points FREAKOUT!!! Huge mistake?!?!? please help!!!!

[Julia123 10]

I just got some potentially earth-shattering news...that I may be calculating points incorrectly for many things, and I really need to know if this is true!!

 

I do a LOT of baking. When I started WW, I switched to using all whole wheat flour to help reduce the # of points used. For the whole wheat flour I use, it's 3 g fiber, .5 g fat, and 100 calories per 1/4 cup. That's 1 point per 1/4 cup. So, as I've made pancakes and muffins and bread and pizza dough and cookies, etc., etc., I've calculated points with this number in mind.

 

Pizza dough with 3 cups of whole wheat flour = 12 points for the flour at 4 pts per cup

Cookies with 1 cup of whole wheat flour = 4 points

 

You get the picture. I've been really happy about this because I really like whole wheat and I love being able to eat all the things I used to eat, just "lighter."

 

Someone told me recently, though, that I'm calculating it incorrectly. I should calculate the entire portion at once, not per 1/4 cup. For example, if I'm using 1 cup of wheat flour, I should count it as 3 points fiber, 400 calories, and 2 g fat. She said my whole wheat pizza dough should be 24 points and not 12 because the system "tops out" at 4 grams of fiber.

 

You can see why I'm panicked.

 

To me, if 1/4 cup = 1 point, why would 1 cup = 7 points (using her theory)? That just doesn't make sense to me. To me, a recipe uses 'building blocks' of ingredients and you should be able to deconstruct it and have the individual portions equal the same amount of points as the whole.

 

Can someone help me out here???

[Mam-Moo 10]

I am sorry but your friend is right. any time you double a portion size you have to double the calories, ect...because does change the point value. Some times this works out in your advantage and is actually a point less than you expect it to be. Your pizza is still light because surely you dont eat the whole pizza. What i do for isntance is figure the points for the whole recipe and then divide by the serving size. Dont let this discourage you, your still doing great and useing whole wheat is definatly better the regular flour. Keep it up!

[Blackbeard 10]

Whenever I make something like this, I add up the calories, fat & fiber for the entire thing, and divide each by the number of servings. So, say your pizza added up (all the flour, sauce, cheese, toppings etc) to 3000 calories, 60g fat, and 12 fiber. If it serves six, then each serving is 500/10/2 which figures to 10 points each.

[QuilterInVA 0]

You have been calculating incorrectly. When making a recipe, you figure the total points for each ingredients, fiber caps at 4 grams for total of all ingredients, then divide by the number of servings. Usually baked goods with all whole wheat flour are heavy. How do you keep them light?

[plcm111195 0]

I disagree, Susan. IMO, the fiber cap is for the number of servings consumed at one sitting, not per recipe.

[candlegranny 0]

I say if you are losing keep doing what you are doing. But if your losses stal or slow or stop,l then you need to rethink or recalculate the way your doing the flour in your baked goods.

[Mickee 10]

I personally use the recipe creating tool on e-tools and then divide by number of servings and that is the number I go by. As stated earlier, sometimes doubling a serving does calculate to more than just double the points.

[dux_femina_facti 10]

I'm with Joanne.

 

Figure the total calories, total fat, and total fiber for every ingredient. Add together, then divide each total by the number of servings in the recipe. At this point, the fiber cap kicks in - per serving. This is why 1 package of 100-calorie cupcakes has 1 point, but two packages consumed at the same time have 4 points.

 

Capping an entire recipe at the 4-gram limit doesn't make sense unless you're planning on eating the entire recipe's production at once.

[freedomii 10]

I disagree... either method is correct and as long as you are consistently using one or the other, you will be all right.

 

It makes more sense to me to do it the way you are doing it... by individual serving sizes... and as long as your weight loss is where you would like it to be, carry one with it.

 

This is the advice I was given by several leaders over the past many many years since Points came into being at WW.