{Points Tracking}

Now it's time to talk about tracking.  I'm going to review the basics of the Weight Watchers tracking system, for those of you who have been asking how it works.  Tracking my daily points was how I lost all my weight, fast.  I kept track of every single item I put in my mouth along with all the daily exercise and activity I did.  Let's dive right into it.

You're allotted a certain amount of points each day, and starting out you get 26 daily points.  Everything you eat is assigned a certain number of points.  You subtract each item you eat from your daily points.  Planning ahead is a key component of tracking.  Try to think in advance what you'll be eating for the day.  I LOVE to pre-track.  It helps me stay on track and I know before each meal what I'm going to eat.  It also gives me motivation to say "no" to those pesky cookies laying in the break room or catered work lunches.  Pre-tracking for restaurants was key for me also. 

You also get extra points for your week. Yay!  You start out with 42 extra points to be used as a "cushion" whenever you need it.  I saved all my extra "cushion" points for the weekend, when I knew I would be going on a date or out for drinks with friends.  I am still able to enjoy myself and stay on track.  These points are only depleted; however, after you use up your daily points.



Here's a snap shot of my daily tracker I use on my phone.  *Please note: don't pay any attention to my daily points/weekly points.  I am now on the "maintenance" plan {since I'm now a Lifetime Member} so I don't continue to drop weight.  My daily allowance has been re-adjusted.   It's a nifty little tool to have; however, you have to pay the monthly membership fee to have access to it.  Don't panic!  I've got a nice little surprise for you.... 

I've located a website that helps calculate points.  Be sure to enter the food's nutritional info on the "Points Plus" side.  {Click on Link Below}
Points Calculator
{http://www.calculatorcat.com/free_calculators/weight_watchers_calculator.phtml}


Also, for you math gurus out there, here's a standard formula on point calcluation:

 

 

 

P is points, C is calories, F is fat, R is dietary fiber

 

Dietary fiber greater than 4 is not used. Only fiber up to 4 grams is used to calculate Weight Watchers points. For example, if dietary fiber = 2, then 2 would be used to calculate the points.

However, if dietary fiber = 5, then only 4 dietary fiber would be used in the calculation.

For example, based on the calculation for weight watchers points, every 50 calories would be equal to one point and every 12 grams of fat is equal to one point and for every gram of fiber (up to 4 grams) you deduct 1/5 of a point.

So if a food item had 100 calories, 2 fat grams and 2 fibers, you would use the following formula to calculate weight watchers points.

(100/50) + (2/12) – (2/5)

2 + .17 - .4 = 1.77 points

*Points are then rounded to the nearest whole point, so this particular example would calculate Weight Watchers points at 2 pts.

{Tracking Activity}
It's also important to keep track of your activity. The Weight Watchers Program states that once all your daily points/weekly points are used up, you can use your "Activity" points as extra food points if you wish. I never did that, nor would I recommend using them. Consider them off limits. That helps boost your weight loss even faster!  Here's a list of my most used activity that I track and the amount of points each of them contain:

Zumba, 1 hour = 6 Activity Points
Hot Vinyasa (yoga), 1 hour = 8 Activity Points!
Walking, 1 hour = 3 Activity Points
Running, 3 miles {12 min/mile or faster} = 5 Activity Points

{Few Quick Notes}:  Like I've mentioned on a previous blog post, fresh fruits and veggies are ZERO points.  Exceptions are: beans, corn, potatoes, dried fruits, fruits canned in syrup. 

{If you have any questions or need clarification on points of certain foods/activities, please let me know, send me a FB message and I'll be happy to help!}
XoX,
Mrs. Munana