Weight Watchers - Learn the basics, skip the meetings, do it at home!
Written: May 06 '05
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Pros: Can work, teaches portion size and control, teaches how to make healthier food choices
Cons: Expensive 11.00 per weekly meetings, often hungry, try to upsell items and meeting packages
The Bottom Line: It works, try it once learn the basics then skip the meetings and do it on your own. The principles work, but the meetings aren't worth the money.
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| libragirlsc's Full Review: Weight Watcher's Points Weight Loss Program with F... |
I used Weight Watchers 3 years ago to lose weight for my wedding. The number of points I was given a day did not satisfy me. I lost 30 lbs in a little over 3 months, but I think this was due to not only weight watchers, but the stress of planning my wedding. Here I am three years later and trying Weight Watchers again. All I got this time around was broke and hungry. I figured out I can skip the meetings and do just as well at home on my own. I have been going about a month now and lost only 3 lbs. I have been following plan and staying within my flex points, but not exercising yet.
For those who have never tried Weight Watchers flex points program this is how it works. You can have ANY food you want, but in moderation. You are given a set number of points per day based on your weight and then 35 flex points for the week that you can "borrow" from. I have only about 20 lbs to lose so I am allowed the least number of points at like 22 per day. To put this in perspective a grilled chicken sandwich from chick-fil-a on a whole wheat bun is about 6 points..not bad. But a slice of chocolate cake even a small one is about 13 points. So, if you stick to the healthy stuff then this program will work great for you, but if you tend to cheat a bit then it will be more challenging especially if like myself, you don't have a lot of points to work with. I saw very little weight loss this time and most of this so far can be attributed to drinking more water (a must for weight watchers).
Please don't think that I am against Weight Watchers, I am not. I think it does work, but so can any diet that you follow where you are consuming less calories and exercising some. The one thing I really like about Weight Watchers and if you try it and gain this same knowledge then it's worth it...is that it really helps you put into perspective what and how much you are eating. When you assign points to your food it really helps you to learn what foods are healthier and which foods are not. By journaling all the food I ate, I was able to learn the times of day (usually when I was relaxing and doing nothing)that I ate, so I identified a negative habit and learned to busy myself during that time of day when I felt the need to eat. It also helped me learn portion control. The weekly weigh in's also keep you motivated because you don't want to go in with a weight gain or have your buddy lose more weight than you, but again you can do this at home. Once you master the basics of recognizing portion sizes, journaling and making healthier choices I think it's pretty easy to follow the plan on your own without the expense of meetings. The meetings used to be $10.00, they are now 11.00. I paid 30.00 to sign up. So the first month will run you about 74.00, after this it's about 44.00. And, don't think you can skip a meeting if you can't afford to pay that week...nope because when you go back you will owe the current week and any past dues that you owe. After a period of time you just have to start over with the sign up fee and weekly meeting cost. They also really push the Weight Watcher products which can be anything from tee shirts, to water bottles, to food items. This may vary depending on the meetings you attend.
This program is also easier when you are a beginner if you start out with a buddy. I found many people in the group already knew each other and there were little clicks. Now, don't get me wrong, they all clap when you announce your weight loss for the week, but it was hard at times to feel a part of the group aside from this time in the meeting.
With all that said, do I think the program works? Yes, I do. Do I think it's costly for what you get? Yes, I do. Do I think you can learn the basics then follow it on your own? Yes, I do unless you are the type of person that has to have constant reinforcement from others then the meetings may be better for you. Final Tip - Unless you absolutely need the meetings for motivation then consider weight watchers online or search ebay for the new member kits (very easy to follow)a must to have is the slide ruler or points calculator with that you can figure the points for any food as long as you have a label on the package. And there are 2 books "the dining out guide" which is a restaurant guide to assigning points values to your meal out and also there is a total food guide that arranges food by type and brand. These are also helpful. One last free source of information is www.DWLZ.com (dottie's weight loss zone) she lost a lot of weight on weight watchers and offers lot's of free tips and also points values for restaurants not featured in the dining out guide book.
Recommended:
Yes
Approximate Monthly Cost (US$) 44.00
Food Variety Restrictions You eat any food you want
Restrictiveness of Portions Few small portions
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Epinions.com ID:
libragirlsc
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Member: Lynn Galloway
Location: columbia, sc
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Mom of 5 (ages 2 to 20), wife, employee, student and smart consumer.
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