hi eveyone, i am thinking about joining, my cod is offering a deal $249 for all the weight you want to lose, you stay untill you lose your weight, but it does not include stabilization. and you go just once a week to weigh
the other program is 40% off.

should i go for it? would you do the $249 express? the counselor pushed mor for the more expensive program, but i am thinking this program would give me a very long time at la.

i am still hung up on the cost of the bars, they are just so expensive and obviously how they make their money, i asked if i could use another bar and of course she said NO....how do you subsitute a different bar?

i am still a little uncertain as to whether i want to join, but feel i need something different.

btw---my name is chris and i have been lurking here for awhile, these 40 pounds are really depressing me!!!

Chris:

Is your health and your confidence worth $249.00. Mine was. I only had 40 pounds to lose (already down 25) and I can say it is money well spent. I have blown that easily (and then some) in the past on treadmills that I didn't use, diet pills that didn't work, etc. You can use other bars, but of course they want you to buy theirs. Look for alternatives to LAWL products in these threads, there are plenty of them.

You are worth it. I wouldn't sign up for the full program up front because I wanted to make sure it would work for me and that I could stick with it. And amazingly I HAVE!. I say go for it. !!!

Hi Chris and Welcome,
Before I would sign up for the Express program, I would ask about the food restrictions. Sometimes these special offers are designed to take off the weight fast and they are limiting. For example, no eating out, no frozen meals, etc. Make sure you know up front and you know that you can live with the program requirements.
Having said that, the money I spent on LAWL is the best money I have spent in a long time. I am so much happier and I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. It is so depressing to be overweight and to try plan after plan and not get anywhere.

You ask - how do you use other bars. It looks like the way many people do it is to buy the least expensive bulk option and they to make the LA bars last longer by using luna bars or other alternatives. You write in your diary that you ate the LA lite bars. Also the COD's offer specials from time to time and then I was able to get a box of 7 for about $10.50.
I know this seems like a big step, but they are many of us here that will tell you that it works for us.
Take care,

thanks for your responses, i think i am going to sign up....i think i will do the express even though it does not get you the stabilization weeks...one step at a time, right...
with the bars, i am thinking, like people said, maybe of doing one la lite, one other...this would stretch my bar dollar.
i sooo need to lose this weight, it affects me in so many negative ways, the biggest right now is self-worth...i am discovering when i am this weight, i start to feel invisible amost, as if i do not matter....
again, thanks, i will post back later.....Chris

What I did was this - I did sign up for the whole thing because I had a 50% off coupon. I also only signed up for 36 pounds (18 weeks). They told me I can buy more weight loss weeks in September if I want to (cost of $5/week). I am 6 pounds from my 'original' goal of 180 pounds. I can keep going until September, then re-evaluate. I want to get lower - I'm thinking 140, but that might be pushing it, so like I said, I will re-evaluate in September. That way, I still have the stabilization and maintenance, as I know I will need those.

Lynn
I am on the LA Express and it is the identical plan as the regular one. The only difference is that you only have the weight loss part of the program, stabilization and maintenance was not included. And you only weigh in once a week, otherwise it is the same. I am Red 1 without lites because I am allergic to soy.

I did not have the $600 the whole program would have cost, so I opted for the $249 version, hoping that in the next year (I have 100 pounds to lose) they will run another special)

Does that help clear up the difference? I think the misnomer is that they have a new program now when some COD's switch to a numeric from color coded programs that I have been reading about on these boards that they start out with an "Express" program for 4 weeks where you cant have any of the stuff you mentioned.
It is confusing - they should think of a different name.

Hey, if they would have offered the express a year ago, I might have gone for it. I paid a small fortune and didn't always like coming in all the time. The full program you start out going in 3 times per week until I think you lose half your weight, then you can come in 2 times per week. 3 trips to be weighed in really kept me in line, though, but there are times when you've eaten something salty or it is just that time of the month and being weighed is the last thing you want to do. You can sometimes find deals on bars on e-bay, but they might not always be the freshest. Not sure how important that is, as they have changed some of the bars and the older ones were tastier. I found the bars made a huge difference for me, as they really did keep my metabolism up and me from getting hungry. So I would consider it, even though I know it seems like a LOT at first and I had buyers remorse at the beginning and felt that I had been swindled, but in the end I think it is great that I've done it... as here I am almost a year later and haven't paid another cent for the program, just for products that I've bought, and yes some counselors are just pushy about trying to sell things, and others are just not. I tend to wait to buy stuff until I have a not pushy counselor as a reward to them... I think they get 3% of what you spend. So it isn't like they are getting wealthy off from you. You spend 30$ and they get 90 cents. I did buy just bars for the weight loss and stabilization program up front and ended up buying more during a special around the holidays, and more just recently. The other bars aren't free, so it is not a huge difference if you buy in bulk, you just buy in advance. For example the Luna bars are normally about 1.79$ at Albertsons... so 7 of them would be 10.49. They regularly offer the LA Lites at 12$ a box, so it is not really that much more. Of course sometimes you can see good sales on the lunas too. I have bought a lot of their products, which some of them are very suspicously like the nabisco 100 calorie packs. The cookies are so close that it has to be just different packaging. I love the cheese curls. I buy the biscotti because my husband begs for them... and they are a quick breakfast food for when I'm running late. Although the Nonni's Biscotti from Costco are much cheaper. My center has deals where if you buy more it is cheaper, so I buy the biscotti 5 boxes for 25$

I too had buyers remorse when I purchased bars in bulk. I felt I had been swindled. But now I realized that they have been key to my weight loss. I look forward to them everyday and I LOVE the peanut butter ones. I know I would give into sweets if I didn't have the bars.

The express program sounds nice. If my center would of had that I would have done that too, but I am also excited to go through stabilization and maint. to see what I need to eat each day for the rest of my life to maintain my weight loss.

I think that your center will have a "special" when you reach your goal to purchase stab/maint. weeks. They won't want you to leave cause they may possibly be able to sell you something more......like bars or snacks.

I would join cause it really is a great plan even though some of the counselors are dorks but some are awesome. I have done WW off and on for the last 10 years and this is the first time I have been in reach of my goal without feeling deprived.

Hope you join. I don't think you will be sorry. The $ is super worth it!

I have/had more than 100 pounds to lose so the $249 program was a STEAL for me! Even at half off the regular program I would've been in it for nearly $800... and then I would've had a limited time to lose (with the ever-present option of purchasing more weeks). On this plan they're stuck with me until I "Lose all the weight <I> want!"... whether it takes the 15 months as planned or 4 years. And I don't owe a penny more

When I reach goal I'll worry about the maintenance fees at that time. They have sales off and on throughout the year so next year when I'm getting close I'll watch for one.

As for the bars I told them I wanted to do the program with lites but that I was buying them off ebay. I do buy the occasional box but primarily stick with Luna or Glucerna bars.

HTH

Are the Glucerna bars soy also? I need soy-free bars, so I am still looking for another whey alternative. can't seem to find the Detour Go bars you told me about. Found the Detour, but they are really high in sugar, so I am searching for a bar I can use.

again, thanks for the responses, i am joining tomarrow and feel comfortable with just going ahead with the $249 express, i will focus on weight loss and worry about maintenance, stabilization later....like someone said, they will not want to lose you, and i am sure another offer will come by later (even though they give you the impression that this is a one time deal)
looking forward to joining you all on this journey.
chris

$1.79 per bar? Yikes! I think I remember now why I don't shop at Albertson's!

We get the Luna bars at Trader Joe's or New Season's for 99 cents a bar. And when we buy a whole box at New Season's we get an additional 10% off the per bar price.

CharliesHotMama, By the time you get 100+ pounds off, this will become a way of life for you and your habits will be changed. So you can decide at that point if you even feel like you need maintenance. The accountability is still great though.

Suz, I am lazy and Albertsons is 3 blocks from my house, and they have them on sale for 99 cents fairly often... Trader Joes is like 5 blocks from work on my way home, so that is good to know. I will have to stop and buy some... although I did just buy more bars at LAWL, as my DH keeps eating my bars... He can't stay away from the peanut butter ones.