The Weight Watchers diet program consists of eating point-assigned foods corresponding to a particular number of daily allowable points. The Weight Watchers fat and fiber program is an older version of the Weight Watchers diet program. Weight Watchers has used a point system for more than two decades but in 2010 it updated the system. The new program calculates points based on the positive and negative values of protein, fat, carbohydrates and fiber. The old point system was based on a formula that encouraged eating foods high in fiber and discouraged a high intake of calories and fat.
The Calorie, Fat and Fiber Formula
Like the new system, the old Weight Watchers program was based on a point system that assigned a particular number of allowable points to you per day based on your ideal weight, your current weight and your recent weight loss. To calculate the points of a particular food in the old system, take the calories of the food and divide it by 50. Add the grams of fat the food contains divided by 12. Then subtract the grams of dietary fiber divided by 5. If the grams of fiber are greater than 4, use 4 grams in the calculation. You can avoid using the formula by consulting the Weight Watchers' food nutrition charts.
Calorie and fat Restriction
The old Weight Watchers program restricted calories on the grounds that to lose weight, you have to consume fewer calories than your body expends. Restricting calories was the Weight Watchers' main principle. How you got the allowable calories was up to you. As one gram of fat contains 9 calories, whereas 1 gram of carbohydrates or protein contains 4 calories, fatty foods were assigned more points than non-fatty foods in the old system.
Fiber Subtraction: Satiation
In the old system, foods high in dietary fiber were assigned fewer points that foods containing the same quantity of fat and calories but less fiber. There are several good reasons for this. Dietary fiber expands in the digestive tract, adding to a feeling of fullness. Fiber also slows down the rate at which food moves from the stomach to the intestines and from the intestines to the colon. This exposes the small intestine to fat for longer periods of time. As there is a direct correlation between the time that the small intestine is exposed to fat and the feeling of satiation, eating a diet high in fiber may add to the feeling of fullness.
Fiber Subtraction: Fat Excretion
Another reason for assigning fewer points to foods high in fiber is that water-soluble fiber binds to bile acid, a component of a liquid that aids in the breakdown of fat in the small intestine. As bile acid is derived from cholesterol, a molecule that contains fat, and fiber-bound bile acid passes through the intestinal tract undigested, fiber can prevent the body's cells from using the fat contained in cholesterol as a source of energy. Fat excreted in the stool does not add to the total calories consumed. So, a diet high in fiber allows for a greater overall consumption of calories than a regular diet.
References
- Your4State.com; Weight Watchers Unveils New Diet Program; Jamie Burke; November 2010
- International Weight Watchers: Old Weight Watchers Program Fat and Fiber
- Institute of Food Research; Delaying Fat Digestion to Curb Appetite; August 2010
- Colorado State University: Dietary Fiber
- Linus Pauling Institute at Oregon State University: Fiber
- Medline Plus: Fat
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