Thanks for the FitDay info. I have been using Spark to keep up with mine and it has been so slow lately. I just signed up for FitDay and I am loving it!

Thanks for all the replies ladies! I think I will try to do simple calorie counting this month and just see what works out better and easier. I'm having trouble finding something on what my calorie intake should be. Any suggestions?

Well, how many WW POINTS were you consuming? I'd multiply that by 50 to give yourself an idea of a starting point.

What a good idea! I had 31,so that gives me 1550 calories.

Mel,

If you kept the food journal with WW, you could go back and calculate how many calories you were eating.

I have done WW as well as other diet plans. I think I have tried them all, or so it seems. I decided I wasn't going to pay someone to tell me what to eat so went to calorie counting. This works best for me. I am in maintenance, now and find calorie counting works best for long term weight loss. That has been my problem in the past, I would pay a lot of money for some program. lose and regain, over and over again. Calorie counting is free and a very flexable way of losing and maintaining.

I'd figure it out one of three ways.

• If you use an online calorie counting database like fitday or myplate they both estimate how many calories you need to lose 1 or 2 pounds a week, based on your current weight.
• Or you can find a calorie calculator that will tell you how many calories you need to maintain your current weight (I use the one from Mayo Clinic). Subtract 200 or 300 from that, and increase your exercise, and see how that limit works for you for a couple weeks. Lower it a bit more if you want to lose a bit faster. But don't go too low. (I started with 2200 to maintain my weight, and aim for 1600-1800 a day)
• Or just continue on WW for a few days, and put your food into the database of your choice (fitday, myplate, sparks). See what total you usually get with the WW points. Then make a calorie range based on that.

I think I'll do that just to see. I'm sure I was eating more calories than I should've been..lol

the secretary in my office says she's lost 1000 pounds (that's right a THOUSAND) at W.W. over 25 years LOL She keeps telling me "it works" but I have to wonder at anything you have to keep doing over and over and over lol i want this chunk off me and GONE for good! I'm a calorie counter simply because I'm a suspicious cynic -- any business who's success hinges on my repeat business isn't where i need to be right now LOL

I do WW and now do it at home (was going to meetings but stopped in March). To me CC and WW are almost alike. WW has some funky formula that takes in account the calories, fat and fiber of a serving and that equals a point amount. Fiber is capped at 4 so people can't add more fiber to something to lower the points value (I could go on lol but I'll stop there) I've done both but I tend to become obsessed more with a bigger number...dunno why but it just is lol It's working for me and since I've totally changed the way I eat...lean meats, healthy fats, whole wheat products, fresh fruit and lots of fresh veggies, etc....I know I won't be going back to my old way of life. It's just what I do now.

I do however track my calories for a week every few months on the daily plate to get an idea of what area in my diet I need to tweak...sodium, eating too much carbs, not enough protein, etc. I'm a carb/salt nut and sometimes I indulge a little more in those areas even if I stay with in my points or calories.

If keeping track of points is working for you then I say stick to it. It's certainly a lifestyle change no matter if you CC or not

As for the zero point foods (which is usually a serving of a veggie, 30 cals or less...plain with no additives) or any double/triple serving...if you add 0+0 it does not always add up to zero So you'll wind up counting it some way if you over indulge.