Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with weightwatchers

30% exchange rate, really? Give me a break, weight watchers!

cgg — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 08:36:23 -0800

WeightWatchers Canada vs WeightWatchers United States -- is there a difference, besides price, for the online version? I'm thinking of joining the online version of WeightWatchers. The main site (the .com), has three months for $65 USD. The canadian version (.ca) has the same three months for $85 CDN. Last time I checked, it's been years (decades?) since the exchange rate was 30%. Does anyone know why on earth I should sign up for the Canadian version? Assume I'm not interested in their real life meetings at all. Do they not take Canadian credit cards? Is there a difference between the programs, or does one take canada-specific products into account? Do they just assume canadians are suckers?

Good Weight Watchers App for My iPhone?

lunasol — Wed, 13 May 2009 12:04:37 -0800

Can anyone recommend a good iPhone App for tracking Weight Watchers points? I realize that Weight Watchers, in its infinite wisdom, doesn't have an iPhone app and aggressively goes after anyone who tries to put one up on the App Store. But there seem to be a few that have slipped through the cracks, and I'm trying to find the best of the bunch. There are a few that seem to simply allow tracking points as one option among several, and I'm fine with using one of those.

What I'm looking for:

- The ability to use it offline. WW E-tools has a fine iPhone interface but it takes a while to load on Safari. I'd like to be able to access my info when I don't have a great connection (I have a first-gen iPhone)

- A reasonably good database of foods. Many of the apps I've found will let you record your daily points but don't have a database.

- Some sort of feature that allows me to keep track of flex points and activity points.

- The ability to track fruit and veggie servings, water, dairy, etc.

- Flexibility to change my points and food goals from time to time. ie, if I decided to try Core for a while, the ability to start tracking my core flex points.

Obviously this is a big list, and I know I'll only get a few of these things in any one app. But even a few of these things, plus the ability to track points on my iphone, would be a huge boon.

Weight Watchers survival kit

notjustfoxybrown — Wed, 23 Jul 2008 14:50:19 -0800

Weight Watchers start-up survival kit? I'm joining a few colleagues at work for Weight Watchers. I did the plan about six years ago and was pretty successful in dropping about 20 pounds. I was in law school then and had a very set schedule, some regular workout buddies and well, no full-time job.
I don't remember exactly how the first few weeks went but it seems that I had some go-to foods to get me through the day and still leave me full enough to hit the gym after work.

Any Mefites have suggestions on things I should stock up on at the grocery this evening? (outside of the obvious fruits and vegetables, of course.) Oh .... and I'll be counting points. I don't like that core stuff too much.

Thanks

Tasty whole-wheat pasta?

radioamy — Thu, 21 Feb 2008 10:29:59 -0800

Are there any decent-tasting whole-wheat pastas? So I took the leap and joined Weight Watchers. One of the things they recommend is to eat more whole grains. So I'm trying to switch from regular pasta to whole wheat. So instead of buying my regular delicious De Cecco penne, I bought a box of their whole-wheat penne. I knew it would be different than regular pasta, but I didn't expect it to taste so...horrible! It was barely palatable. I really would have been better off just putting marinara on the shrimp and broccoli and skipping the pasta.

I know there must be better-tasting whole wheat pastas out there. Please, health-conscious hive mind, help me! What do you recommend?

FWIW, I live in the Southern United States. I prefer to shop at the regular run-of-the mill chain grocery, but I will go to Whole Foods if that's what it takes!

Desperate to set up an effective weight loss strategy

catfood — Tue, 29 May 2007 12:18:47 -0800

I badly need some help / advice on getting my weight under control. I get mixed messages everywhere I turn, but I feel like I don't have time to play around anymore. I'm completely desperate to get myself to do something and stick with it so I can at least get from "obese" to "overweight" if not to "normal". I'm 27 years old, female, and over 100 lbs overweight. This morning at my doctor's for my yearly physical, she pointed out how I have gained 60 lbs in the past two years, and asked me if I had considered a diet or exercise program. Of course I have, in fact I would dare say I have spent 50% of those two years on Weight Watchers or doing some light aerobics videos at home. It's just that the other 50% of the time I get stressed out, frustrated, distracted, and lose my way, and it takes forever to get myself back on track. I tried to explain this to my dr, and she basically said that she knew it was hard, but really the only thing was diet & exercise, and if I made a serious effort for the next 6 months and still didn't lose, she would prescribe me Xenical (which I think sounds really unappealing).

I have struggled with my weight since puberty, but I never really packed on the pounds the way I did since college & after college. I know that part of this is the sedentary lifestyle of being an office worker. I also know that part of this has been my battle with depression (which often makes me feel lethargic and apathetic), and probably not helped my my antidepressant (Paroxetine) and birth control pills. Or the fact that when I fall into a depressed funk, I stop caring about my weight and thus have no reluctance to drown my sorrows in food.

After this morning, and realizing that if I keep gaining an average of 30 lbs per year, I'm going to be in trouble, I do think I am ready to pick myself up and try again. But I'm overwhelmed with different options and approaches. I don't know if going back to WW is worth it since I have failed so many times. Online communities and meetings are starting to get under my skin because it feels like it's all one big pity party for people who can't stick to a goddamn thing. That's not motivating, that's just depressing and only fuels my apathy.

Here are options I have been thinking about:
- Doing the No-S diet with some modifications (e.g. giving myself some requirements to make sure I eat enough fruit & veg)
- Skipping WW and instead doing some basic calorie counting with help from Spark People or FitDay or something.
- Adding the OTC drug Alli to whatever diet plan I choose.
- Joining the YMCA when I move to my new neighborhood and signing up for some classes.
- Buying a bike so I can ride with my husband during the summer.
- Giving South Beach another try even though I don't really like meat that much.
- Going back to WW. But WW just reminds me of failure at this point.
- Maybe buying a few sessions with a personal trainer.
- Joining some kind of online thing like Ediets or something. (Yes I have done WW online, same shit different format).
- Researching lap-band surgery. Not even sure I'd be allowed since I'm on antidepressants.

I've done the whole "just try to eat healthier and watch portions" thing without stricter guidelines ... and gained like 20 pounds in 2 months while doing it. I try to only eat when hungry, but when I'm constantly asking myself if I'm hungry, I always feel hungry.

I know it's not going to be easy, I know that no one can do it for me, but I need some advice or suggestions that aren't solely from the WW groupies I know.

Will Weight Watchers at Work unsafely goof with my work reputation?

Anonymous — Wed, 28 Dec 2005 18:41:32 -0800

I’d appreciate people’s advice as to whether I should join my firm’s Weight Watchers at Work program. Reasons for? I weigh 310-320 pounds, and need to lose at the very least about 120-140 pounds. My obesity has caused me many problems, such as back problems and an umbilical cyst. I’m hoping to shed 40 pounds before the end of May; last summer was positively hellish for me, heatwise. I once lost 21 pounds on Weight Watchers (309 to 288) quite a few years ago, and nothing else I’ve tried (off and on) has enabled me to lose that much weight. It is held here at my company, so it would be a lot easier to get to. And Weight Watchers Online is accessible, yes, but wouldn’t have the same advantages, and is much more easily ignored than the meetings that require weigh-ins and such. Plus, there’s a generally recognized statistic that those who attend WW meetings usually have a higher success rate.

Reasons against? I am a man, and have only been on the job about a month; I would most definitely stand out, as I’ve been told secondhand that the group is overwhelmingly female. (I’m only one of two male secretaries at this company.) In a firm this size, it might become very easy for my weight loss efforts to become associated with my identity, and for my personal business to become public. Not on a large scale, mind you – I’m too much of a peon for that – but I feel it might be easily intermixed with what people know about my professional reputation. And should I fail — not a pleasant thought, but one that must be considered, given my history over the last decade — I’d really not like to have people get up in my business about it. I am trying to be very careful in how I “paint my reputation” at this new company, trying to be known as that nice guy, oh, him, hard worker. And, also, in my experience, a lot of WW focuses on recipes and cooking, which is something I have absolutely no skill with. And, I have yet to investigate some ideas that sound interesting to me, such as Volumetrics and FitDay.Com.

Anyway, it’s very possible I’m far too close to the problem to be seeing this clearly. And, yes, I’m posting anonymously because I’m trying to be discrete about my weight loss efforts.

How much of a loser should I be?

synecdoche — Tue, 13 Dec 2005 19:55:08 -0800

How much should I weigh? Over the past many months, I've been losing weight thanks to an increase in physical activity and better eating habits (and a little help from Weight Watchers). I've lost about 55 pounds now, and am getting close to what I think I should be at.

I'd like to know what is a healthy weight for myself, though, to give myself a concrete goal to shoot for. Weight Watchers offers a chart which I don't think is accurate for me. It says someone of my height should weigh a maximum of 169 pounds. I have much wider shoulders than most people I see (and did when I was healthy and active previously), as well as fairly muscular legs due to the nature of the exercise I have partaken in most of my life. The group leader agreed that based on the way I look now, at 200 lbs, 169 is probably too low.

Is there anyway I can get a more personalized goal? I am planning on visiting a doctor but am worried about bothering one (I don't have a regular physician at the moment where I live) over something like "How much more weight do I need to lose?" My current plan is to go see a doctor at the health clinic at the university I attend and see if he or she can recommend anything, but if there is a way I can get a number without wasting the doctor's time, which could presumably be spent on people with more important issues, I'd like that.

What's up with Weight Watchers?

Anonymous — Sat, 22 Oct 2005 23:04:50 -0800

DietFilter: Weight Watchers - cult or miracle solution? Has anyone used Weight Watchers? Successfully? Unsuccessfully? Online or with meetings? I never thought I'd say this, but I have recently been considering joining Weight Watchers. I just saw an old friend who lost 40 pounds on the program, and it has got me thinking. I am a 25 year old female who is about 25 pounds above the "target weight" for my height. I've been a vegetarian for 10 years and am moderately active - running or soccer 3 times a week. I love veggies and whole grains and all . . . and everyone considers me a very healthy eater. I just have this issue with portion sizes. I figure their crazy point system may teach me a thing or two. Any comments, good or bad?