I need some advice about weight watchers

[A Touch of Evil]

Weight watchers has free registration until June 18th which is next Saturday. If I sign up for the monthly pass (which will give me the starting week materials and unlimited meetings plus eTools and online access), I'll get the registration fee waived and will just have to worry about monthly payments of $39.95. Or, I can sign up for weight watchers online for $17.95 a month and have the registration fee waived but I won't get the starting week materials, I'll have to purchase them separately for $20.

The thing is, I just want the starting week materials because I know how to do the diet on my own and I'm not really interested in meetings. What I was thinking is signing up for the monthly pass so I can get the materials I need to do the diet successfully (and get charged for one month) then cancel my subscription. This way I still have what I need and I won't have to worry about monthly payments. If go with the online or monthly pass, I'll be paying around $40 either way. I also called them and asked them if it is possible for me to just buy the materials separately without being a member and they said no. =[

Questions:
•What do you guys think?
•Should I just not bother with it or should I just give it a try?
•Have any of you tried the new points plus, if so how'd you like it?
•OR! if someone here already has the Getting Started book for the points plus system, could you just tell me how many points I need to start off with? I weigh 174...

I've been seriously considering my options and I might go with the monthly pass and just cancel soon after so I can still do the diet successfully with the materials and no monthly payment.  

[Almost Poetic]

Weight Watchers? I remember reading that 83.8% failed to keep at or below their goal weight in 5 years. It's just another company looking to make money; you pay to use everything.

You can try it if you want, but you'll most likely need to pay at least 1 month to fully get into it. I suggest to instead use a free online calorie-counting website. The math will keep your brain active and you'll get the same results since WW points are really just calories, fat, protein, and fiber put into a special equation (that they have patented, because god forbid anyone should loose weight without paying for it first rolleyes ).

Here is a comedy article from someone who went on the Weight Watchers diet, to tell people about what it's like before they start. Everything I read there was similar to what a friend of mine said when she was on it. xp It was about 7 years ago, and she's back to her original weight, so I'll admit that I'm a little bit biased because of that.

 

[A Touch of Evil]

Well, I was on the diet before and I managed to keep the weight I lost from it off. I never regained it but that's probably because I was running so I must have increased my metabolism. It's always worked for me so that's why I like it. I've always used my moms stuff because she used to be a member and when she quit, she gave me her materials and showed me how it works. It's outdated though (2005) so that's why I'm interested in the points plus system.

I have been using the my fitness app for my iPhone to count calories lately but it's annoying. I've never liked counting calories and for some reason, counting points with weight watchers is so much easier.  

[Almost Poetic]

A Touch of Evil

Well, I was on the diet before and I managed to keep the weight I lost from it off. I never regained it but that's probably because I was running so I must have increased my metabolism. It's always worked for me so that's why I like it. I've always used my moms stuff because she used to be a member and when she quit, she gave me her materials and showed me how it works. It's outdated though (2005) so that's why I'm interested in the points plus system.

I have been using the my fitness app for my iPhone to count calories lately but it's annoying. I've never liked counting calories and for some reason, counting points with weight watchers is so much easier.

You just answered your own question there. xp If it works for you then do it! It's essentially the same system but with different points and point allowances. And yeah, one of the jokes in the article I linked to says that counting points is faster than counting calories.

The points plus system takes into account the protein/carb/fat/fiber content (multiplied by a penalty) divided by the energy needed to digest the food. It's focusing more on nutrition. So it's pretty much the same as before, but everything has a new number. This is the equation that the new PointsPlus calculator is supposed to use:


Compared to the old equation:


There are some major changes when it comes to the points, though. For one, you can eat as many fruits/vegetables as you'd like. Secondly, you'll have more available points in the new system if you are more active. Lastly, weekly bonus points are now up to 49.

I've heard love and hatred from both sides. Older WW users don't like learning the new system. Newer WW users like how it focuses more on nutrition and with greater allowances. I've also heard a few problems with canceling after a trial; there have been complaints that the company does not honor a 100% refund, even when canceled the first day. One person said he could only get $5 from his $50 online membership when he realized the first day that he cannot navigate the website. But if you are asking to become a paying member, then you don't need to worry about this.

To get you started, their new system to determine daily points is a bit more complicated, but more accurate. With the information you gave us, we cannot determine your current point amount. Here is how to determine it, compared with the old system, if you would like to find out your starting points:


Hopefully, that should explain everything. @_@

PointsPlus Explained | Preview Book Scans | Free PointsPlus Calculator

 

[A Touch of Evil]

Thank you SOOO much!! That's really helpful, I really appreciate it! <3. The picture that you provided that says "new WW points plus" is actually how to find the daily target points for the old system. The new system has a range between 29-71....and on Wikipedia they have the formula for determining the target points for the new system. It's a 3 part math equation and I can solve the first two parts (I figured out that TEE=42,104.488 and that ATEE=47,094.039) but then solving the third part part is confusing! gonk I know I have to plug ATEE into the formula and I'm assuming "min" and "max" equal 29 and 71....but where it says "round" I have no idea what to put there. Oh well, I could just take a guess, maybe I'll start at 34 points for a week and see if I lose anything. Haha it'll be a nice experiment on myself. xD  

[Almost Poetic]

A Touch of Evil

I'm not completely sure I know what equation you're talking about... But this calculator is off on points for food products by a fraction, so I can't guarantee it's 100% accurate, but it should give you the closest number to begin with. I'd still stick with the other calculator I linked to when trying to find the points of food products, though.

 

[A Touch of Evil]

Thank you so much, you've been a real help! According to that calculator, I can start at 29 points, so I'm going to definitely start tracking what I eat.  

[Almost Poetic]

Alright. ^^ Good luck!