I know this may come across as a dumb question, but I'm sincere in asking it... Is there a point on the flex plan when you can eat too many veggies?
For instance, tonite for dinner I had a chicken breast and a whole can of green beans cooked in onions. Is a whole can of green beans too much? Since they're 0 points I'm assuming I can have unlimited quantities. However, something my group leader told me on Wednesday spurred this question. She mentioned that even though a cup of coffee is 0 points, if you go to extremes (6 cups for instance) you need to write down 1 point.
Which now leads me to question #2....Our booklet says we can add flavor for free with soy sauce, steak sauce etc. My hb marinated the chicken breasts in soy sauce and added some sprinkled seasonings. The chicken was salty. I liked it, but that somehow doesn't seem like it should be acceptable.
The 0 pts is per serving. There is more than 1 serving in that can--I'm sure. Its probably bw 2-3. So for example if there are 3 servings per can and 40 calories per serving and you eat the entire can then that is 120 calories instead of 40. You would have to up the fat and fiber too.
If you're going to overeat on something, veggies are probably better than other things, although I have heard that eating some protein will help you feel more full.
You probably should look at why you need to eat a whole can of green beans. I have done it myself, eaten the can of green beans, I mean.
In my book one (I haven't gotten my new stuff yet) there's a section starting on pg. 52 that talks about getting in touch with your feelings of hunger and finding your comfort zone, not letting yourself get too hungry or too full. I have used the exercise that has you stop midway through a meal and think about how you feel, are you getting full? is your hunger satisfied? It's in the Core section, but it's really applicable to both Core and Flex, we also need to know when we are truly hungry or eating for some other reason.
As far as the salty soy chicken, it depends on how sensitive you are to salt how often you should eat something like that. If you enjoy it, just drink more water during or after that meal to help combat water retention, my leader says that not drinking enough water leads to water retention just like too much salt does.
Thanks everyone. I had a whole response typed out to each person and I lost it Still don't know how it happened. I'm thinking I may have been on "preview" and thought I had posted it.
that happens to me sometimes, too. You can edit your post after you post it, if it happens once, then I post part and then go back in and edit. You'll see a button on the bottom of your posts to edit.
If you're going to overeat on something, veggies are probably better than other things, although I have heard that eating some protein will help you feel more full.
You probably should look at why you need to eat a whole can of green beans. I have done it myself, eaten the can of green beans, I mean.
I say "Bravo" for eating a whole can of green beans. We're supposed to get 9 fruits & veggies to get the best nutrition and I know I rarely get that much.
Better that than some unheathy food.
I'd think of it this way -- when you eat a salad, you're having more than one serving of veggies between the lettuce and whatever else you put on top. Yet all throughout the literature salads are always 0. So the WW official position looks to be multiple servings of veggies are still 0. (Same with their garden veg soup, there's lots of veggies in that and it's still 0.)
I think I like the 5 0-point items = 1 point rule, though, esp for things other than veggies that fall under the 0 point heading.
I think it's always important to look at the "why" or spirit of a rule, when evaluating it. A rule blindly followed, just because it is a rule, makes dieting seem "magic." The same can be said about finding "loopholes" in rules, or wanting to add rules. Is there a legitimate reason for you to add an "extra" rule onto yourself, or is it because you feel there should be more rules?
Relax, and let the scale tell you if you're abusing the guidelines. Carrots were originally zero points, but they were then limited because some people were eating huge amounts of carrots, stalling their weight. Originally the fiber limit in calculating points was not limited to 4 grams, then people started adding fiber to foods (like pouring metemucil into recipes) to lower the point value... Ultimately, anyone can find a way to work around the WW guidelines in a way that would be detrimental to their weight loss, but if you're honestly evaluating your progress, you will nip this in the bug when you see the scale isn't moving.
As for the vegetable thing specifically, For most people (with still quite a bit of weight to lose, for example) eating huge quantities of beggies is going to have unpleasant side effects (involving stomache pain, and lots of time in the potty) long before weight loss is threatened.
I was just reading a review of an anti-inflammatory book that was sorely criticized for it's "unreasonable" recommendation of 10 fruit servings and 17 vegetable servings daily, and I realized that this might be as little as 1000 calories. Maybe not so unreasonable after all, though most of us would experience intense gastro-intestinal distress if we went from fewer than 5 servings of fruits and veggies, to over 20 servings overnight.
Basically, if the scale and your tummy are doing fine, don't worry about it.
I read alot of "diet" plans, now there's alot of "getting fit in the new year" articles, I believe in taking what you can use and leave the rest.
I follow flex, but not to the letter of the law. Too much blind rule following and you don't learn how actually live healthier. I agree with Kaplods, we need to get in tune with our bodies, find what works and enjoy the results.
Question
Still don't know how it happened. I'm thinking I may have been on "preview" and thought I had posted it. 
