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Old 08-08-2011, 02:57 PM   #1  
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Default Fruit when blended

I learned something new this weekend at my WW meeting. When fruit has been blended to drink, it is no longer a free fruit! I never thought about it before. What I did forget to ask was how to calculate the points then. Does anyone know?
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Old 08-08-2011, 03:26 PM   #2  
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What? That is odd!
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Old 08-08-2011, 04:26 PM   #3  
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That is not odd and it's been that way since the beginning of points plus. Fruit in its natural state is 0 points. When you put it in a recipe, a smoothie or juice it, you have to count the points. You'll have to look it up at CalorieKing.com. When fruit is juiced or blended, it breaks down the fiber and changes the consistency of the fruit making it easier for the body to breakdown, thus using fewer calories in the digestion. There is also a greater chance for abuse. This was in your Plan Booklet and also covered in one of the weekly handouts earlier this year.
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Old 08-08-2011, 04:53 PM   #4  
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Wow...never even thought about that...thanks for the info!
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Old 08-08-2011, 06:01 PM   #5  
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Yeah, I have been on and off WW for years, so I guess I had forgotten this critical information. Makes total sense now that I know. Thanks Quilter for the help.

My fruit smoothies just went from 6pp to 10pp!
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Old 08-08-2011, 07:44 PM   #6  
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Interesting. It's my understanding that JUICED fruit is no longer zero, but BLENDED fruit remains zero because the fruit fibers are retained (just in different form), whereas JUICED fruits fiber is removed completely. I don't remember where I read that, it was months ago, but it was a WW article.
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Old 08-09-2011, 10:13 AM   #7  
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Originally Posted by girlsenberry View Post
Interesting. It's my understanding that JUICED fruit is no longer zero, but BLENDED fruit remains zero because the fruit fibers are retained (just in different form), whereas JUICED fruits fiber is removed completely. I don't remember where I read that, it was months ago, but it was a WW article.
That was my thought, but it doesn't affect my diet since I count fruits either way (flex).
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Old 08-09-2011, 11:32 AM   #8  
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Originally Posted by girlsenberry View Post
Interesting. It's my understanding that JUICED fruit is no longer zero, but BLENDED fruit remains zero because the fruit fibers are retained (just in different form), whereas JUICED fruits fiber is removed completely. I don't remember where I read that, it was months ago, but it was a WW article.
This is important enough for me to verify at my next meeting, thanks for this clarification.
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Old 08-09-2011, 12:36 PM   #9  
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This is important enough for me to verify at my next meeting, thanks for this clarification.
Let us know what they say. I've been counting my smoothies as 0pp (just frozen fruit and water). I'll be so crushed if I have to count them!
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Old 08-09-2011, 01:24 PM   #10  
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I will update for sure. I probably won't be going in this Sunday, but for sure next Sunday.
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Old 08-09-2011, 02:41 PM   #11  
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This doesn't make any sense to me. It would surprise me if whole blended fruits were counted differently than fruits eaten out-of-hand.

Blending fruit does not even change the form of the fiber. People think of fiber as strands, that if cut would be easier to digest, but this isn't true. Fiber is cellulose, and humans can't digest cellulose, no matter how finely it's cut or ground. We don't have the enzymes necessary to break it down, so it leaves the body fully intact - none of the fiber calories are absorbed.

Blending doesn't change the calorie count, and it doesn't even make the fruit significantly easier to digest, except that you don't have to chew.
The chewing of course would burn a few more calories - PER HOUR, but one meal of not chewing isn't going to save enough calories to equal even a pound per year.

Now, there is some logic in the sense that some studies have suggested that liquid calories do not satisfy hunger to the extent that chewed calories do. However, as I understand it, all of these studies were conducted with beverages that contained mostly carbohydrate calories and virtually no fiber.


Personally, I've found that fruit smoothies (as long as they include some protein) actually fill me up longer than other breakfast foods.


Now cooking and juicing does change the fruit's structure enough to warrant the change, because while fiber is not destroyed in cooking, much of the water is evaporated and the starches can be converted to much more easily, quickly and completely digested sugars. Enzymes and other nutrients are also lost during cooking. With juicing, the filling fiber (argueably the best part of the fruit) is left behind.

Last edited by kaplods; 08-09-2011 at 02:41 PM.
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Old 08-09-2011, 03:14 PM   #12  
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I see what you are saying and am feeling relieved. Now I really need to find out from her what is the real story. I see your point totally. I love my fruit smoothies because I do put protein powder and milk in them to fill me up.
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Old 08-09-2011, 04:56 PM   #13  
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This doesn't make any sense to me. It would surprise me if whole blended fruits were counted differently than fruits eaten out-of-hand.

Blending fruit does not even change the form of the fiber. People think of fiber as strands, that if cut would be easier to digest, but this isn't true. Fiber is cellulose, and humans can't digest cellulose, no matter how finely it's cut or ground. We don't have the enzymes necessary to break it down, so it leaves the body fully intact - none of the fiber calories are absorbed.

Blending doesn't change the calorie count, and it doesn't even make the fruit significantly easier to digest, except that you don't have to chew.
The chewing of course would burn a few more calories - PER HOUR, but one meal of not chewing isn't going to save enough calories to equal even a pound per year.

Now, there is some logic in the sense that some studies have suggested that liquid calories do not satisfy hunger to the extent that chewed calories do. However, as I understand it, all of these studies were conducted with beverages that contained mostly carbohydrate calories and virtually no fiber.


Personally, I've found that fruit smoothies (as long as they include some protein) actually fill me up longer than other breakfast foods.


Now cooking and juicing does change the fruit's structure enough to warrant the change, because while fiber is not destroyed in cooking, much of the water is evaporated and the starches can be converted to much more easily, quickly and completely digested sugars. Enzymes and other nutrients are also lost during cooking. With juicing, the filling fiber (argueably the best part of the fruit) is left behind.
I agree with everything you just said, completely. I can't wait until someone, or barbaramatafeo can verify it. (I do WW from home so don't have a leader to check in with). If they count pts I'm going to be seriously annoyed cuz I don't like drinking my points, and it's going to boost my pt intake a bit. I wish I could find that article I read, I've been scouring the net (and what free stuff is available on the WW site) and so far I can't find the exact one I read that said blended fruits are zero, juiced fruits count. :\
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Old 08-09-2011, 05:30 PM   #14  
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I asked on a WW forum too and so far people said no, don't count the points, but goes towards my fruit intake for the day. But the leader at my meeting is the one who mentioned it. But I need to make sure I did not take it out of context or something. We were talking about something else and it just kind of flew out of her mouth.
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Old 08-09-2011, 08:39 PM   #15  
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Quote:
Originally Posted by barbaramatafeo View Post
I asked on a WW forum too and so far people said no, don't count the points, but goes towards my fruit intake for the day. But the leader at my meeting is the one who mentioned it. But I need to make sure I did not take it out of context or something. We were talking about something else and it just kind of flew out of her mouth.
It's also possible that this is your leader's personal opinion or a misinterpretation of Weight Watcher's policy (she may be confusing juicing and blending, since many juicers look like blenders).

I've been a member of Weight Watcher's in the 70's, 80's, 90's, and 2000's (every decade but this one). Often I worked swing shifts so I didn't always have a consistent meeting/leader, because I didn't have consistent days off.

Attending different meetings with different leaders, I was surprised at how many times one leader would say one thing, and a different leader would say something completely different. When asked about the discrepeancy, some would look it up or ask more experienced leaders, and others would be adament that their policy was the correct one (even if all the other leaders disagreed).


One leader told us (this was under the first point system) that we had to not only count our points as we used them, we had keep track of every calorie, and every gram of fat and fiber, and then at the end of the day, double check our math by using our point calculator to determine the daily points, using increments of the highest calorie amount the paper point calculator would allow, and we had to use whichever number was higher as our count for the day.

That's obviously not how the program was meant to work (the idea was to make it easier than calorie counting, not harder), but that's how she interpreted it.

There were many other issues over which leaders disagreed, but this was the most extreme example (that leader eventually lost her job, because she taught a lot of things that weren't consistent with WW true guidelines).

Last edited by kaplods; 08-09-2011 at 08:40 PM.
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