Weight Watchers is a restricted-calorie diet that gives you the freedom to choose. A point value derived from your height, weight and activity level determines your allowed intake for the day, and it's up to you how you spend those points. Eat a fast-food burger and you could use up 1/2 your points for the day, but Weight Watchers won't tell you not to do it. This freedom of choice combined with the point value system that makes counting calories simple and straight forward has made Weight Watchers one of the most practiced diet plans in the United States.
Point Values for Food
Step 1
Write down the calories, fat grams and grams of dietary fiber listed on the nutrition facts label.
Step 2
Divide the calories by 50. If the item has 300 calories, you would start with 300/50, or 6.
Step 3
Divide the number of fat grams by 12. For example, if the item has 6 fat grams, use a value of .5 for the fat content.
Step 4
Add the calorie value to the value assigned to fat content and put this total aside. Divide the grams of dietary fiber by 5. If there are more than 4g in the item, use the default value of 4 instead. The Weight Watchers formula gives a credit for foods high in fiber, but since only a certain amount is useful at any one time, the company caps their valuation at 4.
Step 5
Subtract the value for grams of dietary fiber from your subtotal. In the previous example, the subtotal was 6 + .5, or 6.5. The value for fiber if the grams were equal to or greater than 4 is 4/5, or .8. The total point value for this item is 5.7. Round to the nearest 1/2 point.
Personal Point Values
Step 1
Assign a value of 2 if you are female and 8 if you are male. This is your starting point.
Step 2
Add the first two digits of your weight. If you are 217 lbs., add 21 to your running total.
Step 3
Add 4 points if you are between the ages of 17 and 26. Add just 3 points if you are 26 to 37 and 2 points if you are between 38 and 47. Those between 48 and 58 get to add only 1 point, and dieters over 58 add zero points for this step.
Step 4
Add points for your daily activity level. If you sit down most of the day, skip this step. If you sit only occasionally, add 4 points, and if you are on your feet moving around most of the day add 6 points. If you work a physically demanding job, add 8 points.
Step 5
Add 1 point if you are between 5 feet 1 inch and 5 feet 10 inches tall. Add 2 points if you are taller than 5 feet 10 inches, and no points if you are shorter than 5 feet 1 inch. This gives you your total point allotment for the day.
Tips and Warnings
- The Weight Watchers Flex Points plan allows 35 extra weekly points on top of your daily allotment for nights out or unfortunate slip-ups.
Things You'll Need
- Scale
- Calculator
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