People are asking! People want to know what’s all the buzz about? Did Weight Watchers really change their program and food plan?

What does Oprah think about it? It’s true, Weight Watchers did more than change their food plan; they’ve changed everything and Oprah thinks it’s great! If you’re not an Oprah fan, you may not care about her opinion. Here are some prominent scientists and doctors (scientific board of advisors) who also think it’s great.

Weight Watchers is no longer addressing weight as a problem that needs fixing. Weight Watchers new approach is holistic; it goes beyond food choices and portions. It’s not about changing how members eat to make them lose weight.!

It’s a holistic – whole person/body/mind/soul – approach. Weight Watchers boldly goes Beyond the Scale!

Body weight isn’t just about eating and exercising. It’s a combination of the mind, body and spirit.

Members will gain much more than a lower number on the scale, a trimmer silhouette, and smaller sized clothing. Members will gain self-confidence and self-appreciation and a heightened sense of vitality and well-being.

For readers who are thinking Weight Watchers has gone all touchy-feely but beyond that there are no changes, I can tell you there are profound changes and that includes the formula that assigns points values to foods. The points have gotten smarter. That’s why they’re called SmartPoints.

People want to eat smarter. Figuring out what to eat, how much to eat, how to balance food choices, what foods to limit and what foods are best to build the foundation of your meals and snacks is a tangled, complicated maze.

The absolute plethora of information, much of which is based on junk science, leaves us confused. Weight Watchers new SmartPoints plan cuts through the confusion with its proprietary formula that takes into account calories and nutritional content of a food.

Calories count!

Science continues to prove that calories need to be reduced for weight loss. Although it’s necessary to reduce calories it’s also common for those who consume too many calories to be getting them from sources that provide little else. Often the source of the calories may actually harm our health.

The major health organizations in North America warn us of the dangers of a diet high in sugar and saturated fat. Despite the warning, the trend shows our consumption of saturated fat and sugar are steadily increasing as we consume more and more processed foods.

SmartPoints helps followers more healthfully by the way the points values are assigned to a food. Calories are the basis of a points value. From there the points value may go up or down based on the saturated fat, sugar and protein content in a food.

Doughnuts are allowed but members will think twice before gobbling one for breakfast because of the high cost of points.

More saturated fat and/or sugar can raise the points value while protein and lower amounts of sugar and saturated fat will lower the points value. The foods that have proven to be the best for us – fruits and (non starchy) vegetables – have 0 points values.

SmartPoints isn’t a low sugar/low fat way to eat although it’s definitely a lower fat/sugar program. As always, Weight Watchers doesn’t categorize foods as healthy or junk food, but with the new SmartPoints formula followers are guided towards making food choices that lead to an overall healthier way to eat without taking anything off the menu.

There are no foods that are not allowed, but there are some foods that followers find require more consideration before they choose to include them in their meals and snacks. Members are assigned daily points target and weekly points allowance based on age, weight, height and gender. It’s those limits that must be considered when making food choices.

There you have it, an objective overview of the new Weight Watchers program. If you want to know more you can visit any Weight Watchers meeting in Maine, as my guest, absolutely free and with no pressure or obligation to join.