Weight Watchers Is Back on Campus; Reimbursement Incentive Offered

The University of Hartford has hosted five successful on-campus Weight Watchers campaigns. We are now ready to begin the next 12–week series.

The next series will be held on Fridays at 9 a.m. The first meeting will be on Friday, Nov. 2, and the series will run through Friday, Jan. 18, 2013. All meetings will be held in GSU 331 with the exception of Friday, Jan. 18, 2013, when the meeting will be in GSU 335.

In order for meetings to be held on campus, a minimum of 15 registered members must commit and the payment must be made through the Weight Watchers online portal at https://wellness.weightwatchers.com.

The At Work meetings bring the Weight Watchers experience to campus with a trained leader conducting weekly meetings. You benefit from the proven advantage of group support from fellow Weight Watchers members and coworkers. At Work members also have the flexibility of attending a meeting in their community free of charge if they choose at any time during the series. The motivational weekly meetings last 30 minutes preceded by a 15-minute weigh-in period. The total meeting time is approximately 45 minutes.

Weight Watchers has made some changes that have made signing up even easier and more affordable. There are two options:

Monthly Pass – The Weight Watchers monthly pass is $39.95 per month and includes free eTools and unlimited access to At Work meetings or meetings at Weight Watcher's convenient locations. In addition, the monthly pass provides members with guidance from a leader as well as support from others. The monthly pass will renew automatically each month. It is the member’s responsibility to cancel membership.

Weight Watchers Online – If a minimum of 15 people don't sign up, employees can still participate through Weight Watcher’s online portal for $17.95 per month. Individuals who sign up for this option have 24-hour access to all the tools needed to follow Points Plus on their own. This allows members to track their weight, use daily PointsPlus values, find recipes, connect with other members, and much more. Members can follow the plan at their own pace any time and anywhere. The site, https://wellness.weightwatchers.com, is tailored to serve the unique needs of men and women and renews automatically each month. It is the member’s responsibility to cancel membership. This membership includes a user name and password that can also be used to download the free Weight Watchers applications for smart phones.

Both the monthly pass and online options require a credit card that will be charged monthly. Each member must also have a valid email address to register via the portal.

Reimbursement Incentive

The Office of Human Resources Development was awarded a generous grant from the Cigna Foundation. As a result, the University will provide a reimbursement to the regular full-time and regular part-time employees who participate in this Weight Watchers series. Employees will be reimbursed 50 percent of the cost at the end of the 12-week series if the member attends a minimum of eight out of 12 meetings. Members must attend these sessions on campus.

If you would like more information or are interested in participating in Weight Watchers, please contact Kathe Snow, HR generalist and wellness advocate, at 860.768.4668 or ksnow@hartford.edu.