Originally an Exchange Diet
Weight Watchers was originally created in the 1960s. The plan has gone through several different incarnations in the nearly 50 years since its inception. In one of the early versions, the program consisted of following an exchange diet. More stringent than today's program, participants were advised how much of specific food groups (i.e., fruit, vegetables, dairy, fats, etc.) to include in their daily diet.For example, a fat "exchange" on an exchange diet might consist of a tablespoon of olive oil. If you were allowed two exchanges of fat per day on your Weight Watchers exchange diet, and you used two tablespoons of oil on a salad, you would have exhausted your fat exchanges for the day. An exchange diet is simply a way of controlling calories while providing some nutritional guidelines.
Points Introduced
In 1997, Weight Watchers introduced a new program which was then known as the "1-2-3 Success" program. The Points program provided an easy way for members to track the fiber, calorie and fat content of the food and beverages they consumed. Each member was provided a "target" of alloted Points for the day and advised to track the food and beverages they consumed in order to stay within their Points target.The Points-based versions of Weight Watchers have proved very popular and the concept remains at the heart of the program today. The plan was changed slightly and renamed "Winning Points" in the early 2000s. One of the modifications to the plan over the years was to allow members to "earn" additional Points by exercising. Those Points could be used for consuming additional food or beverages if the member so desired.
Later, the Turn Around Program was introduced. In that version of the plan, members were given the opportunity to choose between two noticeably different types of plans. The Core Program focused on choosing healthy items from a list of specified foods (these included "healthy" fats and "good" carbs) while avoiding less preferable foods. The other option, the Flex Plan, allowed dieters to eat anything they wanted as long as they tracked their food and beverages, calculated their Points, and stayed within their Points allowance.
Current Version
As of 2009, Weight Watchers has eliminated the Core Program and introduced the Momentum Program. This newest version of the plan helps members understand how consuming certain filling foods helps them to eat less and prevent overeating. Success on this version of the plan ultimately relies on tracking the Points value of all foods and beverages consumed and adhering to your allowed number of Points.To learn more about Weight Watchers, visit WeightWatchers.com.
