[aliasihaya]

There might be a trail for this, but I couldn't find it. Over the years I have spent so much money on weight loss. Probably thousands of dollars. Between things like weight watcher, nutrisystem, bistro md, and other things, but I've never stuck with any of them. I vowed to not spend a lot of money on it again.

However, I'm breaking my vow. I've decide to spend a lot of money again and go to the experts. I've recently hired a personal trainer and a nutritionist. I'm hoping that they'll kick start me into getting motivated. But is it worth it? Is it worth spending the money even if it doesn't work in the end? Or is it only worth it if it works. I guess you have to spend money to try it, so I should just accept my decisions and move on. But sometimes it's hard to come to terms with how much I spend. I'm hoping that this track really works!

So how much have you spent and was it worth it?

[rachaelm]

Since I've been an adult, maybe $200 on WW meetings & some diet foods.

My mom did pay for nutri-system for me when I was a young tween.

This time I'm calorie counting & haven't spent any money other than on groceries, which I was buying anyway.

[JoJoJo2]

I spent maybe $50.00 on Richard Simmons's Foodmover plus some exercise videos. I really don't remember the total cost but it was well worth it because I was able to stick to his exchange program and lose the weight I needed to lose.

I never did join WW or TOPS or anything of that nature. I promised myself long ago that I would not spend any more money on weight-loss stuff except for the healthy food.

I was also a member of Curves for Women for several years, but that was not for weight loss, it was more to maintain a certain degree of flexibility.

[MadameZombie]

Just the cost of my gym membership which I see as money well spent. It makes me feel good now and my time busting my *** will benefit me the older I get.

[Porthardygurl]

hmm.. a couple thousand dollars at least..starting when i was 16....several diet books, a few pills, several member weight loss programs ...but i gave up spending on money now..just money for a gym pass month to month and groceries..thats it...

[PrairieGirl]

How much does a pair of running shoes cost?

[kaplods]

I don't even want to think about how much money I have spent over the past 40 years, trying to lose weight. A lot less than I could have, and a lot more than I needed to.

Almost every weight loss product, is justified by the "weight loss is priceless," theory, and the idea that "you get what you pay for" (and by association that the most expensive option is always the best, most effective).

I've found that most problems, including obesity are not solved by throwing money at the problem.

You can only judge value on it's own merits. Is the price worth it to you, and are you getting the best value for the money you are spending? Do you have the money to spend (if hiring a nutritionist doesn't leave you enough money to spend on healthy groceries, it wouldn't be a very wise purchase). Are there cheaper alternatives that would be just as effective?

More expensive, doesn't mean more effective. I was really excited to learn that recent research done at the Medical School of Wisconsin found that TOPS and other non-profit weight loss support groups were just as effective as Weight Watchers. Participants that stuck with any of the programs for a year, had similar success rates (and more affordable may make it easier to stick with a program - it's been true for me).

I joined TOPS initially (and every time since) because I couldn't afford Weight Watchers. WW is usually at least ten times as expensive as TOPS. So I used the question I learned from reading "The Tightwad Gazette" books (If it's ten times the price, does it offer more than ten times the value? If so, it's worth the price.) Even if TOPS was only half as effective as WW, I would have considered it a bargain, but to learn that it was every bit as effective left TOPS the easy choice for me (even easier because I still couldn't afford WW).

For me, TOPS is acually MORE effective for me than WW, because I find the contests and challenges motivating. I also love the opportunities to go to retreats, rallies, and recognition events.


My husband and I recently decided to start going to the local YMCA. We're paying month-to-month for several reasons. Firstly, if we take even one month off it will be cheaper than a year's membership. But more important (value wise) - in the past, when we've joined for a year, and the money was coming out of our checking, we would gradually lose motivation and stop going. By paying month-to-month, we've made each month contingent upon the last. We made a deal with ourselves, to commit to purchasing the next month, only if we've used the gym at least 8 times in the month prior.

So far, that's worked very well. We've been going to the gym 3 times a week.

We also joined a fitness program that with 12 days (30 minutes or more of exercising) in October, earns us a sweatshirt. We have made 10 days so far.
So, I'm pretty sure we'll make it.

That "free" sweatshirt has been more incentive than most things I've ever bought for weight loss (it's not entirely "free" because to get the sweatshirt you do have to be a YMCA member, and our membership is almost $70 per month).

When we didn't have money for the Y, I walked dogs as a volunteer for the humane society. That also was more incentive than many of my prior weight loss purchases.

I guess what I'm trying to say in my rambling way, is that you don't have to spend a lot of money to lose weight. You definitely don't have to pay more than you can comfortably afford. "Worth it" is within the eye of the beholder. You can only judge by what it's worth to you.

Even judging it by it's "effectiveness" for weight loss may not be the best way to judge worth. Because with knowledge-based purchases, the benefits aren't always immediate.

I don't regret all of the time and money I spent on diet classes and books, because the information has all accumulated. I may not have benefited immediately from one book, but the accumulated knowledge has been helpful. Even some of the stupid purchases were informative, if only in the "learn what not to do" sense.


But in hindsight, some of the "cheapest" incentives and sources of information have worked the best. Probably because money doesn't mean that much to me (and because I've never had much). For me, "fun and reward" work better.

That dumb sweathsirt I'm working towards has been more important than the "$400 money back" reward Nutrisystem offerred when I joined (I never made it to qualify).

I have been buying a Pandora-style (but much, much cheaper) bracelet bead for every 5 lbs I lose, and it's been a great incentive even though the most expensive bead on my bracelet was still under $2. I can't wait to earn my next bead (and I recently discovered that I can buy 9 beads for $6 through Sunshine Discout crafts - or 5 beads for $5 at JoAnn Fabrics).

[Precious Little]

Probably a few hundred - and that's for fitness related stuff, Heart Rate Monitors etc, workout gear (mostly Target stuff nothing fancy, although I did splurge and get some Lorna Jane compression tights a couple months ago) and the rest of the money went on exercise DVDs, Billy Bands etc.

I've never really bought into 'diet' products as such, except one time I tried a herbal appetite suppressant when my appetite was going ravenous from some evil meds I was on... (I was desperate to try anything to kill the hunger, there's nothing worse than having that horrible gnawing feeling in your stomach and you just KNOW you don't really NEED anything to eat).

[Amarantha2]

Over the course of maybe 16 years and my major weight loss (used to weigh a hundred or so more than currently) I have spent money for gyms, personal trainers, once a nutritionist, different foods that I wanted to try, books and e-books etc. I have (stupidly) tried some dubious diet supplements only to learn they weren't good for me or effective so I consider that to be a good investment in diet education.

I don't even know how much I have spent on it, I am still on my journey, having reached 10 pounds lower than my goal and having kept the majority of my weigh off for a decade, currently trying to lose some regain. I will continue to spend money on it, I guess.

The amount I may have spent when I had a full-time job was and is worth it to me but it wasn't really necessary.

The best resource I have is inside of me and that's free.

[bargoo]

I have spent a LOT, everything from WW, Jenny Craig, Diet Ease, E Diets,,NutriSystem , Richard Simmons, you name it I have shelled out hard earned money and I was NEVER able to keep it off, I could lose I just didn't know how to maintain. That is why a few years ago after losing on Atkins but finding it tedious to follow I decided I needed to find something that works and is free . That is when I decided I was not going to pay someone to tell me what to eat. I started calorie counting and found it works and best of all it is free, and most important I am now successful in maintaining my loss.

[joltyness]

Besides my $40 pair of running shoes? Zero. When I move to a place that doesn't have a fitness facility, I'm going to spend $150 on a manual treadmill and a cheap dumbbell set. I detest gyms. Might buy a cheap leather jump rope and an Iron Gym in the future.

I'm a natural skeptic so I never bought into WW, Jenny Craig, diet pills, or any other sort of aid. There are so many free tools on the Internet (information guides, calorie counters, online support groups, etc.) that there's really no need to pay for that stuff anymore. Just my opinion.

[InsideMe]

Over the years not much. I always did it myself in very unhealthy ways. This time I'm VERY serious to do it right, even if it comes off slowly I'm learning to accept that.

So now I'm paying for a gym membership and a personal trainer. It's running me in the area of 2300 for the year (that's inlcuding my gym membership) I figure I'm spending this that will give me health benefits for the rest of my life!

[swtbttrfly23]

Not totally sure, probably a good chunk.

But I haven't spent anywhere near as much on dieting as I've spent on overeating!