Blog Post #7: Weight Watchers Diet Update!!

Welcome back to my blog!!😊

This week has been a great learning experience as I began the Weight Watcher diet. When trying to decide which diet to try as my third, I was wanting to try keto, but I knew it wasn't going to be easy and I likely would fall off, so after some research, I decided to try out the Weight Watcher Diet.

On Sunday, at the end of last week, I quickly figured out what the Weight Watcher Diet entails, and I figured out that I could have 39 points in a day. I downloaded the application "iTrackBites" on my phone and decided to give it a go. 

On Monday I started tracking my foods in this app, and at first, I thought that I could eat anything on the 0 Point list without taking away from my points. While tracking, I realized this was not the case. I was very surprised that this list said that lean proteins and eggs were 0 points because I really wondered how I could lose weight if I was able to eat unlimited amounts of meats. While doing some research, I realized that there are different levels of Weight Watcher Meal Plans, and the app that I have calculates points based on the Green plan. 

Here are the different types of Weight Watcher Meal Plans:

Purple: You get a small number of points (21 for my body type) between to spend on foods you love, but you have a list of 300+ zero point foods (including fruits, veggies, lean proteins, and whole grains). In this method, you can eat unlimited amounts of these zero-point foods, but it limits your points for unhealthy options.

Blue: You get a larger amount of points to spend on foods you love, (30 for my body type) but you have a list of 200+ zero point foods (including fruits, veggies, and lean protein). In this method, you can eat unlimited amounts of fruits, veggies, and protein, but you have to track everything else, using your points.

Green: You get an even bigger number of points to spend, (39 for my body type) while having a list of 100+ zero point foods (including fruits and veggies). In this method, you have to track everything with your points, but you can have unlimited fruits and veggies.

So, I was wondering, What does all this mean and how does it compare to calorie counting?

So, if I do a bit of math, 1800 calories / 39 points = approx 50 calories per point. I wanted to see if the point system was equivalent to the calorie counting. So, let's compare points vs calories.

(This is based on MyFitnessPal and iTrackBites)

Fruits & Veggies:

⇒ Apple:  0 points should = 0 calories // BUT an apple = approx 80 calories  

⇒ 50g of Cucumbers:  0 points should = 0 calories // BUT 50g of cucumbers = approx 8 calories

Proteins:

⇒150 grams of chicken:  4 points should = 200 calories // BUT 150g of chicken = approx 247 calories

⇒ 2 eggs:  6 points should = 300 calories // BUT 2 eggs = approx 140 calories

Whole grains:

⇒ 2 slices of French bread:  4 points should = 200 calories // BUT 2 slices of bread = approx 120 calories

⇒ 1 pack of oatmeal:  6 points should = 300 calories // BUT 1 pack = approx 120 calories

Treats:

⇒ 1 Halo Top Bar:  3 points should = 150 calories // BUT 1 halo top bar = approx 80 calories

⇒ 1 Tim Hortons Muffin:  18 points should = 900 calories // BUT 1 muffin = approx 410 calories

During this comparison, I noticed that sure, you aren't tracking fruits and veggies which do have calories, but the other foods you are tracking, are taking up more points than the calories that they actually consist of. So if I had a Tim Horton's muffin during the day, I'm only consuming 410 calories, which is 23% of my daily intake, but it's taking up 46% of my points. So, this shows me that unhealthy foods use up your points, leaving you with no choice but to eat fruits and veggies (healthy foods).

This week, I really noticed myself saying no to unhealthy foods because I didn't think they were "worth it". I said that I would rather have a low-point snack and I enjoyed (halo top bar), with lots of fruit and veggies than a muffin from Tim Hortons. I have noticed that I have been saving my points for my meals, and just snacking on fruits and veggies between meals, so that I don't use up my points.

At first, my roommate and I were skeptical, because it seems weird that I can eat unlimited amounts of bananas since they have 100 calories each, however, I definitely think that this works because I am eating way fewer calories in unhealthy foods. This week, I have lost a total of 3.8lbs already, which I am very excited about. I truly believe that this type of diet is maintainable, as I have been enjoying it, and I haven't found it difficult or restricting.

Here is a list of pros and cons that I completely agree with. I think that there are so many benefits of this diet, but it's true, it is costly, as fruits and veggies can be pricy. 

I will share my results and progress spreadsheets next week, but for now, it's too early to refer to the data, since I've only been tracking for 5 days.

I can't wait to continue this diet, and to share my progress with you next week!

- Jenna😊