Living The Lifestyle - Thursday, January 10, 2019

gadgetgirlIL

We meet here to explore, share, celebrate and (sometimes) agonize over how we do (or don't) incorporate weight loss guidelines into our daily lives. "It's a lifestyle, not a diet" is easily and often said, but sometimes not so simply put into practice.

This is a thread for everyone. If you're new to GoaD, or to weight loss, your questions and comments are always welcome. If you're maintaining, or a long-term loser, your thoughts on the topic may be just what someone else needs to hear. If you're reading this, join in the discussion!

Each weekday, a new topic is offered up for discussion. Thread starters for January are below:

Monday - imastar2 (Derrick)
Tuesday - whathapnd (Emmie)
Wednesday - myallforjcbill (Bill)
Thursday - gadgetgirl (Regina)
Friday - Al_Howard (Al)

Today's Topic: Would you have joined WW if they had the current emphasis on wellness versus weight loss?

For those who may have missed it, Weight Watchers is now going by WW with a tagline of Wellness that Works. Their new commercial can be viewed here:
https://www.facebook.com/WW/videos/2376153989125174/

Leaders are now Wellness coaches.
Receptionists are now Wellness guides.
Meeting rooms are now Studios.
Shelves where food is displayed for sale is now the Health habits bar

Al_Howard

Probably would've checked it out, based on my success in 1979, when I lose weight, and attained Lifetime.

cakeman21k

probably would, I joined because I had a heart attack so my motivation was a little differnt than it had been in the past

imastar2

Might have because the name had been around along time. Had it been Wellness only its hard to sbutbecause I have been seeing my MD regularly for a long time. I've never been to a WW meeting. I've been online eversince I started.

1/4/19 WI 341.0 lbs
SW 400.8
CW 344.6 -🙂1.6 lbs
56.2 lbs Total Loss

88olds

Depends.

I wanted 2 things. On my own, I figured I needed to count something. I tried counting calories but it wasn’t working out. But I knew WW counted something.

Then I read somewhere, and did some research to confirm, that weight loss tool #1 was making a list of what you eat. I thought WW did that.

I had no other WW knowledge other than they had meetings and WIs. I thought you weighed in front of the group.

I was alarmed by the WW revolving door and that helped me a lot. I didn’t want that. It looks to me like WW didn’t like the in and out membership thing either. Well, they didn’t like the out part, so they’re trying to become sort of the Moose or Elks with wellness instead of card games.

steve0mania

I would probably have joined with a giant eye-roll, but I don't think I was savvy-enough to recognize the subtleties of the emphasis on "health" versus "weight." I knew I needed to have some help to lose weight, and I knew I didn't want to join Jenny Craig.

I rejoined WW over the past year, and found it didn't align with my interest in having a coherent program to help me lose weight, rather than "be healthy."

My cynical side thinks that WW has declared defeat, and has decided that they can do a better job if they don't make people feel bad for not losing weight.

myallforjcbill

Would I have joined..yes. Would I have stayed....probably not long term. My focus is to lose weight and develop healthy habits. I need some help in that. I stopped attending meetings again last December. Weight loss is increasingly not a focus anymore and it seems like a waste of money. I was on special pricing that didn't make it too expensive since I was paying $15 drop in fee to attend the monthly Lifetime Meeting. I don't know if I would rejoin or not. The current deal isn't all that enticing. But my meeting leader is really good and tries to bridge the gap between official WW program and weight loss.

misterhub

I joined WW because I knew several people with great success on the program. If I perceived that type of success with the current emphasis, I still would have joined.

Jimb376mfp

Leaders are now Wellness coaches.
Receptionists are now Wellness guides.
Meeting rooms are now Studios.
Shelves where food is displayed for sale is now the Health habits bar

You forgot:
Meeting now called Workshop.
I forget what but WW changed Weigh In to something else?
And God forgive the Coach slip and say WEIGHT WATCHER

My six year WW Anniversary is next week. I came back to WW to lose weight because it was always my Go To Plan. I did try some fad diets and gave it a go at Atkins but WW always seem to be a common sense approach. My problem was not understanding there is No Finish Line and never changed my Lifestyle.

The new WW Touchy Feely approach is OK for me now that I am on Maintenance, but if I was trying to lose weight I don’t know how I would react to that.

My same WW Coach has been with me for six years, she still is entertaining and educational to me. Most is information I have heard but hearing Newbies learn is interesting and I sometimes contribute.

Newbie asked today if she can eat two bags of grapes since they are Zero Points fruits.

Coach said “Yeah sure IF you eat all your points!” Then proceeded to explain eating healthy by eating your points would be a better balanced plan AND then you probably would not want/need to eat two bags of grapes.

Jerdtrmndone

I just cancelled my online account. I just can not keep with their standards. I am going back to the way I did the old plan that worked and save my money.

Al_Howard

Jerdtrmndone wrote: »

I just cancelled my online account. I just can not keep with their standards. I am going back to the way I did the old plan that worked and save my money.

Well, as long as you hang around here, you know you'll be ok.

whathapnd

I probably would still have joined because I've seen folks get good results from WW, but I would have been skeptical about the "wellness" stuff. I REALLY like the idea of taking a holistic/ wellness aporoach to losing weight, but I don't know if WW is equipped/structured to deliver the type of program that stands a better chance of being effective in terms of weight loss results. I think part of the reason GOAD (or any other board one chooses to frequent) has been helpful to many if us is that finding like-minded people who speak about/approach weight loss with the same underlying goal fosters good discussions and therefore learning. I think most people who stuck around GOAD really wanted to learn from and share with others, how to lose weight. Some of the other boards were more focuded on fun/socializing/commiserating about life. So if WW could segment their meetings into people who all really want the same thing (which isnt always weight loss), I think they'd have a program that would be hard to beat. I'd go to a meeting where the group goal is "learning how to sustain eating like we have some sense. And wellness discussions would naturally flow from that group. Like how eating better makes you sleep better which maybe makes you happier/more productive/more self-confidence. Or how better eating can lead to fewer aches and pains which maybe gets you more active. But I suspect wellness discussions will stay at a surface level because you have lots of folks wanting to get different things out of those precious 30 minutes.

Of course, I could be wrong, and perhaps the emphasis on wellness will open more folks eyes to the overall better quality of life achieved through weright loss.

gadgetgirlIL

Thanks, all, for your thoughtful responses!

When I first heard of their shift in direction I thought of HAES (Health at Every Size). Personally I feel it is unrealistic for people to try to attain model thinness like what is often portrayed in advertising. But I also know that carrying 100+ pounds of extra weight is simply not healthy no matter what your bloodwork might be. The laws of physics are not suspended even if you have good bloodwork. There is still excessive wear and tear on the weight bearing joints. I'm a good example of that as for too many years I was 100+ pounds overweight with my highest weight being 130-140 pounds over where I feel comfortable. I had arthroscopic surgery on my left knee in 2003 because a piece of the cartilage that is on the end of the femur came off. The doctor said this usually only happens in a traumatic blow to the knee. Well, I never had any injury like that but I'm convinced that lugging around all that excess weight caused the problem.

Thus, I need a program that helps me get to and remain at a healthy weight. If I want to feel happier or have mental clarity, then I have other options through my fitness center for which I don't have to pay anything extra.

minimyzeme

Hmmm, good question. I don't know that I would have joined under that campaign. Likely not. I'd had some exposure to MFP prior to joining WW so I knew there were options. In hindsight, I didn't know of the other benefits / NSVs that awaited me with weight loss so from where I stand now, I probably would have been on-board with WW's current (stated) emphasis on wellness.

I conduct myself today as if I'm pretty much in the WW mode I was when I started. I don't tally "wins". However, the NSVs have come primarily from weight loss / management so it's still at the core of my focus and objectives. If I fall into "remission" and return to my old ways, those secondary benefits are out the door.

podkey

Probably. If my same friends drug me there. We do need to be careful about body image for sure.

podkey

I think for mental health reasons it IS important to not focus strictly on a scale number as if that will bring us happiness. We (and WW) need to get beyond strictly the skinny sexy photos of folks who appear to find love and happiness by the numbers. I think the rhetoric is much nicer but really the methods and results are the same as before. One could make the argument that WW which after all was founded by a stick to it woman historically has attracted more women than men. I think I am comfortable enough in my own skin and feel that WW for the most part is still very sensible for the most part.

linmueller

I'm not sure if I would have joined if this was the focus. I needed to lose a lot of weight so not sure the new focus would have appealed to me.

I do know that the new names for everything make me roll my eyes.

Al_Howard

Sing "Put me in coach" when weighing in. LOL