Weight Watchers Instructions

Weight Watchers, an international weight loss company founded in 1963, has a four-way approach to weight loss: eat smarter, move more, adopt helpful habits and get support. The most recent Weight Watchers plan is the Momentum program, which uses Weight Watchers' signature points system along with a focus on filling foods to help clients lose weight. Weight Watchers clients attend meetings in person or enroll in Weight Watchers Online.

The Points System

• Weight Watchers clients determine how many points they can eat per day with a predetermined formula based on sex, age, weight, height and activity level, according to the Weight Watchers "Getting Started" guide. Here is the formula:

  Sex:
  Female - 2 points
  Male - 8 points
  Nursing females - 12 points

  Age:
  17 to 26 - 4 points
  27 to 37 - 3 points
  38 to 47 - 2 points
  48 to 58 - 1 point
  Over 58 - 0 point

  Weight:
  Enter the first two digits of your weight in pounds.

  Height:
  Under 5 feet 1 inch - 0 points
  5 feet 1 inch to 5 feet 10 inches - 1 point
  Over 5 feet 10 inches - 2 points

  Activity level (how you spend your day on most days of the week):
  Sitting down - 0 points
  Occasionally sitting, but mostly standing - 2 points
  Walking most of the time - 4 points
  Physically hard work most of the time - 6 points

  Add all points together to determine your daily limit. For example, a 25-year-old 180 lb. female adds 18 for the first two digits of her weight, adds two for being female, adds four for her age, adds one point for her height and two points for her activity level. This gives her a daily points allowance of 27.

  Weight Watchers clients on the Momentum program also get 35 weekly flex points and can earn activity points based on exercise intensity and duration.

Food Choices

• Once you've determine your daily points allowance, it's time to select foods that will fill you throughout the day without exceeding your limit. Foods are assigned a points value based on their calories, fat and fiber. Calculators online can determine a food's points value, but a general rule is that 50 calories is equal to one point. While no foods are off limits, the Momentum program puts a focus on filling foods, including whole-wheat pasta and popcorn, to help clients feel fuller longer.

Weekly Meetings

• Another feature of Weight Watchers is the weekly meetings. Weight Watchers studies have shown that clients attending more meetings on a regular basis lose more weight than those who attend infrequently. Clients weigh in at the weekly meetings, whose leaders have successfully lost weight with Weight Watchers, and discuss helpful tips and stories for staying on track.

Lifetime Members

• When Weight Watchers clients reach their goal weight, they start a six-week maintenance phase of the plan, where they gradually increase food intake and variety. If at the end of maintenance the client weights in within two pounds of their goal weight, they become a lifetime member and can attend meetings at no charge so long as they weigh-in at least once a month at no more than two pounds over their goal weight. If they do, the client has to pay the weekly fee again until they reach their goal weight again.

Weight Watchers Online

• If weekly meetings aren't for you, Weight Watchers Online is the alternative. You can access plan information, chart your weight loss and exercise, and check out thousands of recipes and points values.