My Thoughts on Momentum

Well, today was the big kick-off for the new Momentum plan from Weight Watchers. I stopped by a meeting and got the new materials. I guess now that the program has been “officially” released in meetings, there’s no harm in talking about all the new changes beyond what I had already seen in eTools beginning on Thursday.

I’m just going over changes at a very high level and will not be directly quoting eTools or the printed materials, and please don’t ask me to do so. I have no desire to be sued by Weight Watchers. If you want to see the actual program, you’ll have to either wait for your regular meeting (if you are already a member), and if you are not already a member, then you’ll have to go join.

Here’s the recap of what I learned:

• There is no change in how points are calculated or in the formula for determining one’s target points.
• Per the leader, the new plan is designed to be more simple and more sustainable after members reach their goals and move into maintenance.
• There are a total of 10 weekly booklets in the new program.
• There is a new pocket guide which includes a place for one’s tracker, contains a basic A-Z food list, has boxes for 56 weekly weigh-in updates (no longer have separate member booklet), and has a flip-out points finder for food/activity points.
• The tracker now includes a Filling Foods column. When one is tracking their foods, a check mark is placed in that column next to any foods consumed from the Filling Foods list. The goal at the end of the day is to have foods with check marks than those without.
• The tracker has also changed slightly in that members are now asked to track their hunger levels throughout the day, and it also contains check boxes now for lean protein and whole grains in addition to the fruit/veg check boxes.

As for actual program changes, there is no longer a Core Plan. Everything has been combined into the single Momentum Plan which everyone will follow. There will be a “Simply Filling” tracking option (similar to the Core Plan) outlined in the week 6 materials. This is considered to be just an alternative tracking option of the Momentum Plan, not a separate plan in and of itself.

The leader did invite anyone who wanted to stay after the meeting the opportunity to learn about the Simply Filling tracking technique, so I decided to stay to hear about it. She provided each of us the Week 6 booklet and an explanation of how it worked. She mentioned that anyone could ask for the Week 6 booklet at any time and it would be provided.

She mentioned that one of the main differences from the Core Plan is that members using the Simply Filling technique will be asked to track all foods eaten, and not just the 35 weekly points allowance (WPA) foods eaten. Portions and associated points aren’t tracked, but members are asked to at least write down the foods eaten for better personal accountability.

The Week 6 booklet contains all the same categories as listed on the eTools site, but also includes three additional categories as well: Beverages, Seasonings & Condiments, and Healthy Oils. As with Core, members using the Simply Filling option may consume the daily healthy oils requirement without counting points for it. Anything beyond the daily requirement amount would need to be deducted from the WPA.

The Good Health Guidelines (GHG) have a couple of new changes as well. Activity is now considered part of the GHG. (Who knew?! I thought it was already one of them. ) Members are encouraged to incorporate at least 30 minutes of activity per day. This doesn’t necessarily mean formal exercise, but just activity in general. So, things like gardening, housekeeping, dancing, etc. can also be used to fulfill this requirement.

The other interesting change is that WW no longer requires six 8-oz. glasses of water now. It has been changed to a “liquids” requirement and incorporates ALL beverages, including milk, juices, coffee/tea, diet soda, etc. They do advise that water is still the best option, but that any beverage can be counted to meet the 48 oz. “liquids” requirement.

There is also a new SetPOINTS option as well that can be used for when one dines out and doesn’t know the exact points or have the option of weighing/measuring their food. Information for that is already available to eTools/WW Online members, but it won’t be discussed in the meetings until week 5.

Another small change is that the first goal for all members is a 5% Target in addition to the 10% Target. All members will now be working on 5% goals through the course of their weight loss journey. The keychain award is still given for reaching 10%. After reaching the initial 10% goal, a new 5% Target will be set. When it is reach, another new 5% Target is set, and so on.

At the center where I attend, there is a big celebration area on the wall now. Members will fill out a card or something when they reach 5%, 10% and the 16-week award which will then be placed up on the wall. So, for those who think the gold stars we receive are a bit like kindergarten, welcome to the world of the celebrations wall.

In conclusion, here’s my take on the new Momentum Plan:

It takes the tracking and portion control of the Flex Plan and the more whole/satisfying foods of the Core Plan and combines them into a single plan. It’s teaching members from Day 1 of their weight loss journey how they need to think about food/hunger to take them not only through their weight loss journey, but through a lifetime of maintenance as well. Personally, I think it’s a good change. It will definitely be a reminder to me to think more about what/why I’m eating and not just spend my points on junk foods or eating when I’m not really hungry.