hello there,

i new here and would love to join WW but are low on funds. could anybody help me out with doing this on my own. i dont even know the different points options there are and how do you calculate what each food items is worth in comparison to points. any help would be greatly appreciated. i'm looking to lose about 40lbs. i tried the SBD did well at the beginning but got bored easily and found it expensive to keep up with. i'm so disgusted with myself and my body. it's bringing my self esteem down being this weight.

We're somewhat limited in what we can tell you about points. There are online points calculators out there, although WW tends to shut them down regularly. You can also find written versions of the formula, which is based on the number of calories, fat grams and fiber grams that are in a food.

You might be able to follow the WW Core plan more easily. It's very similar to South Beach Phase II. Basically, you can eat until you are satisfied any food on SBII, except nuts and dried fruits. You can have oatmeal, cornmeal, cous-cous, kasha, and a couple of other things in unlimited quantities. You can have brown rice, potatoes OR whole grain pasta once a day. You can have a high fiber, no sugar cereal with milk or yogurt once a day. There are no limits on any vegetables other than potatoes and no limits on any fruits. The important guideline, though, is to eat only until you are satisfied.

You can have any other food in addition to the above, but you have to count the points for it and you have a maximum of 35 extra points a week. To give you an idea, the typical piece of bread would be about 2 points. An ounce of nuts would be 4 points. A small piece of cake would be about 6 points, and so forth.

You might be able to find some WW cookbooks in your library, which would give you an idea of the typical points value of foods.

Good luck.

Well W/W has 3 different ways to join: 1) meetings which cost a registration fee (usually) and weekly fees but many of them also offer a 'scholarship/hardship' rate if you qualify; 2) online which does have registration fee but it is about $30 for 3 months if you pay quarterly; 3) at home version (only avail in certain areas) but you get all the materials meeting goers get plus a few other items including a electronic points calculator if I recall corrrection it is about $100 but they do offer (or at least did) a flex pay over 3 months.

Well if you think SBD is expensive to keep up with then eating healthy foods to you will feel that same way no matter if it is W/W or SBD. While it does seem more expensive when you factor in not eating out as much and not wasting as much food it really is cheaper...not to mention the cost of health care. If you get bored with one thing such as SBD doesn't mean you won't get bored here. This is where you need to get over that attitude.

W/W is a really good program but is is also copyrighted thus we can't share things unless they are 'public knowledge" such as the points formula is public knowledge from the patent:

POINTS = (calories/50) + (fat grams/12) -(fiber grams<capped at 4>/5)

But there is so much more to the program than just the forumla.

I don't know if this is true for everyone, but my hubby and I both joined, and we figured out that the amount of money we save on not buying junk food and prepared foods, and on not eating out as often, has pretty much paid for the WW program. At least, it is pretty close. Mind you, we get our WW coupons when there is a deal, like right now we are using our "4 months for the price of 3" coupons. Also, we used to eat a lot of junk and eat out a lot, so our lifestyle really changed when we joined WW. We have been on this for a few months, and are not bored with it, because so many food choices are available.

If you sign up and go to the first 3 meetings, you'll get the most important stuff you need to do it at home. (Introduction to the program, pointsfinder, and a tool to figure out how many points you use in activity). I would miss the fun and support of the meetings, but if I got short on funds, I could still do WW at home with those three things. With the support of the 3FC forums, you can ask lots of questions here that you might have otherwise have asked at the meetings.

I second this

I got the Complete Food Companion & the Dining Out Companion (the books that list the Points for a ton of foods/restaurant dishes), plus the POINTSfinder slide & the POINTSbooster slide, and I'm set!

While I find the Meetings really nice, if I had to, I could go it alone... knowing that at X weight, I need to eat X Points. After 7 years on and off the Program, its rules are kinda drilled into my brain

Of ALL the diets I have been on (WW, Atkins, South Beach, Medifast), Weight Watchers is what I lost the most weight on. I also very much believe that WW guides its members towards really good eating habits and regular exercise.

Nothing extreme. No weird or crazy expensive meals. Just regular food. Anything you want to eat really, but WW pushes for 5 servings of fruits/vegetables a day, and other healthy things, so it's tough to make it so you are following your Points and living on junk.

My hearty suggestion to you is to check it out, go to a few meetings, then if you need to save money, try it at home... but again, the group support is what sets WW apart, and what I think makes them so successful.

Good luck!

I agree with Allie (and if I knew how to do the quote thing I would) I always have people make comments about the price of WW, but I do not eat out nearly like I used to, and I have cut down on buying a lot of the junk food I used to think I couldn't live without. Before I went to work every morning I used to almost always stop and get a flavored coffee and some kind of breakfast food (usually $3-$4) Then many time I would go out to lunch ($5-$6). I could easily spend $10 on food that I simply did not need, and that is just for one day. When you look at it that way WW is the better deal.

Some people go to a first meeting pay the join up fee, buy the Food companion book and the Dining out guide - and then do it on their own.

If you decide to do that you can then go to the WW website and sign up for their free e-mail newsletter. You get lots of good info and recipes there and have access to the members recipes etc. but you won't be able to get into certain areas that are "subscriber only". And you can also come here for general information, support, recipes and to post any questions you may have about points in foods etc.