Here are 7 tips every Weight Watchers member should know come from veteran Weight Watchers members (and me!) to help you on your journey towards weight loss success.
Whether you’re new to Weight Watchers or have been following the program for years, you can never have too much help when it comes to staying on track as you get to your weight loss goals.
7 Best WW Weight Loss Tips & Hacks
Here are helpful tips every WeightWatchers member should know. Which of these is most helpful to you? Share about it in the comments below.
1. Get support.
There are many ways to join Weight Watchers, including online or by utilizing in-person meetings. Even without in-person meetings, you most definitely can be successful with Weight Watchers.
Join a free Facebook group or use WW Connect in the app to help you stay on track. Connecting with a buddy (or several) will greatly increase your chances of long-term success with the myWW program.
Here are a couple Facebook groups that have been helpful for me:
Weight Watchers Success Facebook group – run by me and free to join!
The Holy Mess Diet Challenge Facebook group – The Holy Mess 3 Day Diet is perfect for WW members. I include links to the WW Personal Points for every recipe, and it’s a great way to break a plateau. The meal plan is so popular it was featured in Women’s World magazine.
Christian Weight Loss, Healthy Eating, and Fitness Facebook group – I run this group. It’s not just for WW but a super-supportive community if you are interested in weight loss from a faith-based perspective.
2. Track or Pre-Track your foods daily.
One of the best parts about Weight Watchers is that you don’t have to count calories, carbs, or anything else except points. Tracking is the number one key to your long-term weight loss success. Research from as far back as the 1960s shows this to be true across all weight loss programs.
You can either pre-track (track the day before or in the morning for the whole day) or you can track as you eat. You can also do a combination, like track your dinner and breakfast the day before and then you’ll know how many points you have to play with for lunch and snacks.
Just remember the important rule, “If you bite it, you write it.”
The free Weight Watchers Mobile app makes tracking easy because you can type in the name of the food or you can scan the bar code. You can even track with emojis if you want to.
While sitting in bed at night, maybe you’re watching TV or vegging out in some other way. You can pre-track your foods for the next day. This is not to say that you can’t change the foods you eat, but it will give you an idea of what you’re going to eat and how many points you have.
Knowing I have a little wiggle room puts my mind at ease in case I have to stop by a fast food restaurant and grab a grilled chicken sandwich for lunch. Pre-tracking also increases your chance of long-term success with W W because it teaches you to plan ahead instead of trying to cut way back on points to fix it later.
3. Weight Watchers Food Finds
“Food Finds” are what I call foods that are low in points but high in satisfaction.
Of course we have our zero points foods which are the core of what you should eat. But we all need treats now and again that won’t break the points bank.
Having low-points foods available is a HUGE deal in making sure you are successful with the Weight Watchers program. When you only have high calorie, high sugar foods available, you are likely to use most of your points at breakfast, setting you up for hunger and frustration the rest of the day.
Check out this post of Weight Watchers Food Finds.
Here are a few WW member favorite food finds:
- Premier Protein – just 2 points and can be used for coffee creamer
- Kodiak Pancake Mix – can be used to make many treats
- PB2 – powdered Peanut Butter
- Instant Pot – This isn’t really a food find but I have to also mention the Instant Pot. This kitchen device has been a HUGE blessing to me in maintaining my weight and getting healthy food on the table. Read more here: How to Lose Weight with Your Instant Pot
4. Zero Point foods are not calorie-free.
A common mistake some new members make is thinking that “zero points” equals “calorie free” or “free for all”.
I’m not saying you can’t eat any zero point foods, and I’m not even saying you can’t fill up on zero point foods. I’m just saying, be mindful of what you are eating (and drinking) because everything has calories and it can catch up to you quickly.
If I’m running low on points, I’ll make a zero point dinner with grilled chicken and steamed vegetables. That doesn’t mean I consumed zero calories, it just means I’m making sure I stay on track for my points. I don’t eat pounds of chicken, just a portion (or two if I’m really hungry), and I stay mindful of how my body is feeling. Don’t eat past your body’s fullness signals.
Still, if you are going to overeat, overeating zero point foods is way better than overeating junk food.
When I’m looking for a very low point splurge, I try this Weight Watchers Crustless Pumpkin Pie that is a couple PP for the whole pie. This means you can use more points later on in the day. Another popular low-point splurge with Holy Mess readers are these 2 ingredient pumpkin muffins.
5. Drink water.
I know that for some of you, hearing this is like hearing a horrible soundtrack on repeat. Every single diet you’ve ever tried has said to drink more water, hasn’t it? I know because I’ve tried them, too. The beauty of Weight Watchers is that it is not a diet, so don’t stress about this one too much.
While I don’t think water is the weight loss miracle that some people claim, I do believe there are great benefits to drinking water instead of other beverages. I do believe you should avoid drinks with calories as much as possible, especially what I call candy coffee, which is starting your day with a coffee beverage with as much sugar as a candy bar. Do what you can to cut back on liquid treats.
Also, tea and coffee do not count as water… so don’t try to cheat.
6. Weekly flex points are optional.
If you want to eat your weekly flex points every week, you absolutely can do so. Use them throughout the day to eat a little more each day or save them for a weekend splurge.
However, you aren’t required to use them and your weight loss might go a little faster if you skip some of them if they aren’t needed. Weeklies aren’t required.
I have friends on Weight Watchers that like to save their weeklies for a cheat meal on the weekend. If you can handle a cheat meal and get right back on track more power to you! Sometimes, though, I find a cheat meal turns into a cheat day (and then a cheat week), so be mindful of weekend overeating.
Your weekly points are absolutely available to you as you need them, so experiment and see how they affect your weight loss.
7. Success IS possible!
If you are like me, you have tried many times to lose weight. I know it gets incredibly frustrating at times, but I’m here to tell you that you can do this. I am a living, breathing example of the fact that the WW Reimagined program does work.
If you fall off the program or re-gain weight, don’t call yourself a failure. Each time you try, you learn something new about what does and does work for you.
I’m raising my glass (of water) to your Weight Watchers success. You can do this!
100+ Pound Weight Loss Before and After with Weight Watchers
I am currently maintaining a 120 pound weight loss, and I lost the majority of that weight using Weight Watchers. I still use Weight Watchers today, now using the current WeightWatchers Program.
I’m here to say success is possible. I know weight loss can feel overwhelming, especially if you have a lot of weight to lose. But it’s not impossible and you CAN do this. I believe in you!
Read more about my weight loss story here: 100 lb Weight Loss: HOW did you DO It?
What’s your best tip for Weight Watchers members? Let me know in the comments.
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Love this post. Thanks for your advice
The only thing I would add is that if you can start to work in some walking or other fitness, it will enhance your weight loss. They say weight loss is more about the food and weight maintenance is more about the fitness. For me, fitness has always played an important part of my weight loss. As Sara knows, I personally like Zumba, but I realize it’s not for everyone. Then find something that is for you, grab a friend, set a regular fitness day(s) & start walking off those points. Like Sara does with the weeklies, I don’t use the fitness points, but they are there if you have to go to a special occasion & need the extra points.
I disagree with number 6. Many people need to eat at least some of those weeklies for optimum weight loss. Any time somebody is having difficulty losing, every leader I’ve ever had suggests eating more weeklies. It is counter-intuitive, but you really need to eat to lose. Also, the weeklies make the program livable and not feel like a diet.
Thank you for that. I just started last week and had some of my weeklies this weekend. I just read about her not having them and was starting to get anxious. I weigh in tomorrow and I plan on having a loss! Thanks again.