Weight Watchers - How they make their millions.

cleggy.

"Channel 4 Dispatches: Journalist Jane Moore talks to food experts, dieters and scientists to assess how effective Weight Watchers' diet plans and food products are."

Monday 28th January, 8pm.


Put in in your diary.

cleggy.

up she goes...

NM1984

Thanks for this! I've never been a fan of Weight Watchers because I don't think the 'low fat' and calorie counting are an effective long term solution for weight loss. Plus I think they ready meals taste pretty damn awful!

mel48rose

NM1984 wrote: »

Thanks for this! I've never been a fan of Weight Watchers because I don't think the 'low fat' and calorie counting are an effective long term solution for weight loss. Plus I think they ready meals taste pretty damn awful!

My partner has lost 12.5st with WW. It took 4 yrs but he has managed to keep the weight off. There is no calorie counting, everything is done in points. You can eat normal food like the rest of the family. Don't knock it til you have tried it. I agree that a lot of their products are overpriced, however once you understand the points system you can find equivalent pointed food keeping an eye on portion sizes. Will be watching this programme though.

suki1964

NM1984 wrote: »

Thanks for this! I've never been a fan of Weight Watchers because I don't think the 'low fat' and calorie counting are an effective long term solution for weight loss. Plus I think they ready meals taste pretty damn awful!

You don't have to buy the ready meals, nor do you calorie count

What you do learn is portion size and how to make healthier choices, with out depriving yourself or cooking a meal separate from what the rest of the family

cleggy.

here if you missed it.

http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/4od#3475126

Bitsy_Beans

suki1964 wrote: »

You don't have to buy the ready meals, nor do you calorie count

What you do learn is portion size and how to make healthier choices, with out depriving yourself or cooking a meal separate from what the rest of the family

Having done it I can say it never taught me any such thing, if anything it made me obsess about food

I have to say there was nothing in the programme I didn't already know about their own products. Much the same as SW it relies heavily on artificial crap to make up for lack of taste.

Edwardia

I watched that on 4oD this evening and I learned that Haagen Daz isn't as unhealthy as I thought

If I had been doing Weight Watchers I would be feeling rather aggrieved at spending out all the money.

But really, how does anyone fall for the idea that eating crisps, ice cream, pizza and puddings is part of a healthy everyday diet ? And presumably no one reads the ingredients labels either.

I've done size 22 to size 12 without counting calories, going to the gym or going on a diet. I cut out the carp ie carbs and gone organic.

Hermia

I was in two minds about this programme. One the one hand I thought the criticism that they are there to make money was a bit daft. Did anyone actually think they were a charity and that the leaders were running meetings out of the goodness of their heart? On the other hand I did think the focus on the amount of awful snacks they flog at the meetings was good because that really shocked me when I went to one. I have been to two meetings and one leader did really encourage everyone to cook from scratch etc, but the other just kept advising to have diet ready meals and diet snack products. It was always the women who bought loads of the WW snacks at every meeting who never seemed to ever lose the weight and keep it off. At the meeting I went to I reckon half the women had been going for years. If the leader succeeded in getting them to keep the weight off she would have had less customers!

Pennylane

Bitsy_Beans wrote: »

Having done it I can say it never taught me any such thing, if anything it made me obsess about food

I have to say there was nothing in the programme I didn't already know about their own products. Much the same as SW it relies heavily on artificial crap to make up for lack of taste.

You can't compare the 2. SW only does a few "snack" type bars, scanbran, no ready meals etc, no crisps, icecreams, puddings etc. I go to SW and have only bought one packet of bars since last May. WW do everything and they're in all the supermarkets, discount stores etc.

I have been totally shocked at the enormous list of additives, stabiliser, colourings and words I don't even recognise on the back of WW products and nothing but nothing would ever tempt me to try any of their ready meals. They just look gross.

I think a lot of people would have the sense not to buy these ready made products but there would also be a lot of people who find it easier as they are so desperate to lose weight. They lose sight of the "healthy eating" idea though.

Bitsy_Beans

Pennylane wrote: »

You can't compare the 2. SW only does a few "snack" type bars, scanbran, no ready meals etc, no crisps, icecreams, puddings etc. I go to SW and have only bought one packet of bars since last May. WW do everything and they're in all the supermarkets, discount stores etc.

I have been totally shocked at the enormous list of additives, stabiliser, colourings and words I don't even recognise on the back of WW products and nothing but nothing would ever tempt me to try any of their ready meals. They just look gross.

I think a lot of people would have the sense not to buy these ready made products but there would also be a lot of people who find it easier as they are so desperate to lose weight. They lose sight of the "healthy eating" idea though.

Sorry I should have clarified......SW recipes for treats I've seen rely heavily on artificial sweetener which was the crap I was referring to.