Online or Meetings - Following Weight Watchers Your Way

Weight Watchers has been more and more accommodating to the tied up schedules that we engage in each day. There are not just one, but two, eating plans to choose from, and you don't even have to go to weekly meetings to get the membership benefits of the dieting plan. These days you have the choice to follow Weight Watchers online or through an in person interaction on a weekly basis. There are pros and cons to each; just take a look at the differences and see which type of Weight Watcher member you want to be.

Meetings

Using Weight Watchers handy dandy little site you can locate, by zipcode, the nearest branch of Weight Watchers in your town or city. You can look up the times that they meet and go to a meeting without any further obligation. Just take yourself down to the location and explain that you are new and just surveying for the evening. They will give you some pamphlets to look over and you can stay for the meeting instruction. Get a feel for the meeting, for the people there, and figure out whether you will benefit in this weekly environment. You are under no obligation this first time, but if you want to continue attending you need to sign up.

Each meeting you will be weighed (confidentially) to keep track of your progress, and you will receive new information about how to continue healthy choices and move forward in the diet plan. Each week has a different focused topic, and you will be able to 'see' the progress or drawbacks of your fellow members. Sharing stories about your success is as much a concern as sharing stories about how you intend to overcome current obstacles.

They have accommodated these meetings to more introverted dieters in recent times. You are not obligated to vocally participate in the meeting part, and you can use a special 'weigh in pass' to bypass a weekly weigh in if you choose not to. You don't have to sign your life away, either. It is a pay as you go basis. Pricing varies depending on where you live, but here are the pricing estimates for some of the western states. The registration and first week fee is $35.00. You will then pay $12.00 until your ninth week; at this time you will pay $9.00 a week. Senior citizens can register for a discounted $35.00, and their weekly due is only $8.00. You can, however, purchase a 10-week commitment plan as well. This plan is an upfront payment of $119.00, which includes the registration fee. This will give you almost $20.00 off of the total price you would pay on a pay as you go plan for 10 weeks. It depends on how long you plan to commit yourself to it, how much weight you want to lose, and what your budget is for such things.

This form of Weight Watchers relies on your need for accountability and support. If you are the type that flourishes with a seemingly 'group' effort, you can make friends with some of the folks going to the meeting and keep each other in check. The pay as you go aspect helps you to decide when you want to attend, and the accountability of weigh-ins can help some people reach their goals easier.

On the other hand, if you don't like weigh-ins, don't function well in group settings, or just don't have the time each week to go to a meeting, this might not be the best way for you.

Online

The online way can actually be more or less costly depending on your use of it. When you sign up for Weight Watchers online you are admitted into a vast library of recipes, e-tools, and information. This is the ideal way for those that spend most of their time at a computer, or find it far handier than having to travel away from their home to follow a diet plan. You can track your weight loss success by charting it on the Weight Tracker. Just enter your weight in weekly and you'll see a graphed progress sheet in your account. Doing the diet this way will also require you to have a very good, functional scale to chart your own progress. For those of you that are self-motivated, and love to keep technical data, this is a great way to follow Weight Watchers at home. It is easier to look up Core Plan foods or Flex Plan point values by simply adding it into their data base search engine. Although you won't get the paper work, you will have easier access to the values of foods than a traditional book to search.

You will expect to pay $65.00 for a 3-month plan, and $19.95 for each additional month. If you aren't sure if you'll like it, you can buy the one-month plan for $46.90 and pay $16.95 for each additional month. Either way, you'll get the same tools and site access. You can also pay by week, but this assumes you will be signed up for at least 13 weeks, so it is cheaper to buy it monthly.

This form of Weight Watchers is catered to those that don't have a lot of time to spend at meetings, don't like the atmosphere of meetings, and are self-motivated, but just need a jump-start into something. The down side to this method is the lack of accountability. You don't need to weigh-in in front of someone this way. This may cause some people to 'cheat' more because they won't need to stand on an unforgiving scale that methodically records their weight.

So, no matter what type of dieter you are, you can find what you need from Weight Watchers. Whether you need something on the go, or a support group, Weight Watchers seems to accommodate very well.