Living the Lifestyle -- Thursday, June 4, 2020

beachwoman2006

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.

Monday- misterhub (Greg)
Tuesday- whathapnd (Emmie)
Wednesday-MASSRUNNER (Frank)
Thursday- beachwoman2006 (Cindy)
Friday- imastar2 (Derrick)

Today's topic (because inquiring minds want to know). I know that everyone (or most everyone) who participates in this threat "met" via the Weight Watchers (now WW which is what we called it years ago anyway) message boards. We were all big proponents of WW.

How many are still a participating member of WW? If so, why? If not, why not? And, if not, are you using any specific program to lose/maintain your weigh?

beachwoman2006

I joined WW in 2002 and reached goal in 2004 after losing 75 pounds. I kept the weight off (and even went below my goal weight) for about 10 years. During that time, WW changed their program MANY times -- at least once a year. However, since I was at goal, it really had no bearing on me so I continued doing my monthly weigh-ins. Sometimes I stayed for the meeting, sometimes I didn't.

Sometime around 2016, I had started gaining a little weight so decided to start attending meetings again. I didn't even recognize the program at that time. I think I went to maybe 3 or 4 meetings over the course of a couple of months; but it just didn't do it for me so I stopped going and I *think* that's about the time I found MyFitnessPal (MFP) online.

I preferred to continue with the plan that had helped me lose my final 15-20 pounds with WW -- Core, later known as Simply Filling. WW meetings provided absolutely NO support for that and didn't even want to discuss it in meetings. In fact, the leader in the meeting I attended didn't even know what it was. With MFP, I could follow the program I wanted and use MFP for tracking.

So very long answer short, I gave up on WW 4-5 years ago. It's not that I don't think it's probably still a good program. But, after Oprah became an owner (or whatever she is), the focus seemed to be more on how they could make more money. Leaders were no longer called leaders -- I don't even know what they're called now. Personal coaching (at an additional cost) became a big thing.

They talk about how they're focusing more on nutrition now rather than weight loss. I'm sorry but most of the leaders don't have as much knowledge about nutrition as I do. One thing that Core taught me was nutrition. In addition, I'm a researcher by nature so I read LOTS of books about nutrition over the years while I was losing weight. And some of the things I've seen some leaders talk about are just flat-out wrong and are based on their personal opinion rather than the science of nutrition.

Every program seems to be the BEST program WW has ever had. Well...if they're all the best why do they change it once a year?

So now I've gone back to following the Core program from WW and I'm using MFP to track foods and my weight.

myallforjcbill

I left WW about 6 months ago or more. I never liked Smart Points or it's marketing fueled enhancements. Credibility of the message they were putting out became an issue. Everything was the best yet and I was going to love it. But in the end, I couldn't justify the price anymore, especially on retirement income. There are too many other ways to track for a lot less that provide lots of good nutritional information such as MFP. The basic concepts of healthy living and weight loss are not unique to WW.

misterhub

I left WW a several years ago, mostly due to money. But, truthfully, I understand the concepts and principles, and I am pretty well educated regarding nutrition. I use MFP to track and monitor. I apply the old Flex/Core principles daily. They are ingrained in my psyche. I don't need to pay for it any longer. Plus, honestly, it seems they've lost their way.

gadgetgirlIL

WW at Work was a desperately need source of accountability. I never used any of their points systems as I've always counted calories. I went many years to weekly meetings with a friend from work. When she stopped going, I eventually dropped done to only going once a month to weigh in. For a while, another friend who was a leader had special meetings for lifetime members once a month. I enjoyed those. But those also got cancelled.

I find this group as well as a couple other private FB groups that sprung up when the WW boards went away to be useful in keeping my head in the game.

Al_Howard

I'm still "doing" WW (Blue Plan, basically the Smart Points program). I'm also tracking on MFP for calories, sodium, protein, fats and carbs. TOL is Lifetime, so she doesn't pay, but, like me, she double tracks. We also participate in our meetings, Zoom, and (before) FTF.

Jimb376mfp

After a lifetime of losing with WW then always gained it back plus more. No commitment to get to GW.

2013 joined WW @ 376#, I was afraid of WLS.

Lost 100 and worked to NOT gain it back.
2016 decided to really work Smart Points and made GW 184 May 2018.

Kept going to WW to maintain GW. Still below GW a NN d go to Zoom meeting now.

I’m afraid to gain so I did not quit WW but I have not Tracked with quarantine.

Al_Howard

I have always said that after I made GW, in 1979, I stopped going to meetings, and gained all me weight back, plus another 110 pounds. Got close again to goal 6 years ago, but became too cavalier, and put back 25 pounds. Still working on that, VERY SLOWLY.

88olds

I dropped out of WW after Hurricane Irma. I was in 11 years. Paid for about 8 months, the rest was Lifetime freeloading. I kept up my monthly WIs after we moved to Key West, but the meeting just didn’t click with me. And there was only 1 per week in town. But after Irma that fell apart. Don’t recall the details.

Maintaining I track here on MFP as needed. Not doing it currently.

beachwoman2006

I should have added that I was a member of WW@Work while I was losing and loved everything about it -- especially the leader. Maybe that was part of my problem. I got accustomed to have a GREAT leader who had lost 175 pounds and kept it off for almost 15 years. After I retired in 2012, I had to find outside meetings. At that time I was in Raleigh and there were lots of locations to choose from. But even with that I never found a meeting or a leader that I really clicked with.

When I moved to the beach in 2015, there was initially NO meeting within about 25 miles of me. Then a meeting was started "across the bridge". I attended three or four meetings there; but as I said before, the leader wasn't very good. I knew more about Weight Watchers than she did. I felt bad for the members who weren't at lifetime because some of their questions were very basic and she couldn't answer them.

I attended my last meeting in January 2016.

MASSRUNNER_FRANK

I joined WW in 2009 at my heaviest lifetime weight and managed to lose 40 pounds and made Goal in less than a year. At the time the Plan was Points+. I was elated and kept tracking through Maintenance until 2010.
I am not one who hates tracking and in fact, have a strange affinity for it. I like it as a guideline and personal accountability tool. I am, however, one who bristles at Meetings, so have never participated either physically or virtually in a single one.
Back to 2010. Was maintaining successfully but wanted to save some cash so flirted with IM. It worked for a while until portion creep got a hold of me. In a short time, I can’t remember exactly, I gained back the 40 lost pounds and found an additional 20. Ugh. WW changed the Plan to SmartPoints and for some reason I just couldn’t wrap my head around it or the change. Just bought a larger wardrobe and moved on.

MASSRUNNER_FRANK

Dang. Wasn’t done.
Fast forward to January 2019. Disgusted with my weight and knowing how I had lost using WW in the past, rejoined. Online only, naturally. The Plan was Blue and somehow, someway, it worked this time. I liked it and was successful with it. I remember saying I will set my Goal weight at 160 since I know that 150 is definitely unsustainable for me. Made Goal by October 2019 and have kept tracking. And I am now nearly 20 pounds below what I thought was unsustainable. Nearly 30 pounds below Goal.
I keep tracking because it works for me. I may be a bit leery of stopping because of my history. We’ll see what the future holds. I am planning on retiring in just about a year so may want to save some cash again. Will look at options then.

cakeman21k

So On the Last Sunday in October 2006 I had a heart attack, 7 days later I walked in to my first WW meeting. I pretty much hated being in the girls club every week, and I bristled at the amount of sexisim that I saw but I stuck with it. Almost 14 years later and I am still attending meetings (on zoom right now) I have moved 3 times in that span and have learned that its important for me to find the proper combination of meeting leader and group dynamics that work for me. Sometimes its the leader who does it for me, sometimes its the group at a particular meeting, sometimes its both. I have changed meeting leaders several times just because I did not like the one that was there.
I have been through multiple different "plans", I actually am OK with the changes they make as they force me to "relearn" and rethink what I eat, keeping things a little fresh for me. The new plans seem to come an average of every 12 - 18 months so I am expecting another new one in a year or less.
I am less pleased about the "Oprah Influence" as this seems to be less of a diet and nutrition program and more of a feelings and emotions program. I was a systems engineer before I retired I want to know the numbers and the science of the thing not the feelings and emotions of the the thing!
I am currently attending meetings on Zoom and while I recognize that this is about the best alternative that is available during the pandemic, I cannot say that I am thrilled with it. I will stick it out for a while and see if this is the way for the forseeable future or if this is just a short term till the pandemic is under control type of thing. If it is for the long run I am thinking I will give up my membership as I don't feel like its worth it to me.
GOAD was a life changing discovery for me during my early days on WW as it gave me a place where there was less "male bashing" going on and I felt more comfortable. I currently track using the WW app, I have never tried tracking on MFP although I have no objection to trying it, I just am too lazy to double track. If I do choose to give up my WW membership I will certainly try MFP.
Any way just my 2 cents

steve0mania

I am not a current WW member.

I joined WW in January 2009 (Momentum program), and made goal and lifetime by that summer. I stuck with WW for a year or two, but found it less useful for maintenance than for weight-loss. I felt like I was getting less and less out of meetings, and became more interested in "intuitive maintenance" over time. Finally, it made no sense to spend the money and time on something that wasn't providing a lot of value.

I've maintained under my WW goal for nearly 11 years now (!). My weight has run higher than I would like, and a couple of years ago I re-signed up for online WW to take off 10-15 pounds and get to my personal goal weight. As someone said above, I couldn't wrap my head around the program. I prefer a more "scientific" approach, and I think WW has drifted away from that approach, and instead has focused on more of the psychology. There were so many tweaks to the program that were there to help with the psychology of losing weight rather than the simple "food in versus energy burned" model that I couldn't fully understand it any more.

Furthermore, after a while, it seemed like WW wasn't a weight-loss program as much as a "lifestyle" program...and was geared to allow folks to feel good at their current weight without making them feel bad that they hadn't lost "enough" weight. I get it, but that's not where my head is.

So, I chug along "intuitively-maintaining" and always feel a little bad that I'm above my personal goal weight. :-)

beachwoman2006

steve0mania wrote: »

I am not a current WW member.

Furthermore, after a while, it seemed like WW wasn't a weight-loss program as much as a "lifestyle" program...and was geared to allow folks to feel good at their current weight without making them feel bad that they hadn't lost "enough" weight. I get it, but that's not where my head is.

That was exactly the impression I got. Regardless of what WW (or their leaders) may think - they are neither nutritionists nor psychologists and neither is Oprah Winfrey. They have completely lost the original intent of Weight Watchers when Jean Nidecht started it in her basement over 50 years ago.

podkey

I was attending WW meetings until WW center closed. Honestly though I wasn't counting points etc using the "new" program. I was basically eating the same foods and amounts as before. I attended for the social value with some friends and the leader there. I am more or less in SteveO's camp. I have memorized what works for me and chug along a few pounds higher than I like but in the top end of my range.