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WW question - bananas

Old 02-01-2012, 03:13 AM
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Default WW question - bananas

I have never tried WW and I don't want to knock their program as I am sure that it has helped many people to lose weight. I just have a question in regards to something I was told yesterday at work.

I was offered a banana and politely refused since I had one with my breakfast. The lady said but they are good for you. I replied that they have too many carbs to eat too many of. She then told me that they are 0 points on WW and she can eat as many as she wants. How does that work?
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Old 02-01-2012, 03:40 AM
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In WW, there isn't a food that is so unlimited, you can eat 200 of them in a day (for example)! However, the new - and I think welcome and wonderful - revision to the plan is that most fruits and vegetables are zero points. What this does is all you to eat what you want (even cake, as long as you're willing to acknowledge those points and count them honestly) but places emphasis on whole, natural foods.

Yesterday, I ate most of a bag of green beans. What cost me points weren't the green beans. It was the butter-olive oil blend I used to season them. 3/4 cup green beans is just 20 calories. The entire large bag had 11 servings. One serving is 5 grams of carbohydrates. It was the tbsp of fat that is around 100 calories that was 5 times more caloric than the serving of green beans, which also had 3 grams of fiber! WW basically reflects this in its plan. You can eat the more caloric item but it will 'cost you' points from a daily budget that you have. It always reminds me of budgeting and money.
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Old 02-01-2012, 03:55 AM
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Well, I guess that begs the question, just how many pieces of fruit would (could) one pound down on a daily basis? I agree that if you eat 15 or 20 bananas a day, you're unlikely to lose weight (at ~120 cals each). Other fruit might not be as bad--lots of fiber in an apple or orange for instance and if you ate too many apples, well, I think you'd regret it.

Any eating plan can be abused and considering fruit "0" is, I think, not going to be productive if taken beyond the realm of reasonableness (and believe me, I've been there!).

Regards,
Michael

PS I LOVE ripe bananas and eat one most every day--a great source of potassium and tasty to boot.
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Old 02-01-2012, 03:58 AM
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I think it's cruel for Weight Watchers to set that woman up for disappointment. Bananas are usually at least 100 calories each. If it's a big banana it could be more like 120. All she has to do is eat 4 bananas and she'll be eating about one third to one fourth her daily calories for "zero" points, then if she spends all her points for the day on top of that, then she'll wonder why she's not losing weight, because she was following the diet! I wonder if this is why people come away with the false impression that diets don't work.
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Old 02-01-2012, 04:22 AM
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Originally Posted by wildbeanerz
She then told me that they are 0 points on WW and she can eat as many as she wants. How does that work?

It's called "Voodoo Dieting"

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Old 02-01-2012, 04:26 AM
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But to be serious here, and only for a moment, WW has adopted this new policy of "zero calories" for many fruits and vegetable to encourage people to be eating these things. Of course it's a "gimmick". And my dear friend who has done WW, who actually has a brain, decided NOT to count these whole foods as "zero" but to award points to them in her daily calorie count.
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Old 02-01-2012, 04:26 AM
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Originally Posted by Rubystars
I think it's cruel for Weight Watchers to set that woman up for disappointment. Bananas are usually at least 100 calories each. If it's a big banana it could be more like 120. All she has to do is eat 4 bananas and she'll be eating about one third to one fourth her daily calories for "zero" points, then if she spends all her points for the day on top of that, then she'll wonder why she's not losing weight, because she was following the diet! I wonder if this is why people come away with the false impression that diets don't work.

This is what I was getting at but wasn't sure how to put it delicately without offending. I think she is being mislead. No matter how many 'points' something is worth it still has calories and they still add up.

I truly love good bananas and have one every morning with my greek yogurt for breakfast.

Between about 6 people yesterday they ate 3 full bunches of bananas though and I know that can't be of benefit to anyone since about 4 of the are on WW. Honestly they started last year this time and I don't see any real changes in any of them and they aren't really large ladies so if they lost any amount it should show.
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Old 02-02-2012, 02:37 AM
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There have always been zero points (or things you could eat without worrying about them) in WW. Even from the very beginning of WW, when the person checked off boxes for dairy, bread, etc., there were foods you could eat freely and not have to count.

I can see how the reaction could be: well, you can overeat those free things and gain weight! The difference is that, in those early days of WW, the 'free foods' were less likely to be overeaten. Stuff like celery, asparagus, etc.

With the new points plus plan, WW makes almost all the fruits and vegetables 'free' but I do think they are more tempting. WW leaders do say that they you can't eat twenty bananas and call that zero points. I think you can eat something like three bananas and not count them.

All of this is to encourage you to eat whole natural foods - because a lot of what people eat is fatty, dense with calories, or prepared. When you start counting what you eat, you immediately see that anything that fits that description is going to cost you - in my opinion, they cost maybe one or two more points than the same amount would have cost you in the past! However, if you really want some cake, some fried chicken, some caesar salad, by all means, do - just realize, as you count the points and see how much you have to 'spend,' that it's going to impact your 'budget.'

This is the essence of WW. When you manage it successfully, it's unlike what you were eating before. Because it's a daily habit with accountability, it's more likely to persist as a habit.
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Old 02-02-2012, 02:52 AM
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I've done WW a few times and it never worked, because ultimately it was way too easy to cheat, and I'm a smart fat chick so I could work it any way I wanted to and technically still be on plan. Secondly WW collects like $50/month for the meetings and makes a tidy profit on their food products, so they are not really interested in you reaching goal and getting off their plan. So although I think it is possible to lose weight on WW, they have no financial interest in getting their dieters down to goal and into maintenance. It's a conflict of interest for them. IMO this is the fly in the ointment of the entire dieting industry.

I'm with you April, the only friends I've seen that have lost a lot of weight and kept it off are the ones that have done what you and I are doing, changing our lives a step at a time, tracking calories and making a huge effort to get a workout in almost every day. The friends I see doing WW, South Beach, Slim Fast, MWLC, and HCL drops are all going to lose 10-15lbs and then quit and be heavier by this time next year. But it's their choice, I wouldn't argue with her, just lead by example.
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Old 02-02-2012, 03:00 AM
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Thanks for the input! I just wanted to make sure I wasn't missing out on something. Cuz I mean, heck, if I can eat like 5 bananas a day and not have to count their calories I wanted to know about that! IMO points or not, the calories still add up. And if you ate more calories than you burned you will not lose the weight.

I don't argue with people. I tell them my side or my reason why I'm doing what I am and let them ask more if they want to know. Yeah, my loss has been reasonably slow compared to some other people but it is working for me. I haven't had a serious rebound an am still losing. Slow and steady. I have times where I get stuck but I figure if I maintain through them that is success as well. And I am hoping that as I exercise and build muscle that I am tightening my body so as not to have excessive skin when I get to where I want to be.
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