Weightwatchers - does it work?

I keep telling myself that I need to lose weight, and have tried for a day or several and failed miserably.  Im not goog at sticking to excecise as well (hard to get motivated after a day of work...Im sure others can relate).

Last night, however, was the last draw.  Seriously.  I have been noticing that my pants have been tighter, and not fitting....definitely more snug.  I weighed myself....and to much to my dismay...i weigh what I did when I was pregnant with my daughter.   What the heck...

My eating has spiraled out of control.  It needs tamed.  When my DF left the last time...we had to drill holes in my belt because I had lost so much (tacky maybe), but now I am at the end of the belt strings.  I SWEAR (now this might not be 100% accurate) but I think Ive gained about 40 pounds in 7 months.  OH MY GOD.

SO I was thinking of joining the online Weightwatchers hoping to correct my eating habits (properly).  Does anyone know if this works?  It costs $50 for 3 months, and want to make sure that it works (I mean with my participation of course).

I think Im going to go by their point based eating system, AND I plan on doing 45 min on the ellipitcal I have.  Maybe bike ride? 

It is war!

A daughter of a co-worker of mine lost a load of weight on Weightwatchers about 6 months ago, but has gained it all back.  IMO, and I am no expert and could stand to lose some weight myself, any programme that is not a "lifestyle change" will not work long term.  You cannot say, I'm going to follow Weight Watchers until I weight 120lbs - you would have to stick to a Weight Watchers programme forever (which is not too difficult since apparently you get quite good at knowing about how many points are in many items).   Its so cliche, but the best thing to do is just to adjust your eating habits in a way that makes sense to you so that you dont have to think too much about it.  The goal is for your brain and stomach to make the healthy choices without you thinking about making them. 

Weight Watchers promotes a full lifestyle change to healthy eating habits, and it does work for a lot of people. Particularly if you like the face-to-face contact with other dieters, it can be really a very good program.

If you're just using the online version, then I really don't see that WW is worth paying all that money when there are equally good, healthy lifestyle changing diet websites out there like Sparkpeople.com (which I personally used to lose 50+lbs several years ago and have largely kept off since then) that are absolutely free.

But with any diet program, these are just tools. Success comes from YOU and whether you want to really change the way you're eating and exercising, and for life.

Weightwatchers is a life style change.  It's not about a diet, it's about making healthy and good decisions about your eating and excercise habits.  Yes, you can gain the weight back, but also once you lose the weight you have the option of remaining a lifetime member at no cost as long as you stay within your goal weight.  If you go 5lbs over they make you pay again until you lose it.  

I lost quite a bit of weight last time I did it, but then slinked back into over eating and making bad choices.  5 years later and I finally owned up and went back to meetings.

Sparkpeople is great too and free...but if you need the face to face accountability of meetings WW is the way to go.  I've tried everything, but for me the only thing that works is  the support of the people at the meetings. For me it is personally inspiring to see life time members and our leader whose lost over 100lbs herself.   You really have to access what kind of person you are and what kind of support you need.

All of these life style changes are just that .. for life.

The minute you over eat or make the wrong choices over and over again the weight will come back.

Now I eat anything I want, but I think about what I would rather have... 7 fast food french fries or a whole potato oven fried.  1 oz of potato chips or a bag of pretzels and some cheese.  Some times I still eat the not so healthy choices and I do so without guilt.  I just don't follow it up with more crap and I eat something healthy.  

I know someone who lost a lot of weight through Weight Watchers, but I think a lot of it was due to the fact that she went to weekly meetings so had the emotional support of people in a situation that was similar to hers.

I don't know how well it would work online.

In terms of what you eat, it's an incredibly healthy lifestyle. No worries there.

As to whether or not it works? It totally depends on your personality type and what sort of things work for you. Some people will be successful, some won't. I like the accountability of the weekly meetings, but others are able to do it on their own online. All I'd say is give it a try and see how you like it.

Weight Watchers is only sustainable if its a lifestyle change. I lost over 100 lbs in Uni doing weight watchers (not going to meetings, but counting points)  But I was soooooooooooooo restrictive with myself- I never went off program, never allowed myself treats if I didn't have enough points, etc.
10 years later, it all came back- and not from lack of trying to get it back off for the last 9 years- but from a million factors-  because I didn't learn how to not make 1 treat turn into a bad evening, into a bad day, into a bad week, bad month... because I like beer and wine and I can't ever seem to have 1  drink ... because I eat far too much and don't know how to listen to hunger signals... because I refuse to eat sugar free fake food - so I ended up using far too many points on real food.  

So now, I've actually had a positve change in myself realising that 1 treat doesn't need to be a bad day, bad week, bad month.  I've actuallly fought it, and I've slowly I've realised that I can have 1 bad treat and get back on afterwards of eating healthy. Life is too short to restrict myself but becomes even shorter if I keep eating/drinking/overindulging too much all the time. So a happy medium makes me happy.  

So my point is, if you can make weight watchers a lifestyle change instead of a diet, it really does work well ,especially if you need the support of meetings and that accountability. Make sure you get a good supportive leader though.  

Yep... leaders and group members can make a big difference!

I've done WW here and in the US, and both times, lost weight  -went to the meetings, which I think helps.  However (and this is just my experience), I think the program pushes a lot of it's own food, and that stuff is highly processed and of little nutritional value, just low in points.  The ready meals, desserts, etc - all loaded with sodium, preservatives, etc. 

Now, I kind of use my WW books as a guide when I go food shopping, but I don't hardcore count points, I count calories at sparkpeople so I can also track protein, fat, and carbs.  The weight comes off slower, but I feel healthier.  My point allowance on WW didn't allow me much food, usually, so I didn't have the energy to workout as much as I do now. 

There's good and bad.  It definitely gets you going in the right direction, but I think figuring out a healthy lifestyle that doesn't rely on x points per day or whatever is the best bet.

I don't have any insight personally into Weight Watchers, so I don't really have anything against it. All I can say is that I've had a couple friends that have used it, they lost weight sucessfully, and then gained it all back after stopping the program. So just from observing them, I can't say I'd necessarily recommend it for permanent weight loss.

I've said it a million times. After being overweight/obese for the first 30 years of my life, I finally figured out that you just have to really re-invent yourself. Learn to at least not hate exercise, learn to eat right. (And as phatbeetle said, allow yourself the occasional treat.) I've discovered a love of cooking now, too, because I love trying different ways of preparing meals that are tasty as well as healthy. It's the only thing that I can say really works. I've maintained this weight and kept my BMI around 21 just over a year now.

Just my two pence.

My best friend's mom lost over 70 pounds with WW a few years ago and has kept it off. But, like others mentioned, she is doing it for life. She loves it and I've often seen her eat things that surprise me, like cake or whatever, and I used to think, "I thought she was on a diet!" But clearly, it's worked for her and she is able to still enjoy food, so it definitely does work for some people.

I did the online Weightwatchers years ago and found I actually gained weight. I don't blame the system, but me - I just wasn't committed.

I know people who have had success with the meetings, but it's really down to you wanting to change your lifestyle and diet.

Good luck!

I think the emotional support side of Weight Watchers is fantastic and can help you keep focus of your goals.

IMHO, Weight Watchers is NOT a healthy lifestyle change. Be wary of any company that tries to sell you cookies, chocolate or crisps as a "healthy snack option". (Such as the 100 calorie or 1 point packs). Its just re-enforcing cravings, instead of training your body to want things that are good for it.

Personally I am looking for more of a healthy lifestyle. DH & I are starting a modified version of primal/paleo eating: lean organic meat, fruits & veggies (only having the starchy ones occasionally) and healthy fats. We also eat whole grains, but are trying to cut them down.

I'm not saying you should try this or it would work for everyone, but I think you will be more successful in the long run if you commit to an eating/exercising plan with the goal of keeping your body healthy, not just a diet to lose weight.

I think Michael Pollan's food rules are a good guideline, also.

See I don't find that anything was pushed on me.

 I cook real food, use the recipe builder on e-tools and only very rarely buy the bars or snacks.  I can eat a piece of Ghiradelli chocolate or Cadbury's dark over a WW snack and feel much happier.  Just like I can cook and freeze meals better than a frozen WW meal. We do healthy recipe swaps and snack ideas at my meetings.  

Recently our push/challenge has been to eat half a plate of veg and 3 colors of fruit a day neither which are WW products!

Sorry, just my experience.  

I think those WW processed meals and snacks are there to help people who don't have the time or inclination to cook or also who are used to processed foods.  Plus who in the heck has the money to afford the snacks?  

You are much better using the recipe bulider and e-tools recipes and making real food.  I think it is crucial for success to get away from packaged crap.