I am sure there have been threads about this before, but WW has some new programs, so I wanted an updated opinion.
Is anyone doing the Weight Watchers programs currently? I realize that I need some help getting back into shape- I don't have as many problems working out, but I have a lot of difficulty with my eating. I need a program to follow and WW seems affordable and sensible- has anyone had experience, negative or positive, with the program?
Thanks everybody :),
Lindsay

I have had friends that have done it and it worked great. They basically treach you how to eat properly and the amount that healthy for you.

Rainbowmoon - I find it doesn't teach people how to properly eat. It will help you to lose weight, but you will be hungry. A lot. The diet often runs around 1000-1300 calories, which isn't healthy.

It's very hard to do on a vegetarian diet, as they think brown rice and other whole grains are bad. Your serving sizes for these things are super tiny. It's easy to get caught into the rut of eating nothing but celery, carrot sticks, and tofu. That gets old fast.

I don't know anyone who's done weight watchers and kept the weight off after a year. Most of them have no idea how to eat and swing between starvation portions and wilding eating because they can't handle being hungry all the time.

Rainbowmoon - I find it doesn't teach people how to properly eat. It will help you to lose weight, but you will be hungry. A lot. The diet often runs around 1000-1300 calories, which isn't healthy.

It's very hard to do on a vegetarian diet, as they think brown rice and other whole grains are bad. Your serving sizes for these things are super tiny. It's easy to get caught into the rut of eating nothing but celery, carrot sticks, and tofu. That gets old fast.

I don't know anyone who's done weight watchers and kept the weight off after a year. Most of them have no idea how to eat and swing between starvation portions and wilding eating because they can't handle being hungry all the time.

I agree. I had success on Weight Watchers, but found once I became vegetarian, it didn't seem plausible anymore. There core program states that I can either have 1 cup of brown rice or 1 cup of whole wheat pasta or 1 potato a day. Yet, if I chose to, I could eat meat and eggs throughout the day. No whole grain bread or nuts or seeds on the program either. They are limiting healthy foods. They do allow 94% fat free popcorn which I find ridiculous. It's not bad, but it's not good either as it can be something people turn to excessively. I know, I did. The points system is limiting because even healthy vegetarian food such as whole grains and beans will take up a lot of points and you will go hungry. As Krista, said tofu and carrot sticks get old. I told all of this to a friend at school and he said, "well, it's Weight Watchers, not Health Watchers." I think that pretty much sums it up.

Once I stopped Weight Watchers, I gained back 15lbs, as I went crazy for all the junk food I had been limiting. I guess it could work for some people. But my perspective has changed and focusing on fruits, vegetables, legumes, whole grains, nuts and seeds with moderate exercise seems to be the way to go for weight loss and healthy living.

I don't know anyone who's done weight watchers and kept the weight off after a year. Most of them have no idea how to eat and swing between starvation portions and wilding eating because they can't handle being hungry all the time.


Absolutely. I am starting to reconsinder my membership. I am hungry all the time. Which leads to binging, which has been leading to purging. I lost 20lbs initially but once the magic wore off, the ooh ahh a new diet plan...I've been playing with gaining and losing the same 2lbs for 2 months.

All the foods you would think are healthiest (i.e. brown rice as Krista mentioned) are high in points. I won't "waste" 4pts for a small (SMALL) portion of rice. I find it frustrating that vegetarians are punished when it comes to points. Meaters a whole lean cuisine meat type meal for 3pts.

Like anything it takes discipline, but it just has me down.

It might be better to make your OWN plan and follow it if you need help w/ portion control.

Here's something I use when I'm packing backpacking foods (so I know I have enough food for each day). I've cut the servings in half, as I know most of you in everyday life don't need 5 protein and 14 carb servings a day :lol: (my hiking diet is based on 3000-4000 calories a day).

Grains/misc Carbs 5-7
Vegetables 4 min
Fruit 2 min
Calcium 3 servings
Protein 2 servings
Fat 2-3 servings

Then I just use the regular serving sizes off of places such as 5 to 10 a day. I count grain as 1/2 cup per serving, protein as 1 cup beans, freeze dried broccoli reconstituted to 1 cup as 2 vegetables, etc.

Maybe that's all you need. Something to follow, but something that has enough food to make you full.

Absolutely. I am starting to reconsinder my membership. I am hungry all the time. Which leads to binging, which has been leading to purging. I lost 20lbs initially but once the magic wore off, the ooh ahh a new diet plan...I've been playing with gaining and losing the same 2lbs for 2 months.


If it makes you that hungry, then is simply is not working for you. It's no longer about discipline and it's about it hurting your body permanently.

Thanks everyone for the replies.
I'll explain a little more. I feel that I've hit a wall with trying to follow my own plan, because after having a history of eating disorderly behavior, I need a plan that is sensible, so I know what to do. Otherwise, I get carried away in one way or another...eating too much because I feel like its healthy food (but stuffing myself) or eating way too little because I'm desperate to get thinner. It seems I don't have balance, and I don't know what is sensible.
Thats all I'm looking for- a sensible weight loss plan. Also, I need support, and that seems to be a good thing about Weight Watchers, the meetings- I'm hoping that will help me keep motivated. I am wondering if there is a way I can "tweak" the plan, and keep with the meetings. Thats what I really need-the support.
I like the food exchange idea, but hate the measuring and worrying about correct measurements.
GRUM. What is a good solution to my weight problem? *frustrating*

My wife is using the core plan and it has been working for her. One of the good things with this plan as opposed to the traditional points plan is it allows for eating good quantities of whole grains and beans. It limits your pasta and rice but we generally substitute wheat berries, or other whole grain for the rice. She has found that the core plan helps make her eat better over all and make healthier eating choices.

The biggest problem with the core plan that we see it that it is a lot more labor intensive then the points plan. It is much harder to stick with the plan when eating out. This has been less of an issue as I do most of the cooking and we are eating a heck of a lot of beans and grains these days. So far she has lost 29 lbs since September. Now if I could just follow it….

PS...I just read your post Rainbowmoon. My wife finds the meetings very helpful too.

Both my sister and I are lifetime members of WW. I gained back all of my weight plus more as did she. She's back at WW again for like the 6th time. Yes, you do lose weight but yes, you are hungry most of the time. I wasn't vegetarian when I went to WW and I was still hungry.

Thanks everyone for the replies.
I'll explain a little more. I feel that I've hit a wall with trying to follow my own plan, because after having a history of eating disorderly behavior, I need a plan that is sensible, so I know what to do. Otherwise, I get carried away in one way or another...eating too much because I feel like its healthy food (but stuffing myself) or eating way too little because I'm desperate to get thinner. It seems I don't have balance, and I don't know what is sensible.
Thats all I'm looking for- a sensible weight loss plan. Also, I need support, and that seems to be a good thing about Weight Watchers, the meetings- I'm hoping that will help me keep motivated. I am wondering if there is a way I can "tweak" the plan, and keep with the meetings. Thats what I really need-the support.
I like the food exchange idea, but hate the measuring and worrying about correct measurements.
GRUM. What is a good solution to my weight problem? *frustrating*

Something you might want to check out is Overeaters Anonymous. www.oa.org

It's a good program for those who compulsively eat, whether it be under or overeating. The support from meetings is great and there is a lot of literature to help you out along the way. They even have a pamphlet for plans of eating. They don't tell you any one plan to follow, they just give recommendations and also suggest seeing a nutritionist to get a personalized plan, which I recommend as well. The best part is that OA meetings are free.

Grains/misc Carbs 5-7 = 8-10 pts.
Vegetables 4 min = 0 pts.
Fruit 2 min = 2 pts.
Calcium 3 servings = 6 pts.
Protein 2 servings = 2-4 pts.
Fat 2-3 servings = ? pts. - not sure what a serving is considered

I'm not sure why you are so down on WW Krista. The list you provided only has 20-22 pts. of food (not including fat). WW point ranges (including the flex points) run from 27-42 points per day. The points system encourages low-fat high fiber eating. Plus all non-starchy vegetables are "free foods" so technically you should never go hungry. Plus vegetarian protein sources - beans, tofu, seitan - are mostly low-fat and all high fiber so they are point bargains.

Rainbowmoon, I think if you concentrate on making your diet healthy, weight watchers has a very sound system for managing your caloric intake. Plus once you get the hang of the points system, you can work any food into your diet and not have to worry about five of this and two of that.

I guess it seems more restrictive to those of us that spend all our Flex points on booze :p Seriously, I find myself trading "real food" (i.e. brown rice with veggies, high points for a filling portion) for "treat food" (i.e. popcorn w/ EB less points for a filling and tasty portion)
Maybe I just need to drop the attitude towards it and give in to the hunger. I have always had an indulgent personality and I have a real hard time parting with foods that make me happy. Not much else makes me happy :-/

out of the 10 or so people I know who've done WW, all of them have gained the weight back. from what i can see there's no real education about nutrition,IMO.

I have the materials. There is serious education about what to eat. Guidelines for including vegetables, fruits, whole grains. In fact the entire premise of the Core program is a move away from processed foods.

Yes you can spend your points on fat-free candy and popcorn (and trust me vggiegirl I've been guilty of it) but you can eat very healthfully on weight watchers. And they strongly encourage it.

When I used to go to the meetings, they'd pass around empty food packages to show you examples of what's on the grocery store shelves for what points. So many of the packages they'd pass around were heavily processed things that barely resembled food. However, I do have the printed materials from the points program as well, and they do encourage real, whole food too. I haven't looked at the core program.
I gained back everything I lost at WW. I don't blame the program though.

ETA: I blame booze, vggiegirl :p :beer:

The reason my wife likes the Core program is because it makes it harder to play “the points game”. She would use her points for low point sugary snacks, and I lost weight eating only two slices of cheese pizza and a jr. burrito a day. We both lost weight but did not eat well. I think that this was not an issue with the program but with the choices we made. With the core program it is harder to do that, and it encourages better eating. She has been following it and it has been working for her, she has also added an exercise routine and this has helped.

The funny thing with the point system was that it made me stop drinking. I just could not tolerate a liquid taking away my ability to eat solids.

I tried a weight watchers program software (didn't go to meetings, I just had software - the UK version - that I could type my what I ate into, and it would keep track of points) and it helped me to lose weight. Mostly, it helped me to make certain my portions were reasonable, and it made me aware of what I was eating.

I hate keeping track of what foods I eat in a day and recording it. I try to make myself do it sometimes, because I really want to improve my diet, but I'll get annoyed with it after a day or two. If you get like this about recording too, you might not like ww.

I've tried weightwatchers and, although the peer pressure did help me to lose weight, I found the cost was too much for me (I was a student at the time). Another program worth considering is TOPS (http://tops.org/), which is essentially weightwatchers minus the advertising so it's much less expensive.

Grains/misc Carbs 5-7 = 8-10 pts.
Vegetables 4 min = 0 pts.
Fruit 2 min = 2 pts.
Calcium 3 servings = 6 pts.
Protein 2 servings = 2-4 pts.
Fat 2-3 servings = ? pts. - not sure what a serving is considered

I'm not sure why you are so down on WW Krista. The list you provided only has 20-22 pts. of food (not including fat). WW point ranges (including the flex points) run from 27-42 points per day. The points system encourages low-fat high fiber eating. Plus all non-starchy vegetables are "free foods" so technically you should never go hungry. Plus vegetarian protein sources - beans, tofu, seitan - are mostly low-fat and all high fiber so they are point bargains.


My serving sizes tend to be a lot bigger then theirs. My idea of a piece of fruit is a lot bigger then theirs :p (a few family/friends members did WW, TOPS, LA weight loss, etc). I followed the "points" for a day, and also tried the LA weight loss for a day....I thought I was going to pass out at the end of theday.

And I have to disagree; you can go hungry no matter how much vegetables you eat. Woman cannot live on celery alone.

Even if your serving sizes are bigger, 27-42 points translates to a range of 1450-2100 calories. Not including free veggies. No one is asking anyone to live on celery alone. You can eat very well at those calorie levels, very healthy, and still lose weight.

The problem is too many end up on the 1450 calorie range. How is a person supposed to leave healthy eating, get all their vitamins, and exercise properly on that lvl of calorie intact?

Hi there-
I WW this summer as a veg. I really liked it. My main problem was portion control and having a the Points tracker really did help to teach me how to properly portion my meals and snacks so I wasn't hungry. I only did online- not meetings. There is even a vegetarian section of their message board system. After losing 10 lbs I discontinued my membership and kept going on my own. What I learned was that I could eat healthy food pretty much all day and not gain weight. And If I wanted treats (cookies/wine/potato chips) I had to limit myself.

And whatever the points range is- the goal is to be at about 1200 calories per day. That is NOT starvation and I think its perfectly reasonable to eat that much in a day for most eople.

1,200 a day? Good grief, I'd probably feel faint all day on that. I'm a 25-year old female who is definitely NOT overweight. I recently lost some weight (I used pant sizes, not pounds as a marker) by eating 1,500-2,000 calories a day but exercising 20-30 minutes a day, 5 days a week. The beauty of it is that it's sustainable. I can't imagine trying to live off of 1,200 calories a day for any period of time.

Actually the 1450 level is only for people under 150 lbs. And only in the weight loss phase. The maintenance phase adds I think 8 points or roughly 400 calories to the mix. And the majority of people on WW are not under 150 lbs. And the 1450 is a bare bones number. You can earn extra points by exercising. Besides the diet you just recommended was half of a 3000-4000 calorie diet. So that's 1500-2000 calories. I don't see the difference. Also, it's getting boring coming up with fact after fact about WW actually recommends vs. what people imagine it does.

Rainbowmoon if you'd like more information on WW let me know. I'm pretty sure I have enough extras of the materials to send out some basic stuff for you as well if you're interested.