Have You Considered Weight Watchers?

People who have a lot of weight to lose can get very discouraged with the slow and steady approach. But, overall, it is the safest and best way to lose weight if you don't have some other health problem creating a ticking time-bomb effect. What other weight plan includes Krispy Kreme donuts and Dairy Queen treats as a standard part of your diet plan? You've gotta love it. It is a plan you can actually stick with once you learn how it works and when you get the support you need to keep with it.

• Eat anything; but stay within your daily point allowance
• Get support online or through weekly group meetings
• Be prepared to pay registration and weekly meeting fees

Can't resist chocolate cake? You can have chocolate cake on this plan. Weight Watchers uses a simple point system that helps you learn how to allow for the foods you want to eat and still stay within your daily point allowance. As a special bonus, you earn extra daily points through exercising -- which you can then spend on more chocolate cake!

There's even a good dining out plan. You don't need to be afraid to go to a restaurant and order food. Ethnic foods are on the list, too.

Over the last 40 years, generations of dieters have experienced the weekly weigh-ins and camaraderie found at a group Weight Watchers meeting. But the diet they talk about today is different from that of years past. Weight Watchers International is continually honing its program to stay relevant with dieters in more than 30 countries. For example, the company recently announced its new TurnAround program, which offers dieters two approaches to shedding pounds. The first, the Flex Plan, uses the existing weight-loss system in which dieters count Points. The new addition, called the Core Plan, controls calories by focusing on a basic list of foods without counting or tracking. Also new is Weight Watchers On-the-Go, software that lets WeightWatchers.com subscribers track Points and other diet details on their own Palm OS-based digital assistants.

You get lots of interaction with other people either in the weekly meetings or in the online version. The plus with the online version is the 24/7 support -- someone is almost always up and available to chat when you need it. There aren't any professional counselors, but if you're like me you might have had your fill of the professionals. People that have been there and have had to struggle through to lose weight are a much better resource for me than someone that thinks they understand because they read about it in a book or did a research project. If you've never fought with a serious weight problem, you just can't understand what it is like. In my opinion, at least.

In the Flex Plan, dieters receive a daily Points budget based solely on their current weight (gender and age don't fit into the equation). Dieters also receive bonus "flexible" Points to use throughout the week. These can be spent on any food, but the system naturally steers dieters toward high-fiber, low-fat choices since these are the foods that have the lowest Points values. The Core Plan provides a list of foods with a low number of calories per a given volume, but dieters can also go off the list for occasional treats like a chocolate bar for dessert. In both cases, the diet is essentially a low-calorie, high-fiber eating plan.

Everything can be eaten on this plan, within limits. From White Castle burgers to broccoli to candy corn, every dieter is able to choose what they want within well-delineated guidelines.

This is not a plan made up of fads or quick weight-loss schemes. In a nutshell, the philosophy is tried and true. Physical activity, when combined with healthy eating habits, can promote weight loss. It is that same principle that keeps the weight off.

The gold standard of diet plans is the tried and true Weight Watchers plan. Kept fresh through the years by a continual investment in research and development, Weight Watchers remains a household name for good reason.

You've seen the recent ads with the Duchess of York, but perhaps you don't recall all of the permutations through the years. Lynn Redgrave is a Weight Watchers veteran as well. Hers was one of my favorite spots.

_{This page was last updated on Tuesday, August 22, 2006}