Weight Watchers i Ranked #1 Weight Loss Diet

Weight Watchers is Ranked #1 Weight-Loss Diet by U.S. News & World Report
Article By: Mary Elizabeth Hurn




Inaugural rankings from U.S. News & World Report put Weight Watchers in the top slot for weight-loss diets.



With two-thirds of adults in the U.S. either overweight or obese, it’s clear that Americans need a sustainable plan for eating healthier. Today we’re proud and excited to announce that U.S. News & World Report has named Weight Watchers the #1 weight-loss diet and #1 commercial diet in its first-ever Best Diet rankings.

But if you’re one of our members or subscribers, you already know this. Liz Josefsberg, director of brand advocacy for Weight Watchers and our resident Leader, says, “We're about real food in the real world. It's this overarching belief system about learning that managing real food in your life is always going to be the way for long-term success.”

U.S. News & World Report determined its rankings by bringing together an independent panel of 22 scientific experts including nutritionists, dieticians, cardiologists and diabetologists. The experts conducted a six-months assessment of 20 diets and diet programs, ranking them in seven categories: Short-term weight loss, long-term weight loss, ease of compliance, nutritional completeness, health risks, and ability to prevent or manage diabetes and heart disease. The experts rated each diet from 1 to 5 in each of the categories. You can learn more about the methodologyhere.

The Weight Watchers PointsPlus® program emphasizes the need for a healthy, balanced diet including fresh fruits and vegetables, lean proteins and whole grains — which is consistent with the recently released USDA My Plate nutrition icon.

The U.S. News and World Report study touts Weight Watchers as a diet in which no food is off limits and people can eat what they want by controlling their portion sizes. It also highlighted the flexibility to shape your own diet. The experts who worked on the rankings also found Weight Watchers to be safe, nutritious, and easy to follow. “In terms of commercial weight loss plans, this is as good as it gets,” one expert said.

But at the end of the day, this is your Plan. We asked the fans on our Facebook page what they love about the Weight Watchers program. (Click here to see all of their thoughts.)

“Weight-Watchers is the only diet that ever worked for me,” said one fan. “It is easy to follow ... it is not a crash diet.”

Another poster agreed, “There is only one thing I would correct. Weight Watchers is the best ‘lifestyle’ not ‘diet.’ The reason Weight Watchers is so great is because it is a great lifestyle to follow. Way to go!”

“Weight Watchers has given me back my life,” said another, “It is not a quick fix; it teaches you how to change your lifestyle. [Since I lost weight] I am back to living life instead of watching it pass me by.”

“Weight Watchers is good,” said another fan of the program, “I love it that nothing is absolutely forbidden, and that nothing is mandatory.”

Au Gretin Shredded Potatoes

Au Gratin Shredded Potatoes
1 (1 lb. 4 oz.) Package Simply Potatoes Shredded Hash Browns
2 Cups Kraft Fat Free Shredded Cheddar Cheese
1 Cup Chopped Onion
1 teaspoon Salt
1/2 teaspoon Pepper
1 1/2 Cups Fat Free Sour Cream
1 (10 oz.) Can 98% Fat Free Cream of Chicken Soup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Sauté the onions in a small skillet that has been sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and cook until tender. In a large bowl, combine the soup and sour cream; then add the salt, pepper, cheese and onion mixing until combined. Gently stir in the potatoes until mixed throughout. Spray a 7X11 inch glass baking dish with non-stick cooking spray. Pour the mixture evenly into the prepared dish. Bake uncovered for 45-50 minutes or until hot and bubbly. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.
Serves: 8 (2/3 Cup Each)
PointsPlus® Value: 4

Pork Burritos

Pork Burritos
serves 14 ( 1 burrito = 8 points + ) add points for additional toppings

1 boneless pork sirloin roast ( 3 lbs.)
¼ c. fat free chicken broth
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 can fat-free refried beans ( 16 oz.)
1 can ( 4 oz) diced green chilies
14 flour tortillas ( 8 " ) warmed

Place pork roast, taco seasoning and chicken broth in a crock pot. Cook on low for 8-10 hours or until very tender. Shred with a fork. Add refried beans and diced green chilies. Stir to heat through. Spoon ½ c. pork mixture down the center of each tortilla. Fold in sides and roll. Serve with additional toppings if desired.

What the USDA'S "New Plate" means to you.

What the USDA’s New "Plate" Icon Means For You



New icon illustrating healthy eating guidelines will look familiar to Weight Watchers members and subscribers.



Be sure to take a look at the new United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) “My Plate” icon offering dietary guidance. Look familiar? If you’ve been following the PointsPlus® program, you’ll likely see that it looks a lot like your own dinner plate! The new icon, replacing the USDA’s longstanding pyramid, shows a greater emphasis on fresh fruits and vegetables, and aims to more clearly represent the choices Americans should be making when it comes to their eating habits.

The icon suggests filling half of your plate with fruits and vegetables — a value that Weight Watchers whole-heartedly embraces. The rest of your plate should be taken up by protein and grains (half of those grains should be whole). There’s also a small circle attached to the plate signifying dairy. There are charts available at ChooseMyPlate.gov for each of the five food groups explaining recommended amounts for different sexes and age groups.

Liz Josefsberg, director of brand advocacy for Weight Watchers and our resident Leader, knows that the plate icon will resonate for her meetings members. “Before, the USDA was saying your day should look like this pyramid, which was hard to quantify,” she said . “The new plate visual is what’s so meaningful. You don’t look at your food in a pyramid shape, you look at it on a plate. We’ve been using that visual in meeting rooms for years as teaching tool. It’s not just how much of your day should be composed of a certain food group, but every meal. That’s so much more effective.”

David Kirchhoff, president and CEO of Weight Watchers International, applauded the new icon, which he praised as being “common sense.” He added, “Like the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, which were released in January, the nutrition advice conveyed in the icon will seem very familiar to Weight Watchers members, because it guides Americans to the same foods as the PointsPlus program. Like the PointsPlus program, it also encourages Americans to eat more fruits and vegetables and to choose foods that are nutrient-dense. The Dietary Guidelines gives you great advice. Weight Watchers shows you how to live it.”

Additional USDA guidelines include avoiding oversize portions and switching to fat-free or low-fat (1%) milk. The USDA also suggests Americans check labels for sodium levels and choose those with lower numbers, as well as advising us to drink water instead of sugary drinks. (And if you’re following the PointsPlus program, these are things you already do!)

Josefsberg added that on the USDA's plate, you don’t see a section of processed packaged foods made up of things you can’t pronounce. “That’s what the PointsPlus formula does, too. It nudges you to make those better choices. It shows that not all calories are created equal.”

“The new nutrition icon, like the PointsPlus program, shows Americans how to fill their plates with the kinds of foods that are delicious to eat and can help you feel fuller,” said Karen Miller-Kovach, chief scientific officer, Weight Watchers International “Following this approach can help more people achieve and maintain a healthy weight.”

Kirchhoff said the company has long been supportive of, and has served as a resource for, the USDA.




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There are SO MANY tools for your personal weight management toolbox on etools!

Here's something NEW!

This is a view of the new BETA progress report...you can see how you are doing with tracking, making health choices and more...by the week and by the month. Even though I'm a paper and pencil kind of gal, I just might enter my information online and learn something new!

Hummus from Kim

Hummus ( Thank you Kim, Mount Airy)

preparation: 5 minutes' processing: 7minutes' yield: 3 3/4 cups (360 g)
Serving size: ¼ cup – PointsPlus 3 per serving

Ingredients:
2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas (garbanzos), one drained, one with liquid
1/4 cup (35 g) raw sesame seeds
1tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup (60 ml) lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled
1teaspoon cumin
Salt


1. Place all ingredients, except salt, into the Food processor container in the order listed and secure lid.
2. Turn machine on and quickly increase speed (that is in the case you have a speed blender) to Variable 10, then to High.
4. Blend for 1 minute
5. Season to taste with salt.

Per 1/4 Cup (60 g) Serving: 99 Cal (25% from Fat 74% from Protein. 67% from Cerb);
Protein; 4 gr
Tot Fat 3 gr. -0 9 Sat Fat-;
Carb, 15 gr
Fiber, 3 gr
Sugar,0
Calcium, 45gr
Iron,7 gr
Sodium; 193 mgr
IU Vit A, 22
Vit C 6 mg
Cholesterol 0 mg



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Walk it Challenge Frederick May 22, 2011

More pictures in this post. Please check them all as I will be adding more as I can open them. Sorry about my delay in get them in the blog.

Pictures Walk it Challenge May 22 2011