Can someone help me out with weightwatchers points please?

[sandyballs]

From today I have decided to lose weight but
cannot get to my first ww class until next Tues. So for the next few days I am doing it alone. I have spoken to friends who have done ww and have gathered that I am allowed approx 22 points a day. I don't really want to buy all the branded ww foods with the points written on it so could you please let me know roughly what the following would be, point wise:

mug of coffee with semi skimmed milk
medium jacket potato with half tin of beans
Fish finger sandwich
cheerios with semi skimmed milk
portion of chilli with rice (what is a portion btw as I am sure I over-fill my plate!)

Any other tips on points would be much appreciated - what is free, all veg???

[Elasticwoman]

Weightwatchers is a multimillion pound organisation making money out of people like you who think they can't lose weight without a complicated points system.

If you want to lose weight

• eat smaller portions
  
• take more exercise
  
• get off the computer, out of the car and away from tv
  
  
• eat more fresh and less processed food
  
• choose whole grains rather than refined for all cereals and
  
• cut down on refined sugar.
  
  There, all that advice for free.

[08aGreatYearForCarmenere]

Are you trying to be helpful Elastic? Or are you actually being patronising and condescending whilst pretending to be helpful?

[Lomond]

To work out the points you need the calories and saturated fat. Different brands can vary enormously.

It seems hard at first but you soon get used to the points values of your regular brands. Do you have a points calculator? Even the cardboard slidey one would do.

Elasticwoman, weight watchers works for many people. Lots of people need the support that you can get from a weight watchers meeting.

[Elasticwoman]

No I'm not being patronising. I'm saying WW is a con, and an expensive one at that.

[Lomond]

online points calculator here

[08aGreatYearForCarmenere]

Elastic, it may well be a con if you don't understand how it works and you can't afford it. However, I have lost 24lbs over the past 6-7 months by loosely sticking to WW. I have never managed to lose weight before and before you tell me that I just need to apply all that you said in your first post I KNEW ALL THAT ALREADY. I am a qualified chef, I have a certificate in nutrition and I even used to write the news letter of a dieting website there is very little you could tell me about food and nutrition.

But I needed a structure and I needed framework to work within and to make me think about what I was eating and how little I was actually exercising. And luckily five pounds a week means not a huge deal to me. WW are selling something intangible and it is not fair to rubbish it as you cannot possibly know what support it offers to people.

[Lomond]

Oh a wee tip, you can join the weight watchers community WW for free which enables you to post on their message boards and access some of their recipes.

[Elasticwoman]

I knew some one whose husband went for a job in the senior management of WW. He was flown to New York from UK for 6 days at WW's expense. So the organisation is not short of a bob or two.

Those people who lose weight while following their regime - take some credit for it yourself! I quite agree that peer support helps. Is it really £5 now? Gone up since I last heard anything about it. My sil has been going for donkey's years and is fatter than ever. Probably because her parents pay for it. It's probably the fact that you spend your own money to go that makes it work for some people.

I am somewhat mollified to learn that there is a free website though.

Carmenere, you could have made your own structure and framework with all your knowledge and expertise. Just don't give WW all the credit for something you have done yourself.

[sandyballs]

Funny you should say all that Elastic as i do kind of agree with you. I have always thought along similar lines. However, I used to be able to lose a few pounds by cutting back and being sensible but now knocking on the door of 40 it seems harder and I feel I need the support of a group and a weekly weigh-in to keep me on track and I think 5 quid a week isn't too bad if it helps.

Thanks for all the others suggestions everyone.