Everything You've Ever Wanted to Know About Weight Watchers (WW).

Emily Shiffer
·6 min read
2

Here's how to decide if it's the plan for you.

Weight Watchers has been one of the largest weight loss programs in the United States for many years. In addition to being named the best diet of 2020 (and holding that spot for 10 years in a row!), according to USA Today, in 2018 there were 4.6 million people signed up for Weight Watchers meetings or online for recurring-billing programs. In September 2018, Weight Watchers, the program founded in 1963 by Jean Nidetch, changed its name from Weight Watchers to WW. The change was made to better reflect a focus on overall wellness, rather than just weight loss.

And in November 2019, the brand underwent another name change. WW restructured its program into the myWW program, an assessment-based program that places members into one of three different eating styles—Green, Blue or Purple.

“This is the first time in our history that we’ve had an assessment,” Gary Foster, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, WW, told Parade.com in an exclusive interview. “The assessment gets members to take a pause and reflect on what kinds of foods they eat and how frequently, how they prefer to track, their approach to weight management, fitness and more to find the plan that works best for them.”

Here’s everything you need to know about myWW including how each eating style works, benefits, risks, and more.

How Does Weight Watchers work?

myWW starts with a two to three-minute personal assessment based on your age, weight, height, sex and physical activity. From there, you will get a personalized SmartPoints Budget based on your responses, and WW will match you to an eating style that fits you best—Green, Blue, or Purple. Each color has a unique balance of SmartPoints and ZeroPoint foods that you track and should stick within for your best results.

Related: Here's Everything You Need to Know About Oprah's WW Wellness Tour

What Is WW Freestyle?

Technically, there is no more ‘WW Freestyle.' The Blue eating style in the myWW program the same as WW Freestyle.

What Are the Benefits Of the WW diet? Does Weight Watchers Work?

The myWW program has undergone clinical trials, including a six-month trial conducted at the Medical University of South Carolina’s Weight Management Center. Their results found that the participants of the myWW program experienced:

  • 8% weight loss

  • 2% decrease in systolic blood pressure

  • 24% decrease in hunger

  • 7% reduction in overall cravings; including significant reductions in cravings of high fat foods, sweets and fast food fats

Related: "I Lost 106 Pounds and Ditched Fad Diets After the Birth of My Son": A WW Success Story

How Many Points Can I Have On Weight Watchers?

Depending on which plan you select, the points differ:

Green: Green has a sizable SmartPoints Budget and 100+ ZeroPoint foods (fruits and non-starchy veggies).

Blue: Blue has a moderate SmartPoints Budget and 200+ ZeroPoint foods (fruits, veggies and lean proteins). If this eating style looks familiar, that’s because it's the same as WW Freestyle.

Purple: Purple has a modest SmartPoints Budget and 300+ ZeroPoint foods (fruits, veggies, lean proteins and whole grains).

How Much Does Weight Watchers Cost?

There are three different formats you can join myWW with: Digital, Workshop and Coaching.

Digital (online-only plan)

$10 a month for a six-month plan, $15 a month for a three-month plan, and $43 for a one-month plan.

Workshop (weekly workshop meetings + digital access)

Depends on your location. You can calculate your cost here.

Coaching (weekly phone calls and unlimited messaging with your coach + digital access)

$25 a month for a six-month plan, $30 a month for a three-month plan, $65 a month for a one-month plan.

Related: "I Lost 155 Pounds on Weight Watchers": A Success Story

Is the Weight Watchers Diet Safe? Are There Side Effects?

In randomized, controlled studies, WW was found to be more effective for sustained weight loss—defined as six to 12 months—compared to:

  • Physician counseling: WW is two times more effective for weight loss than physician counseling.

  • Professionally delivered program: WW is three times more effective in producing 10 percent weight loss than professionally delivered programs.

  • Other commercial programs: Out of 141 commercial and proprietary weight-loss programs, WW was identified as one of two programs clinicians should prioritize for referral due to our sustained weight loss and cost-effectiveness.

Do I Need to Go to Weight Watchers Meetings?

Not necessarily, but it depends on the type of plan you choose. If you select the Workshop plan, it comes with a weekly in-person coaching session at a WW Studio. There are over 3,000 locations and over 14,000 Workshops per week.

Related: "I Lost 195 Pounds and Quit Emotional Eating": a WW Success Story

How Do I Find a Weight Watchers Meeting Near Me?

WW meetings, also called Workshops, are held at WW Studios across the country.

What Foods Should You Avoid On Weight Watchers?

No foods are explicitly forbidden on Weight Watchers. However, every food and drink has a SmartPoints value that is determined by calories, protein, and sugar. Calories establish the baseline. Protein lowers the SmartPoints. Sugar and saturated fat increase SmartPoints.

According to WW, the reason for this is that numerous studies have confirmed the benefits of eating less sugar and saturated fat, and more protein—not just for weight loss, but for other health reasons as well.

What are the best foods for a Weight Watchers diet plan?

When it comes to food, everything is on the menu with WW. But foods high in protein and low in fat and sugar will give you the most bang for your buck. Besides veggies, which are zero points, here are some additional foods that might be staples on a successful Weight Watchers diet:

Best Lean-Protein Foods for Weight Watchers:

How does the Weight Watchers app work?

Every member who joins has access to the WW app. You can join Connect, WW’s private, members-only community on the WW app. The app also allows you to:

  • Track food, activity (with FitPoints 2.0), and weight

  • Scan barcodes of your favorite foods

  • Find restaurants with WW-friendly meals

  • Chat with a live WW coach, 24/7

  • Earn free rewards with WellnessWins, WW’s rewards program

  • Connect with other members

  • Curated mini-meditations from Headspace®

  • Audio workouts for your fitness level with Aaptiv

  • Sync your fitness tracker

  • Browse 8,000+ recipes

For more on how to use the WW app, click here.

What are some Weight Watchers recipes?

Through the WW app, members also have access to over 8,000 recipes that can be filtered by meal, SmartPoints value, popularity, special dietary needs and more. According to WW, these are the 20 most popular recipes on the site.

Here are more WW recipes:

Related: 100+ Weight Watchers Recipes

What are ZeroPoint foods on Weight Watchers?

Which foods have zero points now depends on which WW plan you are on. That said, fruits and non-starchy veggies are zero points for everyone following Weight Watchers.

Weight Watchers ZeroPoint Foods:

What are the best Weight Watchers desserts?

Here are 15 of WW’s easiest dessert recipes. And if you’re a chocolate-lover, here are 22 chocolate desserts.

What are the best Weight Watchers chicken recipes?

Here are 34 of WW’s easy chicken recipes!

Next up, find out what celebrities have endorsed Weight Watchers over the years.