Lori Swenson is the leader of a Weight Watchers group that meets every Monday in Shawano at the Shawano City-County Library. She has been a leader since 2007.
“They were thinking about closing this meeting,” she said.
Swenson became the leader of the group in Shawano when it was about to be disbanded due to a lack of members. Since Swenson took over, the group has grown and now averages 25 to 28 people per meeting.
“They are a unique meeting because as a group they have formed friendships, challenged and encouraged weight loss with empathy and humor,” she said.
Weight Watchers was founded in 1963 in Brooklyn, New York, by Jean Nidetch, a homemaker. It is in 30 countries around the world.
Swenson joined Weight Watchers in 2004 after her daughter had success with the program. Swenson lost 25 pounds in nine months.
“I learned how to do things differently,” she said. “I learned from the meetings and the members.”
She became the leader of the Shawano group in June 2014. The members asked her to keep track of how much weight they lost in a year; in June, it was 1,302 pounds. Now they want to continue to keep track of how much they are losing. Swenson said some of them have lost over 100 pounds.
John Abendroth joined last year in June and recently reached his goal weight, losing 70 pounds.
“I don’t know that I could have done it on my own,” he said.
He had previously lost 20 pounds on his own after being diagnosed with diabetes and put on insulin. He was determined to get off the medication, but needed some help.
“I kind of got stuck,” Abendroth said. “That’s why I joined.”
He gives a lot of the credit to Swenson, saying she is a good motivator and always upbeat.
“She’s awesome,” he said. “I can’t say enough good things about her. I look forward to going to the meetings.”
Charlotte Haas joined on June 1, saying she finally just made up her mind to go. Years ago she was a member. She said the program is so different and easier now with computer access to information.
“This program is so user friendly,” she said. “And you just need that support.”
Weight Watchers picks a new topic each week so that the meetings all over the country are the same.
This past week, the members talked about things they like to do to make time for themselves. They share recipes, many of which can be accessed online or in a weekly newsletter that Swenson sends out.
“It’s a change in lifestyle,” Swenson said. “We’re here to change the relationship with food forever. Weight Watchers has all the hard work figured out for us.”
The cost is $15 per week or a three-month payment of $114.85. Seniors over 65 pay $14 per week. They meet Mondays in the Ella Veslak Room at the library with weigh-in at 9 a.m. followed by the meeting at 9:30 a.m. For information, visit a meeting at the library at 128 S. Sawyer St. in Shawano.
