Weight Watchers Versus Keto: Which Is Better For Weight Loss?

If you're looking to lose weight, you may be comparing a number of diets in the hopes of finding the right one for you. While all diets designed for weight loss have the same goal, some are better than others at achieving it. Two popular diets nowadays are Weight Watchers and keto. Before understanding which is better for weight loss, it's important to outline the specifics of the two.

Weight Watchers is an internationally recognized weight-loss program that has been around since the 1960s, as per Healthline. While the program has evolved over the years, it currently utilizes a point-based system that gives a specific value to all food and drink options based on nutritional content. Every dieter has a daily budget of points to use that is tailored to their unique needs and goals. While no food is off limits, dieters end up eating healthier foods to stay within their budget. The program also includes a variety of tools and branded foods to help dieters on their weight-loss journeys.

The keto diet is quite different from Weight Watchers. WebMD defines it as a diet that focuses on severely restricting carbohydrate intake. The goal is to obtain most of the daily calories from protein and fat sources while keeping total carbs under around 50 grams per day. This allows the body to switch from using glucose for fuel to using fat in a process called ketosis. Common keto-friendly foods include animal-based protein, dairy, and high-fat and low-carb veggies, points out Healthline. So which is more effective?

While both Weight Watchers and the keto diet have been shown to aid in healthy weight loss, they are vastly different from one another, which makes it difficult to determine the one that is better for weight loss, as per Healthline. Ultimately, this will depend on individual needs and preferences. For those that want a built-in community and a variety of resources to aid in staying committed to their weight-loss journey, Weight Watchers may be the better choice. However, it should be noted that Weight Watchers requires dieters to pay for a subscription to the program, as per the Weight Watchers website. If this isn't in your budget, the keto diet would be a better choice for you.

It's also important that you determine whether a more restrictive diet is possible for you. With the keto diet, you will have an entire list of off-limit foods, as pointed out by Healthline. If you don't think you can stick to such a restrictive regimen, you may want to choose Weight Watchers, as you'll be able to eat all foods as long as you don't surpass your daily point budget.

Finally, you will want to take stock of any health conditions that you may want to treat along with your weight loss. For example, studies such as this one have found that the keto diet is particularly successful at reducing bad cholesterol and blood glucose levels in addition to aiding in weight loss.