Scottish Daily Mail

WHY IT WORKS TO BE A SMART EATER

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ALL food and drink on myWW has a designated SmartPoint­s value, one easy-to-use number that guides you towards a healthier pattern of eating.

SmartPoint­s values are based on three key components: calories, saturated fat and sugar, and the amount of protein contained in the ingredient­s.

If you join WW, you’ll be given a personalis­ed SmartPoint­s Budget according to which colour plan you are placed on (see below), tailored to your height, weight, gender and age.

You can also enjoy a full list of ZeroPoint foods, with a SmartPoint­s value of 0. These can be eaten without worrying about portion size or weight.

Non-starchy vegetables and fruit count as ZeroPoint foods on all plans, but the number of ingredient­s on your ZeroPoint food list will vary on each. In general, the more ZeroPoint foods your plan includes, the fewer daily SmartPoint­s you will have to use.

To find whether Green, Blue or Purple suits you best, take WW’s easy online assessment (see WW.com) or choose the plan that most appeals to you.

GREEN: This offers the smallest list of ZeroPoint foods, but the highest daily SmartPoint­s Budget of a minimum of 30. ZeroPoint foods include more than 100 fruit and vegetables, but you have a higher SmartPoint­s allowance. Green gives you flexibilit­y on where to spend your SmartPoint­s — on eating out, for instance.

BLUE: Blue is essentiall­y the former WW Freestyle plan — with a daily SmartPoint­s Budget of a minimum of 23, you can build meals around more than 200 ZeroPoint foods. These include lean protein, seafood, fat-free dairy, beans and eggs.

PURPLE: Purple has the longest ZeroPoint food list (300), including potatoes, wholegrain pasta and grains. This is balanced by the smallest daily SmartPoint­s Budget of 16.

You’ll lose the same amount of weight on all plans as long as you don’t exceed your SmartPoint­s Budget (a healthy rate of weight loss is ½ to 2lb a week).

You will also get an extra weekly SmartPoint­s allowance for treats, and you can carry over up to four unused SmartPoint­s from your daily budget. Earning FitPoints will boost your SmartPoint­s Budget. The FitPoints earned will vary from person to person but as a rough guide, a half-hour walk can earn 2 FitPoints, for example.

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