Day 7, and another Points vs ProPoints post!

I've been considering old style Points versus ProPoints and the pros and cons of each over the last couple of days, mainly because I have so much more success on old Points, and my verdict is that the reason is the way each plan forces your mind to see food.

This doesn't sound like a very simple blog post, granted, but it's not as complicated as it sounds...

Old Points

Set number of Points per day

Able to save Points up to a maximum of 12 per week

Only way to top this up for treats is to earn Activity Points

ProPoints

Set number of ProPoints per day

Unable to save any ProPoints

Bank of ProPoints for treats

Sure you can all spot the difference now, but I'll elaborate, because it's me. Old Points teach you to earn your treats. ProPoints teaches you to have them anyway. 

Now, I don't know about you, but the whole reason I went on Weight Watchers in the first place is because I'd had the treats anyway!

When I've tried to do ProPoints I've had less to encourage me to exercise, so to have those treats I've stuck to my 26 ProPoints a day (approximately 1000 calories before allowing for 0 point fruit and veg) and used my weekly ProPoints for alcohol, chocolate and eating out. 

Sounds like exactly how you're supposed to follow the plan, right? And doesn't sound all that bad either because I'm getting those treats in the week?

Flip it up and look at it this way: On old Points I am on 20 Points per day. Weight Watchers had two main rules when I began that plan which were that you had to eat a minimum of 16 Points per day, and you could only save a maximum of 12 Points per week. The difference between the minimum Points and my daily Points is 4 Points each day. 

4 Points is the equivalent of 4 squares of Dairy Milk chocolate. 

4 squares of Dairy Milk chocolate is the difference between me being miserable and me feeling unrestricted and happy on plan. 

Making sense? What I'm trying to say is that in order to stick to plan I have always built a treat into my daily diet. It's my motivation to get to bed at the end of the day within my Points allowance. And why might I fall off ProPoints after every couple of days? Because to stick to 26 ProPoints per day I find it impossible to build those treats in without stuffing myself with 0 ProPoint fruit. And what happens when you do that? You eat too many calories and don't lose weight. 

And throughout all of this I don't need to exercise to earn those weekly ProPoints. 

I truly believe that the mentality I use to stay near my goal weight (I say near, as we all know I've gained some weight, but two and a half years after goal I'm still wearing a size 12, so we'll stick with near!) which is that if I've done exercise I deserve the treat is the success factor for me. 

To conclude my long and rambling Sunday morning blog I will leave you with some evidence to support this theory...

My scales are showing a likely weight loss of about 3lb this week. On ProPoints it took me two to three weeks to lose this much, often because I fell off plan during the week. But the biggest measure of success for me is the fact that I am happy. I have eaten chocolate and cake, I have drunk wine and Costa coffee, but I've been to the gym and to dance and I have lost 3lb. 

I am celebrating this success a little early though. This afternoon I am off to a two day residential training course for work. At these things they feed you. A lot. *big sigh* Just when I was getting somewhere!

See you when I'm back, but hopefully still without that 3lb! :)