The Original Weight Watchers
I know many of you out there have used Weight Watchers (WW) with or without success. I have used WW with lots of success in the past, but never quite reached my goal weight for one reason or another. At the moment, I have found an app called iTrackBites (in the Apple Store) which mimics WW with giving you allotted "BITES" per day, and the ability to count activity. It basically works the same way!
The other night when we were driving home from a Cal football game (we lost... ugh), I got to talking to my mom about the app and its similarities to WW. That launched her into an account of the "old" WW she used out of college. Of course, I had heard the story before, but I had never really thought about it in comparison to the WW that I have used on and off over the past few years. Well, thanks to the all-knowing internets, I was able to uncover a full list of what the "old" WW from the 1960s entailed. I got the menu information at the bottom of this post from Forward Motion 411 Blog's "Weight Watchers Original Diet Plan".
I'm not posting this so that you can possibly follow this plan. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it because it doesn't take into account current weight or activity level; nor does it give good options to vegetarians or vegans. My mom said that, yes, she lost a ton of weight using the plan, but at the same time it was very restrictive. It doesn't have long-term potential for people to keep the weight off. More, I am posting so that those of us trying to change our outlook on food can analyze not only what we eat but how we eat. The current WW plans say "eat whatever you want" but this diet plan is clean cut and clear as a bell. And it clearly worked for many, many people.
This menu lays out not only how to eat each meal, but breaks down the portions of bread, protein, and "starchy" vs "not starchy" vegetables throughout the day. You have to drink skim milk and eat at least 3 fruits. Even the types of meat you eat are portioned out. There is some flexibility, of course. You can pick and choose which fruits you eat as long as they aren't "forbidden." You are allowed to eat as many and any as the non-restricted vegetables as you want.
What if we thought about food this way everyday? I read in TIME magazine this week that "Americans love to talk about their freedoms. Most of the time they mean the familiar ones--speech and press and assembly, as well as the other high-minded things our forefathers made sure to include in the national contract. But there are other freedoms, too--the freedom to be loud, the freedom to be large, the freedom to have an appetite for anything at all and then set out to satisfy it." This is a major weakness in American diets and the issue of obesity goes both ways--the impoverished are forced to eat enriched wheat products, processed beyond belief; and the well-off can eat whatever they want when they want. If Americans ate and were able to eat the portions below for each meal, as well as thought about meals in terms of nourishment, the many struggles we have could potentially disappear. This is not a food pyramid. This is a meal plan that includes what we need to have energy during the day without overburdening ourselves. The Food Pyramid we all grew up with is also a topic for another day.
For me, I will be thinking about this diet plan in terms of the mimic WW plan I am currently following. It is one thing to count points, but it's another to consider the nutrients needed to get through the day. Now I just need to convince my dad to get skim milk instead of 2%....
The Original Weight Watchers Plan from Forward Motion 411:
"Menu
Breakfast: 1 egg or 1 ounce hard cheese or 2 ounces fish or 1/4 cup cottage or pot cheese
1 slice bread, No rolls, bagels, biscuits, muffins, crackers, cereals, or special breads were allowed.
Lunch: 4 oz. fish or lean meat or poultry, or 2/3 c cottage cheese or 2 oz hard cheese or 2 eggs.
All you want of unlimited vegetables (any not listed on the restricted list below)
1 slice bread
Dinner: 6 ounces lean meat or fish or poultry
1 portion restricted vegetables (see list below)
All you want of unlimited vegetables
Required Snacks: A total of three fruits, one of them an orange or grapefruit
2 cups skim milk
Still Hungry? Eat unlimited amounts of bullion broth, vegetables not on list, calorie-free bevereges.
Permitted Fruits
1 apple
1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 grapefruit
2" wedge of honeydew
1 orange
1/4 medium-sized pineapple
(One kind reader provided additional information regarding fruits, the following is a list of fruits you may also use. Thanks, Carol!)
1 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries or blueberries
1 peach or nectarine
2 apricots
1 plum
Forbidden Fruits
Bananas
Cherries
Watermelon
Grapes
Dried Fruits
Restricted Vegetables
Artichokes
Bamboo shoots
Beets
Brussels sprouts
Carrots
Eggplant
Green beans
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Pumpkin
Scallions
Squash (yellow)
Tomato
Tomato juice
Turnips
Fish was to be eaten at least five times per week, liver at least once a week, and beef, lamb, and dark meat turkey no more than three times per week.
In a Nutshell, the Diet consisted of:
Protein 4 (70 calories each)
Milk 2(90 cal. each)
Bread 4(80 cal each)
Fat 2(40 cal each)
Veggies 3 (unlimited if non starchy)
Fruit 2 (60 cal each)
You also had the option of choosing 7 floaters (weekly) from any of the food groups as well as 750 optional calories."
The other night when we were driving home from a Cal football game (we lost... ugh), I got to talking to my mom about the app and its similarities to WW. That launched her into an account of the "old" WW she used out of college. Of course, I had heard the story before, but I had never really thought about it in comparison to the WW that I have used on and off over the past few years. Well, thanks to the all-knowing internets, I was able to uncover a full list of what the "old" WW from the 1960s entailed. I got the menu information at the bottom of this post from Forward Motion 411 Blog's "Weight Watchers Original Diet Plan".
I'm not posting this so that you can possibly follow this plan. Honestly, I wouldn't recommend it because it doesn't take into account current weight or activity level; nor does it give good options to vegetarians or vegans. My mom said that, yes, she lost a ton of weight using the plan, but at the same time it was very restrictive. It doesn't have long-term potential for people to keep the weight off. More, I am posting so that those of us trying to change our outlook on food can analyze not only what we eat but how we eat. The current WW plans say "eat whatever you want" but this diet plan is clean cut and clear as a bell. And it clearly worked for many, many people.
This menu lays out not only how to eat each meal, but breaks down the portions of bread, protein, and "starchy" vs "not starchy" vegetables throughout the day. You have to drink skim milk and eat at least 3 fruits. Even the types of meat you eat are portioned out. There is some flexibility, of course. You can pick and choose which fruits you eat as long as they aren't "forbidden." You are allowed to eat as many and any as the non-restricted vegetables as you want.
What if we thought about food this way everyday? I read in TIME magazine this week that "Americans love to talk about their freedoms. Most of the time they mean the familiar ones--speech and press and assembly, as well as the other high-minded things our forefathers made sure to include in the national contract. But there are other freedoms, too--the freedom to be loud, the freedom to be large, the freedom to have an appetite for anything at all and then set out to satisfy it." This is a major weakness in American diets and the issue of obesity goes both ways--the impoverished are forced to eat enriched wheat products, processed beyond belief; and the well-off can eat whatever they want when they want. If Americans ate and were able to eat the portions below for each meal, as well as thought about meals in terms of nourishment, the many struggles we have could potentially disappear. This is not a food pyramid. This is a meal plan that includes what we need to have energy during the day without overburdening ourselves. The Food Pyramid we all grew up with is also a topic for another day.
For me, I will be thinking about this diet plan in terms of the mimic WW plan I am currently following. It is one thing to count points, but it's another to consider the nutrients needed to get through the day. Now I just need to convince my dad to get skim milk instead of 2%....
The Original Weight Watchers Plan from Forward Motion 411:
"Menu
Breakfast: 1 egg or 1 ounce hard cheese or 2 ounces fish or 1/4 cup cottage or pot cheese
1 slice bread, No rolls, bagels, biscuits, muffins, crackers, cereals, or special breads were allowed.
Lunch: 4 oz. fish or lean meat or poultry, or 2/3 c cottage cheese or 2 oz hard cheese or 2 eggs.
All you want of unlimited vegetables (any not listed on the restricted list below)
1 slice bread
Dinner: 6 ounces lean meat or fish or poultry
1 portion restricted vegetables (see list below)
All you want of unlimited vegetables
Required Snacks: A total of three fruits, one of them an orange or grapefruit
2 cups skim milk
Still Hungry? Eat unlimited amounts of bullion broth, vegetables not on list, calorie-free bevereges.
Permitted Fruits
1 apple
1/2 cantaloupe
1/2 grapefruit
2" wedge of honeydew
1 orange
1/4 medium-sized pineapple
(One kind reader provided additional information regarding fruits, the following is a list of fruits you may also use. Thanks, Carol!)
1 cup of strawberries
1/2 cup raspberries or blueberries
1 peach or nectarine
2 apricots
1 plum
Forbidden Fruits
Bananas
Cherries
Watermelon
Grapes
Dried Fruits
Restricted Vegetables
Artichokes
Bamboo shoots
Beets
Brussels sprouts
Carrots
Eggplant
Green beans
Okra
Onions
Parsnips
Peas
Pumpkin
Scallions
Squash (yellow)
Tomato
Tomato juice
Turnips
Fish was to be eaten at least five times per week, liver at least once a week, and beef, lamb, and dark meat turkey no more than three times per week.
In a Nutshell, the Diet consisted of:
Protein 4 (70 calories each)
Milk 2(90 cal. each)
Bread 4(80 cal each)
Fat 2(40 cal each)
Veggies 3 (unlimited if non starchy)
Fruit 2 (60 cal each)
You also had the option of choosing 7 floaters (weekly) from any of the food groups as well as 750 optional calories."
So unfortunately I disagree with any sort of eating plan like this. We are not designed to be miserable and count calories or points or eat restricted meals. I was able to lose 100 lbs without doing this. The biggest thing people forget is habits. We want to encourage healthy habits and healthy relationship with food. Like Grandma Mary-Lois always tells me her sister says is if a friend was being hurtful would you still be their friend and the answer is no. You want to have a good relationship not one restricted that makes you hate what you are eating and have floating points or cheat days. That just sets you up for a bad relationship. Please note I never want to discourage anyone from trying to be healthy. But from a past fat girl who tried everything and hated herself. Well this is what I have found d to be true. Best of luck to you Liz you are a beautiful person who deserves the best.
ReplyDeleteSo unfortunately I disagree with any sort of eating plan like this. We are not designed to be miserable and count calories or points or eat restricted meals. I was able to lose 100 lbs without doing this. The biggest thing people forget is habits. We want to encourage healthy habits and healthy relationship with food. Like Grandma Mary-Lois always tells me her sister says is if a friend was being hurtful would you still be their friend and the answer is no. You want to have a good relationship not one restricted that makes you hate what you are eating and have floating points or cheat days. That just sets you up for a bad relationship. Please note I never want to discourage anyone from trying to be healthy. But from a past fat girl who tried everything and hated herself. Well this is what I have found d to be true. Best of luck to you Liz you are a beautiful person who deserves the best.
ReplyDelete