This is similar to a recent post, but not exactly the same.

I'm new to WW, and as a former calorie counter, the idea of 0 point foods is a little hard to grasp. I get it for spinach, zucchini, tomato slices, etc. But there's this type of low carb mini pita (Joseph's) that's 45 calories but very low net carbs and high fiber, and it calculates to 0 points for one, or 1 point for two. I kind of get that the difference is due to rounding of numbers.

But I've noticed on my e-tools points tracker that it only counts as 1 point if I eat the two in the same meal/snack. If it's at different times of day, each is 0 points.

I'm not sure what my question is. I'm just sayin'.

I have the SAME problem!!! I'm using e-tools as well, and get this, I use a bread called Silver Hills Squirrelly bread made without flour. For 1 slice it is 1point, now for the weird part, for two slices it is 4 pts. What??? It makes no sense. And yeah, if you eat foods at different times of day that would add up to points together, it doesn't register. I think it is an algorithm error, the program isn't exactly "robust" and I bet alot of these things were overlooked or not linked together. Perhaps there will be a new version of the program out that will fix all these kinds of things.

This isn't really nearly as confusing as it seems - it's the math of estimation. Plus the fact that different sources round to a different standard

Consider the following (rounded to the nearest whole number). The problem is the equations change again, if one source chooses to round differently than others (some may for example round the calories to the nearest 10 before doing the mathmatical conversion in the first place, some may choose to always round up....).


.2 + .2 = .4
0 + 0 = 0

.4 + .3 = .7
0 + 0 = 1

1.3 + 1.4 = 2.7
1 + 1 = 3

.6 + .6 = 1.2
1 + 1 = 1

This topic came up a few weeks ago at a meeting I am not sure of the sience behind it but it has something to do with how your body metabolises the caloric, fat, and fiber content and percentage it changes when you up the serving. Hope that helps

yeah I don't really always get it. For veggies I count 0, except potatoes and such. Fruits 1-2pts. Everything else, I add it together. If I have 1 serving of whatever in the morning and have a second serving later, then I generally go back in and change the points value. There should be some way for you guys to do that. Or just keep track in your head, or in a written journal the difference. If you notice yourself gaining when splitting up servings, then change it up and see if that helps.
That was the general idea I gathered from the other thread about doubling points and such. It was a lot of just figuring out what your body does with the calories and everything.

It makes perfect sense. It's all explained in your materials. There is a cap of 4 grams of fiber. That's why 0 + 0 = 1 or even more.

I also notice this when I eat multiple servings of a high-fiber food. I alwats forget to calculate the points for the entire amount that I eat, rather than calculate the points per serving and then add them together. I don't think it's an exact science. You are meant to cap it at 4 grams of fiber... but what does that mean? Does that mean 4 grams per *ingredient* or per meal?
For example, if I eat two high-fiber slices of bread on a sandwich, should I calculate the fiber for the whole sandwich or per slice?

Don't let this little thing drag you down and make you think that WW is nonsensical or difficult to work with. What I always say to people is to watch your weight loss - if you aren't counting that 2nd serving of a 0 point non-veggie food (like the mini pitas) as one point, and you rely on them pretty heavily, if you don't see your weight respond like you want try shifting the way you count your 0 foods. It's all about finding a way of working the program that works best for you - is the most intuitive, easiest to follow, and results in a good rate of loss.

As for the fiber cap, it's per serving of food. If you want to count the slices of bread separately, then apply the 4g cap to each slice. If you choose to count them together as one item, double all the nutritional info for one slice, and cap the fiber for both at 4. Like I said, figure out which way DOESN'T drive you crazy, and stick with that

All good advice! I don't think it's nonsensical or overly complicated. In fact, I think these minor glitches are a side effect of how simple and convenient the point system is, which I very much appreciate so far. I just want to make sure I'm abiding the spirit of the plan when I make these decisions rather than somehow gaming it. As you you point out, the scale will give me the feedback I need!

The reason it's not zero points when you eat two is because you can only count four grams of fiber (that's the max), so if you add more calories to the same amount of fiber, it equals more points.
If I eat the same food twice in one day I count it all together. That's what they told us to do at the meetings. For example if I have 10 baby carrots for lunch and 10 for a snack, I count it as 20 carrots for lunch just so that I'm counting my points correctly. It's worked great for me so far... I'm almost at my 10% goal!

See I have a thing, It's been working for me, it's just what I do...
Any veggies that are normally 0pts, I don't ever count them. I know we should, 0pts is not 0calories. But, to me, I just don't count them. I view those veggies as freebies I suppose. It works for me. Now 1 square of my dark chocolate is 0pts. If I decide to have a second serving of the dark chocolate, then I add it together to get whatever pts it is. Generally it ends up only being 1pt anyhow.
That's how I do it and it seems to be working for me... Everyone is different and that's the great thing about WW is that its very flexible. You eat what you want (healthy is advised!), exercise how much you want and you go from there!

We've also been told to count the total amount of food eaten vice per serving in most cases. I would err on the side of caution and maximize the points eaten. So if I have two "zero point" servings of baby carrots as snacks, I count them together as one point. Or else you can snack and eat away way more many points than you think, which your body will account for at your next weigh-in.
K

I think that sounds right. I also brought it up at my meeting yesterday and the response was pretty much the same. I mean, I could have a mini pita at breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack and let it count as zero points, but I'd only be fooling myself, not the scale!

BTW, not that I have much experience here, but I think it's important to track zero point foods. If I stall I want to be able to share my tracker with my leader and get useful feedback, and I can't do that if my tracker's not accurate.

Maybe it's different on the west coast, but my leader says if you eat the same 0 point food 2 times or more per day, you can count them all as 0 as long as it has been at least four hours between them. One thing I'll do if I'm really hungry and am running low on points is have a few grapes as a snack for 0 points. Later in the day, I'll have a few grapes again. I may have had a total of a cup, which would have been one point, but since I spaced it out through my day, I count it as 0. I have had a decent amount of weight loss doing this, but everyone's different.