Being on the Weight Watchers plan doesn't mean you can't enjoy your favorite restaurant food. Weight Watchers offers books and guides to help you determine the point values for your favorite meals when dining out, and if you have the restaurant's nutritional information handy, you can figure out the points yourself. Some restaurants, such as Applebee's and PizzaExpress, include the Weight Watchers points values right on the menu next to certain meals.
Step 1
Locate the restaurant in the "Weight Watchers Dining Out Companion" book. The book lists Weight Watchers Points values for more than 134 chain restaurants and 4,500 menu items.
Step 2
Look up your restaurant food choice under the general entries at the back of the "Weight Watchers Dining Out Companion" book. The book includes standard point values for common menu items, including ethnic and regional foods.
Step 3
Ask a member of the restaurant staff for a copy of the nutrition information for your selection. Once you know an item's calories, fat grams and fiber grams, you can use your Weight Watchers points slider or Weight Watchers calculator to determine the points value.
Tips and Warnings
- Pay attention to portion sizes. At some restaurants, for example, a serving of a sandwich may only be half of the sandwich. Point values may be slightly lower or higher when looking up basic foods that aren't attributed to a particular restaurant depending on portion size and how the restaurant prepares the item.
References
- Weight Watchers Program Materials; 2009
- "Weight Watchers Dining Out Companion"; 2009
- Applebee's: Weight Watchers
- PizzaExpress; Weight Watchers
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