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Post by debsback on Jul 28, 2018 23:33:17 GMT
The big discussion at today’s meeting was about the demise of the bravo stickers and the change in weigh in at the scale. We got past the no paper towels at the scale. Now there will be no more bravos. Surprised at how many people were annoyed at that. Seems that there is still some support for them as a visual cue and reminder of their progress. Then there’s the group that didn’t see the usefulness at all. They were really pushing keeping your own journal and writing down what the bravo would have been for.
Once that was discussed ( and discussed some more!) they announced that there would be no more printed out weight stickers at the scale to go into the weekly record booklet. The rationale being that for some groups of people...lifetimes, nursing moms, etc...they weren’t providing an accurate number of weekly points allowed. Rather than fix that problem, the stickers will go and we can write down on own weight once we get off the scale.
Personally, if they want to save money and get rid of stickers, they can start with name tags! I am not and never have been one to write in a journal....will be interesting to see what other changes are coming. They did say the reward charms are staying (for now?).
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Post by finreporter on Jul 28, 2018 23:47:03 GMT
Sounds like they're encouraging people to go digital. Which is interesting since they still have their meetings. Now you have to write your own weight down if you want it recorded? Same as if you were doing this at home on your own? That seems strange to me.
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Post by cj59 on Jul 29, 2018 0:09:17 GMT
Thanks for sharing this information. I've been thinking about rejoining and going back to meetings, but if I have to write down my own weight I might as well keep weighing in at home and recording it free of cost  It seems as if a lot of the old methods of accountability are missing in this new style of meeting. That's what I would be looking for if I went to meetings, so it doesn't sound like it would work well for me. But I'm sure there are some that will do well with the new format. |
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Post by zazzles on Jul 29, 2018 1:44:09 GMT
Damn...the just charged my credit card for the next month.
I don't care one way or another about the Bravo stickers. I see that move as yet one more cost-cutting move. But to not paste a sticker in a weigh-in booklet is insane. Next they will say that there will BE no weigh-in booklets and that we can write our weight on the plam of our hand.
These changes, as trivial as them seem to some, are coming too rapidly one on top of another. And it doesn't feel good to me.
I recounted the "encounter moment" we were told to expect every week at last week's meeting. My thought in the moment was that I was going to quit. Now this. I am seriously thinking of calling it quits and being done with WW. They no longer deserve my $45 (plus more for snack products) every month.
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Post by pamthomas46 on Jul 29, 2018 1:49:06 GMT
Interesting info Deb. Not having the weight label hasn’t hit us yet. Will there be weight tracking on line? I’ll be sure to get to my Tuesday meeting for the details.
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Post by DebDoesWW on Jul 29, 2018 3:40:33 GMT
wait, WHAT?!? How on earth are people supposed to know (and remember) how many weeklies they get? Or how much they weigh? Everyone is supposed to look at the scale and try and remember what number it is then go write it down themselves. Seriously? Wow just wow. And the bravo stickers are gone? *shakes head*
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Kitty
Transcendent Member
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Post by Kitty on Jul 29, 2018 7:44:03 GMT
This dumbfounds me. I overslept today and missed the meeting.
As far as the Bravos - I don't have a big reaction to that. I was a member of WW long before they had them. Back years ago as I've mentioned before there seemed to be so many people in the meeting getting recognized for 5 pound losses. Back when I started you got recognized for those and then for lifetime. They didn't have all the other things like 10% or X number of pounds (other than 5). But, in recent years it seems that fewer and fewer people reach those losses (maybe they do and they tell leaders not to recognize them?). I sort of felt the Bravos were a way to recognize people that didn't require weight loss. That actually ought to mesh with the less emphasis on the scale.
That said -- Bravos often seemed random. There are times I would see someone given a bravo that was maybe OKish (not really but whatever) but then someone would speak after that person and did something truly awesome and wouldn't get the bravo.
As far as not doing the stickers for the book - 2 comments. One - I still think that there are people who aren't online members. It seems very odd not to give a sticker for their weight.
Second - I relied on the sticker at my old location because my weight never showed up online. I had to record it every month. I don't know if that was because I was lifetime at goal. But -- nothing was recorded online that I could see unless I recorded it.
OK - a third thing. I've often looked back in the book and my stickers to see patterns of losses and to sometimes feel food about how far I've come. Also, I've sometimes posted a pic of the sticker on my blog. It seems sort of blah to just post what I wrote down.
I also wonder about how someone is supposed to know how many points they get. I guess by going online but I know some with monthly pass who rarely log in (my DH for example). I am at the minimum so it doesn't matter to me but still seems weird.
I wonder if they will get rid of the booklets entirely. I mean what is the point of them if they don't record the weights....
Also if they are getting rid of Bravo stickers will they get rid of 5 pound award stickers, celebrations during the meeting, the charms (I have an entire Pandora charm bracelet with my WW charms)... It seems so strange to do this when WW is finally doing better financially....
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Post by Jennifer on Jul 29, 2018 12:36:36 GMT
What we were told was they will write our weight, gain/loss, and any change in points if we want them to, or they will just write the date and gain/loss and we will see our progress in the app.
It does feel like a push to the app, and using the MSS not as a "weight record" but a journal to track our goals and nsv's.
Thinking about it now they have not called it a weight record in a long time, I keep hearing either MSS or "your success story booklet".
Overall... I think the changes are a Mindy thing, she said the brand was changing from a diet to wellness for all.
In comparison to ww in 1997 when I joined to now, I really feel the shift from "diet" to "healthy lifestyle".
That said, I need the accountability of ww to keep me in line with my eating. The number is still hugely important to me. I have to stay focused on where my weight is..if ww waters that down too much I fear it's not going to keep me at task.
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wildcat
Transcendent Member
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Post by wildcat on Jul 29, 2018 12:53:13 GMT
When I started WW they didn't print out stickers with my weight so that honestly gets a shrug from me. Why would it matter if my weight is handwritten vs printed on a sticker? I think getting rid of the bravo stickers is kind of a shame. I always just threw them away but I know from my years on the boards that the stickers/charms/etc. mean a lot to some people and it seems like an easy enough thing to do. Although I actually do know someone IRL who went to one meeting and decided not to join because she found the meetings to be cheesy due to the stickers and all of the rah rah stuff. So who knows, maybe they've done focus groups or something and decided to get rid of stickers based on research. But I do think it's very odd that they're going to make it difficult to tell how many points you get. And yes, I definitely think they need to get rid of the name tags if they are trying to save paper and reduce waste! Those things are useless. Plus they always misspell my name.  |
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Post by lmenglish on Jul 29, 2018 13:12:19 GMT
Jennifer, where do you live? Kitty, my weight would show up in the app when I weighed in at the meeting, then stopped. I now record it myself We got the computer stickers for weight at my meeting here in Florida. I don't know if they had quit with the bravo stickers because none were given Maybe the younger generation doesn't care for those perks😜 It would be interesting to hear from people who still work at WW, I can only think of hpeterson1951
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Post by DebDoesWW on Jul 29, 2018 15:10:21 GMT
WC actually what made me do a double take was “we can write down the number once we get off the scale.” Why bother going at all if you are doing all the work. I don’t have a problem with them writing the weight down (actually it is funny because that is how we did it in the old days) but I do have an issue with someone not knowing how many points they get, especially with so many meeting members not using the app and/or the way they don’t really seem to focus on keeping the members synced (like Linda just mentioned.)
Also, how the heck could they misspell Wildcat? 🤣
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Post by diva49 on Jul 29, 2018 15:19:33 GMT
I'm glad that I am Lifetime and currently under goal. I would not want to be in "weight loss mode" and see these changes implemented. As a meetings-attendee, this elimination of various "tokens of attendance" and "celebrations of SVs and NSVs" - as acknowledged by OTHERS (my leader & fellow meetings members) definitely reduces my inclination to sit through a meeting that tries to act like a general self-help group. When is Weight Watchers going to change its name? What will the WW stand for? Weight & Wellness? Imagine THAT re-branding, if the WW went away... This is from the latest (7/29) weekly www.weightwatchers.com/us/sites/default/files/072918_lores.pdf:Sharing the joy: When I have an NSV, such as navigating a vacation—enjoying myself and making smart food choices while having a cocktail—I’ll post it on Connect, to let others know how great it can feel, and that it can be done.
And then, when it doesn't "trend", one can whine and b!tch about it. And next time post belly-shot or bad pedicure, to attract attention.Yup. Shutting out non-Connect folks from "all the FUN". Good thing that it's fun HERE... DebDoesWW and rad, IMO you truly epitomize what Jean Nidetch intended... a place for camaraderie and support. |
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Post by DebDoesWW on Jul 29, 2018 15:28:46 GMT
Thank you diva49 THIS is what the meeting should be like and you truly had me laughing, that is SO true about attracting the attention on there. Did they ever even get it updated so the website only people have full access? What a crock. |
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Post by diva49 on Jul 29, 2018 15:35:38 GMT
Did they ever even get it updated so the website only people have full access? Nope. "We" (webConnect folks) are not important to them. And, since I distinctly remember The Promises that they made, I will continue to assert this observation at my meeting, whenever the opportunity arises. I am ><this close>< to never going there again. But I wander there once a day, to post "I'm IN" on one thread (fortunately, I was able to snag their start-up person and FOLLOW - since I can't look for anyone, it would have been a daily snipe hunt otherwise). <meh>. |
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Post by zazzles on Jul 29, 2018 20:43:42 GMT
I wanted to experience this rollout first hand at a meeting other than my own because my leader is THE original WW cheerleader.
The meeting I chose was led by a leader for whom I have great respect; she talks to members as if they are adults, not as if they are children.
So I weighed in without my record book, which the receptionist asked for. I showed her my monthly pass on the WW app. I told her I'd just take the label and was informed "we no longer use labels."
After weighing in I checked the "Journey" tab on the app and my weight did not show up. Why? Because I'm a Monday meeting member and the system considers today's weigh-in to be a 2nd weigh-in for the week. I had to wait until I got home to go to the web site and check the individual weigh-ins record page to see how I did this week.
The the meeting started. Subject: Non-Scale Victories. Great. Immedediately the leader announced the new policy of no Bravo stickers; she also mentioned no stickers of any kind: no 5#, 10#, 25#, 10%, etc.
Some members asked why. She said she didn't know. Someone said maybe it was part of going green. I just HAD to comment that it was definitely about going green—while I held up several fingers and rubbed them together. The class and leader roared and all felt I had hit the nail on the head.
Nobody mentioned getting rid of name tags. But I think starting tomorrow I will refuse the name tag out of principle. My leader used to say that if we didn't wear them and a manager came around she got in trouble. Because the name tags have never been about identifying who you are; they have always been about a visual indication that you are attending the meeting having paid your monthly or weekly fee.
I am also no longer going to bother carrying their stupid little book. If they can't bother to paste a sticker in it, then I can't bother carrying it around so I can make their job easier. They can look me up every week to weigh me in.
BTW—someone recommended everyone go and complain on Connect or Facebook; she said that so many people complained about the "no paper towels" decision that WW has reversed. No idea if that's true, and the leader didn't weigh in on the subject.
OH, and the name of that app I couldn't remember last week is Headspace. And you don't have to download the app, it is built into the WW Mobile app. On the MyDay page you scrokl down past the tracker summaries, past the picture links to recipes, and it is the 3rd section. If you click it, you'll get to the "Shift Your Mindset with Headspace" screen with a short intro and four audio sessions. As threatened by my leader last week, we were forced to sit through the guided breathing exercise this morning before any presentation/discussion began.
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