Weight Watchers

A simplified version can be found here! http://www.aboutww.com/weight-watchers-points.htm


Healthy weight loss
First, any approach developed by Weight Watchers must provide healthy weight loss, which means:

• Produce a rate of weight loss of up to two pounds per week (after the first 3 weeks, during which losses may be greater due to water loss).
• Guide food choices that not only reduce calories, but meet current scientific recommendations for nutritional completeness and reduced disease risk.
• Construct an activity plan that provides the full range of weight- and health-related benefits that exercise offers.
• Be sustainable. Healthy weight loss is weight loss that lasts, so it is necessary to look beyond losing the excess weight and address keeping it off.

Fits into your life
Second, any Weight Watchers approach must be realistic, practical and livable. It must also be flexible enough so that people can apply the approaches that work well for them. That means encouraging the achievement of realistic goals. For example, we do not recommend that a person with a lot of weight to lose begin with a weight-loss goal that defines "ultimate success." Rather, we start with our "5% or 10% goal" or losing 5% or 10% of body weight (e.g., a 5% goal for someone who is 200 pounds is 10 pounds and a 10% goal would be 20 pounds). A weight loss of 5% to 10% translates into significant health benefits. Likewise, pacing weight loss and following a system that encourages food and activity choices that are livable and sustainable in the real world is key. Weight Watchers is designed on the premise that weight management
needs to fit into your life, not be your life.

Informed choices
Third, Weight Watchers believes in imparting knowledge. At Weight Watchers, people learn not only what to do, but why. This knowledge brings understanding and with understanding comes the confidence needed to make informed choices and live by them.

A holistic view
Finally, the Weight Watchers approach must be comprehensive. Sustained weight loss comes from taking a holistic view of all its components – food, exercise, behavior and a supportive atmosphere.

Momentum Plan

The Momentum plan is based on Weight Watchers patented POINTS® Food System that helps you evaluate the weight-loss impact of foods. Every food has a POINTS value – a small, easy to remember number (e.g, 1, 2, 3). The number is based on the calories, grams of total fat and grams of dietary fiber of a specific portion of the food. The system does not require exact weighing and measuring, but instead encourages people to focus on the bigger picture by building awareness of the food choices they make and eating reasonable portions.
The POINTS formula gently guides food choices by encouraging selection of healthy foods with a lower energy density because that's where you get the most food for a given POINTS value. Based on a person's current weight, height, gender, age and level of daily activity, a POINTS Target is established, that is the total of POINTS values for the day. Choosing foods to meet the Target ensures a healthful rate of weight loss. On the Momentum plan, we teach you how to be stay aware of your food choices by tracking what you eat – a proven method to enhance weight-loss success.
This plan also encourages the selection of Filling Foods to help keep you satisfied longer. The Filling Foods are a list of foods comprised from all the food groups: fruits and vegetables; grains and starches; lean meats, fish and poultry: eggs, and dairy products. We pre-selected these foods because they provide eating satisfaction and fill you up without the empty calories. They are low in energy density and have a low potential for overeating based on our research.

Atkins Diet

·         Designed by Dr Atkins in the year 1972 that suggests a high protein, high fat and low carbohydrate diet.

·         Aims to:

o   Reduce weight

o   Reduce hunger

o   Healthier lifestyle (great increase in energy)

·         Theory behind the low carbohydrate and high fat and protein diet.

o   Weight loss

§  By eating a low carbohydrate diet, the body switches its primary fuel source to fat instead. Therefore, your body will be burning fat and there can be weight reduction.

§  Normally, glucose, broken down from carbohydrates, will be the primary fuel source. When carbohydrate is broken down into glucose and enters the blood stream, a rise in the blood glucose level triggers the release of insulin which converts glucose into glycogen.

§  After a heavy carb meal the body will stop burning fat as insulin level rises to deal with the elevated blood glucose level. Fat calories are always pushed to the back as a back-up fuel source. Hence, insulin is called the “fat hormone” according to Dr Atkins.

o   Reduce hunger

§  By eating foods primarily consisting of protein, fat and fibre, the body produces far less insulin. Therefore it prevents unnecessary spikes in the blood sugar level. Hence the blood sugar level is steady with the energy level. The body doesn’t crave for a fast fix energy booster in the form of sugary and starchy food

·         Consists of four phases

o   In phase one (Atkins Diet Induction Phase), carbohydrate consumption is restricted to 20 grams per day. Most carbohydrate can be obtained from salad and other non-starchy vegetables.

o    In Atkins Diet phase two (Ongoing Weight Loss) you add carbohydrate, in the form of nutrient-dense and fibre-rich foods, by increasing to 25 grams daily the first week, 30 grams daily the next week and so on until your weight loss stops. Then subtract 5 grams of carbohydrate from your daily intake so that you continue sustained, moderate weight loss.

o   Atkins Diet Phase three's (Pre-Maintenance) objective is to make the transition from weight loss to weight maintenance by increasing the daily carbohydrate intake in 10-gram increments each week so long as very gradual weight loss is maintained.

o   And the Atkins Diet final phase (Lifetime Maintenance) is the foundation for a lifetime of better health. In this phase you can select from a wide variety of foods while controlling carbohydrate intake to ensure weight maintenance and a sense of well-being.

·         Types of low carb food

o    Meats
Bacon , Beef , Calf Liver , Chicken , Cornish Game Hen , Duck , Goose , Ham , Kielbasa , Lamb , Pork , Quail , Sausage ,Steak , Turkey , Veal Steak.

o    Fish
Anchovies in Oil , Bluefish , Catfish , Cod , Flounder , Halibut , Herring , Mackerel , Mahi-mahi , Salmon , Sardine , Scrod , Snapper , Trout , Tuna.

o    Shellfish
Clams , Crab , Lobster , Mussel , Oysters , Scallops , Shrimp , Squid.

o    Daily
Butter , Cheese , Cream , Coffee , All Egg , Mineral Water , Mayonnaise , Tea ,Water.

o    Salad Vegetables
Alfalfa Sprouts , Arugula , Bok Choy , Boston Lettuce , Celery , Chicory , Chives , Cucumber , Endive , Escarole , Fennel , Jicama , Mache , Morels , Mushrooms , Olives , Parsley , Peppers , Posse Pied , Radiccio , Radishes , Romaine , Sorrel.

o    Vegetable
Asparagus , Avocado , Bamboo Shoots , Bean Sprouts , Beet Greens , Broccoli , Brussel Sprouts , Cabbage , Cauliflower , Celery Root , Chard , Christophene , Collard Creens , Dandelion Greens , Eggplant , Hearts of Palm , Kale , Kohlrabi , Leeks , Okra , Onion , Pumpkin , Rhubarb , Sauerkraut , Scallions , Snow Pea Pods , Spagheti Squash , Spinach , String or Wax Beans , Summer Squash , Tomato , Turnips , Water Chestnuts , Zucchini