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Table of Contents
- Have you ever wondered what the old Weight Watchers Plan was like in the 1960s?
- Why I think The Old Weight Watchers Food Exchanges Program (Quick Success) Was Best
- The Underlying Concepts of the Old 1960s Weight Watchers Plan
- Rule and Menus of the Old 1960s Weight Watchers Plan
- Old Weight Watchers Menu Plan for Women (Circa 1960s)
- 1960s Weight Watchers Plan Menu Suggestions
- Helpful Hints While Dieting
- More Helpful Articles for WeightWatchers
Have you ever wondered what the old Weight Watchers Plan was like in the 1960s?
I picked up a copy of this old Weight Watchers Cookbook (affiliate link) from 1966 and have really enjoyed taking an inside peek at what the old Weight Watchers plan was like back when it began in the early 1960s.
Learn more about Weight Watchers program changes for 2025?
I originally lost weight and became a lifetime member with Weight Watchers back in the early 1990s, when it was an exchanges program. I think it was called Quick Success. I lost about 30 pounds in 8 months and felt incredible.
Why I think The Old Weight Watchers Food Exchanges Program (Quick Success) Was Best
Martha McKinnon’s Weight Watchers Story: Part 1
Martha McKinnon’s Weight Watchers Story: Part 2
Martha McKinnon’s Weight Watchers Story: Part 3
I learned so much about healthy eating and portions with Weight Watchers Quick Success. You couldn’t game the system by gorging on a ton of fruit or filling up on lots of junk the way you can with the new Weight Watchers Points Plan. It was much more restrictive and disciplined.
Which got me thinking about why the original 1960s plan might be a better option than points for some folks. The kind of people who do better abstaining from certain things than trying to practice moderation. (You can read more about abstainers and moderators here.)
In addition to lots of recipes, the book includes an introduction by Weight Watchers founder, Jean Nidetch, along with the plan’s “Rules” and “Sample Menus.” It has all the information you need to follow the original 1960s Weight Watchers Plan.
If you have not been successful with Weight Watchers Points Plus or newer programs, this may be the solution for you! Here’s a link to a great food tracker if you want to give it a try. I’ve tried to provide a synopsis of everything you would need to get started.
In the book’s introduction, Nidetch describes her years of struggle to lose weight. Anybody who has ever been overweight and worked to lose it, will relate to her story. As someone who was overweight by the time I was in 4th grade and “matronly” looking by the time I was in my late 20s, I certainly did.
The original Weight Watchers Program was based on a diet developed by the New York City Department of Health’s Bureau of Nutrition that Nidetch followed after registering with one of its obesity clinics. When friends wanted the details of how she had lost weight, she began to meet with them at her house, where she shared what she knew and they talked over their common problems related to overeating.
When the little group got too big to meet at her house, she rented a basement, and then a large meeting hall in 1963, and the rest, as they say, is history 🙂
The Underlying Concepts of the Old 1960s Weight Watchers Plan
1. Overeating is a habit.
And like any habit, it can be conquered, if you have the will and drive to get started.
2. Proceed with your weight loss one meal at a time, one day at a time, one week at a time.
Taking one step at a time, strengthening yourself slowly, you can not fail.
3. Learn to delay gratification.
The next time you begin to bite into a candy bar, order a fattening dessert from a restaurant menu, walk into the bakery for a Danish pastry, stop and ask yourself: “Would I rather have this or a slim young figure?”
4. No crash dieting.
Because you must learn new habits of eating, it is useless for you to go on a “crash” or “fad” diet or to take diet pills or appetite depressants of any kind. “Why learn to use a crutch when you can learn how to walk properly?”
5. Control your environment.
Don’t surround yourself with temptation by buying cookies and candies. Even a four-year-old can understand, if told, that mommy needs help because she wants to become his “beautiful mommy.” (Learn how to create a healthy environment for weight loss.)
6. Learn to laugh.
We are constantly playing games with ourselves and in serious denial about why we are heavy and/or not losing weight. The book is peppered with illustrations depicting some of the favorite rationalizations heard through the years, which are timeless.
7. No alcohol. No skipping meals. No counting calories.
8. No excuses.
You can stick to the program and successfully lose weight no matter what your home, social, business, or school life may be.
9. Stick to the plan and the plan will work.
10. Maintenance is important.
Once you lose the weight, follow the maintenance plan so you learn to keep the weight off.
11. To be successful on the program, will require your desperation, your sincerity and your cooperation and your patience!!
Rule and Menus of the Old 1960s Weight Watchers Plan
1. Eat only the foods listed in your menu plan, in the quantities specified and at the meals specified. Weigh your portions until you can judge them accurately.
2. Eggs. Limit them to 4-7 per week. They may be taken only at breakfast or lunch; not at dinner.
3. Cheese. Only hard cheese or pot, cottage or farmer cheese is allowed and only at breakfast or lunch.
4. Fish. You must eat a minimum of 5 group A fish meals each week for lunches or dinners.
Group A fish:
abalone, bass, bluefish, bonito, butterfish, carp (fresh), calms, crab, croaker, cod, finnan haddie, flounder, fluke, haddock, hake, halibut, lobster, mullet, mussels, oysters, pike, porgy, salmon (canned), scallops, shad roe, shrimp, sole, sturgeon (fresh), swordfish, trout (brook), trout (lake), tuna fish (fresh or canned), weakfish, whiting
5. Meat and poultry. Provided you use the specified number of fish meals, some of your lunches and dinners may be selected from Group A meats and poultry or Group B fish. Select a maximum of 5 weekly meat meals (luncheons or dinners only from Group A and a maximum of 3 weekly meat meals (luncheons or dinners) Group B.
Group A meat and poultry:
white meat of chicken (skin removed), white meat of turkey (skin removed), pheasant, organ meats (liver, lungs, brains, kidneys, heart, sweetbreads)
Group B meat and poultry:
beef, frankfurters, lamb, dark meat of turkey
Group B fish:
mackerel, pompano, salmon (fresh), shad, white fish
6. Limited vegetables. Must eat one a day, at dinner only, 1 portion only. Vary your selection from day to day. One serving is 4 ounces, or 1/2 cup or 1 medium sized.
Limited vegetables:
artichokes, bamboo shoots, beets, brussels sprouts, carrots, eggplant, green beans, okra, onions, parsnips, peas, pumpkin, scallions, squash (yellow), tomato, tomato juice, turnips
7. Unlimited vegetables may be taken at any time. These include most of your non-starchy vegetables.
Unlimited vegetables:
asparagus, beet greens, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, cucumber, endive, escarole, bell pepper, kohlrabi, lettuce, mung bean sprouts, mushrooms, mustard greens, parsley, pickles, pimentos, radishes, rhubarb, sauerkraut, spinach, squash (green), string beans (french style), watercress
8. Condiments and seasonings such as bouillon, herbs, and spices, salt, pepper, and paprika, vinegar and wine vinegar, tea, coffee, horseradish, soy sauce, lemons, limes, etc, are unlimited.
9. Fruit. Three to five servings a day, depending on age and gender. One daily fruit must be either orange or grapefruit.
Permitted fruits:
1 apple
1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 grapefruit
2-inch wedge of honeydew
1 orange
1/4 medium-sized pineapple
1 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries or blueberries
1 peach or nectarine
2 apricots
1 plum
Forbidden fruits:
Bananas
Cherries
Watermelon
Grapes
Dried Fruits
10. Milk. Powdered skim milk, buttermilk, or evaporated skim milk must be included in your daily program, according to the amount specified for your age/gender.
11. Bread. Eat enriched or whole grain packaged bread according to the amount allowed for your age/gender. No rolls, bagels, biscuits, muffins, crackers, cereals or special breads.
12. Do not eat or drink the following except for legal recipes given in this book:
- alcoholic beverages, including beer, wine, whiskey
- avocado
- bacon or back fat
- bagels
- biscuits
- cake
- candy
- cereals
- coconut
- cookies
- crackers
- cream cheese
- doughnuts
- fried foods
- gefilte fish
- gravy
- honey
- ice cream
- ices
- jam
- jello
- jelly
- ketchup
- mayonnaise
- muffins
- nuts
- oil
- olives
- pancakes
- peanut butter
- pies
- popcorn
- potato chips
- pretzels
- puddings
- rolls
- salad dressings (except for those given in this book)
- smoked meat or fish
- soda, ginger ale, cola drinks
- sugar and syrups
- waffles
- yogurt
Old Weight Watchers Menu Plan for Women (Circa 1960s)
Breakfast: 1 egg or 1 ounce hard cheese or 2 ounces fish or 1/4 cup cottage or pot cheese; 1 slice enriched bread
Lunch: 4 ounces fish (canned or fresh) or lean meat or poultry or 2/3 cup (6 ounces) cottage cheese or pot cheese or 4 ounces farmer cheese or 2 ounces hard cheese or 2 eggs; All the unlimited vegetables you want; 1 slice enriched bread
Dinner: 6 ounces cooked lean meat or fish or poultry; 1 portion limited vegetables; All of the unlimited vegetables you want
Must Be Taken At Some Time During the Day: A total of 3 fruits (one of them orange or grapefruit); 2 cups skim milk or buttermilk or 1 cup skimmed evaporated milk
May Be Taken At Any Time of the Day: Any unlimited foods, beverages, etc.
1960s Weight Watchers Plan Menu Suggestions
Sample Breakfasts:
- Half Cantaloupe, Eggs, Sunny-Side Up on Toast
- Pineapple Quarter, Two Ounces Tuna Fish on Toast
- Cottage Cheese (2 ounces), Fresh Grapefruit Sections, Lettuce Bed, Toast
- Fresh Fruit Cup (1/2 cup), Scrambled Egg WW, Toast
- Broiled Half Grapefruit, Salmon (2 ounces), Toast
- Fresh Juice of One Orange, Melted Cheese (1 ounce) on Toast
- Half Grapefruit, WW French Toast
Sample Lunches:
- Bean-Sprout Soup, Shrimp (4 ounces), Toast
- Tuna Fish, Mixed Lettuce w/ Radishes, Celery and String Beans, WW Dressing, Toast
- Tomato Juice, Broiled Salmon (4 ounces), WW Cucumber Sauce, Lettuce, Toast
- Fresh Fruit Salad, Cottage Cheese (3 ounces), Toast
- Broiled Hamburger, One Slice Toast, Relish
- Melted Open Cheese Sandwich on 1 Slice Toast, Fruit
- Two Eggs on Toast, Fruit
Sample Dinners:
- WW Swordfish Diablo, Chinese Vegetables, Mushrooms, WW Lemon Gelatin
- Tomato Bouillon, WW Butterfly Shrimp Scampi, Larde Tossed Salad, Eggplant
- Curried Cream of Kale Soup, Broiled Trout, Carrots, Broiled Mushrooms, Stewed Fruit (1/2 cup)
- WW Braised Beef Roll-Ups, Cucumber Salad, WW Basil Salad Dressing, WW Strawberry Ice
- WW Beef Ragout, Mushrooms as desired, Ginger Melon Mold
- WW Frankfurter Casserole Creole, Cole Slaw
- Escarole Soup, Chicken Cacciatora, Herbed Zucchini, Maple Bavarian Cream
Helpful Hints While Dieting
Many of these concepts have definitely stood the test of time:
1. Do Not Count Calories. 200 calories of cake is never a substitute for a 200-calorie lunch. You can’t bargain with the diet.
2. Weight Your Food Carefully. You’ll be amazed at how much more will be on your plate when you weigh food rather than guess at it’s weight.
3. Carry Your “Before” Picture and a mental image of your ideal figure with you at all times.
4. Weigh Yourself Once A Week Only. Weight can fluctuate daily for various reasons. It is the weekly average weight loss that is important. Be sure to weigh yourself at the same time each week, on the same scale, under the same conditions.
5. Take Advantage of the “Free” Foods allowed in this diet. Never allow yourself to be hungry.
6. Be Aware That You Are Learning New Eating Habits even away from home. It is possible to follow this diet plan in any restaurant anywhere in the world, if you really want to.
7. Do Not Allow sympathetic thin friends or envious fat ones to give you “permission to deviate from your diet plan.”
8. Follow The Diet Honestly. The key to successful weight loss and its maintenance is learning discipline and control.
9. Think Before You Eat. When tempted to gobble, just stop and count to ten and look at your “before” picture, remember your reasons for wanting to reduce.
10. Be Patient!
Do you have any favorite memories and or recipes from the old Weight Watchers program to share? Did you have success with the old 1960s Weight Watchers program? I’d love to hear from you!
Source: Weight Watchers Cookbook (1967)
Watch Martha Tell Her Own Weight Watchers Story
Martha McKinnon’s Weight Watchers Success Story: Part 1
Martha McKinnon’s Weight Watchers Success Story: Part 2
Martha McKinnon’s Weight Watchers Success Story: Part 3
More Helpful Articles for WeightWatchers
- A Comprehensive Guide to the WeightWatchers Program
- Why I Think the Weight Watchers Food Exchanges Program is Better than Points Plus
- The Weight Watchers 360 Program
- Weight Watchers Celebrates 50 Years
- Weight Watchers Cottage Cheese Danish Recipe
- Vintage Weight Watchers Coffee Fluff Recipe
- Why I Worship the Weight Watchers Founder Jean Nidetch (The New York Times)
I read with a smile on my face about the original weight watchers program. I grew up in the Bronx, and joined in 1967. I think that it was two dollars or so to join, and I remember the blue book that was stamped every week, I was 19; and followed the program religiously ; losing weight, The meetings were held on Fordham Road and it was upstairs over a pizza parlor, ice cream place. You could smell the aroma of pizza while we weighed in (always in secret) and very hush hush.
My favorite meals were the cottage cheese Danish, made with cottage cheese and put in the broiler, tuna fish and cottage cheese, Peas soup, made with string beans, We were also instructed to bring our own dry milk in a little plastic bag when we went out to eat; as creamer was forbidden, and also little cruets of vinegar. Basically, I white knuckled the program, eating vast amounts of jello, carrot sticks. and waiting for the next tuna meal or liver!!!!! Great memories.
The instructors at that time were the original friends of founder Jean Neidisch…They travelled the circuit, and came from Brooklyn, and Queens to faraway Bronx to speak to us, They were dynamic and loud and often were preachy about eating in between meals.
Thanks for the memories, I cannot pass up a can of tuna when I shop weekly, nor a box of dry powder milk!!!! Nancy ,Salem, oregon
Hi Nancy, Thanks for sharing your memories. Your descriptions are so vivid I feel like I was right there back with you. I too have memories of my mom eating tuna and making milk from the dry milk powder. Such great memories, indeed 🙂 The WW Program certainly has come a long way over 50 years, but I still love the cottage cheese “danish” for breakfast sometimes!
I had joined WW around 1977 Lost around 20 lbs. Kept it off 2 years until I got pregnant. Life continued to happen and now I have 100 lbs to lose. (What’s that saying? I wish I weighed now what I weighed when I thought I was fat.)
I liked the structure even if I did bend the rules a lot. (no liver, little fish). I may dig out my papers and start using that again.
There was an old recipe I loved. Strawberries Romanoff – Berries, yogurt, orange extract. If you find that and can share, it would be wonderful.
Hi Ree, I love that saying about wishing we weighed now what we did when we thought we were fat! It’s so true. The old original program worked for lots of people. If I come across the old strawberries romanoff recipe I’ll be sure to post it. Thanks for taking the time to stop by and comment.
I was on the WW diet when it first began (I can’t recall the year but it seems as if it was the late-60’s). The diet was printed in a tiny pamphlet and some rudimentary calorie counter was printed in the back. We did weigh and measure our food and I still have the little scale and bowl that I used. I did the whole 9-yards and followed the rules religiously. Liver, fish, 8 oz. of milk a day etc. and we were allowed to use flavorings like vanilla and banana and artificial sweetener (I used that in my milk ’cause I don’t like milk). We were also allowed to have sugar-free gelatin and eating a whole bowl of jello was a real treat. I learned how to mix in vanilla and sweetener and sprinkle cinnamon in 2 oz. of ricotta cheese and make it taste like custard on a doughnut (only on a piece of bread in a toaster oven) for breakfast. I still make and eat that today after 40 years. Anyway, I recall that women only ate 4 oz. of meat for dinner and not 6 oz. of meat at any time. Only men were allowed that much meat for dinner. I was successful and followed the diet and maintenance program for over 10 years. I received my 25 lb. pin with a little diamond in the middle which I still have. The maintenance program allowed me to eat a lot of food and never gain weight and people were surprised at how much a person could eat on WW and still stay slim.
Hi Brenda,
Thanks so much for sharing the details of your early WW experience! I find it all so interesting. The old focus
on calories and portions is helpful information that can help with weight maintenance forever!!
My mom was a WW in the mid 1970’s. She loved it and so did my dad. The food was good and she was satisfied with the portions allowed. She lost 27 pounds in a year (her goal was 20) and received her pin. She has kept that weight off for 40 years. I am just now going to try the original WW as the past 2 years have seen me getting bigger and bigger. I will be visiting my parents in June almost 2 years since moving to another state. Want them to be able to recognize me. This kind of plan works best for me. Portion control is something I can get my mind around.
Hi Linda, Thanks so much for stopping by and sharing with us. What a wonderful endorsement for the old Weight Watchers plan your Mom is! I agree that portion control is something that works. I think we’ve made eating better and losing weight way more complicated than it needs to be!! When we get back to basics it works and is sustainable as your mom demonstrates!!
I didn’t join until 70, maybe 71, but at that time (and in the old book I have), it was actually 4-6 oz at lunch, 6-8 oz at dinner. I always at my fish for lunch because I have never really liked fish. In fact, I haven’t eaten it since. The very smell nauseates me. I am not real fond of eggs anymore, either, unless they have a lot of cheese in them, which defeats the purpose. I did lose weight, though – but after half a century, I need to diet again. I’m trying to decide what to do. There is something to be said for easy. Still, I detest fish so much now that I may substitute chicken for the fish and add in a lean broiled pork chop, eat an egg only twice a week (I can just manage them hard-boiled) but otherwise, follow the diet. The liver was never a problem for me. Simple, especially at my age, is important.
I’m starting the original plan tomorrow. My goal is to loose 130 lbs. Wish me luck. 🙂
Best of luck Linda!!! I’m cheering you on 🙂
My mom was a WW most of my teenage years. I thank her everyday because she fed me with lots of good vegetables and leaner proteins. She use to say, “educate a woman, you educate a family “. My mom taught us to eat healthy which I then taught my own children. I’m so proud of the healthy diet they eat and little do they know it’s cause mom was a WW.
Thank, Cathie. I really appreciate you taking the time to leave such a thoughtful comment. I so agree with your mother’s philosophy. There is such a ripple effect of engaging in healthy behaviors. Thanks to your mom and WW, her children and then your family are eating healthy. How wonderful is that!!
Just wanted to share that I have now re-joined WW out here in Arizona but have been an on-again-off-again follower since early 70’s. My mom and I used to go when my oldest son was just a baby and he is now 44. I used to make the ketchup then as well. I lost a lot of weight every time I went on the program but would always gain it back after dropping out for one reason or another. This time, I hope to continue for ever. When I go back to Arkansas I already know where the meeting is and will resume what I am accomplishing out here in the desert. I was looking at my mom’s old WW book today having flashbacks. Boy what memories.
Hi Joyce,
Thanks for sharing! Old memories can be so vivid. Especially old weight loss + Weight Watchers memories! Best of luck. The program is sooo much better than back in the days when you had to make your own ketchup! It really is a lifestyle than can work for anyone and everyone once you commit to it 🙂
I joined Weight Watchers in 1980 when peanut butter and wine became “legal” (Weight Watcher language back then.) However the rest of the original plan was still in place. And there were weird concepts that you could use raw onions but NOT cook them. I guess cooking them released the sugars. And yes, you had to have ONE liver meal a week and FIVE fish meals. There was a woman in our group that hated fish so much, she would throw tuna into the blender and make a tuna fish shake and drink it. The Points Plus program is incredible by comparison and far more sensible.
Hi Robert. Thanks for sharing your WW recollections. I get such a kick out of reading them. It’s amazing how far Weight Watchers has come through the decades. I agree that the Points Plus program is far more sensible and realistic for how we live today.
I’m too young to have attended WW pre-points.
I never had success with the points and by chance I found the book from ’66 secondhand here in Denmark.
It made all the difference and I just love the simple program.
Btw in Denmark we have an organisation that is much like the old WW. It started when WW stopped activities in DK in 1981.
Hi Bailey,
How interesting! Thanks for taking the time to comment. Why do you think you were unsuccessful with WW points? Is it too complicated? I first joined WW pre-points but with a program not as limited as the old ’66 program. It taught me about healthy balanced eating. I learned how many servings of fruits, vegetables, proteins, starches I should be eating and portion sizes. That knowledge has made all the difference.
I think you are right. Simple is better!
At this moment I am ready to do my breakfast, once having my breakfast coming yet again to
read other news.
I was just recopying my WW plan from my mother but I have lost the last pages. I have everything except the recipes. I had used it in 1989 before I got married and lost over 50 pounds. I would love to do it again. I am interested in finding the recipes that were in the back for the dressing, catsup and the blueberry pancakes just to see them again. Does anyone know where I can find them? Thanks.