This Weight Watchers assessment publish is an opinion piece based mostly on my experience as a dietitian. The quotes which can be bolded all through the piece are the real-life experiences of former Weight Watchers dieters.
Weight Watchers is undeniably probably the most profitable business weight-reduction plan packages ever. Based in 1961 by Jean Nidetch, a housewife and mom, it has grown to change into a weight-reduction plan behemoth with 4.6 million members worldwide.
Maybe in an try to shuck off its dangerous weight-reduction plan juju amongst a big proportion of the inhabitants, Weight Watchers rebranded in 2018 as ‘WW.’ Out of the blue, Weight Watchers needed to leap on the wellness prepare, however most of us weren’t having it.
That’s as a result of WW was, and is, nonetheless a weight-reduction plan, and everyone knows it. You possibly can’t give individuals a calorie *ahem* factors finances, have a major consequence that entails weight reduction, after which say that you simply’re not promoting them a weight-reduction plan.
And who can neglect Kurbo, WW’s try to suck children into its orbit? The burden loss app, launched in 2019, catered to children as younger as 8 years outdated, and was understandably met with outrage as a result of ‘weight reduction’ and ‘8 12 months outdated’ ought to by no means be utilized in the identical sentence.
The Kurbo app isn’t out there anymore, however in 2022, the FDA issued a settlement order to WW for loopholes within the app, together with one which allowed children to enroll with out parental oversight. The FDA additionally discovered that WW had used Kurbo to illegally harvest delicate well being data from youngsters.
Now, beneath CEO Sima Sistani, WW is providing GLP-1 agonists as an alternative choice to its typical weight-reduction plan program.
Observe the cash, I suppose.
Learn my Xyngular GLP-X assessment right here.
WW conferences at the moment are largely on-line, and weekly weight-ins are nonetheless a part of this system. In the event you do go to an in-person ‘workshop’ as they’re now referred to as, the weigh-ins are personal, as an alternative of in entrance of your fellow WW dieters.
I’ve heard from numerous individuals who have been placed on Weight Watchers as teenagers and adults, about how traumatizing these public weight-ins have been for them.
Right here’s a number of:
The day the weigher was aghast that I had gained 0.5 kilos was my final go to. She actually put her hand to her mouth in shock and requested me what occurred. I needed to say “I f**king ate, that’s what occurred”.
It was terrible. I used to be a child who didn’t perceive why my physique was “fallacious” in a room full of fifty 12 months outdated girls. It taught me nothing about vitamin, particularly as a result of that was the age of “fats makes you fats”. Every little thing was off limits and all I realized was the right way to cover my consuming, lie about parts, be embarrassed about weigh-ins, and eat far an excessive amount of of all of the meals I used to be denied as a baby as soon as I began to purchase my very own meals. I’m 43 and I’m simply now therapeutic my relationship with meals and my physique.
Is there analysis behind the Weight Watchers weight-reduction plan?
There are a few research right here, right here, and right here, that seem to point out WW’s efficacy when it comes to weight misplaced and diabetes administration. Nonetheless, WW funded these research, and the outcomes are pretty unremarkable.
Do not forget that simply because one thing has analysis behind it, doesn’t imply it’s good analysis or that the outcomes have been clinically related.
Weight Watchers Factors
The Weight Watchers factors system is the idea of all their weight-reduction plan plans. It was launched in 1998. It then modified to Successful Factors, then Pure Factors, then Professional Factors, then Factors Plus, then Sensible Factors after which Freestyle. The variations between these are minimal: the WW Factors system appears to vary as usually because the wind blows, or not less than that’s the impression I’ve gotten.
The gist is that you simply get a sure variety of factors to ‘spend’ every day, plus an allotment of weekly factors to ‘cowl’ any ‘indulgences’ that may pop up. You may also ‘earn’ bonus factors for train, which I believe is totally ridiculous, because it makes train into one thing we do to ‘earn’ meals or ‘make up’ for consuming (each of that are disordered considering), and it’s not how our our bodies work…in any respect.
I took the WW quiz, which assigned me 26 factors a day. The questions have been largely centered on weight reduction, asking my present peak, weight, objective weight, intercourse, and age. The one medical historical past query it requested was if I’ve diabetes.
Related elements akin to exercise stage, historical past of an consuming dysfunction or different severe diagnoses, weren’t talked about. To their credit score, I attempted to enter a weight that was too low for my peak, and obtained this message:
As a dietitian, my essential difficulty with WW is the factors system. I consider that it encourages disordered considering and habits round meals for many individuals.
Right here’s my Weight Watchers Private Factors assessment.
It encourages ’banking’ of factors (aka energy, who’re we kidding right here), and categorizing meals as ‘good’ and ‘dangerous.’ Sure, all meals can match, however it’s human nature to not suppose that means when introduced with an possibility (aka zero level meals) the place they will eat extra for much less. I additionally see this system encouraging followers to ‘sport’ the system.
That is one thing that was echoed in among the feedback I obtained from individuals:
I did lose 80 kilos however I gained all of it again as a result of it didnt assist me to decide on ‘higher meals’ it helped me to seek out methods to nonetheless eat what I needed. So aside from parts nothing modified for me. I suppose it gave me a false sense of getting management?
Whereas WW itself doesn’t outwardly promote “synthetic meals” you would are likely to lean in the direction of a few of them as a result of they have been decrease in factors. I additionally didn’t suppose they promoted more healthy choices on a regular basis: Skim milk and 0 fats yogurt have been 0 factors, however I had been taught that you simply wanted the fats to blunt any insulin spikes and the fats would additionally enhance your satiety. I discovered it very troublesome to remain throughout the factors and eat wholesome and left after 3 months. I determine there was no sense in being smaller if I wasn’t additionally getting more healthy.
Every meals’s factors are calculated based mostly on its vitamins. Certain, greens and fruits have low factors values, however there are extraordinarily bodily nourishing and satisfying meals which can be increased in factors. Avocado, nuts, oatmeal, and candy potatoes are a number of of them.
The present WW program has greater than 200 zero-point meals, which sounds wonderful till you understand that it really isn’t, for causes I’m going to elucidate.
WW tells dieters to not overeat zero level meals, however should you’ve been given a factors finances to remain inside, there’s a definite attract to stuffing your self with zero level meals with the intention to ‘afford’ the inevitable multi-point binge.
All of this turns consuming right into a math equation, which can result in consuming meals that you simply don’t need simply to suit into your factors finances, or not consuming as a lot as you want due to the factors. Conversely, chances are you’ll eat simply to fulfill your factors finances you probably have factors left over (which most likely by no means occurs). This could mess up your inside starvation and fullness cues.
Right here’s why I don’t advocate having a calorie objective.
It additionally promotes satiety OVER satisfaction. Quantity consuming, or consuming massive volumes of low-calorie meals to fill the abdomen so that you don’t eat different, higher-calorie meals, is a disordered behaviour.
In the event you go over your factors finances or eat the ‘fallacious’ meals, this will result in guilt and disgrace, one thing that perpetuates the weight-reduction plan cycle.
Members should monitor their level consumption, which might be triggering for anybody who’s predisposed to, has, or has had an consuming dysfunction. That is probably a big section of the inhabitants, because the prevalence of consuming problems themselves (NOT together with disordered consuming), in line with this 2019 examine in JAMA, is 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 7 males.
We additionally know that prevalence of consuming problems peaks once more in girls round center age, in line with this 2023 examine and others. In 2018, a report by MRI Simmons discovered that 85% of WW dieters have been girls, and 43% of these girls have been over the age of 55.
WW might say they’re all about well being, however what I see mirrored within the quite a few WW factors teams on Fb, is just about the alternative.
In the event you can’t eat meals with out swapping out substances for lower-calorie decisions, and you may’t eat with out counting or monitoring, please know that this isn’t what an excellent relationship with meals appears like. It removes all flexibility, pleasure, and peace from consuming. Not good.
This system makes use of ‘coaches’ who lack in-depth, related vitamin coaching. Their solely {qualifications} are that they’ve reached their objective weight with WW and maintained it for not less than 6 months.
Clearly, this isn’t sufficient coaching to advise individuals on their vitamin. Diet and the psychology behind meals decisions are advanced. Unqualified individuals can probably do hurt after they contain themselves in different peoples’ relationships with meals and consuming.
Learn my Noom assessment right here.
As with most diets, many individuals drop some pounds initially with WW as a result of they’re consuming fewer energy than they have been beforehand. That is simply simple arithmetic. Nonetheless, the psychological exhaustion that outcomes from counting factors and overthinking every thing you set into your mouth may cause a lot of these individuals to surrender. I don’t blame them.
I’ve seen many individuals in my follow who’ve performed Weight Watchers years in the past, however nonetheless see meals as ‘factors.’ That is problematic, as a result of it causes them to concern meals and second-guess every thing they eat. It completely takes away that connection between how they really feel and what they select to eat.
I nonetheless know what number of factors some issues are a long time later. The weekly weigh ins have been so nerve-racking and the straight up meals obsession was so dangerous.
The factor is, these individuals usually return to WW repeatedly, as a result of of their thoughts, it ‘labored’ as soon as for them, so that they’re going for a second, fourth, or eighth kick on the can. It not often has a cheerful ending, however that’s what weight-reduction plan packages like Weight Watchers need.
Repeat clients. Lifetime devotees. Individuals turning into depending on figuring out the factors of every morsel of meals earlier than they permit themselves to eat it. Blaming themselves for his or her ‘failure’ on a weight-reduction plan that’s made to fail anyhow.
Sound acquainted? A lot of you who’re studying this can recall having these experiences with WW. I’m sorry.
I joined many occasions and by no means made objective weight. Because of being on WW I continued to drink espresso and tea black, don’t put butter on greens and restrict fats. Nonetheless I’m heavier than I needs to be.
I work out commonly, stroll lengthy distances and customarily really feel responsible about not having my weight down. This month I flip 68.
I’ll say that I’ve joined WW so many occasions that I actually misplaced depend. I by no means reached the objective weight that THEY set for me and all the time felt like a failure each time I left as a result of it was my fault for “being so weak”.
My greatest takeaway from WW was that each one of my value as a human being was tied to a quantity on a scale, and all meals had numbers as nicely, which by God Had To Be Stored Underneath The Restrict.
There was not solely a complete disregard for vitamin but in addition for the enjoyment and pleasure of meals too.
I attempted ww and did lose 30 lbs which has come again after I finished. I’ll say it made individuals panic a few 0.3lb achieve, get obsessive about which model of hummus is 1 level vs 1.5, too centered on the minutia, not an general wholesome sustainable long run weight upkeep answer. Any program will work whilst you work it, however you shouldn’t want a program in case you are really studying the talents and habits for wholesome residing.
I additionally obtained feedback from followers who mentioned constructive issues about their time with WW.
Issues like, it gave them construction and taught them about portion dimension. That they’ve misplaced weight and stored it off, for essentially the most half. That they benefit from the neighborhood, and that general, it was a constructive expertise.
Does Weight Watchers work? Properly, each weight-reduction plan will ‘work’ for somebody. And by ‘work,’ I imply reducing weight and KEEPING IT OFF.
I obtained 173 feedback, 6 messages, and 15 emails about WW. Out of these 194 items of correspondence, 9 have been supportive of WW. 4 have been so-so, and the remainder have been damaging.
181 out of 194 have been so-so or damaging, or 93%. This isn’t a scientific consequence, however it’s fascinating to see the cut up. I really feel as if it’s in keeping with what I’ve heard from individuals over the previous 24 years I’ve been a dietitian.
Regardless of how WW places it, it’s nonetheless a weight-reduction plan.
Oh hey, how about we simply EAT?
Individuals won’t ever cease desirous to drop some pounds, and as a dietitian who helps intentional weight reduction the place acceptable, I completely perceive. Nonetheless, I believe there are higher methods to drop some pounds than to topic your self to WW or one other business weight-reduction plan program.
Weight Watchers, should you’re listening, listed here are my suggestions:
Do away with the factors in favor of a extra intuitive eating-style program. Individuals will probably be mad at first, however within the long-run, it’s a more healthy method to see meals and consuming.
In the event you’re really desirous about peoples’ well being and general wellness, cease making weight reduction the first objective of your program.
Get some kind of upkeep help, as a result of a number of individuals complained to me that you’ve got none.
Monitor the WW teams on social for disordered behaviour, and FFS, ask related questions in your onboarding quiz.
Use certified well being professionals as coaches. You could have the cash. Simply do it.
Who am I kidding…WW won’t ever change their methods. We are able to hope, although.
