New Weight Watchers Plan
Dec. 6th, 2017 08:35 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ecreeganI tend to obsess about diet when I'm dieting. Which, now that I think of it, is probably part of why it's hard for me to maintain; I don't know how to control my food intake a *little*. Anyway, this is probably boring.....
Anyway. I'm doing Weight Watchers; have been since March. They've just changed the plan out from under me, still calling it Smart Points, but it used to be Smart Points : Beyond the Scale and is now Smart Points : Freestyle (Smart Points : Flex in the UK, and I think some other countries have yet other names.)
Smart Points : Beyond the Scale gave you X (minimum 30) daily points. Foods had a point cost, which was 0 for almost all fruits and vegetables to encourage you to eat them. Every day you spent 30 points, and it was use it or lose it. You also had Y (minimum 28) weekly points, and once you'd spent your daily points you used up your weekly points. (There are also "fit points" which you could set yourself up to eat, but I never bothered with them.) Finally, it had the notion of a "healthy day" in which you ate at least your daily points -3 but no more than your daily points +7.
Smart Points : Freestyle drastically enlarges the category of zero-point foods, mostly by adding low-calorie-density protein: all fish, eggs ("hen eggs"), chicken breast, turkey breast, all legumes, and fat-free plain yogurt (including Greek yogurt.) It also removed corn, peas, and lima beans from the handful of vegetables that have points. To compensate for this, they reduced daily points by 1/4. Weekly points aren't reduced, and there's a new wrinkle: you can now bank up to 4 daily points into your weekly points total. So Monday and Tuesday I ate only my daily points -5, and each day I added 4 points to my available weekly points. If I wanted a big splurge on Sunday, I could have up to 52 (28 + 6 * 4) points available for it. SP: Freestyle did retain the notion of a healthy day, but it's now your daily points -10 through your daily points +5.
I'm dubious about the notion of your points successfully measuring whether or not you've had enough to eat with lentils, eggs, chicken breast, yogurt, vegetables, fruit, fish, shellfish, and turkey breast all counting 0 points. It wouldn't be difficult to come up with healthy meals and snacks that get you enough calories and the right nutrients for absolutely no points. That said, there are a lot of foods I like a lot which cost points, so it's not as if I'd ever have a hard time technically having a healthy day for that reason. (Well, not at home. May get complicated when I travel. At home I have a container of individually-wrapped chocolates which I dip into for 2 points each, and I can go through a lot of points very easily and quickly.)
It remains to be seen how well I'll lose on the system, but it feels easier than SP: BtS. There are fewer things to measure and count and more things I just track by summarizing and noting the points spent. It's shifted what I eat slightly, but it remains to be seen whether I shift back or shift again or stay this way. (Eggbeaters -> eggs, breakfast toast -> breakfast black beans, ground 93% fat free turkey -> ground turkey breast.) I'll probably shift again to add more fish to my diet, especially at lunch.
Anyway. I'm doing Weight Watchers; have been since March. They've just changed the plan out from under me, still calling it Smart Points, but it used to be Smart Points : Beyond the Scale and is now Smart Points : Freestyle (Smart Points : Flex in the UK, and I think some other countries have yet other names.)
Smart Points : Beyond the Scale gave you X (minimum 30) daily points. Foods had a point cost, which was 0 for almost all fruits and vegetables to encourage you to eat them. Every day you spent 30 points, and it was use it or lose it. You also had Y (minimum 28) weekly points, and once you'd spent your daily points you used up your weekly points. (There are also "fit points" which you could set yourself up to eat, but I never bothered with them.) Finally, it had the notion of a "healthy day" in which you ate at least your daily points -3 but no more than your daily points +7.
Smart Points : Freestyle drastically enlarges the category of zero-point foods, mostly by adding low-calorie-density protein: all fish, eggs ("hen eggs"), chicken breast, turkey breast, all legumes, and fat-free plain yogurt (including Greek yogurt.) It also removed corn, peas, and lima beans from the handful of vegetables that have points. To compensate for this, they reduced daily points by 1/4. Weekly points aren't reduced, and there's a new wrinkle: you can now bank up to 4 daily points into your weekly points total. So Monday and Tuesday I ate only my daily points -5, and each day I added 4 points to my available weekly points. If I wanted a big splurge on Sunday, I could have up to 52 (28 + 6 * 4) points available for it. SP: Freestyle did retain the notion of a healthy day, but it's now your daily points -10 through your daily points +5.
I'm dubious about the notion of your points successfully measuring whether or not you've had enough to eat with lentils, eggs, chicken breast, yogurt, vegetables, fruit, fish, shellfish, and turkey breast all counting 0 points. It wouldn't be difficult to come up with healthy meals and snacks that get you enough calories and the right nutrients for absolutely no points. That said, there are a lot of foods I like a lot which cost points, so it's not as if I'd ever have a hard time technically having a healthy day for that reason. (Well, not at home. May get complicated when I travel. At home I have a container of individually-wrapped chocolates which I dip into for 2 points each, and I can go through a lot of points very easily and quickly.)
It remains to be seen how well I'll lose on the system, but it feels easier than SP: BtS. There are fewer things to measure and count and more things I just track by summarizing and noting the points spent. It's shifted what I eat slightly, but it remains to be seen whether I shift back or shift again or stay this way. (Eggbeaters -> eggs, breakfast toast -> breakfast black beans, ground 93% fat free turkey -> ground turkey breast.) I'll probably shift again to add more fish to my diet, especially at lunch.
