About Weight Watchers

I have readers every week that want to lose weight but don't know where to start. Most of   them have tried for years but have always gained the weight back. WebMD wrote  this post about Weight Watchers  after all these years it's still ranked one of the "top three weight loss programs" ever. The secret behind the program is the education and support they give. It's almost like AA for overweight people.

If you have been struggling with your weight problem it might be time to try to get help. The objection some people have had with the support programs has been "going to the meeting". These support programs will work, but just like AA, you have to realize that you have a problem and you have to want to change your life.

Changing your life and making that commitment to  go to the meeting and stick to the program; learn to  eat the right foods and prepare your own meals, and to help others that are first coming into the program, this is the commitment you have to make before you even join. Read the post and see what the professionals think.

The Promise

Pasta, steak, cheese, ice cream... You can eat what you want on Weight Watchers. While the popular weight-loss plan has been revamped, the basic principle of eating what you love remains -- though the program steers you toward healthier foods with its points system.

In its new program, called Beyond the Scale, fitness also takes a bigger role. You'll be encouraged to move more every day.

Weight Watchers isn’t so much a diet as a lifestyle change program. It can help you learn how to eat healthier and get more physical activity, so you lose the weight for good.

You can follow the plan online on your own. You'll track your food choices and exercise, chart progress, and find recipes and workouts. There’s a coaching option if you prefer one-on-one consultations by phone, email, and text. Or you can go to in-person group meetings, where you’ll weigh in.

A Consumer Reports survey found that people who went to meetings were more satisfied with the program and lost more weight than people who used only the online tools.

What You Can Eat and What You Can't

No food is forbidden when you follow this plan, which doesn’t make you buy any prepackaged meals.

Weight Watchers assigns different foods a SmartPoints value, which replaces its long-standing PointsPlus plan. The concept is the same, though. Nutritious foods that fill you up have fewer points than junk with empty calories. But the eating plan now factors sugar, fat, and protein into its points calculations to steer you toward fruits, veggies, and lean protein, and away from stuff that's high in sugar and saturated fat. 

You’ll have a SmartPoints target that's set up based on your body and goals. As long as you stay within your daily target, you can spend those SmartPoints however you’d like, even on alcohol or dessert.

But healthier, lower-calorie foods cost fewer points.

Level of Effort: Medium

Weight Watchers is designed to make it easier to change your habits long-term, and it's flexible enough that you should be able to adapt it to your life. You’ll be tweaking your eating and lifestyle patterns -- many of which have been years in the making -- and you'll be creating new ones.

So, how much effort it takes depends on how much you’ll have to change your habits.

Cooking and shopping: Expect to learn how to shop, cook healthy foods, and dine out in ways that support your weight loss goal without skimping on taste or needing to buy unusual foods.

Packaged foods or meals: Not required.

In-person meetings: Optional.

Exercise: You'll get a personalized activity goal and access to the program's new FitBreak app, which suggests ways to get moving based on where you are and how much time you have.

Does It Allow for Dietary Restrictions or Preferences?

Because you choose how you spend your daily SmartPoints, you can still do Weight Watchers if you're a vegetarian, vegan, have other preferences, or if you need to limit salt or fat.

What Else You Should Know

Cost: Weight Watchers offers three plans: Online only, online with meetings, or online with coaching. Each has a $20 starter fee, but the company often has specials that waive the charge.

Within each category, you can opt to pay for 3-month or monthly packages. You’ll save a little more by signing up for the 3-month deal, with rates starting around $4.61 a week for online only vs. $8.84 per week for meetings and online, or $10.77 per week for coaching and online. Prices may vary, so contact Weight Watchers for the cost.

Support: Besides the optional in-person meetings and personal coaching, Weight Watchers has an online community, a magazine, and a website with tools, recipes, tips, success stories, and more -- including a section just for men. You can also sign up online for a newsletter.

What Dr. Brunilda Nazario says:

Does It Work?

Weight Watchers is one of the most well-researched weight loss programs available. And yes, it works. Many studies have shown that the plan can help you lose weight and keep it off. 

For instance, a study from The American Journal of Medicine showed that people doing Weight Watchers lost more weight than those trying to drop pounds on their own.

Overall, it's an excellent, easy-to-follow program.

Is It Good for Certain Conditions?

Weight Watchers is good for anyone. But its focus on nutritious, low-calorie foods makes it great for people with high blood pressure or cholesterol, diabetes, and even heart disease.

If you choose any premade meals, check the labels, as some may be high in sodium.

Work with your doctor so he can check your progress, too. This is especially important for people with diabetes, as you may need to adjust your medicine as you lose weight.

The Final Word

If the thought of weighing your food or counting calories leaves your head spinning, this is an ideal program, because it does the work for you. The online tool assigns a certain number value to each food, even restaurant foods, to make it easy to stay on track.

If you don’t know your way around the kitchen, the premade meals and snacks make it easy. They’re a quick and easy way to control portion sizes and calories.

You don’t have to drop any foods from your diet, but you will have to limit portion sizes to cut back on calories.

The emphasis on fruits and veggies means the diet is high in fiber, which helps keep you full. And the program is simple to follow, making it easier to stick to. You can also find Weight Watchers’ premade meals at your local grocery store.

A huge advantage of Weight Watchers is their website. They offer comprehensive information on dieting, exercise, cooking, and fitness tips, as well as online support groups.

Be prepared to spend some cash to get the full benefits of the robust program. It can be a bit costly, but it’s well worth it to reap the health perks of losing weight and keeping it off.

Structured programs like this one aren't for everyone but if you have had trouble in the past trying to keep the extra weight off, maybe a structured program with a support group is what you need.

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My new ebook is in online bookstores now. You can go to Amazon.com and type the title in the search bar: How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight? The price is $3.99. I think you'll find it interesting. I write about myself and my battle with weight and all the mistakes I made and how you can avoid the mistakes and lose the unwanted body fat.

The ebook is also at http://barnesandnoble.com and they have a special introductory offer right now. $2.99

Also available on Ibooks, Kobo, Scribd and many other sites worldwide.

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Is More Exercise Better?

This post published on WebMD confirms my belief that your diet is the most important part of the weight loss journey.

If a little exercise is good, then more is better in terms of calorie burn and weight loss, right? That's what most of us tend to believe.

But it's not necessarily true, a research team says. They found that people who exercise a lot don’t burn extra calories for their efforts beyond a certain point. Their new study is published in Current Biology.

Don’t drop that gym membership just yet, though. WebMD asked two experts to discuss these findings and the role of exercise.

On one point both agree: The new research is not discouraging exercise, which is crucial to keeping your body and mind healthy. But it does provide more evidence that diet, not exercise, is the key to losing weight.

What did the study find?

Pontzer and his team measured the daily activity levels of more than 300 men and women -- along with how many calories they burned -- over the course of a week. They came from five different countries across Africa and North America: the U.S., Ghana, Jamaica, the Seychelles, and South Africa. People in some of those nations tend to be more physically active than many Americans.

The researchers had everyone's body mass index (BMI). They measured activity and calorie burning for a week but didn't track whether people gained or lost weight.

Exercise did have an effect on how many calories people used, called energy expenditure. But the amount of calories burned didn’t increase dramatically as people got more exercise. Those who had a moderate activity level burned a few more calories daily, on average around 200, compared with the most inactive people. But those who exercised beyond the moderate activity level saw no effect of their extra effort as far as how many calories they burned

Although the study didn't define ''moderate'' in hours of activity, Pontzer describes moderate exercisers as those who are active ''but not serious athletes” -- someone who walks a couple miles a day or bikes to work and back, for example. Pontzer's team did find that those with higher body fat percentages actually burned more calories with exercise -- presumably, he says, because there is more fat to burn.

What do the findings say about the role of exercise in weight loss?The study didn’t focus on this specifically, but Pontzer says exercise ''can be part of a successful weight loss strategy. We need to think about exercise and diet as two different tools."“Exercise is good at lots of things, such as maintaining heart health,” he says. “Diet is going to be the better tool for managing your weight."The findings may show that the inactive lifestyle of many Americans hasn't contributed as much to the nation’s obesity epidemic as public health officials believe, Melanson says. He stresses that the study does not prove that, but simply adds information to the ongoing debate about why Americans are so overweight.The study finding, in Melanson's view, seems to tip the scale a bit more toward overeating, not under-exercising, to explain the current U.S. obesity epidemic.

Why is it that more exercise is not better? Do we hit a kind of plateau?Yes, Pontzer says. "If you are more active, your body might be adapting,'' he says. "We hit an energy expenditure plateau. It's part of the reason your body adapts to your new exercise routine." That may be why many find it so hard to lose weight, he says.But, he believes, there is such a thing as an exercise “sweet spot” -- the point at which workout benefits, including calories burned, peak. That spot is probably different for everyone, Pontzer says, although the new study didn’t look into that.

How do you find your ''sweet spot"?Pay attention to your body, Pontzer says. You know you're out of the sweet spot and overdoing it when you feel worn out constantly and you need more time to recover from exercise, he says. At that point, it's time to work out less.

What's the best take-home advice from this research?Even if researchers eventually decide that diet plays a bigger role than exercise in weight control, Melanson says, ''the public health message is not going to change one bit. Exercise does matter [for overall health], whether you lose weight or not.''Working out has lots of health perks, including diabetes prevention, blood pressure control, stress reduction, and boosting your mood to help with depression. It can also contribute to brain and immune system health, experts say."This [study] says the first thing to do is diet and it won't hurt to throw in exercise," Pontzer says.

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My new book is in online bookstores now. You can go to Amazon.com and type the title in the search bar: How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight? The price is $3.99. I think you'll find it interesting. I write about myself and my battle with weight and all the mistakes I made and how you can avoid the mistakes and lose the unwanted body fat.

The ebook is also at http://barnesandnoble.com and they have a special introductory offer right now. $2.99

Several other online bookstores around the world have the ebook available like KOBO, SCRIBD, CIANDO, and several others.

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Why American's are Overweight

It's easier to make a change in your life if you understand how overweight happens to us. If you feel guilty about your weight get over it. It's not all your fault.

What contributes to America's overweight problem?

The food industry creates foods that hijack our brains. They have fat, sugar and salt, which are highly stimulating. They condition us so that even the sights and smells associated with them activate your brain [in ways that make you want food]. In controlled individuals or controlled studies, the brain activity stops when they start ingesting the food, but in some people, it doesn’t shut off when the food is gone. Also, when your body craves food it is not just telling you to eat something, it's telling you that you need something. Maybe it's protein or maybe it's carbs, whatever, somewhere through evolution we lost the ability to understand what are body's telling us.

How can we break this cycle? Changing how people look at food is essential. Look at the public-health success with tobacco. We didn’t change the product. But we changed how people perceive it. Now people look at tobacco and say, “That’s really disgusting.” Tobacco is easy because you can live without it, but you can’t live without food. So you have to cool down the stimulus. You have to retrain yourself to respond to food differently. I talked about this in another post, in Europe people did have a weight problem back in the 50's and 60's but this next generation has changed, even the generation in their 40's today are much healthier than we are. Education is the way you change people's minds. In other countries, they do look at food differently. I have personally been in 15 European countries, 4 Caribbean countries and 3 Latin-American countries. In Europe, they eat differently than we do. I gained 10 pounds in the 5 weeks touring Europe. I couldn't help myself, it was like I was tasting food for the first time. I told my wife, this is real food. No fast food, no low-fat food or low-cal, it was all real food. I loved it, all of it. Actually, that was in the 90's and I did go to Great Britain last year, for the first time since that trip to Europe, and the food scene has changed, but in defense of America, we've changed I little too. 

Today, if you can effort it, we have many more good restaurants that do have healthy food and stores like Whole Foods that sell healthy foods. But like I wrote about in a previous post, restaurants don't have many items on the menu that can be called healthy. They want you to enjoy the food and have a large enough portion to satisfy anyone. There lies the difference between the U.S. and other countries. In other countries the customers expectations are different. The customer wants good quality food and isn't really concerned with the quantity. They also pay more for food in stores and in restaurants.

The idea of being able to buy food cheap anytime or anywhere doesn't help people control their weight. Cheap food is also a problem. Cheap food doesn't have enough nutritional value. The manufacturer can't put nutrition in a low-cost item. They have to substitute many of the ingredients with something cheaper so they can sell the product at a competitive price. Now this is the good part when you are not getting the nutrition your body is craving, then in a short period of time your craving food again. You see if your body didn't get what it was craving then the cravings will come back again and again. You keep eating and your liver will just turn the food into fat and store it. When your body can't use what you just ate, then it will store it and the only way your body can store excess food is to turn it into fat. 

So now you get it, the whole cycle, the body will store any food it doesn't need. That's how you put on weight. The body will only pass through waste matter that has been processed. All other food will be stored in case of emergency. The bad part is your body doesn't know when to stop storing. Your ancestors never had this problem of being overweight because they were very active and your ancestors needed to have that ability to store food because in cold weather it was hard to find food.

So hopefully you learned a little about your body and why you gain weight. And with this info I hope losing weight will be easier.

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My new ebook is in online bookstores now. You can go to Amazon.com and type the title in the search bar: How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight? The price is $3.99. I think you'll find it interesting. I write about myself and my battle with weight and all the mistakes I made and how you can avoid the mistakes and lose the unwanted body fat.

The ebook is also at http://barnesandnoble.com and they have a special introductory offer right now. $2.99

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Why I Lost Weight

I was listening to a radio talk show the other day and a caller was talking about a fast food chain. He was criticizing a hamburger chain and said after he stopped eating their food he started to feel better. He started to lose weight, and he said he wasn’t so depressed all day.

So, I started to think about how I felt when I was heavy and it did feel depressing. I didn’t like the way my clothes fit, I felt self-conscious. I felt like people were staring.  I didn’t like eating with others. I had this lonely feeling. That was then and this is now. Today most people are overweight so a person can have that sense of well-being because their friends are the same as they are. Being overweight has become the new normal.

So, what’s wrong with that? Well, the problem is your health. When you’re a young adult, carrying around extra weight doesn’t bother you. You can still be active and in most cases you still have control of your blood pressure, blood sugars, cholesterol and other vitals, so you’re not worried about your weight. But as you get older and see the doctor more often, that’s when you find out what effects the extra pounds have had on your body.

Extra pounds, especially belly fat, will age your body and your organs beyond your real age. You end up being a middle age person in a body that’s 10 years older than you. You will actually shorten your life, the more extra pounds you have, the shorter your life. The extra weight that you put on throughout your adult life is extra strain on your joints and organs. Your organs don’t keep growing just because you gain weight when you reach your adult size, usually age 18 to 22, that’s as big as your joints and organs will ever be and the extra weight will just wear them out.

Monitor your weight  regularly and see a doctor if your overweight. Being overweight will also cause diseases like cancer or diabetes just to name a few. And it's not just about your weight; having too much belly fat is dangerous to your health. You don't have to be overweight to have too much belly fat. More important than your weight, is the size of your waistline. The distance around your waist should be half your height. I'm 70 inches tall, my waist should measure 35 inches, no more. Every extra  inch you add to your waist will shorten your life.
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I wanted to post this Immediately I just found out my new book is in online bookstores now. You can go to Amazon.com and type the title in the search bar: How Bad Do You Want To Lose Weight? The price is $3.99. I think you'll find it interesting. I write about myself and my battle with weight and all the mistakes I made and how you can avoid the mistakes and lose the unwanted body fat.

The ebook is also at http://barnesandnoble.com and they have a special introductory offer right now. $2.99

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Want to Lose Weight? Diet is the Secret

You’ve hear that the French have a diet that would put weight on any American, but their thin. Most men and women of all ages in France are thin. When we first looked at their diet we thought that the red wine they drank was the answer. These people eat out as much as we do, they don’t even know what low cal means.

So how do they do it? Well first they walk more. City people don’t use cars that much, They walk everywhere. Also bike riding is more popular, you see gasoline has always been expensive in Europe and the people have learned to conserve. Conserving on food is something that France has done since World War II when food was scarce. So today their meal portions are smaller than ours and combine this with the increased amount of walking the French do and it’s much easier for them to control their weight.

Now how does that help you? Well there are studies going on today that are discovering that our meal portions maybe double of what we need. So how much food do you need? First of all I think we all know that Americans eat too much and that we are a nation of overweight people. Studies have also been done in the far east. Thailand, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan to see why those people have much less Cancer than North Americans. They found that the people there are very healthy. They don’t have the weight problems we do and there more physically fit.

So are we the only country that is habitually overindulging? Well no, Canadians and the English are just starting to change with this new generation of young people. A lot of the Central European and Eastern European countries had the same problems. Some of the problems in this country and in Europe after World War II were the same. Too many poor people who couldn't afford quality food. Cheap food has too many carbs and a high fat content and those people eating low cost food will put on more weight.

 So what’s the answer? Besides the quantity of food consumed also the quality of the food makes a difference. In France for instance, yes they eat smaller meals but they also eat better then we do. In fact most of Western Europe eats better than we do. And I don’t mean more. I mean a better quality of food. Food is made with fresh ingredients and made from scratch everyday because refrigeration is still a new concept in most parts of rural Europe. By new I mean in the last twenty years.

After World War II, Europe was pretty much in ruins and yes the big cities did rebuild pretty quick. By the early 50′s tourism was once again a major industry. But the rural parts of the different countries took much longer to recover. So farming communities didn’t have electricity for many years. Europe is really only two generations away from the depression of the 40's. It’s this new generation today that doesn’t remember the War or the recovery.

So what does this have to do with you? In Europe people have learned the proper way to eat and watching their diet is the way to control your health. We lost that way of thinking in this country. When I get away from my regular way of eating, maybe on a vacation or business trip, I think back to the way my grandparents ate, the way we ate in the 50's. No snacks, no soft drinks, just real food. Three meals a day at the family table.

Losing Weight Means Changing Your Life

Once you make the decision to lose the excess weight and change your life the trick is to never go back. Losing weight is a combination of your diet and an exercise program. Exercise is the part of losing weight that turns off most people. They’re all motivated at the beginning and then the exercise part is the part that causes them to quit. Remember that exercise is only about 30% of the weight loss process. Diet is 70% of the process. Portion control and only eating the proper foods is key. Yes, exercising is a part of the losing weight process but you don’t have to kill yourself exercising. Some people think that’s the only way to lose weight; "you have to sweat it off". That’s just not true. It is true that you need exercise to jump start your metabolism and start burning calories, but you can start slow.

Walking is a good way to get your body going. You want to try to do your walking as early as you can. Try and do this exercise for 30 minutes. Your metabolism goes dormant at night so you’re only burning the minimal amount of calories until you wake and start moving. At first, you’re still burning a minimal amount and that doesn’t change until you start moving vigorously by walking fast or running or lifting weights, riding a bike, something to get your blood pumping. That’s why you need to exercise early, the faster you get your metabolism into high gear the more calories you’ll burn that day. Remember after dark your metabolism slows down. At night, your body goes into a healing mode. That’s necessary for sleep.

O.K., some people will find the exercise part of losing weight the most difficult and others the diet part. I guess for me it’s the diet part. I love food and always find a reason to go off the diet. And for some people, it’s both parts. After you get use to the exercise part it will make you feel better when you exercise. So I like to exercise, but for the “newbies” who never did much exercise, it’s difficult to fall into a routine. This is when you need to begin slowly. A gym membership is o.k. but still go easy. Just go for the walking or treadmills or maybe the stationary bike. A beginner at exercise can easily get burned out or overdue. Do something you can do easily at first. You can challenge yourself later after a few months of conditioning. 

You want your heart to get accustomed to exercising every day. This is were talking to your doctor is a great benefit. Your doctor will help you begin with a safe exercise program. Yes, you want to challenge your muscles but you can’t let your heart rate go too high for your size and age. Your doctor knows what the safe limit is for you. This along with a good diet program and in a few months you’ll see and feel the results of your hard work.

A gym membership can actually cause a "newbie" to give up. After about twenty minutes you wonder what you're doing there. Try and buddy with someone you know who is already going. Or on your first day sign up with a trainer. Some trainers will work with you by the day and some by the week and if you can't find a trainer at that gym, maybe you should move on. You can look on-line for a trainer that will work with you at any gym or in your home. You don't need a lot of equipment to workout.

A trainer can also help you with your diet. The diet is the most important part. I wasted a lot of money at a health club because I thought I could sweat off the weight. I was doing Racquetball, rowing, sauna and machines but I barely lose any weight. If you really want to lose weight you have to change your diet.

I started to eat fresh, which means fish, poultry (only white meat), vegetables and fruit. No dairy (except Greek yogurt). Whole grain bread is okay. Whole wheat is not whole grain (read the labels). Don't eat processed or enriched flour or rice. Anything with enriched flour is just as bad as eating sugar. No "processed foods" (store made food), No canned foods, some say that fish packed in water is okay, it's a good source of protein. And drink only water, tea or coffee.

On the top of this page, you'll find a tab for another page that has a diet suggestion. It's a good diet and you don't have to count calories. There are lots of choices and the only exercise that's suggested is walking, brisk walking every day. Nothing to buy, just wear a comfortable pair of walking shoes. For a "newbie" who is just starting an exercise program walking is the best way to begin. Walk outside if the weather permits or in the mall if it doesn't. In the beginning, remember it's not a race, don't let your heart rate get out of control. Your target heart rate should be 220 minus your age. I'm 70, so my target heart rate is 150, the maximum is about 180. Your doctor will help you find a heart rate right for you.
Remember that if you're under a doctors care which means that you go to the doctor regularly, make should he knows you're exercising and trying to lose weight and don't take any diet pills unless your doctor prescribes them. People taking medications for anything have to let their doctor know whenever they change their diet. 

Will Yoga Help Me Lose Weight?

Yoga is a great way to work on your flexibility and strength. Just about everyone can do it, too -- it's not just for people who can touch their toes or want to meditate.

Some types of yoga are about relaxation. In others, you move more. Most types focus on learning poses, called asanas. They also usually include attention to breathing.

Yoga for Flexibility

Yoga poses work by stretching your muscles. They can help you move better and feel less stiff or tired.

At any level of yoga, you'll probably start to notice benefits soon. In one study, people improved their flexibility by up to 35% after only 8 weeks of yoga. I don't think Yoga by itself will help you lose weight, but having said that, most people who are not use to exercise will benefit from Yoga. It will get you in shape to do some fat burning exercise which is more strenuous. Doing Yoga will make you more flexible and make you feel better about yourself. You'll get a sense of accomplishment when you learn even the basics. 

Strike a Pose for Strength

Some styles of yoga, such as ashtanga and power yoga, are very physical. Practicing one of these styles will help you improve muscle tone.

But even less vigorous styles of yoga, such as Iyengar or Hatha, can provide strength and endurance benefits.

Many of the poses, such as downward dog, upward dog, and the plank pose, build upper-body strength. The standing poses, especially if you hold them for several long breaths, build strength in your hamstrings, quadriceps, and abs. Poses that strengthen the lower back include upward dog and the chair pose. 

When done right, nearly all poses build core strength in the deep abdominal muscles.

Better Posture From Yoga

When you're stronger and more flexible, your posture improves.

Most standing and sitting poses develop core strength since you need your core muscles to support and maintain each pose.

With a stronger core, you're more likely to sit and stand "tall."

Yoga also helps your body awareness. That helps you notice more quickly if you're slouching or slumping, so you can adjust your posture.

Breathing Benefits

Yoga usually involves paying attention to your breath, which can help you relax. It may also call for specific breathing techniques.

But yoga typically isn't aerobic, like running or cycling, unless it's an intense type of yoga or you're doing it in a heated room.

Less Stress, More Calm

You may feel less stressed and more relaxed after doing some yoga.

Some yoga styles use meditation techniques that help calm the mind. Focusing on your breathing during yoga can do that, too.

Good for Your Heart

Yoga has long been known to lower blood pressure and slow the heart rate. A slower heart rate can benefit people with high blood pressure or heart disease and people who've had a stroke.

Yoga has also been linked to lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and better immune system function.