Frequently Asked Questions

A: We accept credit card payments by Visa, MasterCard and American Express. We use PayPal as our credit card processor.

A: No! We will never charge your credit card without your authorisation first.

A: You don't have to! Because we use PayPal as our credit card processor, we never see your credit card details. Instead you give PayPal your credit card details, they do a validation check on your card, and if everything is ok then PayPal takes the money and puts it in our account. At no time do we have any contact with your credit card details.

A: Founded in 1998, PayPal has quickly become a global leader in online payment solutions with 100 million account members worldwide. Available in 103 countries and regions around the world, buyers and sellers on eBay, online retailers, online businesses, as well as traditional offline businesses are transacting with PayPal. PayPal is designed from the ground up to be one of the safest ways to send money online. Unlike other financial institutions, PayPal payments are sent without sharing financial information. In fact, PayPal never shares your financial information with or sells it to merchants. PayPal also offers 100% protection against unauthorized payments sent from your account.

A: No. You can use PayPal to pay your WeighInOnline membership without having to sign-up with PayPal. All you need are your credit card details.

A: Please click here and we will email it to you.

A: The spam filter within your email program may be flagging WeighInOnline messages as spam. Have a look in your spam or junk mail folder to see if the messages are there and if so please click on the option to tell your email program that these messages aren't spam. You should also add the sender of our messages to your address book so your spam filter doesn't flag our messages as spam in the future.

A: Your computer and printer control how WeighInOnline web pages and PDF's print, so you must have your printer set up correctly for printing to work. If things don't fit correctly on the printed pages then you may need to adjust paper or margin sizes. When printing web pages look for the Page Setup option in your browser and ensure your paper size is set correctly and that you have decent margins (19 millimeters is a good margin size). When printing PDF's please use the Page Setup option within Adobe Reader. See web page printing tips for more information and examples.

A: There are several ways that you can approach your weekly weigh-in.

1. Use your own personal scales at home. Try and weigh on the same day each week and approximately at the same time of day.
2. Use the scales at your local chemist shop or shopping mall. Many of these scales will provide you with a print-ouy which will be handy when you log-in and update your details.
3. If you are a member of a gym, most gyms have scales that you can use.
4. Some doctors clinics will allow you to use their scales each week. Check with your doctor to see if this is an option.

My suggestion would be, if you don't already own a set of personal scales, is to purchase some.

A: As long as the scales are not faulty, the accuracy of the starting weight compared to other scales is not a factor to be concerned with.

We are monitoring the movement of your weight each week. As an example, 2 kilograms down is still 2 kilograms down regardless of your starting weight

A: I believe that there is one important reason why small and slow weight loss often stays off. The reasons weight losses are small and slow is often because we have added in extra foods, enjoyed our social lives, drunk an extra glass of wine or eaten a chocolate or two. This means that you have been following the food plan but also living your live around it.

If your approach to the diet is too rigid the weight losses might be higher but you could decide it is too hard to live with and return to your old habits.

Slow and steady wins the day.

A: NO! Small plates signal "hungry"! Your plate should be the same size as everyone else's and filled to the edge with vegetables.

A: The use of whether to use artificial sweeteners has to be a personal choice. My recommendation would be to not use them - I personally would never consume any artificially sweetened substance. Research findings suggest there is a risk is consuming these products and I don't consider it worth that risk. If you do choose to use diet products try and not use anything containing saccharine.

A: You must take into account individual differences in age, metabolic rate, activity levels, degree of dedication to the food plan and the amount of weight you need to lose.

Weight losses in the first few weeks of dieting are usually higher than the following weeks due to fluid loss and can be in the range of 500 grams to 1.5 kilos - or more.

A: Who says you have to cook special meals - all our meals are every day foods and many of our recipes can be prepared very quickly with a minimum of mess.

A: The GI factor is the glycaemic index which ranks foods based on their immediate effect on blood sugar levels.

Carbohydrates that break down quickly are ranked with a high GI factor.

It is considered that foods with a low GI help people to control their hunger and blood sugars.

Having said that, the glycaemic index was created for people with diabetes and if you were to overeat on foods with a low GI you will still gain weight.

A: Fat-free foods can be high in sugar and therefore full of kilojoules.