Weight Watchers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
We’ve all seen the commercials. And more likely than not, we’ve all known someone to give Weight Watchers a try.
Weight Watchers offers customers a number of ways to lose weight, including group meetings with professionals, special food products, and online memberships.
This diet program is based on a point system that is meant to help you cut down on calories. You’re allowed a certain number of points per day, and every food is assigned a point value.
Combined, all of these options seem like convincing methods for losing weight.
But what’s the truth about Weight Watchers? Does it really work? Or is it just another fad diet? In this article we’ll look at the good, the bad, and the ugly sides of Weight Watchers.
The Good Side of Weight Watchers
What’s most attractive about Weight Watchers is that it’s an easy, “no thinking required” step to weight loss. For individuals who are overweight but don’t know where to start, Weight Watchers can be an easy option.
The program also offers group meetings and regular check-ins with professionals, offering a source of motivation that may be difficult to find elsewhere. Just being around other people trying to lose weight can be encouraging.
The Weight Watchers point system helps control calorie intake, which may lead to weight loss. But there’s a downside to the Weight Watchers point system…
The Bad Side of Weight Watchers
The Weight Watchers point system has some major flaws. First, it doesn’t teach people much about nutrition, as points are not a measure of anything real. The same goes for Weight Watchers’ prepared food products – they won’t teach you anything about healthy cooking, leaving you lost when you can no longer afford the program.
Cost is another major downside. Meetings can cost around $15, but this adds up, especially if you’re buying their food products, which can be quite pricey. Their online memberships are even worse at over $40 a month!
The Ugly Side of Weight Watchers
The Weight Watchers point system is really just a calorie-counting diet in disguise. Calorie-counting diets never work in the long term, because they’re impractical and lead to cravings and binges. The other problem occurs if you’re working out intensely. Your body requires MORE calories if you’re hitting the gym, and the point system is not designed for this.
Where Weight Watchers really gets it wrong is in their advertising. They sugest that you can still eat whatever you want on their program. And technically you can, as long as you don’t exceed your daily points. But this ignores nutrition and healthy eating.
Most people are overweight because their eating habits are unhealthy, not just because they need to eat less. The Weight Watchers point system does not encourage a balanced, healthy, and practical diet.
The Final Word on Weight Watchers
Weight Watchers may be appropriate for those who really need to eat less and control portions, but for most people, it’s not the best weight loss solution. It’s expensive, it’s impractical, and it doesn’t provide a better understanding of nutrition.
If you’re looking for healthy, long-term weight loss solutions, check out my recent article Weight Loss Diet Information.
Have any questions or feedback about Weight Watchers: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly? Please leave a comment below…
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Thank you for visiting! Weight Loss and Training is a health blog which features all the best weight loss tips that I have learned over my 20 years of training. My background includes a degree in Kinesiology from the world renown Simon Fraser University, certification in nutritional sciences from UBC, and Personal Trainer Specialist certification from Can Fit Pro.
You’re wrong about weight watchers. I’ve done it before and have lost 40 pounds on it. It teaches you to eat healthy through their good health guidelines. Although it is like calorie counting, it’s not as restrictive and not as frustrating to deal with. i don’t get obsessive about what I eat. I just track my points, my food and my good health guidelines (which are your water, fruits, veggies and whole grains). The only thing correct about this article is the price. But other than that, you’re wrong. Yes, it’s a diet, but it’s the best diet I’ve been on. 🙂
Hey Nicole, I’m glad that you’ve found it to be so helpful, and I have no doubt that many have as it’s obviously been a successful business. I just disagree with the strategy that they use to go about focusing on dieting and calories. A more balanced approach that focuses on education and how good you feel when on a healthy eating and exercise plan is a much better long-term solution but it also does take time to learn that habit.
I did weight watchers three times and gained 15 pounds. it’s too much food, it’s another way to “obsess” about food and it’s very expensive. I also found it demeaning to be “weighed in” every meeting. They sell garbage for snack foods and prepared food. JUST LISTEN TO COMMoN SENSE: Eat real food, not too much, mostly plants! and exercise. (to paraphrase Pollian on food)