Weight Watchers

[tossedup]

My wife wants me to start weight watchers with her on Monday. The biggest reason is to keep her on track because she knows that if I am going to do something it will be all or nothing so I won't let her or myself blow the diet. I have never tried a diet like this with points and all but was wondering if any of you have any opinions or experience with ww. I haven't even looked at the food choices yet but I think you can eat whatever you want as long as you stay within your points for the day so it seems.

[Lost Dog]

From my recollection, they have two basic plans. The traditional plan is pretty low fat/high carb. Yes, you can eat whatever, but the points are weighted to steer you toward low fat foods. Apparently, they have an alternate plan that's more "reasonable." I've done neither, but a few coworkers and my sister have.

Does she want to do WW because of the meetings and support system? That's the big selling feature, I think.

[tossedup]

Thanks for the input LD. Her mom is going to be doing it with us. They will go to the meetings and I think that will help them but I have my support group right here so I won't be attending. I think the biggest attraction to ww for my wife is that if she knows she is going to go out to eat with coworkers or something that she can schedule her meals for the rest of the day to still meet the point requirements for that day. That way she won't feel guilty for eating a little overboard at one meal while still keeping the other ones in check. They way I see it if that gets her on board to loosing some weight I am all for it. She actually did Adam's diet with me for a couple of weeks last year and had fantastic results but she is a self proclamined carb addic. I think ww will give her the flexability she is looking for while still letting her eat her bread and having her coke a day. We will see how it goes.

[Lost Dog]

OMG! She drinks Coke?

So does my Dad. One Pepsi a day.

My Dad recently asked for dietary advice. Wants to lose some weight. Asked how I did it. I told him about TNT/Adam's Diet. "No thanks. I'll just eat less and see how that goes." He's down ten pounds, so his plan's a workin'

[tossedup]

Yea she is a coke head. She likes the taste of coke zero but can't stand the splenda after taste it has so she saids. Oh well. Plus this will give us something in common besides bills and the kido. I am actually looking forward to it and keeping each other accountable. Maybe also this will want her to burn off some more calories in the sack so she can have more points for the day!! A guy can wish can't he??

[Lost Dog]

I hate to break it to you/her. Coke Zero doesn't use Splenda. It's a myth. It's Aspertame and ACE-K.

If you're actually interested, here's a whole story about Diet Coke with Splenda and Coke Zero. Both drinks use ACE-K, in addition to the other sweeteners. That might be the aftertaste.

[JoshDunn]

WW points are basically 1 point per 100calories and some slight alteration to include saturated fat in that equation. I think some people prefer the points V's calories as the numbers don't get too high. Ie someone knows that they have 12 points left rather then going I have 1430calories.

I believe they have another variation of WW that has a list of foods that you can eat as much as you want of without counting anything (sounds familar doesn't it).

I think the support aspect is the biggest factor (likes been mentioned) and the food choices can be as good or bad as you choose, however when my mother did it years ago (and hence all of us got roped into the foods as she's the cook), we had more fruits and veg then normal as the keep points low.

Overall. Good program providing the person is happy with the foods they can eat and get the results they want.

[Lost Dog]

Here's the formula and a little article about the diet. Talks about the protein (or lack thereof) issues, too.

Weight watchers points

The higher the calories in a food serving, the more points are in there. Numbers in the low tens are easier for people to deal with than the numbers in the thousands which calorie counting involves. Most dieters follow the weight watchers points program by joining a class, where they're weighed each week, meet other dieters, and receive support and advice from the class organizer.


Believe it or not, the "secret" formula used to work out how many weight watchers points a meal contains is protected by a US patent. Although there are many variations of the formula, here's an example of one included in the patent information.

One point = (calories/50) + (fat grams/12) - (min{r, 4}/5)

The last part of the formula — min{r, 4} — is equal to the number of grams of dietary fiber or 4, whichever is the smaller number. The formula means that one point is equal to the number of calories in a food serving divided by 50. The value increases by about one point for every 12 grams of fat, and drops by about one point for every five grams of fiber.


In simple terms, total fat becomes a point penalizer, while fiber is a point enhancer.

Source

[deschain]

Thank you LD, I've never known how they come up with the WW points.

I've always thought ww was a decent program. It's very geared toward how women think, imo. They stress water consumption, and variety.

Believe it or not, the meetings aren't just a cover for trying to push their products either (as I've heard some accuse before). They show them at times, but they also show many other products, recipes, making choices at the grocery store, dining out, holidays, even local fairs.

Years back, I attended a few meetings. The local festival was about to start, and they gave us the points values for several of the foods commonly served there, relevant to our region, as much of it is regional food that is difficult to find nutritional info on, much less WW points. I thought that was an incredibly good idea. It gave them a starting point from which to go and enjoy themselves, but still make mindful choices - rather than the standard things you here, like drink water and eat a salad before you go so you won't be hungry at the fair, and all that crap. Yeah, cuz the main reason we eat as fairs is b/c we are actually hungry)

[LWilson212]

I did Weight Watchers a few years back. I started at 205 and lost 50 pounds. Unfortunately I am back up to 165. I have thought about going back, but my main complaint is that you don't get to eat very much. For my weight I would get approximately 1100 calories per day, plus 1750 to use throughout the week as I chose. You can tweak that a little, since plain non-starchy veggies have no points, to try to get a few extra calories. I think the points allowances are the same for men, but I'm not sure.
When you work out, you earn activity points, but you might get to eat 150 extra calories for an hour of weight lifting. I would find myself doing things like eating a 200 calorie bag of diet popcorn for dinner before weigh-in day so I would be my lightest. I avoided foods like milk and higher protein choices because they had too many points.
On the plus side, the meetings were good for me because you have to weigh-in, so if I wanted to eat something I shouldn't, I would just think about my Saturday morning meeting and how I really wanted to be down from last week.

[Lost Dog]

I don't want to talk anyone out of WW, since the meetings are a big selling point. Just be aware of the P shortcoming. In fact, if you do it, you might shave some of your points off and toss in some P in their place. I don't know how easy that would be, but who's going to know?

Another resource is CalorieKing.com. They have a good system, as well. They are calorie counters, so you don't get the ease of points. They have a forum as well, where people share their food and exercise logs. While there are plenty of men there, they seem particularly good with women. Lots of bonding seems to be going on over there.

I used CK for several years. The people are great over there and offer decent advice (not so much if you follow what we follow here, but still). I think it's good for women and/or people who really aren't into much weight lifting.

[deschain]

That's part of what I feel WW should improve on, the protein. Although, it depends on what school of thought you are approaching it from as well. The official recommendations (for the average healthy adult) are far below the common rule of thumb used by those in the weight lifting world (1gm per lb).

I also feel that for all of WW good points, one bad one is that they indirectly discourage strength training in women, b/c they go by pounds alone, and do not account for body composition in any way, not even girth measurements. Many women then become afraid of slowing their loss of pounds, or losing their goal status, by gaining any muscle, so they shy away from it.

[castufari]

Either WW or the Zone get good ratings.

My folks did WW and lost a ton of weight, it was amazing. Sadly they gained a good chunk of it back but they looked good while they were on it. The meetings are a selling point for a lot of people due to the bonding they build. Instead of chatting with people in a forum, you're there live.

Hey, if it works stick with it.

[deschain]

Yeah, just like with anything else, when people quit doing it, they gain it all back.

My mom has lost quite a bit on WW. She no longer goes to meetings, or follows it exactly, but she has kept almost all of the weight off for several years now by sort of just following the guidelines in general. I'm actually quite proud of her for that. She may not count points everyday and all that, but it taught her how to really pay attention to portion sizes, etc and that stuck with her.

[SpacecityPaula]

My sister is doing weight watchers (I think she's doing Points) and she's lost just over 25 lbs in the past few months. Her doctor is pleased and letting her attempt to control her diabetes with food alone. I'm not sure if she's doing points or doing the core plan which is the other plan they do.

[RobLL]

Weight Watchers seems to push either very low fat or low fat. For many of us that is a deal breaker. One of their newer diets is a little more fat friendly, but not much. I imagine you might want to negotiate with a WW counselor if this is not acceptable to you. Maybe there is more give than I thought on this, or maybe you like lower fat.

[ZachL]

It may not be what we consider optimal. But it is an excellent way to lose weight in a safe and healthy manner. My mom did it and lost about 10 lbs (she was skinny-fat), also drastically reduced her cholesterol. I recommend it for those who need a lot of support and structure!

[coach hale]

I have known numerous people who have done well with weight watchers

One of the keys to weight watchers success is basically allowing participants to eat foods they want just in limited qunatities and fitting it into point system (calorie counter)

the support system seems to be an attractive feature for some as well

In Freedmans paper Popular Diets weight watchers is thoroughly discussed and the reserach data seems to support weight watchers as a successful diet for people that adhere to the plan

that is the key aspcect with any diet - Adherence


thanks
Coach Hale
www.maxcondition.com