Do any of you plan the day with a certain amount of points for each meal? I am now at under 25 points for a day, and am having trouble at night. Any suggestions for distributing them throughout the day?

IdealPerson -

I am one who wants food in the evening, and I do fine if I just save the points for it! I try to have about half my points for the day (or slightly less) by around 4 or 5 PM. I depend heavily during the day on zero or very low point foods - I do not go hungry!

By doing that, I can have - within reason - pretty much what I want for dinner and a snack at bedtime.

I will admit, that this is easier for me than it might be for some for about a year ago I completely gave up white potatoes, rice, and just about all refined carbs. I eat "tons" of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, plus fat-free dairy products, chicken and fish.

It seems that a lot of overweight people like to munch in the evenings, and if you don't plan carefully for that it can be very difficult to stay OP.

I have gone from 167+ pounds to 127 by eating this way and getting more exercise.

BEST OF LUCK to you!

Thanks Dixie-Crystal. I don't think I can give up FF dairy products yet, but I do limit white/starches and sweets. I have four children and a hubby to cook for at night, so saving most of my points for the evening makes sense. Then I can enjoy a regular meal with them. What do you eat as your low points breakfast and lunches?

I started WW in Jan. 2003 at 209#, today I am 153! Don't want to go back there!

I usually have a low point breakfast (3-4) and lunch (4-6) thus saving the bulk of my points for the evening and a snack if needed. I find that this works well for me in the long run. I make sure that I get protein with each of my meals and it holds me over.

I do about the same thing as MelissaL - My usual breakfast is hot rolled oats with fruit, for 3 to 4 points. For lunch I often have "zero point" vegetable soup, or other zero point veggies, with 2 to 3 ounces of skinless chicken breast. Sometimes I have salmon; sometimes FF cottage cheese with fruit instead.

I usually have some fruit with a few (very few ) peanuts or almonds during the afternoon = another three points. Some days I have a craving for something sweet/carby in the afternoon, so instead of the fruit/nuts I have a Health Valley Fat Free Scone (180 calories, 5 gr. fiber, 4 gr. protein = 3 points) with a cup of coffee, and feel that I've had a real treat!

That would bring me to about 11 points, and I usually average around 22 points per day. If I know I'm going out for dinner, I try to keep my mid-afternoon total to around 9 points.

I am practically *religious* about writing down every bite, and counting my points during the day . . . without that, I know I would begin to get careless.

Absolutely. I plan out my main meals for the day and then let the snacks come when I am hungry. I'm usually at 3 points for breakfast then lunch and dinner around 5-7. Depending on how many points I've now got left, I'll have 1 or 2 snacks available for when I'm hungry. Plus I always have a supply of the crunchy vegetable of the week (brocolli this week) to munch on.

This week I've got some leftover tart at 4 points so I've been having smaller lunch and dinners (4 and 5 points) so I can have room for dessert. 1-2 point snacks are wonderful and there are so many.

I save up points for my evening meal as well. I usually just stick to hot oatmeal or cold hi-fiber cereal with 1% milk for breakfast. For lunch I try to keep my points between 3-6. Sometimes I'll have a skinless chicken breast (3 oz = 3 points) with zero point veggies or a bowl of veggie or chicken soup. I'll also have a piece of fruit with lunch if I'm still hungry. I like to munch on baby carrots with salsa (both zero points!) to fill me up. Then I can eat a normal dinner with a few points left over for a late night snack. Works for me!

I have half of my points for the evening and split the other between breakfast & lunch.

I would agree with all the above I have the largest amount of points in the evening usually 11-13. I try to plan ahead so I know just what Im doing with my points and then I keep my journals so I can always go back when Im having a bad week and select a journal from a good week.

I start my day with my evening meal, then go to breakfast and lunch. This way works best for me. It's so much easier to cut back during the day then in the evening. I've been doing this for about a year. Basically my new day begins at around 3- 4 pm.

I don't divvy it up by a strict formula. What I do is count my points starting with dinner. Then I divvy up what's left between breakfast, lunch, and an afternoon snack. I used to get stuck at dinner without enough points, especially if we spontaneously decided to go out. But since I started counting points from dinner to dinner instead of breakfast to breakfast, it's been a lot easier.

I usually use the bulk of my points at night also,i'll have a two point bfast(3 egg whites,2 ff bread) then at lunch i stay around 5 or 6. I love having my WW ice cream cone at night after my meal! i always leave room for that!

Dixie- I am curious when you say you gave up refined carbs,would you consider the low point popcorn a refined carb also? I am trying to incorporate more fruits and veggies into my daily point routine but i like this popcorn alot and of course the WW ice cream cone. Are you doing a high protein version of WW?

I must be the loan Duck
I have a 3 point breakfast,
I use the bulk of my points at lunch 10-15 and the rest is dinner including what I earn for activity/flex

If I skimp at lunch I find I could eat the door as I walk though it and i am not nice to my kids because i am hungry. I also really perfer not to be that full at night.....

jessjohnsmom - I don't believe popcorn would be considered a refined carb, since you are eating the whole kernal. I am not a popcorn eater, but the low-points popcorn has helped my husband a lot! He has lost 50 pounds on WW.

I stick to whole grain breads; brown rice instead of white; and eat sweet potatoes instead of white potatoes.

I recommend the book "Eat, Drink and Be Healthy" by Walter C. Willette (Harvard Medical School). I follow WW, but also the guidelines in this book - basically, very little saturated fat (substituting olive oil and other healthy fats); lots of fruits and vegetables, and whole grains. (There is NOTHING in the book that is against the WW program.)

This also means I get a lot of fiber, and I believe that has helped me to be more satisfied with fewer calories.

Here is my first attempt at figuring points for my Atkins plan. I am considering using Weight Watchers to give my Atkins plan some structure. Here it goes.

3 egg omelette 0 carbs / 6 pt
2 tbsp cheddar 1 carb / 2 pt
onions, mushrooms, tomato 4 carbs / 0 pt
1 tsp butter 0 carb / 1.5 pt
tea 0 carb / 0 carb
4 tsp half and half 4 carbs / 2 pts

2 oz oysters 0 carbs / 3 pts
romaine, cucumber, tomato 4 carbs / 0 pts
4 oz lobster 0 carb / 4 pts
1 tsp mayonnaise 1 carb / 1.5 pts
2 tbsp ranch dressing 1 carb / 4 pts
¼ cup cooked carrot 3 carbs / 0 pts

WW Mountain Bread 6 carbs / 1 pt
2 tbsp yocheese 1 carb / 1 pt
romaine, red pepper, sum squash 4 carbs / 0 pt
4 oz chicken 0 carb / 4 pts

Totals 34 carbs / 30 pts

Was going to have yogurt today, but because I ate out for breakfast and lunch, I had to nix that. Besides, I am not hungry.