It is Successful!
Written: Aug 07 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: You will lose weight if you stick to the plan
Cons: Cost
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| julieagee's Full Review: Weight Watchers 1-2-3 Success Community Meetings |
Weight Watchers 1-2-3 Success was a Success for me! I've watched my weight go up and down for many years and thought it was time to join a program to do something about it. I liked the idea of the pre-pay program because I thought it would keep me motivated to keep going to the meetings and sticking with the plan. I joined in August 1998, one month before I was diagnosed with having a psuedo-tumor in my brain. I won't go into a lot of details except to say that my brain thinks there is a real tumor but there is not. The reason I'm bringing up this diagnosis is because some neurologist believe it is caused by being overweight. I know part of the cure is having to lose weight, because if you don't the extra pressure on the optic nerve can cause blindness. Let me tell you, this definitely added incentive to lose weight, and I did. Over a eight month period I lost thirty-four pounds. I was exercising, drinking water, following the point plan and writing in my journal. Then something happened--I got bored! I tried to stay with the program, but I just lost all enthusiasm for attending the meetings. The program really works, but for me boredom won out. I will note before I explain the details of the plan that I do still use some of the ideas on my weight loss journey. I still have continued to lose weight. My total is now at forty-four pounds and I have about twenty-six more to go.
The Plan
Weight Watchers 1-2-3 Plan revolves around a point system. After your weight is determined, your "point range" for the day is given. Weight Watchers does all of the hard work for you. Everything you can possibly eat has a point assigned to it. As you go about your day you write down the points in your journal and keep a total going so you know how many points you have used. I found that my food portions were adequate and I was quite satisfied with the food. I usually had a few points left over, and this was great because you are able to "bank" unused points from day to day. You are able to use banked points for special occasions, for eating out, or for when you want an extra treat. Weight Watchers gives you a point value book that has list of food with their point value assigned next to it. The book is broken down in categories that make it user friendly. They do provide other point books for fast food restaurants, and other foods at an additional cost. I found this part of the plan fairly easy to get use to and after a while I could walk through the grocery store quoting point values of the food.
Besides counting points, Weight Watchers 1-2-3 plan also stresses the need to exercise, drink or eat enough calcium, drinking 6-8 glasses of water a day, eating a variety of foods, and keeping a journal. The plan is not restrictive of which foods you have to eat, but after a while you discover which foods have lower point values. I tended to get stuck eating the same type of food and this is probably what contributed to my boredom.
The Meeting
The meeting I chose to attend was on Saturday at 8 a.m., however, there were several meetings on a variety of days and times. At my meeting we usually ranged from 25-40 people. There was your typical weigh-in at the beginning, followed by the meeting. During our meeting we had an awards time in which those who had lost weight shared their victories and received applause, ribbons, or pins. We also had a time for those to share if they had a gain and wanted some advice or suggestions about what happened to cause their gain. Our leader usually covered a particular topic for the week, shared a new recipe idea and ended the meeting by giving away a door prize. I found the meetings to be motivating at first, but after a while I got tired of making that commitment every Saturday.
The Cost
Our meeting cost was $11.00 a week unless you chose to be a Pre-Paid Member. The value of paying in advance is very cost effective. If you agree to a pre-pay program the cost went from $11.00 to $10.00, or even $9.00 if you paid for a longer amount of time. The downside of the program is that once you pre-pay you can never get your money back. You need to be very sure this program is for you before prepaying. I did end up losing some of my pre-paid money when I quit attending the meetings. Just be aware of this if you join.
The Program
Overall, I have to say that Weight Watchers has established a very successful weight loss plan. The program is easy to follow once you get use to point values. They encourage healthy lifestyle changes such as exercising, drinking water, portion control, and eating a variety of foods. The Weight Watcher employees that were at my meeting were encouraging and helpful. I truly believe this program will work, but it is just not for me. I tired of the meetings, keeping a journal, and eating the low point foods. Since these are key elements of the program, I couldn't continue to pay for something I was not willing to follow.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
julieagee
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Member: Julie Agee
Location: Fort Worth, TX
Reviews written: 9
Trusted by: 5 members
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