Points, Points, Points.....

 One of the biggest things that a lot of WW members are struggling with, is that the zero list added foods but the daily points didn't reduce.

My daily points are 23 (the lowest the dailies will go; some will have more).  So I have the new list of zeros food and the 23 points.

The list is pretty much large enough that you could just eat off that; and not ever use a daily point.  WW is saying that you don't have to use all your daily points nor stay within a range of daily points as in the past.

To try to understand the lowering points, it's best to look at the zero lists when they were the colored plans: Green, Blue, Purple. 

Green had the most daily points (30 for me) with non-starchy veggies and fruits being zero.

Blue had the mid range daily points (23 for me) with a larger zero list.

Purple had the least daily points (16 for me)  with the largest zero list.

As the list got larger the dailies decreased by 7 points (at least for me).

Prior to the current plan we were on a plan that was close to the Blue plan (again 23 pts for me).  They've added more to the zero list but didn't go entirely to the Purple plan list (again 16 pts for me).  So the list is falling somewhere in-between those lists.

So they aren't going to drop you 7 points because the list isn't large enough for that; so rather than drop you what? 2-4 pts?  It's so few points that it isn't worth the drop; so they chose to keep everyone where they were (23 for me).

And, I can live with that.

I look at it like this.  I can actually now create a meal with only zero foods (without eating chicken over and over again).  So I have to figure the best way to use the daily points so that I don't say "Well I have 23 points, I can run to Dairy Queen and get a blizzard".  None of us should be doing that.

What you can do instead?

Instead of fat free cheese?  Use those points for reduced fat or better yet - the real thing!

Bread?  Maybe now you don't have to pay the high cost of the light versions (I'm talking about you 647) - give the real thing a try again.  

Spray butter on your baked potato?  How about a teaspoon or two of real butter!

Going out to eat?  Don't have to worry too much over how they are preparing the food!

I'm not saying to use up all your dailies and not watch what you're eating; but.....we all know those fat free and sugar free products just aren't healthy for you!  So think outside the box!  Think of healthy alternatives for those points (I'm not an avocado fan, but that would be a healthy choice).

Also - watch your serving sizes with the zeros!  Most of the proteins will show up in the app starting at 3 ounces,  THAT'S THE SERVING SIZE.

Rather than think of all the ways the program can't work; look for ways to make it work!