So I was all fired up, went to my very first ever WW meeting this morning and I hated it. I cried all the way home.
I don't know if my expectations were unrealistic? But honestly, I felt like the daggy new kid at school... no-one talked to me... it seemed to me that the leader ran through the spiel quite mechanically, with a very cursory "any question, oh none?" at the end. I felt overwhelmed by the pile of leaflets and the oh go do the quiz, work out your points then look up the foods. It doesn't help that I have a lot of dietary restrictions so can't follow the menu plan straight up. Then she told a story to the group about how when she joined with her 6 m.o. son it didn't work so she got hubby to help & went on Saturdays instead... seemed a bit pointed at me with my nearly 5 m.o. son? Or am I being paranoid? but if she was trying to make a point, I guess I felt there were nicer ways she could have done it.
But I'm just so discouraged, I'm feeling so sad & upset which is not like me. Dunno hormonal, overtired or whatever... but I don't know what to do. Do I try find a different meeting? Try doing it online? I can't do anything that involves "shakes, bars, pre-prepared food"... so I thought the points thingo would be good. But I don't have heaps of time atm... so the thought of sitting down on my own & plowing through it all trying to work out what I should eat is a bit daunting. Arrrggh
Awwwww hun that's no good Wonder what she meant by 6mo and didn't work out - huh?? what getting to meetings too hard or something? PPl prob didn't talk to you cos they were wondeering what you were doing there cos u look too spunky to be worried about losing weight hehehehehe.
I know with your diet you have prob done it - but perhaps spend the money on a few dietician visits again instead to devise some good eating regimes - and then line up a trusted friend/relation to weigh in to once a week - and do your cms yourself also so if no grams come off, the cms still do.
Or, try ringing WW national line and talk to someone about your expectations - my understanding is that they are not there to make an eating plan up for you - just to give you the info and little bits of one to one - i said little bits - and a weekly weigh in and thats all .....???
Hi belfie,
I have attended WW quite a few times and have had lots of different leaders - some fantastic, some terrible/boring etc... I think with anything you need to be able to 'connect' with the leader/have inspiration from them and sounds like this leader is not the one for you. Could you look at another day/time/location and try to find a leader that you connect with?
BTW - Love your comment Sami about belfie being too spunky!
I have been there done that too sweets - you could try another meeting, sometimes a different leader can make all the difference.
I would suggest giving online a go, but it sounds like you are after a bit more IRL support?
All the little booklets can be a bit overwhelming - just read the 'week one' one through & it should explain everything pretty simply for you. I too couldn't follow the menu plans to the letter, being vego, but it really isn't that hard to substitute something you can have for what you can't.
When I had a cruddy leader & felt I didn't "fit in" with the group, I'd just weigh & run but again that doesn't sound like the best soloution for you. If you are after something more personalised/guided then I totally agree with Sam, perhaps a dieticain or nutritionist could work with you to find a suitable diet plan?
SamiH - oh hun now u made me larf!!! Thanks, I needed a grin.
Julia - I think that's a great point, there was another meeting on Mon nights I was looking at. I'm thinking I'll ring them and see if it's the same leader or not.
QueenMab - firstly, your name makes me wish I was QueenBelfie lol.. love it! Secondly thanks, I think I might try one more meeting once I feel braver.
In regards to a dietician, I guess I just feel I've done dieticians to death in years gone by (when getting diagnosed with my malabsorption issue)... so i do know the technical info about my diet... but it's more about the habit change. Like anyone, I can still make healthy choices or bad choices... and I definitely want the emotional support most of all. I guess years ago when I had to change my diet a LOT, I felt the dieticians gave very little emotional support. Plus over the years I've sometimes used my restrictions to justify bad choices... for e.g. oh there's a gluten free, fructose friendly danish - I haven't had one for 7 years, I'd better have it. Or I go to someone's place and they've gone out of their way to provide something I can eat, so I don't feel I can turn it down.
So the problem is that some of my problems are very unique to my situation, but then I figure everyone has their own challenges. I supposed I had thought it woudl be a bit like the AA meetings you see depicted in the movies - we'd all get a chance to talk about how we were going/why we were there/what worked for us... and I could see what others found useful. And certainly the meeting was nothing like that... so I might just have wrong expectations, but also the leader just did NOT inspire me. I didn't feel welcomed or encouraged whatsoever and that was something I really wanted - and at the end of the day, whatever I do has gotta work for me!
I've decided I'm gonna leave it for a week as I have some other priorities i have to do.. then maybe try another meeting or go online. And in the interim, I've just cut out dairy (for DS's eczema) which I'm happy to do on my own & I'll see how I go with that as a start. I'm feeling much calmer about it all today and more constructive... it's onward & upward hey. And at least I'm learning what works for me. Just wish that learning wasn't so bl**dy painful sometimes!!! Oh well, nothing ventured, nothing gained!
Thanks again lovely ladies. And if you think of anything that you think could work, let me know .
I am sorry to hear that you had a yuck experience at WW. Most leaders are excellent and a few are off putting. Each meeting you will be weighed then sit in the group and listen to the leader. There isn't really any input from the class or discussion time. I find getting there early allows time for a chat with aperson near you. I think most people are shy and keep to themselves at WW but I always ask people "Did you have a good week?" or What plan are you on? etc to get them talking. Doing this, I have a few who I talk to now each week and sit near. Other mums with bubs are great for sharing with. I didn't follow the plans they set. I just ate lots of low point stuff and wrote it all down so tallied up points at the end of the day. The online forums are good for checking the points or support etc. The other good thing to do is figure out how to calculate points off the nutrition panel on packaged food. They give you a little guide to this in week 2 or 3 I think. I also weighed my food to stay within portions and even now I still measure out 3/4 cup of cooked rice! Give it a go for about a month and re-evaulate after that. You will prob find that by counting your points and going for a couple of walks each week you will easily lose .5 to 1 kilo each week in the first few weeks which is really encouraging. Best of luck.
I was going to suggest trying a meeting with a different leader too, it can make a huge difference! Alo you might find that the people wo attend different meetings are morinyour age group as well which can really help
First WW meeting - I hated it!
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Wonder what she meant by 6mo and didn't work out - huh?? what getting to meetings too hard or something? PPl prob didn't talk to you cos they were wondeering what you were doing there cos u look too spunky to be worried about losing weight hehehehehe.
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