WW (Weight Watchers) Chat #247: WW New Plan First Look!

WW News November 2021:

• The new plan switches over on the app at 2am Eastern Time!
• The new plan starts tomorrow!
• We are going to talk about the new plan!

The month’s theme is “The Personal Points Program” and we will spend the entire month exploring the new  program, getting to know your personal points system and learning something new…together!

More about that later, let’s review last week and then we will dig right in.

Last week during Chat #246: Get Your Fiber Fix! we found out that fiber in foods can make you fuller and keep you fuller. There are two kinds of naturally occurring fiber: soluble and insoluble. Soluble fiber is found in whole grains, beans, and starchy vegetables like potatoes. This is a digestion must-have and helps to keep your cholesterol in check. Insoluble fiber is in non-starchy vegetables and a few fruits (carrots, broccoli, grapes, raspberries, etc.) and helps to regulate blood sugar.

Fiber benefits your weight loss journey in a variety of ways! It helps you to…

• Feel full longer
• Keep your digestive system regular
• Manage cholesterol
• Regulate blood sugar

Keep in mind though, fiber is NOT a go big or go home goal. Don’t increase your fiber too much until you know how much you’re currently eating and how much your body needs. As you add fiber into your diet, be sure you’re having some of both soluble and insoluble fiber, and drink plenty of water to help your fiber do its best for you.

Your homework for last week was #FiberFix. Find one fiber-filled swap (like switching from Frosted Flakes to Cheerios) or a new source of fiber to your diet ….and then type it, snap it, however you want to share it and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Let’s see how you did!

• Sherry replaces romaine lettuce with spinach and fills up on fiber…she says it works for her!
• Barbara has apples on the table this week to keep the doctor away and satisfy her fiber fix!
• Lynn has added an apple or a peach to her meals every day this week for a fiber fix!

Bravo, you did it!

This Week’s Topic: The New Personal Points Program – First Look!

In a typical week we’d have a classroom portion and an eggstra credit portion of our chat, but this isn’t a typical week – we’re getting a big WW program update! So we’re going to spend the whole chat today giving you a first look at the new Personal Points program.

My guess about the new plan was that it would be focused more on what you will eat than what you should eat and I’m excited to report that I was mostly correct! The Blue, Green, and Purple plans will be going away (within the week) and will be replaced with the Personal Points program which is all about YOU!

A few notes about the change before we get into the details of the new program:

• Your app will auto-update at 2 am EST today
• Before that time, be sure that you know your login and password because you will likely need to log in again
• You can choose to go ahead and start the new Personal Points program or wait another week until the change is forced

The three main points of the new Personal Points program are as follows:

1. The new algorithm makes healthy choices easier than ever
2. Plans are now individualized and you’ll have a customized Zero Point food list
3. You’ll earn points for healthy habits and behaviors

The point system is going to be calculated differently than Smart Points, so if you have a SP calculator it will likely no longer work for you. In the new program, points will be calculated based on a food’s nutritional content (calories, fiber, protein, unsaturated fat, added sugars, and saturated fat). The more fiber, protein, and unsaturated fat a food has, the lower its point value will be. And alternatively, the more added sugar and saturated fat a food has, the higher its point value will be.

As mentioned, food plans are now going to be customized to fit your eating habits and preferences. Which means that I can finally have zero point avocado! That doesn’t mean that everyone will though! The Zero Point foods list will largely be made up of the whole foods we are already used to seeing on the list but will also take into account foods that you choose to be your personal zero point selections.

In the WW app, your Personal Points engine will take into account your assessment, the foods you’ve chosen to add to your Zero Points list, your eating habits, and more and will provide you with your personalized plan. Foods that you eat frequently will be the basis of your Zero Point food list and you can update this list as needed if your eating habits change. Be sure to pick foods that you actually like to eat for this, not just foods that sound healthy.

Your recipe builder will auto-update so your saved recipes will be updated to reflect the point values of your personalized plan. 

So, how will you know your daily points budget? You will continue to get a set number of points each day, a set number of weeklies each week, and up to 4 rollovers per day. Your daily budget will take into account your gender, height, age, weight, and personalized Zero Point list. Then it will be adjusted to make sure you are in a calorie deficit to allow a healthy 1-2 pound per week weight loss. You can earn points back by completing healthy habits like eating non-starchy vegetables (get 1 point back per cup). Drinking 60 ounces of water earns 1 point back per day as well!

One thing that will change is that fruits can be added to your Zero Point list, but cannot earn back daily points for you.

Activity is no longer known as Fit Points and now goes into your weekly Personal Points you can choose to use them or not – totally up to you! Fewer points will be earned for exercise than in the past as WW is encouraging us to exercise for the health benefits rather than with the intention of swapping those earned points for more food. All points earned are Personal Points whether they’re food earned, activity, etc.

You still have the option to set weight loss and healthy habits goals within the app. Those who have beta tested these goals have seen excellent results!

Tracking non-starchy veggies to earn those extra points will be made simpler so you don’t have to track them by name each time. You’ll be able to simply track each serving like you already do when tracking water in the app.

New recipe cards will have QR codes included on the page that can be scanned and will then pull up the recipes and show you how many points that recipes is for YOU on your personalized plan.

If you are in the negative on points for the day and do one of the earned points activities you will actually have those points added back in the app – that’s never been an option before!

The app will now take into account health issues such as diabetes and tweak your choices accordingly. For example, fruits will not be a Zero Point option for diabetics.

The app will have a 2-3 minute or less tutorial available for you each day. A virtual orientation via Zoom will be available starting Monday under “search and find workshops” or under Settings > FAQ. You’ll also have access to the App Academy for additional resources.

So, to wrap up, if you aren’t sure whether your app has updated or not head to your App Store and see if an update is available and if so be sure to download it. I’m sure we’ll all have a lot of questions over the next few days as this new Personal Points program rolls out, but be sure to keep calm and stick with us through the change! I’ll be giving updates as often as possible and new information as soon as I know it.

This Week’s Homework: #AssessmentComplete

Your homework for this week is #AssessmentComplete. This week is likely to be exciting, confusing, hopefully not too overwhelming so all you have to do for your homework is complete your Personal Points Assessment and then let us know when you’re done! ….and then type it, snap it, however you want to share it and then tag me for your next cool badge!

Don’t forget to do your homework #AssessmentComplete and tag me when you share on social media!

• Instagram tag @ifyouhaveanegg
• Facebook Page tag @ifyouhaveanegg
• Facebook Group tag @Kelly Green Milligan
• WW Connect tag @ifyouhaveanegg

Quick Links:

Don’t forget to celebrate your Bravos with our downloadable stickers!

Need to know where to get something I mentioned? Check out the recommendations section to get all my favorite goodies.