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Frequently Asked Questions
1. I am lactose / dairy intolerant. Can I use this diet?
Answer: Yes, you can. When you are signing up, please indicate that you are lactose/dairy intolerant when asked about your food allergies. In the case of users who are dairy free, your food plan, aka Aspire pyramid will be adjusted for you. The Aspire recipes which are dairy free is labelled as D.F. If you have questions about your food plan, you can contact the dietitian via the Aspire for Life support page. On the self-monitoring or support page, click on ‘Discuss with dietitian’ in the left-hand menu and email her your questions.
2. I am a vegetarian. Can I use this diet?
Answer: Yes, you can. However, your food plan is generated with a food group that includes eggs, fish, chicken and meat , as some vegetarians do eat some of these. If you do not eat any of these at all, contact the dietitian to adjust your food plan after you sign up and login. You can contact the dietitian via the Aspire for Life support page. On the support page, click on ‘Discuss with dietitian’ in the left-hand menu and email her your needs.
3. I am gluten intolerant. Will the programme be suitable for me?
Answer: Yes, Aspire can be suitable for you. The recipes in the Aspire programme are labelled whether they are gluten free and they are labelled as G.F. If you are gluten intolerant, make sure that you use only those that are gluten free.
4. I am breastfeeding / pregnant. Can I use this programme?
Answer: If you are breastfeeding, you can use Aspire. However, once you are on the programme, contact the dietitian to have your food pyramid adjusted.
If you are pregnant, we advise against signing up on Aspire, as we do not encourage expecting mothers to go on weight loss. But if you become pregnant after you sign up Aspire, please contact the dietitian as soon as you discover that, and request she reviews your food pyramid. She will then adjust your food pyramid to help you maintain your weight through your pregnancy.
5. Who is Aspire most suitable for?
Answer: Aspire works best for users who:
- can be self motivated with a little help
- are Internet savvy and comfortable with navigating through a lot of information
- like to pick up skills and advice, and adapt them into their lives
- have BMI above 25
6. I have diabetes, heart problem, gastric by-pass, depression and/or other medical conditions is Aspire suitable for me?
Answer: Aspire advocates weight management in a sustainable healthy way that can benefit most people. However, if you have a medical condition, it is advisable to discuss with your doctor before joining any weight loss programme. There might be other options available, for example, referral to a dietitian who specialises in your medical conditions and can work closely with your doctor to provide you with higher level of care. In addition, there is an exercise section in Aspire - find out from your doctor whether you are fit to take up an exercise programme and any precaution required. If you decide after your discussion to join Aspire, remember to continue your regular medical reviews with your doctor/s.
7. My weight is within the healthy range. Can I sign up for this programme?
Answer: The Aspire programme is meant for anyone who wants to lose or maintain weight in a healthy way. However, please note that the food plan, aka Aspire pyramid, takes into consideration your BMI (body mass index) range. For all users whose body mass index (BMI) is above 22 which is about the mid point of the healthy weight range, the food plan will be generated with an energy deficit for weight loss. From BMI of 22 to 18.5, the energy deficit will be progressively reduced until eventually it reaches energy balance for weight maintenance. We do not encourage anyone with BMI below 18.5 to use Aspire.
8. I encountered the following problem during sign up. What should I do?
a. System said my username is already in use
The Aspire system uses your username as identification and therefore it has to be unique to the system. If your username is already used by someone, try using another pseudonym you can easily remember.
b. System said my email address is already in use
This usually means you are sharing an email account with someone who is already using or had used Aspire. Set up an email account for yourself. There are many free email system available which are very easy to setup and take only a few minutes. Try www.gmail.com, www.yahoo.com or www.hotmail.com etc.
c. System does not allow me to proceed when I click the 'Continue' button
Make sure you have checked the box on terms and conditions, select the programme you want, select the auto-renewal time period or 'none', and fill out the mandatory information. If the information is correctly entered and the system does not move on to step 2 after you click the 'Continue' tab, check that Java script is enabled on your system. If you are using Windows and Internet Explorer, you can do this through the following steps:
- Open your Internet Explorer browser
- Click on the tab 'Tools'
- Select 'Internet Options' on the drop down box
- Click on the tab 'Security'
- Click on 'Custom level'
- Scroll down to 'Scripting of Java applets'
- Select 'Enable'
- Click 'OK' to exit setup
If you do not have Java loaded on your system, go to www.java.com/en/ and follow the instructions to download the script. For Java to load properly, you may have to temporarily disable your security software. Remember to re-enable the security software after you complete the installation and are able to sign up.
Now you can complete your sign up. If you have done all these and cannot successfully sign on, write to us at enquiries@aspirediet.com with the error message you received, the step in the sign up you encountered problem and a description of the problem. Alternatively, you can do screen shots of the error messages and email them to us. (To capture a screen shot if you are running Windows on a PC, press the 'ctrl' button followed by the 'prnt scrn' button. Then, open up a Word or Powerpoint file, and do a paste. Save the file and attach it to the email you send to us.) Please also let us know the web browser and computer system you are using.
9. What happens after the Free 1 week trial?
Answer: You can join the Full membership programme for 12 weeks or the Starter programme for 4 weeks. If you sign up to renew, your credit card will be debited when the week ends. If you decide to sign up after the free trial week is over, you will resume your new programme at week 2. That is, you will stay on the programme for a total of 13 or 5 weeks respectively.
10. Why can’t I start at the beginning after the Free 1 week trial?
Answer: During the Free 1 week trial, you get all the information for week 1 of either the full membership or starter programmes. The system is designed so you can carry on from where you are and progress to get the most out of your programme. Information for week 1 will continue to be made available to you in the later weeks.
11. What happens after the 4 week Starter Programme?
Answer: You can opt to auto-renew the programme so that you can continue enjoying the programme from week 5 onwards. You can continue the programme with a 4 week renewal or a 12 week renewal.
12. What are the differences in the content of the Free 1 week trial, Starter membership, Full membership, Auto-renew and Club membership programmes?
Answer: In the Free 1 week trial, you get the same advice, food plan and activity plan for 1 week as you would get for the Starter programme and the Full membership programme.
The Starter programme is for 4 weeks to get you started, and the content is the same as for the first 4 weeks of the Full membership programme.
The Full membership programme is for 12 weeks.
If you decide to stay with Aspire for Life, you can extend your current programme through the Auto-renew programme. You can choose to continue for another 4 or 12 weeks from your current programme until week 24. The Aspire for Life is a 24 week programme.
Club membership is similar to the auto-renew programme but starts from week 25 at a much reduced fee. Users can revisit information released in earlier weeks and continue their dialogue with the Aspire professionals or community. No new information is released from week 25.
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Free 1 week trial
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Starter
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Full Membership
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Auto-renew/Renew
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Club Membership
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Duration
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1 week
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4 weeks
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12 weeks
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Options of 4 or 12 weeks
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Options of 4 or 12 weeks
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Advice and tips
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Week 1 only
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Weeks 1-4
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Weeks 1-12
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Weeks 5 or 13 onwards |
Revisit earlier information |
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Reviews with dietitian and activity coach
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None
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2 scheduled reviews |
4 scheduled reviews
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additional 1-2 reviews (4 weeks) or 4 reviews (12 weeks) |
no diary reviews |
| Food plan |
1 week only |
Updated for every weigh-in
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Updated for every weigh-in |
Updated for every weigh-in |
Updated for every weigh-in |
| Activity plan |
Daily plan |
Daily plan
Weight loss plan |
Daily plan
Weight loss plan |
Daily plan
Weight loss plan
Stretching
Interval training
Resistance
Older adults |
Daily plan
Weight loss plan
Stretching
Interval training
Resistance
Older adults |
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Fee
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Free
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$89 |
$198
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$69 for 4 weeks
$169 for 12 weeks |
$18 for 4 weeks
$49 for 12 weeks |
13. What is the difference between renewal and auto-renewal?
Answer: Renewal is a one time renewal and payment will be deducted from your credit card once you activate the renewal; the renewal period will continue from the completion of your current programme. You can activate renewal after you login. Go to 'Your account' at the top banner, select 'Membership', select renewal and go through the payment process.
Auto-renewal is an automatic renewal whenever your programme expires and payment will be deducted from your credit card on the first day of the renewal period. Auto-renewal can be activated during sign up or through the same process above but by selecting auto-renewal instead. Please note that all auto-renewal happens at around 12.01am on the day when your programme completes as that is the time when it is less likely to disrupt usage.
14. I typed the voucher code into the voucher code box and the price display did not change. Is there something wrong?
Answer: If you did not see the payment change after entering the voucher code and submitting, check that your voucher code is typed correctly – sometimes zero ‘0’ is mistaken for the alphabet ‘O’, the number one '1' is mistaken for the alphabet 'I', or vice versa. A way to avoid this mistake is to perform a copy and paste of the voucher code. Please also note that the voucher code is only for the 12 week programme unless you are a user funded by an organisation with a contract arrangement with Aspire.
If this does not describe your problem, write to us at enquiries@aspirediet.com with description of what you did, error message encountered and the voucher code number.
15. I wanted to sign up for the 4 week Starter programme and the voucher code did not work. Has the voucher expired?
Answer: The voucher is valid only for the 12 week programme unless you are a user funded by an organisation with a contract arrangement with Aspire.
16. My programme has already expired. What should I do to renew it?
Answer: Simply login with your old username and password. You will be guided through the payment process. Once your payment is completed, you will resume the programme from where you left off.
17. If I want to subscribe to the Starter or Full membership programme but do not want to subscribe to the Auto-renew programme, what do I do?
Answer: Simply select ‘none’ in the selection box for auto-renew during the sign up process if you do not wish to extend your programme.
If you have opted for Auto-renew during sign up and change your mind later, you can cancel the auto-renew before payment is deducted from your credit card. To cancel, login to your account, click on ‘Your Account’ on the top banner , click on 'Membership', select auto-renew option and click on 'None' from the drop down box. To cancel auto-renewal, please do so at least 2 days before the completion of your programme.
18. What do I do once I sign up?
Answer: Once you sign up, you will enter a user home page. There, detailed instructions will be given on how to proceed on with the programme. These instructions will be available for a week to guide you through the website. A quick to start would be to pick up your personalised food plan, aka Aspire pyramid, and sample menu. Then, take your time to navigate through the rest of the information.
19. I need to travel during the programme. Can you put the programme on hold for me?
Answer: Aspire does not have this feature of holding a user's programme. If your travel date is more than a month away, you may wish to sign up for the 4 week programme and renew as you need. If your travel date is less than a month, perhaps you could sign up after you return - put a reminder on your mobile phone calendar to remind yourself to sign up once you return. Good health is worth investing in.
20. I do not have a credit card. Can I pay by Internet banking or cheque?
Answer: Yes, we are now setup to provide both mode of payment. You can send in a cheque with your name, email address and telephone and we can issue you a voucher code for you to sign up online without further charge. Please write to us at enquiries@aspirediet.com for the arrangement and provide us your name, email address and telephone number. These payment methods are available for the 12 week programme only.
21. Why didn't my auto-renewal activate after my subscription complete and what do I do?
Answer: As of 7 Nov 2009, the auto-renewal function will not activate and your subscription will terminate if you have not login for 3 weeks or more. This is done to prevent payment deduction from credit cards of users who are no longer active but have forgotten to cancel auto-renewal. To reactivate your account, login with your old username and password and you will be guided to input your credit card details for payment to re-join.
22. If I have further questions about this programme, whom do I contact?
Answer: If your questions are not found in the above and you are not already a member, please write to enquiries@aspirediet.com. If you are already a member, you can contact the Aspire for Life team via the Aspire for Life support page. Click on ‘Discuss with/Contact xxx’ to leave a message for an appropriate member of the team. You can check replies through these same tabs.
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