Anyone else just watched the panning WW just got on Channel 4?!

[Erebus]

OK, it wasn't a complete hatchet job but obviously designed to 'discredit' WW!

It was called "Weight Watchers: How they make their money: Channel 4 dispatches", reported by Jane Moore.

Interesting!

What did other people think?

[XBenedict]

What was the basis of the argument? I think my only problem with these companies they rely on your failure - that's what keeps them in business!

[Erebus]

TBH I'm not exactly sure what their complaint was! I mean, I guess if you go into WW in the full knowledge that you're 'buying into' a scheme (and maybe armed with the knowledge that you either go on buying WW products for ever and measure pro-points for ever or you're likely to find you can't keep the weight off) you can't complain that it is just that- a scheme rather than a re-examination of the entire way in which you eat, your lifestyle, your psychological triggers, your level of nutritional knowledge..

They did do some price/unit and 'propoint' measurements on some foods and found that the WW version was actually higher in calories and price than a supermarket alternative, weight for weight, and that some WW products were a mass of chemical additives, but of course they will have only presented those products where this held true. The programme also made a point about the pushing of merchandise during meetings but again, I guess you are, by signing up, buying into the idea that you need 'special food' and 'special equipment' to help you lose weight.

I once went to a WW class with an obese friend, south London, circa 1986? I was 5lbs overweight, ooi. It wasn't for us but that was maybe just that particular class. It was more of a social club for fat, largely middle aged and not well educated women. The leaders knowledge was woeful and actually it soon became apparent the women were using the get-together to comfort and commiserate with each other over another week of dieting failure, oh well, never mind, see you down the George, later? Many of them were seriously overweight.

I think the whole thing has become way more sophisticated now, with products and propoints!

[TalkinPeace2]

It may well have done, but there are people still going to my local WW group that were there when I was - 12 years ago.
And I lost that 3 stone in 6 months, took 11 years to put 1 stone back on and lost it in 3 months (5:2).
If you do not "get" what needs doing within 8 weeks, you are throwing good money after bad with all those groups

[CosmicMouse]

I do think it was a very skewed perspective on the whole thing. And not very respresentative of "normal" people following the plan.

For instance the two women they interviewed who were doing/had recently done WW. Neither stayed to meetings. One admitted she stuck to it for a matter of weeks and then went back to old habits. The other said she bought the WW branded stuff because "they work" yet clearly wasn't sticking to plan otherwise, had no idea what she was buying or why and was astounded at the amount of money she was spending

I've been following it since July 12, have lost 36lbs with another similar amount to go. Aside from my Monthly Pass, I don't give WW any money at all. I find the meetings useful and supportive. I'm sticking to the plan ad losing weight.

The programme just made out that everyone following WW was a bit of a moron, buying products they don't need and not losing any weight anyway.

[INeedThatForkOff]

Frankly, I think if members are stupid enough to pay for something week in, week out, without putting any thought or effort into it themselves, then they're fair game, in exactly the same way as gym members who turn up once a month.

I'm actually a WW online member for free at the moment, having signed up through a cashback website and opted for the reduced three month membership. I'm doing really well (hoping for 7lbs by Thursday, which has taken 4 weeks). I don't eat any ready made stuff, and no ww products, but I do have a bit of normal chocolate and eat biscuits as part of a balanced diet.

This is my second successful go at ww, having lost 2 1/2 stones before TTC. I personally opted to throw healthy eating out of the window during my pregnancies as I'm a greedy bastard.

That said, I have tried ww at other times and been unsuccessful (see my point about being a greedy bastard). That was simply because I wasn't committed to following the plan fully. I just stopped turning up to meetings and therefore paid nothing. Nobody held a gun to my head and marched me to the cashpoint for next week's subs.

Whether or not Weight Watchers works is down to the individual. It does for me because it helps me to put a limit on my less healthy habits. If you wanted to completely detox your diet (I don't) or want to take a low carb approach (again, I don't), I can see that it wouldn't be ideal. I just want to curb my normal eating habits without changing them. It's up to me to have the self control to stick to my points. Much easier than farting about counting calories, carbs or.whatever for me.

[BlackAffronted]

If WW worked, they would be out of business. They rely on you not doing well, or rejoining, to make money. They made the propoints too difficult to work out on your head, so that people rely on their "pointed" products. All in all, they are a con. I have yet to meet anyone who has lost weight on WW and kept it off for more than a year or so.

[TalkinPeace2]

I did. But I only went 9 times and then worked it out.

[peachypips]

I have lost 5 stone and kept it off for two years. Just have another stone to lose so have rejoined. As someone else said, it's not the diet but the dieters that are the problem.

[emsyj]

I lost weight on WeightWatchers and kept it off until I had DD, then I needed to lose a stone and so I went back and lost that. I think long-term success largely depends on why you were overweight in the first place, and WeightWatchers can only help you if you're basically ignorant (like I was). I had no idea what a 'normal' portion was, and once I found out it was a real eye-opener! I suspect if you eat because you have psychological issues with food, it won't do you much good in the long term unless you also seek to address what is triggering you to overeat. For us greedy folks though, it does work!

[Snowkey]

At least with Weight Watchers you don't have to sign up for a long contract like you do at gyms - what a rip off - they rely on people failing and not turning up, they don't have the room to house all their members.