How to get the most out of Workshops, from a member who’s attended over 2,300 of them

Weight Watchers has millions of members — and though health is a shared goal, no two people’s needs or experiences are exactly alike. You could be looking for dinner ideas. Or accountability. Or answers from a doctor about GLP-1 side effects. Or just someone else in the entire world who knows what it’s like to lose over 100 pounds. That’s why Weight Watchers offers 158 different virtual Workshops, running every day of the week, early morning through evening — so you can mix and match to find the support you need right now.

Many members attend one Workshop per week. Some go to several per day. Others, like Cedric B., are in a category all their own. A member since 2003, he’s lost 130 pounds* with Weight Watchers, and estimates he’s attended more than 2,300 Workshops. As a result, he’s become a bit of a Workshop sommelier. Here, he shares his top tips for getting the most out of Workshops — for more weight loss and a better journey.

At first, Cedric thought virtual Workshops couldn’t offer a true sense of closeness and camaraderie. “But in 2020, when virtual Workshops became widespread, I started trying them and loved the extended family environment. We wanted to see each other succeed and reach goals. We learned each other’s histories and families, and we looked forward to hearing each other’s updates each week. I consider other members in virtual Workshops my real friends, even if we’ve never been together in the same physical place.”

It’s easy to attend a Workshop when you have a victory to celebrate — and it’s human nature to want to avoid talking about setbacks. But that’s exactly when you can rely on Workshops to get you back on track, Cedric says. When he’d just lost 98 pounds, the pandemic shut down his gym, and “being in the house, nervous about the world, I stopped tracking, stopped exercising, and began to overeat for comfort.” Old habits crept back in, and he regained 78 pounds. “I felt awful, almost like I was back at square one. It was devastating to be so close to 100 pounds down, and then be so far from it without reaching my goal,” he says. Rather than shame-spiraling or avoiding accountability, he turned to a Workshop. “The Coach said, ‘Don’t get overwhelmed. All I want you to do is track one meal a day, and come back next week to check in about how that went.’ I did that, only tracking breakfast, and started losing.” When he returned the following week, the Coach was impressed with his progress, but not surprised. “She said, ‘If you could do that only tracking one meal per day, how much more successful could you be if you tracked all your meals? Can you do that this week and check in next week?’ I did that, added exercise, and was able to lose 110 pounds. If I hadn’t gone to that Workshop, I would’ve just been feeling bad about myself, and I don’t know when I would’ve gotten back on track.”

Cedric makes a routine and RSVPs for his Workshops in advance whenever possible, because it helps with predictability and accountability. “I always start my week off with the New Week, Fresh Start Workshop on Mondays, because it’s like hitting the reset button for whatever setbacks I may have had over the weekend, so I can refocus for the week,” he says. On Sundays, he knows he’ll attend church with his family at 10am and be back for the Weekly Connection Workshop at noon. “Building it into my schedule helps me count on it and show up for it.”

Cedric attends a Workshop just about every day of the week, but he varies what he expects out of them. “At some, I plan on sharing and actively participating, but for others, I’ll just listen,” he says. He works in landscaping and while he’s working, Cedric often joins virtual Workshops on mute, with his camera off; same for when he’s cooking. “I used to listen to music while I worked, but now I dip into Workshops. It’s almost like listening to a live podcast, where I can gain information, tips, and encouragement. I listen while I eat breakfast sometimes, and it’s like getting a pep talk for the day.”

It makes sense to think that if you’re not taking a GLP-1 that you shouldn’t join a GLP-1 Workshop, or that if you’re not much of a chef, the Foodies Workshop isn’t for you. Yet Cedric has used Workshops to research the next step of his weight journey in advance. 

“My doctor recommended a GLP-1, but I was concerned about horror-story side effects I’d read online and had lots of questions,” he says. So, he attended a handful of GLP-1 Workshops. “I became more knowledgeable about how GLP-1s work and was surprised to hear that most members weren’t experiencing the things I read about. In fact, most members just regretted not starting sooner.” 

That made starting the medication much more comfortable. “I wasn’t nervous, just excited, because of what I’d already learned in Workshops,” he says. Cedric is still losing weight, but for the same reason he also sometimes pops into the GLP-1 Life on Maintenance Workshop to see what his future could hold. “I like to get an idea of what to expect when I do get to my goal! And it’s inspiring to hear how people have lost 70+ pounds and are maintaining it.”

Weight Watchers Workshops are welcoming, inclusive places for everything from practical support to big-goal inspiration. Member Cedric B., who has attended over 2,300 Workshops, says Virtual Workshops can instill a real, tangible sense of community — even over a Zoom link — and that creating a regular Workshop schedule can really set you up for success, by getting you to show up for yourself even when you may not feel like it. Listening in on Workshops like a podcast can keep your motivation humming along, and so can checking out Workshops that might work for a future version of yourself. Find all of the options by going to Find Your Workshop or tapping Workshops in the WW app.

*At 6 months, participants in a clinical trial of the WW program lost an average of 12 lbs (5.4% of body weight).