Gaining too much weight may seem like a frightening prospect for people of all ages, and becoming overweight is a universal problem. In the United States, the 2009-2010 National Center for Health Statistics show that 69.2 percent of American adults over 20 fell under the “overweight” category, while the 2011 National Survey of Children’s Health reveals that 31.3 percent American adolescents aged 10 to 17 are either overweight or obese.
Many things can be done to get rid of the excess weight or prevent further weight gain, such as limiting food by calorie counting or trying difficult diets such as juice cleanses and the “caveman” diet. But Weight Watchers, a company that just celebrated its 50th anniversary, gives these calorie-counters a different system to lose unhealthy weight.
Science teacher Katherine Ward is just one of millions of people who use the program. Ward began the online program back in August of 2013 and she is already having some success.
“Weight Watchers is more about a lifestyle change than a diet,” Ward says. “I don’t have to follow a particular meal plan or rules.”
The concept that sets Weight Watchers apart from other similar programs is that a member isn’t shipped pre-made meals or given a strict number of calories per day. Instead, food items are given “points” based on nutrition, and each member has an amount of points that he or she can spend per day, depending on his or her weight.
“I can still eat anything. Weight Watchers just forces you to think about your food choices,” Ward explains. “You’re consciously eating. You find replacements for food, like fruit instead of sweet things. 14 jellybeans is four points, but 14 strawberries is worth zero points,” explains Ward.
Exercise is also an integral part of the weight-loss process, and that factor is mixed into the point system as well. “You can log any exercise in, and then it will look at how much you’ve eaten, and if you exercise, you can eat some more. It will basically bring some points back,” Ward says.
Members can also attend meetings to talk about their experiences with other people in the program, which some find a helpful addition. “We exchange tips and tricks for staying on your plan, and we swap recipes, especially dessert ones,” Ward says. “It’s good to know that people are rooting for you, they’re excited, and they’re saying nice things to cheer you on.”
Senior Marcy Landes is a member of Weight Watchers as well, but, unlike Ward, she is only part of the meetings program. “Two summers ago, I learned how to make pancakes and gained a lot of weight, so I started Weight Watchers in February of last year,” Landes explains. “We meet every Saturday, and we have a different topic or theme each week that’s food-based.”
Joining a program is one thing, but motivation also plays a big part in weight loss. “I was motivated to lose the weight,” Landes says. “But learning what to pack for lunch was hard. There’s a ‘honeymoon phase’ with it, I think. I went to Ecuador for two months, and it was hard to come back to the program.”
Being surrounded by inspirational people is also a perk of the meetings, and it helps Landes to keep at her goal. “There’s this one guy [at the meetings] that we call the ‘incredible shrinking man,’ and he’s lost maybe 70 to 80 pounds in seven or eight months. I’m doing the program with my mom, too, so we get really competitive, and Ms. Ward is really inspirational as well,” she says. “Everyone has the same dilemmas, but everyone has success. We live in a fast-paced world, and this program was long but I stayed on it and have results to show it works. I like how it doesn’t give you food; you have to lose the weight by yourself.”
Both Ward and Landes tried other weight-loss programs before, but they were not as effective as Weight Watchers was. “I tried an app program before Weight Watchers, and it worked, but nobody is helping to keep you honest. It was just me and my phone,” Ward says.
“I didn’t really understand how to lose weight, so I downloaded the Nike Fitness app,” Landes tells. “The workouts were really difficult and I ended up just getting sick.”
“I like Weight Watchers because it’s not a fast program, it’s about being sustainable,” Landes concludes. “My meeting speaker says that we ‘chisel away every week,’ and that’s what it is.”
