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Step 1
Know that the Weight Watchers program helps participants become more aware of their caloric intake and output. No food is restricted, but higher calorie foods have a higher point value. The system is based on their Four Pillars, which are behavior, food, support and exercise. Each is equally important.
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Step 2
Understand the Points System, which assigns a value to each food you eat based on serving size, calories, fat grams and fiber content. Exercise is counted as a negative number. You are assigned a range of points you should eat per day, based on your current weight, with the goal being to stay under a total points value for the week.
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Step 3
Gain support through weekly meetings where everyone weighs in and then attends a group meeting. Even if you don't lose any weight one week, being around those who have the same goal that you do can serve to give you the motivation you need to keep from becoming discouraged.
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Step 4
Familiarize yourself with information available in restaurants and online to help you stick with the plan. There are restaurants that provide in their menus the Weight Watchers points value for several meals. Websites with the points value for menu items for hundreds of restaurants are available online. This makes dining out and sticking to the plan a bit easier.
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Step 5
Be aware that there is an initial membership fee when you join Weight Watchers, and a weekly fee when you attend meetings, which both vary by area. Promotions are run periodically which reduce the cost of the membership fee. Prepared meals are also available at your local grocery store, which is more expensive than cooking for yourself, but encourages you to stick to your diet when time is limited.
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Step 6
Consider the fact that Weight Watchers is designed to teach you to recognize proper portion sizes and to make wise food choices as a key to long-term success. Shopping for and preparing your own food also makes the program more economical. However, some find that the Points System can be a little confusing, and depending on the location, meetings can sometimes become too competitive for sensitive types.
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Step 1
Learn that eDiets is a web-based plan in which a personalized diet is created for you based on your current weight, your weight-loss goals and your lifestyle. Weekly menus are done for you and you can create a shopping list right from the menu screen. Exercise is incorporated as part of the overall plan of healthy weight loss.
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Step 2
Understand that with eDiets, many popular forms of dieting are incorporated into one site, so you can choose which works best for you. Low fat, low carbohydrate, low sodium, are just a few examples. Flexibility is the hallmark of the ediets program.
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Step 3
Find that you can prepare your own meals at home based on their menus, or you can sign up to have their meals, called Deliciously Yours, delivered to you.
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Step 4
Know that the cost of the plan is less than some other programs for the use of the website, which includes use of their chat rooms, access to a database of recipes and the support of a personal trainer to help you design an exercise program that works for you. If you decide to go the route of having Deliciously Yours meals delivered to you this will add to the cost of the diet significantly.
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Step 5
Consider the fact that eDiets is probably one of the more flexible diet plans available. You can tailor it to your lifestyle as you need and they really stay away from a one-size-fits-all mentality.
