Thinking of joining WW again--5th or 6th time--lost count! Curious if there are any program changes being announced for 2009. I always did flex in the past and still have my books. Wondering if I should join now or wait until Jan1? ? Also, don't they usually run free registration around New Years. Is now a good time or is it better to start fresh with the New Year?

In my opinion, the sooner you start, the better. Why put off something as important as your health? There's still two months left in the year - you could be 5 or 10 or even 15 pounds down the road by then if you start now! How great would it be to start off the new year like that?

However, I understand it sure is nice to miss that registration fee. I am not sure but I imagine they will run another free registration promo before the new year - though they will certainly be running it around the new year as well.

As for materials, WW always puts out new points books each year, to reflect changes in food nutritionals, restaurant offerings, and the like. Whether you want to buy them every year is up to you. If your books are more than a few years old, I'd recommend updating, but that's just me.

I don't know about in the US but here in the UK I heard someone say there may be a change sometime soon.

I'd still join now if you are feeling motivated now. When I've been a member and its changed any changes they make are usually quite gradual so if the current program is working for you there is no need to suddenly change it.

Welcome back to WW. I agree with what the others have said, and also want to point out that changes aren't always made in January, anyway. Regardless, you'll be well on your way to better health by the first of the year.

In recent years, Weight Watchers discovered that tracking food was not a fit for all people and in response created the Core Plan. For those meetings members who did not want to track, it offered a way to follow the plan and achieve weight-loss success by focusing food choices on particularly filling foods and body awareness. With the Momentum plan, the Core Plan no longer exists.

Weight Watchers Momentum plan urges Members to build awareness through tracking, as it has been found that awareness breeds accountability and accountability breeds success. That said, tracking simply is not for all people. A great example of how weight-loss is not “one size fits all”. In order to encourage those who loved the principles of the Core Plan and those who may come to discover that tracking is not for them, within the Momentum plan you will find the Simply Filling technique.



The Simply Filling technique encourages members to choose Filling Foods and follow hunger signals to lose weight, rather than tracking POINTS® values. If you are interested in learning more about it you can ask your Leader for a detailed explanation or read about it in your Week 3 meetings materials titled Stay Ahead of Hunger.

Core Plan followers rejoice. The Simply Filling technique echoes all of the strategies outlined in the old Core Plan with an emphasis on portion control. In the Momentum plan it has simply been highlighted as a technique, rather than an entire plan of its own. If you chose, you may utilise the technique for a week or continuously. At any time you may wish to track again to gain additional information, but it is no way required if the technique works for you! You can switch to this technique in your preferences in the Plan Manager. Also, note that the Filling Foods list is different than the Core Food List so spend some time becoming familiar with this list in your Plan Manager or meetings materials.

The Simply Filling technique can and will work to help you lose weight. The solid science of the Filling Foods ensures that you will not overeat. Building awareness of your body’s hunger signals is building another form of accountability.

I have been using the materials from 8 years ago and they are working for me along with what I have been learning from the wonderful people here on the forums.

I think you should take advantage of the free registration and start now. I would think that any changes that happen within the next couple of months would be transitioned into the program as you attend meetings. I would find it hard to believe that WW would change and not allow members to take advantage of new updated information!

Go ahead and start.. you won't regret it! OH, and welcome to this awesome place!

andreaphilips - I'm not sure if the Simply Filling technique from the Canadian WW site you quoted has been initiated here in the USA or not. Sounds good for the Core people, though.

As a WW leader I signed a confidentiality agreement, so all I can say is that everyone will be pleased with the 2009 enhancements. Please wait until January before making any judgments.

ANYTIME is a good time to join WW, since you are doing something for yourself to get healthy.

dunno if this is it but was told this came out of a test group:

figure out your daily points like Flex...
You get to select a set number of points or if it's less points to count because you're eating less, count that. For example, fruits are 2 pts for all you can eat to satisfaction... if you ate 1/2 apple, you would count 0.5 pt. That would be the count but let's say you want fruit salad, count 2.
So for example you want grains, in that category you can select pasta,rice,corn,anything including potatoes as well. There is no once a day rule in this category. You can pick less than 6 pts and count that or eat to satisfaction which is 6.
Protein.... any kind be it veggie burgers,eggs,lean meats, less than 5 pts, use that number or if you eat to satisfaction it is 5.
Dairy is a pts count,so is cheese.
If let's say you had 30 daily pts in a day, you could do this...
B:5 for all you can eat to satisfaction eggs,with some canadian bacon and veggies which have no pts. Add fruit for 2 since you can have a a bowl of fruit salad for example.
L:grains list... all you can eat to satisfaction...6 pts,veggies, proteins 5 pts
D:2 tsp oil,2,pts,milk 2 cups=4pts,veggies,salad,5 pts protein,add a couple of wpa's for bread for ex.

Very interesting! I can see the advantages to this way of counting. It could be a downfall, too, for those that need more structure. Either way, it's something to get our interest renewed.

That is very interesting, thanks for sharing Andrea. My first instinct is to resist this change... I switched to Core so I wouldn't have to count! But I won't rule anything out and will give it a go when they officially roll it out... then make up my mind.

yeah i will definitely say its interesting

We were told in today's meeting to be sure to attend a meeting during the week of December 7-13, as there would be changes announced and discussed.