If you're really going mostly for the points values, there are a lot of places online you can find the original formula. This site's formula yields the same points values as WW listed as examples in their 1997 and 1999 patents.

Hungry Girl has tons and tons of health conscious recipes and tips. You can sign up for a (daily?) email, just poke around on the site, or pick up one of the cookbooks. Each recipe used to have a points value associated with it, but there's apparently a new points plan, and the points will be coming back soon.

Rereading my comment, I realize that I haven't answered your question at all. I've never done Weight Watchers, but have known several people who did. It always seemed more gimicky and expensive than it needed to be. I'm sure there are good things to be taken away from it, and I've seen the points system work, but I've also seen it make people more obsessed with food (just like the first link says).

Weight Watchers (online) has worked for me, and I haven't noticed them being any more spammy than any other commerce site. There is some pressure to buy their stuff, but you don't have to and it's much easier to ignore online than at a meeting.

The recipes are hit-or-miss and way underseasoned for my taste. I have a few favorites, but I double the spice in them.

They just changed the whole system, so any old books or products won't work with the new system. I'd sign up, get your target, buy a calculator (which will let you find the points of anything), get some recipes, then quit if it isn't for you.

Feel free to ask any specific questions about the system.

Thanks so much for the links and advice!

I had a membership with WWO about two years ago and like everything I join, I used a unique-to-that-site email address to sign up. I've never received any spam to the WWO address. They give you the ability to opt out of the various reminder emails and third party stuff; the only thing WWO sent while I was a member was a Welcome email right after I signed up and a "forgot password" email when I requested one. Of course, these policies can always change but I give WWO credit for making it very easy to cancel the account: doing so was just a few pages clicks and I was out of there. No followup emails begging for your return every week for months on end (I'm looking at you, eFax), no chasing them down over zombie credit card charges.

I'm with JoanArkham on their recipes: a little on the bland side and also IMO, too many ingredients/too much prep for what I was getting out of it in flavor. Their frozen meals are unbelievably salty, if you're thinking of those as a shortcut.

Their iPhone app is handy as it makes looking up points while on the go/eating out easy but eventually, I switched to SparkPeople (free!) and then to CalorieTracker (iPhone app, $4, no monthly fee) and haven't missed WWO.