Weight Watchers Point Plan & Calculator - The Pros & Cons of the Weight Watchers Point System
Posted: Wednesday, July 04, 2007
by Tobius Whitman
Weight Watchers Points Program is commercially successful, however with such weight loss tools it is important for participants to get a good idea of the program and how it works. This article provides a brief point view of the Pros & Cons of the Weight Watchers Point System that allows anyone to obtain an overview about how the program works and the benefits it can off. Hopefully this will help you make the decision whether or not Weight Watchers Point System is for you.
The Pros:
- Weight Watchers Programs balance a nutritional diet, with counselling and exercise, which are the keys to both healthy weight loss and healthy living.
- The programs nutritional values never leaves dieters feeling hungry or lethargic, it maintains the body’s metabolism rate and avoids creating fat stores within the body (starvation leads to fat stores).
- A very nutritional diet program with recipes and meals being provided to members that are directly related to the Weight Watchers Point System. Dieters are able to keep these materials themselves.
- One of the few major programs to offer face-to-face support.
- It is also a flexible program that can be conducted online through help forums for meetings, or not attending meetings all together and simply using the program tools such as the Weight Watchers Online Point Calculator.
- The Points program doesn’t just provide dieters with a solid diet program, but also avoids pill pushing and starvation techniques, and educates the dieter on potion control and the nutritional value certain foods have.
- The Weight Watchers Point System takes the worry out of weight loss as dieters have a freedom of choice within their diet as no foods are “off-limit" and its flexibility enures everyday use no matter what type of schedule the member has.
- An incredible number of positive testimonials and commercial success that is based just as much on results as successful marketing.
Weight Watchers Point System
The Cons:
- The Weight Watchers Point System heavily relies on gimmicks to sell the product. Whether it is the Weight Watchers Points, Weight Watchers Point Chart, and Weight Watchers Point Calculator etc. These devices are aggressively marketed to prospective dieters in attempt to make the process appear easy.
- Advertising also convinces overweight people that they can lose weight without sacrificing the foods they love. The truth however is that through the Weight Watchers Point System, and Weight Watchers Point Calculator, dieters are only able to eat tiny portions of the unhealthy food to fit within the point schedule.
- From various studies, on average only 5% of dieters maintain weight loss beyond five years from starting the program and in these cases it has usually been achieved via long-term therapy that can be expensive.
- The use of therapy and meeting attendance within the Weight Watchers Program can potentially prevent development of self-discipline and reliance.
- There have been a number of testimonials reporting the meetings within the Weight Watchers Program as annoying and expensive, and that a competitive nature is fostered.
- Dieters have also reported becoming obsessed with food within he program due to the extensive focus on managing points within the Weight Watchers Point System.
In concluding it is clear that the Weight Watchers Points plans offer both positives and negatives for the dieter. Understanding these aspects, as well as conducting an honest self-analysis of yourself is critical to identifying whether or the plan is for you. Most of the negative aspects of the Weight Watchers Points System can be mitigated through the use of tools and support such as the Weight Watchers Point Calculator, and Weight Watchers Point Chart etc. However the conclusion drawn by Dr. Stanley Heshka, author of the Weight Watchers Program study within the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) is a must to consider for any prospective Weight Watch Dieters:
"…while Weight Watchers and similar programs may work for some people, they clearly don't work for everyone. Programs have the best chances of working if they feel natural to the people following them, otherwise the weight loss is too difficult to maintain. It works as long as you stay with it."
SOURCE: Journal of the American Medical Association 2003;289:1792-1798,1833-1836.
Author Bio
Tobius Whitman
Tobius Whitman is an expert in the feild of Health & Nutrition, particularly diet techniques and weight loss programs. Particularly he has an extensive knowledge and experience with the Weight Watchers Weight Loss Program & the Sonoma Diet. As a result has produced several detailed reviews covering each aspect of these programs.
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Top-level comments on this article: (6 total)This article was very helpful as I was concidering joining weight watchers. The thing that bothered me was counting points. I may still concider it but I would do it on line, I don't like meetings. thank you - Lynne
I joined weight watchers in 2004. I paid $10.00 for one meeting. I bought a starter kit for $18.00. I did not go back because it was too difficult to schedule. I ended up losing weight on my own. Then I gained it back plus more...Then last November 2007, my friend at work kept boasting about loosing weight at weight watchers. I dug up my old starter kit, and she got me a points tracker book for $4.00. I have been on my own for three months and two weeks. I have a new book now (it's gone up to $6.00). I have lost, as of today, 19.2 lbs. Sometimes I track what I eat, but not usually. I've gotten used to eating right, but if I eat too much, it's never as much as I used to. I don't go to meetings, and don't plan on it. Weigh yourself every other day or so. Get a digital scale. GOOD LUCK!I'm in a bad location where I can't goto meetings. Does anyone have the points formula for how many points a day I can eat. I can't remember the formula.Six steps to determine your daily points:1. your weight- take the first two numbers - (187 = 18)2. gender - female, add 2, male, add 8...(18 + 2)3. age: 17-26...4, 27-37...3, 38-47...2, 48-58...1, over 58...0 age 37=2...(18+2+2)4. height: <5'1"...0, 5'1"- 5'10"...1,over 5'10"...2 your 5'6"=1...(18+2+2+1)5. activity: do you spend most of your day...sitting down (office worker)...0, occasional sitting but mainly standing ( sales person)...1, walking most of the time ( postal carrier)...4, doing physically hard work all day ( contruction worker)...6you work in retail = 1...(18+2+2+1+1)6. nursing mother - solely breastfeeding...10, supplementing breast with bottle...5,if not either...0 not breastfeeding = 0.....18+2+2+1+1+0 = 24 points per day.points do not go lower than 18 or higher than 44. Plus you can use 35 extra points per week for specialoccasions like b'days, parties,pizza night etc. You can use it all at one time or divide them up daily or not use them at all.Hope this helps you. Good luck.thanks, i've been trying to do the point system with friends at work. no wonder i havent lost any weight. we calculated me at 24 points and i can only have 21. go figure. lolmy son is 15 months, and i still let him nurse whenever he wants. he eats solids, but again, the breast is always there for him. he nurses first thing in the morning, whenever he wants in the day (maybe about 2-4?) and at night. how many points extra am i allowed? i know it's not the 10, and the 5 still seems like too much. i use 18 per day (i weigh 115) and i feel like i am starving all the time. any help you could give is most appreciated. thanks,crystal
How do I get ahold of a points tracker?you can find allkinds of weight watcher merchandise e.g.,points calculators, plans, trackers, etc on e-bay. Just look under weight watchers.
how many points are there in 100 calories why dont they make it easier doh!!Depends...for the most part, it's two. ( If you have zero to two grams of fiber, and less than six grams of fat). Just about all those "100 calorie snack packs" on the market trade off to two points. Hope this helped!
I go to ww meetings have been since Jan. 4th of this year I intend to become a life time member have lost 50 lbs. and have enjoyed ww never could lose with anyother program or pills. My cousin inspired me. she lost 114 lbs. and is a life time member the program works if you work the program
I have been a WW member for 15 weeks now and have lost 15 lbs just on WW. I love it! I think attending meetings helps because you KNOW you have to get on the scale. It's great when people ask you how much you lost and you can proudly say "2 lbs". But if you do gain a little, your team member will tell you that you can do better next week, not to give up!! It's much easier than doing it on your own...and the points are NOT hard to figure up. As long as you have a points finder or calculator, you are good. Also a good recommendation, the dining out & complete food companion are the best! Great for figuring up points. I am aiming for a lifetime membership....Good Luck to all out there!! I PROMISE...IT WORKS!
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