I am a WW member in Canada and have been doing a bit of research using WW sites for other countries. I've checked out the US site, which contains much more information, recipies, tips etc.. than the Canadian site (imho). I also checked out the UK site and was quite surprised to find that their program is different from the one that Canada and the US follows. Aside from the different name, I noticed that the points values for certain foods were different. For example, I saw that certain fruits like bananas, kiwis, and clementines (for 2) were calculated as 1/2 point - here, I have always been told that a serving of fruit (usually one piece) is 1 point. Why the differences? Shouldn't all foods be calcuated using the same formula.. like WW is WW is WW, no matter what country you're in? I will be travelling there in the future and want to make sure my calculations are accurate -It doesn't make sense that both calculations could be right because 1/2 pt different in certain foods could make the difference between being just over your minimum points and not reaching your minimum.

Christine

Hi there. In answer to your question about foods being calculated the same world wide -- the reason they ARE NOT is because the same nutritional information is NOT available or required from these goverments. The organization that guides the administration of nutritional breakdown in the U.S., the FDA and the USDA (us department of agriculture, and the Food and Drug administration) have much more stringent guidelines.

In the UK, fiber is typically not calculated as a matter of course. So, while fruit there might be only 1/2 point, they also have fewer points to eat in general -- or, a different dispersion of points -- it all works out in the end. Additionally, the programs are streamlined to match with eating habits of the different countries. in the U.K., there is a category for points consumed as alcohol and in the U.S. there is no such category.

Don't overwhelm yourself with the details. Whatever works for you should work... (like, we all lost weight on success 123 with 7 points to play with and unlimited fiber... and now that that's 2 years old, people are still arguing with it.

Take care. Hope that helps. :-)

Christine--

In the UK, the program is set up so that you have a set number of points to eat each day, not a range. They don't use fiber in their calculations--they use, I believe, calories and saturated fat grams. The UK doesn't require standard information printed on their food packages, so they rely more heavily on their books for guidance (I lived there last year, and their program and the foods in the UK are vastly different!).

As long as you* keep counting your* points your* way, you'll be fine. You're not being gyped from country to country as the program changes. The Points system is really a process of "bean counting"--it's a clever method of getting you to monitor fat and calories and fiber and fruits and vegetables and all those other sections of the Food Pyramid. As long as you're consistent in your counting, you won't have any trouble. Just remember, if the Points for something in the UK are given as, say, 2 points, check what system of counting says it's 2 points! 2 UK points are NOT the same as two US points, but to someone in the US, a banana is 2 points anywhere in the world.

I, too live in Canada. I just got back from the UK a couple of weeks ago and didn't think before going that I should do research into the number of points that food is calculated at in the UK.

I took my point calculator, my dining out book and my diary. I was able to stay OP for the week that I was there and didn't think about the difference in the calculations. I was actually away for a month, but spent the rest of the time in the Middle East, so that presented an even more difficult problem. However, I just calculated according to Canadian standards and lost 6 pounds while I was away.

Good luck in your travels.

Thanks for the replies. I'm still not too sure about this... doesn't seem quite right that there can be so many different ways to do it, but I guess I have little choice but to stumble through as best I can. I guess my biggest fear is that because I use my points calculator slide thingy a lot, I won't get accurate values for the foods I'm eating. It sounds as if they don't put too much nutritional information on their packaging, which would make my prefered method a problem. It means more guestimating.

Oh well... I'm not going to stress out about it too much. I will try to get in a lot of walking, and to stay at the lower end of my points. I think for the week I'll be there I'd rather not have quite enough than have too much. On a positive note, though, I've already found the meeting that I will be attending that week... provided that it's open for business, of course. My fiance (who's from there) says that in the week between Xmas and New Year's a lot of businesses just shut down. I really don't want to miss a meeting because of that, but again, I'm not going to worry too much about the possibility right now.

Thanks again for all your help.

Christine

Christine,
Go and enjoy yourself. It's only 7 days--2 days flying time-- and you're not going to get fat on airline food! Relax, get in as much walking as you can. If you're at meetings a lot, flex your ankles as you sit.
Eat lots of salads without dressings, save some points for moderate portions of UK specialties and do the best you can. Set yourself up for success.
234/210/thinner

Ok, here's a slight variation on my original question. I'm going to the UK at Christmas and discovered that from their website you can order WW products and have them delivered to your home (well, a UK address). There are tons of products on that site that will probably never ever be available in Canada and I was going to order some and have them sent to where I'll be staying.

My question this time around is: Are the points on WW products i.e. 2 Point Bars, for an easy example, calculated the same in countries that normally don't have the same values for similar foods? I didn't see 2 Pt Bars on their list, but they have Mint Chocolate Crisp Bars and Chocolate Crisp Bars ( 1.5 pts each); Fruties (0.5 pt per tube); Caramels (1 pt per tube). Does anyone know what the detailed nutritional info on these products (incl. calories, fat and fiber) is so that I can figure out what Points value I would give them for use in the Winning Points system used in Canada?

Thanks.

Christine

Why can't you just call them 2 points, and why does it matter if they're 2 points in the UK, US, or Canada?

Because the UK calculates food point values differently than the US and Canada, I'm not just going to call them '2 Points' if I'm pretty sure they're not 2 points. Arbitrarily making up points values for things kind of defeats the purpose of the program.

Is there anyone in the UK who can tell me the nutritional values (incl. calories, fat and fiber) for the following products:

Mint Chocolate Crisp Bars
Chocolate Crisp Bars
Fruties
Caramels

Thanks.

Christine

If you cant get the information, I would either estimate high and eat at the low end of your points, or estimate low and eat at the high end. Or just estimate in the middle and eat in the middle range. One week being slightly out of your range is not going to make much of a difference. Maybe you will loose 1 lb instead of 1.5.

Just do your best and concentrate on having fun while you are there