Weight Watchers Momentum

It's basically the same as their Points system, except that they tell you what foods to use your Points on so you don't eat 18-24 Points' worth of ice cream sandwiches in a day and nothing else. It makes sense to me...it's just educating people on how to use their Points to the fullest so they don't feel deprived and so they get a balanced diet. I think their Points system is pretty good, but it lacks structure...they give you the freedom to eat whatever you want, but they don't really help a lot of people to choose foods that would give them the best results.

I am sure weight watchers is good for some people. But I agree I think it lacks in protein, also the recommended daily fruits and vegetables I have read is 7 for men and 9 for women, it looks like it is lacking there too. No mention of plant vs. animal protein and a good mix either.

Ew.. points. Do people really still have time to sit around and count?

I've personally helped about 5 people who gave up weight watchers in their first week. Their stick rate... from what I saw is horrid.

Anyone else on the same boat?

P.S- Im not going to knock the diet itself if it works or not.. but the fact that people don't stick to it seems like a major thumbs down from me.

The problem I have with even healthy eating plans (which WW generally is) is that they still don't teach you how to tune into your bodies fuel needs. and as for points - not for me thanks!

Too vague, I'd need more details to be sold. I also agree on needing more protein (but of course I would say this!)

Liquids? Does that include high fructose corn syrup? ;-)

BTW, I just posted a new blog entry on a list of clean foods that bodybuilders use when doing clean bulking and cutting cycles:

http://www.priceplow.com/blog/7/clean-foods-list

If they're using all stuff from that list and getting enough protein (which I'm guessing they're not), then I'd be more on board.

I haven't been on Weight Watchers points, but I did use ediets when they had fast food exchanges for their eating plans. That, along with an article on fast food diets from a womens magazine, and my resolve to find the best tasting diet menues and diet foods I could was the first time I EVER had breakthrough success with a diet.

I work in retail and am always in the vicinity of a food court. And yes I do love fast food. Those diet exchanges gave me tools to learn how to eat my favorite foods responsibly and in time I got into the habit of adding the fruits and veggies because there was no longer a tug o war between what I liked and what I needed nutriionally. I could have both.

I am all for a program that teaches people to eat what they want to eat in a responsible way. We aren't all ment to eat like the average nutritionist. And I get darn angry when I see a nutritionist on tv say "no diet soda, no McDonalds, no cake". Because that kind of info kept me yo yoing for years (I'm tearing up a little).

Low protein, low fat. Sounds like a high carb diet to me. Not exactly the best choice for controlling hunger for many people - even if it is whole grains.

There is quite a difference between bulking up the volume of food, and controlling the hormonal effects of food. Hormones determine hunger/satiety. Bulk plays a role but you can't just leave out the multitude of other factors and expect to get sustainable results. Losing weight is not JUST about feeling full all the time - which by the way this plan won't do for many as far as I can tell from the review.

I'm wondering what they consider a serving of protein?
2 tsp of healthy fat is 7% of a 1200 calorie diet. That number is incredibly low and unhealthy. You'll get some more from the protein. I can't tell how much though.

I think the WW plan was much better when I followed it, successfully, back in the 90s. It seemed to be higher protein & fat. Back they had what were called exchanges (if I recall correctly).

To be "on plan" we had to eat 4 -5 servings of protein, 3 fat, 2-3 fruit, minimum 5 or 6 vegetables, and 4-6 servings of "bread & starches". And then you had what they called, "floaters", extra food you could consume - AFTER you were at least somewhat adequately nourished with a hunger/hormonal satiating balance of macros.

When I tried WW again a few years ago it just seemed like there was little focus on assuring people consumed a nutritionally balanced diet - other than "choose this whenever possible" (yeah right!). On Flex, everything just seems to be an option. This feeds the "I want to lose weight but don't want to diet" mentality - more a marketing ploy than anything esle.

Here's a choice for ya: whole wheat toast or a WW desert? Which would you choose if you were a sugar junky like me?

The primary focus these days seems to be eat what you want within reason. Eating what you want within reason isn't bad, in and of itself. For me personally, it was too much "freedom". Most people are overweight because they tend to eat empty calories/points, things like uhm, some of the stuff Weight Watchers sells at meetings.

I wasn't eating right, I was getting sick, losing my hair, tired all the time, miserable, hungry and constantly waiting for the next meal because I never felt completely satisfied, oh yeah, AND I wasn't losing weight. And what did I do when I stopped losing weight? I ate less of course. Hey, I was committed!

Weight Watchers is absolutely great for a basic education (quit eating huge portions etc), accountability, support and ideas for healthy lifestyle choices. I facilitate a weight loss support group that offers folks the same thing - for FREE.

Fiber never fills me up like advertised, but protein, and plenty of it does. Oh, that "stop dieting" slogan is bunk. Weight Watchers is a diet and always will be.

Are they losing so many customers that they have to come up with gimmicks like this? The person I know who has had the most success with WW signed up to get the materials, then quit and followed the plan on her own. She lost weight, it was basically free... though I imagine you could find out enough about WW right here on this blog so you could mimic the plan in your own way without ever having to sign up.

I used WW a couple years ago to lose weight, and I've recently rejoined when they were launching the Momentum program. To me, it seemed like a blending of the Points plan and the Core plan (where you could eat whatever you wanted as long as it was a Core food).

I'm getting in more protein than the guideline suggests because that's what works for me. The great thing about WW is that you can tailor it to meet your lifestyle and what works for your body, while still learning how to eat healthy and incorporate exercise into your life.

I really wonder who created the new WW Momentum program's "filling foods" list. There are things like puffed wheat and puffed rice, instant oatmeal, etc. on it. These are foods with a glycemic index higher than table sugar! They are filling for about 5 minutes ... just like candy is! Somebody at WW really, really needs to understand that the concept of glycemic index is more important than the concept of bulk or fiber when it comes to what keeps you full, longer. They seem to think bulky carbs is the way to get full. Even weirder, they have MILK on the list of filling foods. How is milk a food?

BTW, I am a lifetime WW member and have lost a great deal of weight on the plan. The exchange system is a good basic system of portion control as purchasing currency. However, it WW's is also full of flaws and this new 'filling food' list really is one of their bigger flaws!

Plain and simple, if you are trying to lose weight, and you follow the "rules", Weight Watchers works. No cheating = weight loss.
I lost 20 pounds in 2 months on Weight Watchers - but the ugly part was this: I still looked pudgy in many places (the "trouble spots"), even though I looked scary skinny in others (wrists, chest, feet). I ate popcorn all the time, sugar-free jello, high fiber english muffins, soy hot dogs on whole wheat bread...thankfully I knew enough about nutrition that I knew which foods to choose. The least successful people were the ones that kept a lot of sugar in their diet and couldn't break the addiction. Sounds like Momentum addresses the "I let my 2 year old drink Diet Coke" crowd who couldn't tell you jack about how to burn a calorie. Good for them! But not for me...

...oops, forgot to say - while on WW, I didn't exercise at all - hance the trouble spots and the low self image. Happy to say I am now a toned size 8, instead of a flabby size 4.

I just signed up for Weight Watchers at work, to go with a friend that really wanted to do the program. Went to an "introduction" meeting that really didn't give much info, just to get a check from us. I certainly hope this new "momentum" program is not about food logs... I don't need anything more in my life that I need to keep track of.
For those that posted that it is all so simple, and only involves exercise and cutting down on calories... I would say that doesn't work for everyone. People have different metabolisms, and different lives, and situations. and food restrictions, etc. These are not excuses, they are reality. I know the nutritional stuff, but my issues are having the time to do the planning..the shopping, packing food for the day, etc. Hopefully, I will pick up some pointers on simple things I can do that work well for me.

I did weight watchers with my friends instead of going to the official meetings. One friend had done it for a year or two and had great results, but didn't want to keep paying for it. So we did the flex plan, met once a week and did a weigh in together. We talked about what the challenges were. We also shared new products we enjoyed and cooking tips. Losing weight is a three fold issue, food intake, exercise and mental endurance. Having the support of friends addressed all three and we all lost weight together.

I lost 25 pounds and kept it off for a couple of years. People make it sound like it's hard to count points, but after the first month you can eyeball points for nearly everything. Counting points is how I lost the weight, but WW is a lifestyle change, so I kept it off fairly easily & only gained the weight back when I abandoned those principles returning back to the stress of graduate school. It worked great for me, but if you want to be a hardcore dieter then you need a more rigid diet program. Weight watchers is great for those of us that want to live a healthier life without being obsessed with every last bite we eat, and eating nutritiously was never difficult for me.