I'm attending my first meeting tonight. But, as I read around I feel confused. If calculating points required that one know the number of calories and fat, how is it easier than calorie-counting? I hate calorie counting and want something "easier" in terms of calculations ... would weight watchers offer that?

How do you calculate foods of which you don't know the calories and fat? Do you have to go look those up. I can always see the calories on the side of a can, but things like a potato or x amount of squash, I usually have to look it up in a calorie calculator ... would I still have to do that in order to sort out the points for WW? And what do you do at restaurants or meals at someone else's home?

http://quiddity.cc/rachel/diet/wwfoods.htm

Go to this website it will help you with food points, you can also google points for resturants and find some good sites. I hope this helps..

Your leader will explain the points system in your orientation talk after the official meeting ends, and you can ask her whatever questions you have about it then. Personally, I prefer calorie counting, so I follow everything in the WW program (including weekly meetings) but use The Daily Plate to track my food instead of the WW Points Tracker. So you can do whatever works best for you... the important thing is that you know what you're eating, and that you're taking advantage of the other things WW has to offer (support, encouragement, weekly pamphlets on different topics... I find those very helpful). Good luck tonight!

I really think ww points is really similar to calorie counting.Its your choice.I happen to know the point system by heart so I use that.

I've been on calorie counting and exchange counting plans since grade school, and I have a lot of foods memorized (most, really). Overall, learning the Weight Watcher's point sytem wasn't drastically easier, or more difficult than learning exchanges or calories. I did find it only a little easier to memorize point values (it's easier to remember 1 point, than 62 calories), and easier to tally points in my head (because it's easier to do two digit math in my head than 4 digit math - 35 pts as opposed to 1800 calories).

The learning curve for points, is pretty similar for the learning curve for calories, and "what you do" in restaurants and other situation is the same - you look them up in a resource online or in book format (your introductory materials will list many common foods, and there is an optional Food Companion, and Restaurant Companion book that you can buy. There are also websites - Weight Watcher's own, and others that have calculated the points).

The process is the same for exchange plans too, you look up the exchanges until you have most memorized, and you look up what you don't know.

With 36 years of dieting under my belt, I have exchanges, calories, and points memorized for most foods, and have books and webpages marked. Of all three, I like exchanges, but the reasons are mostly personal preference. I can't say that any are easier or better (at least not by all people's definition) than the other.

Thanks everyone. I went to the first meeting last night and it went well. I liked the leader and what she had to say and will give this a try (started this morning). It does seem a bit simpler after she explained it ... not in terms of effort required, but as noted above, in terms of the simpler math.

Mostly, I think it will do me good to have to go get weighed-in each week. And going to a meeting is a sort of public acknowledgment that I'm having a problem with food and, while it was hard to do that, it was also a sort of relief to not feel like I have a dirty little secret.

"My name is Lisa and I'm fat and I overeat and I feel bad about it."

Plus you got a points slider right? You just have to know the calories/fat/fiber. Man that is sooo ingrained my head after all these years!! lol.

~Choirgirl~