Is it really possible to lose weight on flex while having treats?
Hey Flexers!
My question is all in the title! I ask because my weightwatchers leader told me even if i stay within my points that if im having chocolate or treats, i wont lose weight, and you have to use your points for only healthy food. now i thought the whole point of flex was that its not restricted like core, and you can have your 2 squares of chocolate if you have the points for it. so im completely confused. Im sticking to my points every day (im on 18 for a week cos i wanted to go back and do the kickstart thing you do when you join first) but i feel incredibly guilty if i have 3 points left in the evening and i use them on biscuits. this doesnt seem right, surely if im within my points its ok, and i shouldnt be feeling guilty?
Help!!!
(ps ive ben doing ww for years and thats the first time i ever heard that! has anyone else?)
now i thought the whole point of flex was that its not restricted like core, and you can have your 2 squares of chocolate if you have the points for it.
Yup, you can have a treat if you have the points. That's what makes Flex do-able!!!
Thats what i thought! but my leader kept saying if you used some points for treats you wouldn't lose weight! i'll just put it down to confusion on her part, thanks!
I've been on Flex since March, and I make sure I have a treat at least once a day (be it a piece of WW chocolate, a skinny cow ice cream sandwich, or even just a fudge pop), and I've lost over 45 pounds so far. However, if all you eat is treats, then you may not lose as much as you would if you ate "healthy food"
The way my leader explained it is that as long as you are meeting your 5 healthy guidelines and it's w/in your points treats are ok. However, they could slow down your weight loss because your body needs more nutritious calories. It's the guideline that says something like "limit simple sugars and alcohol" I personally find that I loose better if I weight my diet heavy in protein and low in "carbs" (which is anything that doesn't fall into fruits/vegs, protien, milk).
Yep, you can have treats. Of course, there is a difference between that 10 point sundae or piece of chocolate cake vs. a WW fudge bar or 2 squares of chocolate. As long as you have all of your healthy guidelines in for the day, or in your daily plan, a small treat doesn't hurt anything as long as you are within your points.
When I first started, I couldn't have treats. I didn't have the willpower to stop at one or two squares of chocolate, so I avoided them. I needed to build up a resistance and get control over my impulses first. Gradually, I did allow myself a treat or two to stave off cravings. I felt that if I didn't I would binge and then that would just ruined me! LOL
I think it depends on your personality. If you can have just a couple squares once a week, then do it. No harm as long as you are within your points. If you are the type of person that can't stop at that, or feel as if you may go overboard then it is best avoided. Maybe that is what your leader was trying to say?
I'm glad you posted this because I also had questions about it. I limit my unhealthy things and buy things from WW that are low in points but have the same taste. I don't deprive myself of anything, because if I do I'm going to binge later, but I do try to make sure I have low points instead.
Weight Watchers has a tag line, "diets don't work", I think mostly because when I think diet I think, can't have, then I cheat and I'm usually worse off then when I started. I think the flex plan is just great it re-teaches you what a normal
portion is and you can eat anything you want just be mindful, you might not want to eat the whole thing in one sitting or not to indulge everyday. I think a couple of pts out of your day is just fine, just remember get in your healthy guidelines in first, and you will be just great.
Last edited by Institches21; 08-03-2008 at 03:42 PM.
I think your leader might be a little confused. Obviously, if all your daily points are used up on treats, it's not the best thing, lol. For myself, even using too many points on snacks (the first couple weeks, getting used to being able to HAVE snack foods again, lol) left me too hungry. I quickly learned that if I ate most of my points in healthier foods, then I was more satisfied, and I still had room for a few points of chocolate. If the bulk of your points come from healthier foods, and if you get your healthy guidelines in, a low-point sweet snack here & there is not going to sabotage your efforts!! That's one of the beauties of WW Flex. It allows us to indulge from time to time without completely blowing the whole thing.
Leaders are not perfect. When I was a member, I went to various meetings and saw that they each have their own perspective (sometimes not compatible with Weight Watcher's International's official guidelines).
We had one leader that said that you HAD to keep track off all your calories, fat, and fiber and recalculate your points at the end of the day to make sure that you hadn't accidentally underestimated your points.
For me, that was patently ridiculous. The advantage of points over calories for me was that it was a "short cut" to calorie counting. Easier to do in my head, less obsessive than worrying whether an apple had 80 calories or 100, easier to memorize common food point values... Making it more complicated than calorie counting completely defeated the purpose for me - besides I was losing very well doing it less anally. As I got closer to goal, maybe that would change, but my results at the time were my guide.
Interesting question. It reminds me that a couple years ago when I was on another diet, on which I would have several servings of dairy products a day, I noticed that whenever I substituted frozen yogurt for the serving of regular, plain yogurt or milk I normally had, my weight loss would slow down even though the calories/fat content/fiber were almost equal, and I wasn't doing anything else in my diet differently. Maybe there was sugar in the (low-fat!) frozen yogurt that was triggering a surge in insulin that promoted fat storage?
I don't know, but ever since I've been paranoid about eating anything unhealthy even I have room in my points budget, or using FLEX points for any kind of splurge.
sugar in the (low-fat!) frozen yogurt that was triggering a surge in insulin that promoted fat storage?
That makes so much sense! I know keeping eating all the rubbish foods, even within my points isnt good for me but it makes the whole process seem more manageable! I think i might make a personal committment to do this in a healthier way, but not so much that its restrictive
IrishRover, I had a hard time giving up my lazy-grad-student-fast-food-eating ways at the start of WW. Instead of trying to figure out how I could squeeze in a cheeseburger or fretting about how much I miss cheeseburgers, I find that it really helps for me to focus on eating a bunch of servings of fruits and vegetables (along with other healthy stuff like lean meats/beans/milk/whatever), especially zero-calorie stuff. I tell myself I'll eat the crap once I finish the healthy foods for the day.
Once I do that I'm usually too full to want to eat the garbage. So it really helps to have a bunch of fruits and vegs on hand to grab when you start craving the fattening stuff.
Is it really possible to lose weight on flex while having treats?
As long as you have all of your healthy guidelines in for the day, or in your daily plan, a small treat doesn't hurt anything as long as you are within your points.
