by Dolores Moore

Created on: November 05, 2009

Figuring out your Weight Watchers points targets is very simple. This is one of the easiest, most uncomplicated systems you will ever work with. No more calories to count, no calculating BMI, no fretting over "sins." Just a few simple, easy to understand rules. You will get a comprehensive explanation and a great handbook when you join Weight Watchers, and believe me, after a couple of readings of this, you will know exactly how to figure our your daily Weight Watchers points target.

First, look at the little chart showing you the starting weights for women, men and young people. The points system works out for you just how many daily points to aim for, depending on gender and age. So here is how it goes:

Women - If you weigh:

Under 10 stone - daily points target is 18 points
10-12 stone - " " " 20 "
12-14 stone - " " " 22 "
More than 20 stone, your daily points target is 30 points.

Men - And Young People Over 10 and Under 16 years Old: If you weigh:

Under 10 stone - daily points target is 24 points
10-12 stone - " " " 26 "
12-14 stone - " " " 28 "
More than 20 stone, your daily points target is 36 points.

For each 2 stone of weight, you can add 2 points to your daily points target. You will notice that if you weigh over 20 stone, your points are higher. The reasoning behind this is simple too; heavier people use more energy and so are allowed more points. Weight Watchers have found that men tend to use more energy as do young people, which is why they have a higher daily points target.

The one very important thing you have to remember is that as your weight reduces, so do your daily points. Remember this, because with the Weight Watchers points system, that weight will reduce. So if you start, for example, weighing 10 stone 7 pounds with 20 daily points as your target, and after a few weeks, you are 9 stone 12 pounds, then your daily points target goes down to 18 points.

Another important aspect to take into account is to ensure you include calcium in your points target for each day. Be sure to have some milk, (maybe in your drinks), cheese or yogurt as part of those points. You can also "earn" yourself some extra points by doing extra exercise. If you do 30 minutes brisk walking in a day, you have 3 extra daily points to spend. Jogging for that amount of time will give you 4 points. So if you start with a daily target of 20 points, figured out as shown above, and jog for 30 minutes, you will now have 24 points to spend. Weight Watchers call them Bonus Points.

You can also play with your daily points target, by cutting down 2-4 points on any given day. You could be going out for a special dinner on a Saturday night, and you save 2 points on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, that will give you an extra 6 to add to the daily points target for Saturday. But you must always remember to use up all the points within the week.

All it takes is a bit of planning, practice and that copy of the Weight Watchers handbook. It will definitely not take you long to figure it out, or to reach your target weight with this simple, but effective system. Go for it!

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