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weight watchers worth it?

i am seeking some info about the weight watchers program-from those who have actually tried it. does it cost a lot? do you have to eat their food? are you allowed to have a glass of wine? please give me the low down-i don't want someone who works for weight watchers to decsribe only the benefits, i'd like to hear about the good and bad experiences people have had.

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Tue. Apr 4, 3:32pm

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my mom uses weight watches and it has really helped her alot. She no longer counts points but she still does stay diciplined in her healthy eating. No you dont have to eat their food! my mom gets the weight watchers magazine and she's made a few dishes from the magazine and they have all been delish

Tuesday, April 04, 2006, 3:34 PM

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Weight Watchers was what really turned my life around. I highly recommend it. You eat your own food, although they do have decent microwave meals and yummy frozen desserts, and yes, you can have wine. You can pretty much have anything you want as long as you count it into your points for the day. It's all about learning to balance things out. If you have something more fattening for lunch, have something less fattening for dinner. I mean, that's a really simplistic explanation, but it's the basic idea. I definitely say give it a try.

Kate (kissmekate02)

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Tuesday, April 04, 2006, 4:38 PM

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Would it be useful for someone with only 10 lbs to use?

Tuesday, April 04, 2006, 4:50 PM

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I was going to join but then got pregnant instead. My sister is on it and it has worked for her. I have about 10 lbs to lose too and it would have been just the motivation I needed to lose it. I say go for it as long as you have the money to spend on it.

Tuesday, April 04, 2006, 5:44 PM

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I love WW

The program has taught me portion control and to date I have lost 16 pounds (2.5 months). I had the opportunity to join an at work program, which cuts my costs a little, however if you can't afford/choose not to go to meeting you can always join on-line at a much lower cost. And if you can get the points/activity info from someone you can easily teach youself. I actually enjoy going to the meetings and like that I have to weigh-in every week, it's great motivation to continue with the program. My group is very supportive and it's a nice break mid-day.

I have not and probably will not buy any of their products, but that's mainly because snacks are a personal downfall, no matter how many points are in them. I eat normal things, nothing special. Lots of fruits and veggies, and have cut back on my carbs. I even enjoy a drink every now and again. I have never felt guilt on the program nor have I ever felt the need to cheat. I even eat out without problems/guilt. WW really works for me, so I am glad I decided to give it a try. I still have 20-25lbs to reach my goal, but it seem more do-able now that I have a program to follow.

I would suggest it's worth a try. And figure, what you spend on WW you'll probably save either at the grocery store or on other programs that aren't working. Hey, you could go to just a couple of meetings, get the info, and then work from home without further commitment.

One caveat, you have to be willing to change your eating habits and remember that this is a life style change. Unfortunately many people have regained after having initial success with WW and I think it's because they see it as a diet and not a change in lifestyle.

Good luck with your decision,

Amanda (aps153)

Tuesday, April 04, 2006, 7:20 PM

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Here we go again about the WW. Some people on this site are very passionate about it, and that's fine. Some people love it to pieces and I would say, if you like it and it works for you, great. There is not doubt you will loose weight IF you follow their plan, but most people at the meetings I went to weren't able to follow the plan, even me. And I went to a number of different meetings with a variety of leaders.

I enjoyed one group leader in particular and I stuck with her, I enjoyed some of the other people there. I did loose some wieght, but I didn't like the points system; it was not enough food for me and I couldn't manage it. I also found the points system would lead people to avoid certain nutritious foods, like nuts and good fats. There was too much discussion of diet frozen desserts and stuff like jello which doesn't interest me, and just a bit too much pushing of their diet frozen products and these "2 Points" energy bars, which were really full of sugar and little protein.

I know the WW lovers will come back and go on and on, I think they must work for them, and that's fine. I would say go and see if you like it. Try a few meetings. Often, the joining fee is free or includes a couple of meetings as an incentive. When I went the meetings were $11 but you could buy a punch card and get a discount too. You might love it. For me the best part was having the group, and that's a nice support sytem. Go with a friend or sister and you'll have a buddy system! Also, check out TOPS, Take off Pound Sensibly, a network of very inexpensive weight loss support groups.

Wednesday, April 05, 2006, 6:15 AM

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I tried it and didn't lose any weight. They have you calculate 'points earned' for exercise, which was hard for me to follow because I exercise a lot. I went for about 2 months, then quit. I was also hoping to meet some diet buddies, but that didn't happen. I already count calories and exercise consistently, so WW didn't give me anything new. The food that was discussed at meetings was not filling. I think it would bea good program for people who cannot be disciplined about keeping track of what they eat and who need to incorporate exercise, but if you can already keep track of what you eat and exercise, I say save your money. The cookbooks have some tasty and easy recipes though!

Friday, April 07, 2006, 9:37 AM

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They also have another plan where you don't have to count points at all. It's called the Core Plan. There are foods that you can eat without having to count points and you eat these to the point of satisfaction. They are typically healthy low fat foods. So people who say they were hungry on the points system, could've easily switched over to the Core Plan where you could've eaten until you felt you had enough. Anything not on the Core plan would be counted against your weekly 35 points. That may be easier for some who don't like the idea of tracking and counting.

Friday, April 07, 2006, 11:10 AM

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To the above poster about 'HERE WE GO AGAIN ABOUT THE WW". There are probably new people on the boards who have not seen the posts prior to today or yesterday regarding Weight Watchers. Please don't be negative when someone poses a legitimate question about something that you may or may not agree with.

Friday, April 07, 2006, 11:13 AM

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I love WW and have lost all my weight on it (58lbs) you can check out my webpage and e-mail me if you have ?? i dont work for them ; ) www.freewebs.com/ginamariet/

Friday, April 07, 2006, 2:17 PM

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I have been doing WW for 1.5 years and have lost 86 pounds. I am down to my last 8. It has truly changed my life and taught me how to eat well. I did the points system and found it to be easy, as far as exercise goes there is a reason there is a limit to the amount of points you can earn and that is because the idea is to eat balanced portioned sizes and if we earned an extra 10 points well then we could eat an extra 10 points if we choose and end up not losing weight. You want to put out more then you take in. Price wise it cheap and I am only sorry I didn't do it 10 years ago. WW let me be in control of my life again.

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 1:56 AM

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WW

Weight watchers is a very good thing for most people. I didn't love it. I did lose 10 lbs. on it. and it costs around 10-12 bucks a week. No you don't have to eat their food.It's about portion control and healthy choices. Yes you can have wine you just have to count it on your daily point system. They do have a low-carb like plan but I couldn't do it love my starches. I didn't like having to weigh in front of people(hx. of bulimia) and my leader was not the best. But that is only me. My mom loves it and lost 80 pounds. What has worked for me it making smarter choices, avoiding processed carbs and working out religously. I have lost 20 lbs. since Jan 1st. You know slow and steady win the race. Good luck to you and Weight watchers is a good choice. You just have to try different things and do what works best for you.

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 3:05 AM

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To the 4/7 11:10 poster - lighten up! Did you read my post? Good grief!

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 4:55 AM

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WW is not a good thing for "most" people. It's good for those who want to follow it, like most other diets. It doesn't seem to promote fitness which is essential to all over health. If you like it great. But not everyone does.

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 11:45 AM

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To this last poster: How silly of you to say its not a good thing for "most" people, are you most of the population out there. It does not have you think of it as a "diet" but a lifestyle change. It tries to get you back to "real" portion sizes and helps you make better choices without having to give up what most feel like they have to on just any "diet". As far as exercising goes they do promote it they make sure you understand that exercise is a huge part of the program and you should be doing some activity at the least 30 min a day if not more. Any time you decide to change it becomes a program, whether your own personal one or one you pay for but you make a commitment to follow it otherwise nothing changes, right? A lot of people have success with WW, I guess you can say you only get something out of it if you put something into it. Maybe you weren't ready to make that commitment to yourself?

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 12:24 PM

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I see you've taken a sip of the WW KoolAid. It works for you, great. It doesn't work for everyone.

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 1:50 PM

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if there was ONE plan that worked for EVERYONE the diet indrusry would not be a multi BILLION dollar a year bussiness!!!!

Saturday, April 08, 2006, 2:29 PM

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This is what I mean by hear we go again. I mean here we go again with the controversy. To the OP, try it, if you like it great. If you don't, great too. It's worth a try. I'm convinced that WW has plants in here that go on and on about WW, and that they are paid to do that. Good luck OP, whatever you do!

Monday, April 10, 2006, 2:17 AM

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well, the advise has been well taken. i am the OP and appreciate the responses that relate to my questions. i'll keep an open mind and see what happens. thanks again!

Monday, April 10, 2006, 9:53 AM

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Join!

I was on WW a few months ago and stopped going (my own personal motivation issues that I'm trying to conquer). but, I plan on going back because it was working. Here is how I look at it as far as cost. I payed twice as much for twice as long on a gym membership I never used. If the money I pay to WW is helping me loose more weight then a gym membership it's totally worth it! To answer ur question about cost, there is astart-up cost (can't remember how much-under 30 bucks though) and a weekly meeting cost of about 12 bucks that u can pay for in advanced (like 10 weeks for 90 bucks or something), or what I did, which was pay weekly. good luck!

Wednesday, May 10, 2006, 6:11 PM

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Anything that will help you make better decisions over time, and that leads to lasting results is well worth the time, money and effort.

The most important thing is that one is able to do something, and do it for life.

Since this thread was started many years ago, we have learned a great deal about what works, what doesn't and what is worth it. WW is one of those tools that is helping many people.

At PEERtrainer, we just released a very easy to follow guide that is designed to work well with any diet, especially those that encourage an element of portion control.

It is free and you learn how to easily download it at this page:

http://blog.peertrainer.com/tip_of_the_day/2011/02/the-peertrainer-cheat-system.html

-PEERtrainer


Monday, February 28, 2011, 2:40 PM

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HERE WE GO AGAIN POST

AGREED! I think both negative and positive view points are good for all to hear! Surely there's something negative about everything in the world. It is a negative world after all. Can't expect for everything to be peaches and cream. But, I do appreciate all comments for sure because my husband just joined for $56 having no clue of what he got into. I didn't like the idea of clicking to pay before you find out anything about the plan. Barkley may be able to hire a cook, which makes the product work smoother for the celebs, like Oprah who had to have a cook wherever she traveled. It's not easy. Discipline isn't always the problem, it's the now how to prepare what you eat on a daily basis that's not intimidating or discouraging and you end up eating something you normally would because it's simpler. If things aren't prepared ahead of time for self, more than likely you'll end up cheating that day. That's not being negative, that's a reality for those who can't cook too well and work a lot of overtime. He'll need the energy and will feel hungry working 12hrs a day with only 15min breaks. Celebs aren't working 12hrs a day, and if they are, the food is prepared ahead of time. Barkley has been huge for a long time, the whole world would be fit, if it were that simple! Good luck to all! I say portion your own food, watch the carbs, rid sodas, red meat and bread and walk 30 mins a day. You'd be surprised. I did it before my back injury, worked fine!

Monday, January 02, 2012, 3:34 AM

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