I am so sorry if this has already been asked and answered, but I did a search and can't seem to find it. If anyone has a link to a thread with this information I'd be grateful.

I have been on the new Points Plus for a year and have lost 56 pounds, but the losses have slowed down in the past few weeks because I think I'm underestimating my AP's.

I was on the old Momentum plan and used my heart rate monitor to track APs using the 1AP for every 100 calories burned "rule". I've yet to find something similar with this new Points Plus plan and was wondering if anyone has any info on this, any theories or ideas on how many calories burned would now be considered 1AP?

I know these aren't official WW calculations but the whole "low medium high" intensity thing we're supposed to be using to estimate how hard we're working isn't ideal. I can't see myself saying I worked out for an hour at a high intensity when in reality it was only maybe 40 minutes or so, not counting the warm up, cool down and/or stretch. I don't want to have to break down a workout that way in eTools, 10 minutes at low, 40 minutes at high, 5 minutes at low, etc.

are you eating your APs? Are you eating the same as you were on the old plan? Are you exercising the same way you were on the old plan?

The "intensity level" is actually a very good way to measure exercise, even if it means you have to make 2 entries in the etools. Or you could just record the medium and high intensity and ignore the low if it's a pain to track.

I am eating my APs yes, but I feel as though I should be earning more and maybe eating more. I really would love to just be able to say ok I burned x amount of calories and add that to the tracker instead of during the work out, have to track how many minutes I did low intensity, how many minutes at high intensity. It's time consuming, especially since I work out in the mornings and need to get myself ready for work. Plus I may forget, then I'll again be estimating.

Cammie, that you have lost 56 pounds (congrats) over a year, are 5.6 and now 172 it is understandable that your weight loss will slow down a bit now. I know this doesn't address your exercise question, however, it is also coming into play. You're nearer ww's goal for the top of your weight range and your height/weight and that is what happens to many people. Don't get discouraged.

Thank you. I do realize that it will get harder going forward. I guess that's why I'm trying to fine tune and tweak things a little, trying to figure out if there is anything I can do to push myself forward a little.

seagirl I am working out at a higher intensity I'd say than I did on the momentum plan. So I don't overestimate I just count all activity as medium unless it's something like walking which I count as low. I also count weight lifting as low since my heart rate is up during parts of it but it's a different kind of heart rate elevation than cardio would be.

I work out 13 hours a week at the gym and never eat APs. WW has found most people overestimate how many APs they burn. I exercise to improve my weight loss, not eat more. The starvation myth doesn't exist. Sience has proved that wrong.

I don't really see how underestimating your AP would cause weight loss to slow. That is, if you said you earned 2 AP and you really earned 3 AP how would that cause your weight loss to slow?

Do you eat your WP as well as your AP? The closer you get to goal the less likely it is that you can eat as many points and still lose weight. You don't burn as many calories weighing what you weigh now as you did when you weighed more.

(On the AP, I generally count everything as low. I feel that most people overestimate AP and I don't want to take any chances. I currently have my WP set at 33 points a week and don't usually eat my AP).

I still go by 100 calories =1AP and haven't had an issue! Some days I'll rack up 20 points but only eat half.

I guess I feel like I may be starving myself and unintentionally slowing down my weight loss by not eating my APs. I usually use those first, before dipping into the WPA, many weeks, I don't use WPAs at all. I feel like if I want to eat something extra, I should use AP's before WPAs because I've earned those.

The idea that eating too few calories causes you to go into starvation mode is a myth.

http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/a...d=35501&sc=801

It is true that as you lose weight your metabolism may slow. Studies seem to show that those who lose weight have slower metabolisms than those who were never overweight in the first place.

The big thing is that as you weigh less your body necessarily burns fewer calories than when you weighed more.

However, the idea that you need to eat more calories so you don't go into starvation mode is just a kind myth.

I understand your reasoning to use AP first. I've gone back and forth between whether to use WP first or AP first. Right now I use WP first and tend to not use AP at all. In the end I don't think it really matters much which way you structure it.

In my experience, most of the time when people have a plateau or lower weight loss they have either failed to cut how much they eat as their weight decreases or they lose intensity and are eating more than the think. Here is a link to my favorite article on this which might be of some interest:

http://www.freewebs.com/goingskiing/plateaubusters.htm

(The entire blog is very interesting).

Yes, as a general rule the "if you don't eat enough you won't lose" is a myth BUT everyone's body is different. What should be a mathematical equation, sometimes isn't. I've been doing this for almost a year and the one thing I've learned is that when I hit a certain amount of APs burned, if I don't eat half of them, the scale doesn't budge. That may change later on, but it is true for me now.

Besides that, it is important to me that I'm losing fat and not muscle so I eat to make sure my body has the fuel it needs to rebuild those muscles I've broken down.

OP I stil use the 100cals = 1 ap rule. I eat half my APs once I hit 20APs in a week. But I also eat my weeklies first.

Thanks for the responses guys. I'll keep using the 100 cal per 1 AP "rule" and see what happens at my weigh in on Saturday.