Just over a year ago I wrote a post called Food is NOT the Enemy. Here’s a snippet…
So, to you Flex, I say good bye. Don’t worry, I’m sure I’ll be back for visits when I’m feeling alone and vulnerable. It’s comforting to know you will always be there for me if I need you but you must understand, our relationship is starting to become toxic. I can see that and I hope you do too. It’s been a fabulous 2 and half years and you know as well as I do, I would not be where I am today if it wasn’t for you. I owe you a lot and I will be forever thankful we had the pleasure of meeting.
I feel the same exact way now. I love keeping my food journal but I’m starting to feel points are becoming counterproductive again. At this point in my journey (now over 3 years at goal!) I don’t need to feel pressure to calculate and monitor them. Honestly, they feel irrelevant to me at this point. I workout 5-6 days a week. I’m training for a marathon. I eat good healthy food *most* of the time. Most importantly, I trust myself.
WOW I can’t believe I just said that! But it’s true.
So what I’m trying to say is, I’m ditching points. I’ll still be keeping a food journal on twitter. I actually really enjoy doing so (sick, right?) I’m just not going to track points for my entries. Tweet Eat Post still works, there will just be a "N/A" in the total field.
Here’s today’s menu as an example. I get accountability without the pressure. Which is exactly what I need right now, especially with all the working out I’ve been doing.
| Food | Units |
|---|---|
| 1 egg/1 egg white omelet with veggies and a side of strawberries with a glass of water. | |
| strawberry papaya smoothie with added protein | |
| leftover chicken kabobs | |
| 1/4 ham sandwich the toddler didn’t finish | |
| popcorn | |
| mango with the toddler! | |
| too many whole wheat ritz | |
| turkey burger on whole wheat bun & baked beans with ff hot dog & grilled zuchini – i can’t wait for summer! | |
| Total: | N/A |
Table provided by Roni’s Food Tweet, Eat, Post Generator.
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27 Responses to Ditching Points, Again.
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I am so glad that someone else understands. I think that flex thing (have been on WW for about 4 years on and off) is that simply stated people don’t know how to listen to their bodies. It’s a way to monitor and understand how your body is supposed to work. The idea of Core, was to actually listen to your body. I totally agree there are days when i can’t stand POINTS anymore because I feel like I am slave to it. I am actually happy that I have had recent health problems which no longer allow me to eat diet food, etc. I have to eat fruit, veggies, meat–not gluten, sugar, dairy. I feel like I am on CORE and the food I eat isn’t because I am cutting points, it’s because it’s good for me. I look forward to the day when i can say that I trust myself. Powerful stuff…good luck with the training and thanks for writing this!
Once I started training for my marathon, I ditched points. It was a hassle to calculate activity points and I started to view food as fuel for runs, not something to be forbidden. I haven’t done points for about 8 weeks and I couldn’t feel better. That being said, points really helped me figure things out and there are still times when, even though I don’t count points, I think “Wo! That’s 12 points” and it helps me to remember not to eat certain junk foods. It’s all about learning….
You trust yourself??? Man, is that ever my goal with this whole ordeal! I can’t wait to be where you are! Congratulations!
I so didn’t know you could use Tweet Eat Post without counting points or calories! I think I’m going to start using that now, because sometimes I forget to take pictures, but if I use TEP I can post as soon as I do remember. Yay!
Isn’t there some wise saying that goes something like, even too much of a good thing can be bad. Sounds like you’re ready for this change, go for it!
I’m with Laura on this one. I only wish I could say I trust myself … Someday.
I think that I tend to eat more when I am counting points because it is easy to become obsessed with how much you can or can’t have so you try to cram in as much food as you can get. The obvious problem here is that it is not healthy to eat just because you have the points left. You should eat because you body needs fuel. In an ideal world of course when you arent fighting the urge for a quarter pounder with cheese.
I’m pointless too for about 2 years and I never did core. I think with alot of exercise you can eat alot more.
I started the gym because of you and now I’m a gym rat spinning 3 days a week.
Even when my weight goes up I trust myself to eat low again and get it off.
Awesome Roni! I’ve been in the same place. I’ve created some really horrible food habits with the points system. It’s not the points system’s fault – but I feel like all of the over obsessing is counter productive to my health. I recently started eating when hungry and stopping eating when comfortable. I’ll tell you after a year and a half on flex, I had no idea what hunger and comfortability felt like. Just starving and stuffed ROFL!
I made a conscious decision not to count points last week but ended up doing it still. I just can’t drop it very easily. But it is a big goal to get to the point where I am not counting points. Just eating healthy and only eating when hungry and just til comfortability. I want to be done obsessing about food 24/7. I’d love to go to a restaurant and eat anything I want – but just eat enough to be satisfied and not finish my plate b/c I saved up the points to eat it! I want to go to a party and not pass up everything for fear of not knowing how many points it is. Why not go to that party and do a little nibbling and enjoy the company instead of worrying about the food?
And I think that is what maintenance buys me – as long as I don’t over-eat and gain too much weight :)
So that’s my goal. I only finally lost the last 5 pounds that I gained on vacation a year ago. But those last 5 pounds were torture to lose and I think I looked fine when I was wearing them last month :)
In January I stopped counting points too. I picked up a BodyBugg and started tracking my calories. I like this much better than weight watchers.
Hey Roni,
I lurk on your site and hardly comment… Thank you for your posts. They keep me motivated to get to goal!
All I could say is that I want to be just like you when I grow up! I don’t trust myself enough “not” to count “points” or “calories” and my goal is to get to a “happy place” where I don’t obsess about it!
Good luck with your marathon!
Since you won’t be counting points, will you be weighing yourself again? I know from experience it can sneak back if you aren’t tracking.
I agree with Jess’ food Coma. When I’m on points (which I am right now because I have not met goal yet and I can’t trust myself), I feel like I eat more than I need to because I want to ‘get my points worth’. Like, I’ve licked plates because I want all those calories for my points. It’s sorta a sickness. My solution so far is to break things down into smaller portions and thus smaller point amounts. Then it’s easier for me to recognize when I’m full and I don’t feel like I’m cheating myself out of points.
Hi Roni.
I recently ditched counting as well. I felt like I spent way too much time thinking about what I could have for how many points vs. just choosing more healthy foods and fewer junky foods. I was pretty nervous about giving up the counting. I mean I see so many others around me have success and I want the same but I have to listen to myself and make choices based on who I am and what will work for me, not what works for everyone else. As someone stated previously…I surely felt like I was becoming a slave to counting points. I felt like my mind was trapped in a cell just spinning around and around thinking about points. I HATED that.
The part where you say “I trust myself”. I’ve had success with this before and it was time for so I knew that I could have success without counting again. It was exactly that though. I needed to start trusting myself!!!
A few months ago….I also ditched the points system. I loved the program and am a HUGE fan of WW…. but it just wasnt working for me anymore. I am close to goal weight and am three weeks away from my marathon and during my training I really needed to trust my eating and trust my body when I felt hungry. Before I quit, I felt so hungry and I dont think that I was getting enough carbs and good fats that I needed to fuel my runs. I was so use to everything low fat, low cal and usually made low carb choices. I realized that I couldnt do that anymore and that I need those carbs and fat to help me run. Now, Im actually eating around 2,000 calories or more a day which is so crazy to me because Ive been eating a reduced calorie diet for a long time. I read a good book called Nancy Clarks Nutrition Guide for Marathoners and it has helped me a lot. I still make good food choices but Im eating more. I have become faster and find that I have way more energy than ever before. I feel like it is a good step….a difficult one….but good… and Im learning that food is fuel and food is my my friend and just like you said…..”Food is not the enemy!”
I think I am slowly getting there. I am not counting points at all, but needed to do it for a kickstart back into eating better, knowing a correct portion size, etc. but i’m over it now. well for now.
We are actually doing a life overhaul that includes our entire lifestyle. Making better choices in general and I believe things will fall into place. posted about it here if you are interested…. http://tinyurl.com/dggpox
~ Lisa
http://sassyaztec.blogspot.com/
p.s. did you hear back from @lancearmstrong ? ;)
KURunner – I surely WILL be! :) I’ve been meaning to get my butt to a meeting for awhile now. I also weigh at the gym but the number doesn’t mean as much to me know as much as my clothes fitting do. I weight train 2-3 times a week and I’m actually trying to build muscle. I actually expect my weight to go up a bit.
I think it’s great that you are coming to this realization……….You should TRUST yourself…….you rock, Roni!!!
Thanks for such an inspirational post, Roni. I’m still in the losing phase of my journey (1/3 of the way there, woo hoo!) so I’m all too familiar with the way points or calories (whatever it is you do to keep yourself accountable) can make you feel like a slave. Some days I just friggin hate counting calories. Anyway, it’s nice to know that after doing it for a number of years, it becomes second nature and you don’t *have* to be as diligent in counting, but can learn to count on yourself. I look forward to getting there, too. =)
Thanks, Roni! I’m so glad you said it. I had great success with WW many years back, before the points system was introduced. Although I know they help, especially in the beginning, eventually the points drove me away. I became a slave to them. I am now tracking what I eat but not counting points…it’s scary at first but I know I can do it! Thanks, it helps to know that someone as successful as you feel a similar way!
That is THE best place to be!! I can’t wait!
Hi Roni!
Congratulations to you for reaching your level of success and trusting yourself. I’ve been doing WW for a year now and am down 58 pounds, and I get what you mean about being a slave to points. However, it’s the only thing that has ever worked for me, and I feel like until I reach goal (another 55 pounds or so) I can’t let it go. I hope to be where you are someday, and feel that sense of freedom. What I’d like to know, though, is will you continue to list points on your GLB recipes? I can’t tell you how helpful that has been for me. Thanks for the inspiration!
deb
I’ve gone back and forth over the years too. I am a lifetimer, (over goal) but sometimes I really like points, and other times, it seems to bog me down. I still write stuff down too, but just as a record for me to see where I am.
Good for you. I kind of think after being at goal for so long that you know what you are doing! If you start to creep up, you don’t let it get out of control. That’s the biggest thing I think that keeps someone at or near goal! Awesome job though Roni!!
I stopped counting points right around I hit being at goal for one year. It’s been 4 months and so far so good. I just don’t feel I need to count right now. I pretty much eat the same things for breakfast, lunch and snacks everyday so the only thing that really changes are my dinners. I don’t want to be a slave to counting points for the rest of my life but if I see the numbers on the scale start to creep up I know I will need to start counting again to get myself back on track.
Deb – The wwp on GreenLiteBites stay! Promise! :)
Hi Roni – In response to your 9+mile run – way to go! You are one dedicated person. I’m sure the other people enjoyed someone smiling at them in passing! It’s such a small gesture but can mean so much.
Second – I see you mention added protein. I try to read all your posts and may have missed one on protein. Are you referring to Whey or Soy protein? I finally bought some but haven’t started using it. I know there are benefits to each kind. Any thoughts/comments would be appreciated!
I think counting points or calories serves the purpose of making you realize how much food is too much. I counted calories for some time, but I stopped after I felt like I was obsessing about it. I also got into the routine of eating whatever I wanted, no matter what its nutritional value (or lack thereof), as long I kept within my calorie limit for the day.
But it helped me too. Now I know that more than 1 tablespoon of dressing or 1 cup of pasta or a handful of nuts is too much. If I have more than that at any meal, I know I have to cut back a little at the next meal to balance it out.
So I don’t think counting points is really necessary once you KNOW what you’re eating. It’s definitely not something you can keep up for the rest of your life.
Dana – I’m working on a protein post! Learning myself. :) Hope to have it up in a week or so.