Why Should You Pay for Weight Watchers, Slimming World and Other Plans?

Many of the weight loss plans out there have a subscription fee. You pay for weekly weigh ins or access to the plan details. Some of it’s all in a book, while other bits include leaders and an online service.

But you can get some of the information for free. Apps are now available for a one-off payment to get access to the tracking. The likes of Weight Watchers have unofficial apps offering details of the whole plan.

So, why should you really pay for these plans? Why bother shelling out your hard-earned money each week for the likes of Weight Watchers and Slimming World? Is it really worth it?

I’d say it is. That’s not just because I’m a Weight Watchers leader, but because I truly believe it’s the best decision. I did it for years without being a leader, and I would do when the time comes for me to hang up my scales.

Here’s why I think the plans are worth the money.

You Get Extra Support

With Weight Watchers, you’re not just paying to get weighed each week. You’re not just paying for access to the plan. You’re paying for the extra support.

There’s no way I can lose weight on my own. I need someone to be accountable to and that has always been my leader. And I know a lot of other people like that.

If you’re one of those people, don’t be ashamed. You may have decided to cancel your membership and now realise that you really need it. Leaders are very supportive and will help you get back on track with your weight loss plan.

You Learn All About Changes

While you may follow the diet unofficially through a Facebook group or through an unofficial app, you only learn about all the changes right away when you’re a member.

Just take 2016 for example. There was a whole new Weight Watchers plan introduced. Sure, people heard about it on Facebook, but they didn’t get all the details. It was drip fed from various other members; and nobody official.

How do you know if you’ve followed it right? How do you know whether the information you’re getting is correct?

You really don’t! And that’s what people found by not being members.

On top of that, the unofficial apps won’t change right away. They’re nothing to do with the companies, so you’ll be stuck with the old plan but hearing about a new lifestyle. You can’t follow both and you can’t do half of one and half of the other.

To get the full information and full access you need to be a member.

You Discover New Ideas

The meetings aren’t just about talking to your leader. They’re about forming friendships with other members.

But you can do all that on Facebook, right? Well, have you seen some of those groups? They’re not all exactly supportive and some people get really annoyed at sharing information with people who don’t pay. Why should they give you information and help when you’re not a paying member?

With the groups, there is a lot more support. Everyone is definitely in the same position and you can find out all about their weekly ideas and new finds.

You can even get your own wee support group for in between your meetings.

You Get the Official Apps

The unofficial apps can be cheaper but there’s no guarantee that they will be right. And then you could end up undoing all your hard work.

Plus, they don’t always update when the real diets change. I’ll use the Ultimate Food Diary as an example, which is still running ProPoints when Weight Watchers members are following SmartPoints in many cases.

There’s also no guarantee that the apps won’t get pulled down. There are laws to protect the official companies.

In my experience, paying for the real thing has always been worth it. Sure there are other options out there, but an imitation of something is not always as good as the real thing.

It really depends on the type of person you are, but why follow a diet if you’re not really going to follow and utilise it to the full? That’s what happens when you don’t get the memberships.