Ok for kicks today I decided to add up the calories at the end of the day and see what I was eating in correlation to points. I was at 28 points and only 1115 calories I just ate some more to bring it up to around 1280, but I don't wanna use all of my flex points just to up my calories, but I don't wanna stall my weight loss. I'm just kind of confused about what I should do. Any advice would be great thanks

ETA: My daily points are 24 and I used 4 of my flex already. I ate 4 more just now to bring my points up to 1280 as I said and I figured those out to be AP's. Also, I wasn't hungry or anything at all I was completely full, I just make sure to get really low cal stuff to eat. Could I be hurting myself? I mean I haven't really lost any weight, I've been bobbing in the 190's for months

i have figured out my calories vs points before too, and at 22 points a day i was usually between 1150-1450. the calories varied pretty widely each day even though i always ate the same amount of points. which i guess is because you can eat a higher calorie/ higher fiber food and it could turn out the same points as a lower cal/ lower fiber food.

i wouldn't use up all my flex points just to up cals, especially without being hungry. do you go to meetings? maybe your leader could review your food log?

or could you list an average day's menu here in this thread and we could give you some ideas to up cals without using up your points? for example, i eat a hard-boiled egg white with my breakfast because it is 0 points, but gives me some extra protein. maybe add some more 0 cal foods to your day, like veggies (or fruit - a serving of strawberries is 0 points)

Yeah I do this on my own so I don't have a leader to go to. But I will list my menu here. To start off I know I don't eat veggies and I should and I don't eat the best of foods, but I try to do as well as I can on a tight budget and very little cooking (i live by myself so I don't like to cook a lot and have it go to waste)

Today

Breakfast
Wheat Bun - 45 cals - 1pt
Lite Turkey Dog - 1pt - 40 cals
Crackers and cheese snack thing - 100 cals -2 pt

Lunch
Cheddar Pierogies - 180 cals - 4pts
Honey Wheat Pretzels - 140 cals - 3pts

Snack
Apple - 100 cals - 2pts
Lite Pudding cup - 30 cals - 1pt

Dinner
Wheat Bun - 45 cals - 1pt
1/4c bbq - 110 cals - 3 pts
Sweet Potato Fries - 150 cals - 4 pts
3 small Peppermint patties - 100 cals - 2pts

Snack
100 cal pack - 100cals - 3pts

Total 27 pts - 1150


Once I realized that I was only ate 1150 calories I figured out that I earned 4 AP's today and so I used those and ended up adding 170 more calories. I also drank 80 some oz of water today. I also take a daily womens ultra mega active vitamin

drinking water and taking a vitamin is good. do you not eat veggies cuz you don't like them or cuz of cost? i totally understand being on a tight budget (a lot of us do), and healthy food definitely cost more! but you can get veggies cheap if you buy them frozen or canned instead of fresh. watch for sales then stock up. most (not all) are 0 points.

the 8 healthy guidelines are a pretty big part of weight watchers. trying to eat more veggies, dairy and protein will help your weight loss. do you like eggs? they are cheap and the whites are full of protein. i like light yogurt but it can get expensive so i watch for sales.

i understand it's hard to cook for one. you might try just cooking healthy meals a couple times a week and freezing leftovers for another day?

it's possible that your weight loss is stalled because your body isn't getting the nutrition it needs. a vitamin is great ( i take one too) but it doesn't have all the nutrients you need.

i'm no expert so i hope some others will have better advice for you!

I don't eat veggies because I don't like a lot of them , my main veggies are lettuce, carrots, and green beans. I'm more of a fruits person than veggies. I like eggs, and I thought about getting a dozen and boiling them for a quick snack, but I wasn't sure how long they would last or whether it is good to do that. I also don't do much dairy because it tends to not agree with my throat and stomach. I end up coughing a lot and sometimes get sick depending on what it is, so instead I take calcium chews. My main concern is the fact that I dropped below 1200 calories because if I would've stuck to my points for the day I would've been at 1000 calories and that worries me since everyone says don't do that. I appreciate any advice Also, I generally don't just cook for me and freeze it because I honestly won't come back to it. I've done it in the past and it gets thrown out. I'm weird about stuff being frozen and leftover I will eat leftovers the first day after and then it just grosses me out. In May I will be cooking again because I will be living with my boyfriend again, but currently it is just easier to make small stuff as I can. Thanks for the response I appreciate it

Weight Watchers built in a couple hundred calories for "zero" point foods... ie. vegetables. Often (I'm not saying you, this is just in general) people will forget to count the calories that they've eaten in those 0 points. If you aren't eating vegetables, though, then you may not be getting as many calories as you need. Try to get as many of your favorite ones in as you can.

Hardboiled eggs last a little while. I get 6, boil them, and eat them within 2 weeks. You could make a delicious salad with lettuce, shredded carrots, egg whites, 1/4 cup of cheddar cheese and a few sprays of that 10 calorie spray dressing by wishbone (i think).

No need to eat leftovers all week long. You can just make food for two nights instead of one. Eat the leftover serving the next day or even better, have it for lunch! And then the next night, cook more food

Also, watch out for those snack packs. My leader often says "A snack pack and an apple might be the same amount of points, but they do not react the same way in your body, and the apple packs a more nutritious punch. If you have a choice, go for the fruit or vegetable, not the 'snack'."

Just to put things into perspective, out of the 28 points you ate in that menu, 11 were snack-like foods.

Oh yes, I realize that....I'm a snacker. I'll go get some carrots and stuff tomorrow and see if that helps. Thanks for the advice

your healthy oils are another 2 points (about 80 calories) that are missing.

Can you do soy milk? That counts for a dairy as long as it is fortified..


I see a lot of food with no nutritional value...(snack packs, candy) and while technically you can eat that stuff you should be concentrating on food that gives you healthy nutrition.


For your dairy there is much more than just milk to qualify:


Milk 1 cup
Soy Milk plain calcium-fortified 1 cup
Cottage Cheese 2 cups
Hard or semi-soft cheese 1 ½ oz
Ricotta cheese ½ cup
Dairy Shake Reduced calorie 1 Packet
Latte unsweetened, made with low-fat milk 12 oz.
Pudding, fat-free sugar-free mix (made with fat-free milk) 1 cup
Yogurt 1 cup or 8 oz.
Weight Watchers Smoothie (prepared with water) 1 Packet (2 servings if you make it with milk)
Cappuccino (unsweetened, made with 2% milk) 16 oz

Eight Good Health Guidelines
1. Eat at least five servings of vegetables and fruits each day.
2. Choose whole-grain foods, such as brown rice and oats, whenever possible.
3. Include two servings of milk products – low fat (1%) or fat-free – each day.
4. Have some healthy oil (olive oil, canola, sunflower, safflower or flaxseed) each day.
5. Ensure that you are getting enough protein by choosing at least a serving or two of meat, poultry, fish, eggs, or dried beans each day. Many dairy products are also good sources of protein.
6. Limit added sugar and alcohol.
7. Drink at least 6 8-ounce glasses of water a day.
8. Take a multiple vitamin-mineral supplement each day

These are really no longer an option to being OP...they are necessary

Here is a great list of veggies:

Dark green vegetables

bok choy
broccoli
collard greens
dark green leafy lettuce
kale
mesclun
mustard greens
romaine lettuce
spinach
turnip greens
watercress


Orange vegetables

acorn squash
butternut squash
carrots
hubbard squash
pumpkin
sweetpotatoes


Dry beans and peas

black beans
black-eyed peas
garbanzo beans (chickpeas)
kidney beans
lentils
lima beans (mature)
navy beans
pinto beans
soy beans
split peas
tofu (bean curd made from soybeans)
white beans
Starchy vegetables

corn
green peas
lima beans (green)
potatoes


Other vegetables

artichokes
asparagus
bean sprouts
beets
Brussels sprouts
cabbage
cauliflower
celery
cucumbers
eggplant
green beans
green or red peppers
iceberg (head) lettuce
mushrooms
okra
onions
parsnips
tomatoes
tomato juice
vegetable juice
turnips
wax beans
zucchini


Try something new and just because you haven't liked veggies in the past doesn't mean your tastes dont' change as you mature...it does. Try them again

How do you get in your healthy oils?

It's 2 teaspoons daily of a healthy oil. (olive, canola, sunflower, safflower, or flaxseed) It adds up to 2 points.

I generally get them in by adding a little oil to pasta, or if I'm lightly sautéing some veggies.

Having troulbe getting in all your healthy oils? Here's some idea's,. You only need to eat 2 tsp of oil per day. ( 1 teaspoon is a serving), So you can get it in throughout the day.Healthy oils are: olive oil, canola, sunflower, safflower or flaxseed. FYI: Fish oils, Oil capsules, Avocados, peanut butter, nuts, etc, do NOT count towards WW healthy oils requirements. Only the pourable kind

1) Cook with it, Alot of recipes start off with oil in the skillet
2) Mix up a marinade for meats and/or veggies
3) Mix it with meat sauces, or most sauces
4) Sautee with it.
5) Drizzle over pasta
6) Drizzle over popcorn
7) Drizzle over veggies
8) Drizzle over pizza
9) Drizzle over corn on the cob
10) Drizzle some over fat free cheese(it helps melt better)
11) Mix up some salad dressing (like olive oil and balsamic vinegar)
12) Rub it on poultry or fish before baking it
13) Rub it on meats for the spices and/or rubs have something to stick to
14) Rub some on a baked potato
15) Grill sandwiches
16) Stry Fry veggies
17) Coat some homemade baked fries
18) Makes garlic toast, (oil and garlic on bread toast)
19) Add some to soups
20) Add some to smoothies
21) Mix 2 tsps olive oil to fat-free salad dressing
22) Add to anything that is fat-free. instead of the fat, you're replacing it with healthy oils
23) Roast veggies with oil
24) Mix conola oil to oatmeal, yogurt, smoothies, soups
25) put some in salsa
26) If you eat frozen dinners, drizzle some over it.
27) make some Herb or Spice Infused Oil, (for dipping or cooking)
28) Mix in some Butter Buds or Molly McButter, You'll have butter flavored oils.
29) mix some in the new PB2 peanut butter flour that alot are trying. (you're replacing the fat with healthy oils)

I wonder why oil capsules don't count when 1 capsule of flax seed oil is 10 calories w/ 1 gram of fat.

I used to eat it right off the spoon for years but I find the capsules easier to take.

Anyone know why?

(sorry to thread hijack)

We talked about this at our last WW meeting. Our leader said the pills do not have enough oil in them. You need 2 tsp. a day for your body to absorb the nutrients from the foods you eat. It will not do you any good to eat all your fruits/veggies and dairy without the oil.

The example she used was driving your car without oil.