Weight Watchers is Filing for Bankruptcy
Disclaimer: As a Pilates Professional, I approach all body shapes and sizes without judgment. My perspective on cultural and political issues is informed by an intellectual analysis of the American body and how it has been impacted by the diet and exercise industries.
Turns out, Weight Watchers is finally going on a diet—just not the kind they advertised. They’re shedding debt instead of pounds, and honestly, when I told people, their response was: “Wait, they were still around?” Ouch.
I’ve been side-eyeing Weight Watchers—aka the Church of Eternal Dieting—since they kicked off in 1963 back when people thought margarine was a health food and Jell-O salads were peak nutrition. Jean Nidetch, who started us all dieting, began her biz with a diet developed by Dr. Norman Jolliffe at the NYC Board of Health. It was based around lean meat, fish, skim milk, and fruits and vegetables, and it banned alcohol, sweets, and fatty foods. Notice immediately how sophistication and taste were under attack: no booze or butter.
Even though in 1963 few of us were even overweight, those who tried this diet had no success so Jean’s contribution was group “support” meetings . Sounds good, right. No—it was a direct line to public shaming and the diet of the day special: public then private eating. Since back then no one knew what a calorie was—and even today NO ONE has even seen one single calorie—they made dieters weigh and measure the food which at least had a basis in reality and seemed to be a sensible way to stop overeating.
Before they rebranded as “WW” (which honestly sounds like a wrestling group), in addition to weighing your tasteless food, hunger was supposedly satiated by munching on low-calorie stuff that we called rabbit food like lettuce, celery, carrots. And drinking lots of WATER. Holy water., please. Big change because back then adults still drank milk unironically, wine was a “European” alcohol and diet soda was not in wide distribution. Flavor was found only in the corner bakery or in a Snickers bar.
And let’s talk cultural awareness. Sushi? Pasta? Calamari? Ha! The average American palate in 1963 couldn’t identify an avocado if it fell on their foot. Coffee was an instant brown liquid. This was a nation used to powdered cheese and orange-colored bottled salad dressing. Olive oil—what’s that?
Then came “healthy swaps,” which is dietitian code for palate punishment. Can’t have fries? Have kale chips! Don’t eat cake—here’s a rice cracker instead. No wonder we all turned into closet eaters hoarding Oreos in sock drawers.
Fast-forward to today and… surprise! 65% of us are obese and 10% are speed walking toward it. We now know about hormones with names like villains—leptin, ghrelin, cortisol, insulin— that rule our gut, but still, the advice is “eat more superfoods” as if a kiwi is going to save your pancreas.
I was born in 1941. We had food rationing. There were no “all you can eat buffets.” Calories or carbs or gluten or fat free had invaded our minds. You just knew desserts were fattening. That was the rule. No apps. No macros. Just vibes.
Now everyone’s buzzing about “wellness.” The words nutrition, superfoods, and healthy are just marketing nonsense. Eat chia seeds and drink green tea? Congrats, you’re still bloated and mad. “Healthy” is a scam with good lighting.
And what about meals? We’ve forgotten what a meal even is. A slice of pizza on the sidewalk is not a meal—it’s a lifestyle cry for help. A meal has structure: main, side, drink, and dessert too—maybe just a mint—not a CRUMBL® cookie monster.
Our oral fixation make us snack, nibble, graze, sip, scroll. We don’t feel full unless we have inflated our stomachs like a bounce house. That’s the problem.
So here’s the actual solution: START by finding out how much you actually eat. Then with your own baseline begin to:
Eat. Less. Food.
Stop trying to “swap” your way thin.
Reduce the number of bites.
There’s even an app for it—80Bites. Instead of tracking calories, you count bites. Yes, bites. Because let’s be honest, most of us have no idea how much we swallow. The 80Bites FREE app makes you realize just how much you’re actually stuffing in.
Start with figuring out how many bites you take per meal. No, you won’t feel full at 26 bites although you should.
Forget keto, paleo, or whatever DASH stands for. Those are just clever ways to convince you that bacon or barley is the key to salvation. It’s not. They're all diet-shaped lies. Including intermittent fasting which is just skip breakfast and get hangry.
You want the real scoop? Go lurk in Ozempic Facebook groups. You’ll hear the truth:
Lost 40 pounds!
Gained back 38!
Food thoughts 24/7!
Crying over quesadillas!
Until you manage quantity and rewire how you think about food, you’re just on a hamster wheel with expensive protein bars.
The real health hack?
LEARN to Eat less. Chew more. And skip the spinach worship.