Weight Watchers Points: Top Secret

People, James is right but not completely, because what he says is true only for people with the blood type O. When we were hunters :) and we did not eat cereals, there was only one blood type, O; indeed, 10,000 years ago was a very long time ago :), but the fact is that our blood did not change much since; when agriculture appeared, a new blood appeared also as a result (this might tell you how important cereals are in our nutrition), blood type A; for these people cereals are very very good; people with blood type O indeed get fat much more when eating many cereals, than people with blood type A; (of course there are exceptions; this is just a strong general tendecy, not appliable to absolutely everyone)
this is all discussed in the theory of the diet according to the blood type; I've read part of some book about it a while ago; you can check it out for yourselves if you can; it all seems logical and was well explained from a scientifical point of view

cheers

I decided that it was the perfect time to start eating healthy again, i did it during the summer and had a great time with it, lost 20 pounds. All i did was watched my intake of "extra's" meaning sugars, carbs, and fatty foods. I also drank alot of water and ate alot of veggies and fruit. However, i beleive the excersize made the BIG difference. I walked alot, twice a day, and joined piloties. Unfortunatly when school came back around in september i fell of my wagon and lost these good habits. I didnt gain any weight back i just hit a stoop.
Anyways back to the point, i spent the last hour searching the net for WW points guide. Apparently unless you "Sign Up" you dont deserve to get it. Oh well; after thinking about it and reading everyones prior posts, dabates, arguments etc, I realised that Heck, everyone knows how to eat healthy and how to lose weight. Its quit simple, eat foods that are good for you, and stay active. If your to lazy and would prefer an easy way out then yes, WW is VERY willing to take your money, as i noticed.
Not to be TOO judgemental, cause i admit i was thinking lazy this past hour myself, just come on people. We all know that we have the knowledge to do it ourselves[with out these companies], but do we have the drive? perhaps not...

Is there a way to purchase the WW books without signing up to be a member? I know that I probably would never stick to a diet plan but I was just looking for some good tips and a way to see what calories I am consuming when I eat out.

Carol, you can buy ANYTHING on ebay including WW books and calculators.

I was planning on starting WW this upcoming week. I've tried for years, knowing what I need to do, to lose weight and have been horribly unsuccessful. I'm going to go back to WW because the price is reasonable and I will be held accountable on a weekly basis for what I eat.

I know there is one thing that bothers me about them, the products that they sell at the meetings all have trans fats in them. I don't know how you can advocate healthy eating but then sell items with partially hydrogenated anything and high fructose in them. yuck. Plus, for how good nuts are for you, they are practically non-existent on WW because they are so high in fat.

Now I seem to almost be talking myself out of it. Oy.

I want to buy a weight watchers point book so i can diet on my own i don't have much money to join or time

I found Weight Watchers to be the best long-term solution for weight loss and maintaining my weight. I know if I eat a hot fudge sundae today that I better eat some salads tomorrow.

Here's the info directly from the patent website.

http://patft.uspto.gov/netacgi/nph-Parser?u=%2Fnetahtml%2Fsrchnum.htm&Sect1=PTO1&Sect2=HITOFF&p=1&r=1&l=50&f=G&d=PALL&s1=6040531.PN.&OS=PN/6040531&RS=PN/6040531

These are the funniest comments that I have ever read. For the man who is ANTI whole grains. I am a runner, I run 4-6 miles a day, and weight train 5 times a week. If I did not eat WHOLE GRAINS, I would probably keel over and start becoming acidotic from my body not burning carbohydrates TO STAY ALIVE!

If you knew anything at all about biochemistry then you would know that it is absolutely necessary for HUMAN BEINGS, that's you, to survive on carbohydrates. Please, before making ignorant comments about nutrition, go study. Go study biochemical pathways and come back to us and then rant.

And to other posters, you are absolutely correct. America is FAT because of the amount of crap we consume. I am not advocating eating McDonald's everyday. But Americans are eating too much and our portion sizes are getting out of control. Screw agriculture, and see the bigger picture my friend! American's are fat, and it's not the yogurt in their refrigerator that's doing it. It's the media, it's society and it's is commercialization. Industrial moguls like McDonald's who are targeting us as bait to make their billions. Please, go back to school and learn a little something about biochemistry, and you will surprise yourself.

Carbohydrates are the only sources that can cross the blood-brain barrier for brain function. Fats and protein cannot enter through the blood-brain barrier, it is simply mere science. In order for you to burn fats, you must have some carbohydrates to burn fat. Fat only burns in a carbohydrate flame! Urghh....I can go on....but you know. It was once said that it is best to listen to the ignorant than waste your words on one.

In school, I had the rare privilege of attending a lecture by Sir Hans Krebs! He insisted on calling 'HIS' cycle, the Citric Acid Cycle. I remember a few things from that day. 1) The Krebs Cycle was at the center of many of our metabolic pathways. 2) Anything said by a distinguished looking man in a British accent sounds BRILLIANT!(He was German but spoke the King's English.) and 3) I was an IDIOT for not asking him to sign his autograph in my biochemistry book! :-(

OMG, Dr. J you are SO lucky!! That must've been AWESOME!! I would just like to second Julie on the running/athletic thing...I put in close to 50-60 miles a week and if I didn't eat my whole grains and complex carbs, I'd faint and be extremely sore the next day.

WW is a sensible enough plan when you follow it like you're supposed to. It doesn't advocate eating a ton of carbs; it basically shows you that foods high in refined carbs are also higher in Points, so you typically want to avoid them. I happen to like the POINTS system...it makes sense to me.

Kim said:
GINA I did well on that one where you were allowed your foods in so many breads meats so on When I heard they switched to points i freaked.

Don't know if you're still around Kim, but THANKS so much for posting this! I lost 70 lbs. on the "old" WW and just loved it. After I had my babies and went back, they had changed to the points system, which I *loathed*. I shouldn't have to do higher math to eat a healthy amount each day. ;o)

EX-ATKINS FAN SEEKS A NEW DIETARY DANCE PARTNER.
First of all, I would like to say thank you to all of you for your interesting banter and informative comments. Here's my question: I am a long time ATKINS FANATIC. I stayed on Atkins for about 4 years, and managed to lose and keep off my 30+ pounds, (bringing my 223 pound, 5'11 male frame down to 188) the cravings for fatty foods, fast foods and crunchy tasty salty food stuffs took me over. I put the pounds back and aside from my annual cleanse, I cannot seem to keep this weight off, or stay on a healthy diet. I am considering Weight Watchers because it just seems like a well balance dietary change that is more of a lifestyle that I can maintain. Has anyone on this thread been successful with WW? I was surprised to learn that only 5% of people using WW were able to reach their goal weight and maintain it. Any helpful comments would be very much appreciated, Thanks!

ex-atkins. I joined weight watchers in 03, lost 25 lbs in 4 months and exercised for 1 hour (doing Tae Bo Advanced) - 3 times a week. I became a lifetime member, and in the last 4 years i've had my weight only go up 4 lbs, then I go back to do the program more extrictly to lose the weight. I can make it healthy eating if that's my priority. WWatchers gives me the guidelines of: 5 fruit/vegetables a day; 2 to 3 servings of milk products; 2 servings of healthy oils; and 6 servings of water. Also they encourage whole grains and activity. If I aim to fulfill those guidelines, then I'm on the right track. It works for me, I have a busy life with a lot of gatherings and eating out, I can eat a cookie and ice cream as a treat and not "ruin the whole diet"; of course that's not something to do very often or i end up eating too many calories on junky food. It's amazing how now it's become a habit for me to drink water, i used to not drink any any... probably just a cup a day, and then lots of soft drinks. I think the main thing for me was to not only think of it as a diet but as a long term weight controlling program and it has worked so far, slowly changing my eating habits, and catching the bad habits that come back before they take over the good ones.
I just had my first baby last October, and now i'm back trying to lose the last 10 pounds i put on while pregnant.
I hope this info is helpful for you

Is it true that for teen girls you only have to add 2 points to the adult point system?

lowcarb_dave said:
"how much money does a WW leader make?"[...]

lowcarb_dave said:
It's not really that much. The whole company is almost run by volunteers who are 'believers'.[...]

OH ! it works like a church !

I have recently decided to try the weight watchers point system. As I very often do when I want something, I went to Ebay. I found the whole 2007 kit, includingthe paper and electronic calculator, the books (dining out, food values etc etc) and the free dvd for 60 bucks. I figure I can weight myself, and the reactions from my peers as I lose weight will be all the reinforcement I need.

As far as online calculators, a Google seacrh netted me hundreds of online points calculators. Weight watchers is definitely missing the boat on this one. They won't be able to stop every site. They really should find a way to make lemondade out of those lemons.

How many more points daily do men get then women on the Weight Watcher's plan? My husband wants to help me lose weight by following the same plan. However, I'm not sure how many points he's allowed.

Thanks for your help!

My parents are ranchers. Our steers eat grass during the summer, coastal hay and sometimes corn stalk in the winter when the grass dies. The entire herd also shares a small bucket of sweet feed each day. My dad only gives them the vaccinations that they need. They do not get steroids or anything of the like. Now, the last month of their lives, they are fed grain. It fattens them up. This makes them put on a bit of weight. Whether or not this is the right way to go, it is the way our entire family has raised cattle for generations. The meat sold in the grocery stores tastes way too different, not to mention the overt redness of the meat. It's creepy. However, the leanest, best tasting cuts of beef I have ever had came from a long horn steer my Dad raised. Now, as warning to all dieters and families out there. Read the labels when you are making food purchases. Whether it is beef, chicken, or another meat... always check. Chicken often is mixed portions of the chicken and contains high levels of phosphates and other things. I prefer boneless, skinless white meat chicken and it is getting harder and harder to find it without a lot of extra stuff in it as well as tasting right when you cook it up.

I joined weight watchers online last week, and I would like to place an order, but I am having trouble with your website. Am not able to carry through with the order. When I click on "CHECKOUT", a page comes up that says: "There is a problem with this website's security certificate. The security certificate presented by this website has expired or is not yet valid. Security certificate problems may indicate an attempt to fool you or intercept any data you send to the server............." A friend had the same trouble with your website. Please address this problem. It appears that your website is not working properly. I keep trying and trying, but that same page pops up. I don't have trouble with any other website when ordering. Thank you, Luanna Voth at kvoth@cox.net

Just a couple of minutes ago,I sent a comment, addressing a problem I'm having with placing an order. I would like to talk to someone, or maybe just place my order via phone. But I can't find a phone number anywhere. Is there a phone number I can call. Thank you, Luanna Voth at kvoth@cox.net

I just joined WW and am losing slowly. I like the points because they drive you to high fiber, low fat foods. This is much healthier than my previous approach (which worked)of just counting calories. The exercise incentive which gives extra poins is also healthy. Bottom line is we need to eat less, but healthy, and exercise more. We all know this, but the WW points system is, I believe, a good structure to help train you into a better lifestyle. My main reason for joining was the accountability of weighing in each week. Otherwise, I was allowing myself to pig out just today, and was always putting off my diet until some other time. Yes, I signed up for many weeks, and this is also an incentive to stick with it, as is the new rebate (partial) available from my helath insurance. Several incentives there, and I expect to stay on track on myown eventually.

James said:
"And to James: Bread doesn't make you any fatter than yogurt does. If you eat 100 calories of yogurt, it's no different than eating 100 calories of bread. Would I eat the bread? No, because yogurt does make you more satisfied than bread and has more nutrients per calorie. So you should be more specific when stating that yogurt doesn't make you fat and bread does....if you ate 200 calories of yogurt instead of 100 calories of bread, you could potentially gain some weight."

Well, What nutrition does bread contain? What nutrition does yogurt contain? Bread is grain. Look at cows in feed lots. They get fed and fed grain products. Cows in there get fat. Now, suppose if you eat grains. Will you get fat?

Yogurt has more health benefits than bread, calorie for calorie. It's a good source of vitamin A, C, and D, as well as vitamin B12. Most breads do contain some iron and some fiber, but little in else of other nutrients, plus breads contain antinutrients that blocks nutrient absorbtion. A research show that people ate bread in the 1850s, and life expectancy was as short as 40 years."

Uhhhh...James, i know you mean well, but eating bread alone does not make you fat and die early. People in the 1850's died at 40 because of lack of proper medical care, rampant unhygenic living practices, and things of that nature. Advances in medical science are keeping people alive longer generally, despite all unhealthy eating, as things that would have ages ago killed of tons of people now have medications, vaccines and many other treatments that not render many old "killers" practically non existant. As I'm sure you should know, people eat bread now as much as they did a hundred years ago. If you are talking about cavemen era, that is earlier than the 1850s, and they died early too. And they , as far as I know, didn't have ANY ovens in their caves to bake breads. Bread has nothing to do with your life expectancy alone.

Yes, organic things are probably better for you. YES, i agree that bread is not as nutritous as yogurt in many ways, but it isn't bread itself that makes you fat, if you look at calories alone, one serving of average bread in the store is not terribly far off of many yogurts out there (not counting those low calorie or whatever yogurts). Yogurrts, like bread, can have alot of sugar. And I don't just mean the white, granulated crap you put in your coffee. I mean the biological definition of sugars, as in, glucose, which is tons and tons of foods out there that most people don't understand has sugars, just because it is not "sweet". People need to read labels more on what food they are buying.
It is SUGAR that makes you fat. GLUCOSE to excess makes you fat. If you have too much sugar going in, your body will only burn the sugar, and store all the fat you eat.

Want to know why? Because your body burns sugars/glucose as it's preferred method of energy source. Fat can be used for energy, but sugar is the preferred source, and so your body "stores" the fat, because your body still thinks that maybe one day you won't be able to hunt and gather enough food for the winter, and this stored fat will give you that extra enegry in the rough times. Your body isn't aware you can go to the supermarket whenever you need food. Both yogurt and bread have ample sugars, some more than others, look at the nutrition label.

NO ONE FOOD will make you fat. Eating plenty of raw fruits and veggies is key, and has plenty of the vitamins and fiber you need. Milk products are important but should be kept to a certain level. Same goes for meat-- keep it lean and to a minimum. Certain meats are much healthier than others (seafood or chicken as opposed to beef or pork for instance). But you can eat all of the above in moderation and not get fat. Cows are not fat. They are just....cows. That is how they are made. When was the last time you saw a healthy cow that was "skinny"? That's like saying all elephants or rhino's are fat. That is how they are built, they are all like that. You can eat fatty crap and junk food too, just keep it to a very VERY very small percentage of your diet, have ten measely minutes of exercise per day (and by that I mean, take a walk around the block a few times), and it will do wonders for your health.

If you are morbidly obese, then you need to high gear the initial weight loss, and in many cases some really just need outside help, but to maintain a healthy lifestyle does not mean cutting out entire groups of foods, it means being smart about the ratio of them that you put into yourself.

it isn't rocket science: majority should be fruits and veggies, and moderate portions of animal products (meaning, meat, dairy, eggs, etc), and yes, you can still have bread and pasta and even a scoop of ice cream without the worry that it will make you ten pounds heavier by next week. It won't.

But you know what will? Eating too much junk, eating when you aren't really hungry, eating crap and never ever finding ten minutes a day to just take a bloody walk.

that's what makes people fat, and that's what is killing the highest rate of people in the world today. Cardiovascular disease, while partially genetic, is also in large part due to shitty diet and exercise (or lack thereof). So james, feel free to have a slice of toast in the morning. Hell, go crazy and put some fruit preservces on it. I promise it won't kill you before your 40th birthday.

And that's that. Have a lovely day.

Oh, and before james attacks me, rather than nonsense trivia about the 1850's that is wholly innacurrate, I am bringing information from personal experience as a healthcare professional that probably has a small sense of what she is talking about. just maybe. have a lovely day.

Disclaimer: before attempting any modification of your diet, exercise or other aspects of such discussed herein, do discuss your general health and application of such lifestyle changes with your own personal physician. These are all only suggestions. Thanks, have a nice day.

The only thing I can say after reading all these comments is to just choose to eat healthy. Try to stay away from fast food, processed food, and junk food. Eat lots of fruits and veggies, eat more fish-but don't ignore the red meats either, don't eat in excess, stay away from soda and sugary fruit juice, AND most important, BE ACTIVE! A diet is only good as the person who is on it. If that person changes their lifestyle and decides that they really want to be healthy, then they will lose weight whether or not they are using points, cutting bread out of their diet, or buying the Aitkins book. The worst part about diets are that people join them, they work initially because that person is focused, but then something in life happens, just like it always will, and all those good intentions go down the drain. They begin to binge diet. Healthy eating habits and being active are a personl choice and have nothing really to do with what diet you're on. I am not on any specific diet but what I've been doing is just writing down what I eat on a daily basis. By knowing what I'm putting in my body I become more aware of what my own eating habits are. If I feel there is something lacking, then I can add that into my diet... if I feel like I'm eating too much junk, then I cut that out of my diet. So... to make a long post short... eat healthy and stay active and then just live your life!!!!

I am a member of WW - have been for over 2 years now and have lost a total of 94lbs. My mother, also a member, has lost 78lbs. My aunt, also a member, lost 42lbs and has kept it off for 4 months so far. I believe the program works if you are willing to put the effort in to make it happen. Losing weight is a difficult road and no matter what diet/medical produre/pills you take, it's never going to be easy.

I can see how some people would be turned off by having to count points everyday but most people tend to eat the same foods on a regular basis anyway, so counting points is not difficult nor time consuming. The slower rate of weight loss could turn some people off, but with WW, you lose weight at a healthy, recommended pace.

As far as a maintenance plan, at least they are the kind of program that provides you with the tools you need to succeed. It's your choice whether you use them or not.

All you fat guys need to sit down and read a dictionary so you all can learn how to spell correctly

I was on WW about three years ago and lost 30 pounds. I have kept it off. For me, WW is not a diet. It is about learning to make better food choices and taking accountability for what I put into my body. I have decided to lose another 20 pounds and joined WW again because the weekly weigh-ins keep me on track. I have since lost 10 of those 20 pounds in less then 13 weeks. If you go into WW thinking of it as a diet and not a lifestyle change then you won't be successful. You can't expect to keep the weight off if you go back to the way you ate prior to joining WW. That way of eating got you into the meetings in the first place. You also need to remember that moving your body is another key to losing weight. You can't just sit around and expect to lose weight by eating less. Food is fuel for your body and your body needs to burn the fuel you put into it. I would strongly recommend WW to anyone who truly wanted to change their eating habits and lose weight.

After looking at a friends cardboard point calculator, it took me about 4 minutes to make her an excel calculator that comes up with the same points as her calculator.
I make no claims about the excel calculator, nor do I claim it is WEIGHT WATCHER calculator. But it does come up with the same result. For weightwatcher fans, a helpful site is http://www.dottisweightlosszone.com.

Weight watchers works, people who cant hold themselves accountable for what they eat are the ones calling it a bad 'diet'. It isnt a diet, its training to eat healthier and if you just want a quick weight loss like Atkins, the LIFESTYLE is not for you. Although Im sure you will find that the cravings for carbohydrates you will have on the Atkins will much outweight the very small limitations you have to put on yourself while living weight watchers.

The great thing about weight watchers is that it stops putting pressure on foods to make you skinny, and puts the responsibility on you to make the right decisions. If you do, you lose. If you dont, you gain. Simple as that. If you dont like it, stay fat.

I have been on WW for a long time and have lost 46 lbs and have not put any back on. Those that say it doesn't work don't follow the diet. WW has been around alot longer than most because it DOES work. There is no hidden formula for making WW work, there is nothing unhealthy about it either...like I see with some of these other "diets" Just like AA it works if you work it.

A few of us (12) brought WW in to work for a couple of sessions and 3 of the 12 have reached goal in less than a year. I lost sixty pounds and haven't gained it back although it's only been ten months.

I agree with those who say the program works if you use it properly and that means making good eating decisions rather than spending your points on poor choices and finding yourself hungry at the end of the day. It's not as restrictive as many people think and has a built in mechanism for rewards/indulgences with an extra 35 points per week above your daily allowance. My focus has now switched though, and in making the lifestyle changes outlined through the WW program I have become quite active and now want to do more than just track consumption/use of calories to ensure I am meeting the dietary requirements of my body.

I am now using http://fitday.com to track what I eat. It's free and has a decent database of foods but more importantly a way to add custom foods into the database. I prefer this because I'd rather know the nutritional values are correct than just accept what is being returned by their search. It has lots of nifty graphs including one showing nutrient consumption wrt the RDA for each.

What I'm curious about is what is the negative calorie balance prescribed by WW for weight loss? I can estimate my daily caloric budget and fitday.com does allow you to set goals indicating what calories to leave on the table each day but from what I can tell, WW was having me end the day with a 1000 calorie deficit each day. Has anyone researched this and found a similar number?

learn you facts before you go nocking a system that works. I lost 30lbs. in the first two months i was on the diet.

I have been on weight watchers for about six months. I am a sophomore in college who gained close to twenty-five pounds my freshman year and was totally bummed. I was eating everything in sight! I had lost complete control. My mom had tried Weight Watchers and had successfully lost close to 100 pounds. I decided to check it out. Over the span of three months I lost 17 pounds. This is not an extremely drastic number, but Weight Watchers truly changed my life. I run three times a week, I eat salads (something I never did!) and stay away from things high in carbs, fructose, sugar and fat. Although Weight Watchers does not specifically tell a person to cut these out, reading the labels of food and seeing these details really makes a person change. Weight Watchers is a great system.

I am a firm believer in weight watchers. Not just for losing weight, but for maintaining a healthy lifestyle. It is also the only diet accepted by nutritionists and taught about in nutrition classes. Mainly because it emphasizes not ELIMINATING a whole food group, but eating small portions of them all, as well as exercising daily and plenty of fluid intake. As for the cost-there are ways around everything. You can buy most everything second-hand off of ebay. Or talk a friend into splitting the costs. And you can pretty much research any food online to find the point value.

I finally found and copied an AtoZ list of 'WW point' foods on the internet. They are there if you search.I have been fighting the weight problem since I was in my early twenties..nearly fifty years. And seriously, I have lost a total of hundreds of lbs. of weight on almost every diet known to man. In my experience most diets work! My wife has tried the $300.00 delivered meals but found many of the selections unpalatable. WW is the overall safest choice for lifestyle eating. Adkins or Air Force or Hi Pro/Lo Carb(all the same)is the choice for quick weight loss but comes at a price with long term health issues if you stay on it for extended periods. The candies, herbs and fatburners are sometimes scams that count on a placebo effect. The hardest plan but the very best comes out of the pages of the Bible. Do All Things In Moderation. This requires a take-charge, life-changing attitude over a compulsive behavior pattern. Binges, gorging, gluttony, are learned forms of destructivism and mask physical, mental and spiritual deeper issues which need to be uncovered and dealt with. It is so difficult. Ceasing to smoke is no comparison because one must test their dietary resolve most every day they live..once, twice or three times. WeightWatchers allows a wide variety of choices including all the basic food groups so one need not get bored with limited selection. No. I have no connection to WW's other than the point meals I buy in the frozen food section of the market. I've always liked a variety of meats so my will is still challenged by the point count of most pork and beef. However, maintaining a
reasonable approach for my "temple's" health ..mentally, physically and spiritually, I find
moderate eating habits of WW points selections a good choice. Good luck to any who might be influenced
to try the points count. Generally speaking 26 pts. a day allows for weight loss in women as well as men. 34 pts. will allow a maintance level in women..36 in men. hope this helps

Neither my doctor nor my dietitian feel that WW is an effective plan.
“Diets” don’t work. Changing your life is the only thing that works on a real and long term basis.

One point = (calories/50) + (fat grams/12) – (min{r, 4}/5)

I can't stand it when people complain--this isn't a life long weight loss plan, most people gain the weight back. That's just based on will power, life events/stresses. All diets are like that (unless you go straight vegan/organic)--but still, you can consume more than your daily intake on those programs and still gain weight throughout your life. It's natural, when you get older, you must change your consumption/exercise to counter act your slow metabolism. Quit knocking on WW, it's the only "diet" program that's ever worked for me---and yes, it may not be for everyone, but who are you pleasing? If it works, enjoy it! If it doesn't, then find something else. WW works for me b/c I can still go out and eat at any place, I can have pizza, beer and wings, and ice cream. It's the diet for non-health nuts, and it's great! It's restricting the amount of food you eat daily--which doctors have proven that's the best way to live a long-healthy life. I've lost 36 lbs in 4 months---and i feel full and satisfied. If i lost the same 36 lbs going vegan, I'd be miserable, hungry and wouldn't be able to enjoy certain foods I love. Live life, find what works and if you fall off the wagon, pick yourself back up and try again.