Having just been to a second meeting venue I am still of the opinion that WW have not instilled in their leaders the necessity to welcome people when they join. Here in England it seems there are many people who are of the same thought.
I would like to know of others that feel the same and whether they were able to come to some understanding or accomplish finding a better group to join.
I've thought something similar a couple of times. I've come to two conclusions - some people, especially those sensitive about their weight, do not like to be recognized in any way. Or they could feel that if they are welcomed publicly, they may feel an obligation to attend meetings, which could scare people off, or guilt them into coming if they would rather not be in a meeting. I'm guessing WW has received some feedback about this over the years and therefore they don't make an issue out of it. Also, I was at a meeting over the summer where my leader mentioned during the meeting that too much time was being spent on recognizing celebrations and some people felt as though they weren't getting as much out of the "message" part of the meeting. In the interest of keeping meetings short and on message perhaps there is not enough time to welcome all new people.
I believe Weight Watchers does a good job of meeting the "average" person's emotional comfort zone. Unfortunately that can mean that super shy or super outgoing folks are often left disappointed.
It's one of the reasons I switched from WW to TOPS (taking off pounds sensibly) - though to be honest, the main reason was financial. Hubby and I are both on disability, and we couldn't afford for both of us to join WW. So we joined TOPS. We left the group (for a variety of reasons) and when I decided I needed the group support, I chose TOPS again because it was actually a better fit for my personality, preferences, and needs than WW.
If both TOPS and WW were the same cost, I think I'd still choose TOPS, because I think the accountibility is higher, and yet the food plan is more flexible (members are in charge of their own food plan, and can follow and discuss any healthy plan they wish to).
However, if no TOPS group was available, or if WW were cheaper (never going to happen, but "if") then I'd choose WW.
If you want a more personal, closer knit group, a TOPS group probably would be more to your liking (though even TOPS groups differ from group to group in this regard. Some groups go out of their way to welcome new members - even having a welcoming committee or chairman, and others are run more like WW meetings).
When i attended my frist meeting, the leader asked us to announce our names and introduce ourselves to everyone. I hated that, when i first joined i just wanted to meld into the chair and not be noticed at ALL. That was when i was 54lbs heavier... i am a much different person now and my self confidence has been soaring to new levels. I almost feel as though i could get up and talk in front of everyone. Its funny how things change.
The friday groups we were going to, was a smaller group so it had a better atmosphere then the saturday group for instance where you can hardly find a place to sit. The leader always seems a little "uppity" in my opinion, snooty is more the word maybe lol. It kind of comes across as well with the type of people who attended those meetings, so i found the fridays more friendly to attend. I think testing out different times and days you will find something that works proper for you.
I like being recognized in meetings when I hit a milestone or lose 5 pounds. And I sometimes answers general questions to the group. But, I absolutely hate, hate, hate feeling forced to interact. There is one leader who sometimes substitutes when my leader is gone who wants everyone to put on a nametag. I just hate doing that and actually refuse to do it now (she is fine with that). Another leader does all these groups things (who are supposed to, say, write a list of something and discuss it with a neighbor -- that kind of thing). I hate doing that as well. I was almost at the point of just leaving and not staying when I saw she was substituting. Personally when I first joined WW I would have just hated being publicly welcomed at my first meeting.
I like how my leader does it. We have our regular meeting...discussing the week's topic and whatever other people bring up. If you want to contribute, you do. If not, no big deal. Then at the end of the meeting, the leader has everyone clap in order to welcome new and returning members and then the new members can stay after the meeting for the information session about the program. No one's singled out or anything, but everyone's acknowledged if that makes sense.
I started WW through an At Work program, so everyone pretty much knew everyone else already and everyone was starting day one at the same time. So that part would definitely be different than starting out at WW centers. Now, I have a Monthly Pass and go to a WW center the next town over from where I live. So I was "new" to the meeting members when I started at the center, but not new to the program which also skews my experience.
[QUOTE]Then at the end of the meeting, the leader has everyone clap in order to welcome new and returning members and then the new members can stay after the meeting for the information session about the program. No one's singled out or anything, but everyone's acknowledged if that makes sense.[QUOTE]
That is a good way to do it. I do recall now that my leader does make a general statement and asks people who are new to stay after the meeting. She has occasionally asked if anyone is new to raise their hand (this is usually because she needs to explain something that she is talking about if there is someone new but doesn't need to otherwise).
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Chele615
I like how my leader does it. We have our regular meeting...discussing the week's topic and whatever other people bring up. If you want to contribute, you do. If not, no big deal. Then at the end of the meeting, the leader has everyone clap in order to welcome new and returning members and then the new members can stay after the meeting for the information session about the program. No one's singled out or anything, but everyone's acknowledged if that makes sense.
That's exactly how my leader runs our meetings. If you don't want to speak up, you don't have to, but you're more than welcome to share any losses you may have experienced through the week. And even when a person hits a major milestone, they don't have to announce it in front of everyone if they don't feel comfortable with it.
I guess I've been lucky in that I've been a member in two different WW groups, at two different times, and had fantastic leaders both times. I feel bad when people post here about having bad experiences with WW leaders, because I've had such a great experience. I guess WW isn't for everyone, but I do think it's unfortunate when people feel they have to leave the program completely because they have a less than great leader.
I like how my leader does it. We have our regular meeting...discussing the week's topic and whatever other people bring up. If you want to contribute, you do. If not, no big deal. Then at the end of the meeting, the leader has everyone clap in order to welcome new and returning members and then the new members can stay after the meeting for the information session about the program. No one's singled out or anything, but everyone's acknowledged if that makes sense.
........
That sounds like my ideal group!
The fact that when I arrived at this second venue there was not even an ordinary welcome that most hosts would do at ANY gathering..just a "Hello, nice to see you!" would have sufficed. She just looked at me and said that she had recieved a phone call about me and to "look after me"! So apart from thw WI and recalculating my points and asking me if I understood how they worked...THAT was it!
When she presented a gold envelope to someone it was very short and to the point and another woman who had been a bit disgruntled at only losing a pound she handed her a tin of beans to show her that it was how much she had lost. When the woman went to respond she just cut her short and went into the weekly discourse.
I have had a response on another forum from a leader saying that they are not in the least bit interested in how much weight I have lost before joining WW and anyway the meeting is not about ME but about the group! That to me is rather odd as I consider the group is made up with lots of ME'S!...
How satisfied were you?
