Weight Watchers New Program Really Works!
by RobinLynn - Written: Jan 01 '02 (Updated Jan 01 '02)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: easy to follow; large variety of foods allowed
Cons: none
The Bottom Line: The variety of foods allowed, and the ease of calculating what can be eaten makes this an excellent and healthy way to lose weight.
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| RobinLynn's Full Review: Weight Watchers 1-2-3 Success At Home |
Well, another holiday season has come and gone. From the first bite of my daughter's delicious turkey stuffing at Thanksgiving, to last night's New Year's dessert table, which included my favorite, bananas foster, it has been an eating extravaganza for the last six weeks! Many Americans have found solace from the affairs of the world and their new found nightmares by eating all of their favorite comfort foods over the holidays. And I was most definitely one of them!
I have always been fortunate enough to be slim and never was too concerned about my weight until the last few years. But in the last four years or so, a few pounds a year started to slowly sneak up on me. My metabolism had slowed down, and no matter how little I ate, or how much I tried to exercise, I couldn’t get those few pounds off.
I had always thought that Weight Watchers was only for people who had a lot of weight to lose. It was only after I saw a gym buddy who was also on the slim side, but had put on the same extra ten pounds as me, miraculously take it off in a very short time, that I decided it was time for me to take some action!
From what I understand from members who have belonged to the program for years, this new 1,2,3 program, also called Winning Points, is the easiest program to follow and certainly the most effective. It takes the fuss out of losing weight. There is no complicated counting, no weighing, and no off-limits food. It is flexible enough to use every day, even if you have a very busy schedule.
This is basically how it works. All foods have a points value. How many points depends on the serving size, the number of calories, the amount of fiber grams, and the amount of fat grams in the food. Upon joining, I was given a book that tells the point values of most common foods, based on serving size. I also received a points finder, which is a pocket sized sliding gadget that figures out how many points a food has. Armed with the nutritional information on the packages of most foods, specifically the calories, fat grams, and fiber grams, the calculator quickly and easily tells me how many points that in that food. The higher the fat grams, the more points in that food. The higher the fiber grams, the less points .
Prepackaged foods and desserts with the Weight Watcher labels, and sold in supermarkets, already have the points values figured on the box, which makes things even easier.
The ultimate effect is that one learns to eat healthier. It has reinforced what I already knew- that a high fiber, low-fat diet is the healthiest way to lose weight. Each week, I am given a form to write down EVERYTHING I eat, and how many points it has. If I know I am going out for a nice dinner, I will use less of my points earlier in the day, so that I can “bank” some of my points for later . I have learned that certain foods that I really enjoy, such as popcorn, is a filling and delicious afternoon or evening snack that only has one point for a five cup serving. I buy the microwave 94% fat-free type and spray it with “I Can’t Believe its not Butter”. I also like the Weight Watchers frozen éclair or ice cream sandwiches, each with three points. Jello makes a small cup of fat-free pudding, which is only one point. During the day, I eat lots of fruits, most of which only have two points.
The amount of points each individual should have daily is based on the person’s body weight, and how much he or she is trying to lose. The individual decides how he or she wants to allocate those points. In my case, I am only trying to lose ten pounds, which is often more difficult. Thus, I need to have less points in a day than someone who is trying to lose twenty or thirty pounds. I am supposed to stay within the eighteen - to -twenty two point range, staying closer to the higher number.
It is also important to the program to have from six to eight glasses of water a day. Not only is it filling, but it keeps the body hydrated. Before I began this program, I never drank even close to this amount, but since I have begun to do this, I feel much better.
At each meeting, I weigh in first, and any weight changes are noted on my card. Then the lecturer gives support and ideas for strategies to help stay on the program successfully. She offers suggestions for alternative lower points foods to eat, and ways to survive in the workplace or at a party without going over your points for the day. The other members ask specific questions or offer tricks they have learned to make things a little easier and more effective.
In my case, believe it or not, before I joined, I actually wasn’t eating enough. I often skipped breakfast, had a tiny lunch, but would eat a fattening couple of cookies in the afternoon or often after dinner. I would pop a few small candies during the day and loved white bread. Since I would often go four or five hours before I ate, my body was almost in starvation mode, with my metabolism slowed to a crawl. Then when I ate something fattening, it would turn to sugar and get stored as fat.
It is important to stay within the range of points, always having your minimum number of points to keep your metabolism fueled while losing weight at a safe rate. This is not a typical yo-yo diet, with giant weight losses, but rather a healthy way to eat and hopefully a permanent way to view food in a sensible manner, while losing weight slowly.
Now that the holiday parties are over, if your New Year’s resolution is to try to eat in a more healthy manner and try to lose, and even more important, to maintain your weight loss, this just might be the program for you. Weekly fees are $10.00, with many specials offered bringing that cost down.
This is an update of a review I wrote last year. In the last few months,, in fact since September 11, I gained back most of the ten pounds I had lost last year at Weight Watchers. But I have begun again, in earnest, and with the program being so simple to follow, I am hopeful that in no time, I will see the results that I experienced last year.
I wish everyone a happy and a healthy New Year!!
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Recommended:
Yes
Approximate Monthly Cost (US$) 40
Food Variety Restrictions A wide variety of allowed foods
Restrictiveness of Portions Satisfying
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