[spunker]

Perhaps I'm thinking too much into this-maybe not.

Okay, so I get calculating points. It's simple.

Though, what if you double the serving (tripling, etc.)?

For example:

3 oz chicken (calculating according to lable): 2 pts

If I wanted to have 6 oz instead of the 3 oz, if I calculated them separately, it'd be 4 as 3 oz is 2 points x 2. If I double all the values since I'm doubling the portion, it's 5 points.

Which one do you do?

Since I've been thinking about it, one way or another could cause you to go over or be under (granted it's only the 1 point, but still).

How does this work with everything else that you either eat throughout the day or have all together?

Say I'm making a quasidilla (sp?)-each ingredient has it's own value, but if you place it all together, you'll probably have a much higher point value, therefore potentially putting you way above you point allotment and you don't even know.

Is this me looking too much into this and over calculating? or is there any validation in this?

[cherrykissez011]

i have always wondered this too! For instance if i want to calculate points for two servings of something do i double the calories, fiber, and fat to find the point value? or do you calculate as is and double the points for one serving?

confusing!!

[tdiprincess]

Good question.. does anybody know? For me, I usually just double the points as it would be 2 servings? I don't know... LOL Awesome question.. we need a WW Guru around to help!!

[suitejudyblueeyes]

This has always been a kind of "trial and error" situation for WW members. We have meetings specifically on this topic, and the general consensus (frustrating though it may be) is - do what works for you.

Certain "diet" items like Fiber One cereals and Progresso Light Soups are manipulated by manufacturers to slide right under a certain points value for one serving so it can be marketed better. That's why one serving of most Progresso Light soup is 0 points, but two servings (i.e., a whole can) is either 2 or 3 points, when calculated by the nutritional data on the label. Fiber One bars if I remember are 2 points for one, 5 for two. In cases like that when you're eating more "producty" food to begin with, I suggest doubling the nutritional info if you're eating more than one serving and using that to get your points value.

However, items like chicken breast, or apples, or plain ff yogurt - things that haven't been tampered with by people to make them more diet friendly - I just double the given points value if I eat more than one serving. There's a fine line there but it works for me.

Play around with it - see how your losses go when doing it one way or the other. If you aren't losing like you want to be, take a look at how you're calculating points and make adjustments til you find a system that works for you!

[tdiprincess]

A gray area huh? LOL.. thanks for clearing it up a bit. It is good to know that I haven't really been doing anything wrong!

[spunker]

Thanks for the info! This was just kind of irking me the more I was thinking about it. It never really occured to me in the past that there could be different ways of calculating points until noticing the difference the other day by calculating both ways.

[whiskeygirl862]

I have the same problem!!! Usually I go under on about half (by doubling points) and over on half (by doubling and recaluculating), this way I think it's balancing out. If I find that's not helping me lose, I will change to recalculating all the time!

I noticed on the soup, but not on the Fiber One bars! I'm going to have to keep an eye on those

[infinitereverie531]

I have this problem as well. This seems to be happening not only with the Fiber One bars as mentioned above, but very low-calorie foods as well. For example, Egg Beaters have 30 cals per 1/4 cup, but 60 cals per 1/2 cup, so a 1/4 cup and a 1/2 cup each have 1 point? For breakfast sometimes I eat up to 1 cup of Egg Beaters scrambled with veggies, so it makes a big difference. Same with FF American cheese, SF syrup, etc.

[tdiprincess]

Each person really has to learn what our body likes the best. Some people need to double the points.. some people don't. Just keep an eye on it. If you find that you're not losing weight, then change it up to see if that's the reason.
You will figure our your balance. It takes a bit of work, but you'll get there if you don't give up! Hope that helps..

[dixiecool]

I once spoke to my At Work WW Leader about the same issue. My regular lunch at my weekly meeting was 2 sandwiches made with WW bread and I'd put 3 oz of chicken divided into the 2 sandwiches, spread some FF mayo on it a some lettuce, plus I'd bring a yogurt and a piece of fruit. It was a perfect size lunch for me (my appetite).

2 slices of WW bread = 1 pt. so I figured 4 slices = 2 pts. but it's actually 3 pts. My Leader suggested that we should not double portion sizes. If a serving of WW bread is 2 slices, we should stop at that for the meal. Put the 3 oz of chicken in one sandwich, bring along raw veggies to nibble on with the sandwich. It teaches us to learn portion control.

She was right.

[tdiprincess]

I think some in this thread are talking about having more than 1 serving in a day. Such as if for breakfast they have toast and at lunch they have a sandwich. Some would count that as 3pts total for the bread while others would count them separately...

But, I agree with you on being satisfied with one serving at a time. There's a reason why they put serving amounts on the packages

[kiramira]

This is how I do it:
If I am doubling a serving at a meal and know the calories/fat/fiber for one serving, I will double those values, enter them in points calculator or use my manual points finder and get the points value. This is important because I am eating all those calories/fat grams/fiber grams. So it makes sense to calculate it out.
If I know only the points value and not the calories/fat/fiber for one serving, I will simply double the points value.
If I am eating 2 servings of a food at very different times of the day, I will count the points value of each serving separately.
BUT, I make sure that I don't "abuse" this by taking two servings of something that I KNOW adds up to more than double the points far apart deliberately, as that is only cheating myself.
AND, I try not to use any flex points unless absolutely necessary because I KNOW that I am inadvertenly eating them throughout the week when I have two servings of something in a day (such as 1 snack in the am and one in the pm) which often add up to more than double the individual points.
There are ways to "cheat the system" and I know most of them very, very well, but have found that the system doesn't care if I cheat it, and I am only cheating myself!
And personally speaking, if I am having a HUNGRY DAY (and y'all have been there, too), I will often double portion sizes while keeping within my daily point allotment. Today was one such day. I was STARVING this morning. So I had 2 (count them, TWO) servings of a WW-recipe strata. That held me 'til lunch, when I had two pieces of fruit. Then a regular supper. Coming in at 23 points, which is my daily allotment. I don't do this as a routine, but I am learning to manage my hunger without binging in desperation or staying too hungry throughout the day. Some days I'm not so hungry, so this isn't an issue. And SOMETIMES, I just want that second piece of something, so I'll have it. I think the key is to account for it, because WW shouldn't be about deprivation but responsiblitiy.
Kira

[Breezy]

I noticed the same thing. I subscribe to WW online and when I enter my food intake for the day I noticed certain items will have a serving value of 1 but if you have two the points value will be 3. I guess I just chalked it up to a math thing like rounding to the nearest whole number, maybe they are really 1.3 pts. and when you have two they come to 2.6 thus 3pts.

just my humble thoughts

Breezy

[PlumCrazy09]

I think what the poster and others are looking for is the same thing I am looking for. Here's an example:

FiberOne Haystacks (Lets call it a Homemade receipt [great thin mint substitute])

One bag of FiberOne Cereal (Serving size = 1/2 cup, servings per bag = 8)
One bag of Andes Creme De Menthe Baking Chips (serving size = 3 tbsp, Servings per bag = 7)

Pour FiberOne cereal into large mixing bowl
Heat Andes chips in microwave safe dish for approx. 1 minute or until melting starts.
Pour melted chips into bowl with cereal and mix with hands or fork. Scoup tbsp size into paper cupcake liner (should make approx. 20 cupcake haystacks).
Let cool and enjoy.

So by mixing the entire containers together, how does someone fiqure out the points per serving of the finished product?

The fiberOne is hard because one serving is 0 points.
The Andes chips are 5 points per serving and there is 7 servings per bag, so would the chips be 35 points per bag?

So here is how I fiqured it out... FiberOne = 8 points per bag, Andes chips = 35 points per bag, combined = 43 points, divided by the number of cupcake haystacks (18 in my scenario) = 2.4 points per haystack. So would do 2.5 points per.

Make sense?

[FatGirlTale]

I think it's up to you. I personally prefer to overestimate my points (take the higher value) so I use them up faster and I eat less. I always lost weight on the plan.