I thought about joining nutrisystem, but with the flexibility Weight Watchers offers I changed my mind quickly. I just forked over a tution check for college the other day and I'm what they call broke right now, to be honest, if there was a level under broke, I'd be somewhere wayyy down there =P
I don't think I can afford meetings and joing fees and all that. It would be wonderful if it was free but.... life isn't all that nice is it?
So I thought about going on ebay to find a starter kit for cheap? does anyone think thats a good idea? I plan on doing the point system and attending meetings is a pain in the butt anyways for me. But the online is expensive as well.
Any suggestions? Would my plan work? I feel like theres so much support here, I wouldn't need to go to meetings. Thanks a bunch girls =)
oh and if anyone knows how long it takes to get a signature up? Im eager to to one but it says I need a post requirement and a certain amount of time? Thanks again!
welcome i hear ya about the money. i get a discounted rate and i still wish it was less as im on a fixed income(its only dollars less aweek)
anyway, my advice is not to bother with ebay: heres why: ebay sellers are prohibited from selling the stuff you really need b/c their start kits arent like the real ww kits cuz they only have the companions which isnt the same as tyhe starter book.
can you afford one meeting just to get what you need? one meeting is usually pretty cheap unless you live in the south and tyhen its 30+another 12-13 on top just to get what you ned.
if all else fails look at my post in the ww@home forum
what kind of items do you recieve when you join the weight watchers meetings? I was thinking about buying the home starter kit because the journal, the 2 companion books , and the calculator =)
WW many times in different areas of the country have a special where there isn't a registration fee. When that happens, you just pay the weekly fee. Depending on where you are it can be $11 - $13. Once you have done that, you can pick up the starter info, books and calculator and not go to any more meetings if you don't want to, or can't really afford to.
You can purchase what you need on ebay as well. There are many sellers on there who do have the starter kit information as well as calculators, etc. However, it is a lot more expensive than if you went to one meeting and picked up what you need. My calculator from 7 years ago decided to stop working so I bought one on ebay and it was about $15 dollars more than if I got it at a meeting.
This support forum is a great resource for you as well. Any question that you may have will be answered.. lol - usually by many many people. I am on WW without meetings and without paying a weekly fee. I did have the stuff from 7 years ago, but soon found the information that I needed to be updated here. This place is basically my weekly meeting, but I come here every day.
Check out the flex forum and most of what you need to know you will find there.
when you join the first meeting you get the main manual that explains in depth both programs and contains the food list. you also get the pointsfinder/activity booster.
if this helps at all you mentioned the ww kit&just wanted to say that for that money you get whats called the at home manual which contains the above info&also all 12 weeks of meeting material all in one book. you also get the food companions, a jumpstart plan and a magazine subscription. the advanced kit has exercise dvds and the ww calculator. in comparison to the money if you decide to join one meeting you also can buy the food companions for 10$ each.
id like to reemphasize that you really need that first book whether gotten from a meeting or the at home kit. the ebay kits do NOT have it as they are not allowed&ww has become very strict and cracking down on this issue. they are only allowed to sell certain things and that book isnt one of them. they are allowed to sell the food companions&the journals&thats about it. they are not allowed to sell meeting materials.
Last edited by andreaphilip3; 07-27-2008 at 09:37 PM.
Thank you both for all your help.... I think I will attend a meeting for two to gain materials and knowledge. I am very excited to start this all. I plan to start the begininng of August... new month.... good start =)
Hello, and welcome! Everyone else has answered your questions pretty well.
I did what I think Chey suggested. Our region was running a special that waived the registration fee at the time I wanted to sign up, so I went to the first meeting, got the start-up materials, and stayed behind for the newbie session. All I paid was the $15 meeting fee.
I only made a 2nd weigh-in after that just to make sure our scale was accurate, but I kind of knew all along that I'd be making a go of things at home, with support here, which is wonderful and FREE!!
I ultimately got the at-home kit that someone else mentioned, and I am happy I did. They'll break the payment down into 3 payments, which does help. The link to the at-home kit information is in the Announcements section on the main 3FC WW board.
You CAN do this at-home, even without doing WW Online. But it is helpful to get that start-up information and sit in on the newbie session (held right after the meeting).
good for you tink! hopefully a meeting is cheaper by you cuz dn here in tn is 45! then again even though thats still alot its still cheaper than the official ww@home kit cuz even if you tacked on 20 for the food companions itd still be 60 something all together vs 110 for the basic home kit. good luck and keep in touch! i plan to restart the week after you after the kids go bk to school.
luvmyfam i saw that your from the philadelphia region too , I guess I just missed that waive the registration fee period... grrrr but i saw online you can visit a meeting for free? Im not sure if thats the same thing but what does that mean? will you still wind up paying the 25 first meeting fee and the 15$ per meeting fee? i think thats the prices for the ww here.
Yes, I'm technically in the Philly region, even though I'm actually a couple hours northwest of the city.
The waived registration fee period went until May 15, I think. I got so lucky with it. If it weren't for that, I would have never made it myself.
It is correct that you could still register and make one meeting, and even with adding on the Complete Food Companion and Dining Out Guide it would come to about $60 in our region. Your center might also carry a little kit (has the bag, those two books, and I think a little recipe book, maybe one or two other things) for about $40.
However, if you want all the bells and whistles and can manage 3 payments, the at-home deluxe kit offers a lot more:
At-home guide
Complete Food Companion
Dining Out Guide
Points Calculator
3 month journal
1 year subscription to Weight Watchers magazine
Points finder & points booster slide
My Turnaround cookbook
Get Moving exercise mix CD (I think there are 5 workouts on it)
Meal Survival Guide (has some recipes in it, too)
Materials Organizer
I ultimately chose to get this because I knew I wasn't going to continue with meetings. If I kept up with meetings, I think it was going to end up costing more than the kit if I went to every meeting in a cycle (can't remember how many that is). Plus the cost if I wanted to buy the extras, like any cookbooks and the guide books.
However, it all depends upon what you are wanting or what you can manage. You don't NEED all that. All you really need is the Getting Started (I think that's what it's called) book you get at your first meeting and the Points finder/booster slide. The leader will take newbies aside at the end of the meeting to explain how it all works. Once you're armed with the information, that's all you really need to do it. The rest of the things are just conveniences.
Yes, you can attend a meeting for free. But you don't get any materials, just the experience of sitting in on a meeting. If you want the start-up materials, you need to register, and yes, it'll come to $40 in our region.
Thinking about joining Weight Watchers
i hear ya about the money. i get a discounted rate and i still wish it was less as im on a fixed income(its only dollars less aweek)
