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Continue to learn more about Diet Programs: Diets Programs Home
Diet Programs:
WEIGHT WATCHERS
Overview
A. About the diet
B. Costs
C. Pros and cons
D. Conclusion
E. How to start
F. Examples of the diet
A. About
The Weight Watchers program is designed to become a way of life and not just a diet. It involves a focus on nutrition, exercise, and counseling to help you succeed and feel great. It is a program that allows you to not feel deprived or like you’re not on a diet. The idea is to integrate healthy eating habits via a “points program” while encouraging other healthy aspects of life.
Many diets will consist of endless salads, tofu, and bland foods. The Weight Watchers program aims to avoid this take on dieting which can lead to quitting early and seeing no results. One aspect of the Weight Watchers Program which has led to much success is the “Points Program” which lets you decide what to eat.
The Points Program
The idea behind the points program is to assign each food you buy and eat a specific amount of points. You are to calculate how many points you will be allowed to eat each day based on your weight and amounts of weight you want to lose.
This will allow you to eat whatever foods you wanted, but the higher calorie or fattening foods are high points. Therefore if you were to eat poor food choices which are technically allowed, you will not be able to eat much else that day as your point score will already be high for that day.
This will restrict the overall amount of calories that you take in everyday and is the overall basis of losing weight. Calories coming into the body must be less that calories expended to lose weight. The points program is an easy way for busy people to “calculate” how many calories they’ve eaten based on points.
Weight Watchers also promotes its own line of foods to be sold in many major grocery store chains which have the point score right on the front of the product. Of course, you can eat any food you want and simply add the points from the Weight Watchers site which has online support, points, menus, and calculators. This makes adding your points effortless and has a huge database of all kinds of foods. So, just because it doesn’t say “Weight Watchers” on the front of the products, does not mean you cannot eat it.
B. The Costs
Per Month Membership/ Benefits: $16.95
Meetings (average): $10-$12
C. Pros and Cons of Weight Watchers
Pros:
1. The points program. The points program makes it easy to keep your intakes
of calories lower everyday for weight loss.
2. Eat what you want. Anything goes with the Weight Watchers diet and soon
you will not want to eat the bad things as you know you will only get less
“real” meals each day by doing this.
3. All support located in one spot. The Weight Watchers website has all the
online support and explanations on how to apply the points.
4. Support Meeting Motivation. There are even support meetings that occur
through the website so you can meet with real people making real support
for high motivation and accountability.
5. Learning Portion Control. You will end up knowing the right size portions of
foods before you know it! As you go through the program you will gain
experience on how many points each portion you eat. In this way you will
eventually be able to estimate your points (calories) with ease.
6. No Deprivation. No hardcore restrictions leaving you feeling weak and
hungry. All the Weight Watcher program asks is that you maintain your
desired points each day.
7. Accountability. You will be controlling your points and will have solid
evidence of your eating habits everyday when you add the points up. The
most common problem people have is not knowing how much they are
putting in their bodies. Weight Watchers eliminates this.
Cons:
1. The Costs. Weight Watchers can get pretty expensive as most of the added
features such as online support meetings are not free. These can range
from $10 to $12 per meeting and vary depending on your location. The
online program as charges alone time setup fee and $16.95 per month.
2. Slow Weight loss. The majority of people who want to lose weight want to
do it quickly. This will only work with daily exercise and really sticking to
the points program. There have been a few studies pointing to 11 lbs lost
per year which is not very fast, but proves it works. This program may not
be for those ready to make a lifetime commitment and change.
3. Counting Points. Some people will do great counting points in the beginning
of the program but quickly get tired of counting every day before becoming
accustomed to knowing exactly how many points they are eating without
counting.
D. Conclusion
This program could go either way for people. If you need to be told what to eat and how much, the points program is perfect for you. Also if you feel support from other people would greatly increase your chance for diet success than this program would be great for you.
If however you would rather learn what to eat and how much, you might look into a different kind of diet that explains more of how it works. This program is more geared towards those who need strict guidance and support so if you think you have good self-discipline than this program might not be right for you. The money component might also be another issue for people if they would rather take the time to learn how to diet.
E. How to Start the Weight Watchers Program
Here are a few links which will explain to you more in depth what the Weight Watchers Program is about prior to sign-up:
Points Program:
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=105421
Sample Diets:
Take a peek at a couple of the diets that you will eat on this page (full diet database is only available after signing up):
http://www.weightwatchers.com/plan/eat/index.aspx
Self Assessment:
Take to see where you are and where you want to be with weight loss :
http://www.weightwatchers.com/health/asm/index.aspx
Start the Program:
www.weightwatchers.com and click on “Weight Watchers Online”
Weight Watchers Diet
Key points:
• 5 servings of fruits & veggies
• 2 servings of milk products
• 6 glasses of "liquids"
• 2 tsp healthy oils
• 1-2 servings of lean protein
• 1 multivitamin a day
• Choose Whole Grains when possible
• At least 30 minutes of activity a day most days of the week
• Limit sugar and alcohol
Unfortunately you must sign up with the Weight Watchers Program to have all the diet information and the points system.
F. Weight Watcher Diet Examples:
Example 1:
Weight Watchers Menu for Breakfast
1 boiled egg (1 ½ points)
1 slice toast (1 point)
Tsp low fat spread (1/2 point)
Sample Weight Watchers Menu for Lunch
Medium baked potato (2 ½ points)
Medium portion half-fat cheddar (2 ½ points)
Cucumber and tomato salad (0 points)
Weight Watchers Sample Menu for Dinner
3 Medium slices roast chicken (2 points)
2 small roast potatoes (3 points)
Mashed carrot and swede (0 points)
Gravy (tsp of granules) (1/2 point)
Ice-cream (1 scoop, any flavor) (2 ½ points)
Anytime:
100g blackberries (1/2 point)
Medium glass wine (2 points)
2 squares of chocolate (1 ½ points)
TOTAL WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: 20
Example 2:
Weight Watchers Menu for Breakfast
Poached egg (1 ½ points)
1 toasted plain bagel (3 points)
Tsp low-fat spread (1/2 point)
2 medium rashers lean back bacon (3 points)
Grilled tomatoes (0 points)
Sample Weight Watchers Menu for Lunch
2 slices toast (2 points)
2 tsp low-fat spread (1 point)
205g can baked beans (2 points)
Medium portion half-fat cheddar (2 ½ points)
Medium bunch grapes (1 ½ points)
Weight Watchers Sample Menu for Dinner
Medium salmon steak (3 points)
Medium baked potato (2 ½)
1 tsp low-fat butter (1/2 point)
Cauliflower and broccoli florets (0 points)
Low-fat chocolate mousse pot (1 ½ points)
Anytime:
Apple or orange (1/2 point)
¾ pint skimmed milk (1 ½ points)
3 macadamia nuts (1 ½ points)
TOTAL WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: 28
A. About the diet
B. Costs
C. Pros and cons
D. Conclusion
E. How to start
F. Examples of the diet
A. About
The Weight Watchers program is designed to become a way of life and not just a diet. It involves a focus on nutrition, exercise, and counseling to help you succeed and feel great. It is a program that allows you to not feel deprived or like you’re not on a diet. The idea is to integrate healthy eating habits via a “points program” while encouraging other healthy aspects of life.
Many diets will consist of endless salads, tofu, and bland foods. The Weight Watchers program aims to avoid this take on dieting which can lead to quitting early and seeing no results. One aspect of the Weight Watchers Program which has led to much success is the “Points Program” which lets you decide what to eat.
The Points Program
The idea behind the points program is to assign each food you buy and eat a specific amount of points. You are to calculate how many points you will be allowed to eat each day based on your weight and amounts of weight you want to lose.
This will allow you to eat whatever foods you wanted, but the higher calorie or fattening foods are high points. Therefore if you were to eat poor food choices which are technically allowed, you will not be able to eat much else that day as your point score will already be high for that day.
This will restrict the overall amount of calories that you take in everyday and is the overall basis of losing weight. Calories coming into the body must be less that calories expended to lose weight. The points program is an easy way for busy people to “calculate” how many calories they’ve eaten based on points.
Weight Watchers also promotes its own line of foods to be sold in many major grocery store chains which have the point score right on the front of the product. Of course, you can eat any food you want and simply add the points from the Weight Watchers site which has online support, points, menus, and calculators. This makes adding your points effortless and has a huge database of all kinds of foods. So, just because it doesn’t say “Weight Watchers” on the front of the products, does not mean you cannot eat it.
B. The Costs
Per Month Membership/ Benefits: $16.95
Meetings (average): $10-$12
C. Pros and Cons of Weight Watchers
Pros:
1. The points program. The points program makes it easy to keep your intakes
of calories lower everyday for weight loss.
2. Eat what you want. Anything goes with the Weight Watchers diet and soon
you will not want to eat the bad things as you know you will only get less
“real” meals each day by doing this.
3. All support located in one spot. The Weight Watchers website has all the
online support and explanations on how to apply the points.
4. Support Meeting Motivation. There are even support meetings that occur
through the website so you can meet with real people making real support
for high motivation and accountability.
5. Learning Portion Control. You will end up knowing the right size portions of
foods before you know it! As you go through the program you will gain
experience on how many points each portion you eat. In this way you will
eventually be able to estimate your points (calories) with ease.
6. No Deprivation. No hardcore restrictions leaving you feeling weak and
hungry. All the Weight Watcher program asks is that you maintain your
desired points each day.
7. Accountability. You will be controlling your points and will have solid
evidence of your eating habits everyday when you add the points up. The
most common problem people have is not knowing how much they are
putting in their bodies. Weight Watchers eliminates this.
Cons:
1. The Costs. Weight Watchers can get pretty expensive as most of the added
features such as online support meetings are not free. These can range
from $10 to $12 per meeting and vary depending on your location. The
online program as charges alone time setup fee and $16.95 per month.
2. Slow Weight loss. The majority of people who want to lose weight want to
do it quickly. This will only work with daily exercise and really sticking to
the points program. There have been a few studies pointing to 11 lbs lost
per year which is not very fast, but proves it works. This program may not
be for those ready to make a lifetime commitment and change.
3. Counting Points. Some people will do great counting points in the beginning
of the program but quickly get tired of counting every day before becoming
accustomed to knowing exactly how many points they are eating without
counting.
D. Conclusion
This program could go either way for people. If you need to be told what to eat and how much, the points program is perfect for you. Also if you feel support from other people would greatly increase your chance for diet success than this program would be great for you.
If however you would rather learn what to eat and how much, you might look into a different kind of diet that explains more of how it works. This program is more geared towards those who need strict guidance and support so if you think you have good self-discipline than this program might not be right for you. The money component might also be another issue for people if they would rather take the time to learn how to diet.
E. How to Start the Weight Watchers Program
Here are a few links which will explain to you more in depth what the Weight Watchers Program is about prior to sign-up:
Points Program:
http://www.weightwatchers.com/util/art/index_art.aspx?tabnum=1&art_id=105421
Sample Diets:
Take a peek at a couple of the diets that you will eat on this page (full diet database is only available after signing up):
http://www.weightwatchers.com/plan/eat/index.aspx
Self Assessment:
Take to see where you are and where you want to be with weight loss :
http://www.weightwatchers.com/health/asm/index.aspx
Start the Program:
www.weightwatchers.com and click on “Weight Watchers Online”
Weight Watchers Diet
Key points:
• 5 servings of fruits & veggies
• 2 servings of milk products
• 6 glasses of "liquids"
• 2 tsp healthy oils
• 1-2 servings of lean protein
• 1 multivitamin a day
• Choose Whole Grains when possible
• At least 30 minutes of activity a day most days of the week
• Limit sugar and alcohol
Unfortunately you must sign up with the Weight Watchers Program to have all the diet information and the points system.
F. Weight Watcher Diet Examples:
Example 1:
Weight Watchers Menu for Breakfast
1 boiled egg (1 ½ points)
1 slice toast (1 point)
Tsp low fat spread (1/2 point)
Sample Weight Watchers Menu for Lunch
Medium baked potato (2 ½ points)
Medium portion half-fat cheddar (2 ½ points)
Cucumber and tomato salad (0 points)
Weight Watchers Sample Menu for Dinner
3 Medium slices roast chicken (2 points)
2 small roast potatoes (3 points)
Mashed carrot and swede (0 points)
Gravy (tsp of granules) (1/2 point)
Ice-cream (1 scoop, any flavor) (2 ½ points)
Anytime:
100g blackberries (1/2 point)
Medium glass wine (2 points)
2 squares of chocolate (1 ½ points)
TOTAL WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: 20
Example 2:
Weight Watchers Menu for Breakfast
Poached egg (1 ½ points)
1 toasted plain bagel (3 points)
Tsp low-fat spread (1/2 point)
2 medium rashers lean back bacon (3 points)
Grilled tomatoes (0 points)
Sample Weight Watchers Menu for Lunch
2 slices toast (2 points)
2 tsp low-fat spread (1 point)
205g can baked beans (2 points)
Medium portion half-fat cheddar (2 ½ points)
Medium bunch grapes (1 ½ points)
Weight Watchers Sample Menu for Dinner
Medium salmon steak (3 points)
Medium baked potato (2 ½)
1 tsp low-fat butter (1/2 point)
Cauliflower and broccoli florets (0 points)
Low-fat chocolate mousse pot (1 ½ points)
Anytime:
Apple or orange (1/2 point)
¾ pint skimmed milk (1 ½ points)
3 macadamia nuts (1 ½ points)
TOTAL WEIGHT WATCHERS POINTS: 28
Weight Watchers
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