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Weight Watchers Freestyle is the latest version of the popular Weight Watchers diet. Learn all about the changes to the plan, new zero points foods, new daily points targets, rollover points, and more.

Change is here! As many of you have heard, Weight Watchers Freestyle is the newest plan from WW and builds upon the success of the SmartPoints plan that was introduced a few years back. This biggest changes to the plan is a new focus on lean proteins, beans, legumes, eggs, and non-fat dairy that will all now be worth zero points. Other changes include new daily points targets, rollover points, and some new zero point fruits and veggies.

If you have been following Weight Watchers for a long time, the new plan shouldn’t feel too different from the old plan since most foods (apart from the new zero points foods) won’t be changing their SmartPoints values and there are still no off limit foods. Just like the previous plan, everything you eat will have a points value based on the calories, fat, carbohydrates, and fiber and the goal is to stay under your daily points limit. However since there are more zero point foods, most people will see a reduction in thier daily points limit.

Now let’s get into the details and dive into the new Weight Watchers Freestyle plan.

How many points can I eat daily on Weight Watchers Freestyle?

The daily points will be based on your current weight, height, age, activity level, and desired weight loss. For current members, when you log into Weight Watchers starting on December 3rd, you will see the updated points target. Many people are reporting that their daily limits are dropping by around 7 points but it can be different for everyone. For example, if you used to have 30 points per day, on the new Freestyle plan you will now have 23 daily points.

The reason for the reduction in daily points is to compensate for all the new zero point foods. Remember that even though a food has zero points, it still has calories and contributes to the overall number of calories you eat in a day. Since people are likely to enjoy more of these higher calorie zero point foods, the overall number of points you can eat in a day has been lowered to balance things out.

For most people who already enjoy these foods (chicken, eggs, turkey, seafood, beans, lentils, non-fat dairy products), this shift shouldn’t be too difficult and many people will find that they actually have more points for other foods. For example,if you usually eat 2 eggs in the morning (4 SmartPoints on the previous plan), 4 oz. of chicken or turkey at lunch (3 SmartPoints), a nonfat yogurt for a snack (2 SmartPoints), and 1/2 cup of beans or lentils with dinner (3 SmartPoints) that’s a total of 12 SmartPoints that you would have had to count on the old plan. On the new plan, you wouldn’t have to count any of these foods. So even though you have 7 fewer points per day, you actually will have 5 extra points to use on other foods that you wouldn’t have had on the prevous plan.

However if you don’t eat a lot of the new zero point foods, this may be a harder change and the Freestyle plan might feel more restrictive since you will have fewer points to use each day.

What are the new zero points foods for Weight Watchers Freestyle?

The new zero points foods are probably the biggest change in the plan. In addition to most fruits and vegetables, there are now lean proteins, legumes, and non fat dairy products that are now worth zero SmartPoints. Boneless skinless chicken, boneless skinless turkey, lean ground chicken, lean ground turkey, thin sliced deli turkey and chicken, most fresh seafood, canned fish, eggs, and tofu are now all zero points foods. Additionally beans and lentils are now zero points as well as non fat yogurt and soy yogurt. Corn and peas were also added as new zero point vegetables.

Check out this article for a complete list of zero point foods.

When talking to members, this is the change people are most excited about. It shows a renewed focus on lean proteins, fresh fruit and veggies, and fiber packed legumes and pulses. This takes SmartPoints one step further, putting even more emphasis on these healthy choices, and pushing members to eat fewer processed foods and foods that are high in sugars and fats.

What are rollover points and how do they work on the Weight Watchers Freestyle plan?

On the new plan, you will have the ability to rollover up to 4 points daily to save for special occassions or higher points days. That means if one day you only eat 19 of your 23 points (for example), you could save those 4 extra points to use on another day. This is an exciting change, especially with the holidays coming up. If you know you have a party of family gathering, you could save up some of your rollover points for those days so you can enjoy more indulgent foods that day.

If you know you will want to use rollover points, focus on eating more zero points foods so you have extra points to rollover. Enjoying eggs for breakfast, a large salad with chicken for lunch, and/or fresh seafood with lentils and veggies for dinner would make it easy to save up points without worrying you will be hungry or feel deprived.

What are the main differences between SmartPoints and Weight Watchers Freestyle?

The main difference between the old SmartPoints plan and the new Freestyle plan is the change to the zero points food list and the change in daily points. Under the new plan, you can now enjoy lean proteins, legumes, lentils, non fat yogurt, fresh seafood, corn, and peas without having to count points. Additionally most people will find they have fewer daily points on the new plan.

When it comes to the philosophy of the new plan, the focus has shifted even more dramatically to focusing on lean proteins, fruits, vegetables, and fiber packed legumes and pulses. Eating these foods is now “free” while you will have to spend more points on foods that contain higher amounts of sugar, fat, and carbs. However Weight Watchers is still a plan that doesn’t ban any foods and instead focuses on balance and moderation. You can still enjoy all your favorite things on WW as long as you balance it out with healthy choices and watch portion control.

What this means for Slender Kitchen?

We always strive to make our recipes and site easy for people who follow the Weight Watchers diet since it is something we believe really works! We will be updating all of our recipes to include the new points as quickly as possible. Our meal plans will also begin to reflect the new points and are a great resource to adjust to the new system since they take the guesswork out of planning meals. 

Learn more about the New Weight Watchers – Freestyle and Flex