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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
WW Girls. Possibly why the new program isn't working for me
WW Girls. I think I may know why the new program isn't working for me (aka, I've gained some and am now staying the same)...
My sis called WW with a question regarding how pts are calculated in the recipe builder. They told her if you eat your fruit/veggies in something as part of a recipe, they count. The only time they are free is when they are a side or a snack. So, all those huge salads that I thought were free actually aren't. Silly me. (but in my defense, the don't really explain that very well!) sigh...
Here's a really good article that I found online that sums it up and explains the same thing that they explained to my sis over the phone. So, I'm passing it along hoping it might help others who are also struggling. http://ronisweigh.com/2011/02/weight-watchers-pointsplus-recipe-calculations-any-insights.html
My sis called WW with a question regarding how pts are calculated in the recipe builder. They told her if you eat your fruit/veggies in something as part of a recipe, they count. The only time they are free is when they are a side or a snack. So, all those huge salads that I thought were free actually aren't. Silly me. (but in my defense, the don't really explain that very well!) sigh...
Here's a really good article that I found online that sums it up and explains the same thing that they explained to my sis over the phone. So, I'm passing it along hoping it might help others who are also struggling. http://ronisweigh.com/2011/02/weight-watchers-pointsplus-recipe-calculations-any-insights.html
Re: WW Girls. Possibly why the new program isn't working for me
I remember reading about that and after reading it over and over again. I am still confused. I can see why but for some reason WW does not it explain it clearly.
If I want a salad, I am going to have a salad and to me I rather use the points in that than a sandwich or a burger.
That is one reason the new program has put me off for a while and it is hard to understand their new concept when I was on their old WW points for so long.
For example, I love greek yogurt but based on their new PP, it is 3 or 4 points.However, if I get the WW brand of yogurt it is either one or 2 but it has TONS of sugar. Greek yogurt has more protein so I rather have that.
To me, I feel like I am being penalized for eating healthy/better.
I guess to each its own but I think they have a while to figure out this new PP to wear it can help everyone. Just my 2 cents.
Yeah, I think with anything, no 'program' will make someone a perfectly healthy eater. There were ways to 'cheat' the old system too and a 1pt skinny cow was the same as a 1pt apple. I'll take the ice cream.
I think that was the goal with their new program - trying to
encourage people to snack on healthier fruits/vegetables rather than
reach for a processed snack.
But in short, the old and new programs are somewhat flawed in their own ways and the folks on it have to learn how to not cheat the system (so to speak). I just didn't realize I was cheating the system! heh. I guess in some ways, I'm glad to know so I can adjust my eating and maybe kick the plateau. I just wish they'd explained this more clearly up front and I didn't have to figure it out and go out and ask.
My thoughts exactly. With the old program, it seemed to come naturally and everything was clear. Now, not to so much. But I definitely understand the cheating the system and I know not everything is perfect. It will just take some getting used to.
Totally! I'm super upset and frustrated right now about it. I just found out my 2pt banana protein smoothie is actually 6pts!!!!
It's sorta bittersweet, I guess. In some ways, I'm happy because it seems like now I have my explanation (and I still have faith that WW program works if you follow the program) . And on the other hand, I'm really upset and disappointed thinking how I now have to adjust my eating.
Siiiighhhh!!!!
Wow, interesting blog post...thanks for posting that! I think this sort of answers those questions we had when we first switched over to PointsPlus of HOW can this poooossibly work?! You get MORE points/week, AND fruit is free??...It was even hard, I recall to eat ALL the PointsPlus alloted for the week for some of us, right? So this really does demonstrate that honestly, some of us were/are just eating more calories (PointsPlus, if you will) than we should to lose on the program.
It also demonstrates that WW has some 'splaining to do
...that twinkie/salad example in the article is especially interesting.
I'll definitely keep this in mind and use the recipe builder for my salads and such. I also think that, while tedius, it's probably better to weigh fruits and veggies and use their actual nutritional information to calculate the PointsPlus, then plug them in as that instead of just using the tracker. This is where the fact that I don't mind eating the same thing every single day becomes somewhat beneficial, haha
Hmmmm. I'm thinking of starting WW again now that I have the last of the baby weight to lose, and this makes me nervous.
I used to frequent the WW boards, and I remember one woman explaining why she never counted fruits and vegetables in her points calculations (in the old plan). She said, "I didn't get fat from eating too many tangerines." That made a lot of sense to me, but Angela's situation puzzles me. So you have plateaued and even GAINED weight because you weren't counting the points in your salad?? That's baffling to me, and really makes me question this new plan.
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Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
Yeah, I'm a little confused and frankly upset by it... But in some ways, it makes sense because I remember when the pts changed, I thought "OMG, I get to eat HOW MUCH???" It really IS a lot more food than on the old program. So, it makes sense that I might have gained/plateaued.
And I don't think it's so much the salad as it is the fruits. Like if I have greek yogurt w/ bananas over the top, I should prob count the bananas instead of just the yogurt (which I had been doing).
Yep. I knew the "free fruit" thing was too good to be true.
I think my strategy from here on out will be this... If I have an afternoon snack of an apple, it will be free. If I put it in a smoothie, or if I slice it and put it on top of my salad with blue cheese and pecans, it will not be free since it's part of my "meal".
I already counted my lunch salad as 2 extra pts that I would have normally considered free. So, we'll see how things go from here...
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Hey Hannah! Thanks.
It's kinda hard to explain if you're not on their program and know the online eTools. The difference is if you add things individually to a meal vs building at a "recipe" in their "recipe builder" where fruits/veggies no longer are free... (dressing or not). Dressings and "other" things in smoothies are definitely not my issue since I make my own and measure everything meticulously.
My salad today, if I'd counted it item by item = 3pts
Spinach (0), tomato (0), carrots (0), snap peas (0), broccoli (0), rice vinegar (0) olive oil (1), almonds (1), goat cheese (1)
In the 'recipe builder', my salad was 5 pts. Pretty big difference, right?
Or how about my banana protein shake... Individually = 2pt
Fat Free Milk (1), protein powder (1), banana (0)
In the recipe builder = 6pt (4 pts difference on that one!!!)
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I think you're still fairly "safe" not counting veggies...but not counting fruits just doesn't make sense to me. Never really has. ETA: and this last part is a criticism of WW...not anyone's interpretation. They haven't been clear about that AT ALL.
I'm glad I'm not the only one... heh. I posted on the WW boards and some people think that was perfectly clear. and sent me links to WW pages explaining it. It still didn't help. Seriously about 7 people I know who do WW are just as confused as me, so I KNOW I'm not the only one.
Totally frustrated w/ WW. grrrrrrr...
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Haley Beth ~ March 3rd, 2011
Interesting. I didn't even know there was a recipe builder.
But even doing it wrong, the new points plus system is still working for me -- I'm losing weight and eating more fruit (an apple instead of popcorn or grapes instead of hummus and pita).
I guess once (if?) I find this recipe builder, it'll be even better!
Yay. I'm glad the new program is working for you. It just isn't with me and I'm obsessive about counting which is why I was SO boggled.
Their information is super murky and it seems like everyone is doing it different and there's not one clear definition. The one thing I DO know is that I'm not the only one who is struggling with the new system. About 7 people I know have also been dealing with the same frustrations as me... Sooooo... Who knows.
Keep up the good work and keep doing what you're doing!
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EJ is growing up too fast!
I just entered my egg sandwich in the recipe builder. The tomato slice added a point. I guess I should start using this recipe builder! I was wondering how the 0 points for fruits and veggies plus all the extra points (I went from 19 to 29) was going to work. But then since I kept losing weight, I didn't question it too much. But this makes more sense to me.
Also, I don't think being told WHAT to eat to lose weight is productive to lifelong weight maintenance. I personally want to be able to eat anything and everything...in moderation and with the knowledge of how that affects the balance of the things I eat. No weight loss program is going to say to include a Coldstone ice cream cone to your daily, or even weekly, menu...but I want to know that I can have that Coldstone ice cream outing with friends from time to time, and it's not going to hurt my weightloss. I really think WW gives room for that, and I appreciate it. It's not set up for a Coldstone a day though...unless you want to starve the rest of the day, and feel like crap. In which case, you're probably not going to do very well on the program long term...or maintain any type of weight loss either.
When we started the program we didn't know about the "no fruit/veggie freebies when combining foods" thing and so we never counted, but I read about that a few months back and was surprised. However, we decided we just wouldn't change our method since it was yielding good results. Not counting hasn't made a difference for us and we both lose 1-2lbs a week consistently. BUT neither of us really ever eat more than half of our weeklies. So it probably comes out in the wash. It's so much easier to not count fruit/veggies and just not max out weeklies. DH *definitely* eats far more salads and things with them being free. He's very point stingy! It would drive me crazy if my punishment for salad eating was to type in every single veggie amount.
But yeah, they definitely don't explain it well and I could easily see how if you eat all your weeklies and don't count veggies/fruits in recipes it may not work so well. I think the program is fantastic but may require a bit of tinkering to get just right for each person and their unique approach to food, point usage, and exercise.
Women don't want to hear what men think,
women want to hear what they think, in a deeper voice
That's a good point. I rarely use all my weeklies. Usually, I eat maybe a third of them. So, maybe that's the key -- if you're using your weeklies, count the veggies and fruits in the recipe builder; but if you're not using your weeklies, if probably all evens out.
So, if you aren't eating much of your weeklies, how much of your activities are you eating?
I earn around 50+ activity points per week, so I always struggle to figure out how much additional to eat. I'm going to obviously need more fuel to keep up with the activity.
WW is SO not clear on putting combined fruits and veggies in the recipe builder. I spoke to TWO WW representatives, before being transferred to a supervisor. That's when I was told I was counting wrong by itemizing.
This is frustrating because it's time consuming building a recipe. If you use the mobile site, which I do, it's even more frustrating. I have to wait to get home.
Also, I will have about a million recipes by the time I'm done because I'm the kind of cook that never makes anything the same twice.
I'm very disappointed.
Sadly, I don't work out very much. My average weekly activity points over the past (almost) year is 9.5. In the summer, I tend to work out more (school's out and the weather allows me to go for a run or play tennis). But during the school year, I may get a work out in maybe once a month.