Weight Watchers was founded in the early 1960s when Jean Nidetch began inviting friends into her living room to discuss weight loss. Since then the program has grown to include millions of members worldwide. Over the years, the program has changed, evolving along with science and culture. The Momentum program is based on two of Weight Watchers' successful program strategies: tracking points and Core foods.
Membership
Membership for the Momentum Plan works the same as it has for previous Weight Watchers plans. You may register at a local meeting, where you'll meet weekly to weigh in and attend an open discussion style lecture about program strategies. Materials such as weekly food trackers and informational brochures are provided at meetings.
Another option for people who want to join but can't attend meetings is online membership. Register at the Weight Watchers website to learn about the plan and gain access to tools such as virtual points calculators, weight trackers and online food journals.
Philosophy
Weight Watchers attests that years of research have yielded the same conclusion: weight loss is achieved when the body burns more calories than it consumes. With the Momentum Plan, Weight Watchers has combined this simple weight-loss formula with strategies to combat common dieting pitfalls such as hunger, emotion and temptation. The Momentum Plan aims to educate members about how healthy choices impact weight loss and overall health. It believes that an awareness of how foods work in the body will lead individuals to make better choices.
Points
The Momentum program's eating plan works on a system of tracking points. Each individual is evaluated through a personal lifestyle quiz, and the answers determine the number of points he must consume each day. Food choices are all assigned points values which can be found by entering information from the nutrition label into a points calculator or slider tool. The points values of many basic foods are also listed alphabetically in the membership materials. Once he has determined the points value of a meal, the member records it in his tracker journal, where he keeps a tally of his points intake. The goal is that his total daily points eaten are equal to his points allowance by the day's end.
Simply Filling Strategy
Prior to the Momentum Plan, Weight Watcher members were able to choose between tracking points or the Core program, which allowed members to eliminate tracking if food choices were from the Core foods list. The Momentum Plan has combined the best aspects of both plans, based on the theory that tracking leads to awareness, which leads to better choices. The Momentum Plan has created a strategy similar to the Core plan, which is called "The Simply Filling Technique." This technique is not a plan all its own; however, it is emphasized rather as a technique. The Momentum Plan emphasizes that tracking is still the best tool for weight loss, but has created a Filling Foods list for members who prefer to use their body's hunger signals as a means of portion control. The Filling Foods list consists of several selections from all of the food groups. These are foods rich in nutrients proven to satisfy hunger for longer periods of time.
First 5 Percent Weight-Loss Goal
The Momentum Plan encourages members to set their first weight-loss goal at 5 percent of their total weight. This is a goal that seems attainable for most people who can focus on this milestone rather than the total amount of weight they wish to lose. Once the 5 percent goal is met, members may meet with their leader to set a new goal, which can be another 5 percent, 10 percent or a total weight-loss goal. The Momentum Plan recognizes that meeting smaller goals more often may keep members encouraged to continue with their weight-loss program.
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