I called a ww representative today. She was a bit overwhelming to be honest. She was talking about eating plans, etc. She used the word "diet" which scared me off a bit.

I have noticed that quite a few members of this group are in weight watchers. Do you find it helpful? If so, why? Does it offer anything above and beyond this group?

Thanks for all the info. For now, I am going to pass on the program and make another appointment with a nutritionist.

quote:

Sometimes being with people who are kind of struggling really helped me clarify how I want to live my life when it comes to food.

I love this line, Denise. It is so true.

I really learned a lot from reading these comments. Having steered clear of WW, I have to say, some of my initial judgements will have to be corrected now Live and learn!

Lynne

I have done Jenny Craig, Diet Center, Nutri-system, Weight Watchers before, liquid diets, etc. and when I decided almost 3 years ago that I needed to get healthy I chose to go it alone.

After losing 40 pounds on my own I decided that I needed support and chose Weight Watchers with a different outlook on the weight loss this time around. I wanted to get healthy along with losing weight plus I decided it didn't matter how long it took me...it would be the LAST time!

I found a fabulous leader and with the support of the other members and people around me I reached my goal. I also met a new best friend who just reached her goal....160 pounds lost.

I highly recommend WW. I continue to go on a weekly basis for the inspiration, motivation and I learn something new every time.

I believe that the more information you have makes for better choices for yourself. I too am not obsessed with fat free everything, but I have found some great products and recipes from the meetings.

Good luck on your decision

quote:

Originally posted by Fer:
Denise - you continue to inspire me with your logic and candor. you seem very grounded in reality and i just love that about you.

Thanks! I'll print this out and hand it to dh when refers to me as "nutcase" (with the most love and respect... )

You guys are very inspirational! May even get me to go back

Robin

I love WW, have been a member on & off since 1992, have seen its plan evolve; finally the Flex points system helped me reach my goal 4 years ago, when I became a lifetime member.

What I feel WW offers that is beyond what you can get from participating in this forum is:

1) The Weigh In: Facing that scale at the meeting, and hoping for the jubilation of celebrating together, or talking to each other about what did/didn't work.

2) Paying Money: Yes, I said "paying money." It is an incredible motivator to know you'll have to pay until you reach goal and make lifetime, and in fact even as a lifetimer, you'll pay if you're not at goal.

3) An eating plan that makes tremendous sense, and that you can tailor yourself. "Eating plan", by the way, is what you'll hear it described as in a WW meeting. Probably the WW rep you spoke to on the phone was trying to give you a condensed description.

Also it really helps to shop meetings until you find a leader you click with. I've attended various meetings, about 10 leaders in all. Although they all are fairly knowledgeable on the WW plan, their delivery and style vary (some more funny, some more passionate, etc.). Laurie, the leader who helped me get to goal when I was plateauing and "taking the scenic route", looked me in the eye one week and told me to "get to goal." Somehow she knew I could do it, so I trusted myself to go for it.

When WW is offering free registration, I highly recommend you give it a try!

Let me start out by saying that:

a) I think that WW is the best of the commercial weight loss companies/plans and I know many people who have had great success with WW; and

b) My only experience with WW was their Weight Watchers at Work (WW@W) Program which I did twice (once in the 1980s and once in 2003). I have since talked to a LOT of WW members, both here on the board and IRL ("in real life") who have indicated that what I experienced with WW@W is NOT representative of what most folks experience if they go to a WW meeting in their neighborhood.

That said, my experience with WW was not particularly positive for largely two reasons--an ineffective WW leader/meetings and a plan that didn't mesh well with my personality. In 2003, I lost more weight before I joined and after I quit the WW@W Program than while I was a member. HOWEVER, any WW experience has a great deal to do with the individual (i.e., you) and the person who is leading the WW meeting. There is an old online acronym "YMMV" which means "Your mileage may vary." that fits very well here. In other words, me being the person I am--a person who hates to count calories and a person who has low self esteem in her math abilities--did not fit well with WW because it required me to figure out points for everything I ate. Further, the WW@W meetings did not give me what I'm told many WW members get at their weekly meeting--actual guidance on nutrition, discussion of emotional issues, etc. The meetings were only 45 minutes long and half of that was consumed with weighing in the members of the group. In what little time she had left, our leader was a walking advertisement for Trader Joe's products. She would bring in bagsfull of TJs products and say "This sauce is great on chicken." but she almost never talked about how to cook or eat healthfully or what emotional landmines there were in losing weight, etc. It was like pulling teeth to even get her to teach me to count points because she said it came so naturally to her that she couldn't see why I would be struggling with it.

I would NEVER discourage anyone from trying WW because I truly do believe it is a wonderful program. However, you asked for input and I do believe it is helpful to hear all sides so that you can weigh whether this is the program FOR YOU.

Denise - you continue to inspire me with your logic and candor. you seem very grounded in reality and i just love that about you.

Windy - I did WW for several months in 2004 and I did lose weight on it. My biggest problem was that my dinners (and leftovers as lunches) are almost never composed of quickly tabulated items or even Core foods and it gave me a lot of anxiety to figure things out. But with that said, I think it is the best of any "plans" you can pay for and I would consider counting Points again if my lifestyle deemed it necessary.

quote:

Originally posted by windycityattorney:
She used the word "diet" which scared me off a bit.

That might be the limitations of the English language. There just are not a lot of concise words to describe, "I'm overweight, and need to eat less and healthier”.

If she had used the phrase, “Changes for Life” that would scare a whole other group of people. And phrases like, “Lifestyle Change” can sound kind of artificial or contrived somehow.

Basically, everybody knows what “diet” means… "I'm overweight, and need to eat less and healthier”.

* * * * *
I found WW helpful. I’ve counted calories… and I find counting points easier (or eating mostly “Core” foods and not counting at all.)

Everybody is different and some people kind of obsess about points. I never got into counting 1/4 or 1/2 points and if I food was “free” - whoopee. I never worried that I was eating 3 servings of a free food and “should I be counting it?” Some people freak out about counting points… but I didn’t.

Here is stuff I found helpful.

1. Clear definitions about what a serving size is. I liked that I was given a points (or calorie range). “Eat healthier” is vague. I could eat a whole lot of calories - all healthy food.

I found being told, “At your weight, you should be eating 20 points, plus 35 “flex” points and any exercise points you earn” very helpful.

2. I like weighing in with a real person. (I didn’t have a good experience with the computerized weigh ins at eDiets.)

3. I liked most of the meetings… a few were boring or of little/no interest to me. But I usually found something helpful or inspirational at every meeting. I found it helpful to be in a room full of real live people, in addition to my “imaginary friends” here. (That is what ds calls you… ) I didn’t make any good friends at the meetings, but it was helpful to invest 40 mins a week. If you are in a large enough city (and I’m pretty SURE Chicago qualifies…), you may want to meeting shop. Some leaders are better than others.

4. Paying $$$ motivated me. If I was going to pay $9-10 a week, I wasn’t going to waste my $$$.

* * * * * * * *
Some stuff, I don’t like…

1. A few Wwers (but not all) are trying to sort of beat the system and seem to spend a lot of time in search of 2 point desserts made with sf/ff Jell-o and Cool Whip or other low point “junk food”.

However WW really encourages people to eat healthier… and MOST people are just like the people on this board and are trying to figure out how be thinner and healthier.

2. I think that a lot of people at Wwers are veterans of many diets. I don’t think that it is realistic for people to change over night - and decades of dieting behavior and thought patterns can be tough to shake.

For example, if somebody asks, “It is my birthday this week… what should I do???” You almost never hear, “Earn a couple extra AP’s (exercise/activity points) and have a piece of cake and enjoy it and count up the points.”

You most likely will hear some “dieting” suggestions… like a recipe for a cake made with diet Coke or suggestions to eat 3 bites and throw the rest away or some other kind of diet strategy.

But that doesn’t mean that YOU can’t be the person at the meeting to say, “I’d eat a piece of cake and count up the points!” And I actually learned a lot from being in those meetings… like I decided, “I’m NOT having a dessert made with Jell-o and ff Cool Whip on Christmas Eve!” Sometimes being with people who are kind of struggling really helped me clarify how I want to live my life when it comes to food.

And I know that over on the Life Time WW board… there are a BUNCH of people very motivated to figure out how to do this sanely for a lifetime.