Fellow Weight Watchers, have a banana.
In fact, eat the whole bunch. Fruit is now point-free on the WW program.
After much speculation and an almost two-year wait, Weight Watchers rolled out its new PointsPlus program Monday. PointsPlus replaces WW's former Points system.
"This is the biggest change Weight Watchers has made in 13 years since the points program began in 1997," said Joy Miller, WW leader at the Shallowford Road office.
As anyone who's been on the plan knows, EVERYTHING in the Weight Watchers world is assigned a points value.
It's up to dieters to figure points values on the foods they ingest and keep a running tab of their intake until they reach their daily points allowance.
Previously, points were based on fiber and fat grams. The new program takes protein, fiber, fat and carbohydrates into consideration when calculating a food's value. This change was made, according to WW, because research has proven that the body processes each of these nutrients differently.
"This plan will be particularly good for prediabetics," said Susan Lake, also a WW leader.
So here's what the new PointsPlus means for me and you:
* All foods have been "rescored" for new points values. Some foods will have higher values than on the old plan; as examples, Miller named 100-calorie snack foods.
* Because of the new points values, everyone will be allowed more points per day. The minimum points per day for anybody on the program will be 29, said Miller. (On the old system's points formula, a daily points allotment could get as low as the mid-teens.)
* All fruits and almost all vegetables have ZERO PointsPlus value. Only starchy veggies, such as potatoes or corn, will have a points count, said Miller.
* The plan pushes "Power Foods," diet lingo for foods that are filling and healthy. Think fruits, veggies, lean meats. But new to this group, on PointsPlus, will be whole-grain bread.
* WWs will no longer use that paper, sliding-scale Pointsfinder to reveal their foods' points. According to Miller, points will be calculated either online or with a new WW calculator that is sold at the PointsPlus orientation sessions.
Miller said she believes this new system will be "more sustainable" for program participants because it will encourage them to eat healthier foods that will leave them feeling more satisfied.
In other words, by making fruit free, that 100-calorie apple just became more enticing than that 100-calorie snack pack.