Weight Watchers is Not Evil.

After reviewing the original article and all the feedback from the last post, and retracting my claws - I'm admittedly really bad at "agreeing to disagree" - two things have stuck out at me. 1) From a writing standpoint, my thoughts did not come out nearly as cohesively as my brain presented them, and by the end, it started to resemble a jumbled up mess. The writer in me is deeply horrified. 2) In my excitement for my topic, I inadvertently hopped up on an imaginary soapbox that I don't even necessarily stand by and didn't do the program justice. For that I apologize and I intend to do better in the future. I do not want to alienate any readers, I just want to present information in a way that will make you think. No one said anything that made me want to retract any of my statements from yesterday - I still stand by everything that I wrote - but it did make me want to clarify my position and add to what I wrote by giving credit where credit is due.

Here is what I think Weight Watchers has going for it:

• I think it is a valid starting point. If you know absolutely nothing about nutrition, this program can teach you about fat, calories, carbs, etc. You can then use this information to begin to make good choices.
• If you attend their meetings, they have good accountability and more opportunities for learning about what you should and shouldn't eat.
• They do not encourage deprivation. Contrary to what some people believe, I do not encourage deprivation either. I agree that it will lead to binge eating because it will make you focus on what you're going without. This is especially true if you're going without in order to lose weight; while this effect is still present, for me at least, it's significantly smaller now that I've switched my focus to whole health.
• My friend, Leann, did inform me that if you do the online option, you have access to an online coach who can help you choose healthier options and teach you what to stay away from. (I went back to their website to make sure I didn't miss something, but even on the second try, I still do not see online coaches listed anywhere.)
• They do have access to good recipes and workouts on their website and you have the option of choosing which you like and which you don't. You don't have to follow an exact eating and workout plan. 

Here is where I think Weight Watchers misses the point:

• Many of the Weight Watchers' food products are not very healthy for you. You can view information on specific items here. This site, Good Guides, ranks items on a scale of 1-10 with 1 being bad and 10 being good. They rank more than just health, they also rank the product's effect on the environment and society, but for our purposes, just look at the health scale. Admittedly, some of their products are in the green range, but as you move through the pages, orange and red become more and more prominent (green=good, orange/red=bad). This is partly because they have ingredients in them, that while lowering the calories or fat or whatever, are still really bad for you. They are chemicals designed to make the "healthy" (ie. low-fat, sugar-free, etc.) option taste like the original. It is a far healthier option to eat the product with the fewest chemical modifications even if it is a little more fattening, or for Weight Watchers, costs more points. 
• While they encourage physical activity with activity points, it appears that they seem to use it as a way to either eat more, or eat worse. Friends of mine on the program have told me that there is no daily or weekly activity points goal as there are daily food point limits. This is not a healthy way to look at eating and exercise. Exercise should not be used as a punishment for eating poorly earlier, nor should it be used as an excuse to eat poorly later. Consider this: if, in addition to your regular diet and exercise, you decide to eat a candy bar that has 100 calories in it and you then burn an additional 100 calories for the day, does it cancel out the candy bar? How do you know it doesn't cancel out the banana you had with breakfast? Does canceling out the calories of the candy bar automatically mean you've canceled out the effect of the fat, sugar, etc. that came with it? 
• Weight Watchers focuses entirely on weight. Shocker, I know. Going back to my Weight is Just a Number post, weight is not the whole story. If you're building muscle and losing inches, your body fat composition has dropped even if your weight hasn't. In the past 3 weeks, I have lost .1 pound. One-tenth. That's next to nothing. That's so minuscule that many scales wouldn't even register it. But I have lost an inch on my bust, 2 inches on my waist, an inch on my hips, 2.25 inches on my thighs, and half an inch on my arms. I am definitely in better shape now than I was three weeks ago even though the scale doesn't reflect it. 
• Weight Watchers focuses entirely on weight. Do I sound like a broken record? Let me remind you of what blog you're on - this is a blog about the adventure to Whole Health. This is not a blog about losing weight. With that in mind, while I think the points are a good guideline, I do not recommend for them to be used as a hard and fast rule. To the point of the whole article yesterday, I have come to agree with my friend who did not want to "waste" her points on the super-healthy fruit drink, but ONLY IF she was hitting her fruits and veggies goal for the day. Then I could see not wanting to spend points on fruits and veggies. But if she's struggling to hit that goal, I think she should definitely use a few points to reach it before she uses points on indulgences. 
• Anything can be assigned a point value, and the point value is based solely on fat, carbs, protein, and fiber. It does not take ingredients in to account (of course, the user has the option to do that, but the points program does not factor it in). Therefore, by not discouraging unhealthy options, it essentially says they are ok. Several people have tried to use this as their defense for indulging. As I mentioned, I definitely support the indulgence method as long as it's done smartly. Homemade cookies are a better option than an Oreo. (If you're craving an Oreo and that craving was made worse by me mentioning it just now, search Pinterest or Google it, I'm sure there are homemade Oreo recipes in which you can control the ingredients.) Chocolate Covered Kate is a blog full of chocolate recipes that she herself has created using natural ingredients. That is the best way to indulge. I'm not saying cut out chocolate or cut out ice cream (even though I have cut out ice cream for this year, I'm not saying everyone should do that); I'm just saying be smarter about how you consume it. Kate eats her chocolate creations at least once, usually twice a day but her health (nor her weight) is being effected by it. 

Remember that processed foods are full of additives designed and utilized by companies to make you addicted to their products in order to increase their profits. The foods you love (which Weight Watchers claims you will not have to give up) are likely to be full of these additives which is why you don't want to give them up in the first place. When you look at it this way, it is easy to see that our addiction to the additives is every bit as powerful as a smoker's addiction to cigarettes, or an alcoholic's addiction to beer. My friend Mike gave me this analogy which I just love: If you were to help a drug addict with their addiction, would you recommend for them to only do drugs every once in a while as an indulgence for being so good the rest of the time, or so their deprivation doesn't send diving headfirst back into drugs? Would you recommend that they try a different drug that's not as bad for them? Or would you help them get off all drugs for good? Food is not the enemy, the additives in processed foods are. I do not believe it is healthy to indulge in these naughty ingredients even if it's just every once in a while. 

Finally, I think it is worth noting a few things: 

• The very first Weight Watchers' Spokeswoman was Lynn Redgrave. Sarah Ferguson was one of her successors. Both of these women gained some of the weight back after going off the program and Lynn ultimately died from breast cancer. (Not to start another controversy, and I'm certainly not trying to say that Lynn contracted breast cancer as a result of what she ate, but if you don't think what you eat has an effect on cancer, please keep reading my blog. This topic will be covered in detail.) 
• In the British Journal of Nutrition, Michael Lowe reports his findings after following 699 participants for 5 years after Weight Watchers. 95.3% of these participants were women. After 1 year, 79.8% of participants had succeeded in keeping at least 5% off their weight loss off. (This could also read as 21.2% of participants had gained back more than 95% of the weight after only 1 year). After 2 years, 71% of participants maintained at least 5% of their weight loss, and by year 5, 50%, only HALF of the participants, had maintained at least 5% of their weight loss. And that is only 5%!!! It doesn't even mention those that maintained 100% of their weight loss, although it does give results for those that maintained a weight below their goal weight: By year 1, that was only 26.5%, at year 2, it was down to 20.5%, and by year 3, it hit 16.2%. As much as people have tried to argue otherwise based on their own personal success, statistically this program does not show encouraging long-term results if 1 out of every 2 people on the program will not see success 5 years later. View the entire report here.
• Finally, of my friends who read and commented on the article, the ones who agreed with what I said are easily the healthiest, and maybe not coincidentally, skinniest people I know. They are the people I turn to when trying to make healthy decisions, which makes me feel that I might not have been as far off the mark as many people would like to believe. 

A Fat Free Twinkie is Still a Twinkie

When I was in fifth grade, I was friends with a girl who was rather large - as in, she was probably already well into the obese category at that tender age. At one point she decided she was going to lose weight and so she started eating fat-free twinkies at lunch time. She was convinced this would help her because they were fat-free!

I was reminded of this story today when I almost got in a debate with a good friend. She stated she was hoping to get a full 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies each day and I suggested the Machine drinks by Naked (Blue Machine, Green Machine, Red Machine.) These particular drinks are full of fruits and vegetables, some in juice form and some pureed from the whole fruit/veggie. They easily have 6-8 servings of fruits and veggies in them and have no naughty ingredients. Other than being high in sugar (from the natural fructose found in the fruits), they are extremely good for you. However, this friend is on Weight Watchers and these drinks are worth 4 points each (probably due in part to the juices added which aren't as good for you as the whole fruit or veggie), and so she said she couldn't drink them.

This thought greatly confused me as some other women in our same circle had been discussing just the day before how great it was that a boxed cake mix mixed with a can of Diet Coke or Sprite made a dessert that was barely any points. It struck me that this summed up my problem with points systems quite nicely - they encourage you to eat things that may not be good for you (as I assure you a boxed cake mix most certainly isn't!) because they are low in points but discourage you to eat anything that is high in points even if they are really good for you.

In all fairness, I hadn't ever looked into what exactly Weight Watchers stands for, so before I made up my mind too firmly, I decided to research it some. My first problem with the program is that there was very little I could find out from their own website without signing up for the program. I also have a problem with paying to get healthy, but I do recognize that it can be a motivator for weight loss for some people.

I decided to do their free assessment which brings me to my next problem with the program: they claim

You don't have to give up any of your favorite foods to lose weight! 

I actually have two issues with this statement. First, what if my favorite foods are McDonald's, pizza, ice cream, chips, and cookies. Really? I don't have to give up ANY of those to lose weight? And second, the goal shouldn't be to lose weight, the goal should be to be healthy. In order to become healthy, you have to give up unhealthy foods, many of which top most people's list of favorite foods. 

Finally, I have a problem with the accountability of the program. They say they encourage healthy options, but unless you regularly attend their meetings, the only accountability is in the Points system. They use this picture to show how you can eat more if you eat better things (sounds suspiciously like trading in your "favorite" things):

 

But when I look at this picture, my only question is what's to stop you from eating the meal on the left? They're both worth 11 points, so why should I eat the rather disgusting-sounding pasta salad and soup when I can enjoy the childhood favorite of PB&J with chips? What if the meal on the left was 10 points? Would that make it a better option than the meal on the right? Unless there is a goal for how many fruits and veggies to eat each day, how much meat and dairy and grains (remember the Food Plate from last week?), people could stay within their points range every single day and still gain weight. Because I'm sorry, but if you're struggling with your weight, I can almost guarantee you that you'll have to give up at least something in order to see any success. A 2-point chocolate cupcake with Diet Coke is not better for you than a 4-point organic fruit and veggie drink. A fat-free Twinkie is still a Twinkie. 

One thing I think they do have right, they incorporate exercise into the program, although, to what extent I'm not sure. 

To be fair, there may be more that I have missed, but as I stated, this was the most I could learn from their own webpage without signing up for the program. To their credit, I do think they have really delicious recipes, but as it turns out, you can make them even if you're not on the program.

****UPDATE****
Due to some of the immediate response I got, let me clarify a few things:

1. I don't want to discount anyone who follows this program the way it is designed to be done and sees results. I'm sure if you follow it exactly as recommended, you can see results if your goal is weight loss. However, my goal is Whole Health, and for that, there are things I have to give up. For example, is it ok for me to eat carcinogenic ingredients as long as I only do it every once in a while as a treat?  I really don't think so. This program may teach you about fat, protein, carbs, portions, etc. but does it teach you about healthy ingredients? Personally, I feel that things with poisonous - I refer to these as naughty - ingredients should not be allowed, not just take up  more points. My point with this article is that unless you're going to their meetings, the accountability relies on the Points. The accountability to follow their recommendations and guidelines depends entirely on your will power, making it no different than than just watching your portions and eating a well balanced meal. That you can do on your own, you shouldn't have to pay for that. Having someone tell us what we should and shouldn't eat in order to lose weight is not what the problem is for most of us. The majority of people are probably aware that an Oreo is worse than an apple. We - or at least I - don't have to pay for that.

2. If I had gone in and met with one of their specialists, I may very well have learned more about their program, but I feel if they're going to offer an online option, then you should be able to learn everything you need to know online before signing up.

3. I'm not sure where people are getting the idea that I recommended cutting out entire groups of food - I am not saying to cut out carbs or dairy or anything like the sort. And I do think that total deprivation of something you like, on the path to weight loss, will lead to binge eating and mess up your "diet" even more. Let me make this perfectly clear: I AM NOT ON A DIET. I am on an adventure to find Whole Health. So yes, allow yourself a treat, just make sure it doesn't have naughty ingredients in it that may kill you no matter how thin you are.

4. I suppose I should not have started with a program called WEIGHT watchers, but as far as I'm aware, there is no program called HEALTH watchers. If weight loss is your goal, and you have the will power to make the right choices on your own, then I'm sure you will succeed with this diet and that it will be sustainable over the long run, in part because of their incorporating indulgences into the program. If you have seen results using Weight Watchers, congratulations!

****UPDATE 2****
Please read Janis' comment to this post. She is a Weight Watchers success story but is still able to help clarify what I'm trying to say. Maybe it will seem less offensive or judgmental if it's coming from someone who has not only done the program, but seen a lot of success with it. I'm not trying to say you can't lose weight with this program, all I'm saying is that you can lose a lot of weight with it without necessarily getting any healthier.

I do know, from my own mother who is currently on the Weight Watchers program (as is my grandma - I'm not against people on the program!!), you can apply a point value to anything using only the fat, carbs, protein and fiber. The actual ingredients do not matter. So when they encourage you to indulge every once in a while so as not to feel deprived, you can turn to Oreos or Chips Ahoy. By not discouraging these foods, they in a way do encourage them as an option for your indulgences. It'd be far better to indulge in a homemade cookie than a prepackaged cookie. What's worse, they do encourage low-fat or sugar-free or low-calorie alternatives, which as Janis very clearly stated have a much naughtier ingredient list than their slightly more fattening counterpart. Points are a good guideline, but should not be the determining factor. No one should look at a healthy fruit drink and think of it as "wasting points." Follow the points, but also look at the ingredients and know what you're eating. 

****UPDATE 3****
Instead of posting a new update, I decided to completely re-do the whole article in an attempt to better clarify what I'm trying to say, as well as give the program credit for what I like and some statistics about the program. View it here.

Weight is Just a Number

As I mentioned yesterday, your weight is not the be all end all of how healthy you are, but it is a good guideline to consider. Body Fat Percentage is a much more accurate depiction of your fitness, but is harder to obtain. There are websites like this one or this one where you can "calculate" your body fat percentage, but they aren't as reliable as a water displacement test. These calculations can vary between sites (mine varies even between these two) and can be skewed depending on where you carry your extra weight. If you're a pear shape, like me, these sites will calculate your percentage as better than it actually is. However, if you're an apple shape and carry all your weight around your middle, they may reflect your percentage as worse than it really is. But assuming that most of us are not equipped to perform a water displacement test in our home, this number is another good guideline to consider. Aiming for a middle of the "healthy" road BMI by weight and body fat percentage are good goals. (This chart shows healthy body fat ranges by gender.)  Trying to lose inches off your measurements (bust, waist, hips, thighs, and arms) is another great goal.

But there's more to fitness than these numbers, right? Absolutely! Your weight might not drop as quickly as you'd hope if you're truly getting fit as muscle weighs more than fat. This picture shows the difference quite well:



It is clear to see that even though they weigh the same, fat takes up much more space than muscle! This is one reason why tracking your measurements, or how well your clothes fit, is a much better picture of how well you're doing. This picture alone should be pretty motivating! I know I would certainly rather have the 5 pounds of muscle than the 5 pounds of fat!! How about you?

You Have to Start Somewhere

I imagine that most people who are looking to get healthy do not like the number that looks back at them while standing on the scale. I'm right there with you! It was made even worse yesterday when I gained 6 pounds simply by buying a scale that actually worked (and I was really hoping the doctor's office scales were wrong!) While I understand that weight is not the be all end all when determining how healthy we are, we do have to start somewhere and we may as well start there. As I was sharing this with some friends today, one of them asked me, "you're not going to post your weight on your blog, are you??" After only a moment I determined that YES, I am. One big part of this blog for me is personal accountability, and I can't think of anything more motivating than admitting my starting weight to the world ((gulp)) and being up front about my goals.

So here goes. I started my challenge on December 26, 2011 and on that day, I weighed 140 146 pounds, which may or may not sound bad until you pair it with my (non)height of 5'2". Unfortunately, that height and weight combination lands me firmly in the lower end of an overweight BMI- 26.1 to be exact. A healthy weight range for my height is 105-135, but knowing my propensity to gain weight rather than lose, my goal is get to the lower end of that range. But a goal without a deadline is completely pointless, so I needed to determine how long it would take. Instead of picking a deadline at random, I decided to map out the weight loss to see how long it should take. Healthy and maintainable weight loss stipulates a loss of 1-2 pounds per week, so on my planner I put a goal down each week. Some weeks I subtracted 2 pounds and 1 pound other weeks, but each time writing down my NEW weight. This helped me see my realistic goal of losing 30 pounds by May 28th... just in time for my wedding anniversary!! The added benefit of mapping out your weight loss like this is encouragement - it's very easy to get discouraged when a week goes by and you don't see much movement on the scale. But if you're comparing it to your weekly goal instead of your long term goal, you'll see that you're right on track and will be much more encouraged.

Well enough about weight, especially my weight! Hop on your (hopefully accurate) scale and get your starting weight, grab your planner, and create your own weight loss map!

Wake Up Calls

Yes, that says Wake Up Calls... plural... as in more than one. In keeping with my tendency to hit the snooze button on my alarm clock, I have also hit the metaphorical snooze on taking action to get fit and become healthy. And just as hitting the snooze button on the clock is more harmful than beneficial, delaying this journey to whole health has done nothing but set me back further. Each day that I said, "one more cookie won't hurt, I'll make sure to do better tomorrow," is now one more day that I have to reverse - I have that much further to go. The problem with saying, "I'll start tomorrow," is that tomorrow never comes. Today is all you ever have. The good news is that today is all you need. It doesn't matter if you had doughnuts for breakfast or McDonald's for lunch - right now you have the chance to decide to change. Turn today into yesterday's tomorrow and start your journey now! Are you ready to stop hitting snooze?