by Bhavya Dabas

Created on: November 03, 2009

One of the key elements of the Weight Watchers program is that it makes healthy eating choices second nature, a way of life. For a few weeks, you learn how to consciously choose healthier, high fiber foods over ones with a high fat content, but slowly and steadily, it just grows on you. You ask for the grilled chicken instead of the fried and the tomato sauce instead of the creamy three cheese sauce, almost as if it were a reflex action.

When you track your points for everything that you eat during the day, you begin to see patterns in your eating habits. You notice which choices help you keep your points tally safely within your budget. You notice which ones help you lose weight faster.

You also notice which choices push you very close to, or over the, upper limit that has been calculated for you. You begin to make conscious attempts to reduce your intake of those food groups.

Keeping track of everything you eat also gives you a better idea of how frequently you eat during the day. From that, you can infer which foods make you feel full for longer periods of time, and keep you from snacking too much too often. You notice that the brown rice you had at lunch kept you from snacking until dinner time. You notice that your high fiber breakfast cereal had you feeling full until one in the afternoon. But when you skipped breakfast in your hurry to drop the kids at school and get to work, you ended up munching on some unhealthy snacks before lunchtime.

When you are trying to do anything that you are new with, you need feedback to help you see how well you are doing. Tracking points gives you just that. The best part about it is that it gives you your requisite feedback on a day to day, or even hour to hour basis, so you can make amends for it at the very next available opportunity. For instance, if you went out for lunch with friends and the cake you had for dessert made your points tally shoot up, you can make up for it with a light, healthy dinner. If you filled up with a snack bar between breakfast and lunch, then lunch can be a healthy sandwich with lettuce and tomatoes and other fresh vegetables.

Of course you know what you are eating. But having it all written down and available at a glance helps you see where you can make changes, where you can make healthier choices.

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