My grandmother wants to do weight watchers and lose 30 pounds, but I'm a bit skeptical. I don't really know much about it other than being some sort of group meeting with special food? I wanted to talk to ladies who have done it and if it's worth her time to go.

Yup! I've lost 122 pounds doing Weight Watchers! I also exercise a lot but it's WW for my diet.

Even without exercise the program is a good one that works.

It's not special food. I mean, they have special food, but it's mostly just using your own food.

Each food has a different 'points' value, based on the calorie, fat, and dietary fiber content of the food. Each day, based on your weight, you get a set amount of 'points'. In addition, you get 35 extra points to use weekly. You can use all of those, or none of those, or somewhere in between.

The meetings, you don't have to go to. They're mostly all rah-rah supportive. Talking about ways to resist temptation, etc.

I've done WW before, but I wasn't ready to lose the weight. This time around I'm counting calories, which is almost the same thing, really. Tracking your food and exercise.

Which reminds me! Exercise also has a points value, but it's points you can add to your daily total, if you want. Or not. Different exercise burns different amounts of calories, therefore, you get different points values with each exercise.

My dad had great success with WW, but then he gained it all back. This time around he did Nutrisystem. Just sayin'.

WW does seem to work for a lot of people. Unfortunately I was not one of them. The meetings are OK if you get a good leader. There really are no special foods - you can eat whatever you want as long as you can fit it in your daily point value and also meet the good health guidelines. Whole foods are the easiest way to go about this.

My issues with WW were probably about me more than the plan. It just requires a lot of planning and weighing and measuring, particularly in the beginning, and I never really made time for it. The calorie level also seems a little low, at least to me, if you accurately record everything you eat and don't cheat. Point counting and journaling was fairly easy for me but I frequently had difficulty determining the point value of the foods I eat. Then again, I'm mostly veggie and I don't tend to eat in chain restaurants. In the end, when I was totally on plan, I did lose weight but I tended to be hungry and tired. Then I would fall off plan and end up gaining a few more pounds than I started with. After about 6 attempts with WW, I am now 15 pounds higher than my original starting weight.

In spite of all my misgivings, I would still recommend that people try the plan if they are interested. It isn't dangerous or expensive and it really does work for some.

The weight watchers food is completely non-essential to the program. I buy very little of it. Essentially weight watchers is a simplified form of calorie counting. You are assigned a number of "points" each day (plus 35 extra per week) based on your gender, weight, age, height, activity level. Points are calculated based on calories, fat and fiber. You meet once a week (or you can do WW online by yourself) to weigh-in and you have a meeting leader. Each week has a discussion topic to help you stay on plan, plus you celebrate your accomplishments, and get support for problems (much like this forum). For me it has always worked as long as I stay on plan. The times I've failed on WW before have been because I stopped tracking my points, measuring my portions; just generally stopped trying really.

The problem most people have with the plan is the tracking and measuring portions (both things you have to do with traditional calorie counting as well). It's really just about getting in the habit. It took me a while, but now I don't even think about it that much; it's just what I do.

It's also important to find a leader/meeting you click with. This time around I started with a seriously depressing group. I left meetings feeling like s**t. All we did was complain about our lives! I switched meetings to my old leader from a previous time on WW; it's going so much better now!

The others have explained the program wonderfully to you

I lost the majority of my weight on WW!

I totally thought it was one of the programs too with special food before I started. I eat most of the same foods, just portion control, which you eventually start eating healthier, just because it's nice to eat a lot more.

I have gone from a size 14 to a size 4-6 and from 187 to 134. I am 5'6", and I haven't been in this kind of shape since I played volleyball in high school -- I couldn't eat enough to replenish calories after our two-a-day practice camps.

I love it! I have tried a few low-carb diets, and they never worked for me. I started WW at home after my friend Amy got the info and lost 20 pounds lickety-split. I couldn't believe how fast the weight melted off coupled with just walking and then eventually running. I have never attended a meeting and never paid a fee. My friend and I hold each other pretty accountable, and I am self-driven in this way as well.

The most I had ever lost in my life was, like, eight pounds. I just steadily gained after high school, eventually weighing 158 from 138 eight years before. Then I got pregnant and weighed 201 when I walked into the hospital to have a C-section. After almost a year, I had only got down to 187 and decided I had had enough of that.

WW is the only program that I've been able to stick to. I can see how some may find it overwhelming at first with the measuring and point calculations, but I found that it became like second nature after a few weeks. I don't weigh my food because I haven't found it to be necessary, personally. Measuring what you eat is just a sensible habit to get into- i find it the absolute simplest way to make sure you're not overeating. i also found that I didn't need as much as I was eating to feel full. For example, I was surprised how filling 1 cup of pasta can be- I would have eaten twice that before! After a while you start to remember the points value of things you eat regularly, and you'll get good at ballparking point values. It's really not complicated at all once you get the hang of it.

Overall, it's just a really healthy way to eat. You don't have to buy WW food- I'm not a huge fan of the snack bars, but the bread and tortillas are pretty decent. Basically if you follow the program, you WILL lose weight.

I find the meetings to be really helpful, but that's because i have a great leader. Sometimes you have to try out a few different meetings to find a group that you fit in with. You can usually try out a meeting for free, so it may be worth checking it out.

Whether you decide to go with WW or another plan, I wish you all the best with your weight loss goals!

Yeah it works I went from 250 to 155 on WW. You just have to find the right group and of course excercise on the side.

I think Weight Watchers I think it is a fantastic program, but it isn't the program for me.

Calorie counting works for me. The funny thing is, its the same idea as weight watchers. But it just works better for me, and it's free.

I really liked weight watchers, I stuck to it longer then I should have and spent a lot of money... but it just didn't work for me.

10 years ago I was in a WW at Work program. One thing I really liked is how it nudged me into healthier eating without beating me over the head. I had pretty much avoided vegetables as an adult, but most were 0 points so I found myself adding chopped veg into things like tunafish and soup to bulk up the amount of food I could eat for a meal. Higher fiber value in cereal got you more cereal to eat than if you ate the low fiber stuff. In 18 months I only lost 30 lbs but still consider it a success from the good habits I learned.

My mom, aunt and I did WW and they both lost close to 60lbs and I was 23lbs then I found out I was finally pregnant. I find the program very easy to follow and it only takes a month or so until you figure out what food is what point value, so you don't to spend the time looking it up all the time. My only advice is to buy the points calculator...it was the best $20 I spent. It goes everywhere with me, especially since I am trying to lost the baby weight.

I did weight watchers in the past, and i lost about 20lbs on it...i stopped going because i had family issues going on, but i never gained those 20lbs back.
i just recently joined a few weeks ago, to finally get healthy again
it is a really good program. what i like about it is that they encourage you to eat healthyfully, but there is flexibility- if you really want a chocolate bar, or whatever it is you crave, you can work it into your day.
its all about being accountable for what, and how much, you put in your mouth.

I recently lost 30 pounds on the Weight Watchers program, and I cannot say enough good things about this program! What I really love about WW is that it teaches you to make good decisions (like managing portions, choosing a good balance of foods) within your current lifestyle. You don't have to purchase any special foods, you don't have to give up any foods "for good", and it teaches you how to deal with challenges like eating out, going to parties, holidays, and other experiences that could derail a "diet." I have really learned to love eating well and keeping myself healthy, and I can definitely see myself sticking to these ideas for a lifetime. When I first started, it was a bit of an adjustment to learn how to track points and journal all of my food, but once I "got it" it because like second nature. The meetings are great, and I still go to them. It's such a supportive environment, we have a very enthusiastic leader, and I love hearing ideas from all of the other members.

The others have given you some great advice, and the original post is now a month old. So I'm wondering if your grandma joined, or not? If it's still up in the air, I'd let my grandma decide for herself, because if WWs is what she wants to do, that's where her enthusiasm is, and she's more likely to be successful.