Weight Watchers

Krizzle4Rizzle

My company is teaming up with Weight Watchers and are going to bring a WW coach here and do everything in the building for convince. The cost is $150. If we lost 20 pounds or more during the duration (4 months I think) the company will reimburse us the full $150. My question is: What are the meetings like?

Iknowsaur

Pretty bad. Not to be a downer, but it's a lot of sharing your points log and whining about what you messed up and/or how you didn't lose weight. It's kind of like this website, actually :P

All the programs that include groups and meetings generally resemble one another.

Teddy3931

It all depends -- a great leader and group participation make for great meetings. I found them useful - getting tips from other people, but I had a wonderful leader.

deadyankee

They expect you to fail and repeat ad finitum. It's their business model.

beckytcy

I did WW at work and loved it. It was motivating to weigh in with the leader. I disagree with the person who said that WW expects you to fail and sign up for more sessions. I lost 30 pounds on WW at work five years ago and have not gained back a single pound. (I joined MyFitnessPal a few months ago because I want to lose a bit more weight,but I am still at my Weight Watchers "lifetime" goal weight.) I didn't buy the WW products (waste of money and they are filled with chemicals); I just tracked everything using their system. It's similar to MyFitnessPal, so you can do the same thing for free on your own, but I did find it helpful to talk with people in real life because you are more accountable. Good luck!

deadyankee

This sums up WW. http://fatfu.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/weight-watchers/

bettyjoburdett

Such negative feedback! WW has the best success rate of all weight loss groups. It is based on a healthy diet developed for people with diabetes. The weigh ins are private, the encouragement is great, and best of all if you follow the plan you will lose weight at a healthy pace.

What a great incentive to be able to be reinbursed by your company! Good luck in whatever you decide.

Charloo1990

It all depends -- a great leader and group participation make for great meetings. I found them useful - getting tips from other people, but I had a wonderful leader.

Yeah i agree with this. I've just joined WW and i enjoyed the meeting tbh. Also lost 6lbs in my first week so was a very happy bunny!

carlsoda

Depends on your leader, but I've lost weight on WW before and find it pretty simple. If they offered this at my work, I'd jump for it!

Healthydiner65

Weight Watchers is a great support system and you should give it a try if you can afford it. Especially with people at work who can encourage you! Good luck!

kbmnurse

I did not like WW at all. Our leader was a complainer. I have friends that LOVE it.

tapirfrog

You know how in high school you had to take certain classes, couldn't get out of them, and the teacher (and to a lesser extent the other students) made the difference between a terrible class and a wonderful one? Same way with WW meetings. The leaders and other members completely make the difference. Your experience can suck or it can be wonderful, all depending on who's directing it.

I knew a couple of the people in my local WW group and no effing way was I going to sit in a room with them voluntarily, so I did mine online. My first 25 pounds came off quite nicely with WW online, and I never bought their prepackaged overprocessed crap either, just cooked my own food and was honest about how much I put in my mouth.

Hozman121

I agree that a great leader makes a great meeting. There is always a topic of the week that is discussed and if anyone has anything they want to share with group. Ours were always 30-40 minutes. To get full reimbursement from your company I would be all over this. WW is easy to follow if you follow it. I found it to easy to "cheat" myself and not stay on plan.

Charloo1990

I know i've already commented but i actually think WW is awsome. I've gone from binging nearly every day to totally getting back on track cause the class totally motivates me and especially getting weighed infront of someone else really makes me want to stay on track and not eat little extras or go pickin at food in the kitchen. It's been a total positive in keeping me on track so far x

tapirfrog

Wait, you should also figure out how much you need to lose.

See, 20 pounds during 4 months is 5 pounds a month -- doable if you're quite overweight, but if you have only 20 pounds to lose total, it probably would be really difficult to do it without feeling utterly miserable and damaging your health or your willpower to continue.

Shelley6591

I didn't like WW at all for a few different reasons. I loved an old program and lost 60 pounds incredibly fast but found it restrictive, fell off the wagon and gained every pounds back. I thought I needed to go to meeting and pay someone to be accountable to so I ended up even more frustrated. My whole world changed when I found MFP, I've lost over 40 since July and I feel like I changed mentally, I feel like I can eat whatever I want but in moderation... WW works but you have to keep it up like anything else, I'd be interested to see how many people use both and see the outcome. Good luck!

frando

my boss went and hated it, grown women saying 'ooh, I'm wearing a heavier cardie then last week' when they get weighed in and trying to loose the most to get a 'pointless accolade'.

I saw on FB an old school friend getting lots of likes and comments for 'loosing 12lbs in two weeks, so gonna win slimmer this time' I was horrified.

Charloo1990

I didn't like WW at all for a few different reasons. I loved an old program and lost 60 pounds incredibly fast but found it restrictive, fell off the wagon and gained every pounds back. I thought I needed to go to meeting and pay someone to be accountable to so I ended up even more frustrated. My whole world changed when I found MFP, I've lost over 40 since July and I feel like I changed mentally, I feel like I can eat whatever I want but in moderation... WW works but you have to keep it up like anything else, I'd be interested to see how many people use both and see the outcome. Good luck!

I can see where you're coming from tbh. WW says I'm entitled to 27points a day. So I tested it, logged my cals as well as points counting and my 27points pretty much equates to 950cals for the day which isnt a lot really. Fruit and veg is free but unfortunately I don't like veg but regardless I just do it my way and have a treat day once a week which works for me

LeslieB042812

I did WW at work and loved it. It was motivating to weigh in with the leader. I disagree with the person who said that WW expects you to fail and sign up for more sessions. I lost 30 pounds on WW at work five years ago and have not gained back a single pound. (I joined MyFitnessPal a few months ago because I want to lose a bit more weight,but I am still at my Weight Watchers "lifetime" goal weight.) I didn't buy the WW products (waste of money and they are filled with chemicals); I just tracked everything using their system. It's similar to MyFitnessPal, so you can do the same thing for free on your own, but I did find it helpful to talk with people in real life because you are more accountable. Good luck!

I totally agree. The best thing about WW at work (that makes it different from other WW meetings) is that you're doing it together with your coworkers. I lost 25 lbs, as did several of my coworkers. It was very encouraging. We all kept it off for a long time, too. I've only gained it back due to some health problems and stress, but that was after 2 years of being at my lowest weight ever. It definitely helps to have your natural community (work folks) losing with you.

Mother_Warrior

As everyone else has pretty much said, it all depends on the Leader. In all honesty I don't think it's worth it. (Even WITH a great leader) The first time I tried weight watchers I had a phenomenal leader, and group for that matter! I lost 50 pounds that time! I have tried it a few more times over the years, but I always quit because I found calculating points pointless (lol) and the leaders sucked! The meetings were so lame and boring! Also there might be a different dynamic since you'll be doing these meetings with co-workers....

LeslieB042812

You know how in high school you had to take certain classes, couldn't get out of them, and the teacher (and to a lesser extent the other students) made the difference between a terrible class and a wonderful one? Same way with WW meetings. The leaders and other members completely make the difference. Your experience can suck or it can be wonderful, all depending on who's directing it.

I knew a couple of the people in my local WW group and no effing way was I going to sit in a room with them voluntarily, so I did mine online. My first 25 pounds came off quite nicely with WW online, and I never bought their prepackaged overprocessed crap either, just cooked my own food and was honest about how much I put in my mouth.

This is so true!!!! the leader and other people you do it with makes all the difference. Also, their pre-packaged foods are not good, but you don't need to use them.

Siobhan108

I used WW back 15 yrs ago and I did ok but it is very similar to MFP and I found that I only needed to be accountable to one person ...ME . Some people do very well, but remember whatever program you use it is a tool and it is up to you to do the work. This is not a diet, it's a life change and once you figure that out you will be ahead of the game. The key to weight loss is eating less then you burn in a day...so to be successful, in my opinion means learn to be accountable for what you put in your mouth. The average person looses 1-2 lbs a week on this program and in 4 wks that could mean you MIGHT loose 8 lbs. ( more likely 5 ) but you have to decide. Logging is logging whether it's on WW or MFP. Good Luck.

p1ppers

I've done WW over the years and I agree they set you up to fail. It's a money maker for them, getting paid every week to sit and listen to 30 minutes of who did what right or wrong and here's a recipe to try. They are very forgiving if you stay the same or gain, heck that's another few weeks you add to your goal date. Sure, I lost weight, because I logged what I ate and ate better while I paid to "belong" to the group. But even though that's my take, I joined and rejoined over the years at least 10 times. You can get a good leader that makes it fun to get together and chat and you can get one that is struggling herself and whines the whole time about how we all have to do better in the future. I found MFP with the community page was all I needed, just log your food and exercise and talk to others when you have questions or need motivation. What really irks me about WW is when you lose 5-10-20 lbs, you get a sticker or plastic "reward" and I sit in a room of 30 people and think "really" you just took in $300. in this meeting and the ones that accomplished something significant got a sticker from you? wow, you really give back when your members succeed on your plan. Speaking of which, they love to change the plan every year just enough that a new slide rule, calculater, app, etc will be required to continue figuring out your "points". When I finally quit WW and did MFP, I hit goal. That says it all. Oh, and anyone can go to the WW sight and join the community pages, you do not have to be a paying member to start or join a challenge. That's the only good/free part of WW I did appreciate, even though they lock you out of recipes and diary options, you can still share info with others and work the program from the community page. Whatever you decide, plan to lose your $150. and then hope you don't. Very few in the groups I was in at work ever lost more than 10 lbs, in 10 weeks. Just sayin

alibee88

This sums up WW. http://fatfu.wordpress.com/2008/01/24/weight-watchers/

I've never done WW but that article is a bit harsh... It seems ridiculous that cancer patients or victims of wasting diseases would constitute any meaningful proportion of their "successes", it's such an odd thing to say that it makes me wonder what his agenda is.

I can understand why it appeals to people. I can see that weighing in public could definitely hold you accountable. If your group is nice it could provide you with a support network.

OP At the end of the day, it's basically a calorie controlled diet and there's no real reason that the programme shouldn't work. If you like the idea of having meetings with coworkers to discuss weight loss then go ahead.

Shelley6591

I forgot to add when they started the PP program I didn't lose a thing and hated it and bailed. Fruit is no longer free, veg is though. To me it's too much of a diet, MFP is a lifestyle so I think that's why it works and it's free I weight myself 100 times a day too so no need to drive half and hour and pay $20 for that

kaypea3000

I have had a similar experience with Weight Watchers. I lost 30 lbs, kept off 25, and am trying for the last bit here. I don't go anymore because it's kind of a drag to do for life, but it helps you get a handle on portion control if you've kind of forgotten what healthy portions look like.

bartholomewpumpernickle

I heard it does not work and it makes you fart like crazy

chargraves

It all depends -- a great leader and group participation make for great meetings. I found them useful - getting tips from other people, but I had a wonderful leader.

This!! A Good leader and group make all the difference. I have been part of the WW program about a year and have lost 94 lbs. I found MFP to be a useful calorie counting tool but I needed more of a plan/ program.

Krizzle4Rizzle

It might be important to add that I did WW online last year and did lose weight. I stopped because MFP is free. I think I am going to go for it. Thanks for the input guys!

mschicagocubs

It might be important to add that I did WW online last year and did lose weight. I stopped because MFP is free. I think I am going to go for it. Thanks for the input guys!

I was just going to say ... I did the Online version of it. Loved it. I didn't think it was necessary to pay the extra money to get feedback from other people when I could find that information online

Good Luck!

CaitlinW19

I did weight watchers several years ago (prior to points plus) and really liked it. 80% of people that loose weight gain it back in with any method of loosing weight, so the fact that weigh watchers banks on that isn't really due to anything but the individual. It is no magic pill. Here's what I liked about it...fad diets don't work, but weight watchers doesn't really fall into that fad category...it's based on keeping a diary and eating what you want in moderation (the same as most of us here on MFP are already doing). In my opinion, this is the only real way to learn anything you can apply to your life that may make you successful long term. Whether you fall into the 20% that succeed in keeping weight off or the 80% that don't is not up to weight waters. It's up to you. WW just breaks your day down into a certain number of points you can consume each day, but it's pretty much the same thing as counting your calories, just with a smaller number. Will you lose 20 pounds if you do the WW challenge at work? Probably, so your work will pay for it and you aren't out anything.

I liked the support groups because people help and support eachother, sharing there solutions to problems, etc. (much like MFP forums). I liked that I could keep track of how many points I had left, even in my head because I was dealing with easy numbers. I like that it taught me to look at labels.

Why don't I do it now? Because I essentially get all those things for free here on MFP. I don't have to keep track of calories, cause the mobil app makes it even easier than a points system. I get support from my MFP friends.

I guess one thing I don't get from MFP is the support of a leader. Each meeting had a topic that encouraged you to examine certain things about your emotions, trends...whatever. I'm more on my own on MFP, but I have read, researched and experienced enough personally that I don't feel I'm missing this element. I was really good for me at the time though and I still carry a lot of the WW lessons with me today.