How to Succeed on Weight Watchers

Weight Watchers is a program that integrates diet and exercise to lose weight. Once you join, you have the choice of attending weekly meetings, tracking your progress online or both. Like any diet, Weight Watchers takes a little time and planning, but most people who follow the program lose weight.

Instructions

• 1

  Attend meetings. Weight Watchers has proved that members who attend meetings lose more weight than those who don't. At meetings you will receive a lot of positive motivation and hear success stories and tips to keep you on track. If you are doing the online program only, try to find a buddy and agree to give progress reports weekly.

• 2

  Count your points. Points are based on a calculation of calorie, fat and fiber intake. How many points you get depends on how much you weigh. The more you weigh, the more points you get. Don't try to guess your points. Write down what you eat and how many points each meal was worth. You may be surprised at how much you are eating.

• 3

  Eat your daily points. If you want to cut back, don't eat your extra weekly or exercise points, but make sure to eat all your daily points. Eating less than that will just make you hungry and negatively affect your metabolism.

• 4

  Reduce your point ration as you lose weight. Recalculate your points after each weigh in. With about every 10 pounds you lose, you also will lose 1 point per day. This is to help you gradually get used to eating less.

• 5

  Stick with it. Go to meetings or weigh in online every week, even when you have gained weight. If you have a bad week, just keep going. Commit yourself to this as a lifestyle and get back on track the next week.

• 6

  Add exercise gradually. Remember that you're trying to change your life, not burn yourself out. For instance, I started riding an exercise bike and adding 1 minute a day until I could ride for an hour.

• 7

  Plan ahead. Some members plan their entire day's food the night before. Don't be caught eating something when you don't know its point value. A few minutes of prep each day can help you stay on track.

• 8

  Stock up on food with 0 points. When you run low on points, snack on vegetables and your stash of other 0-point food .