Sophomore pre-pharmacy major Julie Miller wants to stay in good shape while at school. She finds that she can maintain a good diet and exercise but needs a way to track how her eating and fitness intakes every day.

Having done Weight Watchers in the past at home and having liked the experience, Miller decided to get involved with Weight Watchers at Work at Wilkes.

“It’s more of a lifestyle change rather than a diet because it teaches you about portion size and with weight loss,” Miller says.

Miller says that Weight Watchers at Work makes her more aware of what she is eating throughout the day and oftentimes people don’t realize that all the foods they are eating can be unhealthy.

“They say if you put it in your mouth you have to track it, so even drinks that are sugar-free can have two or three points on the Weight Watchers points scale,” Miller says. “It just makes you more aware of what you are eating and to re-assess that.”

For the past 10 years, the Health and Wellness Center is sponsoring an initiative to help those who want to lose weight but may not have the time to during the week. For the past few years, they have sponsored the Weight Watchers at Work program on campus. The 10-week program is open to any students, faculty and staff.

According to Weight Watchers At Work Administrator Cindy Edwards, the program is designed for participants to learn a healthy lifestyle by losing weight and continuing to maintain it.

“It is easy for anyone to follow,” Edwards says. “You can eat grocery store food because it’s based on a simple Points Plus value number system.”

The core of the Weight Watchers at Work program is the Points Plus Program. Each food has a particular point value and each person has an individual point system with a target based on gender, age and height. Each food has a point to it with recommended foods that are good to eat and foods that can counter the point value.

Health Services will offer an incentive to anyone who completes the program gets a part of their money back. It currently costs $100 to enroll in the program and runs both fall and spring semester.

Miller finds that it is convenient for her as a student when all the resources are all on campus. The meeting times are easy for her to attend. She thinks the incentive is a good way for Wilkes to promote a healthier learning and working community.