Anyone else at Weight Watchers?

[misty]

Well I went back to WW yesterday, to loose the weight I gained while pg. I have 27kg to loose No-one to blame but myself, I just let things go while I was pg. Anyway I know I can do this (have previously lost 30kg on WW), But I have to try and loose as much of it as possible before I return to work in May 2010.

So who else is loosing weight with WW? And how are you going?

[Amaunet]

Hi Misty - I am in my 3rd week doing ww - also returning. I am lucky I didn't gain too much while pg. I am now at 72.1kg and I was 70.3 at my last meeting before I left cos I was UTD. That said - my goal is 62kgs so I have about 10 to lose.

Good luck with your efforts - as you said - you've done it before - you can do it again!

[AllisD]

Hi Misty

I am new to BB but I am also doing WW. It is my first time and I am finding it really easy. I am breastfeeding my 8 month old still (She has a bad breastfeeding sleep association & still feeds over 10-12 times per day/night) and I am losing weight really easy. I am using WW Online - and I love it! I have been doing it for just under 4 1/2 weeks and I have lost just over 7 KG. I have a LOT to lose though - about another 30 kg to go to get to my goal but I hope to be at 80kg by Christmas. I haven't really exercised any more than normal though yet - I guess one day I will feel enough energy to do it!

Anyway, Good luck!

Allis

[Cupcake]

I joined WW online a few weeks ago, 3.7kg down so far ... the points system is awesome for me! Loving it! I have ideally about 50kg to lose, arg sounds so horrible when i say it out loud Good luck on your weight loss!

[MamaPan]

hi there
i am thinking of joining... want to lose 10-15kg ideally...
do you just show up at a meeting to join?

[AllisD]

Hi MamaPan

I am using WW Online. I spend a lot of time on the computer for work/study so made sense for me. Have a look at the ww website. There are lots of options to suit circumstances/budgets.


Cheers

AllisD

[misty]

hi there
i am thinking of joining... want to lose 10-15kg ideally...
do you just show up at a meeting to join?

You can either just turn up to a meeting or you can sign up online. Personally I advocate going to meetings even if you want to do the online stuff as well. If you show up to a meeting you have three different payment options (I advise you to take cash or CC, most of the leaders don't have EFTPOS facilities - although some do). You can pay week by week (with this option there is also a membership fee), buy a 13week package or sign up for WWUnlimited (which is all the online tools as well, and actually works out cheaper).

Well I am going terribly at WW at the moment Not only have I failed to loose weight I have gained about 2kg in the last week - Not sure if I can face weighin tonight
We spent the last week living in a hotel, eating takeaway, roomservice and chocolate...plus alot of other stuff I shouldn't have touched.

Oh well, back to it today - counting points and tracking. Hope everyone else is doing better then me.

[MamaPan]

Thanks girls.. I will go to a meeting next week and join...

[Nai]

I am also doing it - I have lost 11.4kg so far and have about 6 more to go. I am finally back to pre-pregnancy weight. Yay!

[MamaPan]

yay Nai - that's fantastic!

[megs]

Hi Girls,

I am looking at joining weight watchers. Due to where I live my closest meeting is an hour away and I would have to take 3 kids so it is just not going to happen.

I was just wanting to get some feedback on the weight watchers online, does it give you the tools to track your own weight loss. I'm really needing something that can give me a week planner with meals etc, just to help me get started.

I have about 30kgs to lose and really need to start focusing on doing that as I can really feel my added weight impacting on my body

[AllisD]

Hi Megs

I am using WW online as I am about 1 1/2 hours from nearest meeting - and would have to drag 5 kids along - so just not going to happen.

The online system is in my opinion fantastic. I tried WW at home a few years ago - spent a fortune and got all the books etc - but when it turned up it all looked too hard - so didnt do it.

With the online system - it keeps track of your points for you - exercise points, saved points, shows graphs of weight and cm losses. It also has all the calculators for working out points for recipes, off the nutritional panel off packet food etc. It also lets you know when you have reached milestones - like 5 or 10% off your body weight.

It is currently working for me - and I am not feeling hungry at all. It has heaps of recipes on the online planner too - or add your own.

There is also a plan - I dont know the name - where you dont track points. I haven't tried this .... maybe someone else knows how this works online?

I know exactly how you feel about the 30kg. I still have 30kg to lose and I know it has to go - not just for my kids and DH but for me!

All the best

[~Debbie~]

Am thinking about joining WW as well. I am registed for the online version, but, for me, i think i need someone to stand over me, someone to be accountable to, so, i think the meetings will suit me better until i get in teh swing of things.
What actually happens at the meetings? How does it work?

[misty]

I love meetings. They are great if you can find a great leader (I am biased, because when I am not on maternity leave I am a WW leader ).

Basically there are two parts to a meeting. the first half an hour is weigh in time. Some meetings you can turn up at the end of that time, but I know in my meetings you really need to be there at the begining of weigh in, because it gets so busy and the line can take a while - I have done meetings where people have still been getting weighed at the end of the meeting when we are really busy (say around new year). Unfortunately there isn't much that can be done about this, so it does pay to get there earlier rather then later.
If it is your first meeting, this is the time that new members fill out registration forms and get their folder and week 1 booklets that outline the program, the leader will run through the basic outline with the new members. So for the first meeting it is good to get there about 10 minutes before weigh in actually starts.

After weigh in, the actual meeting starts. All meetings throughout Australia and new zealand are give the same topic booklet to talk about during the meeting (and a rough outline of how we should run the meeting), the leader should also take time to discuss any challenges or good news that the members want to share at the start of the meeting. But having said that, although we discuss the same topics, each leader is very different in how they present the information. Some give more of a lecture style, giving the information and asking questions to make wure everyone understands it, other are much less structured and inforrmal and are guided more by the meeting member, facilitating discussion between members and doing group activities - and there are all sorts of styles inbetween. So if you find a meeting / leader you don't click with then have a look around a a few other meetings to find one that suits you (if it is possible where you live). Personally I have gone to some meetings and they haven' been my cup of tea (while the member there like them) so I have moved on to a different meeting until I have found one that suits me (although i like them best when I am running them ).

[~Debbie~]

Thanks Misty..
What sort of Training then do the leaders have? Like, it terms of personaliing something just for me, how good are they?
One of the reasons i ask, is, I'm currently doing a Community weightlose challenage, not sure if they're being run in ACT, but, basically, similar i guess, except you're encourage to use herbalife meal replacements. ANd its a competition for who can loose the most weight over the 6 or 8 week program.
My problem with them is that sometimes when i ask a question, i tend to get a "Should be. .. or a Maybe" style answer. I want a more "It is.. " style.
So am thinking of ww or even a dietitician syle weightlose approach instead, just cause i want someone with more training/experince/knowledge IYKWIM?

[misty]

Basically the 'training' a leader gets is based all around the ww food programs and their own weight loss experiences (we all have to have lost weight with WW and are all supposed to be at goal within our healthy BMI, although I am aware some are not for various reasons like pg). We get taught all about the program (which is created by nutrionists) and about addressing weight problem that may be faced by others - but keep in mind we are all very different people with very different personalities, and even us leader disagree on some of the finer points, and the truth is what works for one, may not work for another, which would be one of the reasons that you get the vague answers. Alot of successful weight loss is trial and error - figuring what works and is maintainable for each individual person.

In regards to personalised advice, most leaders try to address each members concern, but when you only have 1hr, with lots of things to do, and maybe 30 odd members, it can be hard to address everyone's concerns individually (although we do try and I would usually try and stay for an extra 15min after the meeting to talk to those people who needed extra help). For a more personalised experience I am aware that in sydney and I think melbourne, there is now WW in Myres stores (not sure if they have started being set up elsewhere, they haven't made their way to ACT yet.) This is a one-on-one consultation, between leader and member.

As for meal replacements, My personal veiw is that they are not sustainable and therefore not the best way to loose weight, we are trying to teach lifestyle changes here, not just loose weight. Having said that I have had members who have been determined to incorporate these into the plan, they have simply had to calculate how many points the replacement is worth and fit it into their points allowance. The offical stance from Weight Watchers is that Leaders are not allowed to talk specifically about any other weightloss program, but that we do not endorse the use of meal replacements.

personally, I am aware places like jenny craig and such offer personalised one on one support, but the price you pay reflects the increased involvement. IMO and from personal experience, Jenny Craig is a good one which uses healthy eating sustainable methods, whereas my personal opinion is that something like Tony ferguson does not. A nutrionist isn't a bad place to go - they actually go to uni and stuy for their degrees. I know quite a few members who use WW and their dr or a nutrionist in conjunction and that seems to work really well. It is about finding what will suit you and your lifstyle.

Good luck