WW or not

[margaret]

Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, I've mentally made weight loss and fitness a higher priority. Actually doing it has been harder than just deciding unfortunately. I have made progress: I'm more flexible with my eating and exercise regimen to make it more adaptable to the demands of my family. After 7 years, I'm halfway there: exercising half as frequently as I should, and have lost half the weight I should. But now I'm gaining again. My biggest difficulty now is emotional trigger eating--lwhen things get too loud I can't think straight anymore and stuff food in my mouth.

I don't like focusing on weight so much, but don't want to give up either. I understand nutrition fine, I'm just having difficulty following through. I've considered Weight Watchers since other people have had success with it. I wonder if I'd do any better sticking with that program than one of my own making. I imagine there'd be a "novelty" period and then I'd be back to my bad habits unless I find a better way to handle them. The expense of WW is doable but a stretch. I don't have time for meetings so would have to try the online version.

Advice from others who have been there?

[deppe4]

I've never done a "commercial" weight loss program before, I've always tried to lose weight through exercise alone and "healthier eating". And well it wasn't working - I wouldn't gain alot but I wasn't losing. What got me to try Weight Watchers was the results my friend had and continues to have by maintaining her optimal weight using the program.

I still have more weight to lose to get to where I want to be, but in 15 weeks I met my 10% weight loss goal (I lost 19 lbs). It isn't always easy, but the program tries to focus individuals on the fact that weight loss and maintaining healthy body weight is a life style/change in attitude about food.

I'm glad I did WW and am going to continue with WW to lose the rest and to help me maintain (once I get there). As with anything, you have to be willing to make the committment - in this case it's a committment to follow through with healthy eating habits, and when it gets hard for me or I get tired of eating the healthy choice - I joke with myself by saying "eating xxxx is an act of self-love"

My friend told me this about WW, and it's worth repeating: Don't do anything on WW that you can't do for the rest of your life.

anyways - hopefully something in this reply was useful.
-deppe4

[michaelb]

My partner joined WW for a while to loss weight after having our 2nd kid. I helped her by calculating the point values of the various meals we ate. When I decided to lose weight last fall to get to lightweight, I used the more traditional approach of counting calories, using a computer program on my palm called Diet and Exercise Assistant. I like the WW method and think it makes a lot of sense. It is a simplified calorie counting approach that is pretty easy to track.

To me, the real value of counting points or counting calories is that they connect how much you eat with your daily exercise. I would have starved each day at 1600 calories, but by rowing for an hour or so, I earned up to another 600, and so could eat a much more reasonable 2000. In WW, you earn extra points by exercise. I also let myself eat whatever I wanted as long as I fairly counted the calories (and only cheated a bit). You can trigger eat if you want, but you have to pay the price by then working out longer.

In the interest of full disclosure, I have gain back about 5 lbs. It has been fun to be "off my diet" plus people think I am too thin at 163. But as Deppe says, I need to now make long term changes to stay under 170 or so.

[margaret]

Thanks for your replies. I think I'll try WW as a "kick start." I know sticking with the commitment to healthful eating & exercise & finding better ways of handling stress is ultimately up to me. Maybe WW will help me buy time to work on that, with the comraderie and novelty. It's worth a shot. I've gained back 12 pounds since last fall, out of 37 lost over several years, and I want to stop that now but am floundering. I could benefit from losing about 20 pounds now.

[Steelhead]

Thanks for your replies. I think I'll try WW as a "kick start." I know sticking with the commitment to healthful eating & exercise & finding better ways of handling stress is ultimately up to me. Maybe WW will help me buy time to work on that, with the comraderie and novelty. It's worth a shot. I've gained back 12 pounds since last fall, out of 37 lost over several years, and I want to stop that now but am floundering. I could benefit from losing about 20 pounds now.

Get a copy of The China Study at the library or bookstore and give it a read; it will explain the benefits of following a WW type of diet -- particulary the WW Core Program. Reading all the various studies about nutrition and food-types will help you stick with WW. I lost about 10 pounds in a month using WW's but felt that I was being forced to eat vegetables (low points); following the nutrition plan in The China Study, I lost another 20 pounds in two months without ever feeling hungry or deprived. Of course, it is making a life-style change; not just a diet to lose weight.

I changed my dietary habits primarily to lower my blood pressure (went from 137/90 to 116/73 in two months without medication), improve my overall health, and to lose visceral fat. As I read The China Study, the WW program started making much more sense.

[margaret]

Steelhead/Mike:

Thanks for the recommendation to read "The China Study." Between you and another friend's strong recommendation, I got it from the library even though I suspected I'd read just about everything there was to read about nutrition.

This book was excellent because for once it wasn't just someone's opinion, and for once the author actually made recommendations consistent with study results instead of based on "the way we've always done it." I've had that objection to books and articles on osteoperosis which noted strong bones in cultures that don't rely on dairy, but then recommend dairy anyway "because we need more calcium." These rationales just didn't add up, but I lacked the background and training myself to disregard the "experts." It was great to read an expert who made recommendations consistent with his findings, and backed them up with the available studies.

I'm just starting to turn around the weight gains I've made in the past year. I think eating vegan/low protein/whole food is helping curb my appetite. Last year I kept upping my protein intake from reading other diet threads warning about insufficient protein, but then I'd be craving more food after a few hours. With less protein & more whole grain, I don't seem to get the same appetite surges that make snacking more tempting; instead I'm mildly aware I'm starting to get hungry but there's no urgency.

Besides me, I'm glad I read "The China Study" for the health of my family. Cutting back on dairy seems to be helping my kids out of the rut of being constantly constipated. I had attributed it to their (dad's) genes, but now I think, hmmm, maybe dairy was the culprit all along.

[Steelhead]

Steelhead/Mike:

Thanks for the recommendation to read "The China Study." Between you and another friend's strong recommendation, I got it from the library even though I suspected I'd read just about everything there was to read about nutrition.

This book was excellent because for once it wasn't just someone's opinion, and for once the author actually made recommendations consistent with study results instead of based on "the way we've always done it." I've had that objection to books and articles on osteoperosis which noted strong bones in cultures that don't rely on dairy, but then recommend dairy anyway "because we need more calcium." These rationales just didn't add up, but I lacked the background and training myself to disregard the "experts." It was great to read an expert who made recommendations consistent with his findings, and backed them up with the available studies.

I'm just starting to turn around the weight gains I've made in the past year. I think eating vegan/low protein/whole food is helping curb my appetite. Last year I kept upping my protein intake from reading other diet threads warning about insufficient protein, but then I'd be craving more food after a few hours. With less protein & more whole grain, I don't seem to get the same appetite surges that make snacking more tempting; instead I'm mildly aware I'm starting to get hungry but there's no urgency.

Besides me, I'm glad I read "The China Study" for the health of my family. Cutting back on dairy seems to be helping my kids out of the rut of being constantly constipated. I had attributed it to their (dad's) genes, but now I think, hmmm, maybe dairy was the culprit all along.

Hi Margaret,

We're in the same boat now, which is great.

[NurseBobbi]

The Washington Post's nutrition columnist wrote a week and a half ago about the importance of meal planning in weight control. She mentioned some websites that are free and can help do that. I joined SparkPeople.com (free) and it's been great. I've used it to set my goals, plan and track my meals and exercise, and chat with others who are working on improving their level of health. The focus is on adopting a healthy lifestyle. The FoodTracker section gives you a detailed breakdown of nutrients in your diet, and having it there makes it easy to alter your meal plans to make adjustments. SparkPeople also give you the option of seeing (or not seeing) their meal planning suggestions. Theirs are kind of boring for a vegetarian, so I plan my own. I've been tracking everything on SparkPeople for 12 days now and have lost 3 pounds and feel better.

Take care,
Bobbi

[The Vulcan]

My husband attended Weight Watchers for a little while, but felt that it was a waste of money. Other than weigh-ins, the meetings consisted of dissemination of info available for free on the internet. Nothing really new or special. It seemed to be targeted to the extremely uninformed.

[Steelhead]

My husband attended Weight Watchers for a little while, but felt that it was a waste of money. Other than weigh-ins, the meetings consisted of dissemination of info available for free on the internet. Nothing really new or special. It seemed to be targeted to the extremely uninformed.

Interesting. WW has two plans: the flex plan and the core plan. Which plan did your husband use and how much weight did he lose in what time period? What information that he found on the internet has helped him the most to gain muscle and lose fat? How is he doing without WW's?

After getting WW's information, eventually I just changed the way I eat following the research in The China Study, and it has been great.

[The Vulcan]

By information freely available on the internet, I mean general nutrition, recipes, and calorie info sites. We are both tracking what we eat on Sparkspeople.com (which is free), and losing weight steadily. He was on the Weight Watchers Core Plan which is basically just eating healthy foods in proper portion sizes. He didn't feel he needed to go to a meeting to do that. Plus, when it was time to establish a goal weight, the leader couldn't do it because they only had the information to do it for women! We are both doing cardio (I am rowing, of course, and he is treadmilling) We are not doing any strength training at the moment, but we're planning to get a BowFlex soon.

Sparkspeople has tons of reliable information on nutrition, exercise, goal-setting and motivation. They also have a community forum like this one.

[Steelhead]

By information freely available on the internet, I mean general nutrition, recipes, and calorie info sites. We are both tracking what we eat on Sparkspeople.com (which is free), and losing weight steadily. He was on the Weight Watchers Core Plan which is basically just eating healthy foods in proper portion sizes. He didn't feel he needed to go to a meeting to do that. Plus, when it was time to establish a goal weight, the leader couldn't do it because they only had the information to do it for women! We are both doing cardio (I am rowing, of course, and he is treadmilling) We are not doing any strength training at the moment, but we're planning to get a BowFlex soon.

Sparkspeople has tons of reliable information on nutrition, exercise, goal-setting and motivation. They also have a community forum like this one.

I agree; basically, the weigh-ins are for people who need motivation to lose weight, and knowing that they will be weighed is supposed to motivate them -- I think it basically causes some to drop out of the program. WW has an internet program which does not require meetings, etc.

[jane]

I signed up for spark people. Question... this site tells me that I should consume between 1200-1500 calories/day to obtain the weight loss that I want to achieve. In the interest of full disclosure, I am only looking to lose between 15-20 lbs (very slowly) and am a very active 43 year old. I row/spin/run 5-6 days per week for a minimum of 45 minutes and weight train 2 x week.

Other sites that were researched told me that I would be able to achieve my goals with a more generous caloric intake. I am looking to make healthy changes (to last a lifetime) and this seems really restrictive. The site is really great, though. Does anybody else have this problem?

Thanks a bunch!!!

J.

[Steelhead]

I signed up for spark people. Question... this site tells me that I should consume between 1200-1500 calories/day to obtain the weight loss that I want to achieve. In the interest of full disclosure, I am only looking to lose between 15-20 lbs (very slowly) and am a very active 43 year old. I row/spin/run 5-6 days per week for a minimum of 45 minutes and weight train 2 x week.

Other sites that were researched told me that I would be able to achieve my goals with a more generous caloric intake. I am looking to make healthy changes (to last a lifetime) and this seems really restrictive. The site is really great, though. Does anybody else have this problem?

Thanks a bunch!!!

J.

Hi Jane,

To do the math, you need to use your age, height, and weight and find your BMR and then add to that the number of calories you burn exercising and then subtract 500 calories to lose one pound per week.

An easy method is to use your age, etc., but use the weight that you want to be, and then use that as your base metabolic rate ("BMR") and add in the extra calories you burn by exercising, and that should eventually bring you to the weight you want to be and you will stay there ceteris paribus.

If you want quick weight loss and want to remain lean (i.e., not lose your muscle) then you can calculate your BMR for your age but at the weight you want to reach and then limit your calories to your BMR, and exercise with weight lifting and aerobic. If you have to eat more once in a while it is okay because it really won't matter, but you have to plan on, and work at, keeping your calories low -- what I have learned in my 60 years is that if you are on a restricted diet, make certain that you include healthy fat in your diet to avoid cravings for fatty foods, which does happen because our bodies need essential fatty acids. ETC.