by Susan Kristoff

Created on: November 08, 2009

The focus of the Weight Watchers weight loss program is your daily Points target. The target is a specific number of Points that you can consume each day and lose weight at a reasonable rate. Each food that you eat is assigned a Points value that is subtracted from your daily Points target, and every activity that you perform is assigned a Points value that is added to your daily Points target. The Points target is based on several factors, and takes into account your lifestyle.

Factors that Contribute to Your Points Target

The following factors are used to calculate your Points target:

- Your current weight. As your weight goes down, you will occasionally need to recalculate your Points target because when you weigh less, you will require less calories overall each day.

- Your gender. Men generally have higher metabolisms than women, and require a larger number of Points per day.

- Your age. Your metabolism generally slows down as you age, so the older you are, the fewer calories you expend each day.

- Your height. Your height has a small effect on your Points total.

- Your daily activity level, excluding exercise. If you are on your feet all day for your job, you'll expend more calories while at work.

- Nursing moms. Mothers who are breastfeeding their children require additional caloric intake to adequately supply milk to their babies.

Calculating Your Points Target

1. Take your current weight and remove the last digit.

2. If you are female, add 2 to the number from Step 1, if you are male, add 8.

3. Add the following number corresponding to your age: 17-26, add 4; 27-37, add 3; 38-47; add 2; 48-58, add 1; over 58, add 0.

4. Add the following number corresponding to your height: Under 5'1", add 0; 5'1" to 5'10", add 1; over 5'10", add 2.

5. Add the following number corresponding to your daily activity level: sitting down, add 0; mostly standing, add 1; mostly walking, add 4; mostly physically hard work, add 6.

6. Add the following number corresponding your nursing level: solely breastfeeding, add 10; supplementing breastfeeding with foods or formula, add 5.

The Weight Watchers Week 1 booklet contains a calculator to help you determine your daily Points target.

Minimum and Maximum Points Targets

The minimum Points target that can be used is 18 Points. This amount allows you to ensure you get enough nutrition from what you eat each day. The maximum possible Points target is 44 Points. All Weight Watchers members, regardless of the value of their Points target, have an additional 35 Points to spend as they wish each week.

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