WW – Weight Watchers Review

Weight Watchers 360°, Points Plus, and Weight Watchers Online

Weight Watchers is one of the longest running weight loss programs in history. Their program has helped thousands of people to lose weight with nutrition and support that are effective.  However, in 2010, Weight Watchers did a complete makeover of its old points system and started a totally new program, called Points Plus, to keep up with the trends and science behind successful weight loss programs.

For over 50 years Weight Watchers has been helping people live healthier lives.   It all started in a living room, where women would gather to support one another while losing weight. Then it grew, and became one of the most recognized names in weight loss.   The weekly meetings that are still a cornerstone of the program today.

The new product is the Weight Watchers 360° program based on the latest nutritional science. This new program helps you choose foods wisely with the PointsPlus® food tracking system, so you can stay fuller longer and handle hunger and temptation. You’ll learn to make smart, healthy choices, while adapting the program to your needs.

Weight Watchers Chief Science Officer Karen Miller-Kovach, RD, is quoted as saying the program is an entirely new approach to safe, effective, and steady weight loss that takes advantage of cutting-edge weight loss science.

“With the old points system, you could use your points anyway you like. But we now know if you use your points wisely by eating foods rich in protein and fiber — these foods fill you up, keep hunger at bay, and help you lose weight in a healthier and more nutritious way,” Kovach says.

The Weight Watchers 360 program allows you to eat the foods you like without restriction. Simply stay within your daily range and you can still enjoy the foods you love.  The philosophy behind Weight Watchers believes that eating is just one part of long-term weight management. A healthy body results in a healthy lifestyle (mental, emotional, and physical health).

The goal is to lose weight and keep it off.

How it works

Weight Watchers 360° is designed to help you stop dieting and start living. “360°” represents that they support you entirely to create a healthier lifestyle – surrounding you 360 degrees with all the tools and support you need to be successful.

Using Weight Watchers’ 360 you will:

• Learn to deal with hunger and temptation
• Stay full longer, with delicious Weight Watchers Power Foods
• Make healthy choices easily, and automatically
• Learn to choose food wisely with the PointsPlus® System
• There are no forbidden foods or pre-packaged meals
• Smart Phone Apps to Take Weight Watchers everywhere

Weight Watchers Points Plus

The Points Plus program is based on Weight Watchers’ formula that calculates the positive and negative attributes of food that considers the following:

• How much harder your body works to process protein and fiber compared to carbs and fat
• Filling foods
• Healthy foods
• Sugar, saturated fat, total fat, sodium, and fiber content of foods

Calories still count in the Points Plus program because the bottom line in weight loss is creating a calorie deficit — burning more calories than you eat.  But there is so much more to successful weight loss, and where those calories come from makes a big difference.

Choosing foods that are rich in the most satisfying nutrients, but not loaded with calories is the primary goal to give dieters the weight loss edge.  Therefore, you focus on eating more Power Foods as an easy way to fill up on the healthiest low-calorie options.

To get started, dieters fill out a form with age, gender, height, and current weight to get their assigned Points Plus daily allotment along with a weekly allowance. You’ll get at least 1200 calories daily. The distribution of those calories between carbs, protein, and fat are within the Institute of Medicine’s acceptable ranges.

One new feature: You get unlimited quantities of fresh fruits and non-starchy vegetables.

“Most adults don’t eat enough fruits or vegetables. So our strategy was to allow these as free foods to encourage more consumption of these super-nutritious foods that are among the lowest in calories and very filling,” Kovach says.

Options for participation are the same — in person, online, or a combination.

The old points may be gone, but the heart of the Weight Watchers program remains unchanged.

Weight Watchers Points Plus: What You Can Eat

The new Weight Watchers 360° program is designed to help you look at food in a fresh way.  There are no required foods or forbidden foods, but it helps guide you to make better choices.  Points Plus will help you eat smarter so you stay fuller longer, and give you strategies for beating hunger and temptation.

Connected to 2010 Dietary Guidelines, Points Plus encourages people to eat a wide variety of healthy foods — split between three meals plus snacks within an individualized calorie level.

Dieters are encouraged to maximize their Points Plus allowance by choosing more “Power Foods,” such as whole grains, lean meats, low-fat dairy, and unlimited quantities of fresh fruit and non-starchy vegetables. Power Foods are the healthiest, most filling foods.

Fruits and vegetables are especially filling and nutritious foods that should be the foundation of every weight loss diet.

Decadent foods can still be worked into the calorie budget, but the new program limits the amount of these extras.

Dieters can check the Points Plus value of foods using a pocket guide that lists 500-700 most popular foods, an online database of 40,000 foods, a mobile phone app, or purchase a Points Plus calculator.

Weight Watchers Meetings

The key strength of Weight Watchers is the ability to meet regularly with others for encouragement and support.

The original Weight Watchers plan invites members to weekly meetings where they help dieters form a network of support with people sharing similar experiences. Each person checks their weight privately. Meetings are conducted by a trained Meeting Leader who motivates and offers the group support through information about nutrition and fitness.

Weight Watchers Online For those whose schedules won’t accommodate a weekly meeting, or prefer the anonymity the Internet offers, Weight Watchers Online makes it possible to reap the benefits of the program from the comfort of your own home. Online subscribers can communicate via message boards, monitor progress, and manage PointsPlus values, access hundreds of approved recipes and so much more.

Weight Watchers Online

Weight Watchers Online provides several tools to track your progress and see your rewards as you go with the Weight Tracker. A series of interactive foods enable you to manage daily food choices, eating out, and activities.

As mentioned previously, participants can communicate with other members in a more private manner via chat rooms, numerous message boards and recipe swaps.  These have an abundance of members participating, are very popular, and can be very helpful if taken advantage of

What you get with Weight Watchers Online:

• The Weight Watchers 360° program: packed with powerful tools and strategies to help you succeed
• Proven PointsPlus plan that you follow entirely online
• Digital tools that help you stay on track by keeping tabs on your food, weight and activity, plus mobile tools that go where you go
• A customized site packed with content exclusively for men
• Over 160,000 food options and 3,800 recipes that’ll help take the guesswork out of food choices
• Fun, interactive features including Cheat Sheets and videos that teach you how to make smart choices and fit in the foods you love
• Workout ideas, demos and challenges for any fitness level

Short-Term Weight Loss

Weight Watchers claims you can shed up to 2 pounds a week, and feedback online and from experts claim this to be very attainable.  If the program is followed strictly, dieters can expect to lose a significant amount of weight within the first year and have a history of keeping it off.

Long-Term Weight Loss

According to feedback from participants and health experts Weight Watchers has a terrific reputation of helping you keep the weight off once you’ve lost it.  Several theories are given to how Weight Watchers rates higher than most other weight loss programs.  Most often attributed to its lack of restrictions, and others claim the group support is the key.

Easy to Follow

With lots of support from fellow members, online and phone app’s that guide you in food choices and no forbidden foods make Weight Watchers 360° one of the easiest weight loss programs to follow.  However, if you’re someone who doesn’t like to track everything they eat with the point system your success may be lower.  Weight Watchers goes out of their way to make tracking easy, but it’s still a key component to the program.

Recommendation

 

Weight Watchers has the resources, experience, and membership participation to be the premier weight loss program – online and off.  With a variety of methods to choose from for both men and women, you’re almost certain to find the right path for your weight loss journey.

Weight Watchers has improved its plan in 2010 to incorporate state-of-the-art science along with a tried-and-true formula for the best approach to weight loss.  With Points Plus Weight Watchers has come of age, to address the same nutritional issues confronted by other popular diets in the past few years – including high carbs.  While also helping you learn to occasionally indulge in your favorite foods without fear of regression.  The new Weight Watchers 360° is worth a try, if you feel it fits your lifestyle.