Should Weight Watchers be assigning any points values to fruits and vegetables?

I was wondering if anyone has thoughts on this- it seems to me that fruits and vegetables help you lose weight. Why would weight watchers assign any sort of "penalty" to this in terms of a point value? The Fat Smash diet tells me that I can eat all the fruits and veggies I want.

Fri. Jun 15, 10:25am

Yes, but think of all of the things that the Fat Smash plan tells you that you cannot eat. Think of a typical day on Fat Smash, list out the food, and convert to WW points. You're probably at or below your points value.

In the end, all of these diets are gimmicks to get you to lower your caloric intake. You need to take in less calories than you burn, whether they're from veggies, fruits, or straight from a can of lard!

Also, there are several "0 point" vegetables on Weight Watchers, mostly those with very low calorie counts and a lot of fiber. Fill up on those if you want, but multiple servings should actually start adding up to points too.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 10:37 AM

They assign points strictly on calories, fat and fiber. So a lot of veggies are point free, most common fruits are only a point. But some of the higher fat or sugary fruits (avocado, coconut, pineapple) may have more points because of the higher sugars. They're not trying to discourage you from eating those things, in fact they encourage you to get most or all of your point from whole, healthy food choices. And on the core plan, most fruits and veggies are able to be eaten without limits. I think it just teaches you balance.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 11:20 AM

I don't think Fat Smash is a gimmick to lower your caloric intake at all. It encourages you to eat better, and eat healthier. Something Weight Watchers does not do. I think Weight Watchers points are the gimmick. And as far as all the things that Fat Smash tells you not to eat- that is the whole point. There are foods that one can eat in abundance- in fact many of the foods FS identifies will make the average person healhier.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 11:21 AM

Weight Watchers is a great plan for teaching good eating habits without intimidating people who have no clue what good eating habits are - which, if you've ever been to a WW meeting, describes most of the group. So call it a gimmick, but rewarding fiber while penalizing fat in determining a point value is actually quite clever. I've seen friends and family start off thinking "I can use my Points for pizza and french fries", then find themselves unsatisfied, and start reaching for free and low-point foods (vegetables, fruit, milk instead of cream) to get through the day.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 12:36 PM

WW Core lets you have all the fruit you want

Like one of the earlier posters sais, it'sr eally a caliries in vs calories out game.

The WW Core plan lets you eat as many fruits and veggies as you want (with a few exceptions.) But the bottom line is - if you eat too many fruits, you will still gain weight. Fruit still has calories and if you over consume them, you will gain weight.

I think the theory with the WW Core plan is that fruit is so filing that you are unlikely to over-indulge too much.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 12:43 PM

gimmick: a trick or device intended to attract attention, scheme, strategy

Actually, I agree with 10:37, all diet plans are "gimmicks" (in one way or another) or strategies to get you to pay attention to what you eat. Because, really, the only ways to lose weight are eat less calories and exercise more.

I think we associate the word "gimmick" with diets that are extreme and/or are designed to make money, like Atkins (no carbs!), the "Special K Challenge" and the "grapefruit and water" type diets. But really they are just methods to help you pay attention to what you eat. Some are healthier than others, and some will cost you a lot of money.

You might not think of "follow the FDA food pyramid" as a gimmick, but it is a device to help you watch what you eat.

Friday, June 15, 2007, 6:24 PM

looks like 4 years later, WW decided to move in this direction. Unlimited greens makes a lot of sense. In fact they are so good for you that WW ought to think about crediting people a point for eating a big dose.

With the Cheat System, we took this observation and put it into practice.

This is a short guide we developed that you can download free from this page. It includes a unique incentive system, where you get rewarded for healthy eating. Meaning, if you eat a certain amount of greens, you'll have more wiggle room for stuff you truly enjoy.

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2011/02/the-peertrainer-cheat-system.html

We don't have the same incentive for fruit, and this blog post explains why in some more detail:

http://blog.peertrainer.com/diet/2011/03/why-is-fruit-now-unlimited-on-the-weight-watchers-points-plus-program.html

-PEERtrainer

Thursday, March 17, 2011, 7:39 PM

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