I'm seriously considering Weight Watchers, and I have a few questions.

[ereks mom]

I know almost NOTHING about Weight Watchers, except that I hear people talking about "points", which I take to mean that 1) each food item has a certain point value, and 2) you can eat a certain number of points each day. I also know that some people attend meetings, which include a weigh-in, and some people participate online instead.

 

So, assume that I am from Mars but I do understand English if it is written/spoken clearly, and please tell me the basic basics of WW. How much does it cost to join? Is it the same price to join online and IRL? How often do you weigh in? Does everybody get the same number of points, or does that vary according to how much you want to lose? How do you keep track of points? When is the best time to join--now? I don't want to join one day and then find out there's a "six months free" special that starts the next! There are a zillion more questions I'd like to ask, but I'll hold those until later.

 

Thanks!

[dirty ethel rackham]

I can't speak to the economics of WW. I knew I wanted to attend meetings because all the online tools in the world were not addressing my reasons for overeating. I joined when they had a no fee to sign up and I do the monthly plan for unlimited meetings and e-tools.

 

Yes, foods are assigned certain values based upon how many grams of fat, protein, carbs and fiber. You get so many per day and this is based upon your current weight, your age, sex (men get more points), how active you normally are, and whether or not you are nursing. As you lose, your number goes down. These are your daily points. You also get a certain amount of weekly points that you can use or not. You can earn activity points for exercising. That has been a huge motivator for not skipping workouts.

 

You can just do WW online. However, there are tons of free online programs you can use. According to WW, people who attend meetings tend to lose more weight. There are weekly weigh ins in both programs. For me, I needed to address why I was eating, which was not happening online. Plus, I needed live, in-person encouragement. I need someone to celebrate with me when things went well. I guess one of my strongest love languages is words of affirmation.

 

I think you can try out a meeting for free (at least my site seems to have a sign out every week saying so.) Also, I like some leaders better than others. I lost 20 lbs on WW, but have stalled on the last 10. I have trouble eating low point foods in the winter because I am tired and cold and I eat to stay awake.

[NanceXToo]

I love Weight Watchers. I am always successful on it, when I'm following it. I consider it one of the most safe, healthy and realistic weight loss programs out there, because in the end, it's about eating healthily and portion control. You don't substitute meals for shakes. You don't take pills. You don't eat 'special' pre-packaged diet food. You don't cut out entire food groups. It's all just normal food.

 

Yes, each item has a point value, like the other poster said, it is based on the fat, fiber, carbs and proteins in each food. They give you a booklet that lists a bunch of foods in it and their serving size and how many points it is, and you can also buy a little electronic calculator thing that you plug that info into to find out points like if you're reading off a label or shopping or whatever.

 

As already mentioned, points vary according to your height and weight and age and gender and activity level; when you go to a meeting (or sign up online) they will tell you how many points you get a day.

 

The weekly points, everyone gets the same number, and they are optional. And you can earn activity points (although personally I never swap them for food points, I just exercise to try to lose weight faster lol).

 

If you join meetings, at least around here right now, you would pay either A) $40.00 which covers a registration fee and the cost of the first meeting and the paper materials, followed by $14.00 a week thereafter for your meetings. As a meeting member, you can attend as many meetings as you want but they'll only weigh you in once per week. Or, B) $55.00 which pays for five weeks of meetings at $11.00 per meeting (it's the "commitment plan") and in that way you forgo the registration fee and save some money per meeting. You can purchase that at any time, the five week plan.

 

If you wait until around the New Year they usually have a "special" (which will mean No Registration Fee to join).

 

If you go to weightwatchers.com there will be a "find a meeting" button somewhere on there, and it will tell you what centers are near you and what time their meetings are. You can also find information about becoming an online member.

 

The message boards are free for anyone and everyone to use at any time, but as a paid online member you get "etools" which will allow you to enter your food and exercise and look up point values and it will track your progress and track how many points you're using and how many you have left and will allow you to use the "recipe builder" and the "points calculator" and so on and so forth. It costs a bit less than actual meetings; you can find the info on the weight watchers site.

 

You CAN try a meeting free at any time but they won't weigh you and hand out the materials unless you join.

 

Hope this helps! :)