No more closed groups????

[cankle]

I have noticed a thread on the unofficial LL forum that there is a rumour that the groups are no longer going to be closed after 3 weeks meaning people can join at any stage! I think this will be awful and to be honest if its true would really put me off joining LL, one of the things that attracted me to LL was of the small groups and everyone starting out at the same time! Has anyone here heard this rumour????

 

[SexyBecks1]

Yes I have. We got told in our group that foundation will go in the same vain as LL Lite. So the groups will be based upon 4 week modules. I don't know if they will only take on people in week one then no more til week 5?!! Not sure, but I have my WI tonight so will try and remember to ask for you.

Please don't let it put you off. Everyone starts off in the same boat and want to loose weight. Not everyone is the same weight but I'm sure inside we all feel the same.

 

[bigboy77]

This happens to our group, people come and go all the time!

 

[SexyBecks1]

I think it's always been like that for men as there are not enough people to have a closed group. I will find out. I will make it my mission for tonight!!

 

[Sean(JSF)]

Correct, always been the case with the Mens' groups. Personally I wouldn't have it any other way

 

[loula]

My group is 'open' - the LLC says that it's better that way and that it's normal these days.... I personally would prefer a closed group as every week we have 2-5 newies, a couple of whom we never see again. And I thought the whole point of a closed group was to develop the trust and to aide open and honest discussions in a safe environment. I do find it a bit off-putting having new people every week, some of whom have very different ways of thinking to those of us who have been on the diet for a little while. But I'm consistently loosing weight so am not gonna leave just because I don't like the group structure!! One of our group started RTM 2 weeks ago and is still coming to our meeting!!

 

[Minerva]

I actually agree with the open group... It can be discouraging sometimes to get new people coming in all the time - but at the same time, I remember when I finished Foundation, I didn't have a group I could join for about 5 months, she couldn't fit me in anywhere because of the 'closed group' situation. ... plus while you do build solid relationships with the people you are in groups with - it's a little bit discouraging when you notice them drop away, or when they finish early and you still have quite a few months to go... A little selfish.. I know. Lol.
But I did find it hard going solo for 5 months. I whined enough that by the end she fit me in somewhere for about a month before I started RTM.
Plus you can get lots of positive strokes from 'newbies' this way if the groups are open.

 

[bigboy77]

I'm not fussed either way, as long as the people that come in are polite and are willing to listen to other peoples point of views its fine by me. My group is really good at the moment, we're all vastly different but get on really well.

 

[roundrachel]

Minerva, did she not have a developers group for you to go into?
Personally I liked the foudation group being closed. We all stuck out the whole 14 weeks so if anyone else had been invited to join there wouldn't have been enough seats!
Developers was hard as people came and went and RTM was the same as you're pretty much on your own by then as everyone is at completely different stages.
I guess everyone does it differently!

 

[pete10141748]

As BB said guys' groups have always been open, I think it works better as you get a) people who have been on it longer than you who can give you advice, and b) people who are new and who you can advise......unless you are me, in which case you are the "oldest" in the group by about 15 weeks! lol

From reading on here I can understand why a lot of people would prefer the closed group situation, but I think it is important to remember that you are doing this thing for YOU; I honestly think if you rely on your group to get you through it then when you leave the program you're going to have a far tougher time than if you accept, from the start, that it's you and only you who can do it, and no matter who else is in that room for an hour each week and no matter how well (or badly!) they've done, you are you, and you weight what you weight, and you've lost what you've lost - and that's all there is to it.

 

[lucylastic]

I don't really have strong feelings either way, the only thing I have noticed with my group, where 3 or 4 people joined a good few weeks after the group had started, is that those people seem to have missed out on the CBT stuff, and find it hard to keep up when something we did prior to them joining gets mentioned again. I guess they're told to read the workbook to bring themselves up to date, but it's only really with discussion I feel you can really grasp some of the concepts.

 

[cankle]

Thanks for the replies guys, I am really determined to succeed with LL it justs seems a bit of a shame that as people have said if they join an established group they might miss out all the beginning bonding etc and after all we all pay the £66 a week so really we should all get what we pay for!