With over forty years helping people lose weight by building healthy eating habits, Weight Watchers probably has the biggest inter-generational following of any diet program today. And while it’s true that your mother may have been on a Weight Watchers plan at some point in her life, Weight Watchers is a full-fledged member of the younger generation as well, with an innovative, real-life eating and fitness plan and an online site that brings into your home the best of this versatile program.

How the Weight Watchers Plan Works

Weight Watchers offers the ultimate in flexibility with two different ways to work the program.

The Flex Plan, otherwise known as the Weight Watchers Points Plan, is the plan most associated with Weight Watchers. Foods are assigned a point value based on their nutritional content and serving size. You are assigned a maximum point value to which you should adhere, and can then eat anything you want within that point value. For example, if you can eat 34 points a day, and a piece of bread is one point, but a piece of cake is 12 points, the choice is yours! The Flex Plan is a good choice for people who can’t always predict what and where they’ll be eating or for those who don’t do well deprived of their favorite foods. The point system has real merit in that it’s used as a tool to teach the daily give-and-take necessary for maintaining a healthy weight long term.

The Weight Watchers Core Plan focuses more on what you’re eating than on how much. Healthful food such as whole grains, fruits and vegetables, lean meats, and low-fat dairy are “free” foods, meaning you can eat as much of them as you want with occasional treats as a bonus. This is an ideal plan for people who really hate to be hungry and for those who do better with limited access to “trigger” foods!

Both plans encourage you to eat real food and don’t require the purchase of any pre-made or frozen meals. The Weight Watchers website offers a breakdown of the two plans, as well as meetings in your area should you decide you need “real life” support.

The Weight Watchers plan doesn’t offer a fitness program per se. Instead, it encourages daily activity doing anything you enjoy that gets you moving! The website offers a number of tools to get you started including a fitness self-assessment, quizzes that determine your fitness “personality”, workout ideas, fitness Q & A, and a Science Center that explains the science behind fitness and weight loss. For anyone who has become disillusioned with past exercise programs, Weight Watcher’s plan to move a little every day, in whatever way makes sense for you, is a solution that makes sense.

Support – In the Comfort of Your Own Home

In addition to the weight loss and fitness information available on the Weight Watchers website, there are a number of other features that make getting the support you need easy.  The site has message boards that promote the sharing of ideas and motivation, the ever-popular Success Stories forum, and food and recipes that will keep you excited about your healthy lifestyle. And while Weight Watchers cites improved results with attendance at local meetings, the website makes it possible to work the plan, complete with encouragement and support, from the comfort of your own home.

Visit www.weightwatchers.com for more information.