Okay, so the problems with the new WW Points Plus Plan...I think Roni's Right....and don't get suckered on kits sold on eBay and Amazon

641 days and 82.4 pounds to go...

Roni nailed it.

It's not a no-brainer anymore to figure out one's target points or the points in food. Here's her take:

Monday, I felt duped and overwhelmed. When I got the meeting I was given the materials and immediately started leafing through. There was tons of great information but no specifics on HOW to follow the plan. What’s my target? How do I figure it out? How do I calculate the points for food?
As the meeting progressed things started to become clear. SInce I couldn’t weigh in I wasn’t given a target. The only way to get your target with the new plan is to weight in, use e-tools or the electronic calculator. I don’t necessarily think this is a bad idea but historically your target was easily calculated so it caught me off guard.

Next I found out there was no slider or easy way to calculate points for food without either looking it up in the pocket guide, using e-tools or purchasing the electronic calculator. Again, I was caught off guard. The Weight Watchers of the past always provided the minimum basics you needed to follow the plan. Now I needed to purchase an additional gadget. One that I’m not the biggest fan of.

I went ahead and purchased the Deluze Members kit (has two points related books, a cookbook, a points calculator, a 3-month tracker, and a carrying case). Not cheap. But the fact that emphasis now is on fiber and protein and a desire to reduce fat and carbs--well, okay, so I'm more concerned at this point with eating more produce and reducing fat and will worry about my higher-carb target in increments--means this may be an easier way for me to structure meals. I have an online membership (I hate weighing in with clothes on and sometimes after meals, so forget real life meetings), and while I find their online tracker so clunky, and prefer the SparkPeople one, I always liked their notebook/journal-style portable trackers. Very handy for "on-the-go" eating days. Adding points in one's head is always easier than adding calories. It means tens of points rather than hundreds of calories, ya know?

I do think they should provide a cheaper way for budget members to figure out points. I, for one, as an "ethnic person" (snarf, whatever, everyone has an ethnicity, but ya know what I mean) often eat--and have eaten--foods that I could not find in the WW books and had to deconstruct to figure out points. Let's face it: WW is not comprehensive, not the tracker and not the books/companions. So, one of their goals should have been a very simple way to ballpark points (like the previous system) or have a comprehensive online accessible list with points that any member (real life or etools) can access. They're a multi-national corporation. No reason they can't have a comprehensive list of all ethnic foods and convenience foods. It's not like they ain't making money off those kits and snacks and magazines and sites and such.

Well, like anything, it takes getting used to. Soon enough, the old points will fade and the new points will be in memory files. And then they'll change the points again in 10 years or so and we'll be back to memorizing new numbers (unless we're senile).

I like this kind of change--ie, more produce, less "stupid food" (ie, nutrient empty or rejiggered FrankenFoods)--and it's kinda fun to go through and learn points (yeah, I'm weird that way). So, we'll see how this goes...

BTW, don't get ripped off on the kits. Amazon and eBay have INSANE prices, sometimes more than TWICE what WW sells it for (and WW is already overpriced kits-wise, imo). Just get it from the source and save. Don't get desperate and get it from rip-off vendors. Gouging always goes on when plans change. Don't get suckered.

And, in case you like doing calculations, one of the commenters on Roni's blog ("Kelly Rowe") gave this as a possible formula for figuring out points. Try it and see:

(protein/10.9) + (carbohydrates/9.2) + (fat/3.5) + (fiber/35)