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Please Note: Weight Watchers has changed it’s program again. Click here to learn more about Weight Watchers latest program for 2022!
If you are a Weight Watcher® you have probably heard that Weight Watchers® is retiring their PointsPlus® program in 2016 and introducing a brand new SmartPoints® system and plan, called Beyond the Scale.
Since I’m a Lifetime Weight Watcher® and include points with my recipes and meal plans and realize that many of you also follow Weight Watchers®, I wanted to highlight some of the major changes to the new SmartPoints® plan and also share about how it will affect things here at Simple Nourished Living.
Weight Watchers Programs – Old & New
If you’ve been a Weight Watcher® for any amount of time, you know that the company changes its plan every few years.
Weight Watchers® is more than 50 years old and consistently shows up on top of US News & World Report’s list of Best Diets for Weight Loss for good reason!
Each and every WW program works, from the very first one introduced in the 1960s by founder, Jean Nidetch, to the most current one, as they continue to adopt the latest in the world of nutrition and weight loss science.
You may recall a while back I wrote about why I thought the Old WW Quick Success Plan, on which I originally achieved WW Lifetime Status, was better for teaching its members how to eat healthy.
I believe SmartPoints™ better addresses those concerns.
A few weeks ago I was contacted by the folks at Weight Watchers® and asked if I would like to take a sneak peek at new program and provide feedback on a private Facebook page, along with about 30 others 🙂
I happily accepted but was not paid in any way for my time or effort.
I was able to test out both the beta version and release version of the new APP and SmartPoints® calculator ahead of time.
I am grateful for the opportunity to familiarize myself with the new program ahead of time so I can be a helpful resource as you begin, or shift to SmartPoints®.
Discover For More Weight Watchers Friendly Recipes
Introducing SmartPoints – The Highlights
Let’s start by looking at some of the major changes to the plan, including Weight Watchers® SmartPoints® and FitPoints®:
- Focus on Healthier Eating
All calories are not equal, which I try to illustrate in this followup post and video. The SmartPoints® plan is based on the latest in nutritional science, nudging you toward a pattern, not only of weight loss, but of healthier eating with more fruits, vegetables and lean protein, and less sugar and saturated fat. While the PointsPlus® formula went farther than calories to factor in different nutrients, like calories, it only focused on a food’s impact on your weight. With SmartPoints®, you can not only pinpoint the choices that help you lose weight, but you shift to a healthier pattern of eating overall.
- SmartPoints® have replaced PointsPlus®
SmartPoints® are calculated using calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein. Foods with higher amounts of sugar and saturated fats have higher SmartPoints® values. Foods with higher amounts of lean protein have lower SmartPoints® values. Many lean proteins like chicken and seafood are now lower in points and sweet treats like muffins, cookies and sugar sweetened beverages are higher. And about 40 percent of foods have stayed the same.
- New Daily SmartPoints® Allowance
You have a daily Target based on your height, weight, gender and age. You’ll get this Target online or in your meeting. The minimum daily SmartPoints® target is now 30.
- Weekly SmartPoints®
Under the PointsPlus® plan, everyone was given 49 weekly points to use however they wanted. With SmartPoints®, this number is adjusted according to your height, weight, age, gender ,activity level and weight loss goals. They are designed to add leeway to your plan. You can choose to use them or not!
- FitPoints® Activity Goal
Activity Points are now FitPoints®. You have a personalized FitPoints activity goal based on your preferences and lifestyle. FitPoints focuses on overall movement, not just formal “exercise.” Exercising as a means for earning more food points is discouraged.
- Tracking
Tracking is still an integral part of this plan. You can use your online tools and your Mobile app (if you are a subscriber.) But old style, with a paper and pencil will still work.
- Fruits and Vegetables are Zero in the Recipe Calculator
All fruits and vegetables are now calculated as zero in the recipe builder calculator. The one exception is when you use them to make a blended beverage by placing a checkmark in the recipe builder calculator to indicate the fruit is being blended for a drink.
- Good Health Guidelines are Gone
Because healthy choices are now embedded into the SmartPoints® formula, you no longer need to focus on these guidelines or power foods separately. SmartPoints® takes care of it.
- Simply Filling (No Count Option) is Still an Option
As a longtime fan, I was very happy to learn that the WW Simply Filling Technique is still an option. It’s a No-Count Option for those who don’t want to calculate and keep track of SmartPoints®. To follow it, eat from the list of Simply Filling Foods in your Pocket guide. You’ll find the details on page 62 of Your Plan Guide. If your tracker is set to the Simply Filling technique, foods marked with a green circle icon are Simply Filling. Any food you eat that shows a SmartPoints® value (like the chicken thigh on the screenshot below) would need to be deducted from your weekly allowance.
Click Here to Find All My Simply Filling Recipes!
)See How SmartPoints® Stack Up Against PointsPlus®
- Latte with whole milk (8 ounces): 3 PointsPlus, 5 SmartPoints
- Cooked boneless, skinless chicken breast (3 ounces): 3 PointsPlus, 2 SmartPoints
- Cooked broccoli (1/2 cup): 0 PointsPlus, 0 SmartPoints
- Glazed yeast doughnut: 7 PointsPlus, 10 SmartPoints
- Cooked tuna (3 ounces): 3 PointsPlus, 1 SmartPoint
- Fat-free fruit-flavored yogurt (1 cup): 6 PointsPlus, 11 SmartPoints
- Egg: 2 PointsPlus, 2 SmartPoints
- Cooked oatmeal (1 cup): 4 PointsPlus, 5 SmartPoints
- Breyer’s coffee ice cream (1/2 cup): 3 PointsPlus, 5 SmartPoints
Ten of My Favorite Foods and Their Associated SmartPoints®
- Fruit, especially bananas, apples, grapefruit and berries – 0 SmartPoints®
- Vegetables, especially tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, baby carrots, zucchini, onions, bell peppers – 0 SmartPoints®
- Eggs – 2 SmartPoints
- Turkey Breast – 3 ounces, 1 SmartPoint®
- Chicken Breast – 3 ounces, 1 SmartPoint®
- Peanut Butter – 1 Tablespoon, 3 SmartPoints®
- Plain Nonfat Greek Yogurt – 1 cup, 3 SmartPoints®
- Potatoes – 6 ounces, 5 SmartPoints®
- Tuna fish – 3 ounces, 1 SmartPoint®
- White Wine – 5 ounces, 4 SmartPoints®
Recipes, Nutritional Information & Calculating SmartPoints®
One big change is that zero point fruit and vegetables are no longer no longer included in the calculation of SmartPoints Values, unless you puree or liquify them and turn them into a beverage such as a smoothie.
This means that if you use a recipe’s nutrition information to calculate the SmartPoints instead of Weight Watchers recipe builder you might end up with a value higher than expected because the nutrition information for recipes will include ALL ingredients.
Click here to read more about calculating your SmartPoints correctly
Moving forward all NEW recipes here on Simple Nourished Living will include the SmartPoints value as well as the nutritional values required for calculating them (calories, saturated fat, sugars and protein).
But keep in mind, the fruits and veggies will still be factored into the total calories, fat, etc.; they just won’t be included in the SmartPoints value.
I’ll also be working to make this information available for older recipes, but it’s going to take some time.
Search For Your Favorite WW Friendly Recipes
4/16 Update: Now more than four months since it’s launch, the feedback is mixed, especially with folks who were happy with PointsPlus.
Of course, change is never easy, but some folks have experienced a serious backlash and gaining weight.
Read my post: Weight Watchers SmartPoints: Struggle or Success???
What have the first three weeks on the SmartPoints Plan been like for you?
One of the members of our Private Facebook Group asked us to answer the following questions, which you may find helpful…
1. What’s one thing you were concerned about with moving to a new program that turned out NOT to be an issue?
How it would affect my habits and routines. I’m a creature of habit and can be resistant to change, which also means I can get stuck in a rut 🙂 It turns out that the changes have had little impact on how I eat day to day.
2. What’s one challenge you’ve identified with the new program?
The biggest challenge I face is with getting all the recipes on my blog updated to include the new required nutritional values of saturated fat and sugars! For those who are used to consuming sweet treats daily, some rethinking/re-prioritizing will be required.
3. What’s one food you were SO excited to see go down in SP value?
Protein. I love lean protein and am excited to see it go down. I see myself indulging in more shrimp cocktails and fewer cookies this holiday season!
4. What’s one food you’re bummed went up in SP value? Do you have a plan for how to make it work going forward?
Sweet treats went way up so I’m going to have to me more judicious. One strategy that has worked for me is to be really selective and seek out the highest quality treats possible. I’ve found that for me the higher the quality, the less I need to be satisfied. This is especially true with good dark chocolate.
5. What’s one piece of advice you would give others starting the conversion to SmartPoints®, now that you’ve had nearly two weeks with the program?
Don’t panic. Give yourself time to adjust and evaluate the plan on it’s own merits. It may be just what you needed to shake things up and get yourself out of a rut. I’ve found I’m having fun in the kitchen, experimenting with new foods and recipes that I might not have tried otherwise, including a surprisingly satisfying tofu scramble.
What I’ve Learned During My Initial Experiments with Weight Watchers Smart Points
Black coffee is a nice eye-opening change to lattes some days of the week. I’ve also gone back to making my lattes at home with unsweetened soy milk to keep the SmartPoints value @ 2
Check out this morning’s beauty…
Eggs fuel me really well all morning. Rod agrees.
The less sugar I eat, the less I crave.
I feel better when I eat more fruits and veggies. I know this but I forget.
This little SmartPoints test run was the push I needed to up my veg game with smashing results.
I feel energized. Lighter. Satisfied.
Many of the old foods I used to love and eat regularly don’t nourish me at 52. To feel my best and age gracefully, healthfully, vibrantly, I need to change what I eat and how I take care of myself.
I feel re-energized to attend meetings every week instead of just once a month for a while.
I love the more holistic discussions and increased emphasis on the importance of taking care of yourself.
For me it’s integral to successful maintenance.
The true success of WW has always been its meetings and the support and accountability they provide.
Losing weight is about so much more than a number on a scale.
If you’re committed to getting healthier, living happier and losing weight, I believe WeightWatchers Beyond The Scale program can provide the guidance and support to get you there.
4/16 Update: Now more than four months since it’s launch, the feedback is mixed, especially with folks who were happy with PointsPlus®.
Of course, change is never easy, but some folks have experienced a serious backlash and gaining weight… Click here to read my post: Weight Watchers SmartPoints®: Struggle or Success???
Search For New Weight Watchers Friendly Recipes
How Have Simple Nourished Living’s Recipes Been Affected by the Transition from Points Plus to Smart Points?
Based on a quick assessment of the recipes I’ve updated so far, I’d say that close to half of them have the same SmartPoints® value as PointsPlus®.
Most recipes, including lean proteins, and/or 0 points vegetables and fruits decreased by 1 or 2 points.
The biggest increases are in those recipes with significant amounts of added sugars, such as muffins, cookies, and other baked goods and sweet treats.
Just watch out for the sugary treats and you’ll be fine.
If you’ve got a sweet tooth, watch out. A tablespoon of granulated white sugar had a PointsPlus® value of *1… It now has a SmartPoints® value of *3.
Big difference!
This recipe, for Slow Cooker Chicken Thighs Ossco Buco from the Weight Watchers One Pot Cookbook (which has the nutritional information you need for calculating SmartPoints™) is a great example.
According to my calculations it has just 4 SmartPoints™, since the 0 Points vegetables aren’t included in the SmartPoints Calculation! And it’s delicious.
Your family will never guess they are being served a Weight Watchers recipe.
You can reduce the SmartPoints™ to 2 if you substitute boneless, skinless chicken thighs!
Or check out this Slow Cooker Chicken Gravy, a longtime favorite here on Simple Nourished Living. Made with boneless, skinless chicken breasts, this easy comfort food favorite dropped from 6 PointsPlus® to just 4 SmartPoints®!
First up was this yummy spicy turkey, apple, spinach panini that I made for lunch.
Why I Believe SmartPoints® May Be Better than Points Plus…
Many Weight Watchers members are unhappy with SmartPoints®, even before they try it. They are expressing their dissatisfaction and threatening to quit.
I get it. Change is hard. I’m a creature of habit that can be resistant to change, even when it’s good for me.
When I first switched from my personal computer to a Mac, I was miserable and almost returned it.
The pain of learning the new system seemed unbearable. Everything took so long and I seemed so lost and confused.
I didn’t think I would ever adjust. Some days I was so frustrated I thought about hurling the machine against a wall.
But I stuck with it and am so much happier now.
I felt the same way the first couple of weeks on SmartPoints®. But eventually things fell into place, after more than my usual amount of self-talk to keep myself on track and I figured out how to adjust the plan to make it work for me.
My suggestion is just give it a chance. Keep an open mind. Try it for a few months.
Give yourself time to adjust.
And feel free to adjust the program to make it work for you.
Ultimately that’s what all successful Weight Watchers do.
They lose weight their way and you can to!
SmartPoints will help you achieve your goals!
But I get that losing weight is multi-dimensional and such a MIND GAME!
We may have to figure out how to make a game out of this and/or learn to talk/think differently, which will take time and patience, especially if a big part of our problem is emotional eating.
And we may have to figure out how to soothe our inner child who doesn’t want to be denied his/her sweet treats.
I’ve been playing with giving myself a “free” day to eat whatever I want.
I know it’s not endorsed by WW, but it seems to calm me down and make me better able to stick with SmartPoints® most days.
Promising myself I can have whatever I want on Saturday prevents me from diving head first into the bag of chips, carton of ice cream or cookie jar whenever I feel the urge.
One day of indulgence seems a lot healthier to me than 7.
But everyone is different so it’s a matter of experimenting until you figure out what works best for you.
4/16 Update: Now more than four months since it’s launch, the feedback is mixed, especially with folks who were happy with PointsPlus.
Of course, change is never easy, but some folks have experienced a serious backlash and gaining weight.
Click here to read my post: Weight Watchers SmartPoints: Struggle or Success???
Additional Perspectives on Weight Watchers New Program
It’s always helpful to get more than one opinion.
Here are links to posts by some of the amazing Weight Watchers members I had the pleasure of sharing with in this three week beta testing experiment.
Some of them you may know already, but others may be new to you and are definitely worth following.
Here are links to their reviews of the new program as well, so please stop by and show them some love!
- Melissa’s post on her blog, The Daily Mel (She is doing a weeklong series)
- Gina’s post on her blog, Skinny Taste
- Emily’s post on her blog, Emily Bites
- Alexis’s post on her blog, Trading Cardio for Cosmos (she’s also doing a week-long series)
- Jeana’s video on her YouTube channel, Simply Jeana
- Amber’s post on her Instagram feed
- Christina’s post on her Instagram feed
- Ashley’s post on her blog, The Pavement Princess
- Sophie’s post on her Instagram feed
- Serina’s post on her Instagram feed
A great video from The Skinny on Weight Loss girls talking about their first week on SmartPoints…
1/16 Update: How can I have used up all my SmartPoints® and only ingested 600 to 800 calories?
I’ve seen this question several times and people are angry about it.
They think that SmartPoints must be broken.
No! SmartPoints® isn’t broken; it’s designed to help you make “smarter” “healthier” choices 🙂
SmartPoints isn’t about counting calories…It’s about healthy eating.
If you have blown through all your SmartPoints® and only consumed 600 to 800 calories, it means that WW thinks that you aren’t making the smartest choices, which is really easy to do as I demonstrate here in my video!
If you eat and drink the way I used to, your daily SmartPoints can be gone by the time you finish your morning latte and scone 🙁
But, there’s good news!
You still have “calories” left to “save the day.” Even though your points are gone you can round out the day with healthy, good-for-you 0 Points fruits and vegetables and low Points lean proteins by using a few of your Weekly SmartPoints®.
This is what I had to do way back in the dark ages of Weight Watchers, after I had expended all my food group exchanges for the day!
4/16 SmartPoints Update:
One important thing to keep in mind with SmartPoints is that you can be way over your SmartPoints target and still lose weight!
When I first tested out SmartPoints, I began by just eating the way I regularly do to maintain my lifetime goal weight and was shocked to discover that I was consuming 50 to 60 SmartPoints per day!
That’s way over my suggested SmartPoints target for maintenance!
And I’m okay with that. I eat a relatively healthy diet of mostly home cooked foods with occasional sweet treats.
I enjoy a glass or two of wine with dinner most nights.
Could I eat healthier and meet my SmartPoints target most days?
Probably.
Would I be happy?
Probably not.
And for me it’s all about me finding my happy/healthy balance.
>Remember that your daily SmartPoints is Simply a Target you are shooting for. You don’t have to hit it to be successful! You just keep aiming for it! You can never hit it and still lose weight!!
Ultimately, like it says on page 1 of the new Beyond the Scale Plan Guide, “The first step is to treat yourself with respect, patience and kindness. Because when you change the way you think, you change the way you feel.”
You know yourself best and you should do whatever you need to, modify the program however you need to, to take care yourself. This is your life and you know yourself best!
PS – If you are tired of calculating/tracking Points or calories, check out why I’ve shifted to Intermittent Fasting after reading Eat Stop Eat!
FYI: I was part of a special group who received early access to this program. I was not paid in any way for my effort or time.
Weight Watchers Success Stories:
Weight Watchers Success Story – Shari
Great post! From a wide view, with all the points you’ve made above, I like the new program. Sweets are my downfall, even the “light” ones, so I’m hoping that with the much higher cost for them, it will help me eat less of them. I came home and Pointed everything in my pantry, fridge, and freezer and only a few things changed. ANYthing remotely dessert-y pretty much doubled in Points value. That includes the Greek Yogurt I eat occasionally. My favorite turkey chili recipe, though, went from 5 P+ to 3 SmartPoints, so score!
My MAJOR issue with this new program is more practical. They rolled it out without making sure all the electronic components work. And since the only way to figure out SmartPoints without buying anything additional is to use these electronic components, I find that it’s an enormous fail so far. Friday (my weigh in day, so my first day on the new plan) I could log into my app and use the Points calculator, but not actually add anything to my journal. I finally found the scanner and it’s still scanning, but it’s looking up Points Plus and not Smart Points. Still, I could work around it because the website worked. Saturday, the website didn’t work. It’s working again today, but now the FitPoints aren’t being calculated with my Fitbit. They’re there for Friday, but nothing’s in there for Saturday or today. I realize there are going to be glitches and they can’t catch everything, but this is rather ridiculous. I suppose I’ll shell out for an offline Smart Points calculator at my next meeting so I won’t be reliant on the non-functioning online apps and web pages. But it’s crazy that I have to spend even MORE money to do something that’s the very core of the plan. Big fail on Weight Watchers part. BIG fail.
Hi Jenn, Thanks for taking the time to share your insights and experiences. Unfortunately, I think these kind of glitches, though painful, are common in the face of major changes. Remember when the healthcare.gov sight was launched and promptly crashed? It makes me really really glad I don’t work in the world of information technology! Technology is great when it works. I plan on picking up a manual calculator at my next meeting too.
hi my name is Jodi I have been with weight watchers for 3 years but I quit going to the meetings back in may because I was having trouble with my weight a lot of it had to do with poor tracking plus I was paying $15 a week because I was doing the pay as you go plan back then they still had the points plus plan and they had the 49 extra weekly points but they stopped putting them on the paper trackers I just got to where I couldn’t afford it so I stopped going I did go on the weight watchers web sight this evening to check out the price for the online deals I saw one for 39.95 a month now I do have a few questions 1 if you do online tracking do you have to have etools ? how much is etools? what are they using to calculate the points with ? are the weight watchers pedometers still the same ? what do the new trackers look like ? and how many weekly points do we get ? I am asking all this because I am planning on rejoining weight watchers but this time doing it online and do I have to have android smart phone or a certain type of ipod to track online ? I have an ipod but I am not sure if it’s iOS 7 or what it is and I don’t have android or smart phone or iphone.
Hi Jodi, I don’t work for Weight Watchers. I’m just a lifetime member. It may be best for you to call Weight Watchers so they can accurately answer all you questions regarding pricing/plan options/tech requirements. Your weekly points and daily points are determined based on your weight, height, age and gender. I hope this helps.
The changes are awful. I am really considering canceling. It all but eliminates the ability to have any sweets on any given day. A small Frosty at 20+points. Seriously? Lost 60 lbs on point plus. Don’t understand why I cannot keep my legacy system. Can Points Plus come back as a second option.
Hi John, It’s normal to resist change, especially when something has worked for you. Lots of folks felt the same way when Points changed to points plus. Why not give it a chance? Experiment with a few weeks and see what happens?
I agree with John. Hate the new plan. I don’t eat a lot of sugary foods either but I do want my desserts and snacks. Prpoints should remain as an option.
Hi Mary, If you don’t eat a lot of sugary foods and refined carbs, the new plan should work fine for you. The new Plan Guide has lots of yummy snack and dessert ideas!
Weill I guess we will agree to disagree.. I am so not doing the new plan. WAY WAY WAY too restrictive for me. Im going to be counting calories and doing pro points. Btw thanks fr including the calories and still having propoints on your recipies.
The more I read abt it the less I like it. It’s restrictive reminds me of the old ww and liver . I don’t get alot of surgery stuff but do want my treats. Sorry ww.
I agree with you 100 percent! I currently have 3 points left, and have only eaten about 800 calories with the new points program! I started tracking on My Fitness Pal when ww mobile website had glitches! I’m horrified with the change! I joined ww so I could learn to change my habits slowly. Now it’s like every other diet out there!
I have to say I disagree. It’s a healthy way of eating. The problem is that our standard American diet has become so unhealthy with an overabundance of processed foods and sugar that when we are presented with a healthy diet it is shocking! The choice is still yours to make. If you only have 3 points left, and have eating 800 calories, the SmartsPoint approach is telling you that your eating is out of balance. It’s trying to point you in the direction of low points and 0 points foods like fruits, vegetables and lean proteins. It’s just information. You are still in charge of what you eat!!
New points on 30 days of juicing recipes?
Hi Kim, we will be updating all the recipes to SmartPoints as we are able.
I love your recipes. And have used them since joining WW’s at the end of October. I plan to continue using them with the new smart points. Will continue to look for your updated recipes.
Thanks, Delores. I really appreciate it!
Thanks for the feedback from your using the new program. I’ve been following SmartPoints for a little over a week now and really like it. I think it does a lot more than PointsPlus to encourage healthier eating. I was not a big sugar eater and don’t eat beef so my points I’m eating haven’t gone up a lot. One problem I’ve had on a few days is struggling to get to my minimum of 30. I could do it, of course, just buy going and eating something just to eat. But, that is hard to do if you aren’t really hungry. There was one day I dual tracked and I was at 28 PointsPlus but also at 28 SmartPoints. On PointsPlus, of course, no worries since I had eaten my 26 minimum plus 2 weeklies. On SmartPoints I was below my minimum of 30. I’m going to have to work with this to better figure out how to meet the minimum consistently.
Hi Kitty, thanks for your insights. They are very enlightening. I personally have never worried about finishing my day a few points under my daily points target. It’s natural for appetites to ebb and flow. Some days I go a little over and other days I go a little under and over time it all balances out. This has been the approach that has worked best for me. I try to never eat when I’m not hungry.
One think I do not understand is HOW to calculate Smart Points for a food instead of for a whole recipe. Any ideas?
Hi Kitty, WW really takes care of that for you. You can look up most foods with your tracker or in your pocket guide and it will provide the SmartPoints value. Otherwise, if the food in question has a label, enter the nutritional information from the label into the WW SmartPoints calculator. Hope this helps!
It this why the app continues to be down since Saturday?
Yes, Michele, this is a major change for Weight Watchers, so there are always a few technological struggles along the way that should resolve themselves over the next few weeks. I’ve gone back to tracking manually for a while 🙂
Thanks for sharing. I rejoined WW yesterday (Sunday). I like the changes. I’ve already been surprised, though, by how many smart points some of my old standbys have. Adjustments to come.
Have fun changing all the point information. 😉 I’m sure that could be a daunting task.
Hi Ree, thanks for dropping by to comment. Yes, the new plan will take some adjusting, but I believe it’s worth it 🙂
This was very helpful. Thank you. I go to my meeting later this week and this will give me a headstart as to what to expect.
Thanks, Karen!
I think that I am going to give this a try. Does anyone know any good websites or e-mails with helpful hints and recipes. I love the Oprah line of if not now, when? I generally do not do well with this type of thing but figure what the heck? Time to try something new!
Hi CC, I’ve got lots of recipes here and if you sign up I send out a weekly email with recipes/hints. Best of luck!!
just now learning about how WW works. thanks,