As I mentioned in my post about my journey to be healthier, I mentioned that I've had success with following Weight Watchers. However when I mention Weight Watchers, some people's immediate reaction is "it's not healthy", "you can't continue on like that", "they don't promote a healthy lifestyle". I assume they may not be aware of how the program works, or don't know the recent changes to the program. Also, the program is what you make of it. If you think Weight Watchers is all about eating packaged frozen meals with a points value on them, and eating their pre-packaged treats, then you should learn more about the program!
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| Y'all may find this information lengthy. Well, too bad. |
I follow Weight Watchers and try to eat clean 70-80% of the time. I try to have lots of fruits and veggies and include a source of protein at all meals. I do eat starchy carbs such as bread, pasta, rice, and potatoes, but only 1 - 2 servings a day, and even then I try not to have too much. I don't cut anything out, but instead I limit how much or how often I have a 'treat' (as in chocolate, chips, ice cream, etc). My weakness is chips, and it's hard for me to "just have a little". On the weekends things are a bit more lax, I'm not so strict with my food on the weekend. I'll enjoy a pancake, 1-2 bacon slices, a donuts, chips, etc. Note, I'm not eating a stack of pancakes, or a bag of chips... enjoy your indulgences in moderation.
I use Weight Watchers as a tool to track what I'm eating and make sure I'm staying with in my daily points. When I was actively losing, I kept myself accountable by going to meetings every week, and staying motivated by the leader and fellow participants at the meetings. I did the Weight Watchers program twice: in 2011 and again in 2016. The second time I went back I set a goal weight to achieve so I could become a lifetime member and do the program for free. From January 2016 to May 2016, I met my goal and have been in maintenance; I have to weigh in every month and not go above 2 lbs of my "goal" weight.
How Weight Watchers works.
The new program they launched in January 2018 is called SmartPoints Freestyle. Foods have "points" and you're allotted a certain amount based on your gender, age, current weight, and if you're pregnant or nursing. You have a daily points target plus additional weekly points for special occasions, or, because sometimes you're just hungry. For me, I'm allowed 23 SmartPoints daily. and 28 SmartPoints weekly.0 SmartPoint Foods, i.e. "free" foods
These foods have 0 SmartPoints, so you want to try to build your meals around these as much as possible:- All fruits and vegetables (with a few exceptions, like any potatoes and avocado). Also, dried fruits ARE NOT 0!
- All seafood. Shrimp, any type of fish (even salmon), lobster, crab, tuna, clams, etc.
- Eggs
- Chicken Breast and Turkey Breast (without skin)
- Extra Lean ground chicken and extra lean ground Turkey
- Tofu and Beans (legumes). This is especially helpful for vegetarians or vegans whom don't consume the 0 SmartPoint proteins
- Fat Free Greek Yogurt
- Here's a list of 0 SmartPoints foods
Calculated Foods
Then all other foods have a point value based on a calculation of calories, saturated fat, sugar, and protein. The more protein a food has, the point value is lower. Saturated fat and/or sugar brings the points value up. Here's some examples of calculated foods:- 3 oz of extra lean ground beef (not a "free food"): 3 SmartPoints.
- Medium bagel (store bought), has... about 6 SmartPoints. Getting a deli-style/restaurant bagel? Make that 9 SmartPoints.
- 1 tsp oil is about 1 SmartPoint, but 1 Tbs is 4.
- An average chocolate bar... 11 SmartPoints! Ouch. Guess inhaling a whole Snicker's bar isn't a great idea, but you could still do it...
- 12 tortilla chips are 4 SmartPoints
- 1 cup cooked long grain white rice is 6 SmartPoints
Why is it easier to stick to this than other diets
Weight Watchers isn't a diet, and it's not a complete overhaul of your eating... it's about (for me), being more conscious of my food consumption and their point value, which in turn makes me have dishes that combine vegetables, lean protein, and some starch... oh, and healthy fats too. This has worked for me.Currently, the Keto diet is the whole craze going on... and I just CANNOT see myself sustaining that type of eating over the long term. Or eating a Paleo diet for that matter. I can't imagine a life without bread, pasta, and sweets. What I CAN do, is still enjoy those things, but in moderation and smaller portions! Like maybe I'll have a Halloween size Snickers instead for only 2 SmartPoints, but try to be really conscious about enjoying it.
Waaaaiiiiiiit a minute...
Ok, so far, I've told you that that you do not need to count 0 SmartPoint foods, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't still be aware of your intake. As with anything in life, you have to be reasonable and logical. Should you eat tons of fruits and beans because they're 0 SmartPoints? No, they still have sugars (fruit) and are calorie dense (beans). The reason these are 0 SmartPoints is because they want you to focus your meals on more of these ingredients.And that brings me to my next "point" about fruit:
Weight Watchers says fruits that are pureed do not count as 0... I'm on the fence about this one... to me it depends HOW much fruit you're blending. Like, are you blending 2 bananas and a cup of strawberries and calling it a smoothie? to me that's too much fruit, but what about 1/2 a banana and 1/2 cup of strawberries? Then I count that as 0. BTW, if you were to calculate the points in a banana, it would be 5 points. So, again, be conscious of your portions, even if they're "free".
You can read more about why you have to count blended fruit here.
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