General Discussion Triathlon Talk » Weight Watchers Rss Feed  
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2007-07-31 5:05 PM

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Subject: Weight Watchers
Are any of you doing Weight Watchers? I'm thinking about joining because it seems like a nice simplified way to help me lose weight, watch portions and all that.

Is there anything I might need to know about doing WW while tri training?

Any info is appreciated!


2007-07-31 5:16 PM
in reply to: #908823

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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers

I've been doing WW for a number of years (3) and have lost 85 lbs so far.    I like it because they focus on it being a lifestyle change, not just another diet (you can, and do, eat that way for the rest of your life, or however long you want to stay thin...lol).  Yes, it's taking me forever, but I'll probably be able to keep it off because my habits have changed so much.  They have a formula to help you figure out your daily points target (it's no longer based on just a weight range, thank goodness!).  You also get 35 weekly points allowance (WPA).  In addition, you can "earn" activity points (see paragraph below).  I personally tend to eat my daily points target (which you should do! everyday! undereating is as bad as overeating!) and all my activity points. I may use a couple of my WPA, but not many.

Everyone is different as far as activity and working it with the food portion of the program.  WW uses what are called "activity points".  You don't learn about them until the 3rd week of program because they want you to have a decent basis on the food portion first, but I'll try to explain a little.  Activity points are earned doing exercise (activity) that isn't part of your normal everyday going about business life.   They have a slider that helps you figure it out (your current weight, exertion, and length of time...they do some mumbo-jumbo and it figures it out).  Personally, I find it easier to do this:  1 AP is worth roughly 100 calories expended (I like using CalorieKing.com to figure out about how many calories I've burned-it also takes your weight into consideration).  Say I burn 500 calories in 1 hr of running.  That means I've earned 5 activity points.  You can either use them for extra food points, or just ignore them.  You have to find what works best for you.  For me, I know I have to eat all of my APs...because I need the fuel.   If I don't, I'd end up gaining, most likely.

So, moral of that diatribe...when you are into heavy training (for you, as many triathletes are), you will probably need to eat all the points you earn.

 



Edited by maggyruth 2007-07-31 5:18 PM
2007-07-31 9:52 PM
in reply to: #908823

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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers

Hey there - I have been doing Weight Watchers for just over 3 months and its really good.  BEfore I was training a lot (leading up to race season) and I was gaining weight - yes some of it was muscle but truley a lot of it was fat as well.  I though if I was exercising this much I should be able to what I want. Na-ah doesn't work like that

So this is sort of my offseason at the moment - and am just bring the training back into it now, I have lost 5.3kg in just over 3 months (approx 12 pounds) which is not super speedy but its all good.

I'm from New Zealand so our plan seems a little different to overseas.  I get 20 points per day which is calculated based on your activity level day to day and current weight.  Also, we can earn bonus points (you can eat 4 bonus points a day up to a maximum of 12 per week - even if you earn heaps more than that).

I must admit I struggle on days wen I have done big rides etc, I really just want to eat and eat, but I don't think that is neccesarily because I'm hungry, but just want to eat food LOL which is what got me in this predicament in the first place.

So, summary   Weight Watchers is great, you learn healthy eating habits and you can increase your points intke through exercise.  Just watch that you are eating enough - for me the rule of 12 bonus points max you can eat per week probably isn't enough if you are in a lot of training.  Ok for me at the moment though as I'm not training heaps like I was leading up to cycling season.

2007-08-01 8:40 AM
in reply to: #908823

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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
Personally I think WW is good for severely overweight people or those that have very poor nutrition. However, it doesn't into very much into account the composition of what you're eating on a macro nutrient level. 500 cals of ice cream is about the same as 500 cals of lean protein. You can certainly lose weight using WW, but IMO it's not the most efficient means to do so and you don't really learn about what your body works best with. It does teach you portion control and food logging, which is a big piece, I'll give it that.
2007-08-01 4:54 PM
in reply to: #908823

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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers

I used to think that too, but they have nutritional guidelines which you mark off on your points tracker - these include 5 servings of vegetables, 2 servings of fruit, 6 (or 8 I can't remember) glasses of water, 2 serves of dairy, and 2 serves of healthy oils.  True, you can eat a whole tub of ice cream if you like, but everyone I know that does WW does it to learn about what healthy food you can eat to sustain yourself and also that this is a long term healthy eating plan, not a quick fix diet.   I used to eat healthy food before I went to weight wathcers, just used to snack too much and have large portions, - my main reason for going back to WW was for accountability - being weighed each week on the same scales which I know are accurate keeps me on track - plus once you get to your goal weight you continue to have support from the meetings, and its free if you stay within 2kg of your goal weight, which I think is a good incentive.

They also have a new plan in NZ called the Core plan which is based around a selection of food - all healthy food which you can eat until you are satisfied, this is based around low GI whole foods, and there is no Points counting required - this teaches you healthy eating habits and taches you to listen to your bodies hunger signals and stop eating when you are satisfied.

Weight Watchers has come a long way since I did it about 8 years ago.

 

2007-08-02 10:27 AM
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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
I have been doing Weight Watchers for 11 weeks now and have lost about 16 lbs. I had the same experience as kellyg - last year I thought I could eat anything since I was training so hard, but gained over 15 lbs! I think Weight Watchers is a great program that helps you learn how to make decisions about food. Sure, you can have an ice cream, but not a pint of it and not every day.

You have a daily point allowance that you calculate based on certain criteria. Mine is 21. Everyone also has 35 free points for the week that you can divvy up and use at will. Then there are also the activity points you can earn. Some food, like green vegetables, cost 0 points, so it kind of trains you to eat those when you are hungry and need a snack.

It is not a diet, but a different way of thinking about eating. And it's not true that the program does not address good nutrition. As kellyg says, you have a daily goal of drinking water and eating certain servings of vegetables, whole grains, etc.

If you join, I would just say on race day, do not count points. Eat whatever you need - bars, gels, etc.. Eat the pasta and picnic food they serve after, or have a Big Mac or whatever. You need to give your body fuel on that day.


2007-08-02 2:59 PM
in reply to: #908823

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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
We don't get those extra 35 points a week - thats weird ay? I get 20 points a day and thats it, plus any exercise points I earn I can eat them up to 12 per week.  If I ate an extra 35 points a week I'd definitely put weight on! I wonder if the points values are different over there or something???
2007-08-02 3:12 PM
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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
Hm, that is weird. The point values must be different, because I have always eaten all the extra 35 points and still lost weight. And, we can earn 28 exercise points per week. Here are some sample food point values in the US:
Piece of bread = 2
Cup of skim milk = 2
Ear of corn = 1
3 oz ground beef = 5
1/2 cup regular ice cream = 4

How does that compare?

Edited by cpfint 2007-08-02 3:14 PM
2007-08-02 4:04 PM
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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
Pssst...here's a secret.  You can earn as many APs as you want (28 is a goal they want you to strive for).  If it works for you, you can eat them all too (using the 8 healthy guidelines, etc and so forth when making your choices).  The base plan is fab...but most things need personal tweaking.
2007-08-02 5:13 PM
in reply to: #908823

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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
Bizzarre! A whole egg is 1.5 points, a cup of skim milk is like 1/2 a point I think, 1 pc of wholegrain bread 1.5 points, etc - if you calculate your own points with a points calculator - do they use total fat or saturated fat?  We use kj's and sat fat to calculate the points.  They want us to earn 28 points worth of exercise, but we are only allowed to eat 12 of them per week, and only 4 per day max.
2007-08-03 9:47 AM
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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
We have a little sliding cardboard thing that is used to find the point value based on nutrition information. It is based on total fat, not just saturated. But there is also a book with all the points values listed for a huge variety of food. We do not use fractions of points - well, I have never heard of it. I guess that is one reason why we get more points. Maybe it's because Americans are bad at fractions.


2007-08-03 1:55 PM
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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers
Thank you all for this information! I've decided to try it so I can at least get a better handle on portion size and to hopefully clean up my eating habits a bit!
2007-08-03 2:17 PM
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Subject: RE: Weight Watchers

cpfint - 2007-08-03 9:47 AM We have a little sliding cardboard thing that is used to find the point value based on nutrition information. It is based on total fat, not just saturated. But there is also a book with all the points values listed for a huge variety of food. We do not use fractions of points - well, I have never heard of it. I guess that is one reason why we get more points. Maybe it's because Americans are bad at fractions.

If you use the little pts calculator thing vs the slide rule thing, it will give you half points and the like.

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