[jamie26301]

Hi. I don't have the money for a WW membership, but I got the calculator and will be buying the food companion and dining out companion next month.

I want to know, who has this worked for, and what did you do to make it work?

I just started today. My daily allowance is 26, and so far I have 13 points left, and it's about two of clock int the afternoon now.

Thanks,
Jamie

[dosbabe]

Originally Posted by jamie26301

I want to know, who has this worked for, and what did you do to make it work?I just started today. My daily allowance is 26, and so far I have 13 points left, and it's about two of clock int the afternoon now. Thanks,
Jamie

It looks like you are off to a good start right now. I have gone the inexpensive route and also go to the meetings, buy all the materials route.

I think the best it has worked for me is knowing I have to have an official weigh in. I've lost about 5 lbs in 8 weeks. Not that great I know. Mostly because I have been eating too much fruit. and not the suggested healthy guidelines.

[Brandnewday]

and have lost 13 lbs so far. I am not a long-term success story, but I definitely feel it is a plan I can live with and succeed with. Recording every single bite I eat is what is helping me. I didn't realize how much of a grazer I was until I saw it all in print.

[Farry4]

I am doing it from home this time. I was a member in the past but fell off the wagon. I just started this past Monday and have already lost about 6lbs. I realize it is probably mostly water weight, but I don't feel deprived or very hungry. I do track everything I eat---everything! If you do, you will lose. I do find eating a lot of protien keeps you full longer. Eggs, chicken, peanut butter are all staples in my diet. Good luck to everyone!

[LucyRic]

I've lost 68 pounds since March with an online WW membership. However, I really don't think the online tools give you anything that you can't find elsewhere. Tracking points religiously has been key for me.

There are a lot of good apps that let you track WW points if you have a smartphone. I'm thinking of switching to one of these eventually so that I can stop paying for the WW membership.

Experiment at first and see what foods you like that you can also make fit into your daily points allowance. I don't mind eating pretty much the same food everyday, so I know what foods I need to keep in stock and I don't vary from that too much.

I've found reading the forums here to be invaluable--since I didn't go to meetings with the online membership, it definitely helped me feel like I wasn't in this alone and like I was part of a community, even if I mostly just read other people's posts.

Experiment with your weekly points allowance. I think the standard amount WW gives you is 49 points/week, but I've found that I don't need that many extra points to feel full everyday, so I've cut back to around 20/week.

In terms of eating out, I've tried really hard to only eat at restaurants/places where I know the nutritional info for the food so that I can calculate the points. Guessing is okay once in a while, but do it too often and you'll probably be eating way more points than you think.

Also, I use myfitnesspal (both the app and the website) to look up foods. They have a huge database with nutritional info that I can then use to calculate WW points for specific foods.

Good luck!

[Sheila53]

I lost 100 lbs. with WW and have maintained that loss for 6 years next month. What worked for me was having the mindset that I would get there no matter how long it took. Too many times before I gave up because I didn't hit the goal I set for myself in the time I calculated it should take. It was all or nothing thinking. What made it work for me was just plodding along until I reached goal.

[jamie26301]

Thanks for the replies everyone!

Originally Posted by LucyRic

There are a lot of good apps that let you track WW points if you have a smartphone. I'm thinking of switching to one of these eventually so that I can stop paying for the WW membership.

Yeah, I found one of those apps, but then I got one of those calculators.

Experiment with your weekly points allowance. I think the standard amount WW gives you is 49 points/week, but I've found that I don't need that many extra points to feel full everyday, so I've cut back to around 20/week.

How do you get off doing 20 a week?! I have 26 a day. Or maybe I don't understand. Can you explain the difference between daily points and weekly points?

Good luck!

Thanks!

[LucyRic]

Weekly points are separate, extra points. The default is 49 weekly points a week to use however you want. You can use them all at once for a special occasion, or you can add a few points to each day. You can also choose to not use them at all. These weekly points are in addition to however many points you get each day (in your case, 26).

So you can use your 26 each day plus an additional 49 each week. Weekly points don't carry over from week to week, and you can of course use fewer than 49.

Here is what the WW site says:

"Your weekly PointsPlus Allowance helps you enjoy the foods you love.

That makes for a plan you can live with. That’s why ― in addition to your daily PointsPlus Target ― you have a weekly allowance of 49 extra PointsPlus Values to use for treats and extras. You can use them all at once during the week (say, at a party), or little by little throughout the week (say, for a daily dessert).

You don’t have to use them, but we hope you will. And you can still lose weight, even if you use them all.

For even more flexibility, you can earn activity PointsPlus values that can be swapped for food. You can earn them by exercising, or simply doing everyday activities like gardening.

If you've followed Weight Watchers before, you'll notice some foods (like higher-carb foods, alcohol, and sweets) have higher PointsPlus values. If you love them, don't avoid them just because they're "more expensive"! That's what your PointsPlus Allowance is for."

Hope this makes sense.

[tschaff04]

I do WW at home and lost 98 pounds in 11 months. I got pregnant with our third child and am now working off my last 25 pounds to get back to my previous goal and then intend to go another 30 pounds. I never would have thought I could do it. But I have and it's because it works! WW gives me freedom...freedom to cheat when I really need to. Freedom to still eat things I love. It's a lifestyle change not a diet. I could never diet for the rest of my life. You will learn so much. Good luck!

[NicksAutieMom]

After failing so many times trying other diets I gave WW online a try just over 8 years ago, I am not a meeting type person and really liked the support that I found online on the message boards. I set a goal of 80 lbs and lost 35... I can't remember how long it took though. I then got pregnant with my now 6 yo and due to being a high risk pregnancy I had to quit WW. The good news is everything I learned on WW has helped me since then, I have maintained my weight since having my son, never going more than 5 lbs of where I was when I quit.

I started preparing myself to start WW at home just about two weeks ago and started officially today. I've lost 4 lbs in the past two weeks, partly from being mindful but partly from being sick last week. The good thing is I'm pretty sure I'll keep it off because I'm doing the WW. I was a bit surprised at the 49 weekly points because when I was on before it was 35 and I almost never used all of that. But I'll find what works for me, I'm thinking I may do like before and stick to 20-30 a week of those.
Things that have worked for me is working really hard on being mindful of what I eat, when I eat it. Watching portions, I will put a portion in a baggie and eat out of that instead of the package so I don't go over. Eating slower so I can recognize when I feel full. Giving myself 20 minutes after eating, if I'm still hungry, to see if it's just mixed signals, then if I'm still hungry I find something small to get me through. Support is the biggest key for me personally, which is why I'm so happy that I found this site!

[MandeLea]

Originally Posted by dosbabe

I think the best it has worked for me is knowing I have to have an official weigh in. I've lost about 5 lbs in 8 weeks. Not that great I know.

Not that great? Seriously? That is awesome! You are learning, and that's still 5 lbs less than when you started. Bravo!!