What an interesting day! So, today I read a post on my husband's Facebook page, which you can find here:
This particular post was from PV Nutritional Therapy on Why Weight Watcher's Won't Make You Healthy and wow the turmoil that this has caused. I love it; let’s face it I live for this stuff! I have been chomping at the bit to get a lunch break so I could blog post my opinion as Facebook would probably limit my comments to too few characters and seriously people, I have alot to say on this topic.
Here is the link, and in my opinion well worth the read:
For anyone who has been following my blog already you will know that many years ago (gotta be 10-11 years ago) I was obese. I turned to Weight Watchers to begin my weight loss journey. I lost 110 pounds with Weight Watchers and learned about portion control, the power of being accountable to someone other than yourself, the power of support and guidance and the fact that a bit of friendly competition is often a great way to kick your ass into gear!
So, because of the above notations re WW, I cannot knock them in the fact that they certainly assisted me on my journey to where I am now.
HOWEVER
As far as what this article is saying in that WW won’t make you healthy,
I TOTALLY AGREE!
Weight Watchers did not make me healthy! Now, as I am about to put forth my arguments please bear in mind that I have not counted a point since 2003, I have not reviewed the changes that they have made to their programs or their systems, I can only go on the knowledge that I gained way back then.
When I went to WW I could have eaten nothing but McDonald’s each and every day and as long as I stayed within my point range and drank my allotted water I would have lost weight and honestly over the years I know people that did exactly this! Were they healthy, hell no, did they drop weight yes because they restricted their calorie intake. Did they keep the weight off, NO, did they learn any healthy habits, NO.
Could I have gotten to the size I am today with Weight Watchers?
HELL NO!
Back then I had to get down to 164 lbs in order to reach Lifetime member status. What that meant was that I was in the healthy weight range for my height….and just so you know if memory serves me right I believe I lied about my height and gave myself an inch so I could weigh more! No joke, ask my sister, I embellished a bit…I’m sure of it!
From one of my earlier blog posts – September 2, 2011:
“Weight Watchers was a great foundation for me, but it wasn't enough. It took me nearly 2 years to shed 110 pounds. The last 6 months were the hardest. The last 10 pounds that I had to lose in order to be the size that WW deemed as my healthy range was the worst. I couldn't eat much by that point, I walked for hours a day and the results were just not happening. When I finally hit the 110 pound loss, I quit and gained the 10 pounds back, it just wasn't enough. I can't knock WW as I still maintained that 100 pound loss and WW did provide me with the foundation that I was so lacking.”
My caloric intake was so restricted that I could not maintain that last 10 pounds that I fought so hard to lose.
Weight Watchers had me eating Fat Free, Low Fat, and Chemical Filled GARBAGE! And don’t get me wrong, I am not perfect, I still enjoy chemically filled crap on occasion but you can bet my calorie intake for 80% of the time is whole foods (fruits and vegetables), whole and alternate grains, healthy fats (I EAT REAL BUTTER PEOPLE and will never purchase chemically filled margarine again!), raw nuts and seeds, high protein, low sugars and alternate sweeteners such as Maple Syrup, Stevia(on occasion), and honey (and I do not EVER use artificial sweeteners – unless I drink the odd diet Pepsi – see below).
Weight Watchers led me to a Diet Pepsi addiction, where on earth can you show me that aspartame is in any way healthy? I still love the taste of this terribly unhealthy product and personally know I’d be better to reach for the sugary regular Pepsi if I was indeed going to drink it, however for the few occurrences that I drink it I still go for the Diet…even though I know it’s completely unhealthy, it falls in an 80/20 rule….I am only human and far from perfect.
I have been studying nutrition for the past 4 years (roughly). I am getting close to finalizing my courses thru The Edison Institute of Nutrition and when I am done I will have the credentials after my name as a Nutritional Consultant. Once I started to learn, experiment and explore the world of nutrition and once I started to eat what I consider “real foods”, “healthy foods” I quickly dropped down to a size way smaller than I ever thought possible and that WW was not ever able to get me even close to.
Again, I will reiterate that WW taught me portion control as it was something that I certainly was lacking and it was a great group of people to be accountable to each week, however did it make me healthy, again
HELL NO PEOPLE
We are all entitled to our own opinions and when looking to drop weight it can be a scary road to venture down. There are many “diets” out there and each person will tell you a different answer as to what worked for them and why they back it up or they don’t. It’s simply how the world works. If you find something that works for you, great! All the power to you all! Just keep in mind if you are looking to make changes then the first thing you need to do is stop doing what you’ve always done because obviously it’s not working! And remember it’s a lifestyle and not a diet. Change is change and some people are receptive to it and others fight it the whole way through. Find your motivation and follow through. And if one thing works for now be sure to remain open to new suggestions as it may not always work, you may find a time when you need to change again.
Keep in mind that we are all biochemically unique. Weight Watchers does not take this into account and either does Jenny Craig or Atkins or any of the “fad diets” out there. Do they look at the person as a whole? Do they know your family history; do they consider your lifestyle habits? Do they know that you have trouble sleeping, do they know that your thyroid is acting up or that your digestion is so wacky that you are not utilizing what you are taking in? Face it people, most of us are truly FULL OF SHIT! Do they take into consideration that you may not be eating enough protein and because of this are suffering from low blood sugar drops throughout the day are binging out of control on whatever you can get your hands on?
A diet is a diet….make a lifestyle change to see lasting results. Utilize the tools that are available to you and gain as much knowledge as you can along the way.
How’s that for a rant? Thinking I just may of sparked a few more controversies over this!
Happy reading folks! Game on!
I completely agree with you.
ReplyDeleteThe fad diets almost always have an initial success rate because of the portion control element.
Charles Polquin, a leading PT guy of North America, suggests we "eat like a cave man"; if a cave man had access to it, then so do you!
Dr John Berardi, is another source with a strong, solid scientific base for all of his writings and eating program, Precision Nutrition, which is all about whole foods and healthy balance as a lifestyle.
They both mirror your point of view.
As well, this approach has worked for me, and every one of my PT clients over the past 10 years, for the lasting change.
High five, sista!