My 10-year high school reuinion is in four months and I want to lose 10 to 20 pounds! I have horrible self-discipline and I need some help! I was thinking about joining Weight Watchers, especially since one is only two blocks from my house. Can anyone who has ever used Weight Watchers tell me is this worth the money? Is it worth my time to go to those meetings? I also plan on doing a lot more excercising too in the next four months. Any opinions on WW would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
I don’t do the WW meetings, I’m just online. I’ve been doing it for about 10 months now, and I’m down 75 pounds. So it does work, you just have to monitor everything. I’ve slowed down on my weight loss the last few months, but the first couple of months, I dropped 20 pounds pretty easily.
My wife went, and it worked well for her. The new points system works well. I think the meetings are for support, and to give you a weekly goal to meet. They also give out good recipes. I even lost weight when she was on it, just eating the WW dinners she prepared.
The downside is that it takes more time, and more thought, to cook right.
If you are serious about losing, this is a safe program and it really does work for some people.
(That being said, I think it’s a cult… Not really, but I did it in the 80’s and I just did not have the mental make-up to handle meetings and public weigh-ins. Therefore, it didn’t work for me and hurt my self-esteem. But that’s just me.) The program has changed dramatically since then.
Good Luck.
I work for WW.
I got on staff after losing 26 pounds in 1997. I have kept it off ever since.
If you are looking for some accountability, WW is a good place. If you think that knowing you’ll be stepping on a scale on a set day will provide you with a little push to do what you need to do, WW is a good place. If you’re looking for a few tips to help you out, WW is a good place.
I think it is a safe, healthy and easy plan. If you think you’ll have trouble losing the weight on your own (and many of us do), it’s not a bad idea.
I would check with the WW in your area to see if you can sit in on a meeting for free. You won’t get the booklets if you don’t join, but you can at least see if the whole process is up your alley, or if it makes you feel completely uncomfortable. I know that in San Diego, we allow that if someone comes in undecided.
Thanks, diku. Could y’all give me more information about how it works, with the point system and everything? Can anyone tell me what the meetings are like? And what are the benefits of going to meetings as opposed to just doing it online…or should I do both?
Wow… good timing… I’ve been thinking of joining too… I don’t do the whole group thing too well but I need something to get me started cos I’m turning, yet again, into SuperFatBlob 
:mad:
You will have a certain point range (mine is 18-23, for example) and you’ll decide what foods you can eat to stay within that range.
For example, a medium sized apple is 1 point. A piece of bread is 2 points typically. A cup of pasta is 4 points. You get the idea. You’ll also want to make sure you’re a well-rounded eater: 5 fruits/veggies per day, enough calcium, enough water, etc.
The meeting: First half hour is the weigh-in process. You’ll pay your meeting fee, and step on the scale. The person weighing you will NOT say your weight, but will write it down for you. Once you finish the weigh-in, you have a seat and wait for the meeting to start. The meeting is 30 minutes, and each week there is a specific topic (holiday eating, dining out, positive thinking, starting an activity program, etc.). The meeting will also contain celebrations of people who reach certain milestones in weight loss, as well as an opportunity to ask questions and ask for help.
The first meeting you join, you should plan to stay after for another 15-20 minutes of orientation. There you will learn how to calculate points, how many you should have, yadda yadda.
On line versus in meeting. These are designed to be two separate programs. If you join a meeting in person, you can also sign up for eTools, which allows you to journal on line, look up recipes, etc. If you join the WW Online, that’s supposed to be instead of going to physical weigh-ins. I believe the Online program also allows you the functions of eTools. You can check out www.weightwatchers.com for a preview of that stuff.
I feel the benefit of in person meetings is the accountability of stepping on the scale (primarily), and also the opportunity to share tips and ideas with others. I can read about it all I want, but if I’m in the same room with other people who tell me what works for them, it sinks in better.
Of course, YMMV.
Another happy customer checking in. I’ve been on it almost a year now, and I’ve lost 89 pounds. The cool thing is, it hasn’t been difficult. I haven’t given up any of the foods I truly love (the points system makes me prioritize, so I’ve given up a lot of things I thought I loved and haven’t missed them, but nothing that I can’t live without, like my weekly pizza date). The system works really well for me because it gives me a way to be accountable to myself and lets me see that I’m making progress. I don’t go to all the meetings–maybe about half of them. The encouragement is great, and it helps to have a good leader.
It’s easily within the boundaries of the program (1-2 pounds safely lost per week) that you could shed 10-20 pounds in 4 months.
I love Weight Watchers. The key for me is that this isn’t just a diet, it’s a lifestyle change. I’ve been a Weight Watcher for almost three years and have not yet reached my goal weight but I’m sticking to it. My leader says, “Keep coming to the meetings and you will reach your goal weight.”
Came in at 172.8, weigh 148.8 now and want to weigh around 131 for the rest of my life. I’m not surprised it’s taken me this long to get there. Heck, I ate crappy food in gigantic proportions for over thirty years. The new habits I’m learning should take a while to sink in…
Anyway, I’ve had success and I’ve seen other members use the program in just the way you sound like you want to. If you at some point decide you want a lifestyle change, WW is the place to do that, too.
Hey scout, you meet the Duchess yet?
I did it at work, which was basically the same as the real meetings except: more men, less money, and more convenient. As a man, I appreciated the first one, and I think anyone would appreciate the others.
It worked very well for me. I lost around 75 lbs relatively fast (6-8 months) and it’s two years later and it’s still off. But I stopped going to the meetings after the basic course ran through. Each week you get a little pamphlet which tells you a bit more nuance to the program, so as not to overwhelm you with complexity at first. Well, once they quit giving me new pamphlets, I didn’t really see the point anymore. Especially since it costs real money.
Another happy Weight Watcher here 
I’ve been on the program for about a year and a half now and lost 75 lbs. Two keys: Be honest with yourself when you journal (yes, that Peep that snuck into your mouth really DOES count) and don’t beat yourself up when you make a mistake.
For the tech-loving Weight Watcher: There are several good freeware programs made for the Palm PDA that can take the place of paper journals and Point-value books. You can find them here: www.dwlz.com The site has a bunch of other good stuff too, including message boards. Unfortunately, I have yet to find anything similar that I like for WinCE. I keep hoping somebody will port one of the Palm programs, but all the programmers seem compelled to add bells and whistles that I really rather dislike. If you use WinCE and like bells and whistles, try Plog. You can find it on www.pocketgear.com. Unfortunately Plog costs money, but they give you a 30 day trial.
Did WW in high school yonks ago. It worked very well for me then. Wish I’d had the foresight to continue with it, but being a teenager, well…
Joined in the UK yesterday. I’m allowed 28 points for my weight category. I’ve written down and pointed every single thing eaten today - even the finger of fudge - and to be honest it is gonna be hell eating all my points today. There is no way I’m going to be hungry tonight.
Food points are worked out by calories and saturated fat content.
The handouts and recipes are wonderful. Nothing bland here!
So much different from the last time when you had to eat liver twice a week and all sorts of other nasty stuff :eek:
I am really jazzed about this new life changing opportunity. If you (anyone really) want someone to chat with about the ups and downs of dieting, or WW when you get going, please feel free to email me.
Just a note: Washte does not follow United States current version of Points, so that’s why she doesn’t mention a range and mentions saturated fat. If you’re savvy about how WW works their programs around the world, you can draw conclusions from that. But you didn’t hear it from me.
Meeting the Duchess on the 29th!
scout - does this mean that the US WW system is a lot different than the UK system?
How does it differ? Which is most likely so see more/better results?
Very curious now. I’d love to see the US weight range to point range ratios.
Just ate a massive dinner to make sure my points were used up for the day and am SO stuffed. I can’t believe the amount of food I can eat!
Apologies to everyone for throwing a wonky between the 2 systems.
Oh, and Duchess who, where, why???
Sounds fun 
In the US we’re using a Points range - sounded to me like you had a Points target. But maybe you were just referring to the top end of your range?
And the saturated fat bit - we just look at total fat grams (along with the calories and fiber). Do you actually need to know the saturated fat grams when you use your Points Finder?
I’m referring to Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York. She’s attending a supermeeting in San Diego (basically a big PR type thing, since she’s the spokeswoman) in two weeks, and I’m going to it.
We are given points according to our weight range. For example, for women:
under 10 stone = 18 pts
10-12 stone = 20 pts
12-14 stone = 22 pts
14-16 stone = 24 pts
16-18 stone = 26 pts
18-20 stone = 28 pts
BTW, a stone is 14 pounds.
We are told to look at calories per portion then the saturated fat for that portion to work out the points value for that food. If saturated fat isn’t listed, then divide the fat content in half (better to over-value than under).
Enjoy your super-meeting
Awesome thread. I’m thinking about joining up when my law school semester is over next month.
The freshman 15 is actually the freshman 20 for a 1L.
Had been overweight all my life - never remembered being below a size 14. Lost some weight about 5 years ago, without trying - probably 10 to 20 pounds. Moved - and gained 20 pounds in a year. Even hearing that didn’t make me want to do anything about it. I don’t know what clicked, but something finally did. June 19, 2001, I joined WW online. September 2001, I became a bootcamp buddie (http://www.bootcampbuddies.com). April 21, 2002 - I hit goal - 52 pounds lost. This Monday, April 21, 2003 - I will celebrate 1 year at/below goal weight - at current weight, I will have lost 60 pounds from starting weight.
So - the program worked for me - because I worked the program. And because I still work the program, the weight has stayed off. I consider everything that goes in my mouth - I make healthy choices (never thought I’d actually willingly drink milk - now I drink a glass of 1% every morning) - but I also leave room for treats - york miniatures (carefully journalled) for desert after lunch. Tomorrow night, I am making gingerbread - a Cooking Light recipe. I can eat what I want - just not all at once. I enjoy the healthy choices I am making - and I definitely do not miss the sugar-laden, sauce-covered foods I used to eat - give me a little spice to my meal any time! Also - I always used to collect cookbooks, but never cooked. Well - cookbook collection has been re-vamped to lighter style cookbooks - and I actually use them!
WW worked for me - it’s up to you if you want to make it work for you.
Susan