Weight Watchers changing again?

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Weight Watchers changing again?
4
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 10:25am
Spammasich brought it to my attention this morning that WW was changing their program again.

 

  Shawna

iVillage Member
Registered: 07-28-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 12:56pm
It actually sounds pretty simple to me - no counting or calculating anything. It's based on the core list, and you eat until you feel comfortable - not bursting full, not still hungry. This would work for me, but may not work for someone who needs a more rigid diet plan. You can switch between Core and Flex each week, or just choose one to stick with.

I've looked over the lists on the WW etools website, and they're very comprehensive. For example, I went to the beans and legumes section, and under Branded Items, I found a specific list of Green Giant things:

Green Giant

Cut green beans, 50% less sodium, canned

Cut green beans, canned

Cut green beans, frozen

French style green beans, canned

Kitchen sliced green beans, canned

Whole green beans, frozen

Or you can just go with the regular core list, which simply states "beans and legumes, all types"

NO BREAD at all is on the core list, also no white rice... but brown rice and any wheat pasta is allowed from Core as well as potatoes. All 3 are only one meal a day though.

Here are some quotes from the User Guide:

How the Core Plan works

The Core Plan controls calories by focusing your eating on a Core Food List of nutritious, wholesome foods without tracking. This list is comprised of foods from all the food groups: fruits and vegetables, grains and starches, lean meats and poultry, eggs and dairy products. The Core Food List has been pre-selected to provide eating satisfaction without empty calories. You can eat as much of the Core Foods as you need to feel satisfied. Soon you’ll learn what’s on the Core Food List.

You can still eat other foods you love

The Core Plan also lets you eat foods that are not on the Core Food List. Your weekly POINTS Allowance makes it easy to work in other foods—like bagels or juice—as well as treats—like chocolate or alcohol—so you don’t feel deprived. Weight Watchers Online gives you lots of tools to help you use your weekly POINTS Allowance in the way that best suits you. Need an incentive to get active? You can also earn more POINTS values by exercising.

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So YAY! Sounds like banking activity points is back!

Hope this helps to clarify some things.

- Yav

"What is an 'Oprah'?" - Teal'c, SG-1

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-26-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 5:32pm
I got a thing in the mail about it and looked it up online. It basically looks like a version of a low (or moderate) carb diet. There is an enormous list of foods that you can eat freely, most of them are meats, low-starch veggies and some fat free dairy products along with spices and low-cal/low-fat condiments. I think it could be characterized as a low-fat low-carb diet. You don't count anything as long as you only eat those foods, but if you eat anything else then you have to count the points of that food using a set of weekly flex points (I think 30 or 35).

The flier also said you can switch back and forth from the core plan and the counting points plan. I don't know much else about it, but I thought I'd share.

I'm certain WW is changing this because the low-carb craze is damaging their bottom line and they need to change or they'll continue to lose their market share of dieting dollars. I'm sure you've also noticed they update their plan every few years in order to suck people back in (like when they added the flex points). I got sucked in on that one, but I'm resisting temptation on this one. I seriously doubt that their new plan works any better than the old one, just a new version of the same thing, and trying to get more money. Sorry for the the cynicism, I think WW is a great program that works for a lot of people, but in the end they are out to make money. I started disliking the corporate aspects of WW when they threatened to sue Dotti for some of the information on her website (if you don't know Dotti's site, you are missing out. It's dieters heaven: dwlz.com). I am all for capitalism and I believe they should make money, but some of their tactics still leave a bad taste in my mouth.


Okay, I didn't mean for this to turn into an anti-corporate ww rant, but I guess it did!


Erin

http://www.GlitterMaker.com/ - Glitter Graphics
Mom
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 5:48pm
I actually think I'm going to try the new program. I've been debating lately on trying WW again or trying the South Beach Diet to try to get the lbs dropping a bit more quickly than they have. Both programs make sense to me, but they also both have aspects that make me want to rebel, I can't help it, I just can't seem to follow something too "structured". The foods on the No Count list sound very similar to the stuff you can eat on the SBD. I think maybe this Core program could be a happy medium between the two for me.

Amanda

285/235/150ish

iVillage Member
Registered: 06-16-2004
Tue, 08-24-2004 - 6:02pm
Oh no, I agree with you Erin.

 

  Shawna