Weight Watchers helps people lose weight by encouraging healthy eating habits. One of the linchpins of its diet plan is the proprietary "points" system, which gives different foods a number of points and gives dieters a set number of points that they are allowed to eat each day. If you want to calculate the number of points in a food, you can use an online calculator, but you can use the formula yourself, because it is under patent and thus a matter of public record.
Step 1
Find the number of calories, fat grams and grams of fiber in each food item you want to eat. Many foods have this information on the nutrition label, but you can also use an online food database, such as LIVESTRONG.COM's MyPlate application.
Step 2
Add one point for every 50 calories and every 12 grams of fat. The point value of a food goes up the more calories and fat it contains, and the Weight Watchers patent calls for every 50 calories and 12 grams of fat to add one point for the food.
Step 3
Subtract one-fifth of a point for every gram of fiber up to a maximum of 4/5 of a point. As HealthyWeightForum.org explains, fiber reduces the point value of food, but the maximum point subtraction is 0.8 points, so only the first 4 g of fiber count.
Member Comments