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Post by borntexan on Aug 6, 2018 2:03:29 GMT
linda72 Do you ever close out your day on MFP when you are through tracking for the day where it gives you an estimated weight you will weigh in 5 weeks?It never comes out that way but it won't let you complete that step if you eat less than 1000 calories. I started double tracking this week with calories again and for the first time in 3 weeks the scale actually went down 0.8 lbs.I found on SP and freestyle both I always had trouble getting all my dailies in but I tracked PP on UFVD today and I'm closer to the recommended dailies on that than the other two. The good thing is we are all different so there is no one plan that will ever fit everyone.
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Post by linda72 on Aug 6, 2018 2:26:53 GMT
Becky, you're right in that I can't finalize my days on MFP when I eat less than 1000 calories. I am using the free program of MFP.
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Post by linda72 on Aug 6, 2018 2:28:24 GMT
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Post by borntexan on Aug 6, 2018 3:03:47 GMT
It's an app called Ultimate Food Value Diary.It can be found in Google play on your Android phone.It is a great app for Points Plus.I think SP or freestyle you have to pay for but in the little time I have used it I like it better than Itrackbites. It's divided into meals and snacks where itb isn't.ITB is good b/c you can sync Fitbit steps but you can add any exercise you do on UFVD. I don't think I have ever eaten below 1000 calories on MFP but today I ended up with 1110 calories.I aim for under 1300 calories since I have set MFP to maintain.I may end up just counting calories eventually since it's easier but I've never really lost much counting calories but I would only like to lose 2 more lbs if it happens.If not I'm almost 4 lbs below goal. I have gone from weighing every day which had become frustrating b/c of fluctuations to weighing on Wednesday and Sunday which is my at home WI day.
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Kitty
Transcendent Member
Posts: 1,448
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Post by Kitty on Aug 13, 2018 0:49:55 GMT
Thought I would update after one week of just counting calories. I averaged 1219 calories per week. With one exception it was my best week since February -- before we started our move. The only week since then better was the week my mom died when I basically lost my appetite.
So -- counting calories worked for me great. On the scale at home, I lost 1.5 pounds (some of that water weight I'm sure). Anyway, after the week was over I counted it the WW points. I set myself on losing mode - 23 daily points, 28 weekly. At the end of the week I would have been in the red by 58 weekly points. I wasn't below 23 daily points on any day. I was at 23 points on the day that I ate only 795 calories. Admittedly, I had one meal during the week at a restaurant where I had dessert. The entree was fairly low calorie - quinoa bowl with shrimp. But I had a "mini" dessert. Yes, it was high sugar. But it was the only thing like that for the week (and I won't have another like that probably for a month). It fit fine within my overall week where I ate well the rest of the week. But -- as I said -- I would have been in the red by 58 points. I averaged eating about 34 to 35 SP a day, but I get 27 (23 daily and and average of 4 weekly each day).
So far I am happy with the calorie counting experiment. After this week, I will count my SP again and see where I would have been.
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Post by fullmahina on Aug 13, 2018 12:02:23 GMT
Anyway, after the week was over I counted it the WW points. I set myself on losing mode - 23 daily points, 28 weekly. At the end of the week I would have been in the red by 58 weekly points. I wasn't below 23 daily points on any day. I was at 23 points on the day that I ate only 795 calories. This is what happened to me repeatedly when I was doing the original SmartPoints program. I would be at or over my DP allowance and only up to 700-800 calories. It led me to double-tracking after episodes of lightheadedness, fatigue, and extreme hunger. Oh but I DID lose weight, lol. My crime? A tablespoon of butter, perhaps, or a sandwich made with real bread (hear that, Oprah?). Two slices of real bread with a tablespoon of real butter clocks in at 8 SP's but is only about 260 calories. So you've used up over a third of your DP's but less than a quarter of your daily calorie allowance if you are doing a 1200 cal plan. One ounce of cheese is 4-5 SP's but only 90-120 calories. We know that FS is supposed to be steering us towards so-called healthier choices but at the same time we have WW commercials showing us people who are screaming "AND I CAN EAT ANYTHING!!" and that is just BS. I found that I really had to weigh and measure pretty much everything including my beloved 0-point chili. Beans have a LOT of calories and sorry WW, calories truly do count. WW needs to rethink the point values it assigns to "good" grains, low-fat dairy, and healthy fats. The plan ends up being way too protein-heavy if you go with the AYCE poultry, fish, and beans. It also encourages the use of artificial sweeteners and fake cheeses that are full of crap. There is work to do.
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Post by zazzles on Aug 13, 2018 13:10:55 GMT
but at the same time we have WW commercials showing us people who are screaming "AND I CAN EAT ANYTHING!!" Hey, there's nothing wrong with those commercials. Except... They don't show the little cartoon bubble over the peron's head saying ("and not lose weight and pay WW membershipes forEVAH!
The flaw with WW is that they have had points for almost 20 years in one form or another. Points were a proprietary way to distinguish WW from other diets. Points were unique. Points were magic. counting points "just worked." And WW owned the market from the first POINTS program until Al Gore invented the Internet and Steve Jobs invented the iPhone and apps. THEN WW got competitors who created tracking apps and web sites that use {shudder} CALORIES (you know, those ages-old scientific units that measure the energy in food). What WW needs to do (and will probably never figure out how to do) is to compete in the weight management realm on an equal plane with other companies by using STANDARD nutritional information and adding some kind of compelling value to it. But...WW has NEVER been about disclosing calories to members. From the very start, standard NI was never mentioned to members. The original NY DPH obesity clinic diet directed members to "eat this; don't eat that." So who knows where it will all lead. It is obvious that many of us are better in touch with our eating and the relationship between it and the scale by using calorie counting.
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Post by fullmahina on Aug 13, 2018 13:40:43 GMT
What WW needs to do (and will probably never figure out how to do) is to compete in the weight management realm on an equal plane with other companies by using STANDARD nutritional information and adding some kind of compelling value to it. I think the NI is what many people are interested in, more and more. People in general have become more aware of what their bodies need to become healthy and stay healthy. Points don't lead us there nor do raw calorie counts. I know when I do MFP I am always checking on my NI counts during the day, especially sodium and fats. I'm always fine with protein and under with carbs, especially when I am also doing FS.
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Post by itsrad on Aug 13, 2018 13:59:29 GMT
Ultimately the problem with Smart Points and Free Style is that WW tried to solve a problem it didn't really have. They made the decision to make Sat Fat and Sugar the bogeymen.
PP was dealing with that already. WW just did a crappy job of teaching the Good Health Guidelines. How many meetings did we sit through where they weren't mentioned, or if they were most if the room went "huh?" Good leaders hit them week after week - but unfortunately this wasn't the norm in my experience. I didn't really pay attention to the GHG's until I got active on the message boards.
If you followed PP and paid attention to the GHG's, and exercised some common sense, you were eating a good, well-balanced diet. (And, yes, I am aware there many who thought the dairy part of that was ill-advised, but to each his own tweak.) There is nothing wrong with expecting adults to act like adults and eat responsibly.
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squid
Transcendent Member
Posts: 976
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Post by squid on Aug 13, 2018 14:21:56 GMT
It is virtually impossible to hit the GHGs every day on FS and still have any points left over for a weekly meal in a restaurant or a Saturday night glass of wine. Not a long term, realistic weight management strategy.
As has already been pointed out, the calories are all over the place. It's frustrating trying to pick points friendly items at the grocery store. The points don't line up in any logical way with calories, so estimating is an exercise in futility.
Roz
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Post by lavonm on Aug 13, 2018 15:03:03 GMT
It is virtually impossible to hit the GHGs every day on FS and still have any points left over for a weekly meal in a restaurant or a Saturday night glass of night. Not a long term, realistic weight management strategy. Exactly! Although I always thought PP needed tweaked due to the amount of weekly points, I felt it was great for long-term. At the moment I'm not bothering to count points. I'm eating the GHGs & watching my portions. We eat out at least once a week & I still include a small treat most days. I'm maintaining nicely so I'm going with this flow. I'm sorry I even bothered with SP or FS. Neither works for my lifestyle.
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squid
Transcendent Member
Posts: 976
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Post by squid on Aug 13, 2018 15:39:32 GMT
PP worked perfectly for me. I lost 50 lbs. in about 6 months while traveling for work a couple times a month. I didn't like SP and I like FS even less. This makes me sad, because I've embraced every version of the WW Program until now.
Roz
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ladymajky
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220/169/150
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Post by ladymajky on Aug 13, 2018 21:36:30 GMT
Thought I would update after one week of just counting calories. I averaged 1219 calories per week. So -- counting calories worked for me great. On the scale at home, I lost 1.5 pounds (some of that water weight I'm sure). Anyway, after the week was over I counted it the WW points. I averaged eating about 34 to 35 SP a day, but I get 27 (23 daily and and average of 4 weekly each day). So far I am happy with the calorie counting experiment. After this week, I will count my SP again and see where I would have been. Kitty, I followed your example this week. I counted calories all week, and then figured out the points for each day as well. From Saturday 8/4 through Sunday 8/12 I kept a very tight and consistent calorie count. I averaged 1150 calories per day with a high of 1221 and a low of 1082. For those same days, the points count ranged between 17 and 35, with an average of 26. It was amazing to see that two days with almost exactly the same calories (1122 and 1148) would come in at wildly different points (21 and 28). Planning meals with calories instead of points allowed me to see the trade-offs better and make better decisions for managing my day. I felt I could manage my own sugar and fat penalties without the artificial and arbitrary points inflation. I was able to restore some foods that I had stricken from the menu altogether. Oatmeal could come back! Bread could come back! I could afford them in terms of calories, but not points. I will continue double-tracking for a while longer. Right now I am also happier living in a calorie-counting world.
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Post by linda72 on Aug 13, 2018 23:29:48 GMT
Kitty, ladymajky: I have really enjoyed this discussion about Freestyle versus Calorie counting. I am amazed at the variation in points when the daily calories are close. How would someone lose weight at all on FS when the points vary so much? I am ready to jump back into calorie counting on MFP which I do occasionally. Thanks for the insights and information.
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Post by borntexan on Aug 14, 2018 0:26:26 GMT
I'm still double tracking but I'm not doing FS. I am doing SP on itrackbites but I have been finding just the opposite.I have no problems getting enough calories.I find I'm having a problem with getting enough SP but then only fruits & veggies are 0 points on SP.It is interesting on getting too many points on FS.
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