Weight Watchers Diet
Millions of people use the Weight Watchers®. diet every year in an attempt to lose weight. It’s one of the most popular weight loss programs and one of the most respected. There are definitely advantages and disadvantages to the Weight Watchers diet points system. Read on and see if it’s for you.
The Weight Watchers®. diet is based on the idea that ” healthful weight loss occurs when we consume less food than we burn “. Many of us know this, but find it difficult to apply it to our own lives. Counting calories and weighing food to make sure we accomplish this mission just isn’t all that easy. It’s time-consuming and if there’s one thing most of us are short on, that would be time.
Not only that, but putting all that thought into what we’re eating kind of sucks the fun out of food. We begin to obsess on every bit we put in our mouths; how many calories was that? Oh, I forgot about the mayo! Etc.
The Weight Watchers®. points system is supposed to make it easier for you to accomplish your weight loss goals without the hassle of counting all those calories. Foods are assigned points; for instance something that is about 250 calories will be around 4-5 points.
Each individual starts with a meeting to determine the correct amount of points allowed per day to achieve his or her weight loss goals. This way, rather than counting calories, they count smaller numbers. They are not told what they can eat, but they do have to figure out how to eat in a way that doesn’t go over their daily allotted points.
Obviously, one can see that this could lead to making healthful choices. For instance, nobody wants to blow all their points on a huge breakfast and then not have much left over for the rest of the day. Things like fruits and vegetables aren’t going to add very quickly and are better choices for snacks. Makes sense, right?
But, you’re still counting. You still have to think about everything you put in your mouth and record it in a food diary. You may not have to weigh anything, but you do have to learn proper portion size (which isn’t all bad and key in weight loss), but it still forces you to obsess over food.
Using a food diary in and of itself is rather tedious and unless you’re a detail-oriented person, it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to keep up for long. There are already so many things in our lives that we have to monitor and fuss over. We have to remember to keep track of our children’s homework assignments. We have to remember to pay our bills on time. We have to make sure we’re on target for work assignments. Why make yourself slave to something else?
There is an alternative to the Weight Watchers®. points system and that is the Core Plan that Weight Watchers offers. This Weight Watchers diet doesn’t involve recording food or keeping track of points. Instead, a restrictive list of what foods you are allowed to eat is incorporated. For people who like a little more direction on what to eat and what not to eat, then this plan that takes the work out of it is probably a better way to go.
Unfortunately, there are two major drawbacks to this as well. Can you guess what they are? First and foremost, it’s too strict. When a diet is too strict, the failure rate is high. It may become too difficult to resist things that you crave and eventually, the binge monster will rear its ugly head.
The second problem is that it’s not teaching you how to eat healthfully for life. That which makes it simple causes trouble down the line when the weight has been lost and “normal” eating resumes. It’s very easy to go overboard when you’ve restricted yourself for so long. Not only that, but without your restrictive list of foods and Weight Watchers recipes, will you be able to make the right choices? For that reason, the Weight Watchers®. points system, or Flex Plan, is probably the better of the two.
Whichever method you choose, part of the Weight Watchers diet program and one of the strong points is the Weight Watchers diet meetings. Weekly weigh in’s and discussion with fellow dieters and counselors can offer the support you may need to boost your confidence and help you stick with your weight loss goals. Well, that is if it’s been a good week and you’ve lost weight at this weigh in. If you’ve gained weight, these public weigh in’s may prove to be more than you can handle in terms of obsessing over the event.
In addition, many nutritionists will tell you that looking at the scale too often can be more discouraging than anything. Our body weights fluctuate and when we’re talking about just one or two pounds, your true weight may not be reflected right at that moment. If you weight during your menstrual cycle, the scale might be reflecting water weight rather than true body weight.
In addition, these meetings are just one more thing to add to an already busy schedule. Part of the reason you may be heavy in the first place could be the fact that you don’t seem to have the time to exercise or eat properly. I can’t help but think that the time may be better spent in the gym or preparing a healthful lunch instead of grabbing something easy (and usually fattening) because you didn’t have time to eat.
Some people even describe the meetings as a little boring and repetitive, perhaps even a little corny in their bubbly manner. Some of us just don’t work well with the group strategy.
The Weight Watchers diet program has both positive and negative aspects. Some people will achieve lasting weight loss and others may find that the program just isn’t for them. You’ll have to weigh the odds and decide for yourself whether or not Weight Watchers is for you!
