Weight Watchers

Boston. -- I was not among those who wanted to award Kathleen Sullivan a scarlet A for losing her journalistic virginity. If she can make a living losing weight, good luck to her.When she reappeared last month with dye on her hair and inches around her waist, it reminded me a bit too much of the return of the prodigal daughter. ''One moment I'm a network anchor and the nextwell, look at me,'' she said, her oversized sweater covering her body.Ms. Sullivan, the mouthy morning anchor without the ''anchor hair'' had not only lost her job and her money.

Jill Babchak, 34, of Columbia, has joined Weight Watchers before, but this time around she's dropping pounds with the help of the organization's mobile application. “I like it because it has all the restaurants, all the foods, right at your fingertips,” says Babchak, a senior marketing specialist at DP Solutions in Columbia. “You can actually scan a food right there in the grocery store, and it brings up the amount of points it is worth,” she says, referring to Weight Watchers' system of assigning different point values to foods based on their nutritional content.

As a single mom struggling to navigate the work-life juggle, Tynesha Ross found herself cutting corners at dinner time. After work and exhausted, she'd make a beeline for McDonald's. Happy meals for her two kids, a value meal for her. Home. Eat. Homework. Bed. The ease of the routine bumped up against the reality of her poor health. Overweight and unhappy, she began going to weekly Weight Watchers meetings at the community nonprofit DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families, where she learned shortcuts for making healthy food.

I don't think I have ever used the "f-word" to describe myself. I've called myself overweight, and heavy. My clothes have been for "big girls" from the "women's" department, but fat has never really been in my vocabulary. Other people have called me fat. I remember an incident, probably 15 years ago, when I went out with a friend and her boyfriend and we met some other people. One of those people asked my friend's boyfriend which girl was his girlfriend, and he said "the fat one," referring to me. I can't remember that guy's name, but I sure remember that night, and how it was ruined.

"Weight Watchers Favorite Homestyle Recipes" has arrived just in time to lend support to some of those perennial New Year's resolutions. It features hearty and healthful dishes that reflect up-to-date information on weight loss and nutrition.This new collection has 250 recipes chosen in a contest among Weight Watchers members and staff. The winning dishes were then refined for maximum nutrition and taste.Each recipe is accompanied by the complete Weight Watchers Selection Information, to help those on the Weight Watchers Food Plan keep track of daily choices.

At a time when the number of overweight children is soaring, Weight Watchers is tightening their access to its program. The weight management program recently began requiring a doctor's note and a weight goal before enrolling children aged 10 to 16. The diet's food provisions may not be appropriate for children and might even cause them to rebel and gain more weight, says Weight Watchers chief scientist Karen Miller-Kovach. The 40-year-old program previously required medical permission only for children younger than 10. "While we have assumed forever that what works for adults is what's best for kids, now we have evidence that maybe that's not the case," Kovach says.

Gaila Droegemeier from Centerton, Ark., was hoping someone would have the recipe for a Weight Watchers oatmeal cookie. She had a recipe some years ago but misplaced it and she has not been able to reproduce the wholesome-tasting cookie to her satisfaction. A quick search on the Internet turned up several promising recipes. I tested one by Michelle Marshal that she posted on a site called Suite101.com. I decided not to tell my testers that it was a Weight Watchers cookie. Based upon how fast the batch was gobbled at my house, I doubt anyone was aware that the chewy and delicious cookies were also low fat and relatively low calorie.

It could be worse, of course. She could be posing in No Excuses Jeans. There could be a 900 number, a line of open-toed shoes, or a Playboy pictorial.What, after all, is a fallen duchess to do for money after the palace doors swing shut?If you are Sarah, Duchess of York, you go public with your tales of dieting disasters, of ballooning up to 205 pounds during your unhappiest days in royal hell, of finding comfort in sausages and mayonnaise, of eating just half the chocolate chip cookie so that you can fit into your slimly tailored suit.

Police LogCrofton: Someone broke into Weight Watchers in the 2100 block of Defense Highway overnight Sunday and stole a television, videocassette player and portable cassette player.Pub Date: 1/22/97

Weight Watchers has created a post-holiday "diet dilemma" hotline.The number is 1-800-3-LOSE-LBS. The line will be open through Jan. 15 and leaders will answer calls between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. Monday through Friday.Call the hotline any time for a motivational message that will change each day.Weight Watchers leaders will provide weight control tips, menu ideas, healthful recipes and motivational support. This is good news for all the revelers who have resolved that 1991 is the year they will lose weight, eat better and start exercising.

As a single mom struggling to navigate the work-life juggle, Tynesha Ross found herself cutting corners at dinner time. After work and exhausted, she'd make a beeline for McDonald's. Happy meals for her two kids, a value meal for her. Home. Eat. Homework. Bed. The ease of the routine bumped up against the reality of her poor health. Overweight and unhappy, she began going to weekly Weight Watchers meetings at the community nonprofit DRU/Mondawmin Healthy Families, where she learned shortcuts for making healthy food.

Gaila Droegemeier from Centerton, Ark., was hoping someone would have the recipe for a Weight Watchers oatmeal cookie. She had a recipe some years ago but misplaced it and she has not been able to reproduce the wholesome-tasting cookie to her satisfaction. A quick search on the Internet turned up several promising recipes. I tested one by Michelle Marshal that she posted on a site called Suite101.com. I decided not to tell my testers that it was a Weight Watchers cookie. Based upon how fast the batch was gobbled at my house, I doubt anyone was aware that the chewy and delicious cookies were also low fat and relatively low calorie.

The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great By Pam Anderson Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites Over 200 Best-Ever Recipes From the Weight Watchers Test Kitchens Wiley / $29.95 / 2008 This book has no inspiring back story, no narrative, nothing but 225 recipes. The Weight Watchers people don't even bother to tell you how they chose these best-ever ideas. But like Pam Anderson's, the recipes are not diet-y. And they're good. Here, too, the portions are small. The Mussels in Spicy Tomato Broth - easy to make and it turned out well - tells you to eat 30 mussels (OK)

For years Medifast has relied on under-the-radar marketing to sell its weight loss products. Physicians referred the company's meal replacements to patients who needed to shed pounds. Some of those patients in turn became salespeople, using themselves as walking testimonials. And with the advent of the Internet, the 27-year-old company began selling directly to consumers through its Web site. In the meantime, rivals such as NutriSystem and Unilever's SlimFast elbowed their way to the top of the meal replacement market with high-profile marketing.

Karen Paris knew she was eating too much when she caught herself eating off her daughter's plate. "I had gotten into some really bad habits, and my portions were huge," she recalled. So she began a campaign to lose 25 pounds. There was no secret shortcut: She joined Weight Watchers, cut back on portions at every meal and took up aerobics and circuit training at the YMCA near her Catonsville home. Her weight has since fluctuated, but Paris, now 44 and paid to run weekly sessions for Weight Watchers members, has managed to keep it within 5 pounds of the goal she achieved back in 1995.

Ladies and gentlemen, choose your dietary weapons. Would you prefer to eat Southern fried chicken and shrimp creole for breakfast while supping on shredded wheat? If so, see The Reverse Diet by Tricia Cunningham and Heide Skolnik. Or perhaps you're ready to ditch that regimen Francaise (French Women Don't Get Fat) and go eastward with Japanese Women Don't Get Old or Fat by Naomi Moriyama and William Doyle. (The authors say that Japanese women have the lowest rate of obesity in the developed world: 3 percent, compared with 11 percent for French women and 34 percent for American women.

Thousands of people are expected to take part tomorrow in the American Cancer Society's second annual Great American Weigh In, a national effort to make people more aware of the links between obesity and cancer. According to the cancer society, about 35 percent of cancer deaths could have been prevented through healthier eating habits and more exercise. David Zauche, the society's director of health initiatives, said the society teamed up with Weight Watchers to find ways to help reduce risks of cancer.

The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight & Eating Great By Pam Anderson Weight Watchers All-Time Favorites Over 200 Best-Ever Recipes From the Weight Watchers Test Kitchens Wiley / $29.95 / 2008 This book has no inspiring back story, no narrative, nothing but 225 recipes. The Weight Watchers people don't even bother to tell you how they chose these best-ever ideas. But like Pam Anderson's, the recipes are not diet-y. And they're good. Here, too, the portions are small. The Mussels in Spicy Tomato Broth - easy to make and it turned out well - tells you to eat 30 mussels (OK)

I am a 40-year-old female, 5 feet 5 inches tall, 140 pounds, with no medical conditions. While I am within the normal weight range for my age, my body fat is 30 percent. I'd like to reduce my overall weight to about 125 pounds, with 22 percent to 24 percent body fat. Here is the problem: I can exercise five or six days per week, which includes 60 minutes of cardio at a relatively moderate pace (4.5 mph on the treadmill or 72 to 75 mph on the elliptical), along with upper and lower body training two or three times a week.

AUTO RACING is going to face some weighty problems if something isn't done to level the track now that perky Danica Patrick is threatening to revolutionize the industry. OK, I don't know if she's really perky, but she's only 100 pounds and she qualified fourth for yesterday's Indianapolis 500 - where she ended up in fourth place - leaving some of her male counterparts wondering if the Indy Racing League needs to do something to compensate for her weight advantage. It's a real issue. Because Indy cars have to meet strict weight standards, Patrick's diminuitive stature - at least theoretically - gives her an advantage in fuel efficiency and speed over her heavier competitors.