I haven't been blogging lately. Anyone who checks this site, and the regular readers I've lost in the last few weeks already know this. I've underestimated the impact of three nights spent working out, three nights spent raiding Dragon Soul in World of Warcraft and normal full-time job and holiday madness. My limited free time has also meant I've had little new to blog about. I've been focused on losing some of the extra 130+ pounds I've been carrying around these last few years and playing mostly Minecraft and WoW, with the occasional new Indie Game on Steam (Humble Bundles ahoy!) But I've done these topics several times now, and haven't felt inspired to tread the same paths in my writing during my limited free time. Now, I'm on Christmas Break from work, and what does inspire me is a topic some might call controversial. Let me blunt some of this by saying that despite my criticisms, I don't think Weight Watchers is a bad thing, and I've seen it work for some people. Like any program, it is up to the individual whether fitness changes are permanent or if there is some rebound, and any structure is better than no structure at all when it comes to being healthy.
Enough qualifying my opinion, let's get down to the Nitty Gritty.
Weight Watchers is, Essentially, a For-Profit Enterprise
Nothing is wrong with making a profit, but when there are elements of a program that seem to be more concerned with continued or repeat business than the best possible results, I get suspicious. Rather than focusing on building healthy habits that result in a permanent lifestyle change that would make the program no longer necessary, the program is structured with no "I'm done now" in mind. I frequently hear about folks who are "going back on Weight Watchers" after time off, making me think that repeat business is a major part of their revenue. For those who do stick with it, you are committing to a lifetime of group therapy with the meetings, with no goal other than maintenance. I know that after a certain amount of weight loss, your membership becomes free, but this doesn't allay my concerns, as WW is buying something with the money lost from your dues. Someone who has lost a ton of weight using their system and gets a free membership is a great marketing tool. I don't like the idea of making a commitment of paying a fee for therapy and a nutrition program for life, or until I become a walking, talking billboard for a for-profit corporation.
The Points System
Oh, God. This is the big one. I've heard that "Weight Watchers is the only program backed by research,"which isn't true, and hasn't been for several years. My main issue with the flex-point system is that it is entirely possible (for many people, I'd say easy even) to create a diet that the Laws of Thermodynamics prove will make you gain weight. Any research that says a magic combination of fats, proteins and fiber, or servings of fruits and vegetables will make you lose weight if you consume more calories than you burn is wrong. Calories consumed must be less than calories burned if you wish to lose weight. Period. Now, portion control and the fact that calories are a major part of how points are determined blunts the effect of this somewhat. However, fat content is weighted too heavily in accordance with the last twenty years of dietary research, and free fruits and vegetables are an issue. When eggs and nuts, excellent sources of protein and healthy fats are point-heavy, but I can load up on hundreds of calories of sugar-laden fruit, something is wrong. Small portions of high-calorie food supplemented by bowls of fruit because the calorie-dense food took up all the points and left hunger will make a person fat. Dietary fat is calorie-dense, but if the calories are kept in check and protein, fat and carbs are kept in healthy proportions, worrying about the fat in eggs, nuts or meat is counterproductive. Helping build healthy habits that control or eliminate food cravings instead of merely managing them is a better idea.
No Emphasis on Exercise
Now, I know that most weight loss is done in the kitchen, not the gym. However, we're back to the immutable Laws of Thermodynamics here, where there is the "calories burned" side of the equation. A plan that puts all of its focus on the eating part is nearly as bad as the gym rats who workout like mad and then undo all their hard work in ten minutes at McDonald's. Building muscle mass for increased efficiency of burnt calories and doing aerobic exercise to burn off a few more calories makes the journey easier. In addition, the mental and emotional benefits of "feeling better" as opposed to "feeling hungry" help set people up for success rather than failure. Is it easier to do something that makes you feel good, or something that makes you feel bad, even if you know your discomfort is good for you in the long run? In addition, people with a lot of weight to lose may experience sagging "loose skin," and filling that skin with muscle will make that easier to deal with as well.
These criticisms, I understand, are tantamount to an assault on principles nearly as deeply-held as those leveled at any religion. Weight Watchers can make a person lose weight. I have observed, however, for each person I've encountered who has lost a ton of weight on this program and kept it off, there are ten who gained it all back or couldn't stick with it. The program reminds me in some ways more like a crutch than physical therapy, once it is removed, most people aren't strong enough on their own to continue normally without it. As someone who has lost and then regained over 100 pounds, I'm focusing on programs that have their own obsolescence in mind, where once I've lost the weight, I've found my own motivation for keeping it off. Does this mean that I'd try to discourage anyone from being on Weight Watchers? No. I'm not remotely qualified to make that decision for someone as an individual. I would recommend research and a lot of thought about what sort of program fits each person taking this journey best. Calorie tracking, online motivation and strength training are working for me, as I've lost over 20 pounds since mid-November, but your mileage may vary.
6 comments:
I am currently a Weight Watcher (I’ve lost 16 lbs. so far since September) and my mother used to work for Weight Watchers.
You state in your blog “Rather than focusing on building healthy habits that result in a permanent lifestyle change that would make the program no longer necessary, the program is structured with no "I'm done now" in mind.” One of the things my mother used to say to me all the time is that Weight Watchers is a lifestyle change. If you do not continue the healthy eating habits you learn from them and make them a permanent part of your lifestyle, the changes will not be permanent. This is the philosophy Weight Watchers teaches their employees and train them to teach the people with which they work. The “I’m done now” attitude is not encouraged by Weight Watchers at all. In fact, the president of Weight Watchers states: “I firmly believe that Weight Watchers has a very unique approach in helping our members achieve their sustained weight-loss goals by adopting a healthier lifestyle. We have an approach based on the underlying premise of behavior modification, which helps our members learn how to change their relationship with food and activity.” Weight Watchers sees itself as a lifestyle change and encourages its members to think that way.
You also state: “For those who do stick with it, you are committing to a lifetime of group therapy with the meetings, with no goal other than maintenance.” I have been back on the plan since September, and I have not attended one meeting. I am doing the Weight Watchers online program. I track my food there, get tips to help me stay on track, and record my weight myself. I do not like the meetings, so I do not go to them.
That is not saying that the meetings are useless. The first time I joined Weight Watchers, I found the tips shared there to be invaluable. The people talked about what worked for them and what they have learned that have helped them succeed. My mother kept going to the meetings after she reached goal because they helped her stay motivated to keep up with the lifestyle. Therefore, if you need the support, it is there for you. If you do not, it is not required. This seems like a good thing to me.
You state: “I don't like the idea of making a commitment of paying a fee for therapy and a nutrition program for life, or until I become a walking, talking billboard for a for-profit corporation.” You do not need to attend meetings to be a Weight Watcher. If it is not your cup of tea, do the online program. It is not required. The support atmosphere, though, has been found helpful to many others. As for the people who are lifers and talk about it all the time, they talk about it because it is a part of a permanent lifestyle change they have made to become healthier. Just like people who exercise share their success stories, weight watchers talk about their success. This may be free advertising for Weight Watchers, but so is talking about the results one gets from working out at a specific gym or following another diet or exercise program.
On a side note, I would like to know if you heard it said that “Weight Watchers is the only program backed by research” from Weight Watchers itself or other people discussing their opinion about the program. I have not found any evidence that Weight Watchers states that they are the only ones to do this.
You state: “Any research that says a magic combination of fats, proteins and fiber, or servings of fruits and vegetables will make you lose weight if you consume more calories than you burn is wrong.” I agree. Weight Watchers does not state this at all. It does not count calories, but it does count fat, fiber, carbohydrates, and fat. All of these things contribute to the point calculation and all have an impact on how many calories a food costs. Food high in carbohydrates and fat tend to be also higher in calories. Food higher in fiber and protein tend to be better caloric choices. In the end, when you keep with your allotted points, you are sticking to a lower calorie diet so that you do eat fewer calories than you burn. This is also why exercise grants you more points with the weight watchers system – you are burning more calories so you can eat more food and still lose weight.
You state: “When eggs and nuts, excellent sources of protein and healthy fats are point-heavy, but I can load up on hundreds of calories of sugar-laden fruit, something is wrong.” Eggs and are actually encouraged in weight watchers. They are listed as a power food. A hardboiled egg is only 2 points out of my 34 allotted points. Nuts have a higher point value, but they are not forbidden. Weight Watchers does try to encourage the inclusion of healthy fats in their diet. They tell you to eat a minimum of two healthy oils a day (oils such as olive, safflower, flaxseed, canola, etc.). They state on their website: “First things first: oil isn’t the enemy of healthy eating. Contrary to conventional wisdom, oils (which contain about 120 calories per tablespoon) are actually essential for proper body and brain function, and are essential for helping the body absorb vitamins A,D,E and K.”
As for the fruit, it is true that fruit is free as well as most vegetables, but weight watchers says on their site “In the PointsPlus program, all fruits and most vegetables have a PointsPlus value of 0. This feature promotes the intake of these foods as research shows that most individuals fall significantly short on including the recommended intake into their diet. At the same time, it is well established that these foods are critical to ensuring good health and are filling, satisfying choices. To ensure weight loss, the daily Target has been adjusted to account for the calories coming from fruits and vegetables.” They also state: “Just make sure to eat until you’re satisfied, not stuffed” when discussing the free fruits and vegetables on their site. Therefore, they are trying to encourage healthier eating and aren’t saying to their members that they should stuff themselves with it. If you are still hungry, fruit is a much better choice than chips, don’t you think?
You also state: “Small portions of high-calorie food supplemented by bowls of fruit because the calorie-dense food took up all the points and left hunger will make a person fat.” This is so true. This is not what weight Watchers recommends. Weight Watchers recommends that you have at least 6 servings of water, 2 servings of milk, 5 servings of fruits and vegetables, 2 servings of healthy oils, and a multi-vitamin. They are telling us to eat well balanced meals. They tell us to make smarter food choices so that we are satisfied after eating. I do eat a Big Mac for supper sometimes. But I eat a healthy breakfast and lunch and supplement my meal with smarter food choices instead of fries and a coke.
As for exercise, Weight Watchers also encourage you to exercise every day and track your exercise. They not only have a large portion of their site devoted to helping you get fit and setting up a workout routine, they have a separate exercise tracker that is part of your tracking and also add a tracker tally to the food tracker as well to remind you to do it.
You do not have to exercise to lose weight, but it helps. One way it helps in Weight Watchers is providing more points. Each exercise you tally grants you a certain amount of points depending on the duration and intensity of the workout. Again, this goes back to eating less than you burn. If you burn more, you can eat more and still lose weight. This is great for me when I know I will be attending a big eating event. I exercise extra so that I can be assured that I will still continue to lose weight even if I overindulge slightly during these events.
Finally, you state “I have observed, however, for each person I've encountered who has lost a ton of weight on this program and kept it off, there are ten who gained it all back or couldn't stick with it.” This is true of all people who attempt a lifestyle change. Not everyone can stick with it. This isn’t Weight Watchers specifically, but for all people who attempt to change their lives for the better. Not everyone has the strength of will to make a permanent change. That is up to the person to accomplish. Weight Watchers just provides the tools that people can use to make these changes successfully as long as they are willing to make it a permanent change.
I am happy that you have found a system that works for you. Weight Watchers works for me.
Sorry for the successive posts, Josh, I just felt I needed to rebut this article fully. I know this is your opinion, but I do not feel that you had the full facts on the topic and wanted to share my view on it from the perspective of someone who is actually on the diet.
No need for an apology, this is exactly the sort of discussion that I'd hoped would arise from taking a controversial position on a subject that for some, is as personal as religion. I appreciate the well thought out response from someone who is on the program. I did extensive research before deciding to not just use the points as published without paying monthly fees, enough pages both pro and con to fill several books.
Most of my issues with the structure of the system are philosophical, in particular the "You are a Watcher for life," which I understand better now but still do not like. It feels like instead of teaching people how to live without the program, it instead teaches folks to rely on an external force, hence my "crutch" analogy. Perhaps "prosthesis" is even more to the point, as something external is being made a part of day-to-day functioning.
Kudos on the point about the eggs; this is a spot where I was misinformed. I still don't like points, the gamer in me inherently sees flaws where a point-based system can be "gamed" to produce a bad (think "broken") result. I've done some serious looking at the point values of various foods and you don't have to try hard to make a series of unhealthy choices with regard to nutrition that are technically within points, and what I can do on purpose, I could just as easily have done on accident.
With regard to "group therapy for life," it is worth conceding the point that meetings are no longer considered essential, but they are recommended extremely heavily as part of the program. That's great for the people who want or need that sort of thing, but this article isn't "Why Weight Watchers doesn't work," it is "Why WW doesn't work for ME."
I wish you success in your time in the program, and sincerely thank you for the counterpoint. It was pointed out on Facebook that I'm not exactly the intended audience for this particular program, and I agree with the reasoning behind that.
well, just keep at it; if you've lost it once, you're bound to lose it again. ;)
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