I'm stuck on the whole activity thing for some reason. I've never been one to enjoy exercise. That's not to say I don't like physical activity, I just hate doing things with the sole purpose of "working out". I was always into sports when I was younger. I figure skated competitively for years, and I played volleyball in high school. I love to go out and play catch with my husband or take the dogs for a walk. But I have to psych myself up to get to the gym or pop in a workout DVD. Thank goodness I can earn activity points by other means.
For those who may not know, Weight Watchers revolves around a points system. Every serving of food and beverage has a point value. This point value is made up of a formula that takes into account fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. The higher the fat and carbs, the higher the points value. High fiber will actually credit back points. I get 31 points a day that I need/get to eat, with a weekly bonus of 49 points to use however I want. Let me put this in perspective. A one ounce serving of chips is 4 points. A 12 ounce light beer is 3 points. Boneless, skinless chicken is about a point per ounce. When you start looking at restaurant food it gets ridiculous. A hamburger and small fry from McDonald's is 15 points. Buffalo wings are 2 points EACH, and that side of ranch will set you back 8 points. Even a 6 inch ham sub from Subway with no cheese is 8 points. Soda is roughly 4 points for every 8 ounces. Trying to eat foods that are nutritionally satisfying as well as satisfying to the palette can be tough. That's where activity comes in.
The wonderful thing about Weight Watchers is that you can earn activity points that you can then trade in for more food points! What's awesome is that you can earn activity points for just about anything that requires you to be up and moving. Take today for instance. I spent about 3 hours organizing my pantry, putting away groceries, doing dishes, cooking lunches and dinner for this week, folding laundry, scrubbing the kitchen, and putting stuff away. That 3 hours of housework earned me 12 activity points! I didn't break a sweat. My heart rate was not elevated. But I wasn't sitting on the couch, and that's what matters. To me, that was more fun than going to the gym and going all out for an hour.
There are days when I purposefully set out to earn activity points so I can eat them. But just because you've earned them doesn't mean you have to eat them. I've found that when I eat my activity points, I lose, but lose a lot slower. When I earn them, but don't touch them, I lose weight and inches faster.
Moving more also gives me more energy. I know that sounds like a bit of a oxy-moron, but it's true. The more I work out, the more energy I have, which makes me want to work out more, which makes me feel even better. So if you're tired, and have no energy, get up and move around, I promise it will help!
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