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Is your way of eating sustainable? 6 steps to find out

Behaviour technique

By Weight Watchers
Last updated 11 September 2024
Is your way of eating sustainable? 6 steps to find out

The “perfect diet”? It doesn’t exist. What does work for weight loss: Finding an eating pattern you can stick with long-term. To get started, think about what you ate last week, then take this quiz.

Try this!

1. I ate things I enjoyed. Yes/No 2. All foods were on the menu. Yes/No 3. I was able to stick to my weight-loss or health goals. Yes/No 4. I could be social and go to events. Yes/No 5. I was able to eat the same meals as family and friends. Yes/No 6. It was easy to find my food at local stores. Yes/No. If you answered mostly YES and think you can maintain this eating pattern, great! Next step: Think about what you need to do to keep it up. If you answered mostly NO or aren’t sure if you can do it long-term, that’s OK. Next step: Brainstorm a way to turn each “no” into a “yes.”

4 questions to help you make your eating pattern more sustainable

  1. How can you incorporate a favourite food or two into your week?

  2. Can you plan ahead for an upcoming party or night out?

  3. When can you lean on ZeroPoint®foods or weekly Points®for more flexibility?

  4. What recipes in the WW app might your family also enjoy?

Let’s dive a little deeper…

Raise your hand if you’ve tried to lose weight other ways before joining WeightWatchers. (Lots of members have.) Did any of those “diets” ban foods you enjoy? Or feel so restrictive that you couldn’t help but (over)think about whatever you weren’t having?

Yeah, that doesn’t work. Research shows the most successful approach to eating is one you can stick with long-term. And, for most people, that means flexibility and liveability, not restriction. In other words, a pattern of eating that includes nutritious foods that you enjoy and keep you on track, plus wiggle room to account for things that influence food choices—your environment, social situations, culture, and more.

With so many things influencing eating behaviours, finding what works for you may not be easy. And, as anyone who has accidentally gone over their Points Budget knows, you may not get it “right” all the time. That’s normal; this a journey! Just keep making room for what matters to you and success is a lot more likely to follow.

3 fast facts

  1. Research shows that the most successful dietary approach for weight loss is one you can stick to long-term.

  2. Leveraging your natural preferences and tendencies is a good place to start.

  3. When your eating pattern takes into account foods you like and the things you tend to do, it's easier to stick with it.

Find An Eating Pattern You Can Stick To | WW Australia