I had to quit years ago because of the cost. I'm surprised it's not more than that. It was ten a week about 20 years ago. I might have paid the ten a week if I was sticking to the plan....but I just couldn't/didn't

I rejoined recently - it's $12 for a single meeting - 9.95 if you buy a monthly pass

The cost was the reason I had to quit a few years ago. I just didn't think I got that much out of the meetings to be paying about $40.00 a month/ $10.00 a week. It's too bad, because it is a good program and more people would benefit from it if the price were more reasonable. On-line WW isn't much better. Dottie

i do the $40 a month plan w/ etools & unlimited meetings, i LOVE it. i don't think the cost is that much compared to the help & motivation i get. BTW if your doc prescribes you to lose weight w/ a script then WW costs are tax deductible if you itemize on your taxes (obviously i do lol). ~ liz

I do what Bigfoot Liz does. I get even less out of the meeting because I do the old exchange system instead of points or core but I enjoy the support and the camaraderie. It's well worth it to me though because the accountability helps me stay on program. If the $10 weren't going to Weight Watchers it could easily be going toward snacks,fast food and poor choices at restaurants. That doesn't even take into consideration the health costs of being overweight. I'm worth every penny I spend on WW.

One of my cousins recently lost 50 pounds in 6 months on WW. She is working on her second 50 now. I have never known her thin. In January I am going to start WW again. My health is well worth $40/mo and, like Wildchild said, if we weren't spending the $40 on WW it would just go for snacks and poor choices.

I am a free life time member. I find the money well worth it. You can join during their free registration times and you can buy coupons at a discount most times. The meetings and support from those who go to meetings is well worth the $$$ IMO. I joined WW in Nov of 2007, and became a free lifer June 6, 2008. I just have to keep under my goal weight (or no more than 2# over) and attend 1 meeting per month.

I thought some of my friends said it was $18.00 a month. I will have to check because I have forgotten the exact amount. I was tempted to join them, but the cost stopped me. They also meet at supper time, about the time my DH gets hungry. I may just have to change my supper plans if I decide to join.

I pay 39.95 a month charged to a credit card. The meetings are very worth the price. On sunday I reached 111 pounds lost.

Wow, Kat--that's wonderful!!

Kat - congrats!!! I'm so impressed!
I started WW's about 2 weeks ago. I lost 11 pounds the first week and I'm on track for 4 this week. I do the $39.95 a month plan and believe it's worth every penny. In this short time, my blood pressure has dropped, my knee rarely hurts (instead of hurting all the time) and my favorite jeans fit for the first time in a year. Worth every penny!

Kat....oh, my! I never thought you would come back home to the KT and post.....I am so glad for your success with WW and your fortitude for losing the weight.
Congratulations and thanks for the inspiration.
How are things at your house and with your family.
I keep you-all in my thoughts and prayers.
Please keep in touch!!!!

Kat - that is wonderful!

I lost my weight using WW online. It was worth it. That was 4 years ago, and since then I've been part of an exercise group that is part of the WW chatboards.

I can understand cost being an issue, especially today, but isn't it cheaper to be healthy than be overweight and possibly have medical issues? (If not now, perhaps later.)

Sheryl

I joined Weight Watchers several months ago. To say that the meetings have been a disappointment is an understatement. There is a clique whose members constantly interrupt, make jokes generically and about eating disorders among themselves and generally disrupt the meetings, and apparently do not take the meetings seriously. Sadly,the leader cannot control her meetings. One of the more serious members, who just reached lifetime, brought the problem up to the leader, but it didn't seem to have any affect on the situation.

I also learned the hard way, that if one misses a week, the full fee still has to be paid, or in my case, I had to surrender a coupon. The weekly fee is $15.00. My reasons were certainly legitimate (DH health-related) but it didn't matter. I did some research on this but could find no mention of a mandatory fee for non-attendance. Lesson learned.

For these reasons I won't renew my membership.

No sour grapes here; I did meet several very nice women and traded lots of good ideas at the meetings I was able to attend, and have been fortunate enough to be able to stick to the program on my own since and am losing weight regularly.

It's not expensive if you make your money count...if you go and don't work at losing, it is VERY expensive and you are just throwing your money away. But..the monthly pass is the way to go, I think. It is well worth the money if you haven't been able to lose any other way, but MAKE YOUR MONEY COUNT! I was too cheap to pay the price and not get my money's worth :o)

It seems to be a lot more expensive here in Canada than the US even with coupons.

Heather, your friends very well could be paying $18 a week. The $15.95 is before taxes.

I find most people who join other weight loss groups, such as Jenny Craig or dern............ what's the other one they advertise all the time????..... spend more. You not only have to pay their weekly fee, but you have to buy their food too. With WW's, you buy your own food, and they teach you how to eat properly from the get-go. None of this, "eat our food only until you lose the weight, then we'll teach you good eating habits". With WW's you find you spend less money on food because you're not filling your cart with empty calorie foods, or foods high in salt. You pretty much miss the entire middle of the store and shop around the outside of it. No processed foods. While some foods may cost more (whole grain bread vs white is a huge difference) the money you save on junk food pays for the bread. And often you have change to spare.

The weekly motivation is great. When I'm feeling like this has all been a waste of time, I go to my meeting and get encouraged by all the great stories of weight loss. You also learn a lot of tips and tricks not just by your group leader, but by the members who also attend meetings. They'll tell you what new foods out there are great to eat, fill you up and where you can find them for the best price. They share their photo albums showing their weight loss progression. We share recipes too, not just from the WW books.

I find online WW's is ok but doing it online you will never be a free lifetime member. Ever. So you will pay forever unless you decide to quit, in which case you sabotage your loss. At the meetings, you get little gifts for your 10% loss, 25lb loss, 16 week commitment, goal achievement and lifetime membership achievement.

How long you pay for depends on how serious you are about losing the weight. And of course, how much weight you have to lose.

While you may think it is expensive, just think of how much money you're already spending on candy, cookies, cakes, ice cream, etc., per week. Take that money and put it into a healthy life style change with tons of support and you'll find it well worth your money.

Gee, I should be a WW spokesperson, eh? LOL

Wantoretire - I had the same problems as you did with disruptive members during meetings. There were several that would talk loudly through the whole meeting, others would not control crying or screaming children and a leader who was not in control. Several members met with the leader, but nothing resolved. A receptionist suggested a call to the district manager and things resolved immediately. They also added another meeting an hour later specifcally for moms and their babies.

I missed 2 meetings due to surgery, but they still made me pay. I was a little a ticked with that, but overall my experience has been a successful one.

Matti, you shouldn't have had to pay because you had a reason for it. WW's does ask that you get a certain form filled out or something, so that you don't have to pay. There are exceptions to the rule. It was one of the first things they told me when I signed up. Only those with no *valid* reason had to pay for missing meetings. They want their members to be very committed.

I need to lose a few pounds. I'm about a half an ounce from moving into the next size up pants... ugh

A few months ago I researched WW locations near me and none were convenient. Then, a couple weeks ago I saw in our local newsletter that our community center (walking distance from home) has Wed. morning meetings beginning at 8am. I start work at 9am. That'll work. Cost is $12/meeting. $9/meeting if you sign up for the monthly plan. I have no excuse!

Now I just need to figure out where I'm going to find the time to exercise. ... sigh

Jodi-

With the obsession that our society hAs with dieting, there are dozens of groups and plans available, so suggesting that the alternative is simply WW or indulgent food-buying practices is a pretty substantial oversimplification, it seems to me.

Shop around - find a system that you like ... including a reasonable fee structure.

Or ... just do it on our own: keep the fee in your pocket.

Or ... recruit some others in various groups and agencies where you are involved who want to lose weight. Hold your own inspirational/guilt-inducing meetings. Even charge a fee, if you choose.

Invest your savings skilfully ...

... retire that much earlier!

ole joyful

Ole Joyful I am going to politely disagree.
If left to my own actions and calorie counting, I get bigger.
Trust me, when you are paying and getting on the scales in front of another person, you think longer when that second piece of pizza calls.
I am "crawling" back to Weight Watchers meetings next week. Ordering my monthly pass on payday.
Fortunately I am in the middle of a lot of towns with meetings so if I don't like one - there is another to choose from.
Kathy

I agree Kathy. It is a proven fact that those who get regular weigh in's that they're held accountable for, and who spend a little more $$ to go to the meetings do much better. The fact that those who stop ANY diet plan and try to do it on their own and gain back all their weight PLUS some speaks volumes for this fact. My own sister is one of those people. She lost over 50#'s on WW's then decided she didn't need them anymore. Even though she was a free lifer! All you need to do to keep that entitlement is show up once a month for a meeting which is 45 minutes of your time and to stay under your goal weight (or no more than 2# over). She not only gained back the 50 pounds, she gained a few extra. Having the support of a few dozen people EACH and EVERY week, hearing their success stories, sharing recipes, sharing where to buy what 'good' foods at a great price, etc., makes a whole lot of difference. This is actually the longest I've ever kept off my weight. Why? Because #1, it did cost me $17.00 a week for 8 months to lose the weight, and #2, the continued support of everyone at the meetings. I don't go every single week, but I do know that when I do go I want to stay under my goal weight so that help enforce my healthy eating. While nobody scolds you for gaining a pound or two, you do see it recorded each time you go and it is a great feeling to know you're still under your goal, or reaching your goal whether it be a tenth of a pound or two pounds a week. And even those people who gain a pound or two get a pat on the back because we encourage them to make a few changes the next week by sometimes just adding more water to your diet and 'flushing' out the weight. Simple things like that.

I am also lucky in that I have found the best WW's meetings in Calgary. I hear of so many people complaining about the team leaders and how boring their meetings are. Our team leader could be a stand up comedian. She is so funny that you want to go every week to watch her facial expressions as she tells yet another husband story, or kid story. And to just hear her stories, she's so funny yet so full of information. Everyone who works for WW has been through the program too, so they know what we're going through.

Anyways............ unless you've been there and done that, you can't say for sure that 'save your money and do it on your own' works. It doesn't for most people. If it did, weight loss programs wouldn't exist.

I agree that WWers is a wonderful program. I just could not afford the weekly meetings, so last February, I joined on-line with a 3 month subscription. I am so glad that I did, because spending that money is what helped keep me on track the first couple of weeks or so.

I had joined 9 years ago and lost 52 pounds. I gave up the meetings and just went it on my own. I was very near goal, and thought I could make it on my own. Well, you know the outcome of that story. I gained back to exactly what I was when I started out.

I was too embarassed to think of going back to the meeting. How could I let this happen to myself.

This time around I am really learning, and following the program. Before I tried to see how fast I could lose. This time I am learning how to eat and deal with my addictions.

I am so happy. I have lost 55 pounds. Gone from a size 22 to a 10 or 12. I am 68 years old. My doctor is soooo happy with me. WWers goal for me would be another 12 pounds. Like the 'Little Engine that Could', I can do it.

dody

Have any of your joined the IncrEdible Rewards Program WW has now? It's really quite a deal....

Here is a link that might be useful: IncrEdible Rewards