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I am sure that anybody familiar with the world of dieting will know of the
Weight Watchers plan and it is astounding to see that what began as a friendly meeting between a few friends in the front room of Jean Nidetch's house in Queens to talk about dieting tips and ideas has blossomed into a huge publicly quoted company employing almost 50,000 people and operating in over 30 countries across the globe.
But just why has Weight Watchers become so successful and why does the company continue to develop after more than 40 years in operation?
The answer can be found in the fact that Weight Watchers doesn't just offer a diet plan but is based upon the philosophy of dieting as one part of an overall plan to set and maintain a healthy lifestyle in term of emotional, physical and mental health.
This means that Weight Watchers doesn't only give you a diet sheet and tell you what you can and can't eat, but gives you the advice and information required to make the correct decisions about your diet.
Additionally, and very importantly, the Weight Watchers plan gives you a level of motivation and support which is essential to your success and which is missing in so many other diet programs.
Locally held group meetings, which many people who have not benefited from the Weight Watchers experience tend to dismiss as nothing more than an unnecessary waste of time, are, in many ways, the key to the success of the Weight Watchers plan. Such meetings not only provide a wealth of tips, advice and information, but also allow members to give each other support and encouragement which is essential to the long-term success of any diet.
What is more, the fact that you are required to meet with your fellow dieters regularly and show them your progress, or lack of it, is a very good way of helping to keep you on track as, from time to time, you are tempted to stray from the path of your dieting plan.
Underlying Weight Watcher’s philosophy of dieting there is naturally a basic diet plan, or more exactly, two plans - the points plan and the core plan.
The idea behind the points plan will be familiar to anyone who has tried to diet. Members are given a weekly points allocation dependent upon their present weight and the target weight they are aiming for and can eat whatever they like up to their allotted points.
The strength of the points system is that a score is assigned to any food you can imagine and there's no restriction on the types of food that you are permitted but only on the quantity which you can eat dependent upon that food's points score. This is in sharp contrast to many other diets that ban certain foods altogether or require that particular foods are included in your diet.
The points plan also gives members a great deal of flexibility by allocating negative points for exercise. So, if you want to go over your points allocation you can do so as long as you take sufficient exercise to compensate for the additional points consumed.
The core plan was brought out in response to the popularity the South Beach and Atkins plans. Under this plan a wide range of foods including fruits, fruits, lean meats, fat free airy products, and whole grain foods are classed as "core" foods and there is no limit on the quantity of these foods that you are allowed to eat, other than the provision that you should only eat these foods to satisfy your hunger rather than eat them until you are "full".
Any food item which doesn't appear on the "core" list is then allocated a points score in the regular manner and members are given a weekly allowance for these foods of 35 points.
There is of course nothing new in either the core plan or the points plan and many of the diets available follow a similar pattern. The strength however of the Weight Watchers plan isn't in the underpinning diet itself, but in the need that all dieters have for information, advice, help and, most especially, support in what is many times a long, and at times difficult, struggle to lose those stubborn pounds.
Operating largely as a "club", Weight Watchers has gone from strength to strength over the years and, as long as it continues to offer so much more than simply a diet plan, it will without question continue to flourish in the future.
For more advice, information and news about Weight Watchers and the Weight Watchers Plan please visit International Weight Watchers today.
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