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Making sure it uses the PointsPlus system! There are no two ways around it -- just getting a calculator is the simplest way. With the new formula, activity is assumed with your sex and certain numbers are weighted and there's a bunch of decimal places you really shouldn't have to worry about. Just to prove a point, the Total Energy Expenditure formula is:TEE = 387 - (7.31 x age) + (PA x ((10.9 x wgt) + (660.7 x Ht))...See? And that's just one formula of many. The process of counting food points is different with the new system, too. You need to get a calculator and punch in the amount of protein, carbs, fat and fiber (no calories!) in the food you're eating. Once you do this enough times, it'll become old hat. Weight Watchers has reference material for most restaurants and food items, but if you run into the odd product that isn't pre-listed, you can figure it out with a few button pushes. This formula is a bit convoluted, too, if you want to do it yourself. Curious? It looks something like this:Points Plus = (Protein grams / 11) + (Carbohydrate grams / 9) + (Fat grams / 4) - (Fiber grams / 35) Here's another way of thinking about it: [(Protein grams x 16) + (Carbohydrate grams x 19) + (Fat grams x 45) + (Fiber grams x 5)]/175 Again, a calculator will be your best friend. There are a whole bunch of resources you can find online when it comes to calculating how many points you've earned for your workouts. Onemorepound.com has a good chart that can walk you through it. You'll need to know the intensity and duration of your workout and your weight. 30 minutes of a moderately intense workout for someone that weights 175 pounds is two points. If you wanted to eat that cheesecake, you'll need to work out for a spell, that's for sure. If it wasn't clear, activity points can be lobbed off your daily points usage. If you ate 27 points worth of food, but moderately exercised for 30 minutes, you're down to 25 (weight depending). Huzzah! On this new program, all fruits and many veggies (but not all) are zero points. AWESOME. That's the way it should be. Check your materials or with your weight watcher buddies to find out which ones are on this list. But remember, eating 19 bananas is not the way to go. They should be snacks, not meals! However, they're not zero when they're combined in recipes. Be sure to include their content when you're finding out the point value of dishes you're creating. On this new system, you get 49 points to throw around freely. P.F. Chang's, anyone? The reason the old system got revamped is because it had too much emphasis on calories. If you got confronted with a small bag of cookies and an apple (eat these or your family gets it!), they'd have similar point values. You had no reason to go for the apple over the cookies, even though it's obviously healthier. That being said, both systems do lead to watching calories -- a basic tenant of losing weight. If the original system is easier for you, choose it. If it's easy, you'll stick with it! In general, most foods have higher point values with the new system (apart from fruits and veggies, which are often 0). However, you'll probably have a higher daily allowance, too.
Use an online calculator to pinpoint your daily allowance. Calculate your food points, too. Find out how many activity points you have. Know the "zero" foods. Use your 49 weekly PointsPlus points whenever and however you'd like. Know the differences between the systems.