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How many Weight Watchers points in ... ?-PLEASE USE MAIN STICKY THREAD

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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 277 ✭✭kashmir


    God no, I am not "attacking" at all. I signed up because I was interested in the thread on WW points. I was just making the point that some people were looking for genuine advise from other more experienced people following the weightwatchers programme and people who don't really know all the facts shouldn't be making statements that are not true. That kind of thing shouldn't be very highly regarded here either.:confused:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 22,819 ✭✭✭✭g'em


    Good stuff, and I hope you continue to post - a supportive community is exactly what boads is here to host!

    You have a very good point though in that this is a thread about WW points so can we keep discussions OT? Thanks all.


  • Registered Users Posts: 382 ✭✭seaner


    I did WW's a year or so ago. And I was really focused and lost the weight. But like anything if you don't keep it up it won't last. I slipped back into my old ways....and slowly regained SOME of the weight. I did enjoy WW's I have to say. Even though our leader was a bit OTT sometimes.
    But one thing I don't like about it is that even though you're 'advised' to eat healthily you can easily continue with the WW's points plan, eat crap and lose weight. I don't think this is a good plan for anyone.

    So its really easy not to think of it as a lifestyle change, when losing weight really should be. And there were plenty of weeks (it took me about 3 months to lose the weight) when I stayed to my points religiously, exercised and didn't lose anything. The leader would always say the same thing to me 'oh you're probably retaining water at the moment' cuz she had so good reason why I didn't lose.

    Anyway I'm not saying WW's is bad, actually I think its a great starting point for anyone wanting to lose weight.

    I have to say though I really loathed the WW's foods. They are really so horrible, so full of sugar that when the leader would harp on about the latest frozen meal and how yummy it was , it really dawned on me that WW's is a business. And I guess that aspect of it left a bad taste in my mouth.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 166 ✭✭Suzywuzy


    Anyway this thread has been a bit hijacked, back to actual WW points values and stuff... is there anything in particular anyone finds a good filling snack that's low in points? I love home made 0 point soup with 5 Carrs water biscuits for 1pt, yummy and really filling lunch

    Yeah, I made a lovely Low Point home made soup last Monday evening ... 3 tinned tomatos, 1 red pepper, 1 green pepper, 2 onions, 2 cloves of garlic and a dash of Tabasco sauce ... was mainly experimenting and didn't honestly think it was gonna turn out overly nice ... not that I know what it turned out like !!! My Dad (who's on a diet too but not following the WW programme and is always making fun of it !!!) decided to help himself to it while I was at work the past few days (he works shift work) and said it was "a quare mean soup !!!" Haha. :D Must make it again, only took 10 minutes and it looked nice !!! :p


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    kashmir wrote: »
    All I'd like to say is - what is your problem Rubadub? have you been gravely wounded by the WW organisation or someone who promotes it?
    No, I have just seen people attempt to loosely follow it, without going to meetings. I expect some lurkers might have read this thread and not know there was so many points systems, UK, US, German, French. Some lurkers might be loosely following the points system oblivious to these differences.

    Seaner HAD gone to meetings, seems to have a few WW books and had never heard of this difference. All I am saying is watch out when calculating portions, this thread could have been "how many calories in?" and I would have given the same advice.

    I have some other issues with WW that might interest some, Seaner mentioned a few, but some of the other posters already showed up a few issues, probably oblivious to them being an actual thing to be careful of. I think it should be another thread, and not just about WW, I have pointed out the flaws in calorie counting in other threads.
    kashmir wrote: »
    people who don't really know all the facts shouldn't be making statements that are not true.
    Such as? Are you only referring to me quoting a big mac in US points, or something else?


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 277 ✭✭kashmir


    Ok, Rubadub, I kinda understand a bit more were you are coming from. It's just that I was presuming that most people joining a thread on WW points were following the WW programme and realise that points have to be calculated out properly taking into account the calories and saturated fat per 100g or whatever and then pro-rata it to the size of the portion they are going to eat. (The way points are calculated is actually a scientific formula that has been patented by the WW organisation.) The only time you have to get advice on approx values is on items that don't outline this info and obviously when eating out. As someone else pointed out its only a guide so that we can all live in the real world and do "normal" things and not be tied to the calculator, scales & kitchen. My advice to anyone starting out on the Programme is not to go out to eat for a couple of weeks until they get used to portion sizes lower fat foods etc.

    I'll not presume in future. Thanks.


  • Registered Users Posts: 166,026 ✭✭✭✭LegacyUser


    Just wondering what aree the points like for Alcohol??

    Some i would be interested in is

    Vodka
    Red Bull(mixer)
    Bulmers

    Cheers :D


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    Redbull will have the calories on the can, easy to calculate. Alcohols are a different story, many online guides showing calories are wrong. I would guess many WW points estimates could be based on these incorrect figures.

    From Bulmers own site
    Calorie Content of Bulmers / Magners

    KCAL VOLUME
    37 100ML
    122 330 ML
    210 PINT

    Calorie Content of Bulmers Light

    KCAL VOLUME
    28 100ML
    86 330 ML
    130 PINT
    The bulmers light calories are all different, none of the figures agree so it is impossible to tell which is right, i.e. it is not like 2 figures are right with one typo. A pint is 568ml. The normal bulmers adds up, I would have guessed it was higher though, due to the high sugar content. Guinness is one of the lowest in calories/points per unit alcohol for a beer.


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 30,653 Mod ✭✭✭✭Faith


    Merged with the big thread.


  • Registered Users Posts: 382 ✭✭seaner


    from what I remember, light beers are 1 point.
    Normal beers are 1.5 points (and I'm talking 330ml).
    But when I was on the WW's I switched to drinking spirits with a diet mixer rather than beers. Cuz I don't like the taste of bulmers light (1PT) and Bud Light is just muck.
    So if I'd continued drinking my favourite drink (miller) I could have maybe 6 drinks during the night.....that 9Pts total. Whereas with the vodka diet coke, that was 6 points!
    Made a difference to me anyway.

    But I was always confused on the alchohol situation, cuz one leader told me a bottle of Coors light was 1 point, and another told me it wasn't lighter in calories at all and was 1.5 pts.

    I never knew that about Guinness!


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  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    if you are going to use the WW points for booze then it is best to get the calories from the bottle if available. A normal pint of beer is usually 200kcal, a guinness is around 180kcal and a stronger beer is 220kcal. There will be no fat in most alcohol (expect weird liquers or cocktails with cream). Your calories and hence points come from 3 main sources, the alcohol, the sugar, the proteins. The alcohol is the big one, a 80% unsweetened vodka will have twice the calories as a 40% one. BUT a 8% beer could have less than twice the caloires as a lite beer of 4%. The proteins and other stuff are pretty minimal.

    Alcohol is made by fermenting sugars, if you ferment them all out then it is left with no sugar so is not sweet, it is dry. Pilsner beers are usually brewed to completion and strong in alcohol and low in sugar. Lite beers are also brewed to completion but quite low in alcohol. So if you goal is to drink 6 beers no matter what, stick with lites, if you goal is to get to a certain tipsiness, then you might be better with the strong pilsner beers, they often have less calories per
    % alcohol. Also being stronger they hit you more so you get drunk faster, even though you could have drank the same units of alcohol.

    Also diet mixers have sweetners and studies show these increase absorption rate. So the most low cal/point method to fail a breathalyzer test would be to drink vodka & diet coke on an empty stomach really quick.

    The rounding of WW points causes confusion, as Seaner showed.
    Using this calculator for pints http://www.sublogic.com/points/uk/
    Guinness, say 180kcal is 2.57 rounded to 3
    Heineken, say 200kcal is 2.86 rounded to 3
    A strong german beer, say 240kcal is 3.43 rounded to 3

    Rounding to halves solves some of this obvious problem. But you should really go to 1 or 2 decimals, especially if you are going to be drinking loads. If you KNOW guinness is 180kcal and you are going to drink 8 pints, then multiply it up and put it in the calculator.

    Coors light is 4.2% miller draught is 4.7%, there would only be a slight bit more calories/points in the miller, but by rounding 1 and 1.5 you have essentially said there is 50% more points in the miller, which is not true.

    For a variety of everyday foods/drinks these rounded points will hopefully balance themselves out, it is when you go drinking 10 bottles or eating 10 portions of an item that it adds up.

    If I went for a 2500kcal (~36 points) per day diet but stuff I ate happened to be estimated or rounded in such a way that I ate on average 5% too much, then I can expect to put on about 1 stone (14lb) of fat per year.

    I would reckon I drink 50+ points worth of booze per week, so if I went by seaners 1.5 vs 1 point estimates in choosing my beer I could easily get that 5% difference.

    Alcohol calories are overestimated for human consumption anyway, but thats a whole other thread!


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭angeldelight


    If you're following WW, trust them and believe them when they tell you the points rather than second guessing and trying to disprove the system then a single vodka is 1pt, red bull for the can is 1.5, the sugar-free one is 0 points though. A bottle of bulmers light is 1pt, small bottle bulmers is 1pt and a pint is 3. Again these are the values I've always used for the past 6 months and have only had 3 weeks in that time where I haven't had a loss so I trust them


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    If you're following WW, trust them and believe them when they tell you the points rather than second guessing and trying to disprove the system
    What is wrong with double checking their calculations? And knowing where the points come from. Seaner was genuinely confused about the points in the beer, you say trust WW, well 2 WW leaders told him 2 different things, what is wrong with figuring out which is correct? If you ate 10 fish fingers would you want the points of 1 and multiply it by 10, or do you thing it would be better to get the points of 10?
    Again these are the values I've always used for the past 6 months and have only had 3 weeks in that time where I haven't had a loss so I trust them
    And I gave the reason why this would be in my post.

    I dunno what sort of vested interest you think I have, as I said before I would give the exact same advice if people were calorie counting.
    A bottle of bulmers light is 1pt, small bottle bulmers is 1pt and a pint is 3.
    I would drink 8 pints in a night, so if I drink pint of bulmers that is 24 points (3x8). 8 pints is 8x568ml=4544ml, a small bottle is 330ml, so 13.77 bottles in 8 pints. But you say a bottle is only 1 points, so that is 14points in bottles vs 24 points in pints.

    My sister loosely follows points, she would drink 16 baileys over the weekend over 2 nights, do you know how many points are in that?


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭angeldelight


    The reason I said
    "If you're following WW, trust them and believe them when they tell you the points rather than second guessing and trying to disprove the system"
    is becuase that's what I do, hence I was qualifying my answer so if someone chose to believe me they'll know where I'm coming from.
    Same as "Again these are the values I've always used for the past 6 months and have only had 3 weeks in that time where I haven't had a loss so I trust them"

    I was giving the answers from the WW site, not biased by any leaders' misunderstandings or mistake. This thread is supposed to be a helpful resource for people on WW... fair enough answer with the calories and unofficial points calculations if you like but can we stop pulling it off topic with personal disagreements?? I don't know/care what agenda you do/don't have. I'm answering peoples questions with the official answer and if they don't want to read that but instead choose to do it your way, great whatever works for that person.

    And yes 1 baileys is 2 points, 16 is 28 points... I can change all the portion sizes


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9 jessiewessie


    Hi... Well this is an experience!!!! I am, what you would call a virgin!! A chat room virgin. I was on the web looking for my nearest ww meeting (tuesday 25th at 10.30) and happened across this board.... and by reading a few of the postings im far from being on my own... Im nearly forty and have just had my 3rd child (shes 4 months and wonderful) after a 11 year gap... Am im so in need of a bit of motivation.. OK A LOT of motivation!! I went to ww about 5 years ago and lost about 1 1/2 stone.. I now weight about 2 stone heavier!!! I decided I would do ww on my own from home about 3 weeks ago but every 2 days I seemed to lose my way, and I've put on about 1/2 a stone!!!! HELP!!! The more I think about losing weight the more I seem to eat. So I think I'll have to start attending meetings.. I would appriciate any help or support in my mission to be fit @ 40...


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭angeldelight


    Hiya jessie, good luck :) I think the first few weeks are the most difficult. I suppose the best advice I had at that time was invest in a digital kitchen scales and weigh EVERYTHING from your cereal in the morning to your potatoes for dinner. It's very easy to overestimate a portion so if you do that you're kidding yourself with the points you assign to it!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 9 jessiewessie


    Thanx.. are you a member?? how are you getting on??


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭angeldelight


    I am yeah, I don't go to meetings though I do it online. Great so far, doing it 6 months on Monday and have lost exactly 3 stone so am happy enough!


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    fair enough answer with the calories and unofficial points calculations if you like but can we stop pulling it off topic with personal disagreements?? I don't know/care what agenda you do/don't have.
    I am only telling people to be careful. Some people are completely ignorant as to how the points are worked out, and could unconciously be using tricks. e.g. equating a 14% bottle of wine with a 9% one. They might have no idea one has more points than another. There is no harm in having a basic knowledge in how to calculate points.

    Most inaccuracies will balance out, e.g. for every 1 point you eat which is 1.2 points, another should be 0.8. It is when people ingest large amounts of underestimate points that problems happen.

    I had edited my previous point, I think you might have made a typo about the bulmers points. I had said
    I would drink 8 pints in a night, so if I drink pint of bulmers that is 24 points (3x8). 8 pints is 8x568ml=4544ml, a small bottle is 330ml, so 13.77 bottles in 8 pints. But you say a bottle is only 1 points, so that is 14points in bottles vs 24 points in pints.

    I am a big drinker and know a fair bit about alcohol, and it is the one thing that causes most confusion, regarding putting on weight and calories.

    In your previous posts you said the importance of portion sizes. It is essential, just like the bulmers thing showed.
    And yes 1 baileys is 2 points, 16 is 28 points... I can change all the portion sizes
    From baileys site
    Energy (Kcal/100ml) 327 ( kJ/100ml) 1361
    Protein 3g
    Total Carbohydrate 25g
    Fat 13g
    Saturated Fat 8g
    Cholesterol 0.04g
    Sodium 0.08g
    Dietary Fibre Nil Sucrose 20g
    Alcohol 13.5g
    Now a meaure of baileys in Ireland is 50ml. So 16 will have 2616kcal and 64g saturated fat. My 2 UK calculators show this as 53 points.

    Errors might come from the presumption that UK portions are the same as here (just like I presumed a US big mac is same as a UK in size). In the UK a "measure" of spirits is usually 25ml, while here it is 35.5ml. Baileys is a weird one at 50ml, some others here are automatically doubles too. I am not sure of the baileys measures in the UK. The site you showed mentions that many UK pubs now serve 35ml http://www.freewebs.com/noreenblackett/alcoholpoints.htm
    On her site she has the tia-lusso as 70ml, this is a baileys type drink.
    I would guess the baileys you calculated was 25ml, I checked one site and a UK bar does serve it as 50ml, with other shots at 25ml, sherrys and others are 50ml too.
    Also vodka 25ml is 1pt while smirnoff vodka 25mils 0.5 points on her site.

    Now with a burger it is fairly obvious that a portion is double its normal size, but people pouring spirits at home will usually pour a lot more in.

    Just be careful. If a large proportion of your caloire/points are coming from one particular brand/product there is no harm in double checking the calculations, and portion sizes.


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 277 ✭✭kashmir


    God, if anyone could recommend to me a 9% bottle of wine I'd really appreciate it.


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  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    kashmir wrote: »
    God, if anyone could recommend to me a 9% bottle of wine I'd really appreciate it.

    Maybe ask in the wine forum. When I was younger one of my mates used to get lambrusco wine which was only 5-6%, it was fizzy and very easy to drink. I cannot comment on it from a connoisseur point of view, he used to neck the bottle!
    http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/forumdisplay.php?f=598

    Or just go to obriens and ask. The wine will be a little cheaper due to the lower duty on the bottle. But it maybe sweet, I think lambrusco was. You really want a dry wine, dry means all the sugar is pretty much fermented out. If grapes are picked early they will be lower in sugar, other fruits like apples will be lower in sugar than grapes.

    I think WW wine is 9.5% but there is probably a better value option.


  • Registered Users Posts: 505 ✭✭✭CamillaRhodes


    Hi all,
    Am jumping onto this thread as someone mentioned they're doing WW onlien. This afternoon I went to sign up for WW online (which I was on about a year and a half ago, when I lived in the UK) and found I could only sign up with a UK-address credit card. I don't have my UK one any more, only one with an Irish address, although i actually live outside of either now (in Serbia) so I can't get the 'at home' thing posted to me - I'd prefer to use the online tools anyway (which I thought were great).

    Any advice for me, on how I can either sign up for the online version with my existing credit card, or some other way to follow WW from Serbia? I am expanding rapidly from all the cevapi and burek!!! (anyone who's been to the Balkans will know what i mean!)


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 166 ✭✭Suzywuzy


    Yeah, I also tried to sign up to the weight watchers online and I live in Dublin. :( Wish there were more products and resources like this site available in Ireland !!! :(

    Can you order the products from the weight watchers magazine if you're no longer a member ??? I was a member about 2 or 3 years ago, but am just trying to follow it myself now. Not sure if I can order the products. :confused:


  • Registered Users Posts: 5,175 ✭✭✭angeldelight


    I'm doing it online and with an irish credit card, I just made up a postcode and it's been no problem. it's charged every month and never had any hassle, it's great!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7 sally fletcher


    Hey there,
    New to the site. Joined weight watchers in FEB AND LOST 12lbs so am delighted. First time I'm exercising and it's working surprisingly!!
    I'd like to lose two stone so I'm half way there.

    Few queries.
    How many points would one say is in a portion of home cooked
    a. potato wedges (oven baked)
    b. Oven chips regular ones???

    I often like to have a small few with a salad as opposed to a big portion but is there any way of actually counting and not the 100gs is 3 points thing as I simply cannot work out how many that is or don't have a scales. Maybe I should get a scales. Is that the best option?
    Be grateful of any help.


  • Registered Users Posts: 382 ✭✭seaner


    Firstly well done on your weightloss. Thats absolutely brill, keep up the good work and don't lose focus!

    You should definitely get yourself a weighing scales. I'd recommend a digital one! You can get them pretty much everywhere. And you don't have to buy a really expensive one either.

    You can then weigh things so you can accurately point them. Then after a while you'll get to know more about correct portion sizes and you won't have to weigh every single thing.

    As i've said before the biggest eye opener for me when I joined WW was my huge portion sizes!! when i actually began to weigh out that correct amount i should be eating it was almost always half of what i used to normally eat!!
    Anyway good luck with the rest of your endeavour!

    When you've got yourself that scales you can then work out what your chips will cost ya!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7 sally fletcher


    seaner wrote: »
    Firstly well done on your weightloss. Thats absolutely brill, keep up the good work and don't lose focus!

    You should definitely get yourself a weighing scales. I'd recommend a digital one! You can get them pretty much everywhere. And you don't have to buy a really expensive one either.

    You can then weigh things so you can accurately point them. Then after a while you'll get to know more about correct portion sizes and you won't have to weigh every single thing.

    As i've said before the biggest eye opener for me when I joined WW was my huge portion sizes!! when i actually began to weigh out that correct amount i should be eating it was almost always half of what i used to normally eat!!
    Anyway good luck with the rest of your endeavour!

    When you've got yourself that scales you can then work out what your chips will cost ya!

    Hi Seáner,
    Thanks a mill. Ya I think like it's time to get the scales and be 100% honest about all of this. Mayeb I'll get the weight watchers one in class.
    The class next week is about portion size so should be very interesting.


  • Registered Users Posts: 32,370 ✭✭✭✭rubadub


    Maybe I should get a scales. Is that the best option?
    It is essentail
    seaner wrote: »
    As i've said before the biggest eye opener for me when I joined WW was my huge portion sizes!! when i actually began to weigh out that correct amount i should be eating it was almost always half of what i used to normally eat!!
    Very true, portion size is the main problem most have. The weird thing is when I ate the "right" amounts I was not hungry, and did expect to be, there was simply no need to be eating these huge amounts. They did not appear huge at the time, that is the problem too.


  • Registered Users Posts: 382 ✭✭seaner


    rubadub wrote: »
    The weird thing is when I ate the "right" amounts I was not hungry, and did expect to be, there was simply no need to be eating these huge amounts. They did not appear huge at the time, that is the problem too.
    yep same for me. I was convinced that I would be STARVING...but i wasn't. My stomach was full, i'd eaten enough food...i just needed to give myself (my brain) a little while to cop on to this fact. :o

    And it helped when i began eating the right foods (slow releasing energy) too.

    :pac::pac:


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  • Registered Users Posts: 3,145 ✭✭✭SarahSassy


    The class next week is about portion size so should be very interesting.

    I nearly fell off my chair during the portion class..... I was eating 3 times too much rice in what I thought was a normal portion... Eating big lumps of steak and just over eating completely......

    BTW there are 2 points in a 330ml bottle of normal lager.


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