Weight Watchers Simple Start: How the New Plan Works

I have been a Weight Watchers member for several years, and I have successfully lost more than 20 pounds using the program. As a long-time member, one thing that I have come to expect from Weight Watchers is the fact that every January, they launch a "new" aspect of their program to entice new members to join the program. This year was certainly no exception, as Weight Watchers launched a new "Simple Start" program.

Weight Watchers has been promoting its Simple Start plan with a barrage of magazine ads, television commercials, and print advertising. But what is the Simple Start plan and how does it work? Basically, with Simple Start, Weight Watchers gives members two weeks worth of sample menus that become the foundation of the new member's diet.

Whereas before plan participants were forced to immediately start tracking portion sizes and PointsPlus values, now Weight Watchers is offering new members the chance to work from a pre-planned menu with Simple Start. The Simple Start plan is extremely flexible, with lots of low-fat options sure to please everyone, including vegetarians and vegans. Weight Watchers promises that if you follow the Simple Start plan for two weeks, you will lose weight, even without tracking PointsPlus values.

After two weeks, Weight Watchers can decide whether to continue with Simple Start, or switch to the food tracking program. Simple Start is based on the Weight Watchers Simply Filling technique, and for some members, the emphasis on Power Foods is just what is needed to lose weight and maintain the weight loss. What is so great about the Weight Watchers Simply Filling technique is the fact that you don't need to measure portion sizes--as long as you are eating from the approved list of foods, you can have as much as you want until you are comfortably full. Members who find that they need help with portion control will likely do better with the tracking technique, where you can have a wider variety of foods, but will need to measure all of the food that you eat.

Whether you are a seasoned Weight Watchers member like me, or are brand new to the program, it is definitely worth giving Simple Start a try. For me, Simple Start helped me shed some of the pounds I picked up during the holidays, and helped me get back on track with the Weight Watchers program. The Simple Start menus, along with all the information you need to follow the new Simple Start plan, can be found in your Weight Watchers member materials or online at http://www.weightwatchers.com .

When Too Many Points is a Bad Thing

So, many of you know that several months ago I started doing the Weight Watchers plan on my own....just using guide books, the PointsPlus calculator, and paper trackers.  That went well for several weeks, I dropped more than 10 pounds, and then--like things often go in my life--I lost interest.

At the beginning of September 2013, I got on the scale and realized that not only had I gained my ten pounds back, but I had also put on even more weight on top of that.  I'm not getting any younger...and honestly, I'm just sick of NEVER having had the body I really want, so I've decided to give Weight Watchers a more serious try.

At the beginning of September, Weight Watchers had a special offer where if you bought one month of their Monthly Pass program, the second month would be free.  This seemed like a good deal to me, so I signed up.  My Weight Watchers Monthly Pass gets me access to the Weight Watchers eTools website, which I can use to track my food.  The Monthly Pass also covers the cost of attending Weight Watchers meetings.

I'm definitely the kind of guy to get what I pay for, so I decided to start attending Weight Watchers meetings regularly.  I've enjoyed attending the meetings...my Weight Watchers leader is really nice and so are the other meeting attendees.  I enjoy the group discussion aspect of the meetings, and learn a lot from hearing others people's experiences.

On the PointsPlus tracking side of things (that would be what I am eating), things aren't going so well at all.  My daily PointsPlus target is 37 Points, which I understand is actually a lot compared to other program members.  But honestly, I can eat/drink that much before noon, let alone the whole day.

I try hard to restrict my food intake to stay within my PointsPlus allowance, but it seems like if I want even a couple of drinks of alcohol for the day it takes up most of my PointsPlus.  Slowly but surely, I see my Points racking up, and by the time the day is finished I'm 40, 50, 60, or more points from where I should be for the day.

This makes my weekly weigh-ins at the Weight Watchers center the worse.  I hate going and seeing that I'm not only not losing weight, but actually gaining weight as the weeks go on.  I feel like I am personally letting down my Weight Watchers leader and the staff at the center.  But I'm paying for these weekly meetings and weigh-ins, so I'm gonna keep going.

Last week I think I ended up 350 points more than where I was supposed to be.  Hopefully this week will be better.