National Nutrition month was dedicated to spreading awareness about making healthy diet and exercise choices. This push for awareness needs to continue until our country is saturated with knowledge.
Americans spend millions of dollars a year on the diet industry. The dollars are spent on books, frozen meals, pills, gym memberships, equipment, and diet programs accounts. While most programs are expensive, and unsuccessful, Weight Watchers is the exception to the rule. Since the 1960s Weight Watchers (WW) has been helping people lose weight for life. WW is unique from competitors because it’s a lifestyle not a diet. Frozen dinners aren’t delivered to your door, no detox pills, and you aren’t promised instant results.
Members are taught how to change their lifestyle and gradually lose weight. Weekly meetings, weigh-ins, food journaling and the fail proof points system is the basic formula for WW success. A dedicated member, journals everything he/she eats, tracks points, exercises regularly, and follows the healthy food guidelines. Each component of Weight Watchers has an important function. The meetings provide: a weekly lesson, support, and accountability. The meetings are usually held at community centers. Weight Watchers provides leaders with lesson plans for each meeting. All leaders have successfully lost weight on WW. The lessons all have a basic nutrition or exercise topic. Through introspection members gradually recognize why they make certain choices and slowly develop skills to avoid them.
The weekly weigh-in provides a special accountability members can’t find at home. At the end of the meeting the leader announces accomplishments and members applaud. There is a tremendous amount of group support during these moments. In America it’s socially acceptable to voice concern if peers unhealthy choices are related to drugs or alcohol. On the contrary it’s a faux pas to voice concern about a peer’s weight problem. Weight Watchers meetings provide non judgmental support that people need to tackle their weight problem.
Food journals and the points system are the simple math component of WW. The Points systems created by WW, is similar to counting calories but much easier. A special equation determines how many points a member is allowed. Fiber, fat, and calories are the variables in the Points equation. A Points calculator determines the value of any food or drink.
The meetings are once a week for a half hour and cost about $10.00 each. Please log onto the website to find a meeting near you. (http://www.weightwatchers.com) Check one out for free.