Page 53 - BTC Debunking the diet

ingredient is allocated a points value according to Weight Watchers, based on
the number of calories in the food and usually also the amount of saturated
fat in the food. The more the calories and fat, the higher the points value.

As long as you eat foods that don’t exceed your daily points total (i.e. 25 if
you’re a man), you will lose weight. By exercising you can increase your
points allocation per day.

The magic bullet

Weekly weigh-ins up the level of accountability, while, like 12-step addiction
programmes, the talks, which you are encouraged to attend, bring together a
group of like-minded people with similar struggles. It can be comforting to
know you are not alone, and that the battle of the bulge is not yours to fight
solo.

With lots of structure and guidance, the programme is also easy to follow,
and for carb lovers, the prescribed method does not suggest cutting back on
carbs necessarily, although they do usually have higher points values. The
programme also doesn’t say no to salt, sugar or alcohol in moderation,
although the newer and revised programme, with Weight Watchers being re-
branded simply as WW, focuses more on healthy choices.

The pros

You can eat whatever you like, as long as you don’t exceed your points. So
for example, let’s say you’re a woman on 18 points, and you drink just 1 litre
of Coke in a day – nothing else. Because Coke has no fat, the sugar will give it
a points value of 12. As a result, you’d still lose weight.

This gives you flexibility in your diet, and you can also ‘bank’ a certain
number of points in a day for use tomorrow, let’s say, when you’re at a party

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This booklet © 2019, Rob Rodell, all rights reserved.