I just ate a can of green beans with 3.5 servings (serving=0.5 cup). So this is 0 points?

Your best bet is to use a points finder slider for large servings of veggies. For some things, 1 cup is 0, but 1 1/2 is enough calories to count for 1. It is different for different veggies. A canned veggie will probably have nutrition info on the label to help you figure this out.

I disagree. Zero point veggies are always zero points according to my leader(s). W/W already built into the program 200-250 calories a day for the zero point veggies thus eat and enjoy and don't worry about counting them. So enjoy those 3.5 servings of green beans for 0 points.

The time my leader says to be concerned with the amount of zero point veggies and possible points is if you are overdosign on them and they cause a plateau you just cannot break because 'no one got fat eating veggies.'

Our leaders would be at odds on this Kelly! I asked mine the same question, and that was the answer I got. She did say that it depends on the type of vegetable, though. I don't know about green beans in particular, but carrots do add up if you have more than a zero point serving. She said it had something to do with the natural sugars in them, and also that point value for the veggies that sweeten when they are cooked (such as carrots, onions) goes up when they are cooked vs. raw.

It is different for carrots and onions but only in the cooked form and obviously the starchy veggies. Green beans are always zero points (and I got a look at the leaders manual when my one lieader <who is more than willing to show us what the leader's manual says> and I discussed it).

W/W has built into the program 200-250 calories a day and at ~15-20 calories per 1/2 a cup that is between 10-16 1/2 cup servings a day before you would even possibly (this is without the fiber factor) have a problem.

Not really wanting to enter the battle above my post here but...

When I started WW in 1998 (30 lbs ago!) I would always reach for a can of green beans when my points were gone & I was still hungry. I used ICBINB Spray and a sprinkle of garlic salt. It helped me stay on track and I lost 67 lbs.

My vote: Green beans count as 0 points. Eat up!
They're good for you and your weight loss goals!

Good luck!

Thanks guys. I think I'm going to count them as zero unless I start running into a problem.

Here is MY rule. I would count the first cup as 0 points but if I ate more than that, I would count it as 1. This is my way of being accountable for what I am eating.

Sherry, why since W/W allows for between 200-250 calories a day in free veggies waste a point on free stuff? I am not critizing but just wonder why anyone would waste a food point on something this already accounted for in the program?

To further muddy the waters :

I use WW On the Go to track and calculate my points. When I type in "cooked green beans" these are the values I get:

1 C = 0 pts
2 C = 1
3 C = 2
4 C = 3 (etc. etc.)


For Birds Eye cut green beans, the values are:
1 C = 0
2 C = 0.5
3 C = 1.5
4 C = 2

All the different green bean brands do come up as having point values in larger amounts in this WW database.

I can really chow down on some veggies, so I, too, would calculate the points on very large servings (like the salads I often eat that are the size of my head! )

The On-The go is based on the same values as the PointTracker for the online and e-tools. It only knows that xxx item = yy calories not that xxx item is really a zero point veggie. But it is always what works for you however I would never, ever waste a point a 0 point veggie since W/W built into the program 200-250 calories a day for them. The other reason I see a 'error' is the fact that 5 cups of broccoli flowerets are only 99 calories, 1 fat, 10 fiber and even using the cal/fat/fiber to get points that would be 1 point for 5 cups (this is from Mastercook) [even USDA website shows 99 cal/1 fat/18 fiber]. I only used broccoli cuz I was working on something else at thist time with broccoli in it. But you see my point right.

On green beans (and I only went ot MasterCook) 3 cups is 102 cal/.4 fat/11.2 fiber or 1 point going up to 5 cups is 170 cal/.7 fat/18 fiber (however if you are eating 5 cups at one time you may want to evaluate some).

5 cups of zucchini is 91 cal/9 fat/7.8 fiber or 1 point.

WE DID NOT GET FAT EATING VEGGIES and they provide so much in the way of nutrition don't worry about them unless you hit a plateau. Most leaders (and I say most because some don't) will tell you ZERO POINT VEGGIES ARE ALWAYS ZERO (I even have seen it in the leader manual).

W/W has always had veggies required in their program from back in the day of selections and you always could eat as many as you wanted without worry about them.