So I have never actually tried any of the programs. Any time I have tried to lose weight, I've done it through lots of research on diet and exercise. At this point in my life, I have so much knowledge about those two things, and I just need to put it into action! But lately I have been thinking about doing Weight Watchers, so I had some questions.

First, how does it work exactly? I know there are points and healthier items have less points. For example, I just looked at my Lean Cuisines and the glazed chicken one is only 4 points while the Swedish meatballs was 6 or 7. But when items aren't marked with the points (because they are fresh items or whatever), how does it work? And how many points do you get per day?

Second, how much does it cost? At the moment, my budget is extremely limited. It should get better next semester, and I will probably start WW in January if I do decide to go this route. But is it super expensive?

Third, coming from a 20-something college student, how has it worked for you? What are the pros/cons that you see?

Thanks for any information or advice!

I think you asked a bunch of really good, but somewhat difficult questions.

How many points you get a day depends on A) the WW program your on and B) how much you weigh. Clearly, the more you weigh, the more you need to eat to lose weight in a slow, healthy manner. The number can also change based on which WW points program you use. I'm so not an expert because I've been on their program from 2000 called "Winning Points". At my current weight, I eat between 24-29 points a day.

Calculating a point is a combination between the amount of fiber the food has, the number of calories and the amount of fat. You can purchase a slider at WW meetings that helps you figure out the number of points; there are also online calculators that can figure it out for you. Basically, its not just that healthier foods are fewer points. Avocado, for example, is four points per 4oz. A cup of pasta is the same number of points. Is one "healthier"? IDK, to be honest. So its not just a "healthy is lower" formula.

For items that don't have a points value printed on them, like avocados, apples, green beans, etc, there is a book that WW made that has points values in it. For example, I had raspberries with my lunch. 1.5 cups is a point, which I looked up in the book because raspberries doesn't have the calories, fat and fiber printed on it.

I like WW because i find it easier than counting calories. I also like that a lot of veggies have a points value of zero per serving, which encourages me to eat more. I have no idea what the cost is, as I've basically just stolen all my materials from family members and friends.

In Canada it costs about $16 per week. The points system becomes very fast and easy to use. I absolutely, positively, love WW. The part I find the most helpful is the accountability of knowing that I will get on that scale every week.

The most important part, IMO, of WW is the flexibility that is put into the plan. You get a certain number of daily points to spend **however** you want (the motivator is that you get to eat more if you eat lower-points food which happens to be less calorically dense) and you also get 35 points per week as "flex" points to spend if you wish.

You gain Activity Points for doing activity, up to 4 points a day, that you can then use for more food if you would like to. Or you can just accumulate them and not spend them and accelerate your weight loss a bit.

Bottom line, eat your daily points, and you will lose weight. Backed by tons and tons of real research. I'm the academic type so that is important to me.

I LOVE this program so I'm definitely championing it. Give it a try, I bet you'll enjoy it - I was a total skeptic before I lost my first 10%

Edit: Forgot to add that I am a full-time college student and employed part-time. The points are based on calories, fat, and fibre and they give you tools to calculate points for virtually everything.

I had all the WW info from a friend and one of her old point finders (sliders). It took a LOT of discipline but I did it at home, on my own w/out any meetings, etc and I lost a total of 90lbs. (I was at 140 and back to 152 now). However because you said you've never followed a specific plan I would suggest actually joining Weight Watchers and not attempting it on your own. I joined years ago while in college and had a feel of what it was about..pretty much knew what to do.

I love weight watchers because no food is forbidden. You can 'bank' points for a special bigger meal for example. Weight Watchers basically teaches people how to eat healthily (required so many dairy/grains/meats/fruits & veggies a day) and how much to eat..all about portions and measuring the right amount.

Good luck!!!!

Thank you for all the advice so far! I checked out the website too. They have a deal right now where you can spend $40 and get two months or you can just take it one week at a time and spend $13/week. But I can't afford either of those options right now. I also don't really have time to go to a weekly meeting either. However, next semester my schedule will be freer and my wallet will be more stacked. lol So I'm going to keep trucking with my own plan now and try to be positive with it, but if I am not seeing the results I would like to see, I'll hop on the WW train in January. I'm sure they'll have another special in January due to New Year's resolutions and all that jazz.

The thing I feel will help is counting points. I get very frustrated with counting calories, fat, sugar, and protein all the time. If I can boil it down to a few points and then just add the points, I think I will do better with that. Additionally, I think the meetings will help a lot too. To actually be held accountable on a weekly basis because this is a program I'm putting my money into...I feel like that will be helpful too.

Hm. I don't know if you have considered this or not. But you could possibly save up for the one week fee and go to one meeting, get the materials and getting-started talk with the leader at the one meeting (usually pretty short), and then join up with the 20 something ladies here in the WW forum post, or forum section in general. We're always willing to answer questions and give support, so it's like a mini-meeting every time you pop on to chat with us, . That'd get you started until you can afford to go to meetings if that draws you.

Wish you luck!

Thanks for the suggestion. I think my biggest problem with weight loss is simply not staying committed. I tend to start and stop a lot. When I'm on, I do well with it. The last time I was on for a significant amount of time was last year - I lost 11 lbs in like a month/month and a half, which is really what I need to lose to make my goals. But I always lose it eventually. Like this week went well until today. I had a bunch of assignments I'd fallen behind on, so I didn't work out, and then I gave into the temptation of a milkshake after dinner. I'm not planning to fall off the bandwagon tomorrow, but I am honestly terrified of just giving up again. I'm tired of giving up and having to start over.

ANYWAY...lol...that's why I feel that the meetings would help me. It would be something I'm paying for (and I obviously take my money very seriously), so I wouldn't skip a meeting if only for that reason and then if I was falling off track, I would have people there to point that out to me and help me get back on track. Since I obviously have trouble being accountable to myself, I need other people to be accountable to.

Do you happen to have an iphone or a phone that can access the internet?

When I was doing WW (great plan, just stopped doing it about a year ago, gained some weight and am trying something different now) I had found a website online that had the points calculator. I saved the website on my phone and I could calculate the points wherever I went.

I never went to the meetings and found 3FC to be a better support forum than WW's online (IMO), but it was nice being able to track my points from a visual POV online.

My point being, you can still do WW without going to the meetings or joining online.

If you don't have a phone you can find their points equation online and keep a calculator with you. Is it a pain in the butt? Yes, but is it worth it? That's up to you.

GOOD LUCK!