Really, the reason I don't use the quote function in this site is because I'm lazy. I also think that if I put something in quotes and then proceed to comment on it, it means I'm quoting something someone said and actually, it doesn't matter who said it. I'm commenting on what they said.
I used to use the quote function but then I thought, 'What a lot of work when you actually have a quote key....'
The success of WW will continue - and yes, it does have a lot to do with the skill of the leaders. I happen to like the flexibility of the diet, also, but I've learned that there are a lot of things people will never get past - so they will pile these criticisms on WW:
1. You have to pay to attend. 'Nuff said.
2. You failed before - and you are absolutely sure you know why - and you apply the reasons to the program and generalize about how it's a danger to everyone else so they are bound to fail with WW. You may have gone to WW last week and quit in a huff, you may have to WW last year and quit in a huff, you have gone to WW 20 years ago and quit in a huff. Or maybe you just felt like a failure and now that you're losing weight with a low-carb approach, you like to scorn WW and praise low-carb. The fact that you can go to WW and diet anyway you like and no one tells you to stop doesn't seem to matter. I go to WW. I also watch my carbs.
3. You don't like people to know your weight and see your weight and think anything about your weight. You like to weigh yourself alone in your home and no one will ever judge you. At WW, there's one person who knows your weight; it's the person who weighs you. She prints out the weight on a sticker for you and she may say something out loud to you if you have lost weight - she thinks it's positive reinforcement and she may also just be happy for you - but if she says nothing, people may guess that you either gained or just stayed the same. Just like them.
4. You want to talk about food. But the topic and the group is such that you aren't talking about food. You don't want to talk about food. But the topic and the group is such that they ARE talking about food.
5. You don't like restrictions. Period. 'Nuff said.
6. You don't believe the diet works. It works for a lot of people but it doesn't work for you. No one's forcing you to be there. But, then, even without a doctor having examined everything about your health thoroughly, and without him prescribing a specific diet just for you, you know that either you are a special case (possible) or the people who regularly lose weight at WW are special cases (less likely).
7. It's a sign of a weak diet for wimps that you have to go to a meeting to get support for the diet. Well, aside from the devotion to online forums to get support and give support for any diet, such as this one (WW has such a forum, and WW is available online to people who can't get to meetings - and you still pay and it is a good site - yet, there's a lot of support for WW online elswehere), a lot of WW's success is that they use approaches that they discuss as behavior-modification tools. Most topics at WW are about how we can deal with our own behavior when faced with food challenges. This is done in the personal setting of the meeting. Also, online.
8. You didn't like the leader. 'Nuff said. I didn't like the leader much when I started WW a few years ago. I found that I stopped going. Then I'd start up again, then I'd stop. When I realized the leader was key, I found a leader I liked - which is possible because there are meeting in several towns in my area, so there are several leaders. They have their fans - the one I didn't like is very popular, in fact.
9. The LC diet is superior. Actually, I don't think it is. I think it's a good option for people who like it and can live with it. Personally, I think it tastes pretty good. And no one argues with that.
10. You know someone who lost weight and then regained it on WW. Well, meet me - I lost weight on Atkins and regained it. So? WW offers the attraction that they don't tell you what you have to eat and yet they do tell you that your weigh-in (once a week) is important and they are there to discuss any problems with you. There's no magic to LC'ing. There's no magic to WW - and they never say there is. They only say that it works - because if you follow the plan, it does. If you don't follow the plan and merely focus on your weight goal and weigh-in every week, losing with your own variation of some diet, it is working. If I'm losing weight low-carbing, are you really going to butt in and tell me what I'm doing wrong? WW sees you lose weight and just says, 'Good for you!' (I must admit that the leader will ask the person who lost 5 pounds that week, 'What helped you the most to make that happen?' to get positive tips for the group.)
11. You get hungry on WW 'counting points' plan. They will help you with problems you have with the plan. You're never hungry when all you're eating is protein. I am actually hungry when all I'm eating is protein. I start craving carbs. I find the balance of protein, fat, and carbs that works for me - and WW never tells me that's wrong, because they never know what that balance is. No one at WW has ever looked at my food diary (it's online).
WW has not 'earned' their success? Please. They've been recommended by doctors, sure, because they are successful. My doctor recommends WW because his practice has seen so many people lose weight with WW - but he also has said that he's seen success with South Beach. Whatever works.
WW is about to change the program to introduce a new plan after Thanksgiving. I'm excited. I'll take what they say, see if it works for me, keep what works and see if I can figure out what doesn't work for me. They have no problem with that.
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