A Guide to Following the Weight Watchers Flex Program

Over the years, the Weight Watchers program has seen many incarnations and gone through several changes to keep up with the scientific studies surrounding weight loss, as well as trends in society. For the last several years, WW has been using a points system, but even the way this system is used has changed at least three times that I can remember, each time with a slightly different philosophy of the best strategies for successful weight loss.

The current points plan is called "Turnaround" and is the "Flex Plan" portion of the Weight Watchers diet. With the points system, each food is given a points value based on fat, calories, and fiber. To determine how many points a person can eat in a day; weight, height, age, and gender are taken in to consideration. As a person loses weight, the points are reduced, and then when goal is met, they are increased so the dieter can comfortably maintain his/her weight.

I have recently rejoined Weight Watchers after a leaving for about a year. I had spent a month in a residential weight loss facility with a good measure of success but needed a supplemental plan when I left. I was apprehensive about going back to WW, because I'd done it several times in the past with no real success. The lack of success was not the fault of the program, though, it was my own fault. The Weight Watchers Flex/Turnaround program is one of the healthiest and easy to follow weight loss plans, but just like anything else, it can't work if we don't want it to work.

Starting a new weight loss program can be confusing and overwhelming, so I would like to offer some tips on how to get started with the Weight Watchers Flex plan and how to make it work on a daily basis.

The Flex Plan works on a points system, so it's best to get rid of all the food in the house that has a high point value or that does not have its nutritional information readily available, because if it doesn't, the points can't be determined. Keep in mind that the higher the fat content the higher the points, and the higher the fiber content, the lower the points. Two items can have the same # of calories, but if one has 4 grams of fiber and one has 4 grams of fat, the one with the fiber will have the lower points value.

Once the house is free of anything that either has no nutritional value listed or that you know you will never be able to work in to your daily routine, take a trip to the grocery store with the trusty points slider you're given at your first WW meeting and start figuring out points values of foods. You can buy anything you want, of course, but the lower the points values in the foods you buy, the more you can eat in a day. I am allowed 24 points per day, and I typically try to stay within 6 points for each meal and then have a couple of snacks. I tend to buy a lot of vegetables because they have no points and add flavor and bulk to food as well as a good amount of fiber.

After getting home and putting the groceries away, make things easy on yourself and write the points values on the food. Grab a Sharpie and mark everything so you don't have to calculate each time you take something out of the pantry or the refrigerator. For me, whatever eating plan I choose, it has to be easy and as stress free as possible and planning ahead makes things less complicated.

How many times have you gone to a restaurant while dieting and thought, "there is not a darn thing I can eat here!"? With the WW points system, you really can eat anything, and they even offer dining out guide to make the process easier. The guide has over 100 chain restaurants and the points values for each item served in these restaurants. In the back of the book, there is a general guide that gives points values of the most common foods of all ethnicities. The book is compact and can be carried around easily without getting eyebrow raises. I do my best to plan ahead and eat out at the restaurants listed in the book. But, that's obviously not always possible, so in the cases where I must eat at a restaurant not in the book, I use a similar restaurant as a guideline. The points values may not be exact, but they will likely be similar. In addition, many restaurants do list nutritional information on their websites. If the restaurant is not in the WW dining out guide, you still may be able to calculate points values based on the nutritional information offered.

Okay, so now you've gotten the gist of how the points system works, but If you're like me, you're already calculating the points in your head of your favorite foods and wondering if you'll ever be able to eat them again. Good news, you can!

An eating plan that will work forever has to allow for a bit of leeway for special occasions or even just when you crave something that is not normally within your points range. The Weight Watchers Flex Plan offers 35 additional points per week that the dieter can use as he/she pleases. 24 points a day is not usually enough for me, so I tend to divide my allotment up and use an extra five per day. Some people prefer to save it all up for one day or one meal, and I have done that as well. There are days when I just have to have a donut or some lasagna or pot stickers from my favorite Chinese restaurant and with the Flex plan, I can. I really like the flexibility in using the points however will work best for me, and I never feel deprived.

Every diet plan insists that journaling and writing down what you eat is a big key to success, and I have to agree. I encourage anyone trying WW or any weight loss plan to keep track of what you're eating somehow. When I don't write it down and track my points, I lose focus and forget about the smaller things I've consumed that day. Every point adds up, and it's so important to make sure you're totals are accurate, or you hinder your success. I have had days when I have not recorded my points and it's caused me problems, because I didn't remember everything I ate or drank for the day. I end up consuming too much and feeling as if I've wasted the day. As for methods of recording, I have a spreadsheet on my computer, but if a handwritten journal works better, then by all means go that route.

Exercise, exercise, exercise; another crucial part of any successful weight loss program. Weight Watchers encourages exercise and in fact will give a reward for the more exercise done in a day. While the points slider on one side gives food point values, the other side gives activity points values. For every segment of exercise done, depending on the intensity level, a point is given back to you for the day. For example; using the elliptical machine at a high intensity for ten minutes is worth two points. This means, two points are added back in to the daily allowance, for me giving me 26 instead of 24. Low, moderate, and high intensity levels are defined on the points slider.

As with any change of lifestyle or habit, a change in eating takes adjustment, and the points system of WW might seem confusing or complicated at first and not worth the effort. However, it's worth a few hours, days, or weeks of adjustment to find a plan that will work long term, and for me, the Weight Watchers flex plan has the most potential for long term success.