Weight Watchers

The Weight Watchers program started in the 1960s in the US with a few friends meeting weekly to discuss how to lose weight. Later this idea became widely popular and a brand name that was owned by the H.J. Heinz Company, which continues to produce packaged food with the Weight Watchers brand name on it.

Weight Watchers believe that a healthy body results from a healthy lifestyle, which means mental, emotional, and physical health.

Weight Watchers does not tell people what they can or can't eat. The goal is to help people make healthy eating decisions, be knowledgeable about their calorie intake and encourage them to enjoy more physical activity, thereby losing weight safely - and keeping it off.

Weight Watchers members get motivation, mutual support, and encouragement at local group meetings. For those who can't get to the meetings, Weight Watchers has a number of tools on its web site, like information about food choices, recipes and meals, calorie-burn and exercise calculator.

What You Can Eat when you follow the Weight Watchers program

If you want to loose weight in a healthy way, the Weight Watchers' TurnAround program offers two plans: With the Flex Plan you keep track of points assigned to specific food, you track and control the calories you eat. With the Core Plan you focus on eating the recommended wholesome foods without counting or tracking.

Both plans are built around Weight Watchers Healthy Eating Guidelines -- recommendations about daily intake of fruits, vegetables, dairy, water, protein, multiple vitamins, sugars and alcohol, healthy oils, and whole-grain foods.

How the Weight Watchers program works

The Weight Watchers program is based on counting and control of the intake of calories and the burning of calories thru specific activities.

There are two essential programs:

The Flex Plan

This is the original Weight Watchers plan: "Eat the food you love and lose weight." No foods are prohibited. Instead, each food is assigned points based on the food's calorie, total fat, and dietary fiber content.

This system encourages the selection of healthy foods by assigning points to specific foods. In that way, it helps you to make your food choices. For example:

  • 1 steak = 8 points
  • 1 cup broccoli = 0 points
  • 1 cup spaghetti with 1/2 cup marinara sauce = 6 points
  • 1 grilled chicken breast = 3 points
  • 1/4 cup regular creamy salad dressing = 8 points
  • 1 slice bread = 2 points
  • 1 ounce chocolate = 4 points
  • 1 scoop vanilla ice cream = 4 points

If you follow the Weight Watcher program, you have a target Daily Points Range, calculated based on your body weight. For example it could be between 22 and 27 points each day. A "Points Finder" helps members calibrate the points value of a recipe or a packaged product using the Nutrition Facts label.

In the beginning the goal is to reduce body weight by 5% to 10%, and the final weight goal of the diet is a BodyMassIndex less than 25.

The Core Plan

This new approach allows members to control calories by focusing their eating on a core list of wholesome nutritious foods, without having to count and track their food intake.

The list includes foods from all the food groups: fruits and vegetables; grains and starches; lean meats, fish, and poultry; eggs, and dairy products. The foods in this core list are low in fat and calories.

The Weight Watchers Philosophy: Flexibility, Exercise, Behavior

Weight Watchers need to learn flexible restraint - the ability to put a moderate level of control on eating. With the Weekly Allowance System members learn to allow for treats without sacrificing weight loss. The key is to find the balance between control and flexibility.

Exercise is also important. When members are established in their food plan, a specific exercise plan is introduced. You are encouraged to spend less time sitting -- taking the stairs, parking at the far end of a parking lot, taking a walk, and so on. All types of physical activity are assigned a specific amount of points, and the points are tracked.

Weight Watchers also helps its members to develop self-monitoring and accountability.

Finally, group support has been the cornerstone of the Weight Watchers program since its inception. Through weekly meetings, members get support in making lifestyle changes, which helps them, lose weight and keep it off.