Welcome to Saturday night in Carol’s Corner. Praying before I start,that I don’t have the problems I had last night. I can’t fix the spacing issues so you will have to do the best you can with the larger font. The dress I am wearing today is from my anniversary shopping trip. As soon as I saw this on the hanger it was calling my name. The colors are magnificent. I named this ” Tropical Color Explosion”.

This is my awesome new manicure. The nail with the stripes has what my nail tech says is a mood polish. It changes from light to dark at different times.

All my accessories pull in different colors from the dress.

So now I will attemp to do the post I had done last night. Because of the length of the information I’m using, this will take more than one day to do, so this series will be longer than originally planned. This is going to cover part of Weight Watchers Weight Loss Diet.

SCORECARD RATINGS 1-5 STARS

Overall-3.9 out of 5 stars

Weight Loss short-term-4 out 5 stars

Weight Loss long-term-3.5 out of 5 stars

Easy to follow-3.7 out of 5 stars

Nutrition-4.1 out of 5 stars

Safety-4.6 out of 5 stars

For Diabetes-3.1 out of 5 stars

For Heart Health-3.4 out of 5 stars

OVERVIEW

The Aim: Weight Loss

The claim: you’ll drop up to two pounds weekly.

The Theory: There’s more to dieting than counting calories-if you make healthy choices that fill you up, you’ll eat less. Weight Watchers’ PointPlus Program launched in November 2010, assigns every food a points value based on its’s protein, carbohydrate, fat, and fiber content. Choices that fill you up the longest “cost” the least, and nutritionally dense foods cost less than empty calories. So if you’re wavering between a 200 calorie fruit smoothie or a 200 calorie iced coffee, the fruit smoothie is the better choice. A backbone of the plan is multi-model access to support from people who’ve lost weight using Weight Watchers and kept it off.

HOW DOES THE WW DIET WORK?

There’s no fixed membership period;many people who join Weight Watchers stick with it even after they’ve shed unwanted pounds. You can eat whatever you want provided you stick to your daily PointsPlus target, a number based on your gender,weight,height and age. You can find the points value of over 40,000 foods on the mobile app or desktop database. Processed choices like bologna usually have the highest points value (meaning they should be eaten in small amounts or less often) while fresh fruits and most vegetables carry zero points, so you can eat as many as you need to feel full. That’s because they’re high in fiber and are more filling, than say a candy bar. (Fruit juice, dried fruit and starchy vegetables don’t count as freebies, since they’re higher in calories.) Weight Watchers also pushes specially-designated Power Foods, or the best choices among similar foods. If you’re mulling 10 types of canned soup,for example, you can quickly see which has the least sugar and sodium, the most fiber and the healthiest types and amounts of fat.

DO’S AND DONT’S

Do: Load up on fruits and veggies.

They carry zero points, meaning you can eat many as you’d like, since they’re high in fiber, and more filling than say a bag of chips or a candy bar.

Do: Stick to your daily PointsPlus target.

Every food has an assigned points value based on it’s protein, carbs, fat, fiber and calories, as well as how hard your body has to work to burn it off. You can check points online or even on your smart phone.

Don’t overdo alchohol-moderation is key.

Most 12 ounce beers cost 5 points, so knocking back a few means you’ll have fewer points to spend on foods.

Will you lose weight?

Most studies show Weight Watchers is effective , but may not be much more so than other similar diets.

( At the end of our discussion on The Weight Watchers Diet, I will provide the link to the entire article, where you can click to more explanations of certain areas.)

Does it have cardiovascular benefits?

Weight Watchers appears to promote heart health.

Can it prevent or control Diabetes?

Weight Watchers recently introduced ” Weight Watchers for diabetes “, a program for employers. Preliminary 6 months findings from the company show that participants with type 2 Diabetes following the program experienced greater reductions in markers of Diabetes control and body weight than the control group.

Otherwise, there’s little evidence that Weight Watchers accomplish either, but by promoting weight loss, the program should help. If you’re overweight , losing 5-10% of your current weight can help stave off certain diseases, Diabetes being one of them.

Are there health risks?

No indications of serious risks or side effects have surfaced. But keep in mind Weight Watchers may not be safe for everyone.

How well does it conform to dietary guidelines?

This section is rather lengthy so you can read this later when I provide you with the link. It discusses what supplements you might need also.

How easy is it to follow?

You won’t go hungry-daily points are high enough to allow for 3 meals a day , plus at least two snacks. Members are also allotted 49 points a week to spend on indulgences. Treating yourself is encouraged .

In a 2006 ,British Medical Journal study, researchers found 20 of 33 overweight or obese adults on Weight Watchers were still participating a year later. Programs like Weight Watchers that offer emotional support and group meetings lead to higher compliance than a do-it-yourself diet, according to the findings.

Convenience

Whether online or on the street, Weight Watchers makes it easy to check the points value of what you’re eating. There’s a pocket guide, pocket calculator and a PointsPlus data base application for I Phone and Android. For subscribers, you can even message through your phone or computer at any time of the day or night through 24/7 chat. Company products and online resources may be helpful.

Fullness

Nutrition experts emphasize the importance of satiety, the satisfied feeling you’ve had enough. Hunger shouldn’t be a problem in Weight Watchers since the program emphasizes fiber-packed Power foods. ( Think whole-grain bread and Spelt pasta.) Plus you’re allowed a weekly cushion of 49 points on top of your individualized target, so if you’re feeling particularly ravenous one day, you have some leeway to eat more than usual.

Taste

No foods are off limits-if you’re drooling for a double cheese pizza, go for it. Weight Watchers simply helps you control your portions and tweaks your favorite recipes so your meals are as healthy as possible. And you’re bound to find a company enforced-recipe that pleases your palette. And in your favorite grocery store you’ll find an array of prepackaged Weight Watcher products for when you just need convenience.

So I think that is where we’ll end things for this session and tomorrow we’ll cover cost, allowances for restrictions and preferences , the roll of exercise and links to reviews and recipes that you will find useful in deciding if this is the plan for you. Plus there will be a link to the material I used here. Then you will be able to delve deeper into things you learned here. I think this is going to be an awesome series. I hope you feel the same. So keep focused, stay motivated and make the second half of 2015 be the year you realize all your goals and dreams. Till next time, God Bless.