Shawn Cook

As some folks already know, I've been on a quest to get healthier for the past seven months and have had success already - between the both of us, my partner-in-crime and I have lost over eighty pounds using Weight Watchers Online. It wasn't easy, but it would have been impossible had we not had access to online tools to help us track our food consumption and progress. That said, WWO could really use a boost in a couple of areas.

Cons

1. It's slow, it's crashy, and it's Flash

   Checking in to log your activity should be a quick, couple-of-minute visit, but every time I log in, I end up spending twenty minutes messing around. The Flash application that runs Weight Watchers' online tools can be mind-numbingly slow. For me, the loading screen gets more screen time than the actual application. Searching the food/exercise catalog can take an inordinate amount of time, and every second counts when you're fighting the incredible urge to not log your activity. Additionally, since I'm using the app on a more-than-thrice daily basis, it would be nice to stay logged in; however, each time I close my browser, I need to log back in.

   

2. Keyboard navigation isn't easy; shortcuts don't exist

   When you're filling in numbers and fields on a very regular basis like you do on WWO, it's necessary that your UI be navigable by keyboard alone. This is especially vital for those who are mobility-impaired. WWO, unfortunately, isn't as usable when it comes to navigating the app with anything but a mouse. As for me, I've found myself running to get my USB mouse on a regular basis just so I don't throttle my computer by its figurative neck while trying to log my activity. And yeah, no keyboard shortcuts - no quick key combination, for example, to bring up the points calculator.

3. No social network integration

   One of WW's best qualities is its emphasis on connecting with other people to encourage sticking to the plan. After all, studies show that logging on to a website to share progress leads to better progress and weight loss maintenance. Unfortunately, WWO's social networking aspects, consisting of ancient, walled-garden forums and blogs, seem wedged in as an afterthought, much like the social networking on Linkedin. This is especially apparent with the Online Tools - there's no automated way to share progress with friends from the app. I've been manually Tweeting my #weighin each Thursday; it would be great if WWO provided some means of doing the same. Why not let users share milestones with their friends on Facebook?

4. No Chrome access!?

   It's pretty inexcusable at this point in technological time to make your app unavailable to users of a very current and popular browser. I've had to keep Firefox open just to access the Online Tools, which has made it very easy to say "screw it" and stop logging my points when my Internet runs a bit slow. Not only is there no way to remain logged in to the site after you close your browser, logging in while using Chrome causes the site to send you to a stupid apology page about cookies (which, by the way, are most definitely turned on in my browser, thankyouverymuch).

   

5. Price

   It's expensive! I paid around $45 with a discount for three months of access. Having success with a lifestyle change as huge as this can be priceless, but $17.95 per month is incredibly steep for a website. However, for some people, it can be worth it for the pros:

Pros

1. Great progress indicators and analysis

   Anyone who's a graph nerd will like having all their food log and scale data in one spot and accessible from (well, mostly) any browser - you can generate nice graphs of your progress and see weekly trends in your point usage. Another big motivator is the periodic kudos you get from the app when you reach certain milestones (say, ten pounds loss or predetermined percentages of body fat loss).

   

2. Fantastic iPhone/iTouch application

   Access to the mobile application is the main reason I still pay for the service. In a few clicks, you've got access to recipes, articles, a point calculator, not to mention the tracking application. If you're stuck at the grocery store with no idea what to make and you're staring down a box of frozen Taquitos, it's awesome to be able to whip out your iPhone and search recipes by ease, time required, ingredients and more.

That said, I'm coming to the end of my subscription and contemplating not renewing it due to the cons I listed above. I hate fighting every step of the way to use a site I really don't have to use, let alone pay for. After the initial furor of logging every since bite of food into a neat little website, I've grown bored and frustrated with its lack of usability. I don't plan on stopping Weight Watchers, but I think it would be super easy to continue on the plan without paying for a subscription. I can't recommend Sparkpeople, as I couldn't stand the horrible design of the site to stick to it more than ten minutes, but I can recommend a good old pen and pencil matched with access to The Daily Plate and a spreadsheet in Google Docs. It's how Mr. Cook, who never subscribed to WW in the first place, managed to go from 200 to 145 lbs!