Started changing habits slowly. doing ALOT of back sliding. Cant get motivated... What is WW like?????? I need to find a new approach. What im doing isnt working.. but i am so poor that i dont think i can afford another expense.
also i dont like the idea of needing a meeting ...like im a food addict or something.. but in reality i guess i am one..... so???

also pretty new here...
read alot more than post
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i d love to hear about WW, Is it worth it? How expensive is it????I think i might go there today.

WW is worth every penny I have paid. It isn't so terrible to need to go to a meeting, but if money is really tight, go to one to get the plan and slide and then come here for your support. We're pretty good at it. However, it has been shown that people that physically make the commitment to attend meetings do better and keep it off longer. This was an independent study by the FDA, not WW. What are you doing currently?

I agree with Susan...WW has been worth every penny I've spent. I've learned that this is a lifetime plan and the people who attend the meetings are very supportive. Some insurances will cover/reimburse for WW...if you have insurance you could call them and ask what you need to do. Also, I think that WW had a "scholarship" plan that you can apply for--call the 800# and ask.

I highly recommend the program because it teaches how to eat healthy and my favorite part is that I don't have to give up my favorite foods--I've learned portion control and how to eat more healthy. It's well worth it! One time our leader had a talk and she said, "You need to take care of yourself in order to take care of others." I know it sounds selfish but heck, we tend to put ourselves down on the list of priorities and our health is important in being able to take care of our families, etc. Anyway, I hope this helps! Post again and let us know what you decide. This board is great for getting support, motivation, and ideas.

Its not "spending" money, its investing in yourself! It is an awesome program. You don't have to buy any special foods. I like it because it teaches you how to eat in real life.

I strongly recommend the program!

Invest in yourself!
Ronney

I LOVE WW!! Both my mother and I have lost over 100lbs each on WW (my mom is now lighter than when she met my dad 29 years ago and my mom is now about 20lbs away from goal). I gained a few around Christmas and during the fall, but I have just gone back on my "losing" regieme and upped the exercise a little and things are returning back to normal!

Good Luck to You!!!

Ali

I tried on my own to lose weight: the videos, magazine articles, self-help books, yada yada... then I realized I couldn't do it on my own and walked in to WW.

It's totally worth it, and I agree if the money's tight, go to register (right now there's no sign up fee) and get the materials. Visit here often for support, as it's available 24/7.

You might find the meetings to be a big help, too. See how it goes after your first visit. Good luck!

Sweatergal
You and your mom are awesome. Weigh to go! I love success stories like yours. Thanks for posting.
I too think WW is invaluable. I think of the money I threw away on junk food and think it must equal weekly meeting fees.
Good luck everyone

Hi Hippiecol. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I'm not happy with my poor ol' bod and need to take better care of it. My boss gave me permission yesterday to go to WW on my lunch hour so a friend and I are starting meetings today. I'm optimistic that I can at least get at least a little back under control. There are so many inspirational people at this site, I'll be back to share and maybe even to inspire a few myself. Now, *there's* optimism. LOL!!!

Hi Hippiecol. I'm kind of in the same boat as you. I'm not happy with my poor ol' bod and need to take better care of it. My boss gave me permission yesterday to go to WW on my lunch hour so a friend and I are starting meetings today. I'm optimistic that I can at least get at least a little back under control. There are so many inspirational people at this site, I'll be back to share and maybe even to inspire a few myself. Now, *there's* optimism. LOL!!!

I think Weight Watchers can be helpful for some people. My mom lost 50 pounds on it, and has kept it off for a year. You'll probably get a lot of pro-WW comments because, well, this is the WW forum, and people stick around here when it works for them.

It didn't work quite so well for me -- I did better either on my own with online support, or with a nutritionist. So individuals may vary. Anyway, here are some alternate suggestions for kick-starting your weight loss:

1. Join Weight Watchers. You've already thought of this option. Advantages are a large support group, they're real people and not bits on a computer screen, there's emotional support, there's the feeling of accountability with weekly weigh-ins, and they give you some good guidance on what and how to eat. You can send me a Private Message in the forums if you want to hear what I consider the disadvantages, but really, I don't want to mention them here because I know it works great for some people, and don't want to upset any rhythms or ruffle any feathers.

2. Join another support group in your area, like Tops. You'll find a forum for it up above, and could probably ask questions about it there. They take somewhat of an agnostic approach to dieting, if I remember right from the two meetings I attended. You've got the accountability of weigh-ins, and an instant support group, and it's a lot cheaper than Weight Watchers -- usually a buck or two a week, I think. Personally, I didn't like the Tops philosophy so much, and the group in my area had members all about 40 years older than me so it didn't work so well. Again, it's helpful to some.

3. See about visiting a registered dietician/nutritionist, one-on-one. I had this covered under my medical insurance, when I got referred for morbid obesity at my request. (Funny, I didn't feel particularly morbid, but anyway...) I liked this option because I got individualized support and nutrition information. It's not a support group, though, so you miss out on the whole group dynamics. That's what I used the board for, but still, it wasn't 'in the flesh' people.

4. See if there are 'wellness' programs in your area cheaper than Weight Watchers. There's a little center near me that, in addition to counseling, does an 8-week course on healthy eating, weight loss, and general wellness. I think it costs about half of what Weight Watchers averages out to. The group is smaller, but it's more focused. I never tried it, though. You might have similar programs in your area.

5. Start your own group! This might be trickier, but if you know a few other people near you who were looking to get healthier, you could start your own mini-support group. Host it at someone's house each week, talk about what your issues are that week.

6. Get an online diet buddy. I'm not sure how this works, but I see advertisements on other boards for this.

7. Join an online support group like ediets.com or dietwatch.com. Again, I don't know much about these, and I'm not sure what the added value is above posting on 3fatchicks.com. I think ediets.com provides menu suggestions and more support forums. Not sure about dietwatch.com. Oh, and there's fitday.com, too, that I hear people talk about.

8. Join a gym, or a walking club, around where you live. Not sure if this will help with the weight, but maybe the exercise. There are some hiking clubs around where I live that I keep meaning to hook up with. Hrm. I think one meets tonight...

9. Make it a project to learn more about nutrition. Scour the web. Check out books from the library. Maybe you can get yourself motivated by making a project of it.

10. Make a web site. There are some free sites out there, I think, that provide simple web-building tools, or you can make a project to learn it yourself. I'm not sure about this, but I know there's quite a few sites out there. It doesn't have to be as elaborate as 3fatchicks.com, or onephatman.com. But it might be fun -- and could keep you out of the munchies at night.

Anyway. I could probably come up with more ideas, but I have to go to work sometime. :-)