Category Archives: FAQ

FAQ posts

07 – How do I calculate the PointsPlus values of Alcohol?

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Or I think my beer is only 1 PointsPlus… Sorry, but no.

Nutrition Information labels (NI) do not include calories for alcohol. That means you cannot compute PointsPlus® values for alcohol by reading the information from the labels on alcoholic beverages.   Many alcoholic beverages do not have NI labels.  Worse, even if you have a bottle with a NI label, you cannot use Weight Watchers’ tools to compute the PointsPlus values.

Fortunately, Weight Watchers patent applications have the raw formulas. This chart gives you a quick rule of thumb for estimating five categories of alcoholic beverages:

Beverage Typical AbV (%) Typical Serve (fl oz) Alcohol per serve (g) Est PP
Ultra Light Beer* 2.8% 12 7.8 2
Light Beer 4.5% 12 12.5 3
Beer 5.0% 12 13.9 4
Wine 12.0% 5 13.9 4
Spirits (80 Proof) 40.0% 1.5 13.9 4

* Ultra light beer tested was MGD64 other comparable brand is Bud 55. Note that the MGD64 has both fewer carbohydrates (only 2.4 g carbs MGD64 vs. 7.1 g carbs for a standard light beer vs. 13.9 g carbs for a regular beer) and less alcohol too.

08 – I have to go to a function that is a buffet. How do I deal with that and stay within my DPT?

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Eat before you go. If you eat a simple meal before you go, you won’t be as hungry, or likely, to go above your points. Also, go and enjoy the company not the food. Be the last one to get a plate, and talk more then you eat. Put your fork down between bites, take a small sip of water after finishing a bite, or strike up a conversation between bites. That way you take more time to eat and enjoy the company you are with.

06 – How do I calculate activity points for exercise?

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If you are using the Online Tools, then just go to the website, choose the calculator and the exercise tab. If you aren’t online or near a computer, a rough guideline is approximately 70-80 calories burned* is 1 AP (activity point). If you are at a computer and can’t find the exercise you completed on the WW calculator, try http://caloriesperhour.com. They have a comprehensive listing of exercise types (including things that arent truly exercise but household chores instead).

* There is no official confirmation from Weight Watchers of how many calories are in 1 Activity PointsPlus value. Based on the old patent for previous plan, 1 AP = 100 calories when 1 P = 50. Given that one P+ = 35 calories, that would put 1 AP at 70 under the new system. Many people use 80 to provide a greater buffer and others continue to use 100.

05 – Why is this board so much quieter than the others?

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A1: Do you mean no Drama? We forbid drama here (see above). Any drama or girly talk gets you a ride on the GoaD goat (talk to Rain for more information)

A2: Or did you mean why is it slow, post-wise? During the week, most of us are at work, so it takes us a little longer to get back to a post. Posting is VERY SLOW on the weekend, so if you stop by then and get very little feedback, check back on Monday. We are here, be patient!

04 – WTF? There are women on the board!?!?

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A1: The Short Answer, yes there are. Get over it!

A2: The Longer and more polite Answer: Yes, our mothers are women, some of our best friends are women and some of us are even married to women (well, usually just one at a time). And some of our favorite and most supportive “Guys on a Diet” are women. We call them girl-guys. We also have guy-guys, gay-guys and gay-girl-guys. We do strongly urge girl-guys (and all other kinds of guys) to cool it on the drama and girly topics, and remember that around here Tom and Bob are guys’ first names. If you are a guy-guy and would prefer to post a question only for the other guy-guys, just say so in your subject line, and our girl-guys will respect that and steer clear. Periodically, we have a “Men Only” thread, where our men have a safe place to discuss issues that they might not feel comfortable discussing in mixed company (or just to belch and f a r t without having to apologize.) Ladies, we respectfully ask that you leave this thread alone and do not post to it.

02 – Should I do PointsPlus or Simply Filling Technique (formerly Core)?

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This is an individual decision that you will need to make. The beauty of the PointsPlus program for 2012 is that you can switch between P+ and SFT on a daily basis. However, it is recommended you stick with one or the other for longer periods to see the true results. You will find members on each of these plans here who are willing to share tips and ideas.

01 – How many PointsPlus do I/someone else get a day?

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My husband/BF/DS/SO/cat weighs xxx lbs and is x’x” tall. He was born on the seventh day of the seventh month. He has big bones, but a small mind. How many points should he have per day? (Also known as How Many Points…? a/k/a Points Inquiries for SOs Thread)

A1: Everyone gets a Daily PointsPlus® target (DPT) based on their age, height, weight, and gender. If you are a member, you can find this information quite easily.

A2: Tell him to sign up and find out for himself!

A3: We have been told not to provide this information on the WW forums. The warning has been given that those that do give out explicit points information could lose their accounts. So thanks in advance for not asking this type of question.

A4: If you are determined to figure it out on your own, visit the Wikipedia entry for Weight Watchers which has the formulas from the patents.