(U.S. News & World Report) — We put together a panel of health experts every year to evaluate the most popular diets in the U.S.
This year, our experts assessed 40 diets, ranking them from lowest to highest in seven categories, including the best diets for weight loss, diabetes, and heart health. Here is their evaluation of the Weight Watchers Diet.
* Clinique Medic Elle does not endorse any specific diets, including those mentioned here. Before starting any diet, you should consult your healthcare provider.
Overview
The aim: Losing weight while living healthier.
The claim: You’ll drop up to 2 pounds weekly.
The theory: There’s more to weight loss than counting calories – if you make healthier choices and behavior changes, you’ll feel better while losing weight. The Weight Watchers Beyond the Scale Program, launched in late 2015, is designed to help people eat better, move more and shift their mindset. The program assigns every food and beverage a SmartPoints value, based on its nutrition (higher amounts of saturated fat and sugar increase the point value; higher amounts of protein bring the point value down). 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 cup of lobster bisque soup or a chicken salad sandwich – both 380 calories – the sandwich is the smarter choice. A backbone of the plan is multi-model access (via in-person meetings, online chat or phone) to support from people who lost weight using Weight Watchers, kept it off and have been trained in behavioral weight management techniques. (…)