Slimdown Saturday: The Method Itself

Note- This feature touches on a lot of issues for me and may include what you consider TMI, whether physical or emotional.  Harassing comments will be deleted.

There's actual content this week!  This week's loss is pretty tiny, just half a pound.  The ticker says I've lost 26lbs, but it's really 25.5lbs.  I'm at 201.5lbs.  Not spectacular, but not bad either.  As long as I'm not gaining, it's going right!

Created by MyFitnessPal - Free Weight Loss Tools

[note- This tracker updates with my current weight and may not reflect my weight if you're reading past posts.]

So...how am I accomplishing this?  This is one of those times when I wish I had a non-ancient phone.  It's an Android, but it's a 2010 model and I've never updated the OS.  It can't do screenshots unless it's hooked to a computer and you do something to it that I'm afraid to try.  This means...again...a purely text post.  Probably a dull one too.  I'm gonna try to keep it general so that you don't need to know the WWDiary app or Weight Watchers to understand it.

The simplest description is that it's my own tweaks on Weight Watchers.  I do a hybrid of their Points and Points Plus programs, but with a few of my own ideas added in.  If you're not familiar with Weight Watchers, the points are assigned based on your weight and activity level.  You eat based on that number, with points also calculated for foods.  More on this in a bit.

My daily points are determined according to the old Points plan.  I currently have 26 per day, but it will drop to 25 when I'm down another pound and a half.  I use this as a baseline, then add my activity points on top of that.  I don't work out because I am absurdly lazy, but I walk a few miles per shift at work and I'm out and about pretty often.  It adds up to 4-ish extra points per workday for flexibility, with few or none on days off.  I try not to go beyond those points and into my FlexPoints (a weekly bank of 35 "splurge" points) if I can help it.  Most weeks I have a few activity points left when it flips to a new week.  I do that at 12am Saturday, because it's the start of my new work week.  That's part of the reason I post these on Saturday.  My baseline points and my fitness points add up to about the same number I'd have if I used the Points Plus system, but I don't like to assume a level of activity.  Some weeks I'm in near-constant motion and others I'm a damn slug.

The big twist is that I count the food itself according to Points Plus.  I prefer it because it factors carbs in too.  The older Points plan calculates based on calories, fat, and fiber.  I think the Points Plus calculation based on fat (lower is better), fiber (higher is better), protein (moderate is best), and carbs (lower is better) makes more sense and leads to better choices.  Most vegetables are 0 points, but the Points Plus program also counts some fruit as 0.  That doesn't make ANY sense to me, since fruit has a lot of sugar.  I count fruit as 1 point for as much as I can eat in a sitting.

I like that it gives me a way to gauge the impact of everything I eat, and I love the versatility of it.  There's nothing I can't eat.  That's important.  I could never do a low carb diet.  I need to be able to have candy or potatoes when I want them.  With a points plan, I can factor almost anything in.  I can have my beloved junk food if I only have a little or if I'm very good otherwise.  It doesn't feel as limiting as other plans.  WWDiary also has options for tracking fruits/veggies, dairy, etc.  I'm kinda bad about all of that...I need to work on it.

At some point I'll go into more detail about what I eat.  I hope this wasn't too dull!


Disclaimer:

This blog is not affiliated with or endorsed by Weight Watchers International, Inc., MyFitnessPal, or canofsleep.  Weight Watchers and PointsPlus are the registered trademarks of Weight Watchers International, Inc.  WWDiary is entirely the property of canofsleep.  All uses of registered trademarks and related terms are for review and reference purposes only.  Use of the MyFitnessPal tracker is for illustrative purposes only.