weight watchers

My Mom keeps trying to get me to join this.  She did it while she was pregnant with me, and actually ended up weighing 11 pounds less when I was born than she did when she got pregnant.

But to be honest I'm scared of all that food.

Also, I have always gotten the impression that ww is for very obese people.  I need to lose about 15 or 20 lbs and don't know if this would really help me.

Plus the cost, and if they think I'm going to some silly meeting to talk about food they can think again.

Anybody tried it, or know anyone who tried it?  Impressions?  Results?

I've tried it but it wasn't for me.  I can't be bothered with figuring out what points I have left or what I don't have.... Don't have the patience nor could I be bothered going to the meetings before the "internet days".  When I find I need to get ready for bikini season, I keep a food diary, drink my 6 liters of water and up my workouts - works like a charm for me.  My mom has been on it for special occasions and it was very successful for her.  So I guess it depends on the person.  What's good for one person may not be good for the next.

As for WW being for obese I didn't get that impression at the meeting when I did go **once** many moons ago.  I probably could get pass the meetings if I really had too but I definitely didn't like the idea how they were pushing all their prepackaged frozen means with all that sodium and crap.

Not much help sorry SAF....Try it once and if you don't like then you know.  They must have a new members deal where you can go once or twice see if it's for you.  Or there's the Weight Watchers Online, do it from the computer..   http://www.weightwatchers.co.uk/plan/index.aspx

Well you can do the online version if you don't want to attend the meetings.  Though the meetings do help just from having someone to give you sticker and cheer for you or to tell you it's okay if you went off the wagon.

The one problem with WW is the journalling.  You have to write everything down (the online tool helps with this). EVERYTHING!  If you bite it, lick it, or eat it you count it.  This works though because it retrains your brain on how much to eat.  If you have the choice between a lower point snack and a higher point one you find your self thinking..hmmm do I really want to waste all those points.

At the meetings I have been to there are all types.  From those needing to lose over 100 to some needing only 5 to 10.  It's what each person needs.  Now they won't let you shrink to be underweight.  It's all about healthy eating and balanced eating.  They now also offer Quickstart which is about 20 pts a day and no flex points and you can do a lower carb version if you know that carbs make you crave foods.

I love WW just for the fact that after all that measuring and weighing you learn portion size again.  You also learn that you have to eat to lose.  If you eat too little your body yells at you and stores that fat.  It thinks...I am starving... and holds on to those fat cells for dear life.

WW is also good in that it is a lifestyle not a diet.  You learn that you can eat whatever you want and still lose weight and maintain.

Plus once you hit lifetime (your goal) you get to come back for free if you ever need a back up.

Well that said.  I am no longer at meetings, but still do WW online.  I have of course lost the 20lbs and keep going down.  I am not as strict as I could be and it will take me a while, but this time it's never coming back.

It's been the only way I have ever lost and kept if off.  

I can't Atkins because well..... I love carbs though I highly recommend the South Beach/Atkins/Power Zone for two week induction to get off the stubborn ones. As well as sticking to higher fiber carbs, but with WW the higher the fiber the lower the points anyways!

Good luck hon you can do it!  

At the meetings I went to they never pushed the prepackages but that would have been a turn off for me for sure!

I lost 50 lbs with WW a couple of years ago.  Still do it, in fact and am trying to lose more.  (Tho, I was pretty darned dedicated at first and need to get my a$$ in gear!)

I like it because it really is a way of life.  It taught me about portion size and was just the structure I needed to learn how to eat healthy.  

I do the online meetings thing...journaling my points there is really easy and kind of fun and they have great motivational charts to track your weight.

Sure doing the points thing is a pain at first, but it does become second nature and pretty soon, you just *know* that a bag of crisps is 3-4 points, you know how much a scoop of mashed potato is...you don't have to do that much work once you learn the system.

I just love it!  

I love WeightWatchers too!!!!

Like Wishstar, I lost around 40 lbs. a few years ago. Because it taught me how to eat right, I have managed to keep those off.

I have joined WW again for round 2. I am finally at a stage where I am ready to tackle the last of those stubborn lbs.

If you are afraid that it's some kind of morbidly obese group and you might feel out of place there, you could not be more wrong. I can tell you that the majority of people at any meeting I have been to have not been morbidly obese. Only a couple may have been there to lose large amounts--I am assuming the rest had already lost their weight and were there to maintain or maybe had 10 lbs. or so to lose.

I find that with the people who lead the meetings, you have to shop around to different meetings with those. Some just read off the same stuff you could read on your own from the leaflets and some really try to motivate and take experiences from the group.

I like the points system. To me it means freedom to eat what I want each day . I don't feel as restricted because I can eat what I choose and as long as I stay within my points for the day, I am doing well.  

Using the tools online is the way to go with the points tracking. It doesn't take long and since I am one of those people who obsesses about food each day anyway, it really doesn't take any more thinking time than my regular routine thinking about food (i.e. having the time of my life doing some favorite activity but still thinking about what I am going to eat next type of thinking)

It's only £4.75 per week for the meetings here in the UK. If you buy a WW magazine there is usually a coupon in it for free registration.

I tried an organized diet and did very well...pounds flew off. But they didn't stay off, because it wasn't a committed lifestyle change for me.

Even though I'm not losing quickly, I am doing something toward getting into better shape, and a lot of that has to do with what I can and can't do according to my lifestyle. I can't limit the type of food, but I can limit the amount. I can't predetermine when I'm going to eat, but I can snack to keep my metabolism working, instead of shutting off and storing until my next meal. I know I won't go to the gym on my own, so I have a personal trainer who expects me to be there each and every time.

This is the stuff that works for me. But it's a long and slow process. By the time I'm 90, I'm gonna get into those size 8s!

I like WW.
I joined with a group of people from work, so counting the points wasnt a big deal cos we were all doing it together.  They have a really cool electronic points calculator that you can buy... you just enter the calories & fat grammes of what you are intending to eat , and it tells you the points.

I lost 20 pounds in 3 weeks, but then i went to the States for a week, fell off the wagon, and have been unable to get back on.  
When i do, though... i will be going back on the WW plan.  I dont go to the meetings, cos i hate all that rah-rah crap, but i have the points calculator and the book, so i just do it myself.

My sister in Baltimore swears by WW.  She's on it again at the moment and is doing very well.  She hates meetings but the online thing works great for her.

I started losing weight last year after putting on a lot when I first came to the UK.  I blame the immigration stress, which went on without ceasing for 2 full years, but in all honesty the stressful situation simply exacerbated my natural laziness and my tendency to eat and drink too much, and the wrong stuff.  Anyhow, low carbing works much better for me than low fatting, so I chose Atkins and wasn't sorry.  I still have about 25 lbs I'd like to lose but am taking a break after a year of dieting and intense exercise because, well frankly, I just need to give it a rest for a couple of months.  Hopefully, with the amount of exercise I do, I'll be able to maintain.

OTOH, I am going back to the States for ten days, where I will be exposed to all my worst temptations...devil dogs, pop-tarts, proper Doritos, good Mexican food, decent pizza, and the ever popular Wawa hoagie.  I better bring my willpower with me!

Emily

I am in good shape & not so heavy...but I had 5 pounds that I wanted to lose.  I tried out WW online & learned a lot about my eating habits...plus I lost those 5 pounds.  It's great for anyone wanting to lose weight regardless of size...but it does take a LOT of work.  Made me look more at my portion size and now I eat much less than I used to (at least most times!)

i lost 45 lbs on ww (post college weight) and kept it off for years.  then recently i gained 12 back so i'm back on the WW horse.

it's the perfect program for me because it forces me to look at what i'm eating and pay attention to portions.

i'm going to transfer to WW in london when i move cause there's no way i can not gain once i'm married and in my happy place with David!

I too have once again joined the bandwagon and this time for good..... and you all have my permission to smack me if I fall off.

Does anyone know the main differences in WW in the UK and USA?

Hey VNP (you can see I'm doing Phd work now, yes?!) 

Haven't done WW in US but I'm under the impression that the meetings (if you go to them over there) do tend to push the meals and stuff more. Here there are less WW foods so less push. Depending upon where you live here, the meetings can be good or bad. I hated the meetings in Kendal and Carlisle but Reading was OK.

If you're an experienced cook, you'll find a lot of the WW recipes pretty bad (IMO) though there are some really good ones. Also, if you get lots of US food to use here, it can be a bit of a pain getting the points right.

Shall I be your WW buddy? Only prob is I've lost my points book!

Hey I have WW online so lets do it.  Walkers are 4 pts!     I was just going to switch from US online to UK online.....
I basically would just weigh everything from my own recipes or while cooking and figure it out that way.  Online works because they have the recipe builder that calulates points for recipes you put in.

I agree some of the recipes need help, but they are made for SuzyAmerica that uses mostly processed foods I think.  I got their entertaining book which had some nicer recipes.


Yeah well you see the PhD work I am doing too don't you?

 

Ya know, i may just do UK online!  What a good idea!!!!!!

At my meeting there is no push for foods but there sure is a lot of it around!!!!!  Displays everywhere!

I still think i may need to do the meetings....i like having the physical books and points slider.

Plus we have this flex points thing here now that i don't really like.  I like the winning points, which i think the UK started.

I am not thrilled with Flex points either, but if you read the messages online it can help to jump start when you hit a plateu.

By eating under points and the over point the next day you can help to kick start your body if it decides it likes the fat.  So long as you are OP overall....