 Hi friends, welcome back to my channel and welcome to a very exciting video. Today I'm going to take some time and answer your top 10 questions about WW. These are questions that I get all the time, literally daily, sometimes several times daily. They seem to be the same questions that I'm getting over and over again. So I thought what a better time to take than to answer those questions for you guys here in this video so that if these questions pop up in the future, you can reference back to this video and the answers will be there waiting for you. So these are some of the questions as far as WW goes that I get all the time. They are relating to food, workshops, you name it. These are just the top 10 questions that I get about WW. So let's jump right in. We're going to go from number 10 down to the number one question that I get. So if you want to hear my answers to some of your most asked questions, stay tuned. What is the best plan on WW? What's the plan that I'm going to lose the most weight on? So you're going to hear an answer from me pretty regularly throughout this video. And that is it depends on the person. It depends on your body. It depends on what you want, what choices that you want to make. WW allows us the freedom to do so many things that are customizable for us on our journey. And one of those things is choosing the right plan for us. So as you know, WW has three plans, the purple plan, the blue plan and the green plan on the purple plan. You are focused primarily on whole foods and zero point foods. There are 300 on the list. Now most of your food is going to have to fall from these zero point foods because you're only allowed a minimum of 16 smart points per day. Now some people get more points than that. Some people get way more, some people get just a few more, but 16 is the minimum amount of smart points that you will receive daily on the purple plan. So because the points that you receive are so low, you're going to have to naturally gravitate towards those zero point foods. So people who follow the purple plan are eating a lot of real whole foods and they're processed snacky type of things are limited due to their daily number of smart points. Those people that follow the blue plan, which is the old freestyle plan, you have over 200 zero point foods and you have a minimum of 23 smart points per day. Again, some people have more than that, but this is going to allow you a few more options when it comes to non zero point foods. So if you are somebody that wants a few more snack type of options, then the blue plan is great for you. It also gears you towards eating very well because again, the majority of your foods are going to come from the zero point foods list because your smart points are limited on the blue plan, similar to how they're limited on the purple plan. And then there is the green plan. The green plan you are going to get the most number of daily smart points, again, a minimum of 30. Some people have more on the green plan and you have a hundred zero point foods. So the green plan allows you a lot more flexibility in the foods that you're choosing because you're given so many more points each day to pick from. So this can be a bad thing. So sometimes I've seen people start out on the green plan and quickly switch to either blue or purple because if you are somebody who is going to say to yourself, I have 30 smart points in a day. I have 10 points left and it's the end of the day. So I'm going to have 10 points worth of cookies, then maybe the green plan isn't the best for you. Maybe you need to pick a plan that gives you less options on the non zero point foods, the snacky things, the dessert items and really pushes you towards those healthy options that fall on the zero point food list. So you have to dig deep and look at yourself to determine what the best plan is for you. Nobody can tell you what the best plan is and WW did a lot of case studies when determining these three plans and none of these three plans are going to make you lose weight faster than any of the others. If you work the plan, the plan works no matter what plan you select. So I can't tell you what the best plan for you is, only you can tell you what the best plan for you is. If you are someone that struggles with making healthy food choices, the purple or blue may be the right plan for you. If you're somebody that needs to track every little thing that goes into your mouth, then the green plan may be the one for you. WW does offer an assessment, so you can always take that to determine the right plan. But I say take a good hard look at yourself and pick the plan that you feel is going to work best for you that is going to offer you consistent weight loss, but also consistent satisfaction in the foods that you're eating. And just remember, you can switch plans at any time. So if you start on one and you do it for a few weeks, a few months and you find it's not best for you, then WW gives you the option to switch to a different plan. So again, only you can answer the question, what's the best plan? Number nine, how much weight should I lose every week on WW? Again, it's going to depend on you. Every body is different. Some of us are going to lose weight faster than others. I find that the younger you are, the faster you're going to lose weight. If you are of the male gender, you're probably going to lose a little bit weight, your weight a little faster than those of us that are of the female gender. But it is going to depend on you. It's going to depend on what you're putting into your body. Are you adding in activity? How much are you burning off that you are consuming? And what foods are you eating? What types of foods are you choosing? And number one, are you in a calorie deficit? If you are not in a calorie deficit, which basically means that you are eating more points than you are allowed on a weekly basis, you're not going to lose weight. You have to work the plan for the plan to work. So there isn't a set number that you should lose every week on the scale. Hey guys, a loss is a loss. And I'm the first one to be called out on this because if I lose .2 or .4, .6, .8, I'm always disappointed. But you know what? All of those point this and point that add up to full pounds down the road. W, W says that you should lose one half of a pound to two pounds per week based on their studies of their program. But again, every body is different. So you're going to lose what your body wants you to lose. And let me just tell you, there's going to be weeks that you do everything right and you don't see a single loss on the scale. Those are the weeks that you have to persevere. And remember, your body has a mind of its own. It's going to do what it wants to do. And hopefully most likely it will catch up the following week. So the bottom line is there isn't a set number of what you should lose every week because every body is different. But I will tell you if you work the plan, the plan works. Number eight, I get this question a lot. Do you count calories or should I be counting calories in addition to points? So WW's structure of their point system is based partially on calories. As you know, calories are one of the components that WW takes into consideration when determining a point's value of a food. So in my opinion, no, you don't have to double track. You don't have to count calories in addition to counting points. By counting points, you're essentially counting calories. Now I'll caveat that with this. If you are not seeing movement on the scale, I recommend that you do a little test run and you calculate your calories for a few days in addition to your points. Because sometimes you can overeat the zero point foods. Those foods still have calories. So maybe you're eating a little too much chicken or maybe you're having an extra helping of corn or beans with your meal that are really just adding caloric value to your day. And again, remember you have to be in a calorie deficit to lose weight. So if you're overeating those zero point foods, you're not going to lose weight. You can find out what calories you should be consuming on a daily basis on sites such as my fitness pal. I find that they have the most accurate calorie calculator. So do you need to count calories? No, you just need to count points. That's what I love about WW. It takes all of the tediousness of calorie counting out and all you do is plug in a points value for the foods that you're eating. Do I recommend that you take a look at your calories every so often? Absolutely. I think at least if you are not seeing the movement you want on the scale, you should calculate your calories for a few days, even a few weeks, and see if again, you're overeating those zero point foods. Number seven is a big one. I get this question a lot. There's a lot of controversy about this here on YouTube, especially the food police come out pretty regularly on this topic and that is fat free foods, processed foods, online foods, snacky foods. Do you eat those? Do you not eat those? So here is my answer to that question. On WW, you can eat whatever you want to eat as long as it falls within your daily points. Now if you eat an entire day of Snickers, is that the best choice and most nutrient dense option? Absolutely not. But will you still lose weight if you stay within your points? Most likely. But WW with offering us these zero point foods guides us in the direction of healthier options. But this is a lifestyle, not a diet. And I can tell you for me, I am not going to only eat boneless, skinless chicken breast and vegetables for the rest of my life. I'm going to want to throw in a few sweet treats, maybe some processed things like chips or crackers or built bars. Maybe I want to incorporate those into my life and not just my WW weight loss life, but my life forever. And I know that that is something that I've heard on social media is what you eat now, you eat forever. Well, guess what? I'm going to eat a built bar now and I'm going to eat a built bar forever. I'm going to choose fiber gourmet pasta now and I'm going to choose fiber gourmet pasta five years from now because I enjoy it. It's low smart points and it's really good. So those are the things that you need to think about. You can eat whatever you want to eat. Now, should you always eat fat free food over food with fat? Probably not because it's important that you have healthy fats in your diet. Now, if you want to add fat free cheese to your chili and then have some avocado toast for breakfast, that's balance. Life is about balance. Weight loss is about balance. So I'm not only going to eat fat free cheese, I'm going to balance that out with some healthy fats like avocados and olive oils. So I say, eat whatever you want to eat. Whatever is going to make you stick with the program and whatever is going to help you lose weight and maintain that weight down the road. I think ordering food online is not only convenient, but there are a lot of options for foods online that you can't get at your local grocery store and most of the time it's free shipping. So you might as well try out some different things. Keep your journey exciting and try out those online foods. And to be completely honest with you, there is absolutely no difference in me going to the grocery store to buy food or online to buy food. We buy stuff on Amazon every single day. There's no difference between that and buying a built bar online. So I say, buy what you want, eat what you want, as long as you're seeing results on the scale and you're satisfied and you're happy in your journey. Number six, WW is too expensive. Now this one I get quite regularly where I'm seeing people transition over to the iTrack Bytes app because it's less expensive. I don't like the iTrack Bytes app myself. I don't find it very user friendly and I find a lot of the points extremely inaccurate. Now, are there inaccuracies on the WW app, especially with the scanner? Absolutely. But for me, I don't find something that benefits not only my health but my physical appearance as well as my emotional stability of losing weight expensive. And if I have to spend $45 or $50 a month on Weight Watchers, I'm going to pick that any day over spending $45 or $50 on Starbucks or going out for dinner. It's all about what you choose to spend your money on. But I firmly believe that investing in yourself is your best possible investment and that includes attending the workshop or being an online member or whatever it is that you find to be expensive about WW. Losing weight and being healthy in the long run is going to save you so much money versus being unhealthy and overweight when it comes to medical bills and just medical general. You're going to save so much money in the long run by being a healthy, happier version of yourself. And in my opinion, I don't think Weight Watchers is too expensive. I think that investing that small amount and overall in the big scheme of things, it's a small amount in yourself is so important and beneficial. Number six kind of goes hand in hand with is WW too expensive. Should I do workshops or should I do online? So before I really dive into this topic, I want to talk about the expense. So being an online only member is a lot less expensive than attending the workshops. I want to say it's less than half. I go to the workshop. So I honestly have never been an online member. I've always went to the workshop. So if really it is a financial strain on you, I definitely don't want you to struggle financially because you're a Weight Watchers member, then being an online member is a much better choice than doing nothing at all. But I feel in my heart of hearts and I have always felt this way that going to the workshops is so important. Not only do you have the camaraderie, but you have a coach there who's cheering you on. And for me, I have the accountability of stepping on that scale in front of a guide who's going to see my weight and see my progress, whether I'm gaining or losing and seeing the pattern in my weight loss. So for me, workshops has always been so important. And I don't know if you guys know, there's just a couple of things that I feel like this is a good time to share with you that are a little off topic, but also encourage you to take a hard look at workshops. So the first thing is, is where I live in, in my town, my workshop is 35 minutes one way from me. And my workshop starts at 7am. And guess what? Every Friday morning I get up at 5am so that I can get out the door and be sitting in the parking lot of that workshop by 6.30 in the morning after a 35 minute drive each way, because it's that important to me. And it contributes that much more to my success. And another thing that you may not know about me and really the only way I feel like you may know this is whether you may have read my about me on my YouTube channel, which no one does that, or you saw the very first video that I ever put out when I started my channel, where I talked a little bit about my past history with Weight Watchers. So have I lost as much weight on this program over the last year that I would like? Absolutely not. But I do want to let you guys know that back in the early 2000s, when it was the original kind of Weight Watchers where we calculated calories, fiber, that old plan, where everything counted even fruit, I lost over 125 pounds on Weight Watchers. Since then, over the last 15 years, I've gained a lot of that back because I stopped going to my workshops. You guys, I was 2 pounds from goal and I stopped going. How dumb. Like, it makes me a little emotional because thinking back on that, what if I would have continued to go? What if I would have became a lifetime member? Would I not be struggling with my weight like I am now? There are so many important factors of going to workshops. So when I'm telling you these things, you guys, it's coming from experience. I have lost a lot of weight on Weight Watchers. So when I'm sharing these tips, these tricks, these recipes with you, it comes from a place of knowledge. I'm not just saying these things to say them. I've actually lived this life and I have lost a tremendous, a tremendous amount of weight on Weight Watchers a lot and I kept it off for quite a while. So going to the workshops just has a special place in my heart. But again, if it's a financial thing or a location thing, there isn't workshops in every area. Then being an online member, I think is just as equally important and shows your dedication to your program by weighing in online and interacting in the Weight Watchers community online. Number four, let's talk about fit points and activity. I pulled myself together and I'm ready to continue on. I'm a little less emotional now. So fit points and activity. Do you have to exercise to lose weight? No, you don't. There is so many people that have lost a substantial amount of weight by not exercising. I say, just move a little bit more. If you're not in a position to do full on workouts and activity, just park a little further out in the parking lot or take the stairs one extra time during the day, walk a few laps around the inside of your house or maybe your outside yard, just move a little bit more. But if you are somebody that's ready to incorporate regular activity and exercise into your plan, I want to talk about the fit points that you earn doing those activities. So if you follow my channel, you know that I'm obsessed, obsessed with Jazzercise. It's something that I discovered back in October and it is the one workout or activity that I love and enjoy and look forward to. I literally drug myself to the gym. It was not something that I enjoyed at all. So by finding Jazzercise, I found something that I've enjoyed. I am getting so much healthier and stronger and leaner. Huge non-scale victory. You guys, my clothes are fitting so much better. I put on a pajama shirt last night that used to kind of tug at the buttons. You guys know what I'm talking about. When it's a little too snug, the buttons will kind of separate. It was nice and loose. So I have been loving Jazzercise. Now I do not eat my fit points. Now that is a personal preference. I eat all of my dailies and my weeklies and we are going to touch on weeklies in just a minute, but I do not eat my fit points. I love to see them rack up. Now, would I eat my fit points? Sure. If I was out of dailies and weeklies and I was hungry because I exercise so much, absolutely I would dip into my fit points. They're there for us to use. I personally just take the dailies and weeklies out before I would consider doing the fit points. I use them as motivation. I like earning them and seeing them in my bank and going back over my weeks and seeing all of the fit points that I've earned. So for me, Jazzercise is my activity of choice. But again, just a little bit of extra movement every day is going to help. When I first started my weight loss journey back in the early 2000s, I was over 300 pounds. I was about 325 pounds. It hurt my back just to wash dishes at my kitchen sink. Literally hurt my back because I had so much extra weight on my body. So was I able to do Jazzercise back then? Absolutely not. So guess what I did? I started with walking, walking around my neighborhood and eventually I worked myself up to a mile and I was so proud of myself that I walked that mile around my neighborhood. And then from there, I got into going to water aerobics, which really helped take off the weight as well because it was non-strenuous on my body. You guys have to remember, I mean that for here in 300 pounds is a lot of weight. And I actually lost my first 50 pounds only walking around my neighborhood and then incorporated water aerobics. And as I lost a little bit more weight, I started going to curves. Who remembers curves? I actually worked there. That's how much I loved curves. And then once I lost even more weight and got a little bit stronger, I started going to a gym on a regular basis. And that's where I leaned out. I had some muscle definition and I was really truly in the best shape of my life. So by starting small and working your way up as you lose weight and your body gets stronger, that's really all you need to think about when it comes to activity and earning fit points. Do what your body can do. Any extra movement is going to help you. So number three is weeklies. Let's talk about weeklies. I get this question a lot. That's why it's at the top of the list. Should I use my weeklies? Do you use your weeklies? Weeklies, weeklies, weeklies. So here's my answer to that. Do what works for you. Some people can eat all of their weeklies and see great success on the scale. Some people, if they even dip barely into their weeklies, it stunts their weight loss. So again, looking back to when I lost 125 pounds, I ate my weeklies every single week. I didn't track a single thing on the day that I ate my weeklies and I can eat a lot, you guys. I was eating a lot of food, but come the next day, I was right back on track and I didn't overeat my points at all during the rest of the week. So for me, I enjoy having my weeklies. I enjoy having that one day a week that I can go out to dinner, breakfast, lunch with my husband. I can have the sweet treat I've been craving all week this last Saturday. I had a donut and here's the thing. I'm going and working out first and then I'm having a donut and then I had pizza for dinner on Saturday. So I didn't track it all. I use my weeklies. I basically zero those out at the end of my treat day, as I like to call it, and I no longer have weeklies. I can only use my daily points. So for me, I use weeklies. But again, this is going to depend on you and your body and how you want your weight loss journey to go. Now, would I probably lose more weight on the scale every week if I didn't use my weeklies? Maybe. Maybe I would because that would be all those calories that I wouldn't be consuming during the week. But you know what? This is my lifestyle. This is something I'm going to do for the rest of my life and I want to have one day a week that I eat what I want. It's the one day I look forward to it. I think about it. I dream about it and I'm ready for that one day a week. And then the next day, right back on track and within my daily points. So use your weeklies if you want to do a little test run. See if using your weeklies, it stunts your weight loss. And if it does, then maybe use a little less weeklies and figure out what works best for you. Every body is different. So everybody's journey on WW is different. All right. Number two and number one are huge, huge. Like I get these questions literally several times a day. Number two is recipe substitutions. You guys, I want to make this as clear as a blue sky on a sunny day just because I may use 96 for extra lean ground beef and a recipe doesn't mean that you have to. You can substitute that out with whatever you want, whether that be 80, 20 ground beef, ground chicken, ground turkey, whatever you can make substitutions that work for you. The recipes that we share are the recipes that we eat and that we've created, but you can simply modify and make tweaks that fit into your diet. Some people don't eat red meat. Some people hate 99% fat free turkey. Some people will not touch fat free cheese and that's fine. When you see those items in a recipe, take them out, sub them in with something that you want to eat on your journey. And worst case scenario, you're going to have to recalculate the points. You guys, there's some personal accountability in all of our journey. You can't depend on us to do all the work for you all the time. If you don't want to eat exactly what we're sharing in a recipe, you may have to take a moment and put it into your recipe builder and recalculate the points. I have a video here on my channel that walks you through the recipe builder step by step. I'm going to link it below for you guys because I highly recommend that you check that out if you are one that likes to substitute the ingredients that we're using in our recipes. And I have spoken with several other YouTubers and social media influencers and they say they get this same question all the time. People think they have to eat exactly what we're eating and that's not the case. You guys eat what you want. Substitute what you want. Take out ingredients that you don't want to eat. I have one subscriber on my channel who loves my recipes, who's a vegetarian. She just subs out whatever meat I'm using for whatever she wants to use, whether that be tofu or omitting the meat altogether. So you just have to take out, substitute and omit the ingredients in the recipes that we're sharing that don't work for you. It isn't a buy the book. It's just a general guideline to create a delicious, WW friendly meal. And number one, number one is my nemesis. It's the question I get the most, the most, the most, the most. And that is, how do I know how many points this is on the green plan or how many points that is on the blue plan. Okay, there's one thing I want to share with you guys as far as points and different plans go. The only thing, I'm going to say that again. The only thing that varies between the green, blue and purple plan are the zero point foods. Your bill bars are the same points on all three plans. Your crackers are the same points on all three plans. Your sugar free pudding is the same points on all three plans. The only thing that differs is the zero point foods. I cannot tell you how many messages I get a day about this. I will share a recipe for example, on a YouTube video. And let's say that that particular recipe, I'm showing my favorite breadcrumbs, the pepperage farm, herb season breadcrumbs, and I'm making a delicious meatloaf with 96 foreground beef. I will get so many questions about, well, what if I don't have pepperage farm stuffing? Do you think I could substitute this stuffing or these breadcrumbs? Yes, yes, yes, yes. You can substitute anything that you want. And if it's not the same points value, you just have to figure out the new points of that particular recipe. Same with the meat. Maybe you only have 93 seven meat on hand. I get the question, well, can I use that? Yes, you guys, the bottom line is you can use whatever ingredients you want in any recipe that is shared here on YouTube or on social media in general. You just have to recalculate the points if the points of your substitution vary. Now, if you are using a breadcrumb that has the exact same points as the breadcrumb I'm using, you don't have to recalculate the points of the recipe. It's exactly the same. But if you are using more breadcrumbs, or maybe the breadcrumbs you're using are double or triple the points of mine, then that's where you may just want to be safe and sorry and plug it in to the recipe builder. So substitutions can be made on anything. And in addition to that, the only foods on any plan that are different in points value are the zero point foods. Everything, everything else is exactly the same on all three plans. All right, my friends, those are your top 10 questions on WW Answer. I get a little bit passionate about this because it is something that I get asked all the time. These questions are questions I get asked all the time. So I wanted to share with you the answers to these questions so that hopefully it not only helps you in your journey, but it helps those of us that share these recipes and share our journeys with you on social media to not be as bombarded with messages and things. Now, for me, I am always here to help you. You guys know that. I'm the first one to help you. But sometimes it can get a little overwhelming when we're getting so many messages on the same thing. So that's what made me think that this would actually be a great topic for a video to share. So I hope that you guys enjoyed this. I hope that some of the questions that were roaming around for you on WW were answered here today. If you have any additional questions, please, please feel free to leave those down in the comments and I will answer any of those questions for you. Just remember you guys that this is your journey and you can work the plan however you want to work, whatever works for you, whether it be process foods, non-process foods, activity, no activity, zero point foods, no zero point foods, whatever you want to do, whatever works for you, make it your own, make it special to you and make it work for your weight loss. That's really all that matters. So the big takeaway from today is no question is a dumb question. Feel free to leave those down below and it's your journey and make it work for you. Thank you guys so much for watching. If you're new, I'd love it if you'd stick around, subscribe, hit the bell, so you're notified whenever a new video is uploaded. I plan on having a lot of these types of sit down, let's talk, let's talk about a topic coming out here in 2020. So you definitely want to be subscribed and notified when those videos are uploaded. Give this video a thumbs up if this helped answer some of your top 10 questions. And again, comment down below guys, any additional questions that you have. Thank you again from the bottom of my heart for being here with me on my journey. Thank you for listening while I shared some of my personal experiences on WW with you guys today. They're hard to talk about sometimes, especially when you do so well on a program and then you gain a lot of that weight back. It's tough to talk about. But when I'm sharing these things with you, I know what I'm talking about. I've been there. I've done that. I've worked the program. I continue to work the program and I'm here for you guys for not only support, but any questions that you have down the road. So again, thank you guys for watching. And of course, I'll see you next time. Bye.