There are so many diets to choose from and many are commercial diet plans. Weight Watchers Diet has been crowned by the US News & World Report as the top commercial diet plan and comes in tied for 3rd overall with The Mayo Clinic Diet and The Mediterranean Diet (the #1 diet plan is DASH and the #2 diet plan is TLC).
If you watch sports on TV I’m sure you’ve seen the Weight Watchers ads with Charles Barkley as the spokesperson. Weight Watchers has a very robust website with tons of information and support to get you eating smarter and moving more. These are two of their four pillars of healthy weight loss – the other two pillars are getting support and helpful habits. Often seen as a program for women Weight Watchers has a program specifically designed for men and is the plan Charles Barkley is currently promoting. You can either join Weight Watchers Online or Weight Watchers Meetings where you get guidance from a leader who has lost weight with Weight Watchers and support from others following the Weight Watchers plan.
Here is a brief description of how it works from the Weight Watchers website:
Weight Watchers is simple, satisfying and smart. The PointsPlus program is based on the latest nutritional science, and factors in the way your body actually processes food. Combined with the proven advantages of the Weight Watchers approach, the program helps you make healthy choices.
A healthy and holistic way to lose weight Weight Watchers developed the “four pillars of healthy weight loss” based on years of scientific research and analysis. And our 45 years of experience helping people lose weight has taught us that each element is equally important. The four pillars are (1) Helpful Habits (2) Eat Smarter (3) Get Support and (4) Move More.
Feeling satisfied is the key to long-term success – You’ll learn to choose delicious foods that can keep you feeling fuller for longer. There are absolutely no required foods, and the program gives you the flexibility to enjoy extras and treats which is important to long-term success.
And here is are a few highlights from the US News & World Report Review:
How does the Weight Watchers Diet work?
There’s no fixed membership period; many people who join Weight Watchers stick with it even after they’ve shed unwanted pounds. You can eat whatever you want—provided you stick to your daily PointsPlus target, a number based on your gender, weight, height, and age. You can find the points values of more than 40,000 foods on Weight Watchers’ website. Processed choices like bologna usually have the highest point values (meaning they should be eaten in small amounts or less often) while fresh fruits and vegetables carry zero points, so you can eat as many as you’d like. That’s because they’re high in fiber and are more filling than, say, a candy bar. (Fruit juice, dried fruit, and starchy vegetables don’t count as freebies, since they’re higher in calories.) Weight Watchers also pushes specially- designated Power Foods, or the best choices among similar foods. If you’re mulling 10 types of canned soup, for example, you can quickly see which has the least sugar and sodium, the most fiber, and the healthiest types and amounts of fat.
How much does it cost?
Cost varies, depending on whether you choose to attend weekly in-person meetings or use the online tools only. A monthly pass to unlimited in-person meetings is $39.95, which also includes access to eTools. Or you can pay as you go; meetings are $12 to $15 per week, with a one-time $20 registration fee. To follow online only, a 3-month plan is $65. None of the costs include food.
For those who do best with a more structured plan Weight Watchers is good choice. One of the big benefits of the other diets in the top 5 is their low cost. However you have to go it alone or build your own support system through a combination of friends and family and/or online support forums. Weight Watchers has support down to an art but it comes with a higher price tag. Which ever diet you choose if you are truly committed to making a change to a healthier lifestyle anyone of the top 5 diets is a good choice.
Related articles
- Post-Basketball Bulk: Men Want Charles Barkley’s Success (fox4kc.com)
- Which Diets Are Tied at 3rd With The Mayo Clinic Diet? (fitnessweightlosscenter.com)
