Exercise points?
 

I finally got to my 3rd weigh-in and got the exercise scale. Do I have to keep track of those too? I mean I mark when i walk but I wasn't adding those into the points that I could eat. I am worried that I will eat those points too and then not lose anything. I don't need to lose more than 25 lbs so I am having a difficult time as it is trying to convince my body it is ok to let go.

The lady at WW that weighed me in leaned forward and said, "If you want to keep losing weight at a good rate - don't eat any of the activity points."

hmm. i've heard different things. you burn more calories than you get activity points for.

according to the machine i burned about 600 calories in 45 minutes high intensity. that means i earned 6.75 pts. well, let's say that i want to eat my 6.75 activity pts, that i earned. to eat, one pt, i would be eating 50 cal/50 cal. -0 fiber +0 fat. to eat 6.75 pts, i would need to eat 335 cal. that is clearly less than the 600 cal. that i burned to get those 6.75 pts.

i hope this makes sense, maybe someone can correct me if i'm wrong, or explain it better.

another thing to consider, you body is working harder, it needs more fuel, therefore, i think it's ok to eat your activity points. i actually eat those before i eat my flex points (i rarely eat my flex points, and cap my exercise pts off at 4 pts per day even though i usually earn more).

Originally Posted by chicagoposter:
(i rarely eat my flex points, and cap my exercise pts off at 4 pts per day even though i usually earn more).

4pts/day x 7 days/week = 28 points

You are actually eating 28 of your Flex points per week and not going into your Activity points.

What that weigh in person was refering to is to eat your Flex points, but not your activity points (which is what you are doing anyways :) ).

A few of my friends did WW before (I did too, but didn't stick with it) and they never used their Activity Points, but used all of their Flex points per week (varying the amount they used each day, like the Wendie Plan). I am very happy to say that they all got to their goal weight and farely quickly (even though they had to lose from 30 to 60 pounds).

Hope that helps.

My first week on I was doing my usual exercise routine (Curves 3x and 2-2.5 miles on in the treadmill 5 nights) and not yet getting the exercise points and there were nights that my tummy was just downright grumbly. They said I could start using those points during week 2 since I'd been set in my routine already and that made quite the difference. I don't usually add in the 2 points from Curves but I do typically use 5-6 of my 7 points from the treadmill. I also use the activity points before I dip into my Flex points. In the first week (without the activity points) I only lost 1.8 pounds. Once I started to eat those points, I jumped to 2.8 pounds.

I was thinking like you, that I didn't want to eat those points and not lose anything. Our minds are so set that eating less = bigger loss. However, for me, those points made a difference. I am working to get out of that mind set where if I go over 24 it's the end of the world. It's slow going but I'll get there eventually. I would say try using the activity points (and maybe try to limit the flex points?) and see what happens. If after the week it doesn't pay, go back to what you were doing before. You'll never know until you try, though!

Thanks you guys. You all have really given me somethings to try. I have not been using all of my flex points either. I do use some of them but I usually have about 7 left by the end of the week. I am doing ok with that but I guess I just want more and faster results. You know, the American way, I want it now. :D

well, i just tell myself that i have 4 extra points a day (even though i'm earning about 9-11 most days), and i can or cannot use them. usually i use a couple, but i don't even tell myself i have flex points (cuz i tell myself i have activity points). so if you want to say i'm using 28 flex points a week, fine, if you want to say i'm using 28 activity points a week, fine. it makes no difference to me. :D

flex points, activity points = (sound it out) toe may toe, toe mah toe (hahaha :D )

i'm with Chicagoposter. They're all treated the same at the end of the day. But, if you are exercising, being at your minimum daily amount may not be the best solution.

Of course, EVERYONE is different. There is no one set of rules for all people. If you continue to lose at a good pace eating all your flex points, then eat your flex points. If you continue to lose eating some of your flex points, eat some of your flex points.

You have to modify the basic plan to how your body will react. At different times, it definitely reacts differently. It's all about trial and error. Dare I say it, but we have to have some patience sometimes (I'm the first to admit that I am NOT a patient person so easier said than done).

Originally Posted by morrigan:
The lady at WW that weighed me in leaned forward and said, "If you want to keep losing weight at a good rate - don't eat any of the activity points."

For the most part this is an INNCORRECT statement. For the most part everyone can eat their activity points and still lose. I have always eaten my APs and lost usually more consistently than if I didn't.

However everyone is different but give it a full 3-4 weeks of eating them before you state you can't (just like with FPs). Also don't over estimate what you are using. Be really honest. I usually exercise in cardio at a high intensity (based on heart rate) but I never take full high. I will see what high is and what medium is and take a happy middle point.

I'm surprised about the WW lady who whispered to not eat the activity points. WW is mostly about learning how to develop normal eating habits, and eating to sustain the amount of activity you do is an important part of normal eating habits! You've probably seen posts about people not eating enough, and when you exercise a lot without eating to sustain that exercise, then you will start burning off muscle instead of fat. In the short run, this might look good on the scales, but in the long run, it'll do you more harm than good, and you won't develop the habit of balancing how much you eat to how much you exercise.

It's interesting to read all this today. My WW leader also says not to eat the activity points, so I haven't been. But I have been using at least some of my Flex points. I guess it's that toe may toe / toe mah toe thing in the long run, which I hadn't really considered. My losses have been very good in general, so whatever I am doing seems to be a-ok for the time being.

I would love some input on this one though: One thing though that I wonder about is my WW leader, when explaining the activity calculator to us, said that in general, not one of us will ever actually exercise at "high" intensity. She said that "high" intensity is practically the equivalent of running a marathon or doing a decathalon, etc. She said that normal things we do at a gym (i.e., elliptical, weight training, treadmill, etc.) are really only "moderate" intensity. She said it may feel like more work than it really is because of our previous inactivity/extra weight we're carrying. But despite feeling "high" it really is not. So all along I have been counting everything I do, even if it feels really hard, as moderate and never high, which naturally means fewer activity points.

What's everyone's take on this? I am intrigued.

All I can say is, it sure feels like "high" activity to me! I think "high" is whatever your body's used to and not used to. A person who weighs 500 lbs. might find a block-long walk to be "high" activity, while a marathon runner would find what I do to be boring and slow.

Originally Posted by NYRabbit:
I would love some input on this one though: One thing though that I wonder about is my WW leader, when explaining the activity calculator to us, said that in general, not one of us will ever actually exercise at "high" intensity. She said that "high" intensity is practically the equivalent of running a marathon or doing a decathalon, etc. She said that normal things we do at a gym (i.e., elliptical, weight training, treadmill, etc.) are really only "moderate" intensity. She said it may feel like more work than it really is because of our previous inactivity/extra weight we're carrying. But despite feeling "high" it really is not. So all along I have been counting everything I do, even if it feels really hard, as moderate and never high, which naturally means fewer activity points.

What's everyone's take on this? I am intrigued.

There's an article in the January Self magazine about this. it says there's two ways to track how hard you're working. the high-tech way (a heart monitor), and the low tech way (if you can sing, talk, say a few words).

according to the high-tech way, you have subtract your age from 220 to figure out your maximum.

low intensity:

(maximum) x .65 = (low intensity heart rate)

moderate intensity:

(maximum) x .80 = (moderate intensity heart rate)

hight intensity:

(maximum ) x .9 = (high intensty heart rate)

i just take my pulse to see where it falls, or some cardio machines have sensors.

maybe your instructor meant that you ladies are not in the physical shape to be doing high intensity? i don't know, i'm glad things are working for you, but she seems to be giving you some wrong information.

Hm...figuring out those numbers, it looks like according to the heart rate monitors on the machines, I am falling dead in the middle between moderate and high. I guess since that's the case I'll keep counting them as moderate, so I don't give myself more points than I should. Thanks for the great info.

We have told you where to find the points for your weight. It is is AGAINST THE LAW for us to give that to you. You don't want us to get in trouble nor have something happen legally to this site for providing it do you?

I thought the same thing about activity points. This is only my second week so I have not gotten them yet but seemed to me that exercise should be a part of the process. Now I think it would be more incentive to do the exercise. I have a hard time staying on treadmill or bike. I get bored really easily. I have found that taking the aerobics classes at the ymca help me to actually get 45 minutes of exercise.

Actually what helps me, particularly on days when I don't feel like going on the treadmill, is that I watch tv while on there. I know trainers say that you should be concentrating on your workout not your misic, tv, etc. I say blah. If it's something semi-brainless like doing the treadmill, I don't see why not. I usually go on during "my shows" so that I concentrate on them instead of worrying how much longer until this dang lap is over! For example, during Grey's Anatomy the other night, I didn't realize how far I'd run because I was so into the show. Like I said, it especially helps when I just don't feel like treading (that's my new verb, by the way) because it distracts you rather nicely. Just a little something to think about. Maybe it'll help.

I agree with you ladies. I have to listen to my music while I workout on the treadmill or the elliptical machine. I need a diversion or I will always watch how many minutes until it is time to get off. :)

I asked my leader and she said you are olny allowed to eat 4 activity points that you earn and you don't have to eat the but if you are earning a lot like 8-11 then you need to eat them