I totally DISAGREE with what a WW leader said last night!

[anniet]

I had to post this because I got so mad, I almost walked out of the meeting half way through.

I didn't go to my regular Monday meeting because I was out of town so my friend and I went to a meeting last night and it was a different leader. First of all she was like a drill sergeant, which I know some people need, but that's not my style. Then she began talking about 0 point vegetables and said that you should figure out the calories of the vegetables and as soon as you eat 60 calories you should count them as one point.

Now a while ago I had this conversation with a WW person I met on line from Michigan who lost 105 pounds, because I was figuring WW daily calories, which one point does average 60 calories. If I'm allowed 18-23 points a day then my caloric intake is only 1080-1380 per day, which to me is extremely low even for someone on a diet....especially when most people try to eat at the low end of their points. I always aim for 20 points (well when I'm not taking the Alex challenge ) so that's only 1200 per day without veggies. which I believe is the minimum even for dieters, isn't it?

So my friend from Michigan reminded me that all those 0 point veggies have calories too, and WW has already taken that into account when figuring what someone's daily caloric intake would be. So why would this woman make us count vegetables when we hit 60 points??????

I'm never going back to THAT meeting again!

 

[Mermaid02]

I guess I always thought the low calories of veggies along with the fiber and vitamins was the reason you didn't have to count them. In other words the good certainly outweighed the bad and they wanted you to eat as many as you wanted without being "penalized." I'd still go to the meeting, but I'd do as I wanted.

 

[anniet]

Oh, don't get me wrong Mermaid, I'll go back to WW meetings. Just not one with this particular leader!

 

[ohMom]

maybe I should keep my opinions to myself since I'm a "do-it-yourself" WW and don't officially belong on-line or go to meetings.

But.........I agree with you Annie. Eating these low-cal high-fiber veggies should be something positive. If I had to count how my carrots (oops, are they even on the list?) or cucumbers or measure my lettuce for salad. Well, the 0 pt veggies would lose their appeal! What about 0 pt garden veg soup? Is it not 0 pt if you eat too much? No way - that's the beauty of it!

I am a veggie eater, but would much rather snack on other things. Incorporating the 0 pt veggies makes it more fun for me, maybe I feel like I'm "cheating" by eating something that I dont' have to add points for. Whatever it is I like it - and pooey on her!

 

[TigH]

I have read that it's not healthy for the average woman to eat less than 1200 calories a day. And people who weight train hard like you do could probably eat more per day! I have the same thoughts as you do about low cal, high fiber veggies. I fill up on broccoli w/ dinner and I love it! I eat about a cup or cup and a half steamed. I am very generous with things like cooked spinach, raw carrots, cucumbers, red peppers, lettuce, etc. I carefully measure my condiments though (salad dressing and parms. cheese).

Stick with your regular meeting. You know what they say about opinions (everyone's got one, ohmom, I don't mean you though!!!!) Maybe Drill Seargent Sally's talk works for her normal group, but it doesn't mean she's right!

Welcome back, Annie!!! I missed ya!

 

[Disneyaholic]

The list of "0 point" veggies lists them as a 1-cup serving. I guess if you eat 100 lbs of "0 point" veggies per day, you will probably gain some weight. She was probably trying to warn people of that.

I pretty much count them the way you do. Unless I eat massive quantities of them in one sitting, I really don't think it's going to make a difference. (Do you ever eat more than 1 cup at a time?)

It's kind of like the WW 2-point bars. Someone here posted that if you eat 2 of them within a 24 hour period, the points go up to 5 or 6 (depending on which bars). This is because if you total up the calories, you're still only allowed to count 4 grams of fiber, so the points value increases. (Does that make sense?) I have never eaten 2 bars in one sitting. But, if I were to eat 2 bars on the same day (maybe one for breakfast and one for an afternoon snack), I would still count them as 2 points each. Otherwise, we would not only have to track our points, but we would be asked to track total fiber and any time it went over 4 grams, it would adversely affect our points!

Just before anyone tells me how wrong I am, this is how *I* am counting my points, and it's working pretty well for me. But, I have a WW meeting in 1/2 hour and will try to remember to ask my leader for her interpretation of this.

 

[PRINCESS VIJA]

Hi,
I agree with everyone else, that is just not right. It does not go by what WW guidelines are, and she is truly misdirecting her group. At one WW meeting a leader said that WW is "smart" and they look into lots of things in regards to their plan. One thing was that the average person wouldn't "waste" points on veggies if they had to count them in to their points. WW wants to encourage healthy eating and that includes veggies. The low starchy vegies are the ones that are the 0 points. And it is true, that between the high fiber content, and the amount of calories vs the amount of calories it takes for the body to break it down, it averages close to 0 as it is. I would not only NOT go back to that leader, but I would mention it to my regular leader if you feel comfortable with that. Not to get the other leader in trouble, but instead often from "higher ups" they get info and gentle reminders to do things, and it might be wise for higher ups to know that she is saying this. My bet then is she isn't the only leader around saying it, and it could help others as well. Those poor people in her group! congrats to you for finding a different meeting, but stinks that it didn't work out for you.

 

[Disneyaholic]

OK, just got back from my WW meeting and I did remember to ask my leader about the veggie issue. She said (and I think she was doing her best to not bash another leader!) that "maybe that is how it works best for HER" (anniet's leader)!

She said that "0 point" vegetables are ZERO POINTS. But, that if you find that you're eating tons of vegetables and NOT losing weight, then maybe you need to limit yourself to the recommended 5 portions per day. Since we're all different, and metabolize foods differently, maybe for SOME PEOPLE, an unlimited amount of vegetables will not help with weight loss, unless you count a large portion as one point.

I have to tell you though, since the topic this week is incorporating more fruits and vegetables in your diet, I am absolutely AMAZED that anniet's leader would make a statement like she did! It seems to completely contradict what the meeting was about!

Anniet, I think you're probably better off staying with your "regular" leader; this one doesn't seem to have a philosophy that works for you.

 

[FergieTCat]

I guess I have the dissenting opinion ...

My WW leader told us the other week that just because one serving of something has 0 points, 2 servings of the same food might have 1 point and if you eat enough of that food, you need to count the point. She didn't specifically mention vegetables, but I'll ask her on Saturday.

As for me, if I eat multiple servings of something, I double the calories, fat and fiber and then check on my Point Counter. If something has 2.5 points, I count it as 2 points. But if I double the serving, it comes out to 5 points.

When I went to WW during the work day, I bounced around to different meetings at one center. I really didn't like some of the leaders and made it a point not to attend their meetings again. Now I go on Saturday morning near my apartment and am happy with the atmosphere. I guess it all depends on personalities.

 

[Disneyaholic]

Originally posted by FergieTCat
I guess I have the dissenting opinion ...

My WW leader told us the other week that just because one serving of something has 0 points, 2 servings of the same food might have 1 point and if you eat enough of that food, you need to count the point. She didn't specifically mention vegetables, but I'll ask her on Saturday.

As for me, if I eat multiple servings of something, I double the calories, fat and fiber and then check on my Point Counter. If something has 2.5 points, I count it as 2 points. But if I double the serving, it comes out to 5 points.

Hey, I'll agree with you partially, FergieTCat! If I eat more than one serving of something AT ONE TIME, I will do the same thing -- double the calories, etc. and see what it comes to. But if I have one serving at one time of day, and another serving at another time of day, I count each as just one serving and figure my points value accordingly. This works for me -- it might not work for everyone.

I also specifically asked my leader about the WW 2-point bars. She reiterated what I posted earlier: If you eat two of them at one "sitting", you may have more than 4 points; but if you eat them at totally different times of the day, they are 2 points each, period.

I guess we all have to look at this as whatever works best for each of us. That's why some people here can successfully do Atkins, others of us can do well with WW, and still others can follow their own system. I have been averaging about a 2-lb per week loss since I started WW, and I'm happy with that -- it works for me!

 

[SnackyStacky]

I have but one thing to say:

NOBODY got to be overweight because they ate too many vegetables.

 

[nativetxn]

anniet, you little cutiepie, did you know your eyes get all flashy when you are angry?

I don't follow WW, as you know, I'm just being nosy <i>again</i>. I sent you another email but you never answered me, was it something I said?

Katholyn

 

[aurora19]

Dan - so true that no one got fat off veggies but...

Carrots have been recaluculated by WW to count as 1 point (prob for carbs) and my leaders have said if you hit a plateau you need to really look a the zero points items you are eating. They also talk a lot about free items (like milk in coffee) which need to be counted as 1 point with your second serving.

I definately agree that if you have a choice of leaders at your center - to find the one that fits with your personality. Also many WW leaders will follow up with inspiring emails to their meeting members.

 

[TCKK]

Originally posted by SnackyStacky
I have but one thing to say:

NOBODY got to be overweight because they ate too many vegetables.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Eat as many veggies as you want. If you start to have a problem, then you might consider cutting it back.

 

[anniet]

Originally posted by nativetxn
anniet, you little cutiepie, did you know your eyes get all flashy when you are angry?

That's right Kath- don't be messin with my zero point veggies!!!!