I do use my APs, I'm down to 22 pts. Happy to be in the 160s but hate losing that pt.
I write at the bottom of my tracker (when I'm tracking, which is every day so far this year!) the APs I earned and Flex used. It kind of sums up the day for me. Also, once I sum up, I'm done eating.
I'll be the first to admit, I have a hard time staying within my daily pts. I've never had that problem of not being able to get them in.
You have the right idea, Deb, you have to experiment a bit and see what works best for you.
Good luck!