly they still contain calories, even though calories are not counted you have to be careful you don,t eat to many. Hope that helps your leader will say same .use caution0
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janejellyroll wrote: »storyjorie wrote: »I think fresh fruits and veggies are hard to binge on. It's true that you could, but I've never done it. Bread? I could eat it all day.
Some people with BED or with BED-type behaviors can share stories of binges that consisted of or included fresh fruit and vegetables. Virtually any food can be an issue, unfortunately.
I could give you some horror stories, I have binged on many vegetables.2 -
On Smart Points I barely get 1100 calories on my points. I can cut on 1600. So that's 500 calories for fruits and veggies. For me that will never happen in one day. Now I don't follow WW, I just experiment with the points a bit on some of the free apps because I like comparing data. But fruits and veggies put into recipes are supposed to be counted in the total recipe. Its really to just encourage an extra helping of greens or fruit to the average dieter who doesn't really get enough in their diet.0
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janejellyroll wrote: »storyjorie wrote: »I think fresh fruits and veggies are hard to binge on. It's true that you could, but I've never done it. Bread? I could eat it all day.
Some people with BED or with BED-type behaviors can share stories of binges that consisted of or included fresh fruit and vegetables. Virtually any food can be an issue, unfortunately.
Very true. Been there.0
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