Healthier, happier, holistic: This is how Weight Watchers brightly describes its recently revamped weight loss and fitness program.
To which a vocal group of dieting devotees responds: “Hooey” and “horrifying” is more like it. Not to mention “humbug.”
Cultural oracle Oprah Winfrey and corporate diet titan Weight Watchers have rolled out the company’s redesigned and personalized “Beyond the Scale” program. Presenting itself as a “holistic” lifestyle plan rather than a straight-up diet, the new regimen puts a premium on exercise (note: you may no longer barter physical exertion for extra Doritos) and includes a new “SmartPoints” system that steers users away from sugar and saturated fats.
“Everything is still on the menu — but this is our strongest stance ever on eating healthier foods,” announces the Weight Watchers website.
So go ahead and indulge in your favorite dulce de leche ice cream bars — but know that the points just doubled. Ditto for that carefully calculated cookie binge.
Coming in the middle of a season of glorified gluttony, this turnabout has a lot of Weight Watchers followers feeling not so jolly. Downright grumpy, in fact. Hundreds have taken to social media to gripe about the new program, as well as the overhauled app and website, both plagued by glitches since a Thanksgiving rollout.
“The new @WeightWatchers plan is making me so unhappy. I did so well on PointsPlus, but SmartPoints feels too restrictive! So far I hate it,” complained one Twitter user.
“I hate the SmartPoints program and resent that you have forced a change to a program that was working so well for so many people,” declared a Facebook user who planned to cancel her account.
And a Weight Watchers member named Holly, who tweeted that the new plan “removes choices and occasional indulgences that overeaters need to succeed,” denounced the program as “deprivation.”
In the face of the barrage, Weight Watchers chief scientific officer Gary Foster remains unruffled. He says a pilot program involving more than 2,000 new and current Weight Watchers users showed that people adjusted fairly quickly to the new plan.
The new system, he says, features an algorithm that calculates calories, protein, saturated fat and sugar to assign the points. Foods higher in protein get fewer points; treats with more saturated fat and sugar get more. Point allotments for each client are now more personalized based on age, gender, weight and height. And there are tailored fitness goals for each user.
He’s confident that the skeptics ultimately will get on board.
“These growing pains are expected and predictable,” he says. “We’re committed to supporting our members through this transition.”
As it happens,
the global diet empire is in the midst of a major transition itself. Weight Watchers’ revenue and subscription numbers have plummeted in recent years as more people opt for free fitness apps and gadgets like the Fitbit. In a bid to stay relevant, the company is shedding its old identity as a simple calorie counter and reinventing itself as a personalized lifestyle coach.
Enter the queen of all lifestyle coaches. In October, Weight Watchers got a much-needed boost from the coveted Oprah Effect: The same day the billionaire media maven purchased 10 percent of the company, its stock doubled, and rising enrollment soon followed.
The company’s shares surged 27 percent Tuesday and Wednesday after Winfrey debuted a campaign endorsing the weight-loss program and posted a video on her Twitter account, Nick Turner of Bloomberg News reported.
WeightWatchers stock increased 19 percent on Wednesday, to $23.05, following a 7 percent gain onTuesday, according to Bloomberg.
