McDonalds and Weight Watchers Team Up

“It’s all about sales really,” Australian Obesity Policy Coalition senior adviser Jane Martin said. “It implies this food is healthy … when often it is high in fat and salt. Chicken McNuggets are Chicken McNuggets whether its got Weight Watchers on it or not.”

Read the full article  - http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/03/03/mcdonalds-teams-up-with-w_n_484061.html

Welcome to the Community

We had an interesting forum discussion on iChange about Weight Watchers Online bullies.  One person’s comment:

“Not a reflection on WW themselves, but I was in the online community there and there were a group of bullies that seemed to make it their goal to make fun of and point out the weaknesses of others. They would get kicked off but then make a new user profile and be right back on again. I don’t know if that’s still happening but it was a major reason why it didn’t work for me to do the online program with them.

Community is definitely important. Encouraging folks to lean on each other and form support groups is crucial-especially because some of us are in situations where we have saboteurs in our home environments.”

Others chimed in that this is a problem they also have seen on Weight Watchers Online.

iChange  is structured so that our experts and Group Leaders ensure that the online conversations are productive and encouraging.   As we grow, we will continue to refine our systems to keep iChange a safe place to control weight and stay healthy.  Our hope is that we can keep the bullies at bay.

Weight Watchers and Jenny Craig were battling it out in court recently over Jenny Craig ads that implied it to be a better diet than Weight Watchers in a head-to-head comparison.   Earlier this month, Jenny Craig agreed to drop the ads because in reality, no such study existed.  We should have been suspicious when we saw Valerie Bertinelli in a lab coat.

So which diet is better?  The correct answer is the one that you are able to stick to the longest.   Research seems to point to the fact that successful weight loss is about being able to embrace whatever diet you are following, and make it part of your life.

I came across some diet reviews on ePinions today that show a strong preference for Weight Watchers over Jenny Craig.  I wouldn’t call this a scientific study because we don’t know who may be behind the reviews.  However, the results are still interesting.  Weight Watchers reviewers commended the program on its simplicity and more important, for the accountability it provides.  Jenny Craig reviewers were highly critical of the cost and the pushiness of the Jenny Craig employees.

The conclusion?  Find a diet that you think you can live with for the long term, not just for a few weeks of rapid weight loss.  And find friends, a family member, or a supporting community to help you through the diet.  It’s not just about willpower.  It’s getting the support you need to make a long-term change to your life.

Jamie Oliver\’s TED Prize wish: Teach every child about food

MARCIA IS DOWN 40 POUNDS: One of our great success stories here is Marcia. If you haven’t read her blog about her journey here, you really should. http://myweighback.wordpress.com/ She tells a story that many of you are going to relate to. She is a woman who tried every diet under the sun, was totally skeptical, asked a million questions but agreed to follow the plan and the results speak for themselves. The most important thing is all the awareness Marcia has gained about how her body responds to food and what she really needs to feel good. I just told Marcia that she has done something else incredible for her body – she has potentially eliminated the need for an extra 12 MILES OF BLOOD VESSELS. For each 10 pounds of fat, the body builds 3 miles of blood vessels. This is why obese people have high blood pressure, the heart has to work extra hard to get blood through all these extra miles of vessels. Most of us would have trouble walking 12 miles so think about how much extra pressure has been taken off her heart. It’s very exciting. Congratulations Marcia and keep up the good work. Linda Miner

Nice job Marcia.  And you too Linda!

We launched our new nutritionist-led weight loss groups at the beginning of the year, and judging from the weight loss, they are doing really well.  Diana Young, RD, is leading our first three groups of ~10 people each, and across the board, participants are losing > 2 pounds per week, and seem to be feeling good while doing it.  Our goal is to help our members lose weight at a healthy rate and to help build habits to keep it off.  The group goal of 100 lbs in 30 days is definitely within reach.

Over the next few months, we will be experimenting with different size groups to see if we can identify an optimal number of people.  The goal is to get enough people in a group to create the buzz and activity to provide motivation, but keep it small enough to build trusted relationships among members.

“I need to tell you how grateful I am for all of you and what you’re doing. Here’s why I really realized it tonight. We were at church and just before the service started I visited the ladies’ room. There were two other women in there talking to each other. One was telling her friend how she was trying to lose weight. For the past ten days she had eaten only beef jerkey and Red Bull. She lost ten pounds in a week, but on Friday she passed out at work, fell over and knocked her head. The others at work revived her made her eat something. She was complaining about how it had ruined everything she had been doing. I wanted to fall to my knees and thank God for you. Thank you for helping me so I don’t have to try to live on Red Bull and beef jerkey. I’m grateful for you.”

Please, please, please take care of your health before all else.   Our nutritionists are pretty consistent in the message that anything over 2-3 pounds per week is probably too much.

It has come to our attention that you recently removed 5,000 members from your site because they had gained some weight  (read the full article here). We at iChange strongly disagree with your opinion that to be beautiful you must be skinny.  We believe that true beauty is created when someone is healthy and happy with themselves.

One need only look at these gorgeous plus size models or any number of iChange users to see for yourself.

As a response to your naive opinion of beauty Mr. Hintze, iChange  would like to welcome any current or former members of beautifulpeople.com to join our community to become a healthier and happier person to start the new year with support from the iChange community.

Happy New Year,

The iChange Team

The first is a $9.99 30 Day Weight Loss Program with Diana Young. The session starts the day after New Years Day, January 2, and concludes on January 31. For the month of January, you will be guided as part of a small group of people online (no more than 10), by Registered Dietitian Diana Young. She will give meal plan guidance and provide daily check-ins with the goal of helping the group lose 100 pounds. Sign up today as space is limited.

The second is an intensive One-on-One Counseling Program with Registered Nutritionist Linda Miner. In this program, Linda gives you her full nutrition workup, including the advanced Metabolic Typing Assessment, to create a plan that is highly customized to your body’s specific needs. Linda’s program is suited for people looking for a high degree of direction, support and nutrition expertise to make a major change in their lives. She’s pricing the first 60-day phase of the program at only $99/month (50% off the regular program price). If you choose to stick with the program, later phases run as low as $29/month. She also offers a 100% money-back guarantee.

Happy Holidays!