OK, well, as we take a look at this week’s part of the Shrinking Man Origin Story I thought it was time to take a bit of a detailed look at what the Weight Watchers program is like. There seems to be some confusion about what it is or how the program works.
The program has gone through lots of changes in recent years but one thing that hasn’t changed is how effective a program it can be, if you follow it. It’s like anything else just because I go to meetings or just because I track don’t mean I’m going to miraculously be healthier. It takes a commitment to really try. Also, it’s not a miracle cure. I’ve lost a lot of weight on this program but I’ve been at it awhile but I’ve also learned a lot & that I think is what makes Weight Watchers so effective. It teaches you how to evaluate your food choices & how to plan so you’re not deprived but you’re also not just following whatever bad habits helped to get you to a place where you need to make some different decisions to be healthier either. I hope that makes sense.
Now onto the program itself, there are several parts that interact with each other. First things first, every food or drink you consume has a point total associated with it & based on your height, weight, age & gender you are allotted a certain number of points for each day. Just because I say every food has a point value doesn’t mean that the number can’t be zero. As you might expect the foods that are zero are things like fresh fruits & vegetables. Next, every person is also allotted with 49 weekly points to help you better manage your lifestyle. These points can be handled any way you want to use them or not use them. Lastly, there are activity points. Based on how intense the activity along with your gender, age & weight you can earn even more points to have that piece of cheesecake for dessert on date night. Again, you don’t have to use those points if you choose not to, but the choice is yours.
Are you noticing a theme here? It’s all about choice, the whole program is built to allow each person to be on program & still live whatever lifestyle they choose. It’s why I admittedly defend that this is not a diet program; it’s a healthy lifestyle program. That might seem subtle or even ridiculous to you but it’s how I see the program. Like I’ve mentioned previously, I’m not someone that handles being told what to do very well & that includes telling myself no or that I can’t have or do something. Nothing makes me want it more than that fact along. So, choosing a lifestyle that lets me have that piece of cake or have a couple slices of Old Chicago deep dish double-deckeroni is key for me to stay with it.
To back track for a second, I want to take a minute to explain what those points are. As science, nutrition & our understanding of nutrients and the dietary needs of the body have changed & evolved so has Weight Watchers. Points are calculated with a formula centering around 4 macro nutrients: Fiber, Fat, and Carbohydrates & Protein. I’m not a scientist or a human computer so I’m not going to try and explain what the formula for calculations are or why those specific 4 nutrients were chosen. You’ll just have to trust me that they work.
The last piece to the lifestyle puzzle is meetings. I’ll get more into these at a later date but I want to take a minute to explain why I find them so vital. It’s a lot of things combined. They are important for the accountability, the support of other people facing the same struggles you do, inspiration of people overcoming things you’re struggling with and fresh ideas either on how to face a challenge or on how to cook that steak differently to change the taste or cut the points or just something new to try.