Weight Watchers Points Calculations

[cocoa'smom]

I noticed on the thread about WW desserts, that several people said you have to be a member of WW to calculate points. I have a formula - I'll use some Lay's Light Potato chips I have as an example:
The chips are: 90 calories, 1 gram fat, 1 gram fiber per serving

1) divide # of calories by 50 (90 calories divided by 50 = 1.80)
plus
2) divide # of fat grams by 12 (1 fat gram divided by 12 = .08)
minus
3) divide # of fiber grams by 5) 1 fiber gram divided by 5 = .20)
= WW Points

So, 1.80 + .08 - .20 = 1.68 points per serving. This seems to match up with my WW Points Calculator.

This formula is easy, but does require a calculator (at least for me!). But it's good to use in a pinch.

[donnamp14]

WOW! Thanks! I have been estimating, since I went back on WW without joining officially. Couldn't stand the meetings! (sorry if that offends any WW members!)

[SammyOD]

I have a great calculator that is on my computer. E-mail me if you guys want me to send it to you. Nothing fancy but it calculates food and activity points.

[JJeannette]

One thing to remember when you use that formula for calculating WW points is that there is now a cap on fiber--you can only use 4 grams fiber in your calculations.

[jena]

Hi - I just joined WW a few days ago (Online version - on UK site) and the 'points calculator' only asks for calories and saturated fat grams, doesn't ask for fibre. Does this mean it's miscalculating? Is fibre taken into account, I wonder, for all the pre-calculated foods in their database?

Has something changed, or maybe there is a difference between US and UK points? That would be awful, as I've found so many great recipes from US WW sites that I want to try!

[biondetta]

jena, I think different countries do different variations of the WW plan. I have a friend in Israel who does WW and I know her plan was different than the version I do in the US, at least in terms of the number of points they were allowed and such. I don't know how they calculated the food, though. When we calculate the points in the US, we count all fat grams, not just saturated, so maybe that's where some of the difference comes in.

[jena]

Oh no! So all of the US recipes I am looking at have different point values for me! I guess I'll just have to add all the ingredients into the Recipe Builder and let it figure the UK version. Thanks for the word.

[Lillith]

I have nothing to add but a funny story. One of my co-workers recently asked if he could "borrow" a few points from some-one b/c he already used his alloted amount up!

[maisies1]

My Weight Watchers Leader (who hasn't seen my face in QUITE some time :( ) always tried to keep us from calculating at the really precise, fine point level. If you round or use the best info you have to arrive at the Points value, that's enough. The power is in the lifestyle changes and the journaling.