They have created a billion dollar industry convincing women across the globe that if they just count, track, and log every bite of food they put into their mouths - they can ditch the yoga pants, don some tight jeans and knee high boots, and become an after picture success story.
Well, apparently the millions of men and women tracking their food and activity points across the globe, just isn't enough. Their newest, genius, marketing target? The new mom.
Who best to be the poster child for this campaign? Jessica Simpson, of course.
You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure this strategy out. Jessica is famous for her weight struggles - particularly the ones she had during this pregnancy. Every few weeks there was a new headline. Is Jessica's weight gain safe for baby? Even appearing on a show surrounded by what one would expect to be sympathetic hosts - the strictly female-staffed The View - wasn't safe. Joy Behar called her fat.
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| My pregnancy photos look nothing like this. No fair. |
Jessica signs a $4 million contract to lose 50 pounds in five months. For a company that boasts being "dedicated to inspiring and helping you adopt a healthier way to live," it seems a bit rash, doesn't it? Why 50 pounds in five months? It clearly states under every success story on their site people following the plan can expect to lose one to two pounds per week. Okay, let's split the difference and call it a pound and a half. I think that's fair. So by Weight Watchers own claims, following the plan the way it should be followed, you can expect to lose 30 pounds in five months. Yet Simpson signed a contract to lose almost double that. Even if she did perform at the high end of those expectations she would cap out at 40 pounds. Still 20% less than what Weight Watchers is asking.
This is why Weight Watchers is genius, and also why I hate them. They are swooping in on the tail end of all the criticism. Post-pregnancy pictures show Jessica fatter than she has ever been. Weight Watchers knows that the public has a short attention span. This stuff won't be interesting for long. They also know Jessica has all of the trainers and personal chefs she will ever need to make this happen. And I'm pretty sure they are certain that a four million dollar price tag will ante up the motivation factor. They know they are expecting more than their own credo even claims is possible. But they don't care. Just do it, Jessica. You're rich enough. You've got the resources.
What really pisses me off, is that when she does emerge 50 pounds lighter - which she will - regular women are going to actually believe this is possible for them. They are going to watch Jessica strut around in some Daisy Dukes in a Weight Watchers ad a few months from now, and wonder why they are still in their pregnancy pants.
If Weight Watchers is going to sell post-partum women on this fantasy, they are going to have to customize their website a little. Is breastfeeding on your activity list? How many points do I get for that? Maybe it depends on how much milk I yield? How about walking up to my fourth floor apartment, with the Baby Bjorn strapped to my torso, and a handful of groceries. How many activity points for that? How many points in approximately a half a handful of elbow pasta I picked off the floor? Oh, also - can you please add toddler treats to your food lists? I can't find how many points are in an Earths Best teething cracker anywhere.
Being a new mom is stressful enough without logging every bite you take. If you are breastfeeding, I'm not even sure if that is healthy behavior. The most fantastic thing about being a new mom is enjoying those rare few months of total immersion. You won't get those months back Jessica, you just won't. You had the opportunity to be the poster mom for the average woman, who gains weight, enjoys her baby, and deals with it when it's time. Instead, you decided to go another route.
"It's funny to be at your heaviest and feel the most confident. I just take such pride in being a mom! I just love my body more than ever now." You were quoted as saying this a couple days after you gave birth. Reading this quote makes me happy. I only wish it made you happy, too.
But Weight Watchers is smart. And $4 million dollars is a lot of money.
Wow 4 million!?? I did WW BEFORE having a baby and it took 6 months to lose 28 pounds. I was very dedicated, I worked out 4 days a week and I didn't have any kids. That was nearly impossible after I had a baby. For me WW was a one hit one wonder. I'm not going to waste my money on them anymore. I don't have time to count pretzel sticks.
ReplyDeleteSix pounds in 28 months is still something to be proud of!
DeleteI did WW for a while, about a year, I lost 15lbs. I don't regret it, I did learn a little bit about my portion size and started paying more attention to things like the fact that I sat on my ass all day and still ate like I was taking dance three times a week, but since the mobile app is so crappy it's not sustainable for someone who has a busy lifestyle. I may roll my eyes about Jessica Simpson's movies and music, but as a human I feel so sorry that people keep picking on her like this. Let her nutritionists do what they do to help her recover from pregnancy and birth in a healthy manner!
ReplyDelete/rant
I think WW is a great tool for many people- obviously. I just think this particular marketing is gross. And unfair.
DeleteI completely agree with you-- that didn't really come across in my response, but I do. I also tried really hard to only use the mobile app because an overly skinny Jennifer Hudson on the homepage made my eye twitch a little bit. Thanks for unattainable goals, people who swear they want to help us lose weight! (when really it looks mostly like they want to shame us in to extending our memberships)
DeleteYou obviously are unfamiliar with Weight Watchers' programs for new moms or you wouldn't be asking such ignorant questions. The programs existed before they got Jessica Simpson to help advertise them.
ReplyDeleteIt's easy to find the points plus values for any food. Packaged food has nutrition label. You enter the data into the PP calculator and then you get a PP value. It's not rocket surgery.
Nursing moms (who are exclusively breastfeeding) get an extra 14PP every single day; nursing moms supplementing with formula get an extra 7. You can change your settings at any time. It's not counted as activity points, it's simply calculated into the daily PP allotment. There's activity points for playing with your kids and walking up stairs, and adding activities is incredibly easy.
Raging out of ignorance doesn't make you right. Some of us actually need to lose weight on a schedule - military moms don't just get to hang onto the weight indefinitely. Non-breastfeeding moms have to be back within weight regulations by 6 months, breastfeeding moms can have up to a year. Some of us are grateful that WW has a program that includes us. Some of us are "dealing with it when it's time" because it basically starts being time once the baby has been born.
Weight Watchers worked for me before I got pregnant and did get me to my goal weight and "after" picture. It wasn't the finish line for me, I was partway into a huge fitness challenge for myself and was incredibly proud of the strides I had made with WW being my guide when it came to redefining my relationship with food. Scorn it all you want, but it's a billion dollar industry because it's effective and it makes people feel better about themselves to be genuinely healthy - not "thin".
Jesus christ lady, did you read this post at all? I was questioning the marketing strategy of Weight Watchers, who seems to be departing from their boasts at being the healthiest plan out there, to request that a new mother lose 50 pounds in five months. I'm not saying it's not good as a whole. I'm saying "yuck" for marketing to new moms and using rich celebrities who have resources beyond WW to make it happen that quickly.
Delete"Raging out of ignorance" seems a little like the pot calling the kettle black, here.
Word.
DeleteThank you for my new expression of the week: "It's not rocket surgery." Will use this. Often (because rockets are people too).
DeleteIf the military requires new mothers to lose their weight within 6 months after the baby is born, then "the military" is one big fucking patriarchal, misogynist asshole.
DeleteI agree that this campaign is misleading. I actually know a lot of women, my mom included, who love Weight Watchers and have had a lot of success with the program. I've always appreciated that WW promotes healthy eating and lifestyle changes over quick, take-a-magic-pill style fixes. Up to this point I've also generally been impressed with their responsible branding. This definitely seems like a departure from what they've always tried to promote (health over weight loss). It's kind of a bummer.
ReplyDeleteOh yeah... and something something sarcasm funny something something!
I'm tired. "Sarcasm something funny something something" is going to be my post tomorrow. I'm stealing it.
DeleteYou can have it. I don't mind.
DeleteThis. Is. Fabulous. Fantastic post. And you put into words what has been bugging me every time I read about this deal.
ReplyDeleteI lost 122lbs on WW and now work for them. As soon as I started, I found out I was pregnant. I gained 75-80 lbs back. My son is 18 months old and I still have 9 more lbs to lose before back at goal. All that being said - I completely agree with your post. I was so upset with my company when this came out. On top of the weight goal being ridiculous, they also say on their own website that you shouldn't start a weight loss plan until 8 weeks after giving birth. This is mostly for nursing mothers so they can develop a good milk supply. Well Jessica Simpson was in people mag less than 8 weeks after birth. Now I think Jessica chose to announce it during the interview but it still bugged me. WW is definitely being hypocritical. And yeah, I wish they would have picked me. Because I can barely lose 2 lbs a month...let alone 10!!!! Money is a great incentive.
ReplyDeleteI know she was looking kind of chunky when she was pregnant, but day-um that Elle picture is beautiful! I agree with you. Leave the mamas alone!!!
ReplyDeleteI did weight watchers right after having my baby and I was STARVING all the time. I finally quit it after a month and I lost all 45lbs in 4 months on my own (plus I wasn't starving!). Well, I guess I should say 30lbs, those first 15lbs came off the first week (the normal 15 you lose from having a baby), then the other 30lbs came off by 4 months postpartum. But I also had the army pushing me to lose the weight too.
ReplyDeleteGreat post.
ReplyDeleteI'm not just irritated with WW. I'm also frustrated at any magazine headlining celebrity weight loss after childbirth. I think it does make the everyday woman feel like she's supposed to do that, too. As if the headlines are saying, "If she can do it, you can, too." I think it's so misleading. Right or wrong, many celebrities need to maintain a certain physique for their careers. So, it is their FULL-TIME JOB to maintain/regain that physique. I do think more women could get in shape and stay in shape if it was their full-time job. You know, if we had nannies just so we could be alone at the gym for hours with our personal trainers. Then, we could spend time with the kiddo(s) while our personal chef whipped up healthy meals. We could take the kid out to the park or play group while the housekeeper made home look like a magazine spread.
This is not my world, so forgive me if you're a celebrity and I'm blowing this out of proportion.
Yes, women can get in shape and eat healthy without all of the above advantages, but I think it is harder and peddling celebrities' results creates unrealistic expectations for us peasants.