Weight Watchers: worth it?

Anyone here have experience with Weight Watchers? I need to drop about 40 pounds, and have had limited success following my own dietary plans. I think I might need the support of a group.

But is Weight Watchers really worth it? I know there’s a weekly fee. Has anyone out there actually lost weight on this program? Am I going to be able to continue my exercise program of brisk walking at least 30-60 minutes a day (with Whatsit Jr. strapped to my side), or are they going to want me to go to a gym?

I’m just looking for anecdotal experiences, basically.

My ex did quite well with Weight Watchers. IIRC, there were no excercises specified; just food management. But—once she hit her target weight, she stopped using the system and regained the weight she had lost, plus a bunch more. She then embarked on a round of fad diets and then on to the spectrum of franchised plans, none of which worked. For reasons I never understood, she refused to return to Weight Watchers, even though she had enjoyed success with them. So, from my limited experience, Weight Watchers did work. YMMV

I have lost 67 pounds on the WW winning points system. I need to drop another 15 to be in “recommended” weight range for my height. My wife has lost 22 pounds, my mother 30. The system really does work. The only reason you may gain weight back is if you go back to an excessive eating style. The Weight Watcher program is nothing more than a way to learn to eat healthy again. You can eat anything you want. You just need to record what and how much. Once you use up your “Daily Allowance” you shouldn’t eat anymore or you wont lose weight. So if you want to be able to eat dinner, you don’t have 3 slices of sausage pizza for lunch. You have one slice of cheese, a salad, and a piece of fruit. Low fat, high fiber, limit portion size. I can pretty much guarantee that I will be fat again if I eat the way I used to. It really comes down to realizing that you can never eat in an unhealthy manner for extended periods of time.

I recommend WW a great way to get started. Learn the basics and commit to a life style change.

Yech. :slight_smile:

Weight Watchers is working for me. I have lost about 17 pounds so far. I’m nearly at my target weight (I have about 3 pounds to go.) What Sn-man said is true. It is about changing the way you eat for the long term. If you go back to your old eating habits (or become more sedentary) you will gain the weight back. But that is true for every diet plan.

As far as the exercise, they do recommend it but don’t tell you what kind to get. There is actually an incentive to exercise because you earn “Points” by exercising.

There are no forbidden foods. You learn how to evaluate your decisions based on nutrition and sometimes you realize that it’s not really worth it to have that double cheeseburger (for mega Points) when you can have red beans and rice, a huge salad, cornbread and a cup of soup instead (for the same amount of points).

Your best bet for losing weight and keeping it off (no matter which diet plan you decide on) is to make changes to your eating and exercise habits that you can stick with long-term.

Oh yeah. I did not find the actual meetings all that helpful. They were a little too touchy feely / new agey for me. I understand, though, that meetings vary a great deal depending on the leader. I did find it helpful to go every week and weigh in on the same (digital) scale and to get the additional materials.

Weight Watchers works for people, from what I have seen. A friend of mine lost 17 pounds on it. The people she knew who were on WW who didn’t lose weight were those who didn’t want to write down what they ate - and they fudged on the point system.

If you follow the system, it will work for you. If, however, someone doesn’t want to be responsible for what they put in their mouth…it won’t work.

Tibs.

If I made hijack the thread for a minute (sorry, ** MsWhatsit**, but it is related):

How important are the meetings? For example, I would love to try the system to lose the weight I need to lose. However, I don’t really have the time for meetings. Does one stand a reasonable chance of success without attending the meetings?

Zev Steinhardt

This is my opinion only. I have no idea if statistics back me up.

I think that the meetings help keep you accountable to something (the scale) / someone (the WW leader) for your actions. Weighing in on the same digital scale once a week helped keep me from going off plan for two reasons. First, I always knew I had that weigh in at the end of the week and I wanted to see those numbers go down and not up. Second, the digital scale is much more accurate than my bathroom scale and would tell me if I had lost as little as .2 pounds. I found this encouraging and it motivated me to stay on the plan.

It’s also nice to get the additional materials they hand out at the meetings (recipes, etc.). I did not get a lot out of the meetings themselves. Sometimes I’d stay and sometimes not. The best things I got out of the meetings was some tips about how to find / make low points food. Other people may find the group support of the meetings to be more helpful.

With all of that in mind, I have to say that I am still losing weight even though I stopped going to meetings about 2 months ago. As long as I remain accountable to myself and stick to the program it works. YMMV

WW has worked for me. Of course, YMMV.

Why did it work for me?

I needed to be held accountable. Showing up weekly to step on a scale, having someone write down my weight in a book helped with that.

I need motivation. Sitting with the group and hearing about others’ successes, and figuring out how to deal with setbacks and problems helped with that. [so zev, I think the meetings are important because you can learn, get support, and additionally be held accountable. I found when I would weigh in and leave, I did not as well as when I weighed in and stayed for the meetings]

The plan is flexible. I’m not bound to eating any specific foods, or to eliminating others. I can do the exercise I choose. I need not buy any WW food, although I found some of the frozen dinners [which you can get at a grocery store] were nice for easy lunches.

I lost 28 pounds, and reached my goal weight in August of 1997. So very shortly I’ll be celebrating 5 years at goal. I have kept off all the weight I have lost. [keep in mind this was my 3rd attempt at WW, having tried 2 other times, lost about 10 pounds, then hit a plateau and gave up] I continue to keep a food journal, and weigh myself weekly so that the weight doesn’t creep on and surprise me.

And in the interest of truth, you should know that I also work part time for Weight Watchers. After getting to Lifetime status, I trained to be a receptionist, and then a leader. I work 2 meetings a week, which helps me maintain my weight. In fact, I am required to have an “official weigh-in” each month, and if I were to regain weight, would lose my job.
Oh, and zev, if you’re interested in trying out WW, they have a program called At Home where you get all the booklets shipped to you, and you’re a member that just doesn’t attend meetings. They’ve also got some online tools. Check it out at www.weightwatchers.com if you’d like.

Anyone who’s interested in getting any specific questions about WW answered, feel free to email me.

It worked for me. I lost almost 70 pounds in about a year, and have so far kept it off for about 5 months. I’m hoping it will last a lifetime, and I’m pretty sure it will because it taught me how to eat better, and after being on the program for a year, it’s not a diet, it’s just part of how I eat now.

I don’t know how helpful the meetings are, but supposedly the statistics say you’re more likely to succeed if you go. I can see why. Even though they are a bit touchy-feely, they are encouraging, and do give you a bit of accountability. It’s nice to see the same people every week getting thinner. (most of them anyway). And the tips and tricks people share are often very worthwhile.

Weight Watchers works, and you can also definitely do it without the meetings. I like using their online program–it costs as much per month as it does for one week at the regular meetings. They have an online points finder, tons of useful tools, etc. I lost 70 pounds about a year and a half ago. I’ve had a couple of operations since then, and was on some drugs that had a lot to do with my gaining about 25 pounds back. Now that I’m off the drugs, I’m active again and am losing again.

It’s a great system, because you do get to eat whatever you want. It makes you accountable for your choices.

Does anyone know the specifics on pricing?

My wife has lost nearly 30 pounds on Weight Watchers, so that’s another datapoint in favor of it. She says that the meetings do help, but having to weigh in front of a group of people helps more.

On the other hand, her losing weight inspired me to start losing weight myself. I’m down about 35 pounds on no specific diet – I just made up a bunch of rules for myself (which mostly add up to “Don’t snack” and “Eat small portions”).

So I’m feeling a bit smug right now.

(On the gripping hand, dieting with your SO helps you both out – you tend to have less junk food in the house and you can give each other encouragement. That certainly helped me. And I have also heard that it’s easier for men to lose weight than for women.)

jerricurl -

Pricing depends on your area and the type of plan you purchase.

I work in a franchise area, and our weekly fee is $14. You can buy weeks in advance at a significant discount (as low as $10 per week). You pay only for the weeks you attend, and there is no penalty for missed meetings. We have a military discount ($5/week) and a senior discount ($13/week 62y/o +)

Corporate owned areas have different prices. From what I’ve seen, they tend to be lower ($8-$10/week). This is also hearsay, but they also tend to charge you for missed meetings - meaning, you don’t go next week, when you return you’ll pay for the meeting you’re standing in, plus the one from the week before.

So check with the local WW and they can give you their pricings, and if they have any special packages.

Ooh, I also forgot to add:

In my area we also have a scholarship program that’s $5 per week.

I’m not sure how much information you need to give them (don’t know if it’s a copy of a pay stub or not), but if you’re someone who has limited means, I’d make sure to ask if your area has that option also, in case you would be able to take advantage of it.

Okay, I’ll stop now…

Another WW cultist checking in. 30lbs in 15 weeks.

Let me add to the points everyone else has made: It is a program that teaches you good eating habits and teaches you in an way that is easy to understand and follow.

I like the meetings, but then again my meetings are at work with people I already know. We’ve gone through 3 leaders because, well, one could not answer our questions and the other was too touchy-feely. The leader we have now is a tough old broad with a no-nonsense attitude that suits our group just fine. Also, some members really do need the affirmation, encouragement and handholding that one gets at the meetings. Especially if (when) the pounds are not coming off or, even worse, you gain back that .5 lbs.

I also love going to meetings because of that “moment of truth” when you step on the scale. Even when I languished at the same weight for 3 weeks (those plateaus are confidence killers!) I still came to the meetings with a wonderful sense of anticipation.
We pay $109 for 10 weeks with the WW At Work program in NY. Dunno about other programs at other locals, though.

yep, it works. I go back every couple of years and drop 10 lbs. (I’ve never been technically overweight - but if I didn’t go every few years, I would be).

Zev, I have found the meetings to be pretty important. If I just do the program by myself, I’m not accountable. But you can just weigh in, get your materials, and get out - though you should stay if you have a crisis (like the plateau). Around here, the storefronts are all over the place - and while it helps to commit to a regular time and place, you can just drop in when you have time.

I am yet another person on WW, and I’m loving it. And I am highly anti-diet.

I use the online plan, and never go to meetings. Very helpful, esp. with my schedule. It’s also very easy to track your points via the computer.

I also find it very flexible. My SO is a chef, and a French one at that (butter in EVERYTHING). I’m happy that I can still eat at his restaurant from time to time, and still lose lbs. I’ve never felt deprived - I just make better choices the majority of the time. (Thus, the odd bit of decandance doesn’t hurt).

I did it at work a few years ago, and lost 75 lbs, from 250 to 175, in about 8 months. Which in retrospect seems a little fast, like 2 pounds per week, but whatever. FYI, it seemed like the guys did much better than the women in our group, as far as total weight loss. And the calories are weight based, so a big guy starts out being allowed a really high calorie total. 2 1/2 years later, I’m at 180, so I’m very happy. Now I’m trying to follow it again to lose another 10-15 pounds, but it’s much harder to lose a little weight than a lot.

I thought the meetings were good to learn the system, but once the 10 weeks were over, I didn’t sign up again. I use my Palm Pilot to track points, so I didn’t need the diaries or anything, which I would think would be most of the reason to continue going. Although sometimes I wonder what the official maintenance plan is, since mine is more like, try and follow the plan, but cheat a lot.