| Product: |
Weight Watchers |
| Date: |
17.06.05 (5588 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: good results, get all the foods you need to survive
Disadvantages: not loss every week, can be hard to stick to daily points allowance
I wouldn't say I'm overweight as such because I don't feel I am just that I have piled on a few pounds that must be lost to get me back into proportion with my frame. I noticed that around my hips there was more weight gained than normal and really wanted something done about it so what I did was I tried the Atkins Diet. This was not good for me though, I found I had a sore stomach and that I was not getting the right food I needed and after a couple of weeks had not even lost a pound.
I know people who had done the Weight Watchers diet and my mum had been to the classes so had the points book. I decided to not go to classes but to use the points book and follow the instructions by trying it myself. One difference about Weight Watchers from any other diet is that it is a safe way to lose weight and as long as you measure out your points safely you will be able to still have some treats and not cut yourself off from everything that is good for you.
So at first I wasn't too strict on myself. There is the weight guide which has a separate part for women then men & young people. E.g. you are under 10 stone and a woman you can have 18 points per day if you are 10-12 stone you can have 20 points a day. If you are a man or young person under 10 stone can have 24 points a day and 10-12 stone can have 26 points a day. You must follow this part correct and not deprive yourself of daily points, as you can see above women can consume less points than men and young people.
The food list shows different categories from alcohol, cheese, cream to salads, rice, soups and desserts so that most things can be found easily. Say you want to know how much a custard cream is you look under biscuits & cereal bars and you will see they are 1pt. You have to be quite strict in that if you have chips you can't just count chips and no sauces you choose to dip them in because then you are letting that fat be not counted and these sneaky points will be why you are not losing weight. After eating something I will automatically write it down on a post it and then put points next to it to calculate and sometimes write down my daily points in advance so that I know what I'm having for dinner and can leave 2pts for 2 biscuits later and so on.
What I like is the back pages that show eating out points. They have Burger King, Chinese dishes, French dishes, Indian dishes, KFC, McDonalds and pub grub. The good thing is that you might not be hungry all day but then around 6ish get hungry so could go out to McDonalds and might be lucky enough to have 9 and a half points left meaning you can safely eat a Big Mac. Some of these foods are shocking though such as Meat Pie, Chips and Peas under Pub Grub are 21points. A Bacon Double Cheeseburger at Burger King is 13 and a half points. Lamb Korma under Indian is 23 points, now unless you are a woman of 14-16 stone then that will take up your points instanly and be your only meal of the day. I know I couldn't afford to have one of those because my points wouldn't allow it. Chinese is not as bad, Chow Mein which I love is 8 and a half which is reasonable and still tasty meaning you can have a take out and not be abandoning the points.
What I also like about Weight Watchers is when you're really into it for weeks and like myself in about my fourth week of the diet ate a strawberry tart which took me a couple of points over my daily allowance but still I had lost weight that week because it was only one day and some days I don't even use all of my points anyway so if you calculate there should be no problems.
I like it also in the book that if you do exercise you can minus points from your daily intake meaning you can eat more food. I like walking a lot so you can chose walking briskly, gently or slowly. There is also swimming if you do it for 15 minutes then you take off 2points if 30 minutes you take off 4 points. Skipping for 15 minutes takes away 3 points but skipping for 30 minutes is 6 points. So if you like to exercise as well as just watch your food you can get bonuses from it by taking away points.
There are so many ways around consuming less points and having more for a decent night time meal. There are the Weight Watchers own brand foods which I love like their strawberry cheesecake and spaghetti bolognese. They also do cakes like Flapjacks and Chocolate Brownie which I have tried and these are really good considering they are health food. I also tend to use their own mayonnaise to save points. If you buy low fat yogurts you can use fewer points too.
If you go to http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk and then you can look up recipes sent in by other dieters or just the site themselves. I get e-mails regularly from them showing succes stories and showing recipes appropriate for the season whether it be Christmas or just a summer drink. The recipes on the site are good. I have made hamburgers from them before and some pasta dishes and cakes and they are all delicious. They all come with a points total making it easier to add up points.
My own personal results from Weight Watchers have been great. So far, I have lost 10 pounds, nearly a stone and have had many comments about me looking slimmer around the waist so I definitely feel happy with that. I am continuing to persevere with dieting because I want to get down to my goal weight but also do not feel pressurized on this diet as I get the food I want and every week when it comes to the scales I get quite excited. Obviously not every week can be weight loss sometimes you gain but gain only makes me more determined. Go to the site for information on your nearest meeting or to get recipes and try your own version of the diet.
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