Hey everyone, so i am currently on jenny craig, and ive been doing great, however, i will be going away to college in the fall and i wont be able to house frozen meals or have anywhere to cook them, living in a dorm. not to mention im pretty sure there isnt a jenny craig center anywhere near where im going to be. So i was thinking about weight watchers, Not only for my dorm days, but because i think even after i lose the weight i want to, it is a more realistic way to diet with real food... not frozen. so if i want to go out to lunch with friends.. i can i just eat with in my point value. i was wondering if this was an accurate assumption and how exactly does Weight watchers work? any information would be great! thanks!

Hi

I am a big fan of WW. The basic theory is all foods are given a point value based on Calories, fat, and Fiber. You are given a certain amount of points to eat per day plus and additional 35 points per week to spend on what you would like. You can also add additional points by through exersise. When you join you are given the basic tools you will need. I highly recoment getting one of the kits as it will give you additional material and make things easier for you on your journey. I know for a while they were allowing people to attend a meeting for free so you might want to check that out and speak to the leader and get more information to see if this is something you think you might want to try. I hope this has been helpfull

Welcome pinkglow!

WW is a fantastic program just for the reasons you mentioned. No reliance on pre-packaged or frozen foods, and lots of flexibility to suit your lifestyle. Of course, moderation in all things is key, and you can't expect to just eat anything... But if you want to go to lunch with friends during the week, you can plan your points for it and be fine. I recommend meetings personally, if there is a center nearby. It helps to keep you on track week after week. Though many, many people have great success doing it alone too!

Cdawn gave you a good run down of the basics - daily points allowance plus 35 per week to divvy up as you choose, plus you earn back points through exercise. There is also an emphasis on eating "filling foods," which are basically lean proteins, fruits and veg, and whole grains. It's a good way to eat, for sure.

Best of luck!

Thanks! i will def. look into it, how much does it typically cost? for meetings and kits and such

I agree with the above ladies! It;s the only program I've been able to stick to long-term. It gets easier, too.

Where are you located? I think the cost/options are fairly different in the US and Canada...

I am not a member of WW. I do think it's a good, solid program though. I basically do WW--only I count calories, not points. I am huge fan of the non-scale victories.

The only thing I don't like is the pre-packaged foods you see littered with their name. I stick to mostly whole foods--cheaper, more filling, better for you and makes you lose faster naturally.

For the record, I attended one meeting in my area in August. GAG! Horrible facilitator! I was going to check out another facilitator but "used up" my one freebie attending that horrible meeting. I wasn't about to sign up (site unseen) after my experience with the first one.

Im in Plainfield Illinois. i know there wont be a meeting place at my school so ill have to use the online "at home" version. But i would like to attend a meeting and get a kit and all the other things you described.

You would be surprised at how many places have meetings. There are meeting centers, firehouses, churches, they have them all over the place. It would really surprise me to learn that there was ot a meeting around your school. I would think a college enviorment would be a great place to have meetings. And if not you could organize one, I now that in some areas WW will send a leader to a place or business when you have enough people willing to attend meetings. All you have to do is go to Weightwatchers.com and you can find all the financial info and look for meetings you can look for one at home and at school by the zip code. I would suggest if you can not find at school that you start by attending at home now so when you go to school you are well on your way and the transition should be a little easier.