Weight Watchers is the Winning Program for Me
Written: Dec 28 '01 (Updated Feb 05 '06)
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Pros: No forbidden foods. Weekly weight-ins and support are incentives.
Cons: It is expensive. It is possible to eat junk.
The Bottom Line: Many times I have said how much I love this Program and going to meetings. I'm glad I could share it with you.
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| jo.com's Full Review: Weight Watchers 1-2-3 Success Community Meetings |
Update- 3/11/03 I have been a Lifetime Member since May 2002 and love it. I haven't gone over my goal but get close. Knowing I have to weigh in keeps me in line. jo
Update: As of 5/16 I am one week away from being a Lifetime Member. What that means is that I set a goal and as long as I do not go 2 pounds over that goal, maintain that for 6 weeks and have lost at least 5 pounds from my beginning weight, I have completed the 6 weeks of what WW calls maintenance and am a Lifetime Member. I will no longer have to pay for meetings and only have to weigh in 1 time each month. If I go 2 pounds above my goal, I will have to pay for that meeting, but I don't have to start all over again.
In addition, my husband started it and has lost 12 pounds and loves the program as well. I would like to give it more than 5 stars and if they can manage to take out some of the salt and sugar from their foods I would.
I have decided to take a different route with this review. It seems as if many are becoming shorter so in an attempt to keep this under 3000 words I will use epinions questions as a guide in reviewing Weight Watchers 1-2-3 Success Community Meeting.
Why did you decide to try this diet?
After 1-½ years sitting at this computer, with a shoulder injury, and hitting the high 40s (as in age) I found an extra 25 pounds on me. It wasn’t the first time. About 5 years ago that happened but with the help of a trainer and a 1500-calorie a day diet I lost the weight easily and in 4 months. If you have read my reviews, you know I have tried Atkins – a couple of times – never to get beyond one month; Slim-Fast, a disaster since I was eating the whole box of chocolate bars; and, of course, something I consider the healthiest way to eat and that is a version of the Bill Phillips’ plan: eating healthfully 6 days a week with one “free day.” (Bill Phillips is an exercise guru who wrote the book "Body for Life." I have reviewed this book. He also has an unusual exercise challenge that lasts for 12 weeks.) Nothing worked so I decided that after Thanksgiving for the first time I would have to pay to lose weight. I looked at Weight Watchers website and found a meeting one minute from my gym. There could be no excuses.
www.weightwatchers.com
How healthy is the diet?
~I am not a nutritionist but when I commented to someone that I was eating sweets every day, she commented that at least it was just one sweet and not a box of bars. She is right. Healthy is a relative term, I have discovered. Phillips' plan is healthy. The way I used to eat even before Phillips was with no free day and 7 days a week of “clean” food – no salt, sugar, nothing white...that was healthy. It also, for me, is unrealistic at this point in my life. I think we have to know what our bodies and minds tell us we can handle and what they can’t.
~Unlike Atkins, nothing is off limits. That means that I am eating a lot of vegetables and fruits. On Atkins, I ate few fruits or vegetables. For me, this is a healthy diet...at least for now. Since nothing is off limits, though, nothing prevents me from sitting down to 15 potato chips, 3 cookies, an ice cream bar and if that adds up to my points for the day, then that is what I eat. (I have not done this I am just showing you that having a really unhealthy eating day or more is not hard to do.)
~The diet is what we make of it, in other words. The diet itself is not set in stone, as are some others. You have a lot of free will to pick and choose “healthy.”
Does it pose any health risks?
~We probably are all aware of Weight Watchers' frozen meals. They are extremely high in sodium and if I were to eat them on a daily basis perhaps that would pose a health risk. I have low blood pressure, so for me sodium isn’t a problem although I do watch my intake. If you have high blood pressure, most foods are loaded with salt; not just Weight Watchers' frozen meals. Soup is a huge culprit, to name one food.
~Weight Watchers works on a point system. You first look at how much fiber is in a product, let’s say bacon. I don’t eat bacon. I am using bacon because it is so popular on Atkins and on that diet is a free food. I have a Weight Watchers’ point finder on my desktop but we are given cardboard point finders also. Bacon has no fiber so I put in 0. I then look at how many calories one serving has. It varies (I am using The Complete Book of Food Counts by Corinne Netzer) so I’ll average it at 90 calories. I then plug in the fat content, which ranges from 2- 12 grams of fat so I’ll use 6 and I come up with 2 points. One serving of bacon will cost me 2 points, which is fine if you are having breakfast and want 2 slices of bacon you can have it. Since my point range on Weight Watchers is 18-23 per day, I could eat 20 slices of bacon. On Atkins I could eat 20 slices of bacon and not even count it! I don’t think an unlimited amount of bacon is a healthy choice so looking at these two ways of eating, Weight Watchers makes more sense to me.
~Let’s look at sweets, the one food it seems I can’t live without. I can have a Weight Watchers' blueberry muffin for 3 points but on Atkins it is worth 17 carbohydrates and since in the first couple of weeks I could only eat 20 carbs a day, forget the muffin or anything sweet for at least a month and the goal is to forget it forever.
~Attempting to answer the question, and not only am I not a nutritionist, I am not a doctor, I think obesity is far (in fact I can say for a fact as a personal trainer) less healthy than having a Weight Watchers’ éclair (3 points) if I want it. The key to remember here is that the more fiber a food has, the “healthier” it is on WW (Weight Watchers). Fiber is a good thing. The more fat a product has, the less healthy it is. Fat is not a bad thing, but in moderation, in my opinion.
How noticeable were your results? How much weight did you lose and how quickly?
~I have been OP (on program – WW calls their diet a program) since November 28, 2001. I have attended meetings weekly. My first weigh-in on November 28 was 142 ½ pounds. In 5 weeks I have lost 11 pounds and at last weigh-in was 131 ½. That is a healthy weight loss – about 2 pounds per week – and it was painless. There were times I made choices but it felt good to be able to make them. I didn’t feel utterly deprived, depressed or anxious because I couldn’t eat the chocolate cake at the buffet table (which probably wasn’t that good anyway!). One slice has more points than I wanted to use up. I could have eaten the cake..... I just chose not to use my points for it and when I went home I had a fat free pudding with cool whip for 2 points. I could have had a Weight Watchers’ cake for 3 points if I’d wanted it.
~My husband has obviously noticed the weight loss but he also has noticed that I feel good, that I am happier in this weight loss attempt than I have been in 1 ½ years and I would not be surprised if he followed me to a meeting one day to get off his 40 pounds (20 would be fine.) that he has gained in the last 18 years!
How restrictive are the portions and the menus?
~A portion of food (protein – fish or chicken, for example) for anyone fits into the palm of your hand. Just for some information: I am getting recertified as a personal trainer. One of my courses is called, “Eating Out & Staying Healthy.” I want to either quote or summarize some facts: People who eat out eat about 300 more calories, 19 more grams of fat, and 400 more milligrams of sodium than if they ate at home. “In the 1900s plates were typically 8-9 inches in diameter. The average plate in restaurants now is 12 inches.” People underestimate their daily calorie intake by 50%! (Exercise, Etc. Inc. 1999)
~Again, the size of my portion will depend on how many points I want to spend. I ate out the other night. I had Chicken Parmesan with spaghetti, a salad and a piece of bread. The portion was huge so I immediately cut it in half to save ½ for the next day. The half I ate was a decent portion. No one needs to eat all that food but you can if you want. It would have “cost” me about 16 points. This way I only “spent” 8 points.
~There is a banking system. Since I can eat 23 points a day and I can collect points for activity each day, I can bank (This is true for everyone.) 10 points each week to eat however I want. Since I knew we were going out to dinner I banked 10 points and saved them for that night. That allowed me some extras that I might not have chosen.
~I don’t think this Program is restrictive at all. I think it is quite the opposite. I went into a sub shop last night and ordered a turkey in a pita and all the veggies they had on it. Mustard is a free food as are most vegetables so they have no points. I asked how much turkey they put into the sandwich and was told 3 3/4 ounces. That equals close to 4 points. The pita was large so it was 2 points. 6 points for a yummy sandwich and if I had wanted to spend the points I could have had potato chips. I am finding that I want “bad” food less and less as the weeks go by. Unlike Atkins where the goal is to do away with the cravings, that has not been my goal because I can give in to them.
For whom would you recommend this diet?
I have wanted to write this review because I love this Program and I would recommend it to anyone who wants to lose weight. I go to meetings and the quality of them varies depending on the leader. I like them because there is always a new recipe there, some helpful hints, a book or new snack bar to buy and because there is support. We share how much we lost if we want and what worked that week and what didn’t. We also get incentives. I got a star for the first 5 pounds lost and a keychain when you hit your 10% lost mark. That is your first goal. For me that is 3 pounds away. Weight Watchers will not allow you to go below the recommended weight guidelines. For me I should go no lower than 118 pounds which is where I was 1 1/2 year ago. If I said my goal was 100 pounds, they wouldn't allow me to continue with the program. They do not support eating disorders and getting as skinny as possible is not their goal.
~I recommend it because there are no forbidden foods. It is that simple. I can eat anything I want as long as I am in my point range. Drinking water is a must and it should be a must for anyone. Any type of weight loss program will advocate that and WW is no different. We fill out daily journals which helps a lot and on it we check of how much water we have had, how much calcium and how many fruits and vegetables. I have found that WW wants us to be eating healthfully and my leader told us that the company was working on new frozen meals that have less sodium.
Will you continue?
Absolutely. I have “bought in” to a 12-week plan anyway, but I plan to continue after my 12 weeks are over. There are meetings all over the country so when I’m away, I will go to a meeting where ever I am. You don’t have to stay. You can just go in and get weighed if you want. At this point I like and need the support.
Additional information:
~The cost of the meeting is closer to $13 than the $10 listed but it varies, I believe per state. There is a $20 registration fee on top of the weekly fee. If you have insurance it may be less. My insurance paid some of my fee so it cost me $129 for 12 weeks and that included the registration fee. If you miss a meeting you have to pay $5.00. I know to some paying to lose weight doesn’t make sense, but for others, that is what works and what gets you to meetings. I wouldn’t go if I weren’t paying.
~You can attempt WW for free if you use someone else materials. I know people who have done that and have been successful. You can also go online and sign up for an “at home” program using the online tools which will cost you a monthly fee. Some people have success at home using what WW calls their e-z tools online.
~According to Exercise Etc. Inc.
-your sodium intake should be no more than 3000 mg/day
-you should have 3-5 fruits/vegetables per day
-your monounsaturated fat should be about 10-15% of your diet
-if you count calories you should eat at least 1200 per day
-your food intake should consist of about 10-20% of your diet
-55-60% of your diet should be carbohydrates
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.
As you see in spite of the guided questions, I’m still over 2000 words but under 3000! I’m working on making them less but I like to give as much information as I possibly can so you can make an informed choice. I hope this has truly helped you to understand the Program.
You may also want to read:
The Zone
Body for Life by Bill Phillips- the book
The Atkins Diet
Weight Watchers
Get With The Program" (Bob Greene - Oprah's mentor)
Dr. Atkins New Diet Revolution- the book
Body for Life- the diet
Recommended:
Yes
Approximate Monthly Cost (US$) $44
Food Variety Restrictions You eat any food you want
Restrictiveness of Portions Satisfying
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