I never fail to be amazed at how well word of mouth works, especially in the blogosphere. After blogging about losing 5kg with a SlimPod mp3, I was contacted to see if I'd like to do a free month's trial of Jenny Craig, where I lost another 3kg. And now, following on from that, I've been asked if I'd like to play WeightWatchers over the coming year. Yes, that is the verb they use and, although it seemed strange at first, I kinda like it now as it makes eating healthily and losing weight sound more like a game than a chore.
So, what do WeightWatchers have to offer? Well, I've only had a quick look so far so I'll be back with more in depth reviews and articles once I've tried it out properly but here is what I can tell you so far.
Having had the briefest of looks at what they sent me, it seems like the total opposite of Jenny Craig. Jenny Craig was about eating calorie-controlled, correctly-portioned ready meals rather than what everyone else in the family was eating. WeightWatchers seems to be more about cooking healthy meals that everyone can enjoy, so it's easier to fit into a family lifestyle and the whole family can benefit from it.
I received a lovely hamper - the first of several that I'll be getting over the coming year - which contained the following products.
A pack of WeightWatchers Mediterranean Sauce
A pack of WeightWatchers Garlic & Herb Bag 'n' Bake
A pack of WeightWatchers Authentic Curry Pastes for Meat and Vegetables
A box of WeightWatchers Original Breakfast Oats sachets
A twin pack of WeightWatchers Peach & Pear Fruit Pots - these have already been scoffed, one by me and one by Sophie, and they're lovely. They taste just like normal fruit salad from a tin, contain 57 calories per pot and - I was amazed to see - count as 2 ProPoints if you drink the juice or 0 ProPoints if you drain the fruit. Wow ! Great news already !
Two WeightWatchers recipe books, which have meals for all occasions - even Christmas and dinner parties - and which the whole family can enjoy. Each recipe is labelled with the number of ProPoints per serving and per meal, making it really easy to track your points.
The latest WeightWatchers magazine. I love the way the whole WeightWatchers concept (website, magazines, etc) seems to focus on happiness and lifestyle, as much as weightloss and dieting.
There was also a box of WeightWatchers Cappuccino sachets, but I passed those on to my dad as I'm not keen on them.
As well as all the products and recipe books, I also received a code for a 6 months WeightWatchers Online account. This usually costs £29.95 for the sign-up fee and a £10.95 monthly fee (but you currently get the sign up for free if you pay for 3 months). WeightWatchers Onlines promises to help you discover how to lose weight and keep it off, with:
- Over 35,000 food options
- Over 1,000 delicious recipes and meal ideas
- Interactive tools to help you manage daily food choices and activities
- Create healthier versions of your favourite dishes with our Recipe Builder
- Chart your progress online with our Weight Tracker
- Use your tools on the go with our apps for iPhone or iPad
Having signed up (one thing I don't like is that you have to agree to a direct debit which will be automatically renewed if you forget to cancel your subscription), I set off to personalise my plan. They suggest a short term goal of 5% of your weight so, with a start weight of 83kg, my initial target is 78.8kg. I'm entitled to 27 propoints per day and 49 extra per week. Having flicked through the recipe books, I've noticed that they have delicious sounding dinners for about 6-8 propoints so that actually sounds very reasonable.
I'll keep you posted as I discover the plan and the products but so far, I'm impressed.
for more information : www.weightwatchers.co.uk
Other blogposts you may be interested in :
WeightWatchers Caramel Wafers review
WeightWatchers Fruit Crumble Biscuits review
Weightwatchers Chocolate Biscuits review
this is more my idea of a diet, an organised healthy eating regime you keep up for life, good luck with it
ReplyDeleteI am following Weight Watchers and so far I lost 9 lbs. I don't have a lot to lose, but I was a little over my BMI and for medical reasons wanted to lose weight. As you said, it is focused on an healthy way of life, reasonable diet and not fad one where you starve yourself and eat things you don't like. Good luck :)
ReplyDeleteyep - definitely have to get back on the wagon, I have been on WW several times and lost weight. I put it back on again over time, but it's a good one to go back to. It's the only one I've ever found works and a lot of the recipes are good too. x
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