Hi, I'm new here! I've been having a healthier lifestyle since the beginning of the year, loosely following Weight Watchers point system (my mom gave me the booklet). I was wondering what other people's opinions are on the actual support meetings? I know they don't cost that much, i'm living on a serious budget and wonder if its worth it? Thanks!
Hello there... WW is an excellent group. I belong to TOPS (Take OFF Pounds Sensibly) a suport group that is a club.. run by a non profit organization, its relatively cheap and we can run things our way, with in guidelines of the organization.. It is really a great support group.... I couldnt do with out it.. Tops has a reward system for loss and maintaining, and a newsletter is included in the membership fee of $24 a year, plus you pay membership fees of $1 a week... They allow you to attend one meeting free to find out of you would like it... they have a website Tops. Org... good luck, Barb
I'm on WW too...like you my mom handed me some of her books and bought me some. I haven't officially joined WW...I'm just doing it on my own with the help of my mom who lost a lot of weight herself on WW.
I think the meetings should be really great however I don't think it's a complete necessity. You've lost quite a bit of weight already!
But, you should try it out once or twice and see how you like it. If not WW is fine without the meetings.
The meetings as far as I know are good for recipes and problem-solving Q&A's. I've never been to a meeting, I've always done WW from home. From what I hear it just gives you a broader sense of accountability with your weigh-ins and gives you someone to talk to in person if you have issues.
Actually, I have heard that the WW meetings can get quite pricey if you attend regularly (but I've never been a member, so my word is not gospel ). I am also a member of TOPS--since it is a non-profit organization, it's very reasonably priced. Another bad thing I have heard about WW meetings is that they get very repetitive (like every time there are new members, they go over some basic stuff again, and then people ask the same questions all the time, and so on). With TOPS, different people do different programs, and I really do learn something at almost every meeting. If you need that face-to-face accountability, I do recommend TOPS since they don't make you follow any special program--it's just a support group, so some people in TOPS follow South Beach, some do WW, some count calories...whatever works for everyone! www.tops.org to find a chapter near you (and I DO suggest visiting different chapters if there is more than one in your area--some chapters tend to have a LOT of senior members, so I had to find one with some more youthful and active participants).
I’ve done all 3 different variations, meetings, on my own and now online. The meetings can get pretty pricey $9.95 per week depending on your location. I liked the meetings because it made me more accountable however I did not like that it was really hard to meet people. I was really looking to meet new people I could become friends with outside of the meetings. But I didn’t find that.
When I tried it on my own I wasn’t as accountable and I had a harder time. I am currently doing it online and its ok I love the extensive database they have and I like that I can log my food online. I just keep it open all day at work. And I can look things up easily. I signed up in December and they had a deal $25.00 for 3 months then $16.95 per month. Personally for me it’s working. I find WW to be extremely easy and they have 2 different programs to choose from.
Support Meetings?
). I am also a member of TOPS--since it is a non-profit organization, it's very reasonably priced. Another bad thing I have heard about WW meetings is that they get very repetitive (like every time there are new members, they go over some basic stuff again, and then people ask the same questions all the time, and so on). With TOPS, different people do different programs, and I really do learn something at almost every meeting. If you need that face-to-face accountability, I do recommend TOPS since they don't make you follow any special program--it's just a support group, so some people in TOPS follow South Beach, some do WW, some count calories...whatever works for everyone! 
