I was thinking of going to one, instead of just counting points at home and such. What am I in for?
Will there be any youngish women like me (28) around, or will they all be like the stereotype in my head- doughy midfifties matrons, wearing socks with sandals and fannypacks, vapidly discussing the best low-cal treats to have while watching ‘American Idol’?
'Cause if it’s like that then I don’t wanna go at all.
[Hijack on]
Fannypack is the funniest word in American-English.
[/Hijack off]
I really like my meetings. My leader is great. She takes the time to remember people names and things about you, like if you have a kid or what your goals are. She makes you feel totally important, but without embarassing you at all. Of course, I’m totally outgoing and it’s difficult to embarass me.
The meeting I attend has some young people mid-late 20’s, some 30-somethings, some 40-somethings and a couple of people older than 50. We have a few young mothers, some professionals, some SAHMs, we have a dad (50ish) and daughter (teenager) team who are a huge inspiration. We have quite a few couples and two or three single guys. It’s really a mixed group. I like the diversity.
We do spend time talking about great “food finds”, how to manage eating out, vacations, etc. My leader always has a great topic prepared and it’s usually relevant and helpful.
My advice would be to shop around for a meeting that fits you. If you don’t care for the dynamics of group, try another. If one leader isn’t inspiring to you try another one. My leader is the first to say her style isn’t for everyone. She’ll come right out and say, if she’s too crazy for you, feel free to try another meeting. But I think she makes the meetings fun. I hate it when I miss one.
This is my third serious attempt at WW and the first time I’ve really felt like the meeting was an asset. This may be the reason that this is the first time I’ve really succeeded. I’ve lost 25.8 lbs since May 3.
I haven’t been to a WW meeting since I was a teen, but to help with your noble quest, I’ll chime in and say that a friend of mine, who is 27, joined WW and lost like a zillion pounds.
She went to meetings with her mom who is not a yakkity middle-aged sandals-and-socks lady, and she also did well.
So there’s a little sample to add to your pot.
Good luck! I joined WW online - to avoid meetings - and I’m doing pretty good so far. 2 lbs a week like they said.
Wait. This is all wrong. Aren’t 50 year-old women supposed to be assuming 20-somethings are vapid?
I couldn’t stand meetings, so I quit going and did it by myself. I’ll bet it depends on the time of day and the leader, but the one I went to was full of whiners: “I just can’t lose weight” when they wouldn’t follow the program or do any exercise. Rather than punch people, I left.
Looks like WW has a “try it out for free” option:
http://www.weightwatchers.com/beourguest/index.aspx
You could try a few different meetings (I’m assuming you have a variety to choose from - there are about a billion of them around here) and see which group you like best.
I’ve never been to a meeting, though, so I can’t give you any first hand information.
I went to a couple of meetings but hated it. The leaders weren’t inspiring, trotted out the same old same old and didn’t bother to learn my name. I also found that most of the others (mostly in their 40s) weren’t interested in chatting to someone in their (then) early 20s.
HOWEVER…i started going on my own. I’m sure that if you go with a friend then it’s less lonesome as you’ll have someone to talk to. And i’d echo shopping around for a friendly place with informed leaders - it is most likely that i just had a bad experience.
So…um…not really sure what i’m saying here. Yes my experience sucked but don’t let that put you off - it’s always worth a shot i guess.
I went to my first meeting last week. I was very surprised to discover that the only people under the age of 50 were my friend and I. Many were clearly over 70. We may or may not switch to a nighttime, rather than a daytime, meeting.
My group leader is funny and very educational. She really puts time and effort into the sessions and I have learned a bunch from her. As well as losing 50 pounds.
Do you folks still call cigarettes “fags”?
I went to meetings when I was in my late 20s (now in my early 30s) and I was usually not the only 20-something there. It did tend to be mostly women and the age range was a little higher than mid-20s, but not that much.
And yes, there were discussions of the good low point food. Where you found it, what it was, etc. But, most of the people in the room had long histories of making bad food choices, and were trying to make better ones. The ones I went to had very few people complaining that they’d tried-everything-can’t-lose-weight. But they did complain that it was hard. (Which it can be for some people).
It did keep me honest, when I went. Having someone else weigh me (even with shoes off) and keep a formal log of it was good for me. I ended up not stopping because WW formulas, at that time, couldn’t handle my exercise schedule. But in general, I’d say they were not as bad as I imagined them before I went.
Hi, inkleberry! How’s tinkleberry? Does he still cry in the car?
I went to a couple of meetings, and everyone there was exactly like this, I’m afraid. Total yuck.
I was a member on and off from 1977 till around 2000 or so, and I’ve decided I’d never join again for this very reason. My very first group was wonderful, but just about all of the others devolved into confessionals of how everyone cheated. I’ve had leaders who couldn’t control the crybabies. It just wasn’t worth the aggravation.
I’ve got all the materials and I’ve been more or less doing the program with my husband. We encourage each other and we don’t have to go to meetings for it.
But there are good meetings out there. The trick is to find them. I attended a meeting when I was on travel for a couple of weeks - it was amazing! Sadly, I never found one like that where I lived.
I’ve been to good meetings. With a lot of diversity. Switch until you find one you like. Lunch meetings near businesses are often filled with working professionals. Mall meetings weekdays with suburban moms…
I find the crybabies amusing and in their own way inspirational. No, you won’t lose weight if you continue to eat McDonald’s Double Cheeseburgers 3x a week.
My current problem with WW is there is too much emphasis on the points. And that is bad for the crybabies. I did core plan. I was trying to explain to my meeting that for me, french fries were the food of the devil and just giving up french fries I’d lost six pounds over the previous six months. “But French Fries are only XX points!” Then they’d complain later in the meeting that there weren’t enough points in the day! Points are not an excuse to eat whatever you want, then complain about the small amounts of food. Points are supposed to teach you that you can have a HUGE salad or six French Fries - what will get you through your whole day. With the emphasis on points, there is almost no support for core planners.
I go to meetings at the moment, and usually they aren’t that bad. I haven’t really had a lot of weight to lose though, so it’s been irritating that I feel as if they don’t focus so much on any issues I may have. However, that’s the program as a whole, not just the meetings, so call it a blanket complaint.
There aren’t many whiners in my group, though there are a few people who make me think that they’ll never do what it takes to lose the weight. My meeting is also huge, and I think most people there just want to help.
I don’t know how much longer I’ll keep attending the meetings, but awhile. I’m getting something out of it, though it’s mostly the accountability factor. At the moment, knowing I’m going to be facing others helps a lot. And my group is a huge range of ages and lifestyles, so I think shop around if you find a bunch of older whiners you have nothing in common with.
Of course and yes it sounds stupid, but I see your “I’m going outside to smoke a homosexual” and raise it with a “I’m putting my money in my vagina pack”. 
::sniffs:: I love the smell of homosexual in the morning.
I’m sorry we don’t accept money that smells like that.
God wouldn’t have made such a convenient purse if he didn’t intend to have it well-stocked.
Do you have a better suggestion for proper use of a meat sock? I mean, it usually does nothing. All the other body organs are busy all day, processing this, filtering that, beating, thinking, transporting. But what does the vagina do? Nothing. Five days a month it does something, and maybe a few times in a lifetime rolls out something the size of a small cantelope. But mostly it is very lazy. Lazy lazy lazy.
Besides, it tends to be safe from pickpockets.
More things should be stored in vaginas.