Monday, July 11, 2011

Points vs. Pointsplus

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I became a Weight Watchers member in October 2008 and at that time I was following the points system. I feel in love with the Weight Watchers program and was faithful to count my points. I lost 90 pounds by following the Weight Watchers points system. Even after I reached my goal and Lifetime I continued to keep track of my points, so that I would be able to maintain my weight loss.

In November 2010, Weight Watchers launched its new pointsplus+ program. This was the biggest change that the company had made in years. At first, I was not excited about Weight Watchers rocking my boat. Why did we need to change everything when the points program had worked for me? I considered staying on the old plan and not switching to the new poinsplus plan. However, I had to trust Weight Watchers and believe them when they said that this plan was going to be better for me.

At first, I felt like I was a new member again, taking the time to calculate the pointsplus+ values of foods. I read over the new material several times to make sure I knew what I was doing! Weight Watchers did not change everything. You still have to weigh & measure your food, exercise portion control, track, be active, attend meetings, and remember to not deprive yourself. It took some time to get used to it, but I really like the new pointsplus+ plan.

I know that some of you have not switched over to the new pointsplus+ plan. I just want to lay out two changes that made all the difference for me.

A points value is made up of calories, fat, and fiber. Whereas, a pointsplus+ value is made up of the protein, fat, fiber, and carbohydrates. The new pointsplus+ formula breaks down food into its macronutrients. Weight Watchers has taken into account the latest science and looked at how your body process the food that you eat. As a result, the new plan will natural nudge you to healthier food options, because they will most often have a lower pointsplus+ value.

Zero pointsplus+ values on all fruit and most vegetable. Could it get any better!? I have been on the new plan since November, but I am still so excited about this change! On the old plan it was hard for me to choose a banana for 2 points when there were so many other foods that I could eat that were 2 points or less. Now, I have no excuse for not getting in my daily fruits and vegetables. Just remember that you cannot combine both programs. If you want to try the new program, you have to jump all in. You cannot track your points and eat the fruit for free. That won’t work.

The pointsplus+ plan is working for me. However, the most important thing to remember is to follow a plan that works for you!!

Which Weight Watchers program are you following? How has that plan worked for you?

3 comments:

mrsmarkdave said...

I am still following the old points program. I've just been doing it off and on for 8, almost 9, years. I know it, and it works for me. Well, it works for me when I follow it. I'm really bad at having cheat days that end up turning into weeks. Last month was HORRIBLE. But, I got back on the wagon yesterday, and I can only look forward from here.

Rebecca Nelson said...

I started WW two years ago and dropped a little bit of weight. I did the on-line program only and didn't do a great job of tracking my food intake. I abandoned the program and another year went by of being 40 pounds overweight.

Last December I begin the PP+ and I loved it! I reached my goal weight of 132 last month and feel better than ever. I still measure everything out and follow the maintenance plan to a T. I do not do the meeting thing because I'm self-employed and always so busy. I can see where it can and will benefit most people...I'm just lucky to be a self-motivator where reading about what others have done (vs. listening to it in person) was the way for me!

When you aren't "technically" obese it's hard to get support about losing weight. My hubby and my doctor were GREAT though. I found there weren't many people in my corner as most of them were (and are!) still larger than I was when I started. For me it was about getting healthy. At 52 I didn't want to get heart disease, diabetes or worse...

xoRebecca

Gabi said...

I follow the old points program. That's because I had done it with success in 2004 and kept going back to it off and on. I still have all the materials and don't have the money right now to rejoin WW, so I just use the materials on my own. It still works for me, as long as I stick with it.

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