WeightWatchers has become widely recognized as a leading weight loss program with millions of members, including notable figures like Oprah Winfrey, who seek to shed excess weight.
Jean Nidetch established WeightWatchers in her Queens, New York residence in 1963. Initially formed as a weight loss group for her close acquaintances, it promptly flourished into one of the most popular diet regimes globally.
At first, WeightWatchers utilized a serving-based counting method, comparable to the diabetes exchange system, for tracking foods. Later, in the 1990s, a point-based system was introduced in which foods and beverages were given assigned values based on their fiber, fat, and calorie content.
Over the years, WeightWatchers has made multiple modifications to its point-based program, with the latest being centered on customization and factoring in health aspects that could impact one’s weight, such as workout routines, sleep quality, and stress levels.
To begin the process of registering with WeightWatchers, you must first complete a personal evaluation questionnaire that inquires about your present health practices and objectives. This questionnaire covers:
- why you want to lose weight
- when you’re most likely to go off-track on an eating plan
- how much you exercise
- your sleep habits
- your current mindset
After the assessment is done, you will be presented with the choice of either of two membership options to enroll in.
- Core: The most basic option, this plan offers access to the WeightWatchers app, along with a customized weight loss and wellness plan, tracking tools, workouts, and meditations. It starts at $15 per month.
- Premium: This plan offers everything from the Core plan, plus virtual and in-person meetups with a WeightWatchers coach and group. It starts at $33.30 per month.
Additional Products and Services
Membership with WeightWatchers entitles one to utilize the WeightWatchers app in its entirety, regardless of level. For those who choose to enroll in Premium, additional perks such as in-person workshops, virtual workshops, or private coaching sessions are available.
Moreover, a WeightWatchers Shop vends a wide array of products that bear the WeightWatchers brand and meet their standards, encompassing:
- snack foods
- pantry staples
- breakfast items
- collagen powder
- cookbooks
- kitchen tools
- drinkware
- kitchen storage items
- workout equipment and accessories
- candles
- jewelry
- skin care products
- body scales
WeightWatchers Points were created as a substitute for calorie tracking, with the intention of facilitating healthy eating while maintaining a deficit in calorie intake. The Point system is calculated based on several factors such as beginning weight, weight objectives, level of physical activity, age, and gender. Individuals who are breastfeeding or chestfeeding require additional calories and thus receive more Points as a result.
WeightWatchers members are allowed to consume ZeroPoint foods without using up Points from their allocated budget.
To keep things concise, let me give you a quick overview of Points and ZeroPoint foods:
- Points: These are values assigned to foods based on their nutritional content. More nutritious foods, like fish and vegetables, are assigned fewer points than more heavily processed foods like candy and soda.
- ZeroPoint foods: These are foods and beverages that don’t count toward your Points budget. There are over 200 ZeroPoint foods, including things like scrambled eggs (with no added fat), nonfat yogurt, fruit, and non-starchy vegetables.
WeightWatchers suggests sticking to your Points budget or even staying below it if reducing weight is your objective although there are no banned foods.
Pros
Balanced and Flexible
Not everyone can be successful with generic, universal diet plans. WW stands out by using a points system rather than predetermined meal plans, enabling you to select your preferred foods and control your portions. This approach allows you to consume more of the foods you enjoy, which increases compliance with the program.
WW has introduced modifications such as the ZeroPoint listing which aims to enhance flexibility during the diet. The ability to select meals from a roster of well-balanced options throughout the day renders WW more flexible and is a well-received characteristic of the program.
Teaches Lifelong Skills
Temporary dietary restrictions are the purpose of diets, yet WW’s goal is to impart lifelong healthy habits and practices such as portion control and food monitoring that can be integrated into one’s daily regimen, regardless of program adherence.
Long-term success in weight loss has been linked to keeping a record of your food intake according to research.
Although it’s important to measure portions to prevent overeating, mastering the skill of consuming larger portions of low energy-dense foods (like ZeroPoints foods), and smaller portions of high energy-dense foods is crucial for sustaining weight loss and managing weight.
In addition, WW provides a collection of beneficial recommendations on nutrition and wellness, including recipes, guidance, and additional resources, which motivate you to prepare meals in your own kitchen and develop the abilities necessary to do so.
No Foods are Forbidden
Prohibiting certain foods or declaring them as off-limits can result in eating disorders such as binge eating. It is common to observe that the more we restrict ourselves from consuming a specific food or group of foods, the more we desire it. By allowing ourselves to eat anything, we gain a subtle way of managing our food choices.
Research indicates that if children are offered forbidden foods like desserts or typically restricted foods during a family meal, their overall intake during the meal will be reduced, despite the portion size served. Rather than providing a restrictive food list, WW employs a system of “PersonalPoints” to tally and FitPoints, which permit users to earn additional PersonalPoints by exercising.
Slow and Steady Weight Loss
The WW program is intended to enable you to shed 1-2 pounds weekly, which aligns with the National Institute of Health’s advice on safe weight loss. Numerous testimonials found on the WW website and online attest to this, and scientific research has yielded consistent results.
An illustration of this is a research published in Lancet in 2017 that assessed weight loss of individuals using self-help materials, Weight Watchers for 12 weeks, and Weight Watchers for 52 weeks. The 52-week program yielded superior outcomes compared to the 12-week program, while the 12-week program produced better results compared to the self-directed program.
A systematic review published in Annals of Internal Medicine in 2015 analyzed various commercial weight-loss programs and discovered that individuals who followed Weight Watchers lost 2.6 percent more weight when compared to the control groups.
Opting for a gradual approach to weight loss is advisable because it minimizes the risk of weight regain in the long run. Therefore, embracing the “slow and steady” philosophy is appropriate. If your goal is to shed pounds and maintain a healthy weight, adopting a gradual weight loss strategy would be more effective.
Tons of Support and Resources
For achieving weight loss successfully, having a strong backing system is a crucial factor. WW provides various forms of support, such as virtual coaches, online and in-person support groups, and a round-the-clock exclusive online community. Research indicates that incorporating support services with any weight management program can lead to higher rates of success.
Every membership with WW includes access to an extensive collection of recipes and on-demand workout options. You can track your meals with ease using the barcode scanner, and even create and save your own recipes. To seamlessly track your activity and nutrition, simply sync your device to the WW app if you have an activity tracker.
Promotes Exercise
To meet the guidelines set by the National Institute of Health, individuals between the ages of 18-64 should engage in 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic physical activity per week, or 75 minutes of vigorous aerobic physical activity per week. Furthermore, muscle-strengthening activities are advised twice a week.
WW enables the creation of everyday and weekly objectives related to physical activities and motivates you to achieve them by granting you supplementary PersonalPoints each time you include a workout in your weekly plan. With WW, the emphasis is on fun while selecting exercises that are enjoyable to you.
Your WW membership entitles you to an on-demand workout program with guided cardio, core, yoga, Pilates, and stretching workouts. Additionally, you are advised to explore local workout options in your vicinity with complimentary trial classes.
Cons
Can Be Costly
Upon enrolling in WW, your initial task will be to determine the length and associated price of the program (6-month, 3-month, or 1-month). Then, you can select supplementary features such as personal coaching or guided exercise classes, each of which entails an extra cost.
Before determining if the program fits within your budget, ensure that you have taken into account the monthly payment for the entire duration of the program.
To save some money, consider paying for multiple months in advance or taking advantage of promotional deals. Furthermore, don’t forget to consult with your insurance provider as some may give you a reduced rate or reimburse you for joining the Weight Watchers program.
In case of doubt, a study conducted in 2019 examined the expenses incurred by a set of women who chose Weight Watchers to shed 5% of their body weight, costing them a sum of $1,610.14 in entirety.
Despite sounding like a substantial sum, the expenses incurred were comparatively lower than those of the other weight loss plan investigated, namely Curves Complete. To achieve similar objectives, a total of $8,613 was spent. It is noteworthy that this expense was accumulated over two years, equating to approximately $67 per month.
Counting Points Can Be Tedious
Counting points and keeping track of nutrition can be bothersome for a lot of individuals. Additionally, staying within one’s daily points limit can be overwhelming, and for certain individuals, obsessively monitoring food intake can contribute to an unhealthy association with eating and disordered eating patterns, which go against long-term and healthy weight management goals.
Weekly Weigh-Ins Are Necessary
To monitor your progress, you must weigh yourself either in-person or virtually once a week. This may cause unwarranted anxiety for certain individuals about the weight displayed on the scale, whereas some may feel uneasy about being weighed in the presence of others.
Frequent weighing is not a good practice to adopt if you let your scale weight dictate your bad day. However, monitoring progress and accountability could be instilled in individuals who find weekly weigh-ins motivating and beneficial.
Too Much Freedom
Unrestricted consumption of zero points foods can be difficult for certain individuals who are in the process of losing weight. If you anticipate a tendency to overindulge in zero points foods or hoard Personal Points for less wholesome options later in the day, it might be more fitting for you to explore a weight loss program that offers a more organized approach.
May Lead to Unhealthy Dieting
Those who are enthusiastic about dieting can confirm the strain that accompanies keeping track of points and adhering to a regimen. If your diet plan is impeding your social interactions or dominating your mind, it is no longer beneficial for you. A number of elements in WW can definitely foster harmful dieting practices, such as monitoring food intake, tallying points, and reserving points for excessive indulgence.
WeightWatchers places emphasis on the significance of weight loss through a method grounded in science.
- portion control
- food choices
- slow, consistent weight loss
WeightWatchers differs from numerous quick-fix diets that make unrealistic claims of achieving remarkable results in a short time frame by educating its members that they should anticipate a weight loss range of 0.5 to 2 pounds (0.23 to 0.9 kg) every week, based on the plan they have opted for.
WeightWatchers emphasizes lifestyle changes and provides guidance on making healthier choices through their Points system, which promotes nutritious foods. Numerous studies have concluded that WeightWatchers is effective in aiding weight loss.
According to a study involving 152 obese individuals, WeightWatchers participants managed to shed 8% of their total body weight after six months on average. Furthermore, 33.3% of participants were successful in losing 10% or more of their body weight within the same time frame.
Furthermore, it has been found in two separate studies that the WeightWatchers program not only assists in weight reduction but also saves considerable amounts of money on prospective healthcare expenditures. One of these studies discovered that, in comparison to standard care, WeightWatchers is more efficacious in reducing obesity and is also more economically feasible.
In the second study, it was discovered that the participants had an average weight loss of approximately 6.3 to 11.6 pounds (2.9 to 5.2 kg) within a span of 7 months.
Moreover, a previous evaluation of 39 controlled trials revealed that individuals who adhered to the WeightWatchers regimen lost an additional 2.6% weight compared to those who underwent conventional weight loss education over a period of 12 months.
The WeightWatchers point system allows for all kinds of foods, including vegetables, fruits, and lean proteins, but emphasizes the consumption of whole, unprocessed foods. Although it encourages healthier food choices, members are free to consume any foods they desire so long as they remain within their daily Point allocation.
The WeightWatchers plan entices members towards healthier food choices through the provision of ZeroPoint foods, which encompass items such as fruits, various vegetables, lean proteins, legumes, nonfat dairy, tofu, eggs, seafood, a selection of whole grains, and shellfish.
Foods to eat
- lean proteins
- healthy fats
- non-starchy vegetables
- fresh, frozen, and unsweetened canned fruit
- high-fiber carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes, brown rice, oatmeal, beans, and whole grain products
Foods to avoid
WeightWatchers advises its members against consuming foods that are heavily processed or contain high amounts of added sugar and saturated fats, even though the Points system permits them to select any type of food.
- sugary drinks
- potato chips
- processed meats
- candy
- cakes and cookies
WeightWatchers emphasizes that members are not restricted from consuming any particular foods, including their preferred snacks and desserts, as long as they adhere to the allotted Points.