to be wary about an overweight WW leader?

[ivybridget]

There's a Weight Watchers meeting not for from me and at time that could suit me. The woman who leads it lives in the area and seems very nice. I know her only very loosely through various neighbourhood events.

Thing is she's quite overweight, quite significantly rather than just a few pounds. From memory, I think she's previously had a dramatic weight loss but it seems as if she's gained it back. It's none of my business and as a serial dieter myself I wouldn't ordinarily judge another woman's body shape. But it doesn't really inspire confidence that she practices what she preaches.

AIBU to think this is probably a bad idea?

Maybe she's lost a lot already, just has a long way to go?

Maybe she is going through something medical making her regain weight, or making it harder to exercise? Maybe she's taking steroids for medical reason or some other medication that has made her gain a bit?

If she is good at her job and knows her stuff, I'd give her a chance. Nothing is going to work for everyone all the time.

I’m actually rewatching little Britain and god I don’t know how they got away with such naughty behaviour on prime tv

Weight watchers would be out of business if everyone who followed it kept he weight off.

That's the model: pay your fees, lose some weight, feel good, can't sustain the eating plan, gain weight back, feel like shit, rejoin WW because it worked last time.

There's so many videos out there now exposing them and slimming world, about how the model is completely disordered. Yes some people will lose the weight and keep it off and they'll use those people to sell the plan, but most will get caught in a weight loss weight gain cycle.

I've done WW and SW more than I care to think about and most of the 'consultants' were overweight but would use photos of themselves when they were skinny to sell the plan, but even their own consultants can sustain it long term.

I went to SW where the leader was overweight. But she was on her own weight loss journey.

you can’t judge until you know the full facts

Don’t know only a few years Covid was at its peak you’d go to SW get weighted but had to write your own weight in book I remember them this group leader actually alluded they were no vegetable eater!? Of course skinny as hell…

why did WW stop their quite large food range, stop their magazine etc.

Back in the day I had a WW leader who regained weight and had to stop being a leader! My understanding at the time was if they went a certain amount over goal they had to stop. But I might have misunderstood or rules might have changed.

Weight watchers shamelessly target women and reinforce our insecurities to make money - wouldn’t touch them with a barge pole

best be grateful they did, eating ultra processed food filled with artificial sweeteners is crazy bad for you.

I thought that to be a WW leader you had to have reached goal and maintained for so long?

I think you have to be be in the right headspace to consistently lose weight and keep it off. Maybe give her the benefit of the doubt til you hear her story.

Was that Slimming World? They were nuts about mashed bananas 😂😂😂
Rebelfit on Facebook is worth following on this - bit sweary but very funny, accurate and doesn’t shame people

I wouldn't touch WW with a bargepole but an overweight leader wouldn't bother me at all. Whether she still struggles with her own weight is nothing to do with whether she'd be good helping you to lose weight. Why does it matter if she practises what she preaches? The reasons someone might be overweight are complex and unlikely to be related to their ability to support others.

YANBU - I wouldn’t have confidence in a fat person helping me lose weight

I think I would prefer that to someone who was a perfect weight. She is obviously working on herself while helping other people.

Well she’s evidence that for most people these diet companies don’t work.

My we leader many years ago used to eat at home before going to a bbq. She was thin but how joyless. I’m still fat…

Anybody no ? Dust !

I think the US version went bust. The UK one is still going.

I did WW 13 years ago and it worked but I’ve since regained and am 2 stone heavier than I was before I started it. I’m wary about trying it again.

best way to lose weight is to cut all treats in half, that way you can eat twice as many!

I never realised any WW in-person meetings still existed. Thought it had all moved online.

I'd feel more comfortable if the WW leader was overweight/plump/rounded, whatever. As the leader she'd (hopefully) be on her own weightloss journey herself.

I wouldn't be silently judging her behind her back. Because nobody's perfect and I don't know what's going on/gone on in her personal life. Or medical life.

YABU for judging her. YANBU to not go.

That made me 🤣🤣🤣

It was, I couldn’t believe I was chastised for having a mashed banana in my food diary. The woman was seriously horrified 🤣

They’re definitely still going, I’m a gold member and go to group every week.

there used to be a policy many years ago that you couldn’t take your class as a leader if you were over your target range until you were back in it.

thats all stopped now and there’re many over weight leaders.

there a leader near me who’s gained around 5 stone since becoming a leader, but she does still talk about struggling with her weight like any other member does.

all the food and magazines etc have stopped as they weren’t selling them.

When I was a Leader for WW we were not allowed to take classes if we were more than 5 pounds over goal. We were weighed every month. I could never have stood in front of a class of around 40 to 50 people and spoke about the WW plan if I had been over target - it would have felt very hypocritical.

When I was a WW leader they would allow people to start their leader training before they got to goal. Someone I did my training with never reached their target weight. We used to be weighed several times a year at our area meetings.