What Is the Weight Watchers Diet?

What is the Weight Watchers diet, and why is it one of the most prominent and successful weight loss programs in the world? Weight Watchers has undergone many changes since its inception, but the company owes its popularity to sound basics backed up with scientific evidence, food flexibility for dieters and a focus on long term and safe weight loss and management.

Origins

Jean Nidetch founded Weight Watchers in 1963. She needed to lose weight, so she came up with a diet plan and invited some of her overweight friends to her house once every week. She designed these meetings to help attendees motivate and learn from each other.

Momentum Plan

Before Weight Watchers' Momentum plan, members could choose between two plans called Flex and Core. The Momentum plan combines the best from both, allowing you to eat what you want (like the Flex plan) but focusing on low-calorie foods that make you feel fuller for longer periods of time (like the Core plan).

Whatever you eat has a daily points value that you write down on a tracking chart each day. Each member has his own daily points allowance that depends on height, age, sex, weight and current activity level, and the allowance goes up or down due to changes in those specifications.

Optionally, you also have 35 weekly points to use for either special occasions like parties or holidays, or extra daily points when you want to eat more food and go past your daily points allowance.

Healthy Guidelines

Weight Watchers eight healthy guidelines form a cornerstone of its eating plans. These guidelines encourage you to consume more water and less alcohol and sugar; eat more whole grains, fruits and vegetables, protein and dairy; and include a multivitamin and healthy oils in your diet.

Healthy Principles

Weight Watchers promotes engaging in physical activity, practicing healthy eating, getting emotional support from like-minded people and using helpful habits to help you succeed with weight loss.

Payment Plans

Weekly Plan (i.e.,pay-as-you-go): You pay a required registration fee for the first meeting and weigh-in, then weekly payments for meetings and weigh-ins each week thereafter.

Monthly Pass Plan: You get free registration and access to the Weight Watcher's eTools, and the fee automatically withdraws up to 15 days before your membership renewal. Weight Watchers will mail your new pass to your home address.

Pre-payment Savings Plan: Pay the full cost upfront gets you free registration and a discount off the weekly fee.

Membership Plans

You have the option of attending meetings at a local center where you weigh in and attend a 30 to 60 minute discussion on weight loss topics with other attendees and a Group Leader.

Or you can follow the plan online at the Weight Watchers site where you'll have access to their eTools to help you track your points, weight, eating and exercise activity and get and create recipes, participate on a forum with other members and view workout video clips and get tips and articles from experts.