Thoughts on my first meeting...

[Mia90]

I was on the Medifast program (low fat, low cal, low carb) for about five months and lost 60 pounds. After my hair started to thin, the forgetfulness and inability to focus became constant, and my skin became so dry I could hardly wash my hands, I decided to go about my weight loss in a more healthy manner.

Imagine that, right?

I went to my first Weight Watchers meeting last Thursday, and although there were some helpful tips - I really don't feel that the meeting setting is for me. I'm not going it entirely alone, a friend of mine is also doing WW, but I'm so used to being my own cheerleader that it's strange to be in a setting like that.

I liked the fact that everyone swapped stories about exercise and food for the week, and I do like the fact that someone is holding me accountable for my weight (aside from myself), but other than that - I really thought that the $13 would've been better spent on more healthy food in my fridge. =p

Is there anyone else out there who is not going to the meetings? I initially intended on going back again this week, but decided against it. Am I missing out?

[CarynLucy]

I'm not finding much encouragement from the meetings either. They so far are boring, no one participates, everyone just sits there like zombies. When you're heavy, there are psychological reasons for being so. I don't need a meeting to tell me 18 ways to serve a tomato. I need to understand why I'm heavy and what I need to do to get thin.

[Jaimie]

My suggestion is to try another meeting. When you pay for your meeting, it entitles you to as many meetings as you want to go to in one week. I've never found a WW leader or group I liked until this time around. I went to a meeting on Tuesday, didn't like the leader, the group was large and impersonal. I decided to go to another meeting on Friday. This was "THE" meeting. It was small, only 8-9 people and the leader was awesome. She put everyone at ease and made it fun. I'm a very shy, quiet person and she even got me to open up and chat during the meeting.

I would say give WW a chance, just with different meetings. Also, you can attend meetings at any location if you have more nearby, so long as you show your book that says you've paid.

And if you like WW, you also have the option to follow it online.

@ KarynLucy, the meetings are not designed to face the psychological problems that caused your weight problems. It is just a support group to share tips and things that people have found that help them or may be interesting to others. If you are looking to tackle the psychological issues, I'd recommend talking to a Psychologist or Psychiatrist because they are the only ones qualified to help in that aspect. At the meeting I went to on Friday, the leader recommended some Weight Loss Hypnosis tapes that tackle the psychological issues that can help you deal with the issues that caused weight problems in the first place, but again, these tapes cannot take the place of a doctor. They only help you to realize the problems and things you can do to change them.

Hope that helps! Good luck!

[ragbus]

HI Mia90

I agree with you about WW meetings. I did WW years ago with great success--and no meetings.

Then I tried it last year with meetings and a friend, hoping to find motivation. I am sorry to say that I did not find what I wanted and "lost" a lot of money. Oh, well, my friend lost weight :-)

Now I will try to motivate myself again, but this time with this site and the many interesting thoughts posted here. Hope it helps--ALL of us!!!!

Good luck
r.

[hsmomof6]

I went to the WW meetings for a while (2 months). At first it was helpful but then not so much. Certainly, not worth the price for me. I think the biggest problem is that most of the members were retired and I'm not. Their challenges were different than mine. I tried serveral other meetings in my area but they were all the same (I do live in Florida afterall!).

The most helpful things to me have been having a friend who is also on the program. We email each other about points and problems. We are both home with small kids so our challenges are similar. Second, discovering this website has been great! I log on in the morning before I start my day for a shot of motivation.