How long to get the hang of this WW point calculating?

[Alice Sr.]

I had my 1st official WW meeting today, I weighed in and got the 1st book. I have already learned a lot, such as 15 pretzels uses 2 points, I was eating tons of pretzels because I thought they were harmless. I convinced myself recently that I needed to start eating breakfast and would have 2 eggs scrambled every morning, now I know I should be asking for Egg Beaters. If I had a salad for lunch I would use like 3 T of dressing, today I had less than 1 T.(I used that dip your fork in the dressing trick I read about here) I think knowledge is a good thing and I'm optimistic that I can improve my diet without sacrifice. And for the Atkins folks I have really started to pay attention to the carbs, I think this will be beneficial also, hopefully. As you can tell the way I'm blabbering on here I'm pretty excited. Of course next week when I weigh in again I might be crying in my beer. (2 pnts. yes it was one of the 1st things I looked up.

Well, I'm going to try to find the banner thing. Thanks for listening.

Oops. back to my original question, how long did it take you to get the hang of figuring out how many points your meal adds up to?

Alice

 

[colleen costello]

Everyone is different but before you know it, the Points will be second nature. Half the world is on WW so there is always someone around to help. Also remember, when in doubt, one point is roughly 50 calories. Lots of fiber or fat may skew this a bit, but not enough to screw up your whole day!

Are you aware of Dotti's Weight Loss Zone? It's a great, WW-based website with inspirational stories and great ratings for lots of restaurants. It's a real wealth of info. There's also a site called "3 Fat Chicks on a Diet" run by 3 sisters. There are great ratings of many diet food products here. Weight Watchers also has a good site but a lot of stuff is "pay-to-use" only and I feel like the meetings are expensive enough!

Some people label all the food in the house on grocery day, with little sticky notes listing the points in one serving. Maybe this will help until your feel for the diet improves. IN a few weeks you'll be a pro!

Congratulations on a great beginning.

 

[becka]

It took me about a week or so but then after a while I know the point values for many of my favorite foods and I would only have to look up new foods. I keep a pretty detailed journal so I can often times just look there for point values. I did buy one of the points calculators and that is nice to have if you don't like messing with the little slider thing and it keeps track of your daily usage of points.

I love the points system. It is easy for me to follow and no foods are off limits. You naturally end up selecting better foods for you because you don't want to waste the points.

 

[DiznEeyore]

Alice, do you have (or have you considered buying) the WW points calculator (the battery-operated one)? It's my little lifesaver! You enter your current weight, it calculates how many points you're allowed per day, allows you to calculate the point value of any food (provided you have numbers for calories, fat and fiber) and keeps track of points you use. It's the niftiest thing ever, and I'd be lost without mine!

Oh, and if you need the web address for Dottie's Weight Loss Zone (the site Colleen mentioned) it's www.dwlz.com

 

[Alice Sr.]

Wow, quick response. Thanks for the info/advise.

DiznEeyore - I was just looking at that today in the meeting, I'll buy it next week. They also had a nifty looking walk-odometer thing, do you have any knowledge about it?


becka - I think you're right about making smart choices, I see myself trying to do this already (trying being the key word here)


colleen costello - I didn't know that tip about 1 pnt. equaling 50 cal. and thanks for the web site. I did go to Fazoles for dinner tonight (probably not my best move) I did ask for one of the calorie menus but they were out. I had the sm. fettucine alfredo w/brocolli, I had 10 pnts. to use, but after the light beer and Oreo I guess I really only had 7 pnts.

As you can see I have some issues to address here. I'm sure I'll get there though.

Thanks very much for all your help.

Alice

 

[KathyTX]

Alice, it sounds like you're off to a good start!

I've been doing WW (this time) since the beginning of February. It probably took me about a week or so to really get the hang of the points thing. I just use the slider-thingy to calculate points and write in my journal. The calculator just sounds like one more thing I'd lose track of, although some folks swear by it.

I have read and re-read the "Getting Started" booklet you get at registration. Each time I read it, I learn something new! I am constantly looking food values up, and finding that I'm getting better about judging portion sizes with experience.

There are two books I bought that are indispensable: "Complete Food" and "Dining Out."

"Complete Food" lists lots of food and their points (a very expanded version of the information contained in the "Getting Started" booklet), then has a huge section devoted to name brand items you'll find at the grocery store. For instance, under "Bread" there's each brand name, then each type with corresponding points.

"Dining Out" has information for items from many restaurants and fast food joints, including McDonald's, Denny's, Subway, etc.

I keep my books and points slider-thingy with me ALL THE TIME, and even use the slider-thingy at the grocery store.

My biggest advice to a new WW:
*read labels and calculate your points
*journal everything
*drink your water!

You'll get the hang of this quickly, and there are lots of us Weight Watchers here on the W.I.S.H. board who love to answer questions. Welcome to the Losers' Club!

 

[ohMom]

i go to Dotti's site alot too, but another I found for point values is

http://groups.msn.com/WWBuddies2003/welcome.msnw


and I downloaded a free WW journal on my computer, it has the weight range and points calculator for the 123 program


http://www.ketnerlake.com/wwjournal/


I also write pt value per serving on my labels (crackers, cookies, etc)

I bought some sugar free peanut butter cookies -dont' remember the brand but it's easy to find here in Ohio - blue and white packaging. They are 1 pt per cookie I believe.

 

[wovenwonder]

When I was following WW I found it helpful to calculate and write the points per serving size for everything that I bought at the store (before I put it away). I would just write it on the box. So at least all of the convenience foods I had were already figured out. It made it easy to quickly grab a serving size of things like cereal without having to stop and calculate it first.

You'll get the hang and find a system that works for you.

 

[TigH]

Just want to say good luck! Knowledge is a powerful thing! I remember the first WW meeting I went to (back in the early 90s, yikes!) I thought my eating habits were ok. Eat a small breakfast, big HUGE sub loaded with mayo and cheese and meat, and skip dinner. Ha ha ha! What a wake-up call I had!

GOOD LUCK! You will be a points pro in no time! Check out this site for some great information and quick point charts:
http://www.dwlz.com/

Scroll down when the site loads and look for the menu bar on the left. Click on "Weight Watchers Info Food and More". Great resource!!!

 

[DiznEeyore]

Originally posted by Alice Sr.
Wow, quick response. Thanks for the info/advise.

DiznEeyore - I was just looking at that today in the meeting, I'll buy it next week. They also had a nifty looking walk-odometer thing, do you have any knowledge about it?

Alice

Alice: Sorry, I don't have any info or experience with the odometer. It seems like it would be a nifty thing to have, if you were trying to keep track of your walking, though. I bought an pedometer to take on our next trip to WDW -- thought it would be fun to see how much we actually walk!

And Jody's advice to write the point value right on the packaging of your foods is a *great* tip! I do that, as well as keeping a running list in a notebook of foods I eat a lot and their point values.

Let us know how things are going, ok?

 

[phins_jazy]

ohmom, thanks for the link for the wwjournal and points calculator. I just downloaded it and it's great!!

 

[FergieTCat]

I also estimate 1 point = 50 calories (more or less).

Pretzels are high in points because they are made with white flour. I've discovered that if you avoid foods with "white" carbohydrates (white flour, white sugar, white flour pasta, rice), you: (a) save points, (b) are less hungry. Apparently, "white" carbohydrates are basically sugar in another form.

My WW leader suggested that we learn basic nutrition. I bought a book called "The Glucose Revolution", which is very informative.

 

[KathyTX]

Originally posted by wovenwonder
When I was following WW I found it helpful to calculate and write the points per serving size for everything that I bought at the store (before I put it away). I would just write it on the box.

I do this! I write the points and serving size on the box or package with a Sharpie. My husband finds this highly humorous for some reason. Men. (No offense, guys! )

 

[becka]

Originally posted by KathyTX


There are two books I bought that are indispensable: "Complete Food" and "Dining Out."

I second these two books. I have found them to be wonderful resources although my food companion book does not list specific brands and is more general but it has just about any food you can imagine from brioche (3 pts) to lobster bisque (5 pts). As well as your more 'normal' foods like raisins (2 pts) and garlic bread (4pts).

The Dining Out is really great if you tend to do a lot of fast food lunches during the week. You can learn what you can and cannot order at McDonald's, etc.

Good luck! It can be difficult at first but after a while you will be a points expert and you will start seeing point numbers everytime you look at food.

 

[KathyTX]

Becka,

It sounds like you have the older "Food Companion" book (which I love, too!) The "Complete Food" book replaced it just this year, and is the one with the name brand stuff. You should flip through it when you have a chance!

 

[Alice Sr.]

Thanks for the additional web-sites I just visited them and they are great!

Thanks very much,
Alice