Starting WW (Weight Watchers) for 16-yo Son Per His Request - What Do We Need to Know?

[Anonymous]

Agreed to doing it with him. I don’t think WW is the best choice though. Maybe meet with a nutritionist to help you all learn good choices/how to prepare healthy meals. Find a workout he’d love.

[Anonymous]

WW worked well for me when I did it and I should really do it again with my family! Thanks to the PP who said it’s changing soon. It was all about healthy choices.

For me, it was about finding balance and eating healthy. I could eat a lot more of unprocessed food every day than of anything processed. That’s a very simple overview but kind of what it was. All of us know this, but having a list of zero point foods was really helpful to me.

[Anonymous]

OP here - thanks everyone this is very helpful, and very kind of you of pulling for him. Got the appt with his ped next month so should be in time for the updated program.

Anyone know a good nutritionist or dietitian in NoVa or DC? Will ask his Dr for some names too.

And yes he got a gym membership a couple of months ago and goes almost everyday when he doesn't have soccer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here - thanks everyone this is very helpful, and very kind of you of pulling for him. Got the appt with his ped next month so should be in time for the updated program.

Anyone know a good nutritionist or dietitian in NoVa or DC? Will ask his Dr for some names too.

And yes he got a gym membership a couple of months ago and goes almost everyday when he doesn't have soccer.

Thats great. Did you also get him a few sessions with a trainer?

I'm a gym rat. And I've seen so many people come into the gym with the best intentions but not have a plan. And they just kind of go from one machine to the next without a plan. Then, after a few months, they get discouraged bc they don't really see any results.

So I would make sure he's following a solid 4 day a week, total body weight lifting program.

I wouldn't even worry about cardio. At all. Especially if he's playing soccer. Tell him to not even go near the treadmills.

But 3-4 days a week. total body. No need yet to do splits. And he'll see AMAZING results at his age

[Anonymous]

I did a WW when I was 16 and I found it very beneficial, especially when thinking about portion sizes.
My weight has fluctuated over the last 30 years but I don't think more than most people.
It is a good program and the accountability of weighing in every week keeps you on track.

[Anonymous]

Yes! If it's on-line, all the better. Teenagers would do well with that. Or Noom.

Learn how to eat

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Yes! If it's on-line, all the better. Teenagers would do well with that. Or Noom.

Learn how to eat

Anyone’s DC tried Noom? Worth looking or is it still too new for kids?

[Anonymous]

I would suggest NOOM instead... The best thing to support him is by not proving temptations in the home environment, especially at the beginning of his journey. Avoid buying chips, juice, soda. Avoid baking (cookies, muffins, pies, etc). Try to cook healthy meals or at least healthier versions of it... Like turkey chili instead of beef, or heart of palm lasagna instead of regular pasta/red meat sauce. Have lots of fruit and healthy snacks at hand, plus whole wheat instead of white flour goods.

Anyway, good luck.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest NOOM instead... The best thing to support him is by not proving temptations in the home environment, especially at the beginning of his journey. Avoid buying chips, juice, soda. Avoid baking (cookies, muffins, pies, etc). Try to cook healthy meals or at least healthier versions of it... Like turkey chili instead of beef, or heart of palm lasagna instead of regular pasta/red meat sauce. Have lots of fruit and healthy snacks at hand, plus whole wheat instead of white flour goods.

Anyway, good luck.

NP - why do you like NOOM better than WW?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should try a local nutritionist or dietician. WW is good but it’s also difficult to manage with the points counting and their yearly program change. I’ve been doing the program on and off for about 20 years (lose/gain/lose/gain). I obviously have a self control issue. Unless you think he can keep the weight off with the program, he may be stuck in a yo-yo dieting situation that long term is unhealthy and messes up metabolism. I hate to sound like a Debbie downer. Overeating is an emotional trigger. You may want to get to the underlying reason why he overeats as that will help change his behavior. Also with WW, you can still eat junk within your points and that can continue the bad eating habits. I applaud your son for taking action to help himself and really wish him success. Jim sharing my personal struggles as additional information to help with the process rather than being discouraging. I was very thin as a child/teenager and been struggling with my weight and eating habits since college

Agree, well said. The path to long term success is to build his skills in eating intuitively, loving his current self and reducing his issues around food. Highly recommend you all read Intuitive Eating and have a discussion on how he can achieve success in connecting with his hunger and eating cues vs embarking on a lifetime of restrictive eating governed by external definitions of what he “should” eat vs fixing his ability to listen to his own body. If the whole family is encouraging him to diet then that’s just reinforcing that his body is a problem.

I say this because I did ww relatively early (19) and it took me many years to unlearn their definitions of what foods and portions are ok. It set me back years in learning how to prepare healthy complete meals based on my appetite and needs rather than gaming my points for the week. Please make sure you are learning about the harms of diet culture so you can be a good support for your child.

While I don't disagree with the idea of intuitive eating in general, OP said her son is obese. He needs to get the weight off and after that maybe look at other avenues towards maintenance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should try a local nutritionist or dietician. WW is good but it’s also difficult to manage with the points counting and their yearly program change. I’ve been doing the program on and off for about 20 years (lose/gain/lose/gain). I obviously have a self control issue. Unless you think he can keep the weight off with the program, he may be stuck in a yo-yo dieting situation that long term is unhealthy and messes up metabolism. I hate to sound like a Debbie downer. Overeating is an emotional trigger. You may want to get to the underlying reason why he overeats as that will help change his behavior. Also with WW, you can still eat junk within your points and that can continue the bad eating habits. I applaud your son for taking action to help himself and really wish him success. Jim sharing my personal struggles as additional information to help with the process rather than being discouraging. I was very thin as a child/teenager and been struggling with my weight and eating habits since college

Agree, well said. The path to long term success is to build his skills in eating intuitively, loving his current self and reducing his issues around food. Highly recommend you all read Intuitive Eating and have a discussion on how he can achieve success in connecting with his hunger and eating cues vs embarking on a lifetime of restrictive eating governed by external definitions of what he “should” eat vs fixing his ability to listen to his own body. If the whole family is encouraging him to diet then that’s just reinforcing that his body is a problem.

I say this because I did ww relatively early (19) and it took me many years to unlearn their definitions of what foods and portions are ok. It set me back years in learning how to prepare healthy complete meals based on my appetite and needs rather than gaming my points for the week. Please make sure you are learning about the harms of diet culture so you can be a good support for your child.

While I don't disagree with the idea of intuitive eating in general, OP said her son is obese. He needs to get the weight off and after that maybe look at other avenues towards maintenance.

For it to be sustainable, it makes more sense to work on learning to eat and developing that sense of what the body needs first. Diets have a miserable success rate because they are temporary and unsustainable eating methods. A teenage boy who is obese can be perfectly healthy (so can anyone, actually) and has time to make gradual long term improvements! It saves time in the end not to yo yo.

[Anonymous]

I did WW in my 20s and lost 15 pounds that I easily kept off till I had kids. It just taught me to think about what was in my food without restrictions (like keto or calorie counting without taking into account what’s filling and nutritional). I have a great friend from Hs who had a 14 yo dd who got really chunky and they did ww as a family. She’s now in college and totally normal weight.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would suggest NOOM instead... The best thing to support him is by not proving temptations in the home environment, especially at the beginning of his journey. Avoid buying chips, juice, soda. Avoid baking (cookies, muffins, pies, etc). Try to cook healthy meals or at least healthier versions of it... Like turkey chili instead of beef, or heart of palm lasagna instead of regular pasta/red meat sauce. Have lots of fruit and healthy snacks at hand, plus whole wheat instead of white flour goods.

Anyway, good luck.

+100

Most studies on the concept of 'will power' show that it doesnt really exist. The people with the best 'will power' are the ones that create an environment that is either conducive to a good habit, or discourages a bad habit.

For example, do you want to drink less? Keep the beer and wine in the basement, not on the first floor. Want to eat less junk food? Don't keep any in the house?

Likewise, want to go for a daily walk? Keep your walking sneakers and water bottle (already filled) next to the door, etc

Basically, its damn near impossible (until the healthy eating habit is fully formed) to keep "bad" items in the house and expect him not to consume them. Set him up for success by creating an environment that is conducive to healthy eating

[Anonymous]

Good for your DS! Taking charge of his health is great and instilling healthy habits is fantastic.

I don't have experience with WW, but on the exercise front, the gym membership is great. I agree with a PP about working with a trainer. At that age a lot of boys just want to lift too-heavy weights thinking it'll give them quick results, but working with someone who can guide them in the right approach is very valuable. Plus it will help prevent injury.

Best of luck to your DS!

[Anonymous]

Does he have an Apple Watch? It’s motivating and you can link it to the WW app.