0 Point Foods Question

[PlumpberryPear]

Hi, I'm new to WW and was wondering if these 0 point foods add up throughout the day... For instance, 1 serving of Fiber One is 0 points, but I sometimes have 2 or 3 servings throughout the day, so should I add them up and count them as however many points the 2 or 3 servings are, or can I still count it as 0 points?

[imported_Kelly_S]

The only true ZERO POINT FOODS that stay zero points are FREE VEGGIES! I still have a problem thinking that 1 serving of that cereal is 0 points because on every pointfinder I use it comes out to 1 point with the fiber cap.

What my leader suggests is for every 'freebie' you eat that you put a tick mark in your journal then for ever 4-5 you add 1 point to your day.

[judyo53]

I also never heard of Fiber One being 0 pts.

[PlumpberryPear]

On the "Points tracker" on WW online it is registered as 0 points per half cup. It's 60 cal.
I think 0-1 fats and 14 grams of fiber.

[DebbieBar]

I think that post stating for every 4 - 5 servings of free veggies after the initial first 5 servings you would count as 1 point seems right.
I found out the nutritional values of veggies I eat frequently and then averaged them. Seems like 5 servings would equal 1 point. Here is the information I went off of if your interested.

size calories/fat/fiber
Lettuce 1/2 cup shredded / 4 /0.1/0.5
Tomatoe 1/2 cup chopped /19 /0.3/1.2
Cucumber1/2 cup sliced /7 /0.1/0.5
Eggplant1/2 cup 1" piece /11 /0 /0.6
pepper 1/2 cup chopped /13 /0.1/0.8
yellow sqash1/2 cup /12 /0.2/0.7
zucchini 1/2 cup /9 /0.1/0.3
onion 1/2 cup chopped /30 /0.1/1.3
cabbage 1/2 cup shredded/10 /0 /0.3
carrots 1/2 cup,shredded/24 /0.1/1.8
Lettuce 16 oz /68 /0.9/7.2
Tomatoe 3" /26 /0.4/1.6
Cucumber 1 med, 8" /39 /0.4/3

pepper 1 med /20 /0.1/1.2

zucchini 16 oz /62 /0.6/2.2
onion 1 oz /11 /0 /0.5
cabbage 16 oz /100 /0.4/2.9
carrots 2.8 oz /31 /0.1/2.3

[Duchess Talks Too Much]

The Fiber One does work out to around 1/2 point if you do the math on it, but having 1g fat per serving that is going to add up if you have 2-3 servings a day which I could no longer consider a "free" food. My opinion, the only true "free" 0 point foods would be the veggies. After all, who here got fat eating plain o' veggies? I know that's not what did me in [img]graemlins/crazy.gif[/img]

[nancyny]

Zero points doesn't have to mean zero calories. WW has built calories into the program to account for the values above. It's on the order of 250 a day.

0 point veggies are zero points, period, you can have as much as you like.

Other foods that work out to zero points for a small serving, but 1 pt. or more for a larger serving, I add up and count a point if i have enough over the course of the day. This would include the Fiber One and some high-fiber vegetarian chilis, small amounts of cereal used as toppings, and I also put sugars in this category (1 tsp. = 0 pt., 1 Tbsp. = 1 pt.).

Over-use of counting super-high fiber foods (such as Fiber One) as zero points is what led to the "fiber cap" in Winning Points. No one ever got fat from eating too much fiber, but if you eat enough, the extra calories will keep you from losing weight, and you may wind up with a seriously unbalanced diet overall.

[ March 25, 2004, 10:32 AM: Message edited by: nancyny ]

[KelBel]

Had to add my two cents. I don't count any points for 0 pt veggies either, but then I again I struggle some days just getting in my 5 servings!! Anyway, when I was going to meetings our leader taught us that if we had more than one serving of anything (except veggies) to add the calories, fat and fiber and then calculate the points based on the total.

~ Kellie

[PlumpberryPear]

Thanks all for your help... I had been tallying up the total points on my tracker, cuz half cup is 0 points but 1 cup is 2 points. So I've just been using it as a 2 point meal.

[bskc1991]

I think if counting it as zero points is working for you and preventing you from making other choices that aren't so healthy, and you're losing on a consistent basis count it as you need to.

Weight loss is as much as a mental game as it is anything else.

I know there was a woman at my weekly meeting who was so excited about a new breakfast she had concocted. A serving of milk, with 2 tbsps of PB, a banana and a scoop of chocolate whey protein. She was thrilled with how she felt and she was doing great losing and she owed it all to this *six point shake*...When it was pointed out to her that it was quite a bit more than six points, she was very disappointed and felt it wasn't worth it if it was 10 points or more...so she stopped making them and she started to gain again, and I haven't seen her at meetings in a month or so.

I'm impressed you can handle that much fiber on a daily basis! I can see how it would fill you up and might keep you from splurging on other things.

Seems like you are off to a good start...good luck with the program

[Leluhna]

I agree with you Kelli that's what I do.

[Moonbeams11]

Point values in Fiber One per WW online:
1/2 cup: 0
1 cup: 2
2 cups: 4.5
3 cups: 7

So I guess the answer would be that more than one serving definitely has points!

[rouenmom]

As Kelly_ has said many time before, the only thing that's zero is VEGETABLES that Weight Watchers has included in their formula as part of your daily points,

Alas, many of you have not been around long enough to have seen the text in the Getting Started book (and many of you are not members of WW, technically, but are doing the program through hearsay and other means.) BUT, a critical thing to note is this: THERE ARE NO ZERO POINT ANYTHING except certain veggies.

In "The 10% DIFFERENCE" which was the first POINTS program inside the explanation of calculating points, it said, "ANY HIGH FIBER FOOD THAT CALCULATES TO ZERO other than veggies MUST BE COUNTED AS ONE POINT PER SERVING. That is, any cereal, bread, pasta, or grain that comes to 0 points on the pointsfinder must be considered one point per serving." Why? Because unlike veggies that are loaded w/ water, these not only are DRY (cereal) but also have CALORIES (as Kelly has so perfectly stated) and so NO MATTER how many 'grams of fiber' a food item has, you move the points finder to 4 (if it's over 4) and calculate from there.

There is really NOTHING complicated about this... The point is, that WW wants you to eat what you like but understand that it has calories and can't be considered a zero. It is their mistake (i'm a leader and have been nagging them for a long time about this) that they have omitted it from the Getting Started Books after 1999.

A new program? A new means of calculating points? The POINT IS THIS: NOTHING is zero except certain veggies... But really, we didn't gain our weight eating veggies or fruit -=- but we gained it by eating a) constantly, b) too big portions c) without consideration as to whether we were actually hungry d) randomly.

[crystallyn]

It's interesting, WW Online's points calculator has strawberries being 0 points if you have 1-11 medium strawberries. If you have 12 strawberries, it goes to 0.5 points until you have 21 strawberries, when it goes to 1 point!

I can't eat more than 6-7 strawberries at one time, but I usually count them as 1 point. Thought it was really interesting though...how many you can eat before they add up!

[loseit]

'nother 0 pt fruit is grapefruit--1/2 is 0 pts--also kiwi--one kiwi is 0 pts--good to know! I looked up strawberries on the USDA database and have never counted points for less than 10--

[imported_Kelly_S]

Personally for me I would never count any fruit as under 1/2 a point because of the sugar content that fruit has. I think the W/W online database is not programmed properly because if you enter 1 1/2 cups of a zero point veggie where it still should be zero points it will give you a point.

[RouxB]

Rouenmom, actually the Getting Started book says all foods have a "Points" value, not all foods have points-the points value could be zero-and the number of points depends on the serving size. Also there is no mention that high fiber foods have a minimum 1 point value. There are many 0 point food items-mostly condiments, some seeds, and sauces. Personally, I go by my Points finder. La Tortilla factory tortillas Point out at zero and I count them as zero for a single serving. I add the calories and max the fiber at 4 grams whenever I eat multiple high fiber items. Works for me.

[imported_Kelly_S]

RouxB,

If you go back and re-read her post you will see that this is from a past program (10% Difference) and it did say that in the 1-2-3 Success books and Winning Points books. I am sure if we look hard enough it is in the FlexPoint Books also.

[christinadei]

I don't understand why some people get so bent out of shape about this one. I think that it's whatever works for YOU. I personally will count 1/2 points. I would count the fiber one as 1 point if 1/2 a cup is 0 and 1 cup is 2. Same with Natures Own 100% wheat bread, 1 slice comes to 0 and 2 to 1, so I count each slice as .5 of a point. I think that it's whatever works for you. If you find that you are eating several servings of 0 point foods and not losing, then start counting each serving as .5 of a point and see how that works. OR if you are very particular about things, add up the calories, etc. and see what it comes out to. I don't get why everyone takes this so personally.

[imported_Kelly_S]

rouenmom, I also wanted to say 10% Difference was NOT the first Points Program. The first Points Program was called 1-2-3 Success, followed by 10% Difference, followed by Winning Points, followed now by Flex Points (WINK).

[RouxB]

Lively debate-I love it!

"Alas, many of you have not been around long enough to have seen the text in the Getting Started book (and many of you are not members of WW, technically, but are doing the program through hearsay and other means.) BUT, a critical thing to note is this: THERE ARE NO ZERO POINT ANYTHING except certain veggies."

I guess I wasn't sure which program "Getting Started" book was being quoted. I was quoting-pretty much verbatim, the Winning Points book (the one with the puzzle graphic.

Bottom line, as Christina says (though I don't think anyone is bent out of shape-insert smile cuz I can never get those Graemlins to do what I want)everyone has to work the program, within guideline, in a way that works for him/her.

[Kathryn In Canada]

Originally posted by bskc1991:
I think if counting it as zero points is working for you and preventing you from making other choices that aren't so healthy, and you're losing on a consistent basis count it as you need to.

Weight loss is as much as a mental game as it is anything else.

That is the truth!

And I think the mental game works best for me under Flexpoints because I no longer have to 'deprive' myself in order to bank points. I'm eating about the same number of points that I ate on the old program but now it is a joy and a breeze to stay on-program 24/7.

But for those who are stuck on 'rules', on page 37 of my 2003 Getting Started Flexpoints book it does say, "Count multiple servings. 0-point foods still have calories. Use your Pointsfinder and nutrition information to figure points if having multiple servings."

That's not nearly as strong as it was in the previous book I have (10% difference), but at least it hasn't been dropped completely.