Weight Watchers New Program {Sponsored Post}

I’ve been pretty open when it comes to writing about my body, my body image, and health and fitness in general. I even have an entire category on this here website dedicated to fitness & health. I am no expert — not even close — but it is a big part of my life and something that I love to do, talk about, and write about.

When Urban Moms contacted me to see if I were willing to write about the new Weight Watchers 360 program, I explained that my only hesitation was that I have never participated in Weight Watchers (WW) myself. I know that it is a good program as I have friends and family who have joined it and had great results. Their experiences have shown me that Weight Watchers is the leader in weight loss management. When people ask me if I have any advice about how to make healthier food choices, I often point (Ha!) them in the direction of Weight Watchers because it has been proven to work. My own food choices align with what they teach others, but I’m not equipped to teach others all of the ins and outs of a healthy lifestyle.

They thought that my healthy lifestyle would be a perfect fit with WW’s new program, and so here I am. WW sent me some information about their new program and here I am to share it with those of you who may want to kick start your health & fitness journey.

Canadians have long believed willpower is the key to weight loss success, but science is proving this isn’t the case. Weight management has traditionally been seen through the homeostatic hunger lens; science has uncovered hedonic hunger.

Since the 1950s, we’ve thought about hunger in relation to the homeostatic model of eating. This means a part of the brain — the hypothalamus — would send and receive messages based on blood sugar levels (which would rise when eating and fall afterward), and that would tell the body when to start and stop eating. Hedonic hunger is food consumption that is not driven by the need to eat after going without food for a long period of time, but rather to eat food as a means to provide pleasure. It’s most often linked with a desire for highly palatable foods, such as those rich in sugars or fat.

The science of hedonics shows us that our brain’s chemistry can overwhelm rational eating decisions in everyday situations.

Weight Watchers is tackling hedonic hunger head on with its new 360° program that builds on the PointsPlus® plan as its foundation, but integrates new strategies and tools to help
members establish healthy habits.

Weight Watchers teaches members how to build healthy routines that can become second nature, to set up their environments to lose weight successfully and learn to keep it off in the context of today’s obesogenic environment.

Check out these statistics:

We live in an obesogenic environment, bombarded each day by unhealthy food choices, which is contributing to the growing obesity epidemic in Canada

- Currently 57 per cent of Canadians are overweight or obese

– According to Stats Canada, the incidence of overweight and obesity among adult men and women increased nine per cent between 2006 and 2011.

– It is projected that up to 70 per cent of adults aged 40 years will be overweight or obese by 2040 if weight trends continue at the current rate.

Woah.

Here’s a video explaining the new program in further detail, including the science behind it:

Weight loss (and management) is a daily struggle for many, and if you want to learn even more about it, I suggest that you head on over to Urban Moms. They’re also hosting a giveaway for a three month membership for any of you who want to try it out.

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