💬 Discussion post: Is Weight Watchers ... getting this right?

Let me explain!

Their new font … company font rebrands always feel like this now.

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This is a discussion post, where I write a bit about something I’m mulling over and encourage you to talk to me (and each other) about it in the comments. Here’s the last one we did.

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A lot of people who read this newsletter probably think Weight Watchers sucks. I get it, I did it once with my mom as a teenager and it was the only thing I considered more tedious and coercive than Catholic Mass. Others have made the point that when the company rebranded as simply “WW” in 2018¹, it was attempting to distance itself from diet culture — which was then a little gauche to obviously care about, as body positivity had entered the mainstream — without changing anything about the system:

“The core of the program remains the points system, which turns every bite of food into a moral calculation. Foods high in calories, sugar, or fat carry higher point values, while “zero point” foods — mostly fruits, vegetables, and lean proteins — are considered “free.” On the surface, it looks flexible, but in practice, it encourages judgment and guilt. Members are taught to save points, to “earn” indulgences, and to feel remorse when limits are exceeded.”

Of course, the fact that the company is returning to the full iteration of its name might suggest that it’s not so gauche to be a weight-loss company (or customer) anymore.

Look, it’s hard for me to cram all my feelings about weight loss into a tidy little post, but if you’ve been here awhile you probably know I’m kind of in the “messy middle” of this. I think thinness-seeking for the sake of it is soul-destroying and ruinous to the body, but I also don’t think all weight-loss seeking is thinness-seeking. I also think a lot of people who want to lose weight do not start from a position that enables them to do it sanely, safely or sustainably. That’s hardly their fault. Even if their weight loss desires stem less from “must look snatched at the beach” and more from “my joints hurt and Type 2 diabetes runs in my family,” many Americans have not been privy to realistic, sensible education around body fat loss (or reliable access to nutrient-dense food, safe or affordable exercise spaces, etc.)² so their weight loss attempts are likely to not only disappoint, but also harm them. Given that, discouraging weight loss attempts at all might feel like the best shot at harm reduction.

I truly see where people are coming from when they consider weight-loss companies like Weight Watchers et al. kind of evil for potentially selling people the chance to be hungry, miserable, and ultimately worse off, body image-wise, than when they started, since that’s how so many too-restrictive diet attempts go. But: I lost a lot of weight myself in concert with binge eating recovery and other habits, like strength training, that were profoundly positive for me. At the end of the day, I ate differently (which did involve eating less, from not bingeing) moved more, lost weight, and all that made my health and life better. That happened without me starving myself, punishing myself, hating myself, or harming myself, so I simply can’t be someone who believes all weight loss attempts are destined to fail or necessarily harmful.

All that said, what harm reduction looks like for me isn’t dismissing or condemning people’s weight-loss desires outright, or even doing the same to all weight-loss companies. Per one report, 85% of Americans say at least one major aspect of their life would improve if they lost weight; 77% are interested in trying a weight loss method they haven’t tried yet. I know it sounds bleak, but I feel it’s a losing game at the moment to try to get people who feel this way to not feel this way. Instead, I think harm reduction around weight loss efforts involves giving people the kind of support and access that enables them to do things safely, sanely, and sustainably. That is, somehow, maybe where Weight Watchers comes in?

I’m working on a freelance article related to this topic, so I came across a Weight Watchers press release published in mid-December. The company says it’s offering GLP-1 prescriptions along with “personalized nutrition, coaching, community support, and cutting-edge technology.” They say that looks like:

• Pairing members with board-certified doctors specializing in metabolic health, plus ongoing medical advice throughout treatment

• An AI (oh, of courseee) body scanner tool that tracks changes in fat and muscle, for insight into metrics beyond scale weight

• Different plan “modes,” like “Vacation Mode,” so people can adjust their plans to better match whatever’s going on in their life

• A structured behavioral, nutritional, and lifestyle support program, i.e., personalized nutrition guidance around macronutrients, etc.

• Small, coach-led community groups, including those focused on things like menopause, for peer support

• Strength-building plans to preserve muscle mass, including a progressive strength and functional movement program called “The LIFTED Method by Holly Rilinger”³

Now, am I here to be a Weight Watchers ambassador or cheerleader for this program? Like hell I am. They’re trying to sell product, same as it ever was. I am suspicious of most Brands.

I have no idea what the program or any of these features look like in practice, and wouldn’t be at all surprised if this is all lip service, or if all these features end up overwhelming people and chaining them to a bunch of scores and points and modes and metrics that make them obsessive and exhausted.

However, from my perspective as someone who succeeded in changing my eating and moving habits and my body composition … those bullets are indeed the things that make sense. Paying attention to body fat and muscle changes is saner and healthier than only caring about scale weight. Adjusting your behavior and expectations around food and movement when you’re on vacation or life is super-busy is less likely to burn you out than fretting over calories while you’re romping around Rehoboth Beach. Thinking about eating enough protein, fat, and carbs is better than choking down Atkins Bars or low-calorie Frankenfoods. Building and preserving strength will keep your body functional and help maintain body composition changes (and will do a thousand other things that will change your life for the better, as you will read about in my book).

I’m seeing from my reporting on this subject that a lot of companies offering GLP-1s are doing this. I spoke to another doctor, Spencer Nadolsky⁴, whose company Vineyard is doing the same sorts of things. I think there are a lot of shady, scammy, shitty weight-loss programs and GLP-1 offerers out there, but at this point if I were to pick one myself, I’d be going with the ones who are focusing on the bullets above.

So yeah, maybe Weight Watchers has a long history of sucking for various reasons, but from what I can tell, this just might be an instance of The Worst Person You Know Just Made A Great Point. If we’re headed into a time when companies promising weight loss are centering the sane, safe, sustainable things that actually work in addition to GLP-1s, I hardly think that’s bad. In fact I think people probably shouldn’t use GLP-1s without the concurrent support of all those bullets. The medications can be very effective for scale weight loss, but it’s the bulleted stuff that in my experience and opinion is likely to truly change your well-being for the better, for the long-term. I’d rather a Brand make money selling that than a bunch of bullshit quick fixes.

(For further reading on this subject, I recommend Kate Manne’s post, “Is Ozempic Harm Reduction?”)

Now: Tell me what you think! Do you agree? What am I missing? Am I crazy? Let’s talk. We’re in the messy middle together, my friends. What are your feelings about what Weight Watchers (and Vineyard, etc.) are doing right now?

1. I don’t know when it went back to Weight Watchers; this is all starting to feel a little too HBO Max-ified for me.

2. And a lot of them aren’t doing it on Easy Mode, like I was!

3. Who at least has a more sensible take on how to think about holiday weight gain than a lot of group fitness instructors do — some of them are still starting class with some version of, “Let’s burn off those holiday pounds, you naughty little piggies!”

4. He wants to impeach RFJ Jr., he’s cool.