Title: Weight Watchers

Welcome to the weight loss version of the Alcoholics Anonymous. Weight Watchers is not so much a diet as a combination of low fat nutrition, exercising and group counseling for those who lack the motivation to lose weight on their own. The main feature of the program is, of course, the weekly meetings where members gather to discuss their dieting experience and to swap war stories, or something like it. People who can’t stick to a diet on their own and find this kind of peer support reassuring. It’s always better to know that others are going through the same thing and to talk to people who understand you.

The eating plan is based on points. Food items are given a number of points on the Weight Watchers system and each dieter is told to restrict his food to a certain amount of points every day. This means that dieters are allowed to eat foods that are not usually recommended, but only very small portions of those. Healthy foods get the lowest amount of points and so can be had in greater quantities. The eating plan also comes with good advice on healthy eating and changes in the long-term lifestyle designed to keep the extra pounds away.

Another good point is that Weight Watchers do not try to sell you any kind of special food or secret formulas that cost an arm and a leg and which turn out to be of little use to many people. On the negative side, dieters may run into troubles when trying to determine the number of points for foods which are not listed on the Weight Watchers eating plan. Also, the program costs some $45-60 per month, which may be a little too high for the cost conscious crowd and for those who can’t really afford this kind of monthly expenses.

While the Weight Watchers program is and has been a good one, it seems that the tough competition from the weight loss market is beginning to take its toll on it. The latest version of the points system is the same as the one before, but with a lot more marketing and slogans attached. The company is also more aggressive in its tactics and is trying to attract overweight people with the promise of losing weight while still eating the foods they like. This is not the best approach for people who have to change their eating habits in order to lose any kind of weight.