[djunamod]

Hi Everyone,
I've joined WW here and there throughout the years (in fact, the first time I encountered WW was as a teenager in 1984 when my mom took me to my first meeting). I've been struggling with a big weight gain since 2007 (probably because I'm in my mid-40's and the weight just doesn't stay off easily) and watching family members struggle with severe health issues in the last few years has really waken me up to the fact that I have to get this weight off, get into a healthy eating and exercise lifestyle, and tackle my emotional eating issues NOW or my health will start to deteriorate drastically.

I've come to see two things: That focusing just on healthy eating and ignoring the fact that I am trying to also lose weight (including avoiding the scale and tape measure) is not going to get me to permanent weight loss and that I can't do it alone. That's why I'm looking at WW again.

I'm a total introvert so it's not easy for me to go out and meet people, especially since I work from home. But I'm considering going to F2F meetings because I know it offers the best support and accountability. I also happen to have meetings quite close to my home and at times in the day that suit me almost every day of the week, so that makes it easier. Plus, it's a great way for me to get out and see people. And I like how the membership also includes access to OnlinePlus.

I do have a few questions:
- If I decided that WW wasn't for me, how easy would it be to cancel the automatic subscription renewal? Can you do it online? I ask because years ago, I paid for an online subscription to South Beach and it was a nightmare to get it canceled. And even after I did, payments were still showing up months afterwards.
- For those who are part of the OnlinePlus, are the WW community forums there pretty active? I like to have an active forum (like this one!) to keep me motivated during the week.
- I'm a vegetarian (lacto-ovo, hoping to be vegan someday). How friendly is the program for vegetarians?
- I know that people can't talk too much about the PointsPlus and Simply Filling plans. But one thing I'm concerned about is having enough food/calories so that I don't feel hungry (yeah, I know, aren't we all concerned with that ? ). I associate WW with deprivation (at least, when I did it as a teenager) and I know that feelings of deprivation have driven me to binge eat in the past. At the beginning of the year, I was able to stick to my own eating plan of 1300 calories for about 3 months and did very well (then had a lot of family stress and that went to pieces). I'm concerned that the WW plan (either the PointsPlus or Simply Filling) will mean less calories than that which I know will cause hunger for me. For the record, I am 5'2" and 192 pounds now.
- Do the WW meeting lectures touch on emotional eating issues as well? I'm working on my own on my emotional eating but I'm just wondering if WW meetings will offer me support for this too.

Sorry for the long explanation and the questions!

Djuna

[djunamod]

Hmmm... a bit disappointed that no one has responded :-(. I know that 3FC is such a great support system for most of us.

I did get most of my questions answered through the WW customer service, though.

Tam

[MonteCristo]

Sorry you didn't get any feedback on this question. I'm not familiar with WW, so I can't really help there, but some of the sub-forums are more active than others. The specific diet ones (at least in my experience) seem to get less activity than some of the more broader areas. Good luck on your weightloss journey!

[Koshka]

I will try to give my thought on this:

1. I am not sure about the cancellation question since I haven't tried cancelling.

2. The forums are fairly active. I actually love the forums. Most people hang on the forum that deals with SmartPoints although there are other forums. Also, when you are a member, you can use Connect if you have a smartphone which is sort of like an internal Twitter feed for WW members. I don't use a lot but some people really love it.

3. I think that vegetarians can follow the program.

4. The current points plan is SmartPoints (not Points Plus). In this plan you get a certain amount of points to eat and can get more to eat through exercise. Each food is given a certain number of points which is partially based upon its calories. But, saturated fat and sugar raise the points while protein will lower the points. I tend to eat low sugar and low saturated fat and eat a fair amount of protein so I don't feel deprived at all. But, someone who eats a lot of sugar or saturated fats may run out of points very quickly.

5. Many of the meetings I have been at discuss emotional eating.

[DWill1970]

I joined WW last year and was able to cancel my membership without a problem after only 3 months or so. I just joined again earlier this week and am planning to stick to it. Since you're a vegetarian, I wouldn't think you'd get hungry. I've only joined as an online member--this time and last time. I tried a local meeting and was not impressed. That's my input. I hope it helps. :-)

[EMERALDberry]

I am doing the old WW points plan, the original one. It worked for me years ago and now that I have gained 100 lbs in the past 3 years I am returning to the plan. I am doing it at home. Depression caused me to gain the weight, no longer depressed, now time to get off the side effects of it.