The O Magazine people sent us the cover for the January issue along with some quotes from Oprah on teaming up with Weight Watchers. (Sidenote: I can’t believe it’s almost the holidays! This year went so fast.) As you probably know, Oprah bought 10% of Weight Watchers back in October, causing their stock to rally. Oprah still has the midas touch despite the Own Network not being the smashing success she expected. In the upcoming issue of O, Oprah explains why she invested in Weight Watchers and how it’s helping her personally:
Oprah’s cheers for the new year:
“Now repeat after me: Here’s to good health. To the new year. To simply (or not so simply) deciding to be happy. To finally getting motivated.”On why using Weight Watchers works for her:
I’ve wishy-washed with diets and exercise my whole life. Now I’m ready to go beyond the scale and declare a new way of being in the world. The folks at Weight Watchers called me in July and asked if I’d join their team—help spread the message about taking a holistic approach to health and fitness. For me, this was a perfect alignment. I was fed up with my lose-and-gain-again routine. I’d had enough of no-carb regimens. Some people can live without bread and pasta, but it just doesn’t make sense to me. All the times I tried to do so only made me crave them more. I wanted a plan for life, and here it was in the form of Weight Watchers. For me, this is not a diet. It’s a whole shift in perspective. So yes, for sure, I’m a bona fide convert.
[From O, The Oprah Magazine, received via Email]
I can relate to this as a yo-yo dieter, but I have to say that Weight Watchers, while ranked the most effective commercial weight loss program, was not as easy for me as just counting calories with MyFitnessPal. I lost weight on Weight Watchers in 2010, gained it back and then tried to go on WW again in 2013. At that point they had switched from their original system to PointsPlus, which gives you “free” points for fruits and vegetables. I wasn’t losing weight with that and didn’t lose weight until I switched to counting calories with MFP and including fruits and vegetables again.
Weight Watchers is decidedly better than most other paid diet plans, but so many people are realizing the science and facts behind weight loss and why Weight Watchers works: eat less calories than you burn and you will lose weight. (Yes some foods help you feel more satiated etc., but you do not have to give up your favorite foods if you eat within your TDEE.) People think that “diet” means giving up whole food groups and sweets and I like that Weight Watchers teaches portion control and moderation, which is key. There are so many fad diets and so much misinformation, and WW is definitely better and more practical than most plans, but it works because of calories. Points are just calories by another measurement, but when it’s so simple to enter your food into a free app, why use points? (I guess it’s nice to have support in meetings, but I’m not a joiner.)
If Oprah is going to invest in a weight loss program, and use one, she may as well choose Weight Watchers, it’s effective and doesn’t mislead people like other plans. It just seems to be losing market share now that everyone is discovering the free apps.
Oprah is doing a tour of Australia called “An Evening With Oprah.” There are all sorts of quotes from her in the press, including the fact that she seems to adore Taylor Swift, calls her “a true great role model,” and praises how Taylor handles herself in the spotlight. Oprah is angling for Taylor to do a guest stint on one of her shows, you just know it.
photos credit: Ruven Afanador for O!
I don’t have experience with WW but I’m skeptical that this will be Oprah’s “plan for life.” I think she’s had numerous plans/programs that she’s claimed will stick but haven’t. Maybe she’s easily bored?
Yes, my first thought when she said she was fed up with the gain/loss thing was “again?”
Agreed. I too think Oprah will likely be a lifelong yo-yo dieter.
I see a lot of people doing the 21 day fix now and having success with it. Seems like some combination of calorie counting and moderate exercise is the key. I think we all go thru cycles or gain and lose again. I don’t think that’s un natural at all. This notion that anyone can maintain such a pin thin figure for life is what I find unnatural.
I tried the 21 day fix for a week, and SENT IT BACK!! My whole life revolved around it. It was more like a job, than a diet! The food was not somethig me or my family would eat (I told the coach I wanted food that my family could eat as well, when I was dieting, and she assured me, this was it! It wasn’t). Give me weight watchers, where at least, you can eat “normal” foods….
If I had Oprah money, I think I would have opted for a gastric band or some such surgery and called it a day.
I like Oprah. I feel sorry for her, because I feel like if someone with Oprah’s status and $ can’t keep weight off long-term, who can? She has hired so many experts, whether chefs, personal trainers, or doctors. She has been vegan, low-carb, vegetarian, low-calorie, low-fat. I don’t think it’s a failure on her part, or that she is binging on junk food in secret or something. It just seems that for some reason her body likes her bigger than she wants.
Mariah’s boyfriend had that problem and he had the surgery.
Oprah doesn’t want to get it but I am not buying into her infatuation with WW. I was on that plan and I lost the same 5lbs over and over again. I think WW is great for people who want to lose weight for the first time on that plan. I do not think it is great for people who are returning customers and want to be healthy. Losing weight and being healthy are not always the same thing.
Also, Kristie Alley tried to sell her own plan while losing weight and it didn’t work.
It’s a very, very good program but as has been pointed out, it’s for joiners, for people who get a positive buzz from showing up and being held accountable to a peer group. TOPS is similar, but free to join and no rigid plan.
Weight Watchers is really bad about teaching good nutrition. So much low fat, high sugar rubbish. It’s awful seeing people so proud they’re eating healthy, when really they’ve just swapped junk food for ‘diet’ junk food. People end up with diabetes because they started consuming more sugar than ever.
I agree, Kate. Especially if you eat their pre-packaged foods, which I wouldn’t do, but even though they are low fat, they are either very cheesy (fake-cheesy) or very sweet. I think it “trains” you to want sweeter and more fatty things. I also had the exact same experience with the “free” fruits and vegetables as Celebitchy. I followed the plan to perfection for two weeks and didn’t lose a pound. I wasn’t pigging out on fruit or anything, but I was eating enough to stop any weight loss.
I had the same experience – I didn’t start losing weight until I bought a food scale and counted the calories in vegetables. The food scale was a real eye-opener – I will never go back to guestimating portion size.
I don’t have the patience for Fitness Pal-type apps, so I just use a clicker app to keep track of the daily calories.
@Name du Jour, which app do you use? I really can’t stand spending all that time on my phone looking up foods (for Lose It or My Fitness Pal). I ain’t got time fo dat!
I agree… The prepackaged foods that they sell really don’t seem like good solutions or a good stepping stone to a solution. I remember the tiny cake bites. I’m skeptical that they are less calorically dense than traditional desserts and I’ve tried them. They taste terrible.
Also, portion control is important, across the board. The fruit and vegetable free-for-all seems ridiculous.
@ NYer It’s called the Tally Counter by Thomas Tsopankakis and it’s free. There are plenty of others but I like this one because it’s simple. You can set it for whatever increments you want; I do 50 and round up or down.
I’ve recently started using My Fitness Pal but using it a little differently. I log on to my computer in the morning and log in all my planned meals for the day and will make any adjustments on the app if need be. It’s a great tool for meal planning and I’m making sure all my carbs, sugars, etc are also in line before I eat anything. Plus it’s much easier to enter meals online than through the app. Lost 2lbs in the past week. Go me!
I think that’s a huge issue even outside of WW that people need to educate themselves on. People see low fat and think it’s fine for them and they’re being healthy, but that’s just manipulation, technically it’s low fat but it’s usually high sugar
Fat is your friend. Sugar is the enemy. People forget that.
No food, not even sugar, is the enemy… Perhaps just bad in large quantities.
So true. What is good about Weight Watchers is that it teaches food journaling to a degree and regular check-ins and group support but the nutritional message is not fully there. Calories aren’t the only thing that needs monitoring. There needs to be careful balancing of protein, fat – the body does need it, and carbohydrates and those carbs have to come in useful ways.
Sugar is absolutely the debil. The problem with today’s food is that it carries far, far too much sugar! Everything on a supermarket shelf has hidden sugar. And so people are conned into thinking that they are eating healthy when they avoid “sugary foods”. It is also proven to be addictive. But the sugar industry board will eat your head for saying so. Corn syrup, fructose, glucose, sugar, etc, etc. Read the labels. Sugar is the main culprit causing a lot of us to get sick. It is not just a weight and blood sugar destabilizer it is the root cause of a bunch of diseases.
I think Weight Watchers is good for weight management but not for weight loss. I think the programme is designed to help you cultivate, over time, knowledge of good food choices and maybe how to eat. But if you need to lose a good 20 pounds or more then cut your food intake significantly (1100 calories per day, lean meat, green leafy vegetable, berries and lots of water) and alter the types of food you eat to clean the body of toxins and impurities (avocados, tomato soup, flaxseed, Spirulina, grape fruit, lots of water). Aim to lose most of the weight (like the first 15 pounds) in 2.5 months and then gradually lose 1.5-2 pounds per week until you hit goal weight. Side effect: Gorgeous skin. Weight loss is achieved through less food and detoxification. Exercise helps but it is not the most important part of weight loss. My friends on Weight Watchers can’t seem to lose more than 5 pounds before gaining it back. Weight management versus weight loss? I think Weight Watchers is for management.
THIS!! I have thought the exact same thing with regards to using WW for weight management. I have tried WW several times, always faltering due to such slow losses. A gain would take a month to work off, it became a vicious cycle. I managed to lose weight on my own by eating clean and exercising, losing 2-3 lbs/week. I was losing 0.5lb/week on WW. It was too slow for me.
Detoxification is complete utter pseudoscientific bogus.
And 1100kcal is very low if your TDEE is over 1600.
I’m not a joiner either, but I recently joined WW. No meetings, just the app. The reason I like it is because of the extra points it gives you weekly above your daily target. I tend to go off the rails on the weekend, and having the extra points to use on alcohol or a meal out helps me keep it in check and not feel like I’ve ruined my progress by eating something decadent. As a yoyo dieter for many, many years, this helps me see that I can live a little and not have to be so strict all the time. Because that feeling leads to me bingeing on junk eventually. That said, WW updated their app last week and it has many problems with tracking things correctly. A lot of people are really pissed. My fitness pal is the best app and I don’t understand why a big company like WW can’t get it right.
The app is horribly expensive for what it is. (I pay what — $17 monthly? for WW, and the app is the only part I use — not the lame website, not the meetings.) I’m hoping Oprah will use it and notice that it desperately needs improvement.
Hookay so Oprah’s next money making venture is turning around a flailing company that’s apparently having trouble succeeding in a technology oriented DIY world and thusly she’s shilling for them. Is this not her first time? IMO she is most probably an emotional eater and therefore needs to address her underlying attitude towards food. I doubt assigning a numerical value to bananas is going to help. Seriously laughing at her PR statement that she has never gone hardcore to lose weight before. And utterly unsurprised that my second least favorite celebrity is obsessively fawning over number one on my blech list.
Ha, interesting take. I think you are right on all counts.
I agree with you. I always wondered whether this counting thing was not a bit hoaxy and could really cause people to develop eating disorders. Like, I know people on weight watchers who eat very little during the week so they could binge on alcohol at the weekend. If you are serious about losing the weight then cut alcohol COMPLETELY during the weight loss period. I find a lot of the Weight Watchers underpinnings to be counterproductive as far as weight LOSS is concerned.
Weird photo shoot.
Yes, I was about to say I wear my pashmina when I work out all the time!
Get rid of the wrap, its obvious you are hiding your body, but just wear a workout jacket instead geez. The wrap is stupid.
The flesh covered tights and top did it for me. I gasped – is she wearing pants?
She is still fat and should wait a while before “showing off” her newly slender body. I think WW is the only nutritiously sound diet, and follow it somewhat at all times. I have not been to a meeting but have the materials from the old point system and just follow that to get back on track. What most people do not realize is that if you want to remain slim, you will always have to be aware of what you are eating and make choices in restaurants that are mainly protein and vegetables. Rice or pasta can be eaten sparingly. Consider meat a condiment and fill up on veggies. No biggie, but the restrictive diets, and I include Paleo in this, just cannot be maintained over time.
Thank you. Why boast a 25lb+ weight loss and cover the mag as a health model just to cover yourself with a wrap in every single picture. Dumb.
Because wearing the wrap means she’s spiritually enlightened! Lol
Yes!!! Can we all talk about how great MyFitnessPal is! It has changed my life completely. It has just made me so much more cognizant of my calories in/out and I don’t feel deprived of anything ever. It’s SO easy, no weird points. No meetings. Great community and any food you can dream up. Convert for life.
It is great, very easy to use and FREE.
When I use it I do well. Problem is I usually don’t bother!
For some reason I’m really motivated by the “streak” of logging in daily. I have found it has really changed my outlook on food and I can’t lie to myself as easily about that only being a few extra calories. I have easily lost weight and feel so much better!
I use MFP off and on, mainly because I’m a ritualistic nibbler. I eat the same thing almost every day (lots of small snacks) I already know what the calorie content is and I know what I need to do to negate it. I do think it’s useful for losing weight though, and I think it’s worth using for at least a month just to get an idea of how many calories you’re consuming. It’s amazing how even just a small bite of this or that can add up…
I lost 40 pounds in 10 months on My Fitness Pal 4 years ago. It was really easy, but when I hit my target weight it still acted like I needed to eat fewer calories to lose more rather than give me a maintenance number. That really screwed me up because I did not want to lose more, but couldn’t figure out how many more calories I could have. It would tell me I was over my limit, but I wasn’t. I also knew sometimes I was making unhealthy choices just to stay under my calorie limit. My frustration plus some family medical issues made it easy to stop and, 4 years later, I put almost all the weight back on. Unfortunately, I just don’t seem to have the motivation I did back then to try again.
I love MFP, too. I’ve been using it religiously for months. I started using it to monitor calories, but realized all the other nutritional data it gathers and how helpful that is. I find that element is really helping me eat healthier and that’s awwwesome. I am still using it now while preg to make sure I get enough protein, calcium, iron etc.
I found it annoying at first, as someone else posted, when searching through for my foods. But the mobile app in particular saves things over time and it gets a lot faster. LURV IT.
Oprah I love you no matter what size.
That is all.
I have a different perspective on this. I was diagnosed three months ago with MS and my neurologist has put me on a non inflammatory diet to slow the course of the disease. Basically most of the American diet is inflammatory to my system so I am very restricted- no sugar, added salt, no processed foods, no butter/oil. Although this extreme is not necessary unless you have a disease, it has made me realize just how badly most people (including myself and I have always been a thin, weight conscious person) treat their bodies. I agree with the comments about dieting- substituting some diet crap or some pill to make you loose weight is damaging to your body and your health. Eat real food in moderation. I wish so much I could go back to being person that worries about weight. That issue is now gone for me because I have no choice.
As a person of the same age of Oprah, I feel for her weight issues. So if a company she’s invested in works for her, great! If she’s lost 26 pounds, even more yay! And I think her stylists for her magazine always make her look great. I get that that’s their job, but on on any random red carpet, proof is there that some are way better than others!
You do realize that the pictures on Oprahs magazine covers are seriously photoshopped to make her look less heavy than she actually is?
All these diet programs are scams. Yes, people lose weight, but then gain back some, all, or more when they’re done. The only thing that will permanently get lighter is your bank account
I agree Belle, the diet industry is worth $586 billion. That’s insane! I wonder how much Oprah would weigh if she had never gone on diets at all, you know?
The only problem is that her eating issues are in her mind, not her mouth. Until she makes solid changes there, no weight loss program will ever work, and that’s why none have worked thus far.
I feel for her, because I know how it goes. I have my own issues I deal with every day that manifest in my eating habits.
This times a million. If you don’t figure out why you are overweight, you are going to be on this endless loop.
Being healthy isn’t rocket science, eat lots of veggies, fruits, healthy proteins, healthy carbs, lentils and nuts. I’m not in favour of milk products nowadays. Input less than you output. It’s incredibly hard to do because we have such luxurious options everyday. My mil has told me on many occasions that desserts were like a real treat maybe once every couple of weeks, for an occasion or dinner party. Meat was twice a week and mostly their diets consisted of lots of fresh veg, fruits, nuts, breads, rice and lentils. Also portion sizes they are huge now.
Not to bash WW because it’s worked for some people. I think it would work for anybody…temporarily. My problem with it being any kind of “life-long” change, is that it would require buying all your food from WW for the rest of your life and only from them. Not gonna’ happen. WW is a temorary fix. Escpecially for Oprah. I mean are we really to beleive with her money and where she lives that she is not going to go to fancy restaurants for dinner anymore….ever, or that she’ll go but bring her own WW food in her purse? Yeah right.
Also, I only see Oprah doing this to get some attention again. She’s been ignored for a long time and O won’t have that. She also lost a ton of money on the Own station and the shows she financially backed and hyped but fell flat. I don’t think she’s broke or needs money, but she likes her wealth to continue to grow. So, I see this as a ploy for relevancy and fandom who’ll follow her latest weight plight.
Weight Watchers doesn’t require that you buy their food – there are points assigned for just about every food out there and WW cookbooks. There are problems with the program, but this isn’t one.
It seems like a lot of work to me though to do that sh*t every day for the rest of your life…maybe I’m just lazy.
Oh. My bad. Maybe it will work for her but she hasn’t been long-term successful on any plan. I would think having your own chef who specializes in low-cal foods would have worked long-term, but I guess not. I hope it works for her. She has never accepted her body, so whatever works to make her feel good about herself. Must say, I do enjoy imagining Oprah storming into the kitchen and yelling at her chef “If you make one more salad, you’re fired! I want pancakes and I want them now!!!!”
WW had a section of Menu for their points system at Moes. As in “Welcome to Moes! How would you like a burrito the size of your thigh with an 11am beer.”
And sections on loads of restaurant menus.
I do like that feature, but am no fan of it overall. MFP is awesome and being aware of your choices is key.
It is interesting to see Oprah working with WW! I wonder how this will all work out in upcoming months.
I want that terraced garden with the Steppables. Oh my goodness – dream garden.
Is this a thing? Do people actually still think Weight Watchers ( or any of these diets) works? Even after so many (non-biased) studies, and lawsuits for deceptive trade practices, people are still throwing their money in the weight loss garbage can. Wow.
This woman is something else. She’s got a billion bucks, but still has such low self- esteem that she has to CONSTANTLY talk about weight, weight, weight. Shut up, already, woman. God, she is so annoying.
Worse than the constant weight plight was the guru talk and honestly, I think that’s what did her in. Once that one guru became a regular guest on her show – the one who put mass audiences in trances, it was over for me and pretty much everybody I know who used to watch her show. Even my church addressed it. It’s not being enlightened folks. It’s called mass hysteria no different than the all but forgotten revival tents of yore. Talk about shady…..
My opinion may not be popular but I’ve been thinking about this lately and after reading this interview it just reinforced my previous conclusions.
People talk about health and associate it with food and exercise and there’s a whole business of diets and yoga, fitness, gyms, losing weight programs and what more, but… Just because you are overweight it doesn’t automatically makes you unhealthy. You may not look like a model and you may actually swim or run and never be thin AND THAT’S OK. But the message we get is that unless we are fit and thin we are not healthy and that’s just a lie that reinforces what I read in the sub text, which is fatphobia. People feel less worthy or desirable because society drills this idea that unless you have a certain size you have a problem. I’m not denying health problems when they exist, but changing your diet can be enough even if you don’t lose any weight.
The business of “health” seems to me to be more and more about vanity and the exploitation of people’s insecurities and not really about proper nutrition or an uplifting, healthy lifestyle and self image. We should be encouraged to be good to ourselves because we are worthy no matter what and not accept that our weight defines us in a negative way that implies we HAVE TO CHANGE.
@ Sofia
Thank you for your comment.
Well, people like to raise themselves above others. It is a class thin. So the leaner lady actually looks down on the ever so slightly slightly chubbier lady even when she knows that both excercise the same and therefore are about equally healthy.
Some people just like to wield some stick against others and alleged over weight is one of those sticks.
But see, it’s not about health but that’s what we hear:/ We are using “health” as a weapon against people’s bodies and that’s not making people feel better or more confident! This breaks my heart. The beauty and fashion industry are part of the problem too. I practice yoga and I never see media showing less fit/thin people practicing it; it seems it’s just for model looking women and that’s not true. If we look for old yoga images of men and women practicing in india we see different types of bodies that do not fit into our western concept of health and if they are flexible!
I see Oprah who has access to the best of everything in the world and still her struggle is weight. She seems to be quite wonderful even if I don’t agree with her on everything, worthy of being loved but I guess she just doesn’t love herself. Why can’t we be enough just as we are? *sight*
@ Sofia: I get your comment but please do not think that ” changing your diet can be enough even if you don’t lose any weight. ” This is not true. People who are overweight or are diabetics or have fatty liver or a heart problems or blood pressure problems, etc. are told by physicians to lose weight to combat their health problems. Weight loss is not about image only. Some people do make it about being thin, true. But healthy most times requires us to lose weight. Weight is usually one of the “go to” indicators for diagnosing a bunch of health problems.
I made sure to add that real health problems are indeed a problem, my point is that when people use the weight issue when in reality is about body image. If you have all the problems you listed, you don’t have to be thin to solve them, some people are not build like that and yes losing some weight is part of the solution for some but that’s because weight can be a symptom of other issues. You can be chubby and be healthy and that’s not the same as being overweight.
And I stand by the quote you don’t agree with. I have vegan friends who got healthier but didn’t lose noticeable weight. They were eating the wrong things and eating a plant based diet solved many issues but they were never model thin and they won’t be.
Dearest Oprah,
We’re over your ‘struggle’ with weight. You’ve had ALL the chances and ALL the money and yet, here you are.
What do I see? A way for Oprah to make more money.
I get the feeling that companies like Weight Watchers will lose customers because of apps like MyFitnessPal or Noom or similar. Nearly everbody got a smartphone nowadays and some of these apps are for free… or at least the Demo version
I think I learned more from MFP forum messages than from any other fad diet I did in the past. I love being aware of how to tweak my macros and fit in desserts and whatever I feel like eating. I do eat more healthly now out of habit and pleasure, it is about sticking to something, that is how u lose weight and don’t gain it back, hence why I never lost weight for too long on low carb diets. I luv Oprah, it sucks yo-yo dieting like that, hopefully now she finds joy and nourishment in WW.
I joined WW online about 15 years ago and lost 30 pounds in six months. At that time, veggies were considered free. In fact, because I happen to love vegetables, that fact made WW very easy for me. Whenever I was hungry, I always had a huge portion of roasted veggies that totally filled me up. I kept the weight off for a lot of years until I started having thyroid issues. After going on medication, I lost the weight again but I still watch portion size and fill up on the veggies, something WW taught me and I’m grateful I found this program. And it’s especially great if you enjoy having drinks on the weekend as you simply count the points for it. This may be the solution for her as it has been for me.
“Some people can live without bread and pasta, but it just doesn’t make sense to me.”
I hear you. But I think the human body is really adaptable. You can very quickly adjust to eating lots of vegetables, some fruit, and minimise carbs, which are quite dense and heavy.
The only thing I get out of Oprah buying into WW is that even “I” can look good in pictures if I use a wrap well to hide the bad parts!
As someone who has lost 80+ lbs and kept it off for five years, I will say this:
While it’s sweet to think Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig et al care about you enough to want to help you…it’s important to remember that they make more money when you keep coming back and back and back.
Kudos to everyone who is working towards a healthier lifestyle. Weight Watchers has been great for me. If you haven’t found what works for you, don’t give up!
A few yrs ago I got tired of watching my weight creep up. I was down to just a few bits of clothing that fit. I have zero patience for diets so I decided to take the laziest route to see if I could shed a few pound to wear more of my nice clothes. It really is as simple as eating fewer calories than you expend. I started by just writing down everything I ate and adding up the calories. Then I found simple ways to cut 500 calories a day. Stuff I didn’t even miss eating. After a couple months I took off almost 10 pounds. I just kept going. I had no goal in mind. I’m not hung up on sizes. I started using MyFitnessPal cuz it add up the calories for me. That’s how lazy I am. It really morphed into a lifestyle change for me. I eat a lot better food now. I stay away from processed stuff, read the ingredients, and pay attention to how much is a serving. I shoot for 1200 calories a day. I’m about three years into my revamped diet and I lost 60 lbs. I went from 182 (I was surprised to see I weighed that much) to 122 now. In the past year I started an excercise routine too. That’s another thing I was terribly lazy about. I feel good, healthy, happy, comfortable. I didn’t spend a dime on anything for my diet or excercise. I admit I’m pretty lucky in that I have no health issues, I’m a bit taller than average and my shape is proportionate. Many people struggle with weight because of physical or emotional health issues or body shapes that carry weight differently. My heart goes out to them. I have it easy. My dear sister said it best after years of struggling with weight issues. She said she knew she’d never be a size 4 so she was just going to try to be healthy at whatever weight she was at. Word!
I often need to track my food for other health reasons, and I’ve been happy with LoseIt. I imagine the others are similar. It really doesn’t take long to enter foods on my phone (which is always in my pocket) and I’ve built up my own database of all the weird food I eat. A cheap digital scale set to grams makes it easy to record exactly the amount of whatevers I feel like eating and I can even keep taring it as I build a sandwich – I just got it a few months ago and love it. Sometimes I just guesstimate since the exact amount isn’t crucial for my purposes, but the scale is so much easier for chips and cereal and fractions of bars and dry pasta or rice or millet, chopped veggies etc. Just tare the bowl or plate, add the amount I feel like eating, and record. Some foods are in my database several different ways: by the package, by the piece, by the gram, and by volume measurement, so I can pick whichever is more convenient. I do need to know the timing, so I defined a custom food called Timer and use the number of servings as a 24-hour clock. I also use it to keep track of any medication or supplements that need to be taken at certain intervals. I can track water if I want also. I even use the Snacks entry spot to record when I wake up and when I go to bed (times which vary wildly) as well as some other actions, again using the servings as a 24 hour clock. I’ve set all my “exercise” (all custom) as zero calories but track the time so I can see how much of a sloth I’ve been today… I don’t “work out” and am mostly house bound at the moment, but track activities like walking to the store, supervising junior cat outside when she’s on house arrest, cleaning the litter boxes, various household tasks.
The nice thing about tracking is that I can tell at a glance how I’m doing on protein and fiber at various times during the day and adjust (I’m not a planner and just eat when I feel like it) and also check weekly averages. It also lets me more easily make sure I don’t eat too much at once, to keep my innards happier. I did manual tracking occasionally long ago to monitor such things, and the app is so much easier. Also tracking does inhibit my intake of junk food, since I have to record it all… Doesn’t stop me from eating junk, but slows me down! Also the record makes it easy to check on variety or lack thereof, fruit and veggie intake. If I’m having trouble eating due to illness or pain/discomfort, the tracking helps push me to eat enough but also reassures me that things are averaging out ok if I can’t eat much sometimes.
WW’s points always seemed arcane to me, but I was never interested in planned weight loss and they probably made more sense before phone apps and computer programs made it so easy to deal with calorie counts directly. My Fitness Pal has a good database- I often end up there when looking for nutritional info on a food (just google the name of the food plus calories).
Oprah needed weight loss surgery a long time ago. Yo-yo dieting is absolutely terrible for your organs, and every time you do it, it makes the weight harder and harder to lose. I had Duodenal Switch surgery (not Gastric Bypass and NOT the DeathBand) two and a half years ago and have lost 174 pounds. I’m now a size 12, but will be a 10 or even an 8 with skin surgery. It’s a permanent solution to weight loss issues, but it’s a VERY serious surgery with a very serious lifelong commitment attached.
Some people struggle and struggle and STRUGGLE their whole lives and can’t lose the weight. It happens. But eventually you have to call a spade a spade, and with her assets, there’s no reason not to have WLS and change her life for good.