Created in the 1960s, Weightwatchers has become one of the most popular diet plans in the world. It is often the top-rated diet in research or magazine pieces, and is constantly evolving to meet the challenges of the modern lifestyle.
Currently endorsed by former British Royal Sarah Ferguson, it combines the simple premise of calorie counting with a comprehensive support system.
The best thing about Weightwatchers is the way that it can fit into your lifestyle long term. Unlike some crash diets, Weightwatchers allows you to eat out in restaurants and even have some of your favorite foods!
Weightwatchers attempts to match calories consumed with those calories expended through exercise or your base metabolism. Dieters can expect to lose a steady 1/2 to 2 pounds a week if they stick to the plan! Dieters go to weekly meetings, which include a private weigh-in and advice from your personal Meetings Leader.
By offering much more support to the dieter, and by giving him/her the tools to limit calorific intake, the Weightwatchers diet aims to help us lose weight steadily and consistently. There is a very wide range of books and support materials to help dieters.
Weightwatchers has two plans:
Flex Points Plan: This diet is based on portion control, and depends on the inevitable calorie counting. You have to keep track of everything you eat throughout the day (no cheating!), and make sure that your daily total comes in under your target.
Core Foods Plan: This plan does away with some of the calorie counting and instead focuses on restricting your diet to certain healthy foods.
Weightwatchers does not specifically use calories, rather their own Points system which is pretty similar. You have a daily or weekly Points target (depending on which plan you choose), against which you can actually earn credits by doing exercise.