I get 31 points right now and I usually have a handful of points left over--1-4 or so. Some days it is spot on. So far, I have not eaten any WP, or even any AP, but I have only been doing the program for a short time. I've found so far that I eat about 4 points for breakfast, 11-12 points at lunch and have 15-16 or so left for dinner, which has been plenty for me so far to have a dinner and small dessert.

Sometimes I will fill the small gap with a glass of skim milk w/my dessert which is 2 points right there.

Another thought - if you aren't getting in enough points, double check that everything has a points plus value, and not a Points value. My lunch says 3 Points on the box (frozen dinner) but I counted it and it's 5 Points Plus. So far, every soup and frozen dinner that I have has a higher points + than it did points.

Also, make sure that starchy vegetables aren't counted as free.

Starchy veggies have been a great thing for me. A cup of peas or corn adds 2-4 pts (off memory), which can help boost my dinner number. Potatoes are another good veggie to eat, and you can even "splurge" and have some cheese or sour cream on it (if you have the points to spend). I know that makes it much easier for me to hit target.

This last week I averaged 48.4 pts a day of my 49, I used 16 WP, 0 AP (had 36). I lost 1.8. Not bad. I really focused on eating my points this week. The previous weeks I had not been hitting that many. Also I love Light ice cream.

Why are you eating so little? The minimum daily points allowance on WW is 29 points and I'm not sure of any source that recommends a daily caloric allowance of 1000.

THIS. I could never survive on that few calories. Well, I probably could survive but I'm quite sure I'd be losing lean muscle mass and unable to exercise.

I don't overanalyze things too much. I get 34 points, I eat 34 points (sometimes a bit more). I don't usually eat my APs. I'm not losing a ton of weight every week but this is sustainable to me (even *easy*, definitely something I can do long term).

Hi all! I just went down from 34 to 33 PP. At our meeting this week, the leader said that the really important thing is to meet all of the good health guidelines and to focus on choosing power foods (whole grains, etc.), and that doing this makes it less likely that you'll eat the multiple Big Macs instead of healthy items.

I know that for me, having to put down four points for dairy and 2 or 3 points for healthy fats (usually some butter on cooked veggies) ensures that I can't get TOO crazy with the fast food.

I'm constantly in motion (I'm a chaplain and a youth pastor, and I serve at four different facilities -- the farthest two are 50 miles apart). My goodness, do I eat at Taco Bell and Wendy's! Probably 4 or 5 times per week. After the first few days, I found myself looking at certain foods as "points bargains". I began to feel mildly insulted that they'd suggest that I should eat a fourteen-pound double cheeseburger when I could get a junior burger, salad, and chili for only ten points combined. From there, things moved into having three meals plus a snack or two -- a more balanced consumption through the day without stuffing myself at any single meal.

I also allow myself some small pleasures EVERY day. Lately, it's been a cup of frozen Tampico fruit juice drink (3 points) and either a chocolate cherry or a truffle (2 points). My daily goal is to tick the good health guideline boxes on my tracker, to tick at least six to eight servings of "power foods", and to not exceed my daily points; only occasionally do I use a point or two from the weekly allowance, which I view as "emergency cash" to be used if I'm caught away from home and can't find any good food choices, e.g., I'm in a hospital emergency room with a parishioner at 3 a.m. and need to eat a snack from a vending machine because I'm about to fall over.

Having so many points to use allows me to eat real food. I can't stand skim milk, for instance, and whole milk is worth the points for me. Ditto with bread; I can handle diet bread most of the time, but I need some nice Amish stuff occasionally.

I'm constantly amazed at how flexible the Points Plus plan is. It can fit a carnivorous homebody (i.e., the DH) and a peripatetic chaplain with a carb addiction equally well.

Has a physician set your diet for you? Or does your physician know how many calories you're taking in each day? That seems quite low, even for someone who is unable to exercise.

I have heard many a vegetarian WW'er swear by avocado as a good way to bump up the point values and get in healthy fats.

Emaline, it's really easy for your daughter to bump up her points and get a balanced meal. Is she eating all of her grains and dairy that are in the good health guidelines? I'm assuming that UK and US are the same requirements.

One egg, a cup of oatmeal and a glass of milk is 9 points A cup of brown rice is 5 points. Add some stir fry vegetables and 2 ounces of tofu in 2 teaspoons of oil and add 4 more points. A salad can be pumped up with garbanzo beans or other dried beans for about 5-6 points a cup. Potatoes, avocados, nuts, yogurt etc are all very healthy foods that add in a lot of points. If she's getting in plenty of grains, dairy and oils as outlined, she'll have to be careful to not go over instead of struggle to meet the lower limit.

Just a blurb on why it is important to get the DP in. We tend to think of food mostly for it's energy value (calories) when in weight loss, and we kind of figure, "Why put food energy in if I'm trying to lose the stored fat energy?" Two reasons:
1. Fat has a high "activation energy"...chemistry-talk which means, you have to raise your body energy to a certain level before you can start burning the fat. To get to that level, to have to create a demand for that energy, and you also need food energy. The more body you have, the more food you need to supply the energy to get there. This is why if you don't eat your DP, you can actually stall your fat loss. (I say "fat" loss instead of "weight" loss, because you want to lose fat weight, and not muscle weight).
2. Body fat, though full of energy, has no other nutritional value. You must get the protein, vitamins, and minerals needed for regular maintenance and upkeep of your body from your food. So, if you want to build muscle (which burns more energy per pound than other tissues), you have to supply your body with enough protein to build and maintain those muscles. The more body you have, the more nutrients you need to ensure that you can maintain things like your bones, your heart, your brain, etc.

So, although it might not be easy in practice, hopefully this is incentive to make sure you are eating enough!

I'm a vegetarian and I have no problem getting in my points...

Bad doctor!

But I think that you need to do what you need to do for you. Obviously it's been working so I say stick with what's been giving you results. You can always change things if you feel you need to. Good luck!

Emaline29- The reason why you put ON weight if you eat over 1000 calories is because that is what your body is used to. If you figure out how many calories your body needs at your height, age, weight and activity level, you'll find it's much higher than 1000 calories- you may need to start "refeeding" your body/metabolism for a month or so. Yes you will gain some weight in the first month but you'll be able to eat much more and you can lower your calories little by little. Please think about it because as you lose weight, you'll need to lower your calories.... 1000 is already low enough.