8 behavior-change techniques Weight Watchers members swear by

There’s a reason your attempt at the cabbage soup diet didn’t last more than a few days. Or that going keto ended up backfiring and you regained more weight in the end. Aside from not necessarily being all that healthy for you, traditional diets don’t teach you how to change deeply ingrained habits over the long term. Weight Watchers does, though, by using something called “behavior-change science,” and it’s one of the many reasons Weight Watchers programs work for lasting weight loss.* 

Even if a member just uses the Weight Watchers app and calls it a day, they’re following behavior-change science in the simple act of tracking what they eat. Members who attend Weekly Workshops get even more benefit, however, by learning dozens of research-backed behavior-change techniques from an expert Coach. Here are the tactics members say have had the biggest impact on their lives and weight-loss journeys. 

What it is: Emotional eating happens, but there are other ways to deal with negative feelings that may ultimately help you more. One approach is the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 technique, which helps bring your mind to the present moment and reduce stress. While breathing deeply, look around and name five things you see, four things you can feel, three things you hear, two things you smell, and one thing you taste. By centering your mind on your senses and what’s happening right now, you can stop ruminating about the past or worrying about the future. And that may nix the urge for emotional eating. 

What Weight Watchers members say: “My best Weight Watchers technique is the 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 pause. I use it often and it has helped me to lose almost 50 pounds!”

What it is: A key step in improving your diet is becoming aware of what you’re eating in the first place. And that’s where tracking your food comes in. To do that, you need to come up with an approach to tracking that you can do consistently (which can help you lose more weight and keep it off). This doesn’t look the same for everyone. Some may prefer tracking everything they eat when they eat it, while others may do it all at the beginning or end of the day. Play around until you figure out what’s right for you.

What Weight Watchers members say: “I track for my whole day first thing in the morning and make any adjustments as the day comes at me. It’s very helpful for me to see my whole day laid out, like I’m walking into my day with a plan.”

What it is: There’s room for every food in your diet, but you can also make tweaks to certain dishes to help them become lower in Points without sacrificing taste. A few things to try: Switch up the cooking method, choose a leaner cut of meat, or swap out one ingredient for another. 

What Weight Watchers members say: “The recipes on this app have helped me a lot. They tend to be delicious and my family likes them. No one in my household knows that dinner is 6 or 8 Points other than me.”

What it is: At its simplest, this technique means focusing on your food. Put down the phone or close your laptop and think about how each bite tastes, looks, and smells in the moment. You’ll enjoy the meal more and feel more satisfied after.

What Weight Watchers members say: “I stopped mindless eating! I focus, taste, smell, and slow down. It’s helped me pay attention to what and how much I’m eating and stop just eating on cruise control.”

What it is: One of the hardest times to make healthy food choices is when you’re super hungry. At that point you need to eat something and may just grab whatever is fastest and easiest. So if you want to eat healthier, plan your meals out ahead of time. It doesn’t have to include breakfast, lunch, and dinner every single day, but having a good idea of what you’re going to make can help you stick with your goals.

What Weight Watchers members say: “The less time I spend debating what to eat, the better I do. I shop intentionally, keep a consistent pantry stocked with foods that fit my plan, and repeat simple meals that I enjoy. I've found that making the healthy choice the easy choice works much better for me than relying on willpower. That simple structure has helped me stay consistent and has made the biggest difference in my journey.”

What it is: Nobody is perfect, which is why you shouldn’t try to be. Don’t just forgive yourself for imperfections, expect them to happen and move on when they do! Otherwise you can get so caught up in feeling like a failure that you just give up completely.

What Weight Watchers members say: “I’ve lost the all-or-nothing mentality. Got 9,463 steps instead of 10,000? Fine. Ate a 13-Point breakfast? I’ll just have a lower-Point lunch. My only absolutes are weighing myself weekly and going to my Workshop.”

What it is: If you find yourself fixated on what’s going wrong in your life, it can help to take a moment every day and feel thankful for what you do have. The more you do this, the more automatic it will feel to pay attention to the good things. Find a time every day, maybe while drinking your first cup of coffee in the morning or winding down before bed, and think about three good things that happened that day. It can be small — your favorite song came on the radio — or big, like you booked a vacation.

What Weight Watchers members say: “Practicing daily gratitude has been, and continues to be, life-changing.”

What it is: It’s human nature to go for the easiest choice sometimes, so making unhealthy choices harder can help steer you towards the habits you really want. Take a moment and set up your environment to add effort to unhealthy behaviors, like moving your phone charger out of your bedroom so you don’t scroll for an hour when you want to be asleep. 

What Weight Watchers members say: “I learned how to make choices to fuel my journey, like packing my gym bag the night before. I also learned there can be good friction too, like putting treats on the top shelf to require more effort to get to them.”

Changing behaviors can be hard, but there are certain techniques you can do to make it feel a lot easier. This includes things like pausing before you emotionally eat, focusing on the flavors of your food during meals, adding obstacles to unhealthy behaviors, and striving for consistency instead of perfection.