10 Reasons Why Weight Watchers Works

My debut journey with Weight Watchers occurred at age 16. As a teenage girl with a crush, I was pretty sure the root of all of my problems was my weight. (fyi, in 1997 the clothes for fat girls weren’t what they are now.)

Earlier this year, I signed up for a  free trial of Weight Watchers Online. If after one week I decided it was not the path for me, well, then I could cancel and not lose any money. It turns out that I found myself content to count points instead of calories.

So here’s why Weight Watchers works:

1. It give you guidelines and provides structure. It outlines how many points you get per day, allows extra points during the week, gives you a place to track and if you are honest and follow it, you will lose weight.
2. It’s realistic. Weekly points are given to allow you to enjoy outings, holidays, and just plain indulge once in a while. I use the weekly points sparingly most weeks because I’m not exercising yet, and I want to make sure I maintain maximum weight loss results, but it’s darn nice to have those extra points built in so I can have pizza for dinner on a night I got home late, was tired, and was just really craving pizza. They also understand that you might over-indulge and encourage you to get right back on track.
3. It’s scalable. Again, the weekly points help you, it’s something you build on and keep changing because it teaches you, and Weight Watchers themselves continue to innovate. You can also access the site and your tracker from your cell phone which is handy for keeping yourself accountable and on track.
4. It’s easier to count points than calories. Many foods are stored in the database, and those that are not are easy to create and save as favorites for repeated use. Once you master this (and trust me, it takes about a day) you learn how to mentally track. I used to get so stressed trying to do the mental calorie math. Smaller numbers are just easier to process.
5. It provides a record. They say one of the best ways to lose weight is to keep a food journal. Well, using the online tracker does it for you! It even gives you a place to write a daily note so you can go back and see how you were feeling and what you ate.
   
6. It gives you positive reinforcement. Whether you are part of the meetings or participate in the online forums, it gives you a chance to connect with others who are sharing your experience. (even if all you do is read the threads.)
   
7. It disciplines you. Mini candy bars add up. As does pizza every night. If you have to record what you eat and face up to the fact that the frozen custard you just ate has 21 points (and your daily point allowance is 27) you are much more careful about how many of those custards you eat. (good thing on which to use weekly points if you really must have that custard!)
8. It forces you to be evaluate yourself and your habits. When are you eating? early in the day, late at night, when you’re happy, when you’re sad? What are you eating? chips, candy, veggies?  How are you eating? quickly, on the go, in the car, at your desk, in front of the tv, at a table?
9. It reinforces a healthy body image and lifestyle. You have to be able to live day after day for years with the habits you start in Weight Watchers. The program encourages healthy eating habits and exercise.
10. It sets you up to succeed by giving you control. Based on the 9 points above, it sets you up to actually lose weight without depriving yourself. You get to choose what you eat- it won’t force you to eat tuna if you hate it (*raises hand*) or tell you not to eat ice cream or chocolate. It gives you that buying power.

I’ve been on the plan for over a month and lost somewhere in the vicinity of 10 pounds. (The exact number is not known due to a scale change in the first 2 weeks.) The Weight Watchers plan works for me because of the 10 things listed above; maybe it will do the same for you.

Next topics: my favorite foods  and helpful tips for weighing yourself.

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