Hey Cris, Your post triggered an epiphany of sorts. I realize now what had me going down such a different mental path than the thread was leading. TWEAKING! When something doesn't work for me (whether it's been working for others or not), I don't get irritated, I TWEAK! Sometimes that means choosing another existing plan, sometimes that means making a slight variation to the current plan, and sometimes it means trying to go in a completely new direction. My biggest blind spot has been my TOM issue. I've always tried to find a plan that works all month long. I've finally, realized (ok, it's taken me 30 years to figure this out, so maybe I'm not as swift as I'd like to believe) that I may have to take a completely different approach during my binge-prone week. Maybe even to the extent of needed to switch to meal replacement shakes or bars that week (actually, I'd be willing to go to the extent of being locked in a bare room for the week, but hubby says he won't be a party to that).

Robin - Thanks for your response but that isn't necessarily how I "take it". I said that many people count strictly their calories and don't take fat into consideration and that's why counting points MAY work better for them. I was just trying to give more info since some comments on the thread have been along the lines of "I don't understand why someone would count points". I too try to get as much bang for my buck as I can for my daily allowance. That's why I am doing this comparison, with the knowledge that *everything* needs to be taken into consideration not just straight calories. There are calorie counters out there who have very high daily fat percentages and wonder why they are hungry all the time or not losing weight as they should. I agree that calorie counting may be easier than points, but I need to see that for myself, and perhaps tweak like I said earlier.

Colleen - Yup. It's all about finding what works individually. I too have a VERY hard time with TOM. Never considered being locked in a bare room all week. I'll have to ask DH what he thinks - he might like the idea given my PMS at times!! LOL!

Good day, everyone!

Cris

I've actually counted both calories and WW points. I count points because the number of calories I'd be required to eat is kind of intimidating to me and I like counting little numbers rather than big nimbers. I started counting calories (using fitday) because I was curious about exactly how many calories I was eating and wanted to figure out exactly what I was eating nutrion wise. They've both benefited me. With WW I've lost a significant amount of weight and fitday showed be that I wasn't getting all of the nutrients I need (though I am eating a good proportion of fats/carbs/protein), so I've been sure to take my multivitamin. As far as making sure you fruit/veggies in your diet, most veggies are points free, so I should be getting plenty of those either way, though I will admit fruit does fall by the wayside, I don't know why. I think both methods are good, you just have to do what works for you

heh, you and Robin are saying the same thing, just from different sides, really. You can do it with Points OR with calories. Some people eat higher fat foods and end up having not a lot of food for their Points because high-fat means more Points per food. But the same goes with calories. Higher fat foods are typically higher in calories, so again, if you're eating high-fat foods, you're not getting as much food for your calorie allotment (just like with the Points allotment).

1 gram of fat = 9 calories, whereas 1g protein or carbs = 4 calories. You get less food for both you Points OR calories when they are high in fat--that's just the way the cookie crumbles.

But seeing 33tek and Robin have basically the same argument for Points vs. calories just goes to reiterate that different approaches work for different people.

Just as I could easily cram my 2000 calories a day with peanut butter cups and cheesecake, so, too, could someone eat their 35 Points worth of the same. Making healthier choices helps everyone, Point-counters and calorie-counters alike, to get more bang for their (food) buck.

I was going to do WW since my sister did really well counting points, but I didn't because I don't care for thier website and I wanted to do it online. I'm really glad I didn't because the amount of points I would have started out would have been approx. 1350 calories. I still eat more than that (1400 to 1500 cals) and I'm almost to my goal! So I'm able to eat more because my "program" was not put together by an "expert."

That being said, I think everyone is different and they need to find what works for them. There are many plans out there that I could never live with, but other people do and succeed. It's already been said, but there are disadvantages and advantages to every weight loss program, you just have to find what is the best fit for you.

Yup, that's it exactly. Thanks Jilly.

Some calorie counters only count calories and some WW point counters only count the points. I have found though on this site, that most, certainly not all, but most really do try to pack in as much nutritional punch as they can for either their calories - or their points.