i personally don't go to meetings (for various reasons - don't have time, i'm very introverted etc.) and i do fairly well on my own. but like several others said, give it a try. if it's not for you, look into doing WW online and getting support here. it's also important to have a support system (family, friends) if you're not going to meetings. that makes the difference for me.
Last edited by Princess0113; 01-21-2009 at 04:19 PM.
The meetings are great, really, and there is nothing to fear! You don't have to say a thing if you don't want! Mostly your leader talks, and then there are always a few talkative people in the bunch.
I lost 105 pounds when I was going to meetings on a regular basis...When I stopped going to meetings thinking I could do it on my own the weight started coming right back at me...but I also know some people that are able to do it without the meetings...
I use everything! I go to meetings, I track my food on-line, I use this site, I use ww forums, I use recipe builder on-line. I figure every little bit helps and eventhough $40 bucks a month is expensive it has all been worth it to me. Use what works! Best of luck to you.
-Phil
I've done meeting & the at home program. I'm having better success w/ the at home program & I spend TONS of time on this forum to get the support I need. I'm also planning on getting a therapist to help me deal w/ my emotional eating issues.
I personally, need one-on-one support & didn't get that in my meetings. I also had a hard time finding a group that I felt I fit in with & couldn't always go to the same meetings b/c of my schedule so I never felt like I truly belonged anywhere.
I'm just starting out at home. My MIL was a WW leader at some point. She goes to the meetings regularly. She is maintaining. But I think I'm going to just do the home stuff. We really can't afford the meetings and membership.
Everyone has their own style of losing weight. Some things work for some and not for others. My mom did WW for a long time and never really lost, she does SB now and does awesome with it. I don't know why. It's really the same concept but for some reason, it works differently for some people's bodies.
I think it probably depends on why you gained weight in the first place and how you gained it. Personally, I gained it through years and years of inattention. I know how to eat healthfully and most of my life have eaten healthfully, I just eat too much at pretty much every meal and snack and too many sweets and too many carry out/restaurant meals.
I was thin 18 years ago (when I suddenly got tall in high school and went from a chubby kid to a slim teen). I've gained about 0.5 lbs a month every month since then to get me to where I am today. For me, it isn't that I don't know how to lose weight, but without the reminder once a week from the WW meeting, I just don't stick with it long. I've probably lost about twice the weight I would have since joining WW than I might have on my own, I don't feel hungry, don't feel frustrated, and am able to eat the foods I enjoy - perhaps with just a few changes.
I tried LA Weight Loss once (which cost me $700 upfront). They wouldn't tell me prior to the payment how the plan worked. It turned out to be a food exchange program that was very very very low carb. I hated it from the first week. It's completely opposite of how I prefer to eat - which is a lot of whole grains, a little protein (or beans), and a touch of something sweet once a day. There was such a huge list of foods not to eat and I was constantly hungry. You could only eat certain vegetables/fruits and not others. I don't find a chicken breast on a salad a satisfying meal. I'd much rather have a bowl of black bean soup with a piece of homemade cornbread. While the accountability was there, even if I lost weight in a week, someone would look through my food journal and critique it and tell me where I could eat better. I felt invaded, which also made me feel rebellious - not a good combination. Every now and then they send me an offer to come back for free. If you complete the program, you get either 25% or 50% of the money you paid back at the end. I'm tempted to rejoin as I continue on WW and fake my journal, just to get back the money.
At WW, I can eat any combination of healthy foods (while meeting the good health guidelines). Only the person checking me in sees my weight. They only draw attention to your weight if you meet a milestone of some kind (5 lbs more lost or 10% lost or something). It's also helpful to hear what kinds of things other people are trying that are working for them or what kinds of challenges people are having where others of us can offer suggestions to help. Also, my meeting is on Monday, which I find helps me be attentive on weekends - when I struggle a bit more. Finally, I think it's totally worth it to get the monthly pass, which reduces the cost per week and gives you the eTools free. I adore that I can look up any food point value on my smart phone wherever I am and log it. It's so much easier not to make a mistake.
Their forums are also very active. However, there is a lot of trolling (which this board is pretty free of). The trolling probably takes up as much as 75% of all the threads and forum posts. The published WW articles are really great though and propose suggestions to all kinds problems a person might have while losing weight. Their Tools for Living are also very helpful for solving any WL obstacle.
Ari - I too did LAWL last year and have lots of the same opinions as you. I hated being critiqued each week even when I did lose weight. And the weight loss was so slow yet the changed I made in my diet were so drastic.
I remember their counselors always telling me to lay off of the baby carrots b/c my body would treat them like a sugar & that would make me hold onto weight. It was all ridiculous. Seriously, I didn't get fat from eating baby carrots after 7 pm!!
The final straw for me was when I went in & they told me I had probably gained that week because I had been taking meds for an illness so my body was confused & holding onto the extra weight. I was like "hello!" I shouldn't be gaining weight from an antibiotic.
I did learn a TON of great eating habits from them tho. Apparently nobody had ever taught me how to eat a balanced diet & their 30-day express deal was such a shock to my system......whole grains, lean proteins lots & fresh fruits & veggies. I really learned to eat right on that plan & have incorporated what I learned into the WW program. Now I make sure I get all of my good health guidelines met each day & it is making a huge difference in how I feel. I feel satisfied & don't really even feel like I am dieting, I just feel like I am being aware. It's pretty awesome really.
That thing about the carrots is hilarious. I exactly that same experience.
Also, nearly every day I was exchanging a protein for the carb lover thing because I couldn't stand eating that much protein. I had 2.5 protein exchanges and one time I changed 0.5 protein for 0.5 carb lover thing.
Counselor: "You absolutely can't exchange 0.5 for 0.5. If you're going to exchange, you should use a whole serving. You shouldn't be using the carb lover exchanges while losing anyway. It will hinder your progress"
Me: "I lost 5 pounds this week and spent most of the time starving, but 5 pounds isn't progress?" *confused*
I used to be a vegetarian (temporary insanity I think), so I usually would only have 1 serving of meat (at most) and 1 of beans or something. I would then get lectures about using beans as my protein serving. Seriously, if they don't want you to follow what it says in the book, why the heck do they bother to publish it?
Anyway, back on-topic, check out a meeting. If it doesn't work for you, or makes you uncomfortable when you're there, then try something else. The best thing about WW is it's flexible. The idea is to give you the tools you need to succeed and let you make use of those tools in a way that works for you.
Oh I hear ya, I finally gave up on the program when I realized that I had made so many adjustments to it to make it livable that it wasn’t even LAWL anymore. I was just counting calories. Because I started at such a high weight I had an enormous amount of food to eat every day – 5 proteins, 7 veggies, 5 fruits, 10 starches, 5 fats – it was insanity. All I ever did was eat! It was amazing I got anything else done. But I did learn that I didn’t have to starve to lose weight, I just had to eat different things.
I lost 80 lbs on my own with WW and then, I just gave up. I restarted WW with meetings this time and love it. The weather has caused me to miss my meeting this week and I'm so annoyed. I'm really shy and hardly talk at the meetings. They don't force you to participate.
