Does anyone know if you can bank those extra activity points that you earn during the day by exercising?

Yes but the same rules apply as regular points you bank. They expire and you can only use 10 points per day.

YES INDEED!
WW CIN

The impression has emerged that one can only bank 4 activity points/day. It seems the online WW program/e-tools is programmed to permit a maximum of 4 activity points to be carried over to the next day, no matter how many you earn. It is my opinion that this is a programming error, but suddenly you hear people quoting this as a "rule" and something their leader told them as well. Since you also see people saying their leader told them you can only bank 10 points per week (and we know that is not correct), I know not all leaders have their facts entirely straight. Anyone working with the program materials (rather than trying to guess the rules from the e-tools online) have any thoughts on this matter? BTW, for what it's worth, the online program also charges points for several servings of zero-point vegetables eaten at once. I am NOT ABOUT to conclude that we are intended to do this. That's just more proof to me that whoever gave the specs to the programmer did not have their facts straight.

Ostrichs with heads in the sand think they can't be seen. WW eating masses of 0 point veggies think they have no points. Same deal...those veggies do have calories and they will catch up with you. If you are having more than 8 servings a day, you are supposed to count it. The programmers probably know more than you.

Quilter - Thanks for sticking up for us programmers! We get blamed for all kinds of things that aren't our fault. You must be a good manager to stick up for your programmers like that.

Bumby - Us programmers do appreciate the fact that you realize that we only program what we are told to do by whoever wrote the specs!

OK, now I'll get back on the WW topic ...

On the vegetable issue - I actually think WW should tighten things up further and remove the concept of zero-point veggies. Many "dieters" abuse the concept. Realistically, giving them a point value of 1 per serving would get two important ideas across. #1 - there is no such thing as a food that is free. #2 - to encourage everyone to eat more veggies because they are only 1 point.

On the banking activity point issue - in general I have found that WW does not deal with people who exercise a lot very well. It is like they assume that 4 activity points is all any one would earn in a day. Maybe the program only lets bank 4 activity points per day in an attempt to make people realize that if you exercise more you do need to eat more to feul your body. And if you banked 6-8 activity points per day but you can only "eat" 10 of those banked points on a later day, you would quickly have a bunch of uneaten points.

Ouch, Susan. I lost over 80 lbs not counting vegetables and have kept it off for 18 months so far. I have "cured" my irritable bowel syndrome as well. I know other enormously successful WW members who eat huge quantities of vegetables without counting them. The MAIN thing that kept me OP when I started this program was the knowledge that there WERE free foods. The old program in the 1970's limited just about everything but lettuce and celery. I was thrilled to see that if I was hungry on this program, I had many more options. As a consequence, I've never been hungry--NEVER--while going from a size 22 to a size 8. And my diet is very healthy, since when I need a snack, it's a vegetable.

I actually believe there's SOME logic to capping the # of activity points you can earn--after all, if I run 10K today (takes me about an hour, earns me about 7 activity points), it hardly justifies eating 7 extra points next Tuesday, but, hey, how does my sticking to 18 points today REALLY justify eating 5 extra points next Tuesday either? And it's worked for me...

I would have to agree with Bumby here. I also am a big fan of zero point veggies, and have been a lifetime member for 2 years now. I still do not count baby carrots, and yes I am still maintaining my loss.

I guess you perhaps *could* gain weight eating too many veggies. But, c'mon... did I put on 20 pounds by eating too many veggies? No, I sure didn't. But, I did lose it learning to incorporate "free" veggies into my meals and snacks and in the meanwhile learned to make healthy choices.

I think we all learn what works for us. For some people just learning how to enjoy vegetables is a huge plus and will in the end only assist in weightloss. Think about it, a bag of baby carrots or a bag of doritos... which will cause me to gain weight in the long term?

Not trying to start a "war", just my thoughts.

Just my 2¢ worth take it or leave it but W/W has always considered the 'zero' point or non-starchy veggies as non-counting however at one point you HAD to have at least 3 servings of veggies a day. Reason being they are so low in calories and high in fiber. Besides no one really got fat eating veggies - get real!

However they do need to advise people if they eat anything in excess (say 2 pounds of baby carrots or 2 pounds of broccoli) they may be getting more calories than they think.

Additionally research has proven that no one should go under 1200 calories a day (women)/1500 calories a day (men) but with a point averaging 50 cal you may be under and that is where the free veggies come in. If they did make them a point they'd have to adjust the point ranges for that by adding about 5-8 points for the servings we should have.

Sorry I'll get down of my soap box now!

I have to chime in and agree with Bumby and BostonGal. I was another who lost weight (45 lbs.) while happily crunching on baby carrots and other veggies. I've been Lifetime since Jan. of 2000, and I still bring a snack baggie size of baby carrots with me to work every day, just as I did when I was losing weight. And I still don't count them.

I don't think Bumby's point was that you could eat vegetables in unlimited quantities; I think anyone would realize that after a certain point they are no longer entirely "free". But if you are going to choose to "pig out" on something, better a plate of freshly roasted veggies than a quart of ice cream.

And I don't believe that the programmer who wrote the online program understands how WW works better than I do. (I work in IS with programmers and, believe me, they know what they're doing, but they're just doing what they were told to do, not necessarily understanding "why".)

OhioMom

I sometimes lurk here and what can be so frustrating about this forum (and what keeps me silent) is that instead of people trying to offer sincere help and support and encouragement, many seem to delight in informing others (authoritatively, no less) what will and won't work for them in their weight loss efforts. Everyone is different and we all bring to the table different problems and triggers and weight loss successes and failures. The purpose of a group forum is for the sharing of ideas and suggestions and thoughts. Perhaps offering an answer to a question, if we feel we can shed some light. But for someone to get snippy or to offer his or her opinion as absolute fact is simply absurd. I, too, have lost a great deal of weight on WW, and consuming large quantities of zero point veggies was one of the ways I was able to achieve it. Perhaps some here feel that this is not the 'right' way to do it, but I guess we all just have to live with our own choices and results.
I'm living fine with mine.

Wow. I did not expect to get such a large response from my question. Thank you, everyone, for your thoughts and feedback. The great thing about WW is that you can adjust the program to make it work for you. So...

1. If you count 0-pt non-starchy veggies as 0 pts, that's great.
2. If you count 0-pt non-starchy veggies as 1 pt/serving, that's great.
3. If you exercise a lot and limit your activity points banking to 4 pts/day, that's great.
4. If you exercise and decide *not* to bank activity points, that's great.
5. If you decide not to eat any vegetables at all, then that's great, too.
6. If you decide to eat all your daily points in brownies, that's great.
7. etc., etc., etc.

I appreciate all the input. I hope that everyone here will read these messages and keep in mind that it's just intended as something to think about. Everyone is different and what works for one person might not work for another.

Hi everyone. I had a friend share this website with me and I didn't know if any of you were familiar with it. It is a website of recipes all converted to Weight Watchers points. It has over 1000 recipes. You might want to check it out.

http://www.angelfire.com/journal/wwrecipes/

First of all I found these comments very interesting!

I must tell you.when members ask me about eating too many zero poi nt veggies.I reply " Most of us didnt join WWers because we ate too many veggies!" That usually takes care of it! What better food to "over dose "on?

As far as activity points. Leaders have a reference guide for questions. Basically the goal is to achieve 1-2 points of activity a day. Yes you may bank them. No you dont have to use them.

I liked the response of. Great this and Great that!

Enjoy this plan and dont OVERTHINK every issue.do what works for you!

Have fun with it!
WW Cin

First of all I found these comments very interesting!

I must tell you.when members ask me about eating too many zero poi nt veggies.I reply " Most of us didnt join WWers because we ate too many veggies!" That usually takes care of it! What better food to "over dose "on?

As far as activity points. Leaders have a reference guide for questions. Basically the goal is to achieve 1-2 points of activity a day. Yes you may bank them. No you dont have to use them.

I liked the response of. Great this and Great that!

Enjoy this plan and dont OVERTHINK every issue.do what works for you!

Have fun with it!
WW Cin