Is weight watchers worth it?

[MissDisney121]

Joined weight watchers a long time ago and had some success but I know it has changed since then and I also didn't do the meeting so I was wondering what some current or recent members think about it. Thanks for any help.

 

[dbrn]

I have lost 70 pounds on WW over the course of a little less than three years. I have a little more than 30 pounds to go to reach my goal weight. I had tried WW in the past, too, and it didn't work for me then. I like the new program, and I've been able to make healthy lifestyle changes because of it.

I purchased the Monthly Pass for a couple of reasons. It's cheaper, and I also knew that if I missed a week or two and had to pay for the missed meetings all at once, I'd probably just stop. Also, it gave me incentive to hang in for a month and see if it worked. It did, and I've been going ever since.

For me, meetings are really important. There's accountability, and I get and give encouragement in the meetings. At first, they were a little difficult for me because I'm a shy person, but I've become much more active in my meeting.

If you do decide to do it, I would recommend a couple of things for success. First, it's good to have a support person, and you'd be surprised who that could be. I mentioned to a co-worker that I wanted to lose weight and that I considered walking on my lunchbreak but didn't want to do it alone. She volunteered to walk with me, she's encouraged me along the way, and I'm much fitter and trimmer because of her. We've also become very good friends. Also, tracking what you eat is so important, even if you go over your points for the day. You'll be able to see trends and habits and make small changes. I like pre-tracking, especially in the beginning. Finally, remember it's a lifestyle change; try not to make changes that you couldn't keep up. I, for one, cannot eat fat-free mayonnaise no matter what. I also cannot eat foods with artificial sweeteners. I did find that, eventually, I could drink fat-free milk (something I swore I'd never do). Find the changes you are willing to make and start small. All those small changes add up.

Pre-tracking will help you to eat in a way that you won't feel deprived. So many people start out restricting themselves to "diet" foods, grow tired of it quickly, and give up. Find a way to make the program work for you. For me, I eat protein at every meal. I don't completely give up sweets. I've made small changes like lean beef instead of 80/20, turkey sausage instead of pork sausage, reduced fat cheese instead of regular.

Best of luck to you, whatever you decide.

 

[ebradley23]

I lost 40 lbs in 6 months a year ago on Weight Watchers. I've maintain my weight through the program too.

For me the meetings were key. I had done the online only program before with little success. Having to be accountable helped tremendously. Knowing I was going to have to stand on a scale in front of someone each week made me reconsider bad choices.

I found I could not regularly use my extra weekly points and lose weight. I also could not use my activity points.

I agree with the above person in regards to pre-tracking. I would pre-track for the week then grocery shop based on my meal choices. This kept me from buying crap which I have would have wound up eating. It also had the benefit of saving me money.

I also found a free food which kept me satisfied. Mine happens to be grapes. I can eat my weight in them, and it keeps me from craving junk.

 

[Waiting2goback]

The truth is, if it works for you then it is worth it. Only you know if you can commit to it though. I would also say it depends on your goals. If you have 100 lbs to lose it will probably work better than 10 lbs to lose because the last 10 lbs may be more difficult and you may give up if you don't see quick results. Of course this is all being given in generalities because I don't know you or your situation.

Having said that, I know people WW has worked for. But if you do decide to do it try to learn from the program so when you do get off the program you don't fall back into the same habits that got you where you are.

The previous poster makes my point for me. She has found a snack she loves and one she can eat and eat and will not gain weight from. Grapes. I love eating grapes. I feel better after eating grapes than I do cookies. I personally do not do a weight loss "program". But what I do is really no different. I eat mostly whole foods. I try to stay away from processed foods as much as possible. I eat a lot of fruits and veggies. I eat protein at every meal. I track my foods on an App called "Lose It". I bet if I entered my food into the WW system I would be within my points.

My point is, smart decisions will help you lose weight regardless of the program used. If you need the program for accountability or support, then do it. You need to do whatever will help you reach your goals and maintain those goals throughout your life.

I wish you luck and I hope I made sense.

 

[bumbershoot]

Also, tracking what you eat is so important, even if you go over your points for the day.

Absolutely.

And really, I think that people who stay at their happy weight just DO that. Some do it naturally, holistically. They don't think about it. They listen to their bodies and know when to eat, how much to eat, when to stop.

That's not me.

I needed an external thing to help me *learn* to do that. I was raised with a mom who made terrific, almost always healthy, foods. She put real, whole foods into our bodies. Alas, the whole portion size lesson never was quite made. When she wanted to lose weight she would starve, it would come off, she'd feel great, eat normally, and it would come back on. If I wanted to lose I would cut out dessert for a week or two, lose, feel great, eat normally, it would come back on. We didn't naturally eat proper portions for our metabolisms.

WW has been fabulous for teaching me that. I lost 85 pounds. I'm up from that a bit, after finding that training for Half Marathons makes me eat too much, which makes it hard to be extra-thin. I have to settle for thin and fit and not gaunt. Oh well. I can live with that. Soon I'm retiring from Halfs, though, and then maybe I'll go for smaller (b/c frankly I liked smaller).

Anyway, WW taught me how to eat like a "normal" person that I would have thought was "naturally thin". I just don't keep track naturally. If I could, I wouldn't have gotten myself into the 85 extra pounds mess!


I'm a meeting person, absolutely. I lied to myself for years, as I got to my highest weight. How on earth could I be trusted not to continue lying to myself if I did just etools? Gotta have the meetings. I don't always share; I'm shy, but also I do WW differently than many. I don't eat "fake" foods. I drink half and half in my coffee, with real sugar. (I just measure it all) I eat full fat cheese. I eat dessert. (I weigh my ice cream and add fresh or frozen berries to it) I've only had to banish ONE food, and recently (after over 2 years) I tried it again and I was fine eating it with limits. I eat ALL points coming to me. I count activity points carefully. I don't overestimate. And I eat it all. I also tend to eat lots of fruit and veggies. Lots and lots.

So...there are many people at my meeting for whom that doesn't work, and they aren't interested in what I have to say. Just like I'm not interested in their recipes for "pumpkin fluff" which seems to involve fat free cool whip and artificial sweeteners. It all works and we're all still buddies.

 

[ebradley23]

I'm up from that a bit, after finding that training for Half Marathons makes me eat too much, which makes it hard to be extra-thin. I have to settle for thin and fit and not gaunt. Oh well. I can live with that. Soon I'm retiring from Halfs, though, and then maybe I'll go for smaller (b/c frankly I liked smaller).

OMG!! I just finished my second half in the past month. I trained for 6 months, because I had a certain time goal I wanted to beat. I gained 10 lbs despite running 20-25+ miles a week. I was starving all the time. I'm going to work on being smaller during the off season. When marathon training starts up in June, I'm sure I'll pack on another 10.

 

[Waiting2goback]

OMG!! I just finished my second half in the past month. I trained for 6 months, because I had a certain time goal I wanted to beat. I gained 10 lbs despite running 20-25+ miles a week. I was starving all the time. I'm going to work on being smaller during the off season. When marathon training starts up in June, I'm sure I'll pack on another 10.

I ran the ToT in October and ran my first marathon on 10/19. I was only losing like 1-2 lbs a month during my training. I was always hungry too. If I ate more I probably would have lost more weight.

I'm hoping to lose more this winter before the heavy running starts up again in the spring as it may be tough to lose it then again.

I am in way better shape despite not having lost as much weight as I wanted. I did lose 32 lbs so far, I was just hoping for more.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I've been a Lifetime Member of WW for 7 years now. It had taken me 5 months to lose 40 pounds right after i had my younger son (I joined WW 4 days after I gave birth!). I have kept the weight off for 7 years. I love the program and it keeps me conscious of anything I'm putting into my body, as well as my exercise. I love working out but I also really love eating, and I need something like this which allows me to eat anything so I don't deprive myself. I know that sounds like a cliche, but it really is true...deprivation leads to quitting, but moderation leads to success.

Like the above poster, I grew up with a mom who always cooked healthy. There was always lean protein, a starch and at least one vegetable at every meal. I was a thin kid when I was little, but in middle school I started to gain some weight. I was in the healthy weight range for my height and age, just a little bigger than most of the other girls my age. In high school I became overweight. My mom still cooked healthy and balanced, but I ate too much of it, as well as eating more junky stuff when I was out with friends which was every weekend, and also eating things like candy at school. I got heavier and heavier, although never bigger than a size 16 at my heaviest in college, and then after college I lost some weight. Then I gained most of it back. And then close to a year after I got married, my cholesterol was 219 and I was only 25 years old so I knew I had to do something about it to be in good health. My goal was to be as healthy as possible and get into good shape before I got pregnant and had kids. I wanted more energy for when I had children, and is also knew that the healthier I would be, the smoother the pregnancies would go. So I got into very good health, lost 40 pounds and I was in great shape by the time I got pregnant when I was almost 27 years old. I gained 45 pounds during that pregnancy and it took me 6 months to lose it after giving birth. I got into great shape again, and was prepared for the second pregnancy when I was 29. I gained 43 pounds during that pregnancy, and since I was almost 30 when I gave birth that time, I figured maybe it would take a year to lose the weight this time, and I accepted that. I figured being a couple of years older than the first one, plus the fact that it was my second pregnancy, it would take longer to lose the weight. That's when I joined WW, when he was 4 days old, and I never looked back.

I still work out regularly, despite injuries over the years including a very badly herniated disc in my neck that required surgery. I just modify all my workouts and listen to the physical therapist when it comes to exercise safety. For eating, I try to focus on whole foods and I love to cook so that helps a lot. I don't like to eat too many "diet" foods either. And on holidays I certainly indulge, as well as on vacation. In fact, when I go away on vacation, that is the only time of the year that I don't track and count points. However, I'm strong enough to go right back to following WW religiously the day I get home from vacation...I've always done this over the years and it works for me.

Only you can decide if this is for you. If you're ready, I say go for it. The meetings help so much, even if you just sit there and listen and take it all in. People are very inspiring at those meetings, and you can get some very good ideas and motivation. On the other hand, some people in the meetings that are very outspoken make excuses and blame others for the fact that they're not losing weight or fell off the wagon so to speak. But you can learn from those people too. Those people used to frustrate me at meetings, but I took something positive from their comments and excuses...I decided I wouldn't be like that and I would make no excuses. I decided that everyone is human and makes a mistake sometimes, and that when I do just that, I will own up to it and learn from it and then move forward. I even had one loudmouth yell at my when I reached my goal and was so happy I had lost the 40 pounds. She said to me, "oh, you had NOTHING to lose, that's why you hit goal so quickly. Try having twice that to lose like the rest of us and then talk to me. Plus you had a baby and the weight pours off of you after giving birth. You're not a true success story and you shouldn't be as proud as you are of this 'goal'". Yes, she did the air quotes when she said the word goal to me, as if I really hadn't accomplished anything. And of course this wasn't in the middle of a meeting, so she waited until our meeting leader stepped out of the meeting room to say all of that to me. I wanted to cry but I took this with a grain of salt instead, as this was the same woman who complained the week before at a meeting that it was her friend's fault that she ate a Big Mac meal at mcdonalds because they were on a road trio and her friend is diabetic so she has to eat at certain intervals throughout the day to keep her blood sugar steady. So they had to stop so her friend could get something to eat, and she ended up wolfing down a Big Mac meal. She acted as if her friend put a gun to her head and forced her to do this. Can you even believe that? The meeting leader replied by saying that life is all about the choices we make, and asked her if she could have made a different choice. But she said no, that her friend has to stop and that means she has to eat with her. I will never forget that!

 

[wvdisneyfamily]

I rejoined WW last week. I did it about six years ago before having my son. It worked when I was an honest, careful tracker and met my healthy checks. Today was my weigh in day and I lost 1.4 pounds. Give it a try. You won't know until you do.

 

[bangzoom6877]

I rejoined WW last week. I did it about six years ago before having my son. It worked when I was an honest, careful tracker and met my healthy checks. Today was my weigh in day and I lost 1.4 pounds. Give it a try. You won't know until you do.

Awesome results, congrats!