When asked, my doctors thought highly of several diets, but Weight Watcher's was the one they usually recommended for most people, one reason being the expense of others and having to eat high amounts of salmon on one of them, which many people grow tired of. Weight Watcher's diet offers the affordability and variety of food that I really need. Dues were about $10 weekly last time I went and specials run so that you don't have to pay registration fee. Many people need to hear other member's clapping when they raise their hand at meetings and announce how much weight they've lost. I have a husband who admires my figure when I lose weight, so I don't applause as much as some people (LOL), but he does tend to serve me very large portions so I joined online to communicate on message boards with others who have trouble losing weight. I figure this is not an insurmountable problem, and I will just have to learn to put some of the food back off my plate before I eat any or else I just tell him I'll get my own so that I can weigh it on my Weight Watcher's scale or measure it with my measuring cups or spoons.

Just go online and enter "diet" on a google search or go to a bookstore and search for diet books, and you will find so many different diets that you may feel that you have to read up on several before you can make up your mind for sure which one to choose. Two problems that I always ran up against were that I didn't have the money and the time to continue to go to Weight Watcher's every week. Then I found out that you could go fewer times per month. This is well and good, but you still have to pay weekly dues. When you reach goal, eventually you don't have to pay anymore unless you go several pounds over goal weight, and this is only until you get back to goal weight again. Then you become a lifetime member and you can attend meetings and get weighed for free.

I feel better when I'm sticking to the Weight Watcher's diet, even though sometimes I just maintain the same weight or get stuck at a plateau. My blood pressure returns to 120/80 instead of 135/90 which it was getting to quite regularly. Also, I sleep better, and I just don't get sick as much. This is because the plan is a healthy one that has been supervised by doctors. It is recommended that you have several servings of vegetables and fruits, a couple of servings of dairy products, a couple of servings of grains, a couple of servings of protein, and plenty of water, about eight glasses, every day. They also recommend you start a regular exercise program by the third week to help you with weight loss and to make you feel and look healthier.

You are given a menu plan to write your daily meals and points on each week. If you know the plan well, you can use the "Dining Out" and other books which tell the general points of foods by yourself or with a family member or friend and follow it yourself. Points are a number which is assigned to each food portion. My daily point allotment is 28 (that I have to use) and I have 35 weekly points which I can use at any time or choose to do without so that I can lose weight faster. So if you know that you are going out to a special dinner during the week, you can reserve your full 35 points for that meal or split it up during the week. You don't have to deny yourself your favorite foods. Just use the Pointsfinder, the food and calorie list, or the Dining Out book to figure out points. It lists some very popular Restaurants and the points value of their foods.

After a couple of months of following the diet, it really isn't complicated anymore. You can estimate by looking at foods if they are about the right sized portion. If you buy the Weight Watcher's meals for the first few months, it's a lot easier because it gives you the number of points on the package. The food and calorie list tells you the calories in a very direct way, e.g. one egg=2 points. So you can quickly jot down how many points you've used after each meal, or you can use one of their bracelets to count points. These are relatively inexpensive. I think it's fun to learn the Points Plan and after awhile I could remember how many points most of the foods I usually eat are by heart. Anyone that tells you that dieting doesn't involve at least a few rules isn't telling you the truth. It takes work to take off the pounds that anyone puts on when carelessly eating, stress eating, or just plain overeating, but I've met many people who've lost tremendous amounts of weight and they looked great! They all stressed that you must be patient with yourself. Everyone goes overboard on occasion.

The great thing about the Weight Watcher's diet is that you're not supposed to skip meals and you never have to go hungry! The next time you feel stressed and want to eat, try doing something else until the urge to stuff your face passes: go for a walk, call a friend or relative on the phone, write an overdue letter, take a bubble bath, write a story, take some photos out and upload them on the computer. Watching television with all the food commercials is not a good idea. Maybe you should watch a good movie instead, and use your points to have a measured amount of fat-free popcorn with your mate! Remember, sex is acitivity too and burns calories, and it's good for you too! Also, make a lot of salads before you begin your meal, and be careful of the salad dressing because I found that many of them, even the low-calorie ones, are loaded with sodium and some even sugar. Watch the food labels because too many packaged foods are high in sugar, sodium and fats. That's why I try to cook everything from scratch except for occasional packaged foods. It's only in the beginning when you're learning the points system that I recommend Weight Watcher's packaged foods because they are not as healthy as home-cooked meals with healthy fresh produce and little or no salt, sugar and fats added. Of course, a little bit of fats, such as olive oil is necessary and should be eaten. Some people need to add a little salt, but even celery has salt in it.

Your daily points target changes as you lose weight and is set on a scale when you first start according to how much you weigh. The lowest number of daily points is 20 for those weighing fewer than 150 pounds, and the highest is set at 34 points for those who weigh 350 pounds or more. The meeting staff will give you certain materials at each meeting that you attend or you can purchase a diet plan package through the mail by going to the Weight Watcher's Website. The materials include Pointsfinder and Activity scales. Necessary materials that you can purchase anywhere are a food scale, measuring cups and measuring spoons. You can purchase the Weight Watcher magazine and their other cookbooks at the meeting site. Sometimes there are even specials on those.

There is another type of plan called the Core Plan which enables you to eat as much as you want of certain foods, and you don't have to count points. I don't do as well on that Plan because I don't get full very easily, and one reason is because my medication increases appetite. I was told that I should weight around 159 according to Weight Watcher's, but I never can get below around 179. Also, my thyroid is slightly underactive. With a doctor's note, you are allowed to weigh above Weight Watcher's weight chart though. You have to stop eating before you get very full on that plan in order to lose weight. If you want to follow the Weight Watcher's Diet online, you can join online and get weighed at home or somewhere that has a reliable scale because you have to get weighed weekly. Many people purposely don't eat just before they go to get weighed so that they get a more accurate reading on the scale at the meetings too.

Whether you choose the Core or the Flex Plan, you can use your Pointsfinder along with the nutritional information on packaged and canned foods to figure the exact number of points you are eating each day. You just look up the number of grams of fiber, fat and calories the food has, then the points finder shows you the Points Value. Just take it one day at a time. Anyone can lose weight healthfully and enjoyably with this diet because if you use your points wisely for healthy fruits, vegetables, proteins, grains and free, no-calorie water, you will succeed! Just don't get tempted to use a lot of points on unhealthy desserts because you will not be healthy.

On this diet, a weight loss of from one to two pounds per week is considered to be a good and safe weight loss. When you lose more than that, the leader of the meeting will sometimes question you to make sure you are losing weight safely and eating the required points. A friend of mine became very ill from skipping meals in order to get down to her goal weight quickly. She had become very attractive when she was eating the recommended Weight Watcher's diet, but became obsessive about losing weight quickly. Always seek help from your doctor or therapist before you feel out of control about losing weight or just following a diet. They're trained to monitor the medical and/or psychological aspects associated with losing weight. My doctor told me I could come into his office to use his scale and check my weight.

Another reason that going to meetings is especially nice is that the meeting leaders give out rewards for certain amounts of weight loss and for reaching goal weight. They also give out stickers to put on your bookmark as you reach certain other goals like resisting temptation at a party you went to. Also, you should be able to meet friends there who also need support from others in order to stick to a diet.

My Mother and Sister both reached goal weight by going to the meetings. Although I highly recommend this, I am trying to follow the diet on my own because it is very difficult for me to reach the goal weight of 155 on my large framed, 5'9" body with the medical problems I am having right now. The last time I went on their diet and stuck to it, even when I didn't lose weight, I felt better than usual. I felt as though I had more energy; walking for an hour became easier. I could even climb stairs and move around a lot longer without difficulty breathing. I know from my Mother's and Sister's experiences that once you learn the diet well, you can follow it, especially with the help of a supportive partner, without going to meetings but it is still preferred to do that until you lose weight and for monthly weigh-ins after you reach goal. The most important thing to remember about dieting is that you and your doctor should be happy with your weight and how you are doing in general. Right now I'm waiting for the newest edition of Weight Watcher's magazine to arrive. So, whether you choose to follow Weight Watcher's or another diet, eat right and be healthy!