Can anyone explain how to calculate them or direct me to a thread or website
Please and Thank you
Michelle

Thank you so much )))

Calculating Activity Points is a huge problem in WW particularly for people who aren't using an ActiveLink (or a WW pedometer).

The problem is that WW in setting daily points basically assumes you will meet a baseline of activity each day before you earn any activity points. So if you wear an ActiveLink if you, for example, go to an exercise class for an hour in the morning you don't earn any activity points right then. Rather the activity is recorded and is applied to getting to your baseline. If you, for example, went to a job then and say all day then you might not get much over the baseline and would earn zero activity points.

However, if you look at the WW materials and calculate your activity points without an ActiveLink you would give yourself Activity points based upon intensity. If you then eat those points you might find you weren't losing because really your overall activity didn't justify earning activity points! The ActiveLink would recognize this and not give you any activity points. However, calculating points without an ActiveLink (or WW pedometer) doesn't recognize this and would give the same number of activity points to the person who is active during daily life versus the one who was sedentary the rest of the day.

Now if you regularly and easily meet your baseline each day without counting exercise then this won't be an issue for you. The problem with lots of people is that they don't meet the baseline each day. It was such an eye opener to me when I got my ActiveLink! For example, today I went on a 45 minute walk in a hilly area. ActiveLink classified that as 43 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. I've been mostly at the computer today but I did go grocery shopping earlier in the day. Fitbit says that I've burned 1695 calories as of now. However, I am currently at only about 70% of my daily baseline so I am unlikely to earn any activity points today even though I had 43 minutes of moderate intensity exercise. With the ActiveLink I earn no Activity POints. If I was calculating activity points manually I'm sure I would be recording at least 2 activity points.

Another thing to watch our for is the intensity level. A lot of people when they got ActiveLinks found that what they thought was moderate or high intensity exercise actually wasn't. I have found it best to just count everything as low intensity unless you are using an ActiveLink (or Fitbit or similar device).

Oh yeah no I'm a runner and wear a foreman 110 with heart rate monitor my thing is it tells me how many calories I burn but how do I convert those to exercise points, and the ONLY reason I want to know is because I may want a glass of wine and don't want to dip into my 33 daily so I feel like I earned it

Koshka - So do you recommend the ActiveLink? I was thinking of getting it when I either hit my 5% or 10% as a reward, but I wasn't sure.

Lindalee9 - Koshka and I have very different views on the ActiveLink, but we both get pretty detailed here: http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/weig...ctivelink.html

She prefers the fitbit and I prefer the activelink.

SoMuchFattitude does link to a good thread on my thoughts. At that time I had only had my Fitbit a few days. I'm now completed 3 full weeks with the Fitbit and the ActiveLink.
707goddess - Some people feel that an AP is about equivalent to 80 calories. However, the point is that you shouldn't really count it unless you've met a baseline for the day.

Lindalee9 -

I actually like both the Fitbit and the ActiveLink. If I had to have only one I would probably choose the Fitbit but the bottom line is that either one of them is way, way, way better than not having one of them at all.

If your choice is ActiveLink or nothing then I would strongly recommend the ActiveLink. It is good at telling you whether you have met your baseline for the day and in telling you if you have earned Activity Points. You get that in a much more accurate way than you get from just counting Activity Points on your own.

The reason I also have a Fitbit is I'm sort of a quantified self geek and like to see all the numbers. To me, while I liked the information from the ActiveLink it didn't actually do much to help me change my behavior. That is, I gained 10 pounds while using the ActiveLink. I found the info from it valuable but it wasn't precise enough to create motivation for to change. Now - after using a Fitbit for the last 3 weeks, I've lost almost 4 pounds (which for me is a lot - I've always been a slow loser). I am just really hooked on seeing how many calories I've burned during the day and how many steps I've walked and it is motivating me to change. So it works better to me for motivation purposes.

On the other hand, I understand fully that for others - such as SoMuchFattitude - they find the ActiveLink itself sufficiently motivating and they would gain nothing additional from a Fitbit.

I would recommend looking at both of them and getting whichever one you feel would be most motivating to you.

The ActiveLink is cheaper but has a $5 a month fee. The Fitbit is more expensive but a monthly fee is not required (you can buy the annual premium but it is not at all necessary). So economically I think it basically works out similarly between them.