Right from the beginning, the most important feature of the Weight Watcher's philosophy has been weekly meetings and discussions, along with group motivation and compassion. Starting in a lounge room in Queens in September 1961, an overweight housewife fast came to the realization that by sharing her diet woes and struggles with other friends and like minded individuals the weight loss battle became much easier and more effective.
She was right in many ways. First up, Jean Nidetch, the woman who started the meetings, lost 72 pounds with the group meeting diet philosophy. Prior to this, Jean had struggled with her weight and various fad diets, and despite the perpetual dieting was still tipping the scales at 214 pounds. Jean's weekly lounge room meetings quickly gained popularity. Better still, those attending were also finding it easier to lose the pounds and keep them off.
After tiring of squeezing 40 people into her unit every week, Jean started having meetings in other dieter's homes. One couple who were also extremely successful at losing weight were Felice and Albert Lippert. It was at their suggestion that instead of lounge rooms, a more commercial location might be more appropriate for the weekly meetings.
By May 1963, Jean and her husband Marty, along with Al and Felice Lippert began a partnership and Weight Watchers was born. Jean arrived to the first commercially set meeting to discover more than 400 people eagerly awaiting. Jean was astonished as there had been no advertising and she had only provided seating for 50. True to her spirit and determination, Jean split the crowd into groups of 50 and spent the entire day there talking to and supporting those who had shown up.
The concept of attending weekly meetings to receive support and talk about food obsessions and frustrations quickly gained momentum, along with plenty of weight loss success. In fact, these meetings were in such high demand that Jean found herself running meetings three times daily, every day of the week. Obviously this was not sustainable, and with Al Lippert's suggestion, women from around New York were recruited to run meetings. These women had to have attended Weight Watchers, lost weight, and been successful with their weight management.
In just 4 short years, Weight Watchers had become international and there were 102 franchises in the US, Canada, Puerto Rico, Great Britain, and Israel.
In 1965, Weight Watchers came up with the concept of diet food available in grocery stores for dieters to purchase. During this time, the Weight Watchers magazine was founded, the very first Weight Watcher's cookbook was released, and members were able to purchase various dietary aids such as food scales at their meetings.
The 1970's.
In 1973 Jean Nidetch resigned as president of Weight Watcher's to head up public relations. Around this time, a psychologist came on board to assist with behavioural management programs regarding healthy and unhealthy eating patterns.
In 1978 Weight Watcher's became one of the first weight loss companies to promote the importance of regular exercise, such as walking, with the advent of the Exercise Plan. Also in 1978, Weight Watchers was bought by the giant food company H.J.Heinz, for about $100 million.
Changing through the Times.
During the 1980's Weight Watchers developed the "Quick Start" program which was designed for losing weight fast initially. Another amazing concept for the times was their "At Work Program" which brought the Weight Watchers meetings to workplaces.
The 1990's saw some dramatic changes for Weight Watchers. First, after enjoying the largest slice of the weight loss cake, there were now several other highly successful weight loss companies, such as Jenny Craig and Nutrisystem, the latter also known for its Nutrisystem coupon code discounts. By the mid 90's dieters were tired of traditional dieting and counting calories, and were looking for other easier, faster ways to lose weight. The introduction of new diet pills and gyms dragged many dieters in other directions.
In response to the changing needs of dieters, the "1,2,3 Success" program, or Points Plan, was introduced in 1997. This style of eating became famous for the fact that there were no calories to be counted. Various foods were allocated points, the healthier foods were lower and unhealthy foods were higher. Depending on the weight of the dieter, daily points were allocated for their consumption. Extra points were allowed on the completion of exercise.
In 1999 Heinz sold Weight Watchers International to a European firm, Artal Luxembourg for $735 million.
Today. Weight Watchers has grown with the times and still encourages dieters to focus on the health benefits of weight loss, as opposed to the cosmetic external appearance. More than 1 million people in over 30 countries attend weekly Weight Watchers meetings, with the original concept of group meetings and support still very much in evidence.
About the Author.
Matthew Papa is the owner of WeightLossTriumph.com, a website wholly dedicated to those seeking to manage their weight. He regularly publishes the latest findings on obesity research, and other current information on best obesity weight loss programs. He provides advice for those looking for information on weight loss and control, and offers coupons for Medifast discount.
