How many points do YOU get?

[ShelbyMay]

I started WW online 3 days ago, and have lost 3 pounds. That is wonderful, but I am HUNGRY. :( I am only 5'1" and want to lose about 15 pounds more, but I am only allotted 19 points right now. Even with my 35 flex points, divided out over 7 days (which means no saving them up for a special meal :(), that's 24 points a day. And I read that my allotted points will actually decrease as I lose the weight...?!? I don't think I can deal with even fewer points.

Is anyone else struggling with this?

[ShamrockBride]

Hang in there!
My first few days I was crabby and hungry, but after about a week it started to seem like I was eating too much, and I had to concentrate on actuallly eating all of my points.
I just do it from home so I dont know much about the flex points, we give ourselves our daily range (at first mine was 28-31) and I probably ate 30 a day, now I'm down to 24-28 and I've had to make sure I eat at least the 24.
It gets easier I promise
Are you looking for one or two point snacks?

[ShelbyMay]

Well, part of the problem is that I went to a friend's birthday dinner the day after I started WW and there was not a single healthy item on the menu. Not one. :rolleyes: So I used a bunch of my flex points then. But, overall, I am not eating bad stuff -- Here is what I had so far today:

Breakfast: 1 cup Fiber One raisin bran cereal w/ 1/2 cup skim milk = 4 pts
Lunch: Back Yard Burger Savory Chicken Sandwich = 5 pts
Snack: 1 apple = 1 pt

That only leaves me 9 points for the next 7 hours until bedtime.

---

If I don't stay within my points, will I still lose some weight, but just not as quickly? I'd be okay with that.

[ShamrockBride]

Breakfast can eat up a lot of points. Especially if you are eating cereal.
Today I had strawberries and cream oatmeal (2 pts) for breakfast,(usually I have coffee with milk too but not today) and a Turkey and Mustard Sandwich for lunch (2 pts) And i had honey wheat pretzels (2 pts)
with my sandwich. I usually use more points early in the day (these days are the ones I have a hard time actually eating enough points for)
The first few days I had a hard time with eating like this, and when I get up earlier I tend to have a heavier lunch. Usually adding an apple or something.
Dinner is Chicken Parm So I'll probably have some points left over for later in the night (cuz I have 24 daily) and I'll probably have a skinny cow Ice cream sandwich (buy them they are delicious and great for chocoholics like me) for 2 points
Dinner parties make it hard, Yesterday I didn't do very well with my points because we went to one, the crazy thing is the hostess was trying to tell me how good for me everything was :rolleyes:

[ShamrockBride]

I dont know if you'd still lose weight... Maybe if you were eating a lot more points a day before... maybe work your way down?

[Photobug]

I get about the same amount of points as you and I find it's a psychological thing for me. If I eat a lot of points early on, it seems so much harder, but if I do a low-point breakfast and lunch with a couple of snacks, I'm much more likely to have points left over at the end of the day. I think it seems easier because with the snacks, you are eating all day instead of thinking "can't eat.. must... save... points!" And it's kind of nice if after dinner you find that you really *should* have a little snack before bed to get UP to your point goal. LOL.

That being said, do I do this all the time? Nope. :rolleyes: but it is easier when I manage to. Also, when you are down at this end of the points scale, there's only so far down you can go, so after you lose enough to get you to the bottom of the point scale, the only way to lose more is to increase your exercise. When you get to goal, your points increase a little (If I remember correctly) to a maintenance goal. Good luck!

[fuzzy]

I get 19 a day.

Sure, divided over 7 days, the flex points don't get you very far. This is were activity points come into play big time. This is why WW works for me and other diets don't -- the more you work out, the more you can eat.

I hit the gym hard, just so I can get points. I usually earn between 4 to 7 activity points a day. Let's say that's an average of five points a day, plus five flex points a day = 10 extra points per day.

You have to play with recipes to find lower point dinners. I think 9 points for dinner and a low point after dinner snack is quite a bit, actually.

[jajacobsen]

I had a pre-existing, thyroid condition that really slowed my metabolism, so I only got 15 points per day. They had to consult with my doctor nd HQ came up with that. The sucky thing was, that as I lost, the only way I could continue to lose, was to up my exercise and NOT COUNT any activity points. Probably because I was always a really active person (just had become a rather tubby, active person) and so my body was already used to 1+ hours of cardio type acivity per day.

It did suck and seem unfair that my friends coudl eat 25 points and still lose but the first two weeks I did that I actually gained (which is why I had to talk to national about my situation and get my doctor involved.)

I just had to tell myself that they felt as hungry as I and that I just didn't need that many points. And pretty much eat separately from everyone. It was motivation to get that weight off so I could go back to "normal." I'm lifetime now but I only eat 20-25 points per day even with 5 hours of cardio per week, and have maintained the same weight (give or take a few) for the past year.

I agree, eat REALLY healthy, filling, low point breakfasts (fiber one, fruit and yogurt) and luches (can of zero point progresso soup and a mutligrain roll) and save those points for dinner!

[jesvet]

Which Progresso soup is zero points? *gets pen ready*

[jajacobsen]

Progresso makes a low fat, low calories line that proudly proclaim to be ZERO WW points. They are all vegetable soups. There is a SW vegetable and an Italian vegetable that are rather tasty.

There are two servings per can, and each serving is "zero" WW points. They are alos not too bad in sodium, either. However, because I was at work, (and really hungry!) I would eat the whole can. I think I punched in the nutritional info and it worked out to be 1 point if you ate the whole can. That, and a 1 point whole garin slice of bread would be lunch.


I LIVED on those soups. They were fast, easy, pop top, no thinking, and relatively cheap. I could keep a can in my desk at work for emergencies. I would clip Progresso coupons and load up at Walmart. They have the labels which proclainms ZERO WW points.

I also would eat the Progresso French Onion soup, but mostly for dinner. It has 50 cals per serving and like only 1 point as well. I would heat teh soup (micrwave) and tehn pour into a broiler proof bowl. Thenn, placing bowl on a tray, ad a wasa ryevita cracher or piece of mutigrain toast on the top an dthen a slice of low-fat mozzarella and broil for just a few minutes until the cheese was bubbly. I told myself it was (almost) as good as real French Onion soup.

Warm liquids from soup filled me up so much more than salads, even if they were nutritionally the same.

[jesvet]

Oh, thank you!

I just went to my first meeting last week so I'm just now getting back in the mindset of WW. I did online a while ago and it worked for a bit but I do need the structure and accountability of meetings. *Plus* I'm beginning a new job in a couple weeks so quick things like that will help a lot.

I feel the same way about warm food versus salad. From a Chinese medicine standpoint they would say my cold and sluggish demeanor craves warmth. :D

[jajacobsen]

Good luck!

I know that joining WW costs, but honestly, the accountability, and the motivation and comaraderie of the meetings was key for me. Getting the weight off and maintaining it has been worth every penny!

And after a while, when I would fall off the weight loss wagon for a few months, the goal of getting to goal and NOT PAYING FOR MEETINGS EVER AGAIN was key. Now I go once a month, and as long as I am within 2 lbs of goal weight (set just a little high to give me a little extra cushion), I don't have to pay. I was afraid I would automatically go to goal +2 lbs, but while I was there once, I mostly stay a bit under goal.

[Chimichanga]

I agree, try to keep breakfast points low. But make sure it's filling! I will usually have an oatmeal for breakfast and it's 2 points. For me, that's very filling and I don't have to worry about being starving in an hour.

Not trying to sound like a walking commercial, but some of the Weight Watchers snacks are GREAT! I just had their yogurt (1 pt) and string cheese (1 pt) as a snack. For 2 points I had ALL.THAT.FOOD and it tasted good.

I love quantity (which might be why I'm on WW!) and the more I can get for my points, the better. I love stocking up on 0 point foods - even if I eat a TON, it's still low points. Broccoli and carrots are my favorite.

The 0 point soups are perfect. Just make sure to not eat them as a meal; meaning you need something else with it (like bread or a sandwhich).

There are breads out there where you can get 2 slices of bread for 1 point. Pair that with mustard, veggies and a few ounces of lunch meat, and you can have a filling sandwich for 3 points.

It is possible to do within the 19 points you have. It's all about maximizing it. Do make sure you're eating your fruits, veggies, protein and oils. Those are important to helping you lose the weight too.

[Kopper]

Wait I'm confused... Are you guys doing Flex? And you only get 19 points? I never changed from the original plan (Flex) I've been on since 2004 and I thought the lowest it went was 20 points. Right now I'm at 22 points but once I lose 3 more lbs I will be at 20.

[Hello Kitty]

Kopper - WW introduced a quiz that changes the amount of points you get based on age, gender, activity level, etc... It's much more personalized than just a point range for your weight.

I won't post it here becuase it's copyrighted but it's floating around on the 'net. Also, you can go to the meeting to just pick up and pay for the latest materials.

[Kopper]

Thanks Hello Kitty! I found it. According to it I get 21-23 depending on how I spend my day. Sometimes mostly sitting/standing, somtimes mostly standing...

That sounds about right though because I've been eating 22. DH's are way off though I think. They have him at 28 and when he does it on weight he is at 22. I'll have to tell him and see what he thinks.

[mar5195]

I get 20 pts. I don't have trouble sticking to it too much. I use all my flex on the weekend.

[Lisa]

I get 32 while I'm Bfing and as soon as I'm when I'm done I get 22

[tray622]

I get 28- 30 (depending if I add those teacher points). Even at my goal weight I will get 25-27. I am 6' tall though, so that helps :)

[Ferris]

I get 35, but I am Bfing and am finding it difficult to eat all my points. I don't want to get in the habit of eating higher points foods and then keep eating that way after I stopping BFing.

[thedoorchick]

I had thought that the lowest possible was 20 points, but clearly I'm wrong or maybe I just joined before that.

I get 21 points, which is totally doable during the week. This past week I was careful to keep within my points because I was saving my flex points for anticipated weekend eating out. Normally I'm not quite that strict with saving the flex points. I also agree that activity points make a big difference.

This past week I generally ate:

Breakfast - 2 frozen multigrain waffles or cereal (4 and 2.5 points, respectively)
Snacks - Fruit or rice cakes with cool whip - 1 or 2 points
Lunch - Quinoa salad (made a big batch and ate on it all week - 5 points)
Dinner - Varied, usually 5-8 points.

I agree that 9 points for dinner plus a snack later is a lot of points.

Awhile back someone suggested a great lunch - 2 slices of the 35 calorie bread (1 point), 1 Laughing Cow cheese wedge spread on the bread (1 point) and whatever zero point veggies you like. A filling sandwich and 2 point lunch! I plan to do that next week.

I like to plan meals with as low points as possible and allow several points a day for snacks. I like to eat every few hours and I get hungry between meals, so this keeps me going.