This Weight Watchers assessment publish is an opinion piece based mostly on my experience as a dietitian. The quotes which can be bolded all through the piece are the real-life experiences of former Weight Watchers dieters.

Weight Watchers is undeniably one of the profitable industrial weight-reduction plan packages ever. Based in 1961 by Jean Nidetch, a housewife and mom, it has grown to turn out to be a weight-reduction plan behemoth with 4.6 million members worldwide.

Maybe in an try and shuck off its unhealthy weight-reduction plan juju amongst a big proportion of the inhabitants, Weight Watchers rebranded in 2018 as ‘WW.’ Abruptly, Weight Watchers needed to leap on the wellness prepare, however most of us weren’t having it.

That’s as a result of WW was, and is, nonetheless a weight-reduction plan, and everyone knows it. You possibly can’t give folks a calorie *ahem* factors price range, have a major final result that includes weight reduction, after which say that you simply’re not promoting them a weight-reduction plan. 

And who can neglect Kurbo, WW’s try and suck youngsters into its orbit? The burden loss app, launched in 2019, catered to youngsters as younger as 8 years outdated, and was understandably met with outrage as a result of ‘weight reduction’ and ‘8 yr outdated’ ought to by no means be utilized in the identical sentence.

The Kurbo app isn’t obtainable anymore, however in 2022, the FDA issued a settlement order to WW for loopholes within the app, together with one which allowed youngsters to enroll with out parental oversight. The FDA additionally discovered that WW had used Kurbo to illegally harvest delicate well being info from kids. 

Now, below CEO Sima Sistani, WW is providing GLP-1 agonists as an alternative choice to its typical weight-reduction plan program. 

Comply with the cash, I suppose.

Learn my Xyngular GLP-X assessment right here.

WW conferences are actually largely on-line, and weekly weight-ins are nonetheless a part of this system. In case you do go to an in-person ‘workshop’ as they’re now known as, the weigh-ins are non-public, as a substitute of in entrance of your fellow WW dieters. 

I’ve heard from numerous individuals who have been placed on Weight Watchers as teenagers and adults, about how traumatizing these public weight-ins have been for them. 

Right here’s a couple of:

The day the weigher was aghast that I had gained 0.5 kilos was my final go to. She actually put her hand to her mouth in shock and requested me what occurred. I needed to say “I f**king ate, that’s what occurred”.

It was terrible. I used to be a child who didn’t perceive why my physique was “fallacious” in a room full of fifty yr outdated girls. It taught me nothing about vitamin, particularly as a result of that was the age of “fats makes you fats”. The whole lot was off limits and all I discovered was methods to disguise my consuming, lie about parts, be embarrassed about weigh-ins, and eat far an excessive amount of of all of the meals I used to be denied as a baby as soon as I began to purchase my very own meals. I’m 43 and I’m simply now therapeutic my relationship with meals and my physique.

Is there analysis behind the Weight Watchers weight-reduction plan?

There are a few research right here, right here, and right here, that seem to point out WW’s efficacy by way of weight misplaced and diabetes administration. Nonetheless, WW funded these research, and the outcomes are pretty unremarkable.

Keep in mind that simply because one thing has analysis behind it, doesn’t imply it’s good analysis or that the outcomes have been clinically related.

Weight Watchers Factors

The Weight Watchers factors system is the idea of all their weight-reduction plan plans. It was launched in 1998. It then modified to Successful Factors, then Pure Factors, then Professional Factors, then Factors Plus, then Sensible Factors after which Freestyle. The variations between these are minimal: the WW Factors system appears to vary as typically because the wind blows, or at the very least that’s the impression I’ve gotten. 

The gist is that you simply get a sure variety of factors to ‘spend’ every day, plus an allotment of weekly factors to ‘cowl’ any ‘indulgences’ which may pop up. You can even ‘earn’ bonus factors for train, which I feel is totally ridiculous, because it makes train into one thing we do to ‘earn’ meals or ‘make up’ for consuming (each of that are disordered pondering), and it’s not how our our bodies work…in any respect. 

I took the WW quiz, which assigned me 26 factors a day. The questions have been largely centered on weight reduction, asking my present top, weight, purpose weight, intercourse, and age. The one medical historical past query it requested was if I’ve diabetes.

Related elements reminiscent of exercise degree, historical past of an consuming dysfunction or different critical diagnoses, weren’t talked about. To their credit score, I attempted to enter a weight that was too low for my top, and bought this message:

As a dietitian, my foremost concern with WW is the factors system. I consider that it encourages disordered pondering and habits round meals for many individuals. 

Right here’s my Weight Watchers Private Factors assessment.

It encourages ’banking’ of factors (aka energy, who’re we kidding right here), and categorizing meals as ‘good’ and ‘unhealthy.’ Sure, all meals can match, nevertheless it’s human nature to not assume that method when offered with an possibility (aka zero level meals) the place they’ll eat extra for much less. I additionally see this system encouraging followers to ‘recreation’ the system.

That is one thing that was echoed in a few of the feedback I bought from folks:

I did lose 80 kilos however I gained all of it again as a result of it didnt assist me to decide on ‘higher meals’ it helped me to seek out methods to nonetheless eat what I needed. So apart from parts nothing modified for me. I assume it gave me a false sense of getting management?

Whereas WW itself doesn’t outwardly promote “synthetic meals” you may are inclined to lean in the direction of a few of them as a result of they have been decrease in factors. I additionally didn’t assume they promoted more healthy choices on a regular basis: Skim milk and 0 fats yogurt have been 0 factors, however I had been taught that you simply wanted the fats to blunt any insulin spikes and the fats would additionally enhance your satiety. I discovered it very troublesome to remain throughout the factors and eat wholesome and left after 3 months.  I determine there was no sense in being smaller if I wasn’t additionally getting more healthy.

Every meals’s factors are calculated based mostly on its vitamins. Positive, greens and fruits have low factors values, however there are extraordinarily bodily nourishing and satisfying meals which can be larger in factors. Avocado, nuts, oatmeal, and candy potatoes are a couple of of them. 

The present WW program has greater than 200 zero-point meals, which sounds superb till you understand that it really isn’t, for causes I’m going to elucidate.

WW tells dieters to not overeat zero level meals, however for those who’ve been given a factors price range to remain inside, there’s a definite attract to stuffing your self with zero level meals in an effort to ‘afford’ the inevitable multi-point binge.

All of this turns consuming right into a math equation, which can result in consuming meals that you simply don’t need simply to suit into your factors price range, or not consuming as a lot as you want due to the factors. Conversely, you could eat simply to fulfill your factors price range when you have factors left over (which most likely by no means occurs). This may mess up your inner starvation and fullness cues.

Right here’s why I don’t advocate having a calorie purpose.

It additionally promotes satiety OVER satisfaction. Quantity consuming, or consuming giant volumes of low-calorie meals to fill the abdomen so that you don’t eat different, higher-calorie meals, is a disordered behaviour.

In case you go over your factors price range or eat the ‘fallacious’ meals, this will result in guilt and disgrace, one thing that perpetuates the weight-reduction plan cycle.

Individuals should observe their level consumption, which will be triggering for anybody who’s predisposed to, has, or has had an consuming dysfunction. That is probably a big phase of the inhabitants, because the prevalence of consuming problems themselves (NOT together with disordered consuming), in accordance with this 2019 research in JAMA, is 1 in 5 girls and 1 in 7 males.

We additionally know that prevalence of consuming problems peaks once more in girls round center age, in accordance with this 2023 research and others. In 2018, a report by MRI Simmons discovered that 85% of WW dieters have been girls, and 43% of these girls have been over the age of 55.

WW could say they’re all about well being, however what I see mirrored within the quite a few WW factors teams on Fb, is just about the alternative.

In case you can’t eat meals with out swapping out substances for lower-calorie selections, and you may’t eat with out counting or monitoring, please know that this isn’t what relationship with meals appears like. It removes all flexibility, pleasure, and peace from consuming. Not good.

This system makes use of ‘coaches’ who lack in-depth, related vitamin coaching. Their solely {qualifications} are that they’ve reached their purpose weight with WW and maintained it for at the very least 6 months. 

Clearly, this isn’t ample coaching to advise folks on their vitamin. Diet and the psychology behind meals selections are advanced. Unqualified folks can probably do hurt once they contain themselves in different peoples’ relationships with meals and consuming.

Learn my Noom assessment right here.

As with most diets, many individuals shed weight initially with WW as a result of they’re consuming fewer energy than they have been beforehand. That is simply basic math. Nonetheless, the psychological exhaustion that outcomes from counting factors and overthinking the whole lot you place into your mouth may cause lots of these folks to surrender. I don’t blame them.

I’ve seen many individuals in my apply who’ve performed Weight Watchers years in the past, however nonetheless see meals as ‘factors.’ That is problematic, as a result of it causes them to worry meals and second-guess the whole lot they eat. It completely takes away that connection between how they really feel and what they select to eat. 

 I nonetheless know what number of factors some issues are many years later. The weekly weigh ins have been so worrying and the straight up meals obsession was so dangerous.

The factor is, these folks typically return to WW repeatedly, as a result of of their thoughts, it ‘labored’ as soon as for them, so that they’re going for a second, fourth, or eighth kick on the can. It hardly ever has a cheerful ending, however that’s what weight-reduction plan packages like Weight Watchers need. 

Repeat clients. Lifetime devotees. Individuals changing into depending on realizing the factors of every morsel of meals earlier than they permit themselves to eat it. Blaming themselves for his or her ‘failure’ on a weight-reduction plan that’s made to fail anyhow. 

Sound acquainted? Lots of you who’re studying this may recall having these experiences with WW. I’m sorry.

I joined many occasions and by no means made purpose weight. Because of being on WW I continued to drink espresso and tea black, don’t put butter on greens and restrict fats. Nonetheless I’m heavier than I needs to be.

I work out commonly, stroll lengthy distances and usually really feel responsible about not having my weight down. This month I flip 68.

I’ll say that I’ve joined WW so many occasions that I actually misplaced rely. I by no means reached the purpose weight that THEY set for me and all the time felt like a failure each time I left as a result of it was my fault for “being so weak”.

My largest takeaway from WW was that each one of my price as a human being was tied to a quantity on a scale, and all meals had numbers as nicely, which by God Had To Be Stored Below The Restrict.

There was not solely a complete disregard for vitamin but in addition for the enjoyment and pleasure of meals too.

I attempted ww and did lose 30 lbs which has come again after I finished. I’ll say it made folks panic a few 0.3lb acquire, get obsessive about which model of hummus is 1 level vs 1.5, too centered on the minutia, not an total wholesome sustainable long run weight upkeep resolution. Any program will work when you work it, however you shouldn’t want a program in case you are really studying the abilities and habits for wholesome dwelling.

I additionally bought feedback from followers who stated constructive issues about their time with WW.

Issues like, it gave them construction and taught them about portion measurement. That they’ve misplaced weight and saved it off, for probably the most half. That they benefit from the neighborhood, and that total, it was a constructive expertise.

Does Weight Watchers work? Nicely, each weight-reduction plan will ‘work’ for somebody. And by ‘work,’ I imply reducing weight and KEEPING IT OFF.

I bought 173 feedback, 6 messages, and 15 emails about WW.  Out of these 194 items of correspondence, 9 have been supportive of WW. 4 have been so-so, and the remainder have been detrimental.

181 out of 194 have been so-so or detrimental, or 93%. This isn’t a scientific final result, nevertheless it’s fascinating to see the cut up. I really feel as if it’s in line with what I’ve heard from folks over the previous 24 years I’ve been a dietitian.

Irrespective of how WW places it, it’s nonetheless a weight-reduction plan. 

Oh hey, how about we simply EAT?

Individuals won’t ever cease desirous to shed weight, and as a dietitian who helps intentional weight reduction the place applicable, I completely perceive. Nonetheless, I feel there are higher methods to shed weight than to topic your self to WW or one other industrial weight-reduction plan program.

Weight Watchers, for those who’re listening, listed below are my suggestions:

Do away with the factors in favor of a extra intuitive eating-style program. Individuals will likely be mad at first, however within the long-run, it’s a more healthy strategy to see meals and consuming. 

In case you’re actually fascinated with peoples’ well being and total wellness, cease making weight reduction the first purpose of your program.

Get some kind of upkeep help, as a result of a number of folks complained to me that you’ve got none.

Monitor the WW teams on social for disordered behaviour, and FFS, ask related questions in your onboarding quiz.

Use certified well being professionals as coaches. You have got the cash. Simply do it.

Who am I kidding…WW won’t ever change their methods. We will hope, although.

SHAMELESS PLUG: for those who’re struggling along with your vitamin and relationship with meals, I will help! I’m taking 1:1 shoppers now. I’m dearer than WW, however you could possibly get protection for my companies when you have non-public insurance coverage. Right here’s the hyperlink for extra info and to request a session.