Yes I use them and I conservatively count them. I know based on my heart rate and breathing that I do get into the HIGH INTENSITIVELY level however I take the amount of moderate and high and go in between that.

As you get more fit your breathing will come down.

so should i count everything as high intensity right now then? And how many can you earn to use per day?

You can use as many as you earn however W/W suggest limiting to a average of 4 a day if you have been in active or are not under the guideance of a fitness pro or MD so you 1) don't over exercise and hurt yourself and 2) you don't over exercise just to over eat or compensate for over eating.

I told you what I did because that is what I feel comfortable doing. You do what you feel comfortable doing but don't over estimate the points is all I am cautioning.

im sorry, didnt mean to sound rude or ungrateful for your answer.. i guess the thing i am having trouble with most.. is how to even calculate my acitvity points.. because like i said i am so heavy and everything.. to me everything is an intense workout... even walking to and from my car gets me out of breath alot of times... i am not certain whether to count everything high intensity or not.

I would just start out slow ie. walking down the driveway and back one week than do it twice for another week ect. I never count or use activity points. I just find it easier than trying to figure it out. There have been days that I have used a few extra points (no more than 4) when I am going out and have worked out hard that day.
Have you tried talking to your leader?? Mine is very helpful. Also you can call the 1800 number and ask questions.
I hope this was somewhat helpful.
Great job so far.
Good luck.

No I wasn't even suggesting or trying to suggest you were ungrateful.

Do what you think is best. But by all means use your APs but my suggestion is to err on the side of caution. I would see what the high is and what the medium is take an inbetween.

Your body needs more fuel (food) on days it is more active. Besides the more you use while you lose the more you'll have at maintenance.

It is not so much the fact that you are heavy (although it is a part) for the sweat/breathing as the fact you are also not fit. LIke I said as you get more fit and do more this does become easier to figure.

Oh yeah a suggestion if you can afford it is to purchase a heart monitor which will make it much easier to figure your intensity.

Those of you who use activity points are brave! I'm never certain so I never mess with them. I do however use my extra weekly points instead.
If I had to guess, I'd say high intensity is anything that makes you feel like you've ran a mile! Sweating, high heart rate, out of breath...that kind of thing I would count as activity points.

It has nothing to be with being brave. If you think about why would W/W do anything (intentionally) that would make a person gain weight? They are in the business to make money off our weight loss, if we don't lose, we quit, they lose money.

Secondly it is all based on Basal Metabolic Rate and your body needing more fuel (calories/points) to function so it doesn't fall into the starvation rate.

The nice thing is that these points are optional for each of us to use or not use however the majority of people lose more consistently when they do use them. Besides the more points you use while losing the more you'll end up with at maintenance and the less chance you feel like you are dieting to maintain because of it.

After you start exercising eventually you can tell the intensity that you are doing it and if you look you can find out more and thus understand more. I go get high intensity out of many of my activities (based on breathing and heart rate) however I rarely take the full high intensity figures. I also do not include things (which W/W states you can) such as house cleaning, yard work. The only activity points I take is true exercise such as WATP tapes, weights, treadmill, eliptical trainer, classes. I don't even include swimming that I do with friends.

Tracy, do you have the points booster slide? You get those in week 3, I think. Do you attend meetings? Until then WW just wants you to try to move more, 30 minutes most days of the week.

I'm like Kelly, I don't count housecleaning or yard work. I only count what Dr. Phil calls intentional exercise. I use my activity points sparingly. I try not to use them for junk like icecream (my biggest vice), but for stuff like an extra cup of milk (I aim for three not two like WW suggests). I find if I am feeling a little snacky a cup of milk fills me up. It's all about what works for you. Not everything is right for everyone.

I have trouble judgeing intensity. So I've done what Kelly suggests, go between middle and high. It's an idea she gave me when I was having trouble determining intensity. Often I've worked out harder than what I would call moderate, but I know my heart rate isn't on high. I am thinking about getting a heart rate monitor b/c heart rate is really the best way to judge intensity.

WW compares high to competative biking or swimming. I was on swim team, I know I am not working out like I did when I raced. Listen to your body. Be honest with yourself. Look at the calculator at moderate and high. Think about what you did and how hard you worked out. Do you think you earned 4 points? Be honest. You are only hurting yourself and your efforts if you go higher. I'm like Kelly I usually err on the side of caution. Maybe see what a week or two yields you, if you are losing too fast or staying the same or gaining you can adjust your activity points. I have a hard time earning all 28 AP a week. I have about 30-60 minutes 5 days a week available right now. So I do what I can.

Since you are admittendly not in great shape, it is best to start small, like Colsnanny suggested. Find what works for you in your life. Experiment with different activities. Your local library is a great place to find workout tapes so you can try them before you buy them. I have a set of 10 min. solution ones. I just got them (9.99 each at k-mart) but so far I really like them. You can do 1 ten minute segment or mix and match them to create longer and varied workouts.

I hope this helps and I hope you find your exercise groove. It's taken me a long time but I am finally realizing you'v egot to move it to lose it.

I base my intensity on my heart rate--not my breathing or sweating. I don't sweat very much anyway; some people I know pour. If I am working at 80% of my max heart rate (over 165 bpm), then I consider that high intensity. If I am meeting my target heart rate (135+) then that is moderate. Low intensity is if I walk around the block or treadmill for an mile or something at medium pace, no incline (3.0 mph). I am pretty conservative with the minutes, however. I never count my warm up period (usually about 10 minutes), and when I do weight training, I always count that as low--just because of all the breaks between sets. Is that an ok way to figure it out?

I also consider my weights low as well as the fact it takes me 45-50 minutes with rests I only count 25-30 of those as actual time done.