Weight Watchers points...how does this system work?

[Stepharoonie!]

Without trying to sound too cheap (can't really afford to go to a Weight Watchers at the moment), how do with WW points work? Do they assign each person their own amount of points, or is it just a basic set for everyone? Is there a website out there with charts to sort of follow?

Thanks for the help.

[WebmasterKathy]

Where to start...... with the points ranges, I think.

The current Weight Watchers plan is called FLEXPoints. Everyone is assigned a daily points target based on their current weight. You also have a weekly pool of 35 FlexPoints to use as you like.

Here are the POINTS targets for different weights:

<table border="5">
<tr><td> <b>Your Weight Now <td> <b>POINTS Target
<tr><td> less than 150 pounds <td> 20
<tr><td> 150 to 174 pounds <td> 22
<tr><td> 175 to 199 pounds <td> 24
<tr><td> 200 to 224 pounds <td> 26
<tr><td> 225 to 249 pounds <td> 28
<tr><td> 250 to 274 pounds <td> 30
<tr><td> 275 to 299 pounds <td> 31
<tr><td> 300 to 324 pounds <td> 32
<tr><td> 325 to 349 pounds <td> 33
<tr><td> 350 pounds or more <td> 34
</table>

And everyone begins each week with 35 FlexPoints. Use them any way you please. Don't use them at all, use some, divide them evenly over the week, or spend tham all on a weekend splurge. Once the week is up, they're gone.

[WebmasterKathy]

Next... you'll need a list of foods and their related points, right?

The best place I've found online for this is Dotti's Weight Loss Zone: www.dwlz.com .

Dotti has all kinds of good WW info on her website- lots of food lists and restaurant lists with corresponding points.

It's a good place to start.:D

[Stepharoonie!]

So, since I fall in the "24" points scale, I would only eat WW food items with points that fall in that range (i.e., a frozen dinner that has 6, breakfast with 4, etc)? What happens if you go over the points?

[DVCTiff]

I'll jump in here - you want your daily points to add up to 24 for optimum weightloss. As mentioned, you still have 35 Flex Points for the week so you can use those whenever you like - a few a day, none, etc. If you don't stick to your point target, you generally will not lose weight. That's it.

I also recommend www.dwlz.com. I use it all the time for restaurant points.

[maryliz]

That's where your Flex points come in. :) Some people will use an extra 5 points a day, every day, whereas others will eat to their target points, and use the flex points for things like dinner out, evening ice cream :p

Just make sure you journal everything you eat ... and that includes butter, salad dressings, etc. And drink your water ... and add some exercise to this whole process and you'll be amazed how great WW really works!

Good luck.

Mary Liz

[WebmasterKathy]

Oh, there's lots more, Steph!

What happens if you go over the points? Well, WW has found that your points target, PLUS your 35 weekly Flexpoints, is the amount your body probably needs to lose weight. If you go over the points, you probably won't lose.

You don't need to eat WW branded food- it is a convenience, as it's all measured out and counted for you. But learing to eat regular food, the stuff that exists in your everyday life, is really what you're after.

So now you know your points range... next you'll need to know how to figure out the points for various foods, right?

Well, there are lots of food lists on the www.dwlz.com website that list points. And tonight, I'll email you a little Excel worksheet that will let you calculate points for any food when you know these three things: CALORIES, FAT GRAMS, and FIBER GRAMS. (Fat increases a food's points value, fiber decreases it.)

There are some rules and some suggestions to make this work:

Nutrition- you're probably reducing the amount of food you eat, so it's important that WHAT you eat is healthy. There's not a lot of room for empty calories here. Save the cookies and chips for very occasional treats. This is probably a good time to add a good daily multivitamin, too.

Milk- work two servings a day into your plan. skim milk, low fat yogurt and cheese are three good ways to work this in.

Vegetables and Fruit - try to work 5 servings a day. In general, 1/2 cup is a serving. Many vegetables are very low points, or even no points (when not covered in cheese or sauces!)

Water- try to drink 6-8 servings (8 oz) every day. Make it a habit.

Don't skip meals! Start every day with breakfast, to get your metabolism started. Eat lunch and dinner, fill in with a little snack when you need it.

JOURNAL!!! This is really important, especially when you're getting started. Get a little spiral notebook, and write down EVERYTHING you eat each day, and the associated POINTS value. If you don't know the points value for something, still write it down and make your best guess.

This will help you see where you need to make adjustments, and it will keep you honest to yourself. (If I eat that ice cream, I have to write it down...) When you have weeks with good results, you'll be able to look back on your journal and see how you did that, same with bad weeks...

[WebmasterKathy]

Next.... Here's a thread called "What do you keep in your WW pantry", where LOTS of Weight Watchers shared some great ideas for their favorite low point foods:

http://disboards.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=485818&perpage=15&pagenumber=1

[AlreadyexcitedGrammy]

Welcome to WISH and you are not alone on being an "unofficial" WW participant. ohMom and I (we are really Mom and daughter) both follow the WW plan - unofficially) Dottie's site has so much to offer and KathyTx's excel calculator is a real easy way to calculate those points. Also, if you happen to have a palm, you can download a WW program that is wonderful (ohMom knows where to get it)

Journaling is essential like KathyTx said - when it is in black and white there is no "guessing". Have you seen the pictures of Dan (Snackystacky) that were recently posted? He lost a whole lot of weight on WW (officially and now works for them, too) but the plan works if you just stick with it!

Good luck and will be expecting to see you post your progress on your journey to getting healthier and losing some too!

[KimRaye]

Steph, I can see that you've got a huge amount of help already, but have you checked into doing WW online? After the initial $60 I think, for the 1st 3 months, it's $14.95 a month. Much cheaper than the meetings. I've done it both ways now, and online (and WISH) have been just great for me this time around! I do my 'journaling' at whatever time I choose. 49lbs lost so far! And Snackystacky is FAR above that achievement!

In all honesty, you wanna know the biggest cost for me so far? Buying all new clothes!!::yes:: ;) :teeth: That's a good thing tho!!! :sunny:

Dotti's site even helps me, especially with restaurants and smaller type items, i.e. candy, cookies etc. Although, I tend not to eat them when I see the points. ;)

PM or email anytime, if you want some one-on-one. ::yes::

Kim

[stitch79]

I'm doing the WW thing 'unofficially' as well. I'm on my third week and so far so good! My next step is to add some exercise in, this will probably be the hardest since I hate to do it. The points site everyone has given you is very helpful.

Anything I cannot find there I usually go to www.calorieking.com and look up the nutrition info, then use the point calculator that you can download here -->: http://www.zythra.com/downloads/points.exe


The journaling of what I eat is what is helping me the most. I cannot "sneak" anything in as long as I'm honest with it and that has what kept me from overdoing it several times.

I live in the Orlando area too, so if you would like a buddy to do this with just let me know! You can PM me or I have my IM ids in my profile. Good luck!

[Pooh Girl 71]

Thanks for posting this info. I was just thinking about WW tonight and wondering how it works. I need to do something.

Do you find it difficult to remember to write down everything?

[ibouncetoo]

Hmmmmmmm. wonder how many points it is for a Zebra Dome?

[Stepharoonie!]

Originally posted by ibouncetoo
Hmmmmmmm. wonder how many points it is for a Zebra Dome? Way too many...probably as much as that banana bread pudding :) :) :)