I cleared another hurdle in my Weight Watchers journey this week and it’s a biggie, because this is where my waistline affects my wallet. After six weeks of staying on goal, I finally achieved “Lifetime” status, which means I no longer have to pay for all the benefits of the Weight Watchers program. Yes, you read that right! I can attend weekly meetings and access the awesome phone app for the rest of my life at zero cost to me!
I absolutely love the Lifetime component of Weight Watchers because it re-emphasizes the idea that this is a lifestyle change not a diet, and the creators of the program believe so deeply in it that they are willing to help me stay on target for the rest of my entire life. I don’t know of another weight loss program that supports its members so completely and for so long, and I didn’t even know the Lifetime component existed when I joined. Bonus for me! Of course there are a few stipulations for maintaining this “free” status, but none of which seem too burdensome.
So here’s the skinny (pun intended) on the whole Lifetime gig. When you join a Weight Watchers meeting (online only members do not qualify for lifetime status) you need to set a goal weight for yourself. There are certain criteria for this goal, but the friendly folks who work at WW can help you set a number that works for your body so no need to fret over this one. If you sign up online like I did, I would suggest that you set or reset your goal weight at your first meeting with the help of WW personnel.
So when you finally hit your goal weight (I know you can do it!) there will be much celebration, lots of praise and maybe even a few tears. This also starts a six-week countdown clock toward Lifetime status. During those six weeks, you must weigh in at goal weight, below goal or no more than two pounds over goal weight. Thankfully there is a little wiggle room with that number, because I went on vacation the week I met my goal and weighed in 1.8 pounds larger than when I left. Yikes!
During the six-week period between goal and Lifetime, I continued to weigh in at my meetings and finally made it to my new status. Yay! Being a Lifetime Member means that I no longer have to pay a single penny to attend meetings or to use the handy-dandy WW phone app that I think I can’t live without, as long as I do two very simple things: 1) weigh in at any Weight Watchers meeting at least once every calendar month, and 2) stay within two pounds of my goal weight. That’s it! Sounds simple, so we’ll see how well I do along the way.
STARTING WEIGHT: 168.2
JANUARY 2018 : -8.6
FEBRUARY 2018: -5.8
MARCH 2018: -6.0
APRIL 2018: -2.6
MAY 2018: -4.6
JUNE 2018: -2
JULY 2018: -4.4
AUGUST 2018: -0.4
CURRENT WEIGHT: 133.8