Varying the amount of points for better weight loss?
 

Hubby and I are doing our first day of following a WW plan. His points are 44, mine are 37. We're logging everything and paying attention to portions. I'm finding that I am under my points. He is too.

I'm currently 8 points short and he is short 4 points. I was kind of amazed that my usual lunch was only 5 points. Crazy! From doing this, I think the problem with us is that we don't eat enough points. Hubby has tried dieting in the past with no success. His issue is that his work is stressful and some days he doesn't eat at ALL until dinner.

I was googling stuff online about points and ran across an article about how if you change up your points (i.e, go low one day, go over on another, low, etc etc) it helps you bust plateaus or lose faster

I saw it here
http://www.stormpc.com/ww/wendie_plan.htm

I know I've read something like that before, so I'm wondering if it has some validity to it. Anyone have any thoughts on this?

I've heard of a lot of people trying this "calorie variation" approach. But I've never actually seen a scientific study speaking for or against it.

That sounds like something that might work for me. I have been to WW a dozen times and lose quickly at first, then stop losing, then give up and gain it back. In all of those instances I eat the same points (even the same meals) consistently, no variations. As long as I am not going over my points I think it would work.

I have done it before,and after you hit a plateau,thats when it is suggested to vary your points..It worked great for me! It does however follow the old plan. How long have you been on ww for?

I'm in the same boat, Heather, I have 35 points and find myself with at least 5-6 points left over, not to mention the 35 extra points that you can use. When I hit a plateau, I may try that. It's my biggest problem with WW, around week 12-14 I hit a plateau and sit there for a few weeks and I end up getting discouraged and leaving. Thanks for sharing :)

jamie,if you need help with finding the program email me :)

I only heard of the Wendie plan when I came to this forum. I've always found that if I stick to WW/Whatever for a few days/a week straight then have a "binge" day (have fast food for dinner or something that otherwise surprises my body) it'll kickstart me again.

For myself, I've found that if I eat the same number of points each day, I do not do as well. I do try to vary it and have usually one day a week that I intentionally go a good bit over to kind of jolt the system. Then there are other days that I have a hard time eating my points but make myself eat more to get at least close. I try to do that with healthy foods but, to be perfectly honest, sometimes junk accidentally jumps into my mouth instead.

You have to remember, though, that everybody loses differently. You almost have to experiment and play around with your points for a couple weeks to figure out that works for your body. That's where journaling is so helpful. You can look back at your trends and see what did and didn't work out for you each week.

Yes you do have to experiment..The wendys plan formula didnt work for me on the dot.I had to play with my high and low days and the amount of points per day i could eat..i just went by what week i had the biggest loss,then i would eat those points the next week to the exact :)