Oprah Winfrey and other celebrities have claimed to lose weight while still eating all their favorite foods on Weight Watchers. But the TLC reality television show "My 600-lb Life" disproves major aspects of the famous diet plan. Dr. Younan Nowzaradan's bariatric surgery diet seems to contradict WW on dieting and foods to eat for weight loss. Is it possible, as Oprah says, to have your cake and weight loss too?
Oprah lost 45 pounds on Weight Watchers
By now, readers of "O" magazine are pretty familiar with Oprah's big weight loss. The TV talk show celebrity has always attributed Weight Watchers for helping her to overcome obesity (though there were some rumors of gastric bypass surgery or plastic surgery). What did surprise was Oprah's claim to lose weight after she stopped dieting. "My 600-lb Life" patients have had a different experience. All of them have found that weight loss requires constant vigilance, aka following some kind of diet. And what is Weight Watchers after all but a diet?
Weight Watchers slippery slope
The fault with Weight Watchers isn't in meal planning. It's in disingenuous terminology and false claims. The diet brags to eliminate calorie counting as if that's a bad thing. But the points system is just counting calories using a different method. Further, "My 600-lb Life" disproves the claim that dieters can eat all they want and lose weight. Morbidly obese people are never satisfied and always hungry. They eat thousands more calories than they should. Dr. Now can't afford to play around letting them eat "favorite foods." That's what made them 2-4 times the normal human weight. His reality television patients must drop 400-600 pounds immediately and bariatric surgery is the only way.
Gastric bypass diet cuts major food groups
Oprah's "favorite foods" translate to junk food which is essentially forbidden on the gastric bypass meal plan and any effective diet. Weight Watchers also doesn't tell you that you can only eat tiny servings of diet versions of junk food. And those don't hit the cravings. "My 600-lb Life" Steven Assanti craved pizza--the 500-calorie per slice kind. James K's weakness was Chinese food and not the low-cal, reduced-everything portion controlled style. Dr. Now's diet not only cuts processed foods (like Weight Watchers meals) but also major food groups including bread, fruit and some good carbs. But he also shows them how to avoid hunger with mega protein foods and fat-burning fiber and fatty acids. Do patients love the foods? Not really--but they do find life-saving weight loss.