OK it's me the crazy middle age lady who decided to join ww based on this thread. I must tell you now that I am an expert (sarcasm) after 2.5 days...I really like it. This is the most full I have felt on a ww program.

They seem to discourage even "healthy..ish" processed food (I know it's an oxymoron) with higher points. Sugar and saturated fats seem to bring points up while fiber (as usual), protein and lack of sugar-other than natural sugar brings it down.

The 0 points foods are delightful and filling and not something I could binge on (beans, eggs). It has been a looong time since I have had several eggs scrambled in just a wee bit of cooking spray. I used to do one egg and some whites. The unlimited fruit scares me because I can eat A LOT of fruit, but we'll see how this goes. It has forced me to turn to fage yogurt instead of my usual flavored siggis because I use up points too fast with the flavored stuff.

Anonymous wrote:OK, I don't know how "new" it is - I last did WW when my kids were toddlers and they are starting high school. But I recently signed up to try to shed this perimenopausal weight and the points system is very different than when I did it before. It clearly favors high protein foods, which just does not work for someone like me who needs more whole grains in my diet. Really, 1/4 cup of buckwheat cereal (140 calories) is 5 points?! A cup of cooked quinoa (222 calories) is 5 points?! But I can have two eggs (120 calories) and a banana (110 calories) for breakfast for 0 points?

Are there alternatives that are more like the "old" Weight Watchers?

Does the program change once you lose the weight? I assume points values of foods don't, but you probably are given more points to play with for maintenance. So they probably are forcing us to lower carbs a bit to speed weightloss and then in maintenance you can add more.

Someone mentioned the old program focused more in fiber with points. Yes! I liked that. I notice this program is punishing for processed foods, even high fiber processed foods. That is a good thing. You are getting too many problematic chemicals even if "healthy" processed foods and the new thinking is when you count fiber in general, like if you are struggling with constipation, you should only count the fiber in whole foods, because that is the best for stool formation and movement and overall health. Yes, that includes the quinoa too, but brown rice isn't as ideal as we once though because of things like cyanide and I know a serving is a lot smaller than I thought.

Strangely enough you all may have convinced my middle age self to rejoin after all these years. I lost a lot of weight on the old system decades ago and maintained, but my body has changed. I notice even healthy carbs like quinoa and oatmeal make me gain if I am not careful. I need a lot of protein to feel full. The egg thing freaks me out. I use the old system and will do one egg and 2 egg whites so it's just 2 points and lots of protein. If I could eat 3 full eggs for no points that seems freaky. 0 points for fruit seems freaky too, but I'm in. I don't need carrots, but I assume most non-starchy veggies are still 0 points?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just count calories. The WW system of basing point on nutritional content of food rather than calories is insane. When it comes to fat loss calories are king. Sure you want to eat high fiber and high protein foods and that should be encourage. but you shouldn't be punished and lose half your point for the day because you ate a 250 calorie donut.

But eating a 250 calorie donut is WAAAYYY different than eating 2 scrambled eggs and a piece of toast. Nutritionally they are different, they keep you full longer, your brain works better when you have some protein. I don't see how anyone can eat a donut and think that's better in any way than what WW teaches you to do.

You missed my point.

I am not saying that the eggs aren't a better choice. Of course they are. You are always better eating protein and will feel better, but at the end of the day, when it comes to fat loss calories are what matter. 250 calories is 250 calories. To give 2 things that contain the same calories 2 very different points values is silly. If I have say 20 pts for a day and eat the 250 cal eggs for 2 points where the donut is 10 pts (making these numbers up because it has been a while since i have done WW) then that just punished people for trying to incorporate life into their diet. And leaves then under eating which will likely lead to then overeating and going over points because they are still hungry. Then they feel like a failure.

I disagree. I think the points work because they incentivize making good choices after the donut.

In the calorie-counting model, if you splurge and eat all your calories at breakfast, you can’t just not eat for the rest of the day. Psychologically, there’s a tendency to say, “Well, today’s blown. Might as well have a splurge day!”

In the points model, if you eat all your points at breakfast, you can still eat all day and stick to your plan by choosing zero point foods. Might you still be over calories for the day? Sure. But it’s more about mindset and a model that maximizes the potential for success.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Just count calories. The WW system of basing point on nutritional content of food rather than calories is insane. When it comes to fat loss calories are king. Sure you want to eat high fiber and high protein foods and that should be encourage. but you shouldn't be punished and lose half your point for the day because you ate a 250 calorie donut.

But eating a 250 calorie donut is WAAAYYY different than eating 2 scrambled eggs and a piece of toast. Nutritionally they are different, they keep you full longer, your brain works better when you have some protein. I don't see how anyone can eat a donut and think that's better in any way than what WW teaches you to do.

You missed my point.

I am not saying that the eggs aren't a better choice. Of course they are. You are always better eating protein and will feel better, but at the end of the day, when it comes to fat loss calories are what matter. 250 calories is 250 calories. To give 2 things that contain the same calories 2 very different points values is silly. If I have say 20 pts for a day and eat the 250 cal eggs for 2 points where the donut is 10 pts (making these numbers up because it has been a while since i have done WW) then that just punished people for trying to incorporate life into their diet. And leaves then under eating which will likely lead to then overeating and going over points because they are still hungry. Then they feel like a failure.

Anonymous wrote:Just count calories. The WW system of basing point on nutritional content of food rather than calories is insane. When it comes to fat loss calories are king. Sure you want to eat high fiber and high protein foods and that should be encourage. but you shouldn't be punished and lose half your point for the day because you ate a 250 calorie donut.

if your goal is to drop a few lbs and gain them back just as quickly, this is a good a way to do it.

Anonymous wrote:Just count calories. The WW system of basing point on nutritional content of food rather than calories is insane. When it comes to fat loss calories are king. Sure you want to eat high fiber and high protein foods and that should be encourage. but you shouldn't be punished and lose half your point for the day because you ate a 250 calorie donut.

But eating a 250 calorie donut is WAAAYYY different than eating 2 scrambled eggs and a piece of toast. Nutritionally they are different, they keep you full longer, your brain works better when you have some protein. I don't see how anyone can eat a donut and think that's better in any way than what WW teaches you to do.

Anonymous wrote:Just don’t do WW, OP. WW is for people that just don’t have the knowledge or energy to make a diet plan or count calories. And now that people are so heavily overweight, the low carb diet is often too quick to show results, so people keep paying into it thinking they are succeeding.

Buckwheat cereal, oatmeal, other whole grains are great to eat- in limited portions, which sounds like it what you do. I would abandon WW and just count calories and make your own balanced diet

You sound completely ignorant of the way WW works (by the way, people who lose weight on WW are the MOST likely to keep it off the long term of any other diet program out there), yet here you are bashing it.

WW very much supports grains in moderation and doesn't prevent you from eating carbs at all. You just can't have 3 cups of oatmeal in a sitting.

For example: cooked kasha (buckwheat) a whole cup is 4 points.
Cooked oatmeal a whole cup is 3 points.
a whole cup of brown rice is 6 points

So please educate yourself before bashing a program you know nothing about.

Just count calories. The WW system of basing point on nutritional content of food rather than calories is insane. When it comes to fat loss calories are king. Sure you want to eat high fiber and high protein foods and that should be encourage. but you shouldn't be punished and lose half your point for the day because you ate a 250 calorie donut.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I'm not advocating eating donuts, as one poster suggested. This also is not about eating less food, because apparently I could eat hard boiled eggs and bananas all day long and it would count for 0 points. I want to eat my gluten free steel cut oats (170 calories) or hot quinoa cereal (130 calories) for breakfast without it taking up a huge chunk of my points for the day. I would like to have brown rice as a side dish without it counting as 5-6 points.

I don't feel well when I eat high protein and eliminate grains -- I have tried low carb and it doesn't work for me.

I definitely come from the days when Weight Watchers wanted you to eat five servings of whole grains. That worked for me and was what I thought I was signing up for. It sounds like there is not a setting I can choose or option to select to go back to the old plan, so I guess I will be canceling and trying something else.

If you you already know how many calories are in the things you eat you don’t need weight watchers. You have to hear how ridiculous you sound.

OP here. I'm not advocating eating donuts, as one poster suggested. This also is not about eating less food, because apparently I could eat hard boiled eggs and bananas all day long and it would count for 0 points. I want to eat my gluten free steel cut oats (170 calories) or hot quinoa cereal (130 calories) for breakfast without it taking up a huge chunk of my points for the day. I would like to have brown rice as a side dish without it counting as 5-6 points.

I don't feel well when I eat high protein and eliminate grains -- I have tried low carb and it doesn't work for me.

I definitely come from the days when Weight Watchers wanted you to eat five servings of whole grains. That worked for me and was what I thought I was signing up for. It sounds like there is not a setting I can choose or option to select to go back to the old plan, so I guess I will be canceling and trying something else.

Just don’t do WW, OP. WW is for people that just don’t have the knowledge or energy to make a diet plan or count calories. And now that people are so heavily overweight, the low carb diet is often too quick to show results, so people keep paying into it thinking they are succeeding.

Buckwheat cereal, oatmeal, other whole grains are great to eat- in limited portions, which sounds like it what you do. I would abandon WW and just count calories and make your own balanced diet

Anonymous wrote:Anyone remember the old version:
5 servings fruits and veggies, 5 servings healthy grains, 3 servings dairy, 3 servings protein and 2 servings fats?

Or older, make your own ketchup?

Not OP, but the fiber in vegetables is generally insoluble. Grains have more soluble fiber, which has tons of GI tract benefits, including reducing cancer risks. The studies that have linked whole grains to reduced cancer specifically pointed out that the fiber content in vegetables and fruit did not carry the same cancer risk reduction as whole grains

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm about a month and a half in and I'm struggling. Like others, I had great success on the old plan years ago but this plan seems to be better for people who have more weight to lose. I lost about 3 lbs pretty quickly but for the past month I've only lost about .5 lbs. I count correctly, eat many of the same foods every day to avoid mistakes, never eat all my points because like others, I'm skeptical that fruit is really "free," and never eat any of my activity points. It's super frustrating. I feel like the old plan was better. And OP, I'm right there with you - I miss cereal! Even if I shouldn't eat it every day - a simple bowl of shredded wheat with milk is nearly half my points for the day! Sad.

How much do you weigh and how many points do you get?

158, trying to lose about 10 lbs total. I get 23 points per day.

Are you exercising at all? Even walking helps.

Yup! I walk the dog multiple times a day and do Peloton cycle at least 4x per week (generally HIIT).

I successfully lost weight on a couple of the old programs (about 10 lbs a couple different times - taking off small weight gain that crept up over time, still in a healthy BMI). I particularly liked whatever plan they had in 2015, weight came off easily and fast. I tried to use the newer plans a couple of times to take off 30 lbs post partum (one in 2019, one in 2021). Both times were flops for me. I didn't lose and I was always frustrated and hungry. Maybe I just didn't have the time to devote to it once I had little kids, but I was really unhappy on the new plan.