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New My WW 2020 Program Changes: Rumors and Social Buzz
It has been more than six months since Weight Watchers launched its new Freestyle Program with its greatly expanded zero points food list, so it seemed like a good time to step back and do a review.
Is WW Freestyle successful? Too free? Too restrictive? Just right? That all depends on who you talk to….
Just take a look at some of the comments I’ve read:
Weight Watchers Freestyle Member Reviews…
“The new freestyle plan is right up my alley. I’m someone who already eats eggs, chicken, and beans and now they count as ZERO SmartPoints. Freestyle is cleaner. The less packaged processed foods is better.”
“I joined WW back in February 2017 so far I’ve lost 50 lbs. I really like the sp system but with this new system I just don’t know. As someone mentioned before I like being able to track everything and with my points decreasing to 23 I’m not sure I will continue to be as successful. I don’t really eat much eggs, beans and chicken. So this wasn’t really a hit for me.”
“Love freestyle. No longer feel punished by eating healthy foods – instead, I feel rewarded! Freestyle pushes you to eat healthy foods but leaves room for indulgences. I ate a 6-course dinner at a French restaurant, including 2 glasses of wine for New Years and didn’t gain—-because I planned for it and have been adjusting my other meals/activity for the week accordingly. I never feel hungry. If I’m out of points for the day and hungry, I can eat fruit and yogurt, white bean chicken chili, chicken salad, or tofu veggie stir fry for zero points. What?! it’s crazy awesome. I love it.”
“I love Freestyle. I have had no problem switching to it and in fact find it easier. I love that I can add peas and corn or chickpeas to my salad and not have to count those points. I really feel I am eating better than I was before and the rollover points saved me during the holidays. I actually lost weight.”
“I don’t like Freestyle. I am already sick of chicken, chicken, chicken, eggs, eggs, eggs. I can’t afford fish or sea food more than once a week, tops. I have not lost any weight on this plan, despite careful measuring and tracking. It is super boring. There is no “fun” in it. I feel like this narrow way of eating is being forced on me. Instead of teaching a healthy way to eat and then letting us adapt it to our own culture and way of eating…we are given ultra limited choices…chicken….and vegetables and fruit. I can barely swallow these foods already, I am so sick of them. I just want a glass of MILK! I want a HAMBURGER! Once in a while, I want something SWEET! I want VARIETY! Maybe some PIZZA or a TACO! I could do all of things when I was at 31 points. I can do NOTHING at 22 points. I just want to give up.”
“Not liking it, too much like Atkins. I am eating more fruit, than with the old system, and I like the eggs, but not the beans. Honestly I just feel like I’m starving all the time.”
“LOVE the new plan. Lost 7 big ones so far! (started in late November) I am a vegetarian and love legume-based dishes, so this is just in my wheelhouse, and most seasonings don’t add points. No deprivation or cravings. Big love!”
Why Are Some Succeeding on WW Freestyle While Others are Struggling?
How can it be that some people are struggling with Weight Watchers Freestyle while others are succeeding? Some love it. Others not so much.
The truth is that there is no one way to lose weight that will work for everyone. Lasting weight loss requires finding habits and behaviors that you can commit to for the long haul, a lifestyle and way of eating that work for YOU and YOUR LIFE.
The best way to lose weight is the way you can stick with! You need to lose weight your way.
For many people Weight Watchers is the way.
Weight Watchers has been around for more than 50 years. During that time, the program has changed drastically and vacillated in its degree of restrictiveness.
The original WW Program from the 1960s was extremely restrictive and became gradually more flexible as an exchange based diet, reaching it’s pinnacle of freedom in 1997 with the introduction of original Points Plan, which was essentially a proprietary way to count calories.
In 2010, the PointsPlus Plan introduced a new calculation, the concept of power foods, and Zero Points fruits and vegetables.
Many members struggled with the transition from Points to PointsPlus and again in 2015 with the transition from Weight Watchers PointsPlus to SmartPoints, when the points values of foods high in sugar and/or saturated fat went up.
Suddenly, for many members what had been a manageable way of eating felt much more like a DIET.
With all these different WW Programs/Plans some have thrived while others have floundered. Why?
Abstainers & Moderators Require Different Approaches to Weight Loss
Then it hit me. I thought back to a post I wrote back in 2013 after learning about the difference between Abstainers and Moderators and why it is a key to weight loss success.
Some people – Abstainers – do better with firm dos and don’t. Others – Moderators – do better with freedom and choice.
So a Moderator tends to do better managing the occasional sweet treat and resents the excessive SmartPoint price assigned to it. While an Abstainer may do better giving up certain sweet treats altogether.
A Moderator may do well managing an expansive list of zero points foods, while an Abstainer may do better with a plan defining exact portion sizes.
This helps explains why some people are thriving on WW Freestyle and other people are struggling and why on one weight loss program is never the solution for everyone.
Please share your review of WW Freestyle
Love it? Hate it? Why???
WW Freestyle 2019 Program Changes
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I love freestyle! I have lost all my weight (40 pounds) on it. I eat most of the zero point food groups every meal. I feel like if people tried to see how to make it work instead of focusing on the parts they don’t like as much, they would have an easier time of it! I memorized the list so I always can get an idea!
I don’t like the new program. I did so much better on Power Points and Smart Points. I haven’t lost a thing on it. Lost 53 pounds before and now at a plateau. It’s just not working for me.
Lordy, gal, you have hit it on the head! We are each so different in our needs, satisfaction, methods, wants, and rewards! The one thing that WW has done so well for me is helping me get to know myself better as it relates to food and emotion. My journey is more about my emotional reaction to food and my relationship to food than the food itself.
I dont like the new freestyle program, I love when it was smart points. I actually lost when then, no I’m not losing but I definitely have gained. Could anyone tell him out to switch back to smart points?
I started WE in March 0f 2018. I weighed 154 and am now I am only 142. I know i havent been perfect but when i see what others have lost in 5 months, I do get a little discouraged. HOWEVER , I know,slow and steady wins the race.
I have been on Weight Watchers since December 2016. I had lost 47 lbs as of the launching of Freestyle and have since put on 7 lbs. Although there are so many 0 point options, the Plan feels more restrictive than before. I’ve lost the concept of portion control with the 0 point foods and I am eating way too much fruit. I’m truly struggling with Freestyle and I am feeling quite defeated. It would be nice if Weight Watchers gave us the option to follow whatever Plan worked for us. I had committed myself to Weight Watchers and had a goal of Lifetime; but, I’m seriously considering cancelling my Membership.
Do what ever one suits you old one new one whitch one did you lose weight on stay on it
I gave up with Freestyle. I had lost 15 pounds in 3 months when I started on WW, but then it switched to Freestyle. 6 months later, I was still at the same 15 pounds…….. If I wanted to do maintenance, it would be great. However, I had 40 more pounds to go.
So I have left WW for now.
I really don’t like the freestyle I am always hungry as much as I love chicken eggs and beans i can only eat so much every week of the same things. Me I like variety
i like to change things up and 23 points some days are really not enough. I like smart points better. The people really need to stop changing what works.
I find that the diet is too free in one way. It is not good for you to eat too much sugar, whatever form it comes in. Thinking that all fruit in any quantity is fine resulted in me putting weight back on even though my diet looked amazingly healthy. I have cut myself down to no more than three pieces of fruit a day and adding more veg to compensate. I also found that it was tempting to reduce the points I was eating to below my daily 23. This was a big mistake as it removed carbs, which meant my body went into famine mode. Weight loss slowed dramatically. When I realised my mistake and made sure I ate all my points every day it sped back up again. I am now within 5 pounds of my target weight and hope to get there in the next three weeks!