Weight Watchers Diet Results

Why is Weight Watchers one of, if not the, most popular weight loss program in the U.S.? It appeals to the average dieter and has science to back up its program. So if you're struggling between the desire to lose weight and the desire to eat chocolate at least every once in a while, then Weight Watchers might just be what you're looking for.

Jean Nidetch formed the first Weight Watchers group in New York in the early 1960s. She and some of her fat friends met once every week to talk about how their dieting had gone the previous 7 days and help each other out with any obstacles that came up. It became an instant hit.

The program has changed a lot since its origin. You used to have to say if you gained or lost to the group, whereas now that's completely voluntary. I remember hearing stories in meetings about how Weight Watchers members back in the 1970s had to eat fish oil every day and couldn't eat some things, like crackers, at all. Thank goodness members today don't have to deal with those requirements.

I had joined Weight Watchers as a teenager back in the mid-1990s and don't remember it much, to be honest. I re-joined with my mother under the monthly plan in September 2007. Back then, the company still had two eating plans: the Flex plan and the Core plan. I always stuck to the Flex plan, because I liked the fact that I could eat anything I want as long as I tracked and didn't go over my points. Now they've got the Momentum plan, which lets you eat anything and track it like the Flex plan but encourages you to eat the low density, high energy foods that made up the Core plan so you can feel fuller longer.

As my weight came down, I couldn't always see it but I became more confident with the looser clothes and the compliments coming from others who noticed changes within me. I even took a picture at my first weigh-in and planned to take more as I lost the weight, as an anchor and a reminder never to go back. But I hit a particularly rough patch in early 2008 and got stuck at a 25-30 pound weight loss, as I had just started a temp job that disrupted my usual eating schedule. It became very easy to just pick up some fast food on the way home after spending nearly 2 hours in rush hour traffic.

But I kept going to the meetings, got re-inspired from all the success stories in progress around me, and by November I had gotten back on track and lost 56.8 pounds. I added a new picture of myself wearing the same outfit in my first photo, and it made me happy to see the difference in the way the shirt hung on me.

After attending the meetings for over a year, sometimes they seem repetitious, and after a long week getting up to go on a Saturday morning can be a little tough. However, I really love Weight Watchers' philosophy of changing your lifestyle, not going on a diet, and being able to eat what you like to eat in moderation without having to go cold turkey or buy the company's pre-packaged food, like other weight loss plans. I can't think of a better weight loss program.