[Snacks]

I know, I know.....maybe it's a cult and all, but I'm going to give it a try

I don't really want to lose a lot of weight, I just need help with making better food choices and I sadly I do better in a controlled environment. The weekly weigh ins and food diary will increase my chances of success.

Anyone else ever try WW?

Thanks, Amy

 

[binary visions]

Seems to be hit-or-miss from everyone I know, and it all depends on whether or not the program "works" for you. It has to fit with your personality, and if it does, people have had great success. When it doesn't, it's usually a spectacular failure.

A woman I worked with lost 60+ lbs. on Weight Watchers and figures it changed her life. She's better about what she eats and has kept the weight off for two years. My mom tried it about 10 years or so ago and didn't lose an ounce; she hated the whole program. That seems about par for the course - some people like it, some don't.

Good luck with it - when it works for someone, it seems to deliver good results!

 

[Snacks]

Seems to be hit-or-miss from everyone I know, and it all depends on whether or not the program "works" for you. It has to fit with your personality, and if it does, people have had great success. When it doesn't, it's usually a spectacular failure.

A woman I worked with lost 60+ lbs. on Weight Watchers and figures it changed her life. She's better about what she eats and has kept the weight off for two years. My mom tried it about 10 years or so ago and didn't lose an ounce; she hated the whole program. That seems about par for the course - some people like it, some don't.

Good luck with it - when it works for someone, it seems to deliver good results!

Thanks!

There are about 5 ppl on it at here at work on it and they have all had great results. My mom did it last year and lost a ton of weight, since we both have similar personalities I figure it might work for me.

One of my good friends has been on it of and on forever and never lost a pound, but she's kinda a rebel

 

[binary visions]

My mom did it last year and lost a ton of weight, since we both have similar personalities I figure it might work for me.

If you understand the regimen and are prepared for it, I have little doubt that you'll achieve whatever goals you set for yourself.

My coworker loved it since she was a bit obsessive/compulsive, and enjoyed the rituals of the food diary and the numbers (I can't remember if WW is the one with the "points" or if she just was counting calories/fat/etc). My mom is the complete opposite and every few days, she'd try to fill in all of the meals she'd had since her last entry, which was always a frustration and utter failure .

 

[Snacks]

My coworker loved it since she was a bit obsessive/compulsive, and enjoyed the rituals of the food diary and the numbers.

Hahah! Sadly so am I :

 

[Spunger]

My girlfriend lost 40+ lbs doing weight watchers. I think she wants to start it again seeing as some weight has come back. I've tried it and had a few pounds difference here and there but I don't feel like I'm ever eating enough. I understand food can be fatty but the points for my age, height, weight just don't seem like enough. Plus you have to exercise your butt off to gain back extra points.

I'm more like.........I have my eating under control, but need to find an sport or something to do that keeps me busy. It's not like I'm 15 again and can do whatever. Gotta worry about working, girlfriend, just general living and such. I miss the ocean though.........thought about getting back into bodyboarding as that's when I saw the most change in my body. The sad thing is once I got my eating under control now I gotta find the exercise to do it. It's all such a long process.

But good luck man, it's not all that hard to stick to, you just have to watch everything you eat and be aware that a Taco Bell Burrito is 9 points and other fast food is etc...how ever many points. When you can eat 28 points per day eating 9 points for 1 burrito is alot. Some food is just off the points chart. It hurts to find your favorite pizza or other foods is off-limits or in such moderation you eat like 1 piece. Just stick to it but also spoil yourself atleast once a week, maybe. It helps a lot if you just allow yourself a treat or something. If you don't what's the point of life?

 

[laura]

i never tried weight watchers because i didnt want to have to pay for anything. i don't quite understand the point system either but i know lots of people who have had great results from it. i do keep a food diary and count calroies religiously and lost 75 pounds. i have kept it off for 2 years now. i have pretty bad stomach problems so keeping up with what i eat helps me keep my stomach under control too. I also keep a pretty strict workout schedule/log most of the time that involves a lot of running. i like numbers and being able to track progress so i can really get into stuff like that. good luck.

 

[Ciaran]

My GF works for WW. it's a good program really. No gimicky food or anything like that. They stress portion control, healthy eating with the occasional guilty pleasure and excercise. The points system is there to make it easier for people who don't have much nutritional knowledge and such. They change the program everyso often and usually offer more than one program. It's very good for people who need that extra push to stay motivated or need a more regimented program than trying to do it yourself.

The GF cooks a ton of different WW approved things and I usually can't tell the difference.

 

[BMXman]

My mom did it a while ago and she's super stubborn but she still lost 40lbs....I say good luck and good for you at least you're getting out there and open to trying new things...D

 

[The Toninator]

i never tried weight watchers because i didnt want to have to pay for anything. i don't quite understand the point system either but i know lots of people who have had great results from it. i do keep a food diary and count calroies religiously and lost 75 pounds. i have kept it off for 2 years now. i have pretty bad stomach problems so keeping up with what i eat helps me keep my stomach under control too. I also keep a pretty strict workout schedule/log most of the time that involves a lot of running. i like numbers and being able to track progress so i can really get into stuff like that. good luck.

75lbs Laura?, that's outstanding!

 

[Biscuit]

To put my two cents in.

My mom is a nurse, health nut, and hypoglycemic (similar to diabetic, but backwards).
She uses weight watchers because it's the only diet system that actually get's people to eat balanced (read: healthy) meals, especially with her bloodsugar problems.

You are allowed moment's of weakness to eat cake or when you have friends visiting, whatever. You simply have to account for it in your "points" system.

The accountability factor when going to weekly meetings really helps too. She was a "lifetimer" as they call it (you meet your goal weight, and as long as you keep it you pay no dues).
Then she decided she didn't need to go to the meetings anymore and has since gained ~15 lbs. She's now attending meetings again.

 

[laura]

so snacks, how is it going? any luck?

 

[Serial Midget]

Hmmmm, is pedaling up the hills part of the program too? :evil: :evil: :evil:

 

[Ciaran]

Hmmmm, is pedaling up the hills part of the program too? :evil: :evil: :evil:

Yes it is! They want their members to excercise. You even get extra points if you excercise enough. My GF hit's the gym about 5 times a week. While I haven't been able to get her on a real bike yet (she's afraid of crashing or getting hit by a car) she'll ride the stationary bike for miles.

Biscuit: nice to hear that your mom hit goal and lifetime. It's not easy losing weight when (like my GF) you don't have a hobby that you love that happens to provide lots of good excercise like cycling. I know that i would be big as a house if I had to rely on running to get my excercise in. I love biking, but I hate running... too boring.

Weight Watchers really is a good program.

 

[ridetoofast]

a buddy of mine lost about 65-70 lbs by just maintaining a caloric deficit, eating right, and riding his ass off over about a 14 month period. in the process he became addicted to road cylcing and is now a cat 3.

either way glad that you've made a concious decision to better yourself.

keep us posted

im at the end day 3 of trying to quit smoking ...for about the 50th time and so far no insane cravings or anything. the downside to it is that beer/booze is out of the question as that just makes it wayyyyyyyy too hard

 

[tgreathead]

My wife and I started in 2001. Over 2 years I lost 40 pounds. My wife recently hit the 80 pound mark. We both did the points system with steady exercise (I was running before I picked up a bike last year).
It works if you want it to and only if you want it to.

Then: (seriously, don't tell her I showed you this)

Now:

 

[laura]

wow you two look fantastic. i love before and after pics.


*shameless plug of what eating right and working your butt off can do for you.

 

[laura]

75lbs Laura?, that's outstanding!

thanks, it feels outstanding.

 

[DRB]

wow you two look fantastic. i love before and after pics.


*shameless plug of what eating right and working your butt off can do for you.

WOW laura. Just wow. That is excellent. tgreathead samething for you and your wife.

I lost 50lbs a couple of years ago. (240 to 190) and have held in the 185 - 195 range since. The two pieces of advice I can offer

- get a scale and weight yourself every single day for the rest of your life. I didn't really pick this habit up until near the end of losing the weight. Its that reaffirmation that what I am doing is working and I certainly catch on quick if I'm sliding towards 195 mark and lets me adjust. Which leads to the second thing.
- don't think of it as short term, it has to be life style change you intend on sticking with for life.

 

[Ciaran]

- don't think of it as short term, it has to be life style change you intend on sticking with for life.

That's one of the main things that most people don't realize, I think. Once the GF realized that this was a lifestyle change for the rest of her life and accepted that fact, losing weight became much easier and consistent. She not only looks better, but she has more energy and feels better about herself.

 

[tgreathead]

That is excellent. tgreathead samething for you and your wife.

- get a scale and weight yourself every single day for the rest of your life. I didn't really pick this habit up until near the end of losing the weight. Its that reaffirmation that what I am doing is working and I certainly catch on quick if I'm sliding towards 195 mark and lets me adjust. Which leads to the second thing.
- don't think of it as short term, it has to be life style change you intend on sticking with for life.

Thanks

We do the same thing with the scale. When we were heavier it was discouraging because the numbers changed so slowly but now I can see immediately if I've gotta lay off the pizza next week, etc. Once you hit your target weight its easy to monitor fluctuation of a few pounds, rather than the hopeless feeling that 'it won't make a difference, I've got so much to lose anyway'.

It definitely is a lifestyle change. As you're learning the program there's a couple huge shockers about foods you would consider as 'healthy' or 'no big deal'. My wife used to skip breakfast and get an ice blended coffee thing instead, thinking it was just liquid so it had to be better for her. Turns out the coffee drink she got was 8 points, the equivalent of about 3 bowls of cereal. The first thing I cut out was soda. I still have it every once in a while but I used to drink can after can. One 20 oz. bottle of soda (like a bottle of beer) is 5 points. When I started the program I got about 25 points a day. If I had 2 bottles of soda I had used 2/5 my daily points on a drink. Now I drink water and UNsweetened iced tea. It sounds like a huge sacrifice but I wanted a huge change.

 

[Spunger]

To add to this.....

Crystal lite or whatever, is 0 points. Yummmy flavored water It's not that bad though, I drink it to drink more water and sometimes it's hard to get water intake for someone not use to drinking lots of water.

The food though is the biggest shocker. Things you think are good for you aren't in their system but a Jamba juice or blenders type fruit drink has lots of sugars and such but if you don't treat yourself good once it a while it gets old very quickly. Things laying off of is fast food and anything that can be delivered. I think that's the biggest thing, and portion control (which is what they are trying to really teach you).

My girlfriend will probably start on it soon again and hopefully can get back to the point where she's happy again. I try to help her with it by doing a modified version for myself and I've seen some loss, not a whole lot but some. I saw the scale at 250 a while ago and said that's too much so I dropped 12lbs and have sorta hovered around there. I think if I cut out cheese in my sandwhiches daily and instead of chips had like carrot sticks or something I'd drop some more. I drink 1 can of coke a day (down from like 4+ a day) but I still think if I could cut that in half it'd help) Dinner's aren't usually too bad nor is lunch really. We just have to get into that routine of eating right and trying to find time for some sort of physical activity.

Seeing some of the pics of you guys does help for motavation. It lets everyone know that the sytem works (for some, but hey it works).

Good job guys

 

[tgreathead]

To add to this.....

Crystal lite or whatever, is 0 points. Yummmy flavored water It's not that bad though, I drink it to drink more water and sometimes it's hard to get water intake for someone not use to drinking lots of water.

I think if I cut out cheese in my sandwhiches daily and instead of chips had like carrot sticks or something I'd drop some more. I drink 1 can of coke a day (down from like 4+ a day) but I still think if I could cut that in half it'd help) Dinner's aren't usually too bad nor is lunch really. We just have to get into that routine of eating right and trying to find time for some sort of physical activity.

Good job guys

I have a huge problem with artificial sweeteners. I don't eat anything that has fake sugar in it. Aspartame (Extra gum, Diet soda, Crystal Lite) gives me huge headaches and a serious feeling of uneasiness. Do yourself a favor, try to only eat real food for 2 weeks. I'm not saying go vegan and eat spinach for breakfast, I'm just saying cut out anything 'diet' and see how you feel. I couldn't believe the difference. Its no wonder the fattening of America coincides with the development of a gazillion artificial sweeteners.

Here's a few tips:
-Take a 10 to 15 minutes walk right after you eat every meal, especially dinner.
-Eat a big breakfast, big lunch, small/medium dinner.
-Exercise daily. A little bit every day is 10x better that a lot once a week.

Feel free to ask any questions, I'm happy to help

 

[Spunger]

LOL I won't touch diet soda. My girlfriend likes it because according to WW it's 0 points but I'd rather have the real thing if I am going to drink it. The crystal lite we only drink the lemonade flavor as it's the only real one I've tasted that tastes ok. But I agree, trying to get past anything with sugar in it is a task.

I've been eating less and less, more human food is what I call it (nothing fast, nothing really processed etc...). I use to get 4 or 5 things at say taco bell if we ate out, now I'm down to 2 (3) if I am super hungry. I feel 10x better when I eat "human food" where it's cooked at home or it's something like chicken/tri-tip etc...from a BBQ place, but the stuff is just as cooked, not soaked or drenched in some marinade or dressings. In fact I've changed eating so much that when or if we end up eating at a fast food place it tastes nasty. Burger King, Mcdonalds, Taco bell, Jack in the box, all taste nasty at this point. That was my normal diet though, just eating fast food all the time.

Did you stick to the exercise and diet pretty closely? I'm just asking because I know guys are suspose to drop weight faster than a women just due to body build up and such. What weight/height did you start at and end at? I know you can loose 1lb a week pretty easily but from your post it says you lost 40lbs in 2 years. I'm just curious what everything started at and how much you tried to stick to it and such. Right now I'm 237, 5'11. I'd like to get down to that low 200lbs mark. Then I can think about going less but I carry all my weight in my tummy. I think my ideal weight according to online things and such is in the 180's (on the high end of the scale) but nothing acounts for muscle, it's just "what you should be" scales. I'd be happy with 200 for the rest of my life.

I agree, I'm trying to work into the daily thing. When it comes down to it I don't think I eat enough as I really only eat lunch and dinner. Once I get going though with exercising daily then I think I can hopefully mix breakfest in as well. I know what you mean though.

Thanks for the advice/reply. Every little bit helps!

 

[tgreathead]

Ya, I know that WW says its zero points because it is. I did a lot of reading about sweeteners and its kinda like the pretzels at a bar theory. The diet soda does nothing but slow down your metabolism and doesn't make you feel full so you just drink more. I didn't drink soda at all for almost a year and I had to mix my first can with water to take the taste down, it tasted soooo sweet.

Another thing I can recommend is to stop eating beef and pork. Pound for pound you can eat 4 times the chicken and even more fish for the same amount of points. A tri-tip sandwich is the same amount of points as a burger. If you're going to eat beef and pork do get it at a 'real' food place. It may not be the best for you but its a hell of a lot better than a processed fast-food burger.

I have always exercised more than my wife. As a kid my dad took me to the beach, biking, hiking, etc. all the time. I hit junior high and just wanted to 'chill with my friends.' When we started WW in 2001 i didn't have the physique to exercise too much. We started with walking. Everyday for at least half an hour we would take a good paced walk (not powerwalking you asses). We did that and tracked our points for a long time. I stopped losing around 2002 and couldn't figure it out. I kicked it up a notch and tried running for the first time in my life. I started off slow; walk for 10 minutes, run (jog) for a minute, and so on. Then, after a week, I would walk for 9 minutes, run for a minute. I did this until I could run and walk in minute increments. Then one day, just to test myself, I stopped walking. I ran for almost 2 hours before I stopped. It was insane. And I only stopped because I had to go to work

Last year around May I found out about Kenter and bought a BMX bike. After my first trip up there I bought the Enduro and the rest is history. Biking's better on the knees anyway.

Skipping breakfast is the absolute quickest way to kill your diet. When you go to sleep your metabolism shuts down. It doesn't start up again until you eat something. If you eat a bowl of cereal in the morning your metabolism will work the extra 4 hours until lunch. You really have to keep in check how much cereal you eat. The label says 150 calories per serving but a serving is usually just over a cup. Have you ever measured your cereal? A cup really isn't that much at all, like 1/3 a bowl. We took markers and wrote the points and how big a serving was on everything we could. On that note, I'm gonna grab a handful of baked Cheetos (3 points for 28 pieces, roughly 2 handfuls).

I started in 2001 at 215 pounds with a 36.5" waist and I'm 6'1". I now fluctuate between 165 & 175 depending mostly on muscle and I'm a 31/32. Here's the best advice I can give you; measure your goals in how you look, not by numbers. I said for years that I would kill to be 185 (my 'average' weight as determined by doctors). I hit it and said "this is it?"

Sorry for the incredibly long posts but I really like helping people understand that it really works if you do it right. I'll shut up now.

 

[ridetoofast]

My wife and I started in 2001. Over 2 years I lost 40 pounds. My wife recently hit the 80 pound mark. We both did the points system with steady exercise (I was running before I picked up a bike last year).
It works if you want it to and only if you want it to.

Then: (seriously, don't tell her I showed you this)

Now:

throwing the bs flag...clearly that pic is photo chopped




















j/k..damn dude...nothing personal but yer wife is a hottie now

 

[tgreathead]

j/k..damn dude...nothing personal but yer wife is a hottie now

I know :love:

To her credit (and mine) she wasn't that big when we met. I proposed and she got 'comfortable' so she gained about 40 pounds. I never pushed her to join WW, she decided on her own. I only did it so I could help motivate her. I seriously had NO IDEA it would work for me, I thought I had tried everything.

 

[ridetoofast]

Ya, I know that WW says its zero points because it is. I did a lot of reading about sweeteners and its kinda like the pretzels at a bar theory. The diet soda does nothing but slow down your metabolism and doesn't make you feel full so you just drink more. I didn't drink soda at all for almost a year and I had to mix my first can with water to take the taste down, it tasted soooo sweet.

Another thing I can recommend is to stop eating beef and pork. Pound for pound you can eat 4 times the chicken and even more fish for the same amount of points. A tri-tip sandwich is the same amount of points as a burger. If you're going to eat beef and pork do get it at a 'real' food place. It may not be the best for you but its a hell of a lot better than a processed fast-food burger.

I have always exercised more than my wife. As a kid my dad took me to the beach, biking, hiking, etc. all the time. I hit junior high and just wanted to 'chill with my friends.' When we started WW in 2001 i didn't have the physique to exercise too much. We started with walking. Everyday for at least half an hour we would take a good paced walk (not powerwalking you asses). We did that and tracked our points for a long time. I stopped losing around 2002 and couldn't figure it out. I kicked it up a notch and tried running for the first time in my life. I started off slow; walk for 10 minutes, run (jog) for a minute, and so on. Then, after a week, I would walk for 9 minutes, run for a minute. I did this until I could run and walk in minute increments. Then one day, just to test myself, I stopped walking. I ran for almost 2 hours before I stopped. It was insane. And I only stopped because I had to go to work

Last year around May I found out about Kenter and bought a BMX bike. After my first trip up there I bought the Enduro and the rest is history. Biking's better on the knees anyway.

Skipping breakfast is the absolute quickest way to kill your diet. When you go to sleep your metabolism shuts down. It doesn't start up again until you eat something. If you eat a bowl of cereal in the morning your metabolism will work the extra 4 hours until lunch. You really have to keep in check how much cereal you eat. The label says 150 calories per serving but a serving is usually just over a cup. Have you ever measured your cereal? A cup really isn't that much at all, like 1/3 a bowl. We took markers and wrote the points and how big a serving was on everything we could. On that note, I'm gonna grab a handful of baked Cheetos (3 points for 28 pieces, roughly 2 handfuls).

I started in 2001 at 215 pounds with a 36.5" waist and I'm 6'1". I now fluctuate between 165 & 175 depending mostly on muscle and I'm a 31/32. Here's the best advice I can give you; measure your goals in how you look, not by numbers. I said for years that I would kill to be 185 (my 'average' weight as determined by doctors). I hit it and said "this is it?"

Sorry for the incredibly long posts but I really like helping people understand that it really works if you do it right. I'll shut up now.

damn i really feel fat now, im 5 10 and tip the scales at 225-230

 

[SK6]

I have found myself at a minimum hit the gym 3 times a week, but lately I have trying to hit 4 or 5.

On the off days I’ll do the elliptical and get a good cardio workout and a good fat burn.

On the on days, I still do the elliptical, but I do the weights, belly and legs. I’ve found that the ball physical therapists use will work the hell of your gut. I spend at least a half an hour on the gut.

Diet is essentially eating smart, and if I “slip up” I really don’t have to worry too much about it. If weight watchers works for you than awesome. It’s different things for different people.

Good luck.