I was first introduced to Weight Watchers back in the late '60s, when my mother was a member. I was not overweight but attended meetings with her, just out of curiosity. I absorbed a lot of information which became habits and stuck with me for life. Not a bad thing at all. I attended as a member about 9-10 years ago and did core. I lost 21 pounds but was constantly hungry and unhappy. Gained back all the weight plus 27 more ultimately, not that anyone's counting.

Speaking of counting, I hate to do that. But thanks to my early training, it's second nature for me to eyeball a cup of food. Core was really good except I tended to overdo the grains and want more and more. In the long run, WW for me felt like deprivation. I also didn't find the meetings supportive. I would be ridiculed by the others when I said I was learning to grab an apple instead of a sleeve of Oreos. They passed around the basket with 1- and 2- point treats which I never would have thought of having on my own. It was about temptation, too. Resisting temptation, and not being able to resist temptation, then having to start all over again.

The whole foods, no measuring or counting or tracking approach of core worked well for me. I carry it over into my low-carb eating.

Even though the low-fat approach of WW and the high-fat approach of Atkins seem incompatible, I can see how one might be able to combine different parts of each and make it work. More power to those who find the meetings helpful.