A study of the old Weight Watchers program and the newer Points Plus system suggests that there is no difference between the two. What the points represent doesn't matter as long as people track them and the numbers correspond to healthy portions for the day.
Which goes into my theory that Weight Watchers is more successful than most diet plans because it promotes healthy eating, tracking/portion control and cognitive therapy techniques; not because the math is better.
The post above does point out in an oblique way that the new system may be psychologically better (Fruits and most non-starchy vegetables are now free), but there is no
intrinsic advantage to tracking carbs/protein/fat vs tracking calories/fat.
Meanwhile it continues to work for me based mostly on the fact that I can use my phone to track now. I always have my phone on me so I haven't missed tracking a day in over a month now. I haven't been this diligent since the first time I joined (and lost 60 pounds).
