We all know the Weight Watchers brand: the meetings, the products and the ads. It is the leading diet company in the country and with the nation in the midst of an obesity epidemic, there is no shortage of customers.
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Dieters follow a Propoints eating plan, which uses a formula to condense nutritional values in all foods into one single number.
But does it work? Weight Watchers claim it is a 'clinically proven means to long term weight loss'. Celebrity Patsy Kensit is the face of the company this year, starring in a recent glossy television advert.
During the course of making this film I spoke to lots of dieters who have struggled with their weight. Two women in particular, Margarita Cook and Debbie Price both lost weight on the plan, but they struggled to keep the pounds off. They had spent hundreds of pounds over the course of the year on membership and products. Margarita put all back on within the year, while Debbie regained a few pounds but was still lighter.
To find out for myself what the plan was all about I signed up online. I wasnt trying to lose weight, I only did it for a week. But the process helped me understand how it works and whether it is easy to follow.
I was allocated 26 points and tried my best to stick to this each day. And it was surprising in some ways. I wouldnt have thought a croissant would have six points and some cereals only three. But I did also find myself craving food. I dont normally have cravings; if I want something sweet I'll have a square of chocolate and it's gone. But they started to build up. And it was boring, like home work or filling in a tax return.
I would not want to do a life time of that, I was fed up after a week.
What I really didnt like was constantly thinking about food in terms of points and making deals in my head. I dont think that is promoting an ideal way to think about food, it becomes a major obsession.
One of my joys in life is going to the cinema and having popcorn, but on the day of the film I was constantly thinking about what to cut out so I could have the point allowance later on. I was thinking about food in a way I never have done before, I just used to eat and when I was full Id stop.
I suspect I would definitely lose weight if I carried on with the plan, but would I maintain that weight loss? Probably not because if I had to do that tracking and thinking in points for the rest of my life I think I would go insane. For me, it wouldn't be sustainable.
