I posted all of this to the WW message groups but I find at times they are less than helpful and get wrapped up in "go read your information" - but I do online and the information isn't always as clear.
Here is the copy and paste from what I posted there:
I am on week 3 of doing online WW and I need a bit of help with points.
I am eating all of my daily points and getting all of my healthy guidelines in most day (one day this week I was short a healthy fat and another day I was short one dairy). I did not use any of my weekly points. I started a 5k training program and a boot camp program this week so I earned about 52 AP. I ate 26 of those points. I weigh and or measure all of my pointed foods (I stopped weighing and measuring 0 point fruits and veggies after the first week I found I had developed a good sense of 1/2 cup and I almost always eat more than a 1/2 cup serving but still count it only as 1/2 cup (for example a pickling cucumber cut up as a snack is usually 3/4 cups but I only count it as 1/2 cup).
I'm being really true to the program and listening to my hunger cues.
The first week I lost 5.8 lbs. The second week I lost .2lbs (but AF started and I was traveling all week so I was happy with a small loss). This week .4lb gain! I know when I look at my 3 weeks OP overall I've lost about 1.8lbs a week and that is great but my question is should I be eating all of the "extra" (AP and weekly) points I get? Should I be trying to eat at least most of the AP I earn?
Then someone asked me to post a menu for today, I responded with:
Here is my menu today. This isn't super typical for me I usually eat snacks but we were out and about, and I let myself have a big treat at Tim Horton's.
Lunch:
1 Turkey club sandwich from Tim Horton's
1 Cookie ice cream sandwich from Cold Stone Creamery
Snack:
Banana (I've had charlie horses at night and an extra banana during the day seems to be helping)
Supper:
Rotisserie chicken
Roasted potatoes, carrots and sweet potatoes (roasted with EVOO so another healthy fat for today but I make a ton and eat it through the week with my lunch).
Steamed Green beans
Small salad with homemade honey mustard dressing, 1 tbsp almonds and 1 tbsp cranberries
1 cup almond milk (yes I know not a dairy but I am lactose intolerant and only eat one true dairy serving a day of cheese and then the other is my almond milk otherwise I have an angry belly - I won't drink soy and soy has the same nutrition info as almond plus I supplement with Vitamin D in the morning when I eat my healthy oils so I am okay with this sub and don't think it would drastically affect weight loss)
A more typical day for me is a homemade egg mcmuffin for breakfast with a banana and one healthy oil on the muffin (Vitamin D absorbs better with fat so I always have a healthy oil for breakfast), cheese, some small carb and a veggie (usually carrots or cucumbers) for morning snack, a big salad with protein for lunch, a piece of fruit and a protein bar or some rolled deli meat for afternoon snack. Crackers and laughing cow cheese to pick at while I make supper and then supper is usually a protein with lots of veggies and sometimes rice. My points usually work out to 7-11 for each meal and the rest in snacks.
Then someone asked me if I was miscalculating my AP for it to be so high, and told me WW says I should only be earning 14 a week (which makes no sense to me because when you check of activity for the day it says right there you should start working towards 2 a day and slowly build up to 6 a day) so I responded with this:
For AP my bootcamp class is 60 minutes on Wednesdays and is all interval training - we don't stop for those 60 minutes. I put it in as interval training for 40 minutes (accounting for 10 minute warm up and 10 minute cool down). I jog/walk for an hour 3 days a week. On the days that I'm not jog/walking or doing bootcamp I do a 1 hour kettlebell workout. Most of those activities give me more than 5 AP points and the bootcamp gives me a TON of AP points - I assumed I was entering it wrong so that is why I didn't eat all of my AP points.
Perhaps then I should drop the kettlebell for now, I was doing it to help with my shoulder and core muscles (I want to stand straighter). I don't want to drop the bootcamp class because I am doing it at work with a bunch of friends and I don't want to drop the 5K stuff because I want to surprise my siblings and run a 5K with them this fall (they have entered but they don't know I have I plan to show up as usual to cheer them on and then go register and surprise them).
Can you all weigh in (hehe) and give me some advice - should I ease up on earning AP? Eat all of my AP this week? Eat all AP and WP this week? What I'm doing right now I enjoy, it feels good to do something daily and it makes me a happier person. I really want to run a 5K one day. I'm doing the Zombie5k program to train for that. I also love doing bootcamp - it is hard but we have so much fun because of the group I am with and our instructor who is the SIL of one of our friends. I could drop kettlebell stuff for now I know that bootcamp and working towards a 5K will work towards those core muscles as well.
I'm sorry, but I never saw your post on this WW forum previously.
Some people need to play with their AP and WP to find the right balance for them. When I first switched to PP from the previous plan (in 2010) I was able to eat all of my WP and still lose weight. This time around, I'm not sure I can do this because I think I'm actually gaining this week! (But my activity is limited this time around.) I initially started WW in November 2010 and I followed the plan until December 2011. I lost almost 40 lbs. I'm back for the second time around, 3 weeks in.
I don't think you're working out too much. Being active, using different parts of your body and moving is a plus. Maybe try eating snacks before and after your workout.
When I was doing WW the first time around, I was able to walk 3.5 miles a day for 4 days a week, then 2 miles inside on the off days. I was eating a small 'workout snack' before and after, usually taking from my AP for those snacks. I rarely ate from my weeklies unless I was splurging.
I find it helpful to spread out my meals so I am eating 5-6 smaller, lower point meals throughout the day instead of 3 big meals. Your dinner seems large. Maybe included the PP values so we know how many you're using during the day.
My typical day:
Breakfast:
1 egg 2PP
1 English Muffin 3PP
1 slice American cheese 1PP
1 slice Canadian bacon 1PP
1/2 C. strawberry slices 0PP
8 Oz diet juice 0PP
Snack:
1 LF Cheese stick 2PP
1 Med. Apple 0PP
16 Oz water
Lunch:
2 slices Light wheat bread 2PP
1 oz sliced turkey or chicken or ham 1PP
2 tomato slices 0PP
shredded lettuce 0PP
dill pickle chips 0PP
1 Tbsp light mayo 1PP
1 FF or LF yogurt 2-3PP
1/2 C. fruit 0PP
diet coke 0PP
Snack:
1/2 C. celery sticks 0PP
2 Tbsp hummus 1PP
16 Oz water 0PP
Snack:
See choices below
16 Oz water
Dinner:
Some Skinnytaste meal, usually between 6-8PP
1-2 C. greens, 1 Tbsp FF dressing 1PP
16 Oz water
Dessert: Skinny Cow ice cream 4PP
DPA: 32, Used: 32
My favorite snacks:
RF cheese sticks 2PP and 1 apple 0PP
Applesauce Cup 2PP
FF yogurt 2-3PP
Fiber Plus bar 3PP
24 Special K crackers 3PP, 1 Laughing Cow wedge 1PP and 1.2 C. grapes 0PP
1/2 C. celery sticks 0PP, 2 Tbsp hummus 1PP
When I was working out I would eat 1 cheese stick for 2PP and 1 Oz ham for 1PP with Blue Diamond 100 cal. packs 3PP, after my workout I would eat super chilled water melon to help cool me down.
I drink water throughout the day and I make sure to drink at least 16 Oz when I sit down for snacks and dinner. I try to limit my diet coke to 1 can a day, but I am trying to break that habit completely.
52 points seems like A LOT! I am also in training, and I run 2-3 miles T-Th, run 4-5 miles on Sunday, and swim M-F, Wednesday I walk, and the most I have earned is 35!
I am pretty new to this also, but just my 2 cents from what I am doing!
I agree with a lot of what MrsD says - it might take some time to figure out what balance of extra points works for you. If I were you, I would keep up the activity, but eat either the weekly or the activity points, but not both. And only break into them if you are truly hungry after you eat your daily allowance. And I agree with the poster above me ( sorry, can't see your name right now on my app) that it sounds like a lot of AP. When you classify something as high intensity, you earn so many more points than moderate that I usually count my c25k/spinning/boot camp class type work as moderate to be safe. I hope you can find a balance that works!
Oh I read your post incorrectly the first time - you only ate 26 points above your daily allowance? (at first I thought it was weekly allowance and 26 AP). How frustrating - you should be losing on that without your activity.
Oh I read your post incorrectly the first time - you only ate 26 points above your daily allowance? (at first I thought it was weekly allowance and 26 AP). How frustrating - you should be losing on that with your level of activity.
MrsD - I'm sorry I didn't mean here I meant on the WW message boards - I brought this there first. Now I know to bring things here first. Folks get a bit snarky there and don't seem to really answer questions. These few replies have been far more helpful for me.
Are AP still calculated based on weight and activity level? Could that be why I am earning more? Perhaps I'm putting boot camp in wrong - but I put it as interval training for 40 minutes (the first 10 is warm up the last 10 is cool down) and I get 14 points for that. Walk/Jog (I pick walk/jog with jogging less then 10 minutes as the activity) for 60 minutes earns me 8 AP, 1 hour weightlifting (low intensity I don't pick the high intensity one) earns me 6AP. So one day of boot camp, plus 3 days of walk/jog, plus 2 days of kettlebell are 50 AP. Last week I didn't do a kettlebell day and instead took my classes outside hiking on the nature trail (I have four classes and we were out almost the entire hour class I have them for) I counted that as 90 minutes of hiking because usually I walk 10,000 steps a day but my fitbit showed I walked 17,000 steps that day so I figured I should add a bit in for the extra work I did.
I am sure the bootcamp is over estimated so I won't eat those points - I don't have a heart rate monitor to double check any of this. On zombie 5k it estimates my calories based on my weight while I am walk/jogging and it says usually 410-550 depending on how fast I am moving.
Lunch:
Large green salad (salad mix, cucumber, grape tomatoes, shredded carrots): 0PP
2 oz shredded chicken 2PP
Homemade honey mustard dressing (spicy mustard, 1/2 tsp of honey, 1 tsp of olive oil, splash of red wine vinegar and a touch of warm water to help the honey dissolve - shake well) 1PP
2 Sargento cheese sticks 3PP
Jell-O dulce de leche pudding 1PP (my favorite but I wish they made it not sugar free fat free)
Supper:
The only thing I have planned is a glass of almond milk. 2PP
I have 20 points going into supper so I need to eat a bit more snack wise today I think. My lunch was unintentionally really low point we were out of a lot of the yummy things like slivered almonds, cranberries and stuff like that I add to my salads usually. I need to grocery shop this afternoon!
Everything above (except the almond milk for supper is packed and brought with me to school - I teach). I always bring 2 32 oz nalgene bottles with water from home with me - they are always empty when I head home. So I get my 8 glasses of water in no problem (school is dry and I lose my voice easy so I've always had that much water to drink).
The ww message board is very helpful if you read and don't post. In my opinion, they're mostly nasty. It's like mean girls in high school. Hang out here! Everyone's great.
Are you using an active link or HRM to determine the correct aps? I haven't logged any of my aps yet because I'm afraid to over estimate. The activity tracker seems weird and off to me.
I use a fitbit all day (like active link but doesn't link to WW directly and I'm okay with that if I choose to stop doing WW my fitbit will still work).
When I walk/jog I use the Zombie 5k app on my phone which estimates calories based on my weight and how fast I am moving but it isn't exact.
I'm new to WW online is there a place I can enter in the calories burned? I've just been searching activities and entering specific activities (so when I do the Zombie 5k stuff for example I enter that as walk/jog - jogging less then 10 minutes total). I plan to get a HRM as a reward for finishing the 5K training - so no HRM yet but in 7 weeks I will earn one.
I always underestimate when it comes to activity points. I get winded easily from asthma and the weight I carry, so although I can't talk, I assume others would be able to so I go down the next level. Is there still a way to just enter your activity points that you've calculated on your own? I found that to be more trust worthy. You can use the charts in your Pocket Guide to calculate the points.
I never frequented the forums when I had eTools. I stuck with entering my weight, looking up food values and recipes.
I'm prefacing this with the fact that I am new to WW however, I believe that if I ate similarly to you, I might have trouble losing weight, even on the program. You seem to get a lot of your points from things that don't offer a lot of nutrition. I see that you opted for only 2 oz. of chicken but fit in three "desserts" (I have a major sweet tooth so anything that is sweet is a dessert to me). You might try packing in more protein (like an extra ounce or two of chicken at lunch) and healthy carbs (sweet potatoes, brown rice, whole grains) and opt for just fruit and veggies for snacks. I know you mentioned in your first post that you have veggies for snacks but that didn't show up in your first menu or this one.
That said, I have only seen two of your daily menus and I could be way off base. It is true that you have averaged a 1.8 pound weight loss a week which is great! And maybe the truth is that you are not eating enough... who really knows! This is just my take, applying your info to my experience. I really hope you figure things out and start seeing great results! Good luck!
Hi LadyPurl... I thought I might share with you what my experience with AP's has been so far... I actually, just joined WW's a few weeks ago... I joined with my Mom to give her some moral support... But I've done WW's in the past and been pretty successful with it...
So at first I was eating all my weekly's... plus a lot of my AP's since I workout a lot... but I haven't really been losing doing that... Although I've been maintaining great with it, so at least that's good to know for later as far as maintenance goes...
I also just got a FitBit, although I also wear a Nike FuelBand and I wear a HRM on my runs... But the last several days I've been tracking my food on MFP again since it links to FitBit (I know double tracking... counting pts on WW and calories on MFP... something I really wanted to avoid) But I've been finding the projections for calories burned and how many calories FitBit says I can eat throughout the day pretty helpful so far... it seems pretty accurate...
But here is the bad news, for me at least... It seems that not only was I eating back too many AP's, but I was eating too many WP's as well... so far from what I've been getting from Fitbit I'm going to have to stay as close to my 26pts a day to create the necessary deficit...
So this week I'm going to do my best to stay within the range that FitBit is giving me by tracking all of my calories on MFP since it's linked to FitBit... and see what happens as far as it's prediction for my weight loss for the week... I'm still going to track on WW as well and than this way I'm hoping after a few weeks of this I'll have a much better idea of just how many pts I can eat and still lose... But like I said... just after these last few days with FitBit and MFP as it translates to WW's pts... It looks like it's a lot less than what I had been doing...
Advice needed.
