Weight Watchers Diet is one of the most popular diets today. In 1963, Weight Watchers was initiated by Jean Nidetch, a homemaker from Brooklyn. Today Weight Watchers is a popular international company that operates in more than 30 different countries. The Weight Watchers program includes group support, learning sessions, regular meetings, and a very operative points system 1 .
About the Weight Watchers Diet
The purpose: Weight Loss
The claim: You will drop up to 2 pounds per week.
The theory: There is more to weight loss than just calculating calories – if you make healthy choices that fill you up, you will eat less. Therefore, if you are wavering between a 200-calorie iced coffee and a 200-calorie fruit smoothie, the smoothie is definitely the smarter choice. A spinal column of the program is multi-model access to support from individuals who have lost weight using Weight Watchers Diet and kept it off.
Balanced Diet
This diet falls within accepted ranges for the amount of fat, carbs, and protein, and other nutrients they provide. Mediterranean Diet is also one of the most popular well-balanced diets today. Find out more: LINK
Pros and Cons
- Flexibility to create your own diet plan
- Consume what you want – no foods off-limits
- Pricey
- Tedious point-tallying
About Weight Watchers founder, Jean Nidetch 2
Jean Nidetch was born in 1923, in Brooklyn, New York. Jean says she was a housewife and an overweight homemaker – who was really partial to cookies. She had taken part in numerous fad diets.
Nidetch managed to lose 20 pounds/9 kilos, however, she was concerned her ‘weak resolve’ might mean a return to her previous body weight. She got in touch with some friends and began a support group.
Her support group evolved rapidly and really soon there were weekly classes – so, in 1963 Jean Nidetch established the Weight Watchers Organization.
The food company H. J. Heinz bought Weight Watchers, in 1978. She is still a consultant and has set up various scholarship programs at the University of California (Los Angeles) and the University of Nevada.
The thrust of the program of Weight Watchers is in regular meetings, encouragement, and monitoring, through support group type sessions. The dieter aims for a BMI (body mass index) or targets weight of between 20-25.
You are considered as too thin if your body mass index is under 20 if it’s over 25 you are overweight if it’s between 20 and 25 you are within the best weight range. Persons can aim for a BMI outside the 20-25 parameters as long as they have a GP’s note saying so.
How Does Weight Watchers Diet Work?
Weight Watchers presented its new Beyond the Scale program, in late 2015. This program emphasizes 3 components:
- eating healthier;
- fitness that fits your life, and
- developing the connections and skills to tune in and unravel inner strength.
The brand-new Smart Points nutrition plan guides memberships toward a complete eating pattern of foods which are higher in protein, lower in calories, and sugar and saturated fat. Nevertheless, you could eat whatever you want – if you stick to your daily Smart Points target, a number based on your age, gender, height, and weight.
Fit Points, a new metric to assist you track activity, was also presented in late 2015. Each member has a personalized Fit Points goal that is based on an initial calculation, and Fit Points could be earned anytime and anywhere – from walking the dog to cleaning the house. If you want to get active and you are not sure where to begin or you are ready to take it to the next level and run a 5K, this method can help you uncover fun and easy ways to move more.
What You Can Eat and What You Cannot
No food is forbidden in the Weight Watchers plan, which does not make you purchase any prepackaged meals.
Nutritious foods which fill you up to have fewer points than junk with 0 calories. However, the eating plan now factors protein, fat, and sugar, into its points calculation to steer you toward lean protein, veggies, and fruits, and away from things that are high in saturated fat and sugar.
You will have a Smart Points target that is set up based on your goals and body. As long as you stay within the daily target, you could spend those Smart Points however you’d wish, even on dessert or alcohol.
Healthier, lower-calorie foods cost fewer points, though.
Level of Effort: Medium
Weight Watchers is created to make it easier to change your habits long-term, and it is flexible enough that you can be able to adapt it to your lifestyle.
Cooking and shopping: You will learn how to shop and cook healthy foods, and eat in ways that support your weight loss goals without needing to buy unusual foods or skimping on taste.
Packaged meals or foods: Not required.
In-person meeting: Optional.
Does It Allow for Dietary Restrictions or Preferences?
You can do Weight Watchers Diet if you’re a vegan, vegetarian, have other preferences, or if you need to limit fat or salt because you choose how you spend the daily Smart Points.
Does It Work?
Yes, it works. According to many experts, this diet is one of the most well-studied weight loss plans available.3 4
Many studies have proven that the Weight Watchers plan could help you lose weight and keep it off.5
Benefits of Weight Watchers Diet
Researchers from the UK, Australia, and Germany reported findings in The Lancet that people who were referred by their healthcare professionals to Weight Watchers Diet were found to lose around 2 times as much weight as those on regular weight loss care over a period of one year. 6
According to another potent study, published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine, a half-year Weight Watchers group program, obese or overweight adults who attended at least 2/3 of the weekly sessions, not just lost weight, but also significantly decreased insulin and fasting glucose levels – significant indicators of diabetes risk.7
What Else You Should Know
Cost: Weight Watchers has 3 plans: online with meetings, online with coaching, or online only. Each of them has a $20 starter fee, however, they often have specials that waive the charge.
Support: Besides the above-stated, Weight Watchers has a magazine, an online community, and a website.
Rankings
38 diets were calculated with input from a panel of many health experts. Weight Watchers Diet ranked #1 in Easiest Diets to Follow as well as Best Weight-Loss Diets.
Conclusion:
As a nutritionist I always recommend: you should be eating a balanced diet if you want to be healthy and stay that way. Weight Watchers Diet is an ideal way to lose weight and have real food on your menu. A healthy diet consists of vegetables, fruits, milk and dairy products, whole grain foods, lean protein, and liquids such as water, smoothies, tea, fresh juices, and coffee. By planning your meals with different food groups in mind, you are more likely to get the ideal variety of nutrients, including minerals and vitamins that are crucial to good health.