User Review #11 by Cari on February 5th, 2008 at 10:57 AM CST

Name

I just wanted to say that I agree with Barbara and the many other supporters of WW. I have been a lifetime member for two years now. It took me two years to meet my goal and become lifetime. During that time at the encouragement of my leader, I began to exercise regularly as well as learn to eat the right things and in the right portions. I am still exercising five days a week, one hour a day. That may not seem like much, but I am in the best shape I have ever been in. I need to be accountable to achieve my goal and it eventually I became accountable to myself and not relying on others asking me how I am doing. We all need to take responsibility for the way we eat and what priority we put on our own health. One of the lessons I learned from my WW leader was the day she asked if we could take a pill after every mean that would guarantee that we would be healthier and want to eat the right things would we do it? We all said yes. She said that pill is exercise! That convinced me. I needed to add exercise to my routine of eating healthy and it made a huge difference. No one is going to put a gun to your head and say exercise in any weight loss program but WW defintely includes that as a basis for losing and maintaining your weight loss. For those reading this, good luck to you. Use whatever works for you but don't be discouraged because someone else is. Look at the positive side. It took me two years to get to my goal, but now it is two years later and I am still doing well in keeping the weight off and I still exercise! So set a goal and go for it!

I just wanted to say that I agree with Barbara and the many other supporters of WW. I have been a lifetime member for two years now. It took me two years to meet my goal and become lifetime. During that time at the encouragement of my leader, I began to exercise regularly as well as learn to eat the right things and in the right portions. I am still exercising five days a week, one hour a day. That may not seem like much, but I am in the best shape I have ever been in. I need to be accountable to achieve my goal and it eventually I became accountable to myself and not relying on others asking me how I am doing.

We all need to take responsibility for the way we eat and what priority we put on our own health. One of the lessons I learned from my WW leader was the day she asked if we could take a pill after every mean that would guarantee that we would be healthier and want to eat the right things would we do it? We all said yes. She said that pill is exercise! That convinced me. I needed to add exercise to my routine of eating healthy and it made a huge difference. No one is going to put a gun to your head and say exercise in any weight loss program but WW defintely includes that as a basis for losing and maintaining your weight loss.

For those reading this, good luck to you. Use whatever works for you but don't be discouraged because someone else is. Look at the positive side. It took me two years to get to my goal, but now it is two years later and I am still doing well in keeping the weight off and I still exercise! So set a goal and go for it!

User Review #10 by Marci on February 5th, 2008 at 10:52 AM CST

Name

I can believe the negative comments written about the WW program! Many years ago (17), I needed to lose a little weight, about 10 lbs, and had a girlfriend that had been on Nutrisystem for a month or so and was looking amazing already. I signed up. Bottom line, yes I did lose the weight, but you had to purchase their food. I love to cook and this doesn't give you that luxury!! I only had 10 lbs to lose to get me back to where I was comfortable. I also tried Phen Phen......not good, makes you feel really weird, almost like speed, and it affected my memory and mood.NOT GOOD!!! Several years later, after 2 children, I had more lbs to lose. It took me that last time looking in the mirror at my 25 pound overweight self, not recognizing that face and body to say OK...time to do something NOW!!! I noticed in Poway (San Diego,CA) near my house, was a WW location.After checking the meeting times, I decided Saturday 7:30am would be great for me because I could slip out quietly leaving behind my sleeping husband and two kids, and leaving me the whole rest of the day! I walked in the door that first time to WW and didn't know a soul, but I was determined to lose the "extra Marci". Each week we received a new successive informational booklet with a new recipe as well. I loved this!! My goal was 113. It took me about 4 1/2 months, and my success motivated about 5 of my girlfriends too. We started going to the meetings together and would go to the local farmer's market after to buy fresh produce, flowers and amazing pita & hummus. We all were successful, and we all became lifetime members. We all went weekly, we STAYED FOR THE WHOLE MEETING, and we all supported each other. The leader at the time was wonderful, her name was Marie, and the people that attended the meetings were also very supportive. There were often times mom's with their new babies in attendance, and it was never an issue with anyone. After a couple of years, health issues (chronic pain caused by endomertiosis, depression......then a total hysterectomy)caused me to gain 40 extra lbs. I tried going to L.A. Weight loss, where you pay up front (they say so you stay with the program) I think it was about $700.00, but I was feeling desperate. The reason I went there was because of the much faster results they claimed. Boy was I pissed at myself about 2 weeks later!! (so was my husband)I HATED IT!! It was humiliating to look at everything you ate and drank with the counselers.The shakes, snacks and cleansing drinks were nasty. I decided to actually use my long held membership at 24hr Fitness, and also decided to get a personal training package. I also came back to where I really needed to go...WW. When I lost weight with WW the first time, I did very little additional exercise. When I finally came back this last time( this was nearly 2 years ago), I was working out and following the core plan. I LOVE THE CORE PLAN!!! It is a way of a healthy lifetime diet. I have maintained at about 113 for quite a while now. I get asked all the time by moms at my children's school " how did you get so skinny", and "what kinds of food do you eat" and it truely is so simple. The core works, and WW works!! By the way, I am 41, 5ft 4in, pain free (but forced menopause), and I take a couple of abdominal patchs for hormone replacemnt as well as levoxil for hypothyroid disorder. I feel great and you can too.

I can believe the negative comments written about the WW program!

Many years ago (17), I needed to lose a little weight, about 10 lbs, and had a girlfriend that had been on Nutrisystem for a month or so and was looking amazing already. I signed up. Bottom line, yes I did lose the weight, but you had to purchase their food. I love to cook and this doesn't give you that luxury!! I only had 10 lbs to lose to get me back to where I was comfortable. I also tried Phen Phen......not good, makes you feel really weird, almost like speed, and it affected my memory and mood.NOT GOOD!!!

Several years later, after 2 children, I had more lbs to lose. It took me that last time looking in the mirror at my 25 pound overweight self, not recognizing that face and body to say OK...time to do something NOW!!! I noticed in Poway (San Diego,CA) near my house, was a WW location.After checking the meeting times, I decided Saturday 7:30am would be great for me because I could slip out quietly leaving behind my sleeping husband and two kids, and leaving me the whole rest of the day!

I walked in the door that first time to WW and didn't know a soul, but I was determined to lose the "extra Marci". Each week we received a new successive informational booklet with a new recipe as well. I loved this!! My goal was 113. It took me about 4 1/2 months, and my success motivated about 5 of my girlfriends too. We started going to the meetings together and would go to the local farmer's market after to buy fresh produce, flowers and amazing pita & hummus. We all were successful, and we all became lifetime members. We all went weekly, we STAYED FOR THE WHOLE MEETING, and we all supported each other. The leader at the time was wonderful, her name was Marie, and the people that attended the meetings were also very supportive. There were often times mom's with their new babies in attendance, and it was never an issue with anyone.

After a couple of years, health issues (chronic pain caused by endomertiosis, depression......then a total hysterectomy)caused me to gain 40 extra lbs.

I tried going to L.A. Weight loss, where you pay up front (they say so you stay with the program) I think it was about $700.00, but I was feeling desperate. The reason I went there was because of the much faster results they claimed. Boy was I pissed at myself about 2 weeks later!! (so was my husband)I HATED IT!! It was humiliating to look at everything you ate and drank with the counselers.The shakes, snacks and cleansing drinks were nasty. I decided to actually use my long held membership at 24hr Fitness, and also decided to get a personal training package. I also came back to where I really needed to go...WW.

When I lost weight with WW the first time, I did very little additional exercise. When I finally came back this last time( this was nearly 2 years ago), I was working out and following the core plan. I LOVE THE CORE PLAN!!! It is a way of a healthy lifetime diet. I have maintained at about 113 for quite a while now. I get asked all the time by moms at my children's school " how did you get so skinny", and "what kinds of food do you eat" and it truely is so simple. The core works, and WW works!!

By the way, I am 41, 5ft 4in, pain free (but forced menopause), and I take a couple of abdominal patchs for hormone replacemnt as well as levoxil for hypothyroid disorder. I feel great and you can too.

User Review #9 by Barbara on January 27th, 2008 at 9:40 PM CST

Name

I'm really confused by all of these reviews. Why would a *Weight Watchers meal* give anyone the runs? Weight Watchers doesn't tell you what to eat; it preaches portion control. If you get the runs after a meal well, then, maybe you'd better check the efficacy of your refrigeration system. Moreover, why would a 350 pound man (IIRC) pass out from hunger; he's pretty likely to have some fat stored for energy. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, he jumped into vigorous exercise too soon, and this all wasn't WW fault? As to those horrible meanies who wouldn't allow a woman with a baby into a meeting, *everyone* paid for the meeting, not just your wife. When that adorable sleeping infant wakes up and starts screaming bloody murder, he's going to disrupt *everyone* And that's just one kid; imagine a dozen. That's why WW very specifically designates certain meetings as child-friendly. Hey, I love me kid; I really do. He stays home with his dad while I'm at WW. OTOH, if the weighers saw the child, they should have warned mom. But what's most puzzling is the reviewer's suggestion that NutriSystem is a better diet plan. Why? Because WW doesn't *require* exercise? WW certainly *encourages* it strongly, but let's face it, short of hiring someone with a whip to go after members, you can't *require* anyone to exercise. And the fact is you *can* lose weight w/o exercise, if you're willing to eat less. In any event, NutriSystem doesn't require it either. What NutriSystem does is infanticize people -- we'll feed you from this jar (frozen dinner), and you're incapable of choosing a different jar, or making your own (fresh) food. Let me ask, what happens when you go to that first wedding or busines lunch? What happens when you reach goal and have to make yourself dinner? Have you learned proper portion size? Have you learned to select food over the course of a day or week, planning so that if you're going to a fancy restaurant with your spouse on Saturday, you think ahead and don't order in pizza on Thursday? Of course not. You eat what NutriSystem puts on your plate and then, when you're sick and tired of it (after 9 weeks in most cases, you admit), you're right back where you started, having learned nothing. You might get the idea that I like WW. That's right. It treats me like an adult -- I eat what I choose to eat, when I want to eat it. It forces me to think about what I eat each day. If I choose to eat a big lunch, I'm going to need to eat a low point (calorie) dinner. It also teaches me to think of my long-term eating. If I have a treat today, will I have enough weekly points left to have a treat over the weekend? You can't have treats all the time; you have to choose. It encourages people to eat 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables each day, 2 servings of dairy, 6-8 glasses of water, & exercice. It rewards low fat, high fiber (more healthful) eating, & exercise. It is teaching me how to eat for life.

I'm really confused by all of these reviews.

Why would a *Weight Watchers meal* give anyone the runs? Weight Watchers doesn't tell you what to eat; it preaches portion control. If you get the runs after a meal well, then, maybe you'd better check the efficacy of your refrigeration system. Moreover, why would a 350 pound man (IIRC) pass out from hunger; he's pretty likely to have some fat stored for energy. Do you think that maybe, just maybe, he jumped into vigorous exercise too soon, and this all wasn't WW fault?

As to those horrible meanies who wouldn't allow a woman with a baby into a meeting, *everyone* paid for the meeting, not just your wife. When that adorable sleeping infant wakes up and starts screaming bloody murder, he's going to disrupt *everyone* And that's just one kid; imagine a dozen. That's why WW very specifically designates certain meetings as child-friendly. Hey, I love me kid; I really do. He stays home with his dad while I'm at WW. OTOH, if the weighers saw the child, they should have warned mom.

But what's most puzzling is the reviewer's suggestion that NutriSystem is a better diet plan. Why? Because WW doesn't *require* exercise? WW certainly *encourages* it strongly, but let's face it, short of hiring someone with a whip to go after members, you can't *require* anyone to exercise. And the fact is you *can* lose weight w/o exercise, if you're willing to eat less. In any event, NutriSystem doesn't require it either. What NutriSystem does is infanticize people -- we'll feed you from this jar (frozen dinner), and you're incapable of choosing a different jar, or making your own (fresh) food. Let me ask, what happens when you go to that first wedding or busines lunch? What happens when you reach goal and have to make yourself dinner? Have you learned proper portion size? Have you learned to select food over the course of a day or week, planning so that if you're going to a fancy restaurant with your spouse on Saturday, you think ahead and don't order in pizza on Thursday? Of course not. You eat what NutriSystem puts on your plate and then, when you're sick and tired of it (after 9 weeks in most cases, you admit), you're right back where you started, having learned nothing.

You might get the idea that I like WW. That's right. It treats me like an adult -- I eat what I choose to eat, when I want to eat it. It forces me to think about what I eat each day. If I choose to eat a big lunch, I'm going to need to eat a low point (calorie) dinner. It also teaches me to think of my long-term eating. If I have a treat today, will I have enough weekly points left to have a treat over the weekend? You can't have treats all the time; you have to choose. It encourages people to eat 5 or more servings of fruit and vegetables each day, 2 servings of dairy, 6-8 glasses of water, & exercice. It rewards low fat, high fiber (more healthful) eating, & exercise. It is teaching me how to eat for life.