By PHOEBE DONALD ROBINSON / Community Columnist

Have you ever thought about losing weight and just did not know what to do?

Come join Weight Watchers voted No. 1 as the most cost effective weight loss program in the United States by the Annuals of Internal Medicine and voted No. 1 as the Best Weight Loss Plan for the last five years by U.S. News and World Report.

Come join Columbiana Weight Watchers at Work Meeting, which meets at Columbiana United Methodist Church in the dining room every Wednesday.

Weight-in and fellowship is at 3:30 p.m., and the meeting is from 4-4:30 p.m.

Cost is $186 for 17 weeks if 20 people join; cost is $156 for 12 weeks if 15 people join.

Both sessions include free e-tools. You can pay in three installments, all due June 24 that will be cashed each month.

The ongoing class has been going for years and has many dedicated members.

“I joined WW over 1 1/2 years ago because being overweight was causing me knee and back pain,” said member Kathy Corbitt. “The program has helped me succeed in losing enough weight to notice significant improvements in my knees and back. As an added benefit, I look forward to Wednesday afternoons. It really has become a support group as well as a time of fellowship with some wonderful folks.”

“The accountability factor works best for me,” said Ceil Ebert, who has achieved her lifetime goal and goes to meetings free as a result. “I tried to do this on my own. I would fudge and had no one to be accountable to. I also get ideas from other members and they keep me motivated.”

The Columbiana Weight Watchers group is taught by WW leader Vera Rosenow, who lost 35 pounds 38 years ago and has kept her weight off all these years.

“Weight Watchers works because we learn to eat real food,” said Rosenow. “I love the fact that there isn’t anything I cannot have on Weight Watchers. You are taught portion control and how to handle your emotions so you don’t turn to food.”

Corbitt is the Columbiana WW’s facilitator.

For more information, email kathycorbitt@aol.com or call 669-0346.