I guess it's no big secret that I'm a huge fan of Weight Watchers. It's the only weight loss program that has ever helped me lose weight AND keep it off.
Weight Watchers Program Changes for 2018
Losing weight is one thing. Keeping it off quite another.
Some people may find it easy to keep off lost weight, but for me it's always been a challenge.
Consequently, I've had to lose the same 10, 20 and 30 pounds over and over.
Like Jean Nidetch says in her quote, I'm a sharer. When I find something that works for me, be it Weight Watchers or yoga, I get a little evangelical and want everyone to benefit too.
As a Lifetime Weight Watchers member, I know that when I follow the plan and attend meetings I'm able to maintain my goal weight.
And when I slack off, stop paying attention and stop attending meetings, the weight inevitably creeps back on. It's really as simple as that.
Deciding to live by the guidelines of lifetime membership and weigh in at least once a month has been the best thing I've ever done for taking charge of my weight and my life.
What we practice and live is what we become. I want to become a lifetime member who maintains her goal weight easily and effortlessly for the rest of her life.
Weight Watchers Celebrates it's 50th Anniversary!
I'm getting a weird kick out of the fact that both Weight Watchers and I were born in the same year - 1963 - and so will both celebrate turning 50 this year. (It really doesn't take much to amuse me!)
And I've been thinking about America's weight loss challenges then and now. Back when Jean Nidetch launched Weight Watchers, 13% of Americans were obese; 50 years later that number has nearly tripled to 36%. Back in the 1960s and 1970s the average American's weight increased only 1 to 2 pounds a decade. By the 1980s we were gaining 8 pounds a decade and now it can only be worse.
As humans we haven't really changed that much in the past 50 years, but our environment sure has. The proliferation of highly processed, easily available, super-sized calorie dense and nutritionally depleted food is making us fatter and sicker every year.
Many are adopting a primal or paleolithic diet, choosing to eat they way a caveman or cavewoman would have thousands of years ago, to stem this tide. But I'm not sure anything so extreme is required. Heck, if we could turn the clock back 50 years and eat like we did in the 1960s, there's a good chance we could reduce obesity tremendously.
I'm curious what would happen to me if I ate more like we did back in the 1960s - less fast food and processed food and fewer meals out. What would happen to my weight? Would I have trouble maintaining my goal weight or would it be easier? What would be different? What would the effects be like?
So, I've decided to play and experiment this year. I'm going to cook more from old cookbooks and attempt to limit my diet as much as I can to foods that would have existed back in 1963 to see what happens.
I've done some preliminary checking and was relieved to learn that Triscuits were introduced in 1903, Cheerios in 1941, Oreos in 1912, instant hot cocoa in 1935, and salsa in the 1950s! At the moment I'm sad to say good-bye to Luna Fiber Bars and Subway (founded 1965) for the year. It will be interesting to discover what I end up missing most and least.
I'm also curious about the evolution of Weight Watchers through the years. I know that the program my mom took part in back in the 1970s or the one that I first learned back in the 1990s bears little resemblance to the PointsPlus plan of today. So, I'm planning to read and cook from as many of the older Weight Watchers cookbooks as I can this year.
Anyone interested in joining me in this little experiment? Do you have a favorite OLD Weight Watchers cookbook (affiliate link) to suggest?
Photo Credit: Facebook/Weight Watchers
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LARAINE
THE WW PLAN FROM THE 1960'S WAS THE BEST!! IN FOUND IT EASIER TO STICK TO THAN THE PLAN TODAY...TOO MANY CHOICES...IF ANYONE HAS A COPY OF THE OLD 'WEEKLY MENU PLANNER THEY WOULDNT MIND SHARING, IT WOULD GREATTLY APPRECIATED!!!!! SLYEAGE@VERIZON.NET
Martha McKinnon
Thanks, Laraine!