[thomegirl]

Hi, I am new to this forum, so please bear with me! I have been on WW periodically (off and on) for the last 10 years. I am following the WW plan from a few years back. I am not really in a position financially to actually join again and attend meetings...so, I am doing my best with the materials I had previously. I was just wondering if any of you nice folks out there could let me know if there have been any big changes as far as the WW plan goes. (I am doing the points thing, by the way.) I am trying to stay motivated but it's kind of hard to do so when you don't have that "group support", ya know? Thanks in advance!!!!!

[Bumby]

I'll assume you are using the ORIGINAL 1-2-3 Success Materials.

1. The first major change is that, when calculating your points, only the first 4 grams of fiber count. So, if something has 120 cal, 8 g fiber, and 2 g fat, under the old program that would be 1 point. Now, take out your slider and PRETEND that the NI is 120/4/2 (anything over 4 g fiber, pretend it is 4). It is now 2 points. So some of the real "points bargains" are less of a bargain now--more realistic, keeps us from getting more calories than we need in those ultra-high-fiber things like chilis, high-fiber muffins and cereals, and so on.

2. The second major change is that the points ranges shrunk from 7 points to 5. Instead of 18-25, the lowest range is now 18-23. So, looking at your old materials, go and deduct 2 points from the top of each range and you'll have the new ranges. The low end didn't change.

3. The next thing is how you earn extra points with activity. Remember under the original program, you were EXPECTED to do 20 min moderate-intensity activity per day? After that, if you did more, you could get another point for each additional 20 min. So an hour would earn you 2 extra points (the first 20 min was already built in to the program, so that leaves 40 min = 2 twenty min blocks for 2 points). Well, now you can start counting with the first activity you do. They provide a slide rule to help you figure out how many points you earn, but you could probably still work with the 20 min = 1 point if you find that easier. It is actually much more complicated, based on your current weight, duration of exercise, and intensity. You might post your typical workout and current weight here and someone can figure it for you using the slider.

4. Some other minor things have changed--carrots aren't supposed to be unlimited anymore, for one. But unless you were practically living on the few things that were revised (and taking the points book as your only source of information--many of the revisions simply corrected the points book to reflect the actual nutritional info, and if you were working from the NI anyway you're fine) you won't be much affected.


Good luck.

[thomegirl]

Thanks for the info. I knew the program had changed, I just didn't know any specifics. I remember when they had the "Fat and Fiber" program. I always did really well on that. OH, well, c'est la vie. Thanks again.

[Lin S]

Hi,

You said that you did well on the Fat and Fiber plan. You can still do a version of that plan. Just be sure to get some of your protein from beans. Add some nuts and seeds to your day. Eat oatmeal or other high fiber cereals each day. Use whole grain brown rcie. Try other whole grains. Eat less animal protein and use oils like olive, peanut, and canola instead of butter.

You can also follow the plan the way it's written, but calculate the points for the foods and use your range as a guide for portion control. It's merely a matter of which foods you choose to spend your points on and WW gives you total freedom here.

Eating that way is considered a higher carb to protein ratio, but that's not because you're eating less protein. It's because you're eating less animal protein and more plant proteins. It's not vegetarian, but it can be. Anyway, it works well for a lot of people.

Good luck.

Lin