Over the years, I've worked with countless numbers of women who'd previously followed Weight Watchers or who'd been members at Curves. If you've been looking for a good weight loss program, you've no doubt come across one, or both of these. While there are much better approaches to weight loss than either one, a recent study compared the effects of the two, which led to some interesting findings.



In this blog post, I'll review the study and tease out some of the valuable findings.



At the end, I'll give you my advice about whether either one is a good option, and if not, what would be better.



Two Different Approaches to Weight Loss



Weight Watchers Momentum™ is a social support-based diet program that encourages exercise. Curves® Complete is a program offered at Curves, a gym exclusively for women. Members at Curves start with exercise as a foundation and add a diet program, whereas Weight Watchers is a diet program that just suggests people exercise. That's a distinct difference.



It's this difference that led a research group to study the effects of the two programs with 24 women who followed Curves Complete, and 27 who followed Weight Watchers Momentum. All women were overweight, with BMIs over 25 kg/m², and ages 18-50 years old.



Curves Complete



Those in the Curves Complete program followed a three-phase diet, as follows:




Phase I: 1200 calories/day coming from 30% carbohydrates, 45% protein, 25% fat for 7 days



Phase II: 1500 calories/day coming from 30% carbohydrates, 45% protein, 25% fat for 21 days



Phase III: 2000-2500 calories per day coming from 45% carbohydrates, 30% protein, 25% fat for 14 days. During this phase, if a woman gained three pounds or more, they went back to 1200 calories per day for 2-3 days.




The phases were cycled, with the women completing Phase 1 and Phase 2 three times, and Phase 3 twice.



Read also: More Research Support for a High-Protein Diet for Weight Loss.



Weight Watchers Momentum



Though Weight Watchers has moved on from Momentum to Personal Points, many similarities still exist, making the new study relevant today.



Participants had to attend one weekly meeting, on-site at a franchise location. There, they weighed in, participated in coaching sessions and group discussions, and received their support materials and recommended points by which to measure their food intake.



Workout Program



Curves is a gym first, a diet program second. The gyms have a variety of hydraulic resistance machines, which are to be used in a circuit style. Each set last 30 seconds, during which participants complete as many reps as possible, then rest for 30 seconds during which they perform calisthenics, in-place aerobic exercise, or Zumba, to maintain an elevated heart rate. Each circuit consists of 26 exercises and the women did this exercise format three times per week.



Again, the Weight Watchers group was encouraged to exercise, just as they are in all other Weight Watchers programs. But there's no gym at a Weight Watchers facility unless that facility sits within a gym setting.



Read also: 9 Reasons Strength Training is Critical for Long-Term Health, Fitness, and Longevity.



Results: Weight Watchers vs. Curves



Both groups lost the same amount of body weight.



So, that means both programs are equally effective, right? No. Not at all.



The following table details the differences in results between the two groups.



Average ChangeWeight WatchersCurvesBody Weight-13.42 lbs-10.78 lbsFat Mass-6.38 lbs-14.08Lean Mass-5.5 lbs+2.86 lbsBody Fat %-1.4%-4.7%



Those in the Curves group also experienced a drop in insulin, whereas the Weight Watchers group did not, and the Curves group saw a rise in HDL cholesterol (good cholesterol), whereas the Weight Watchers group saw a slight decrease.



According to the study's authors:




Results revealed that over time, both groups lost a similar amount of body weight. However,