Weight Watchers: Eat All the Fruit You Want

[Cereal Killer]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/0 ... g-is-hard/

Is weight watchers just out of touch with reality?

I personally know so many people who failed at Weight Watchers and just a few who lost weight and are keeping it off.

[BlackSpinner]

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/0 ... g-is-hard/

Is weight watchers just out of touch with reality?

I personally know so many people who failed at Weight Watchers and just a few who lost weight and are keeping it off.

Yes they are far behind the times - go low carb, no wheat instead

[chunkyfrog]

If it works every time, it cuts into the bottom line.
Hope is more profitable than results.
There is a trick to it.
--But if you learn it, they lose your business.

[DocWeezy]

Yikes! Obviously WW has never heard of fruit causing blood sugar spikes/issues either....

Yup, low carb is it. In my case, it took low carb, high fat, and moderate protein.

I am now officially NOT a borderline Type 2 diabetic anymore, but I had to eliminate all fruit from my diet (in addition to all grains and other carbs except some green veggies). It's well worth it and maybe someday I'll be able to have a little fruit without my glucose monitor reproaching me.

Weezy

[Buggstzer]

I lost 65+ pounds 10 years ago on the old Weight Watchers diet. I was ALWAYS hungry, but lost that 65 pounds in 6 months. I have tried their new "Points" and "Points Plus" now that 40 pounds of it are back and have failed at both because they just simply give you too much to eat. My adult kids introduced me to http://www.myfitnesspal.com which tracks calories and is free. I'm at 1600 per day and now finally, the weight is starting to slowly come off. (Oh, and I'm back to pretty well hungry all the time.) I cannot eat "all" I want of anything (except maybe lettuce and pickles) and successfully lose weight. I don't think most people can either.

[Vader]

If it works every time, it cuts into the bottom line.
Hope is more profitable than results.
There is a trick to it.
--But if you learn it, they lose your business.

'

Ain't that the truth! Well said chunkyfrog....

If you want to get real results, low carb is the only way to go.

[xenablue]

Yikes! Obviously WW has never heard of fruit causing blood sugar spikes/issues either....

Yup, low carb is it. In my case, it took low carb, high fat, and moderate protein.

I am now officially NOT a borderline Type 2 diabetic anymore, but I had to eliminate all fruit from my diet (in addition to all grains and other carbs except some green veggies). It's well worth it and maybe someday I'll be able to have a little fruit without my glucose monitor reproaching me.

Weezy

Not sure if I understood your comment about officially NOT being a borderline T2, but if your meter shows a spike whenever you eat high-carb foods, you ARE diabetic and there's no going back - sadly. You can only claim to not be borderline diabetic (or any other version) if you can eat whatever you want/like and never spike your BG. Eating sensibly as you do means you're in great control - not rid of T2.

If I misunderstood, my apologies.

Cheers,
xena

[DocWeezy]

I'm at 1600 per day and now finally, the weight is starting to slowly come off. (Oh, and I'm back to pretty well hungry all the time.) I cannot eat "all" I want of anything (except maybe lettuce and pickles) and successfully lose weight. I don't think most people can either.

That's true...and many people have the mistaken perception that low carb means eating all you want. Very few people can do that and actually lose weight. Many successful low carbers have to limit total calories and protein to lose weight. Keeping the fat percentage high enough is also important. Fortunately for me, even though I have to limit calories and protein in order to lose weight, by having 70% of my calories from fat, I am NOT hungry; in fact I'm finding it difficult to maintain 1200 calories most days because I'm just not hungry. Another side benefit: NO cravings at all, and I'm a true carb addict. I also do not have the awful feelings/shakiness/cravings of not eating enough (and after years of various types of starvation diets, I certainly know that feeling very well).

Not trying to convert you from a plan that is working for you; just wanted to present another piece of information for anyone who wasn't aware of that aspect of low carbing. No one type of diet can work for everyone--our bodies are all very different and for me, my metabolism is damaged after off-and-on starvation and yo-yo dieting so it takes a combination of total calories, fat percentage, and low carb to feel good and lose weight.

Weezy

[Janknitz]

I'm at 1600 per day and now finally, the weight is starting to slowly come off. (Oh, and I'm back to pretty well hungry all the time.) I cannot eat "all" I want of anything (except maybe lettuce and pickles) and successfully lose weight. I don't think most people can either.

I have to tell you I aim for 1800 to 2000 calories a day (which is a push for me to eat that much some days). I'm not very tall and not particularly active. I have a sedentary desk job. I'm almost NEVER hungry--I love the food I'm eating and feel so satisfied after a meal. I don't need to snack because I'm not hungry in between. And I'm losing weight, slowly, but I'm losing weight. My blood lipids are perfect.

Low carb. It works.

[DocWeezy]

Of course you're correct, Xena....I should have been more precise. In my own brain I'm not a Type 2 any more because my blood sugar doesn't spike any more and the morning numbers are really good. But I can only do that by eating low carb and maintaining my current eating plan. I guess it's my way to mentally reward myself for eating appropriately and having those good levels.

The funny thing is, I recently went to a new doc and she saw the A1C1 (is that the name of it?) for 6 month blood sugars and said "I'm surprised your not diabetic given your weight, but your numbers are really good and show no problems" I didn't bother to explain at that point because she was so horrified that I eat low carb with no grains at all.

Sometimes it isn't worth it trying to educate a doctor....

Weezy

Yikes! Obviously WW has never heard of fruit causing blood sugar spikes/issues either....

Yup, low carb is it. In my case, it took low carb, high fat, and moderate protein.

I am now officially NOT a borderline Type 2 diabetic anymore, but I had to eliminate all fruit from my diet (in addition to all grains and other carbs except some green veggies). It's well worth it and maybe someday I'll be able to have a little fruit without my glucose monitor reproaching me.

Weezy

Not sure if I understood your comment about officially NOT being a borderline T2, but if your meter shows a spike whenever you eat high-carb foods, you ARE diabetic and there's no going back - sadly. You can only claim to not be borderline diabetic (or any other version) if you can eat whatever you want/like and never spike your BG. Eating sensibly as you do means you're in great control - not rid of T2.

If I misunderstood, my apologies.

Cheers,
xena

[chunkyfrog]

I even lowered my blood glucose by dropping my Lantus (by 1 unit), and forcing myself to skip some carbs.
It's all balance, the Goldilocks game.

[xenablue]

Ha!!
I agree with you Weezy, on not trying to educate a doctor - specially one who sites weight as a pre-requisite to T2. Only about 3% of overweight people are diabetic (T2) , and there are a large percentage of T2s who are 'normal' weight to very thin.

Hey, as long as YOU know what's going on with your body, specially as far as T2 goes, you are your own best doctor/research scientist. It's great to see you keeping T2 at bay as you are.

cheers,
xena

[Emilia]

Here is what the WW site says about fruit:

Fresh fruit is definitely having its moment in the spotlight, ever since Weight Watchers awarded it all a PointsPlusTM value of zero! But with great freedom comes great responsibility, and we know some of you are anxious that you get it “right."Here, we answer some of your common questions:

When I add fruit to the recipes I create in the Recipe Builder, it counts PointsPlus values for it! I thought fruit was zero?
Just as we've always done with 0 PointsPlus value vegetables, 0 PointsPlus value fresh fruits contribute toward the total PointsPlus values of a recipe, whether
it's a Weight Watchers recipe or one you build yourself in the Recipe Builder.

The technical explanation is that because recipes are calculated based on the total grams of fat, fiber, protein and carbs for all their ingredients. As one poster on the Message Boards, DANI_THE_GECKO, sagely points out: “The recipe builder only knows that you input nutritional information. It does not know if it's fruit, green beans or heavy cream."

But why do we do it this way? There are a couple of very good reasons why we count fruits and veggies in our recipes:
• Our recipes often appear in articles and magazines nationally, so we need to provide the calories and nutrient content, as many recipes published elsewhere do.
• Once vegetables and fruit are elements in a prepared recipe, the experience of eating them changes. Few people overeat carrots — but they might overeat carrot cake.

If your “recipe" is truly just a few pieces of fruit, then you might want to record it in your Tracker as separate items or as a “meal" — the latter looks at each item separately and then adds up all the PointsPlus values. Because all the items have 0 PointsPlus values, the total will also be zero.

Are there situations when I need to count PointsPlus values for fruit?
No, not for fresh fruit. Yes, fruit does have calories, and it contains fiber and other nutrients. But we’re assuming that you’ll eat a certain amount of fresh and other unsweetened fruit (veggies, too) each day, and have taken that into account when giving you your daily PointsPlus Target.

All fruit is 0 PointsPlus values when it's fresh, unsweetened frozen, canned in its juice and drained, or with artificial sweeteners. What if you peel it? Yep — as long as it’s unadorned, it’s still zero. (Again, same for veggies.)
You do need to count PointsPlus values when there's added sugar, such as fruit in syrup or in juice, or when there's less water content, as with dried fruit.

I’ve heard that cooking fruit increases its sugar content. Is that true? Does cooked fruit really have a PointsPlus value?
No, the sugar content doesn’t increase when fruit is cooked. However, during the cooking process, there is water loss, so you will have more fruit for a given volume. In other words, a half cup of cooked pears will contain more fruit than a half cup of raw pears.

How much 0 PointsPlus values fruit is too much?
We’ll say it again: Yes, fruits and vegetables aren’t magically calorie-free just by dint of us making most of them free of PointsPlus values. We took this step to encourage people to eat more fruits and vegetables; foods that are nutritious, satisfying and help to encourage you to make healthy, lasting choices that will lead to weight loss.

If you’re concerned that you’re eating “too much fruit," ask yourself if you’re enjoying what you’re eating, or if you’re honestly stuffing yourself with bananas because they’re “free." Or maybe you’re blending pounds of berries and bananas with ice into big-gulp smoothies.
If you’re using fruit and veggies as a way to stuff yourself in lieu of stuffing yourself with less healthy foods, then it’s possible that you may be reaching the point of “too much." If you’re eating more than you used to, but you’re using them for healthy snacks, to bulk up your meals or as a tide-me-over when you’re down to the last few PointsPlus values for the day or week, then you’re probably OK.
The bottom line? Let your hunger, and your weight loss, be your guide.

[Kairosgrammy]

Weight watchers teaches healthy eating. It is successful for many. It is no more a miracle plan than any other plan. People who attempt to lose weight with any method follow much the same pattern. Some lose, some don't, some keep it off and some don't. What works for one, doesn't work for others.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/02/0 ... g-is-hard/

Is weight watchers just out of touch with reality?

I personally know so many people who failed at Weight Watchers and just a few who lost weight and are keeping it off.

[Kairosgrammy]

Not everyone is diabetic. Weight watchers recommends healthy eating and if followed appropriately, shouldn't cause any health problems. If all you eat is fruit, it will probably screw you up. I hope your cholesterol is okay and that the fats you choose are healthy ones. Doing weight watchers right does require a tad bit of sense!

Yikes! Obviously WW has never heard of fruit causing blood sugar spikes/issues either....

Yup, low carb is it. In my case, it took low carb, high fat, and moderate protein.

I am now officially NOT a borderline Type 2 diabetic anymore, but I had to eliminate all fruit from my diet (in addition to all grains and other carbs except some green veggies). It's well worth it and maybe someday I'll be able to have a little fruit without my glucose monitor reproaching me.

Weezy