Hi, everybody. I've posted here before, about a year ago. I've joined, then dropped out, and rejoined again more times than I can remember. It's about four times a year for about the past four years. I always have the best intentions, of course, but I'll start, and the not lose much for the first week or two and childishly say "the heck with it," or Something Happens (last time: a sprained ankle the next day).

Anyway, I want to start back again this week but I'm a bit nervous. I wonder if anyone else has been in the situation? The last time I registered was ten weeks ago. When I walked in, the receptionist said, "Oh, don't bother to fill out a card. Your old one is in the box." She said it very loudly--and she was right. My old card was still in the box.

Will they let me rejoin after ten weeks? Aside from telling the receptionist "stuff it" if she makes a comment, does anyone have any suggestions?

Thank you! (I have kept reading the boards, even though I haven't been "on program" for more than six days at a clip, and I know YOU all are all-forgiving :)

Xan

Just Do It...
 

Xan

Just ignore everyone's comments and rejoin just for you - the same people that make the same sarcastic comments are the same people who will be telling you how wonderful you look when you start losing weight.

Just go back with your head held high, coz you are doing this for you and no one else.

By the way, this is my third time rejoining and in the past I gave up because I would lose either very slowly or gain and then not want to go back. However this time, I am not comparing my weight loss to anyone else. Slow and steady wins the race I say and the weight did not appear on me overnight, so realistically I can't expect it to vanish overnight.

Go back and keep posting here. I wish you every success :D

I agree!
 

Just do it for yourself!

We have all felt you you are feeling. I wasn't sure if I was going to go back (this is my 3rd time too) thinking...but I wasn't able to do it then...what makes me think I can do it now?

Then I stopped and realized how many people all around me were doing it and that hey, YES this is something I can do. Sure, it is HARD but there are so many people here and at the meetings that are there to help you! you have found the MOST supportive board!

Don't think about the past times you have been there, but instead focus on your goal. Look ahead. Don't set a huge goal this is unattainable....take baby steps, and when you reach those baby step goals reward yourselves. And WRITE these goals down where you will be reminded of them.

With each glass of water you drink, with each morsel of food you record... remember you are that much closer to obtaining your goal. Do it, rejoin, and do it for yourself!!

(hugs)
Angie

xan

As a lifetime member who has been back sooooooo many times, I urge you to get back. We all know this program works if you work it. Try something different. When I went back THIS time, I purchased the new 12 week journal just to have something different about the program. I decided I had to do something because none of my clothes were fitting anymore.

You have to do this for you. Just ignore what they say or even try a different meeting. Sometimes that can help.

Good luck and keep us posted

Felicia

Thank you, but still a question
 

Thank you all very much for your encouragement. But I still am not sure if it's OK to rejoin after ten weeks. Do you have to be "off the wagon" for a certain amount of time before they let you back?

Thanks in advance for your response.

Xan

Great advice here! Xan, I don't think there's any "waiting period" in order to rejoin. Just do it! Congratualtions on making the decision!

Or don't rejoin...There are some of us who do better without the meetings. I finally figured out that, for me, the requirement to attend the weekly meeting was a factor (admittedly one of many) in my past failures with WW. I ended up doing the program on my own, with materials from my past attempts, and finally made it. I ended up re-joining for the last 10lbs, just to get the coveted "Lifetime" status. It's not the solution for everyone, but it's something to consider. With your friends here at 3FC, you've got a 24 hour meeting place at your disposal. Good luck, whatever you decide. :)

Thanks, but for me, the meetings are important. I need that little book, and the weekly weigh ins. I've been dropping out for different, silly reasons -- the meeting leader I like is on Saturdays, but for three weeks in a row, something unexpected came up and I absolutely could not make the Saturday meeting -- and, since it's a Saturday, that blows the week (if it's a Thursday meeting you miss, you can weigh in on Friday or Saturday). Or because I haven't been "perfect" that week, I know I'll show a gain and I can't face it. Or there was a blizzard, etc. etc.

I'm also one who has to be in a place where my life is controllable -- I'm a freelancer and have a very weird schedule. There are times when I know I'll be snowed under with work and will not be able to START a regular schedule. I'm about to come to a place where, for six weeks, I should be able to control my schedule, and so this is a good time to start again.


Thanks for all the tips!

I also needed the meetings. Even though I already knew most of what they talked about, I still sat through every minute. If i had a bad week I would start to get a little nervous about the weigh in so this is what I did. I tried not to weigh at home because your weight is so different through the day,and my scale isn't to great. At my grocery store they have a scale that costs a quarter, and before my meeting I would drive buy and weigh myself. I know thats a little crazy, but it took the nervousness out of going to the meeting. I knew exactly what to expect when I stepped on the WW scale. Sometimes I would go 1/2 way through the week to know where I stood, so I'd have time to throw in a workout or eat a little better.
Just ease into the program. Also, think about the times you quit and try to pin point the exact things that made you quit so you can try to avoid them. Have it in your head before you go that you will not quit no matter what. My step-mom did that and she broke her ankle a week later. She had to have surgery and everything, but she kept going anyway. She did upper body workouts in her chair and lost 26lbs before she could start walking again! It can be done and you CAN do it!How much do you want to lose,anyway? Good luck!

Thanks! I agree about not weighing at home. I've tried it both ways. At my very first WW meeting, 20 years ago (that time I did stick with it and lost about 30 pounds, then stopped figuring -- haha -- I could do it better on my own. Now, 90 pounds later......) the theme was "Don't worship the Scale God." We were told, in no uncertain terms, to throw away the scale. I did, with some trepidation -- I was an every morning weigher -- and I found that not having the scale at home made me focus on staying on program rather than what I weighed. A real lightbulb moment (which I'm trying to recapture :) )

Xan;

It is so great that you are re-joining WW. Here in Canada there are no rules about being gone for a certain period of time before you can rejoin. In fact, if it is within a certain time frame, we can re-join at a reduced rate. (You do not get new books etc).

I am just like yourself. That weekly meeting is so important to me. I find that the additonal support on 3fc is great, but I also need that accountablilty on Tuesday evenings.

P.S. I am rejoining this Tuesday for the 100th time. (Well it has to be getting close) I have a wonderful leader so why do I keep quitting. Who knows! I am not concerned about the 100 times I quit, I am concerned with the 101 st time, when I succeed!.

Tarus

Hi XAN:
I too just rejoined after 2 years of trying many other things. And like you, I quit time and time again because I didn't see enough results within the first 4 weeks. To me paying the weekly fee to lose .5 pounds was pathetic. BUT BUT BUT - if I had stuck with it - even at .5 pounds per week, I would have been AT GOAL by now AND would have properly known how to eat. Instead I sabatoged myself by justifying that it was too expensive and my time too precious to continue. Yet over the past 2 years, how much money have I spent going out to dinner?, purchasing the wrong foods from the local foodstore?, treated myself to a Mississippi Mud Pie sundae at my favorite homemade ice cream parlor? A LOT MORE than the meetings would have cost.

And if you are struggling by only staying good for 5 days straight before splurging.... think of this.... staying good only 21 days out of each month is a 70% On Program success. So if you need a break every 6th day - DO IT! But just try not to overdoit! I find the personality of the leader is essential to me. I drive 30 minutes north to the session I enjoy on Saturdays - just try a few meetings to get the right fit. Good Luck and feel free to email me.

Kim 239/236/140.....3/24/2001

I have to agree with Kim in NJ
 

...to me your leader can make all the difference. I have a fantastic leader (Tuesday lunchtime meeting) who goes out of her way to help each and every single one who attends her meetings. She conducts 13 meetings a week and I have met two ladies who have transferred from an evening meeting with another leader, so they can attend her meetings.

To me it all helps and I find the combination of getting the click, this particular leader and this site means I will stick with it this time.

Believe me I have been through that whole thing of trying to justify the price of the meeting versus my weight loss, but when I was gaining, I gave no thought whatsoever to all the money I spent eating unhealthy, so I may as well apply that same principle to money being spent to help me reach my goal weight :D

Rejoined :)
 

Thanks for all the encouragement! I did go in today. It was a different crew, and they were very nice and supportive. There is no waiting limit (I know there was several years ago. I remember being asked "have you been away from WW at least a month?")

Xan

I've joined WW twice, the second time after gaining most of the weight I lost the first time. I thought I could do it alone, but found the meetings were a big help.

Since finding this support site, and taking care of ailing parents I chose to stop attending meetings and do the program at home. I'm losing, but miss the meetings and hope I can stay successful with this temporary solution. I need the support, and so far I'm getting it online. Thanks everyone, for 3FC!

Xan, good for you for rejoining! Hang in there and stay OP and you'll get to your goal.

Congratulations
 

Xan, Great that you decided to rejoin, you really sounded like you wanted to and that is the best time to get with the program.

Regarding the time between meetings and starting, it is really a matter of the card system, there are so many people who join that centers keep inactive cards for a certain amount of time and then make room for those of us who are going every week. The receptionist was probably trying to save you time from having to fill out another card.

Liza

Nancy,

I just wanted to offer you some encouragement and tell you that you CAN do it on your own with the support of this site!! If you haven't already done so, find a group here to join up with. When I was losing, I was part of a group that chatted daily about the trials and tribulations of weight loss. It was wonderfully supportive to have a group of people to talk to on a daily basis who were going through the exact same thing as I. If you haven't done so, take some time to find a group that fits your personality. Keep up the good work, and don't for one second think that the meeting is the key to success. The key to success is you following your program. The meeting, and we at 3FC, are additional tools to help you make it to goal. Good luck!

Xan, I hope this is not too late to give you support. (Last night, I typed up a response that I hoped would make a difference for you. As I typed the last period, AOL kicked me off without warning. I lost it all. It was such a blow that I could not face trying to recreate it. This morning I want to try again for you. I don't have time to read the supportive responses that others have offered. That's why I'm concerned that this might be repetitious or no longer relevant. Nevertheless, I think I'll just try, as best I can, to repeat what I wrote last night. I hope that something might still be meaningful for you and that you can ignore the rest.)
A comment re: the receptionist--You didn't sound like it was terribly, terribly upsetting to you--just maybe annoying, or it made you feel a little funny--I hope that's true. I don't think she probably even realized that she was saying anything that could embarrass you (although she could be more sensitive with maybe 5 more minutes of training- ha, ha) I think she actually thought it was convenient for you that you didn't have to fill out forms--and it's nice that you're still "with us"--you haven't been "deleted"
I hope that you will rejoin and that this time you can decide to keep going to the meetings no matter what. Quite a while ago I was unable to follow the program at all but I kept on going to the meetings anyway. At the time, the only two things I could control were going to the meetings and continuing to excercise. This is why I believe so strongly in the concept "Feedback, not Failure." It turns out that during that long, long period of time I wasn't failing after all; I was getting feedback. Finally, that magic moment arrived and it all fell into place. I began my most successful journey and I can't imagine not accomplishing what I set out to do.
So....a bad day?...a bad week?...a bad_____? go to the meeting anyway...get that feedback. You can do it THIS TIME. Don't ever give up..don't ever quit..Just keep on keeping on. I'm looking forward to reading about your success. Be sure to keep us posted.
(I do feel bad, Xan. Last night I felt that the right words just came--I'm not sure from where--but there they were on the screen. They're just not there this time but I hope that it can help you a little anyway. Sorry this is so long.)

I agree with etalocohc. I think the receptionist was only letting you know that they still had your record and you didn't have to do paperwork and start over. :)

I hope you rejoined!

Zan, I too joined WW for probably the 5th time in February. This time I was really ready to give it my all. So far I have had success, and I know that this time is it for me. Good luck with rejoining! You can do it! :)

Hi,

A little bit of a different take on the joining/rejoining issue. We often are afraid to rejoin because we view our past efforts as failures. But they're not. Once I realized they were learning experiences, I decided that it really didn't matter how many times I had to start. Each time is a new chance to learn more skills that will get me to my goals and keep me there. I lost count over the years of how many times I joined and rejoined WW. It wasn't until they came out with the points system, though, that the program clicked with where I am in my life and my basic personality. Anyway, remember, you're not a bad person or a failure if you quit and start over. You're just a student learning and improving your skills. And sometimes students need to take a break and let what they learned sink in. They they go back and learn more.

Good luck!

Lin

I remember you, Rupertsmom, and I am so glad you are doing well and still helping others! You are good at that!

I agree with Rupertsmom. I am back OP but I'm not going to the meetings because I gain and lose up to 16 pounds per month, sometimes twice a month. The leaders have been understanding, but the weigh-in ladies think I'm lying???? even if I can prove it with a 4 month daily weight chart. And it is hideous to get angry because other people are losing "even if they cheat a little" and yet I'd gain 9 pounds in 2 days on a perfect journal week. Then I feel guilty for not feeling happy for them. Ultimately, I don't know if I could ever be "lifetime" because of this fluctuation. One of my reasons for going back OP is the hope of controlling this, but the 2 pound leeway is just not enough for me and never has been, even when I was at a BMI of 19 (underweight) I'd gain and lose about 6 pounds a month. I don't think it's fair to have to pay extra for going over if I've already hit lifetime just because my body gains and loses a lot every month.

So maybe WW meetings isn't the plan for me, but I am trying anyway - excuse me, I am doing it, not trying, but I can't tell if it's working or not yet. I'm not going to the meetings because ultimately, the accountability is reflected back at me in the mirror. If I'm not doing this for me, it isn't going to work, and I don't need to pay someone else for the joy/despair rollercoaster ride. I can do that at home!

I think this is the perfect place to stop and thank 3FC so very much for all the support you offer for people like me. I am truly grateful and wish you all the best of health!

Jennifa
209/???199 maybe??/170