It's the new PointsPlus calculator. I got mine for $6 at the Weight Watchers center.

I'm posting this a day early because it's like Christmas morning for the millions of people who follow Weight Watchers. The program has tweaked its Points system and today begins the PointsPlus era.

Over on the other side of the pond, they're now following ProPoints (any way you call it, it's still PP!).

I recently signed up for Weight Watchers Online, something I had never done before. I had been going to meetings for decades (yes, decades). I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting at age 10, back in the boiled tomato juice and liver days.

The new plan kicks in online on Monday but I couldn't wait, so before I went to my first-ever BodyPump class, I hit the Weight Watchers center to buy a PointsPlus calculator and the dining out and food companions.

Those in hand, I busted my hump in the BodyPump class and headed home to check out the WW goodies. I grabbed a Sharpie and started calculating Points for stuff in my pantry. Carby things like oatmeal and cereal are higher than they used to be; other things are pretty much the same. A cup of plain Almond Breeze is still a Point, but my Me & Goji custom hot cereal blend is now 5 Points. Not really bad considering that my daily Points allowance shot up 6 Points and I now have 49 weekly extra Points.

The new plan will be a real kick in the head to people who grab for snacks that are "only 1 Point." A lot of those foods have doubled or tripled in Points. Weight Watchers yogurt is now 2 Points and their Giant Fudge Bars are now (shudder) 3 Points!

The Lean Cuisine I grabbed out of the freezer for lunch is now 2 Points higher than it was yesterday. So I'll be eating fewer of those "crutch" foods.

But y'know what? It's a good thing. It'll make me rethink every Point I choose to eat in the course of a day, especially since fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables are now zero Points.

And with all the Thanksgiving leftovers gone, I can make a clean start at the grocery store today. First stop: Produce section!

Clean, lean and green (and fewer Lean Cuisine) -- that's my new motto.

And Laughing Cow Light wedges are still 1 Point!

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