It's okay, we were all new at one point But the only way to figure out portions and quantities is to actually measure them. Measuring cups, measuring spoons, food scale, all of it. You can't just guess or estimate, that's a very, very easy way to accidentally overeat.

Like, looking at this I want to know how much Cheerios and how much skim milk for your breakfast. And how much cheese and dressing on your salad. Also, stuff like mac & cheese isn't evil. I looooove mac & cheese and you don't have to give it up or rationalize eating only 2 t., you just have to figure out a way to balance it in with the rest of your day/week.

Thank you for your input, Rose.

I have to watch the mac and cheese because of my diabetes. The 2 t was my way of having a taste of something I love without spiking my blood sugar, plus it was AFTER I had already had my lunch. Normally, I would have finished off everything he left, which is a big no no for me. In the 2 weeks I've been on WW I seem to have broken that terrible habit!

The bowls I use for cereal hold about 3/4 cup. And I never measured the milk, but it's probably around 1/2 cup, because if I pour out a cup and put some on my cereal and choose to drink the rest there is usually around 1/2 C left to drink.

The cheese is about 2 T of shredded and 1 T dressing. If I have the cheese it adds enough flavor to the salad that I use less dressing. I understand the importance of measuring, and some things I do measure, but I also use the rule of the palm of your hand, your fist, the tip of your thumb etc. If I quit losing, then it will be time to go back to monitoring more closely. I lost another 2 lbs this week! I'm thrilled with that!

Hi Carol,

I'm curious why you weigh 196lbs and are only eating 26 points (if your ticker is accurate). I'm currently 211 and my points are 32, plus I eat all my activity points and my weekly 49. I think I'm eating around 1450 cals a day at 32 points. Did WW tell you eat that low? I thought perhaps I wouldn't get to 26 points until I was near my goal weight!

Hi Michelle,

Here is a website I found that you can use to calculate what your points should be. I figured out it goes by age. The older you are the less points you get. I guess that's because your metabolism goes down as you age. I am 66. You must be a youngster! LOL

If you use this calculator, keep changing your weight and you will see how low you have to go before you get to 26 points. That's the lowest they go. I guess as I lose weight it will be harder and harder for me to lose because my points will never go down.

http://gnomes22.tripod.com/dailypptarget.html

hello

With the info you enter it is more 29 points daily and 35 points of bonus for the week.
I made the calcul on this site sites.google.com/site/theweightlosscalculator/diet-daily-points-calculator

As a Weight Watchers member, I have to say you are doing people a great disservice with your calculator because the information is incorrect. Plus, the weekly points don't change. Everyone, regardless of weight, height, daily points, etc., gets 49.

I made several test on several calculator I found on the web and this one is the more accurate I found.
For the weekly point i'm not ok with you. With the new system you can have different additional points it depends of your weight. If you are under 155 it is 35.

I agree with you, Rose. My DIL is at 143 and she gets 49 weekly points. I can't get the link to work for the calculator she says she is using.

Unfortunately this is wrong. As a Weight Watchers Leader, I can assure you that everyone, reguardless of age, height, weight, or gender, gets 49 weekly points plus values. You can choose to use as many as you like, so there is no problem with you setting your personal limit at 35, but all members are allowed 49.

I just bought an App for my iPod touch called "pts plus diary", and it has a point calculator, food lists, a tracker, etc. It was $2. I just got it an hour ago but it seems to match with the WW site and the research I've done. I've joined WW at Work, but we're not starting till Oct. 30. My best friend is doing WW online and another friend has been doing WW so they shared the basics with me so I can start figuring out what things are worth, etc. Once the 12 weeks of WW at Work are done (in January sometime), I can't really afford to keep paying for WW forever, so I'm looking to track things on my own. Once you stop paying for WW, you don't get to use their tools.

That's true, but it's a business, and if they give their "products" away free, they won't be in business very long. But it's not hard to continue on your own, as long as you have a way to calculate the points. Once you've been a member you can still go onto their website and take advantage of a lot of the information there, just not the tools. Once you start the "at work" program you will see how it works for you. You can do it!

On the topic of daily points/calorie value....I think 1500 for 26 points is high too. I have 32 points and I went back over the last 2 weeks (I track everything) and it came out to about 1200 cals a day for a 32 point day. Of course, I am just switching from another diet but wanted to see what my points would have been over the last couple weeks and that was the average I came up with. I definitely plan to use some weekly points because I have been HUNGRY the last 2 weeks at 1000-1200. LOL

This is good to know..

I think joining to learn the program is a good idea....maybe there is either a WW online special for a month....and then doing it on your own once you know what you are doing. I have gone to meetings in the past but now use a Droid app called Ultimate Diet Diary...it was about $3 and it calculates your daily value, charts progress (weight and measurement), calculates food and exercise points, and helps you keep track of your healthy guidelines (water, veggies/fruit, oils, dairy, vitamin). It also has a database of food values (though users add all the items so sometimes there are mistakes). I love the app...there may be others out there too