Doctor Oz has apparently partnered with Weight Watchers to do a bunch of healthy diet segments, the first one of which was today and was focused on Empty Nesters. I always love Dr Oz’s diet and weight loss advice, however I do have to admit that a couple of today’s segments felt a bit like a commercial for Weight Watchers. 
Dr Oz said that Empty Nesters (people who have kids that are grown, married or living on their own) often find that they have extra time on their hands which can lead to weight gain. So when your kids leave the nest, instead of gaining weight, this is the perfect time to take control of your health and diet. Dr Oz said that last year 3 million kids graduated from high school and 2 million of them went off to college. Empty Nest Syndrome usually hits in your 40’s or 50’s.
Dr Oz said that Weight Watchers is not about a diet, but about adopting a new healthy lifestyle. Dr Oz was joined by Liz Josefberg, a Weight Watchers Leader, who said that as you lose touch with your regular schedule tied to your children, you often become less active, lose your social network and may feel isolated. In addition, your metabolism slows down and you can begin to lose muscles mass.
Dr Oz’s 3 W’s: The Empty Nest Syndrome Diet
1. Work Through Why You’re Eating
Emotional eating is very common because you have more time on your hands and maybe you are bored too… there are in fact many, many reasons for emotional eating. Ask yourself the following 5 questions before you eat anything:
Who are you with?
What are you eating?
Where are you eating?
When are you eating?
Why are you eating?
Answering these questions can help you determine if you are doing emotional eating.
2. Write It Down
Dr Oz said that by monitoring what you are eating, you can know if you are in the right budget for calories. Weight Watcher’s Point System is of course a famous system where every person has a points budget daily and the points somehow incorporate calories, fat and fiber into one number. Here are some examples that Dr Oz showed:
Salad – No Points
Popcorn – 1 point
Potato Chips – 4 points
Cheeseburger – 13 points
1 Chicken Wing – 3 points
1 Chicken Breast – 4 points
The nice thing about the Weight Watchers system is that you can eat what you like to eat and you can still go out and be social. There is the “power to cheat” and still get back on board.
3. Find a Wing Mate
Try to find a wingmate, or someone to do the weight loss plan with! Once you sit down and realize there are other people exactly like you, it somehow becomes easier. Josefberg told Dr Oz that people who go to Weight Watcher’s meetings weekly lose three times as much weight.
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