I've been on WW twice in the past and again as of this week and i'm realizing that i'm a total point hoarder.
I tend to eat less in the morning and at lunch so that I can save my pts for dinner. It's not that i'm overly hungary at dinner time but I have this terrible fear that i'll get so hungry and have no pts left.. does this make any sense?
I guess I don't trust myself just yet on the plan and so I hoard my pts all day.
Has anyone else had this issue? Does it change with time as you progress in the program? If so, any tips on somehow changing this?
I think if you space out your meals 2-3 hours, meals being smaller ones, then you won't have to worry about over doing it. I am still learning this myself, but so far it has really been helping me.
I have the exact same problem! For some reason I try to eat very low pt. meals and snacks so that ill have enough for dinner, then of course I have to gorge to eat up all those extra points! ugh, im working on it!
What I've seen people do on pretty much any plan where you're counting anything, is to count from dinner to dinner. So rather than start your daily count at breakfast and end it when you go to sleep, you start counting points at dinner (so say Monday night), then count through evening snacks, breakfast, lunch and snacks on Tuesday, and then the points for dinner on Tuesday start a new day.
That way you already know how much you spent on dinner for a particular day, and you can plan breakfast and lunch (for the next day) accordingly.
I have this same exact issue, but I like it this way. At work I make sure to eat only about half of my daily points (split between breakfast, lunch and snacks) and then the second half is for my dinner. I also have a ritual though, that I have to have desert everynight (even if the desert is a 1 pt. WW cookie). I consider it a treat to myself for staying on plan all day, and of course because I ate less during the day I have points available for it. Everyone has a certain way that things work best for them, and this just works!
What I've seen people do on pretty much any plan where you're counting anything, is to count from dinner to dinner. So rather than start your daily count at breakfast and end it when you go to sleep, you start counting points at dinner (so say Monday night), then count through evening snacks, breakfast, lunch and snacks on Tuesday, and then the points for dinner on Tuesday start a new day.
That way you already know how much you spent on dinner for a particular day, and you can plan breakfast and lunch (for the next day) accordingly.
Does that really work for people? Is the loss steady? It sounds interesting and I never thought of it but I think it is something that would work for me.
I find it very interesting also. However, I think it might get a little confusing for me anyway. The points tracker would be off all the time and I'm not sure how I would balance that all out.
It does make sense though, start couting points from dinner time since generally it's the biggest meal of the day.
And i'm with micasa2grls, has anyone tried this? If so, how is it working for you???
I find it very interesting also. However, I think it might get a little confusing for me anyway. The points tracker would be off all the time and I'm not sure how I would balance that all out.
It does make sense though, start couting points from dinner time since generally it's the biggest meal of the day.
And i'm with micasa2grls, has anyone tried this? If so, how is it working for you???
I decided to give it a try. I figured this whole journey was about experimenting anyway, so what's a week worth of trying? If it doesn't work, then I just go back to the normal way.
The reason I am intrigued by it is because, well, I don't know how to explain it. I don't eat much for dinner. I am not a night time snacker. But the hours between 2-5pm are my weak times. I need the most amount of points at that time. I usually have a small breakfast and a snack, a BIG lunch and then a snack, and then a small dinner and a dessert. What happens at my lunch time is that I just eat so many points that I forget to leave enough for when I get hungry later on. And then I don't even go to bed until anywhere from 1am-2am on any given day. If I eat all my points by 5-6pm, but 10 I am STARVING and I end up just making myself go to bed and then I wake up sick to my stomach hungry in the morning.
Soo..I will give it a try for a week or 2. If it fails, then at least I know what won't work. I feel the need to shake things up anyway.
This is really a very flexible way of doing things. At a high level, any counting-based plan wants you to eat the correct amount of calories and nutrients, *on average*. It doesn't really matter what period of time you choose to track, when it starts or ends, as long as you apply it consistently and calculate the correct amount of food you should have in that period. I've read about shift workers moving the start time of their points-day when their shifts changed, and I've even heard of a doctor who used a 48 hour system (with twice the points of course), because she was on 24 hour shifts and unable to eat a standard meal and snack pattern.
What's important is to do whatever helps you eat the correct number of points, on average, over the long term. So try something out. If it makes you miserable, or makes things harder for you, change it until you find something that works.
My leader suggest dividing your total points by 2. Use 1/2 for breakfast, lunch and a morning snack. Use the rest for dinner and afternoon and evening snacks. This works well at spacing points out and still leaves plenty for dinner.
i do the same exact thing and was thinking it was an issue, but i have the biggest fear, too, of running outta points and starving! i've lost over 1 lb. every single week, though, on average, so i guess it's not too terrible.
an update. I have been doing the starting my daily points at dinner time thing for a few days and I am amazed that I have not ONCE gone over my daily points limit. It is amazing. I didn't even want to. When I started at breakfast, I always ran out of points by 4pm. I know it is all mindset, but I am happy so far with how it is working. Now to find out when I weigh in next time.
I just wanted to chime in that after reading this thread I decided to start my points count at dinner time too and I am AMAZED. I have not once gone over and am hitting my target right on the nose for the first time in ages. So far I'm only on day 3 but I'm really impressed. I can't believe it because I'm trying to use the same amount of points but it's so much easier to get breakfast and lunch into a certain amount of points rather than having to try to do it with a bigger meal (which for me is dinner). Thanks so much for the suggestion! I'd heard of it before but had never given it a go and now I'm so glad that I have tried it!
I find for myself is that I don't really think of hoarding my points for the end of the day, but I just tend not to eat as much during the morning/lunch.. and then I get to the end of the day and feel I have to finish up all my points *right now I have 32 points a day which is INSANE* so for example; today I ate my dinner and I still have 6 points left!!! So I'm sitting here trying to figure out something good to have, but am wondering if I eat all these points at night will it ultimately make me retain water and gain?
Thank a bunch! Everyone's post are really helpful!
-evolve1587
I'm a point hoarder :S
