Have you ever tried Weight Watchers?

[Blue_Roses]

I've been doing it to lose those holiday pounds (okay, maybe goes back a little further) and I like it so far because of the recipes and diversity in menu. If so, do you ever go to their message boards?

[trackfan]

1. We've never tried the program, but do have a few cookbooks.

They're very useful for post-holiday diet menus.

[KayLaw]

2. Best of luck

I'm always looking to lose those pounds but can't . . .good luck to you!

[trof]

3. OK, this is just a PERSONAL opinion.

I mean NO offense, really.
I believe in everybody doing like they want to do.

But...
I just think these 'diet programs' are a ripoff.
To make a long story short, I have gone from 'obese' to merely 'overweight' with a FREE 1500 calorie diet I found on the web.
It's pretty simple and there's NOTHING you can't eat.
You just eat LESS.
duh

It took a little (not really very much) getting used to, but it's actually a permanent change in the way (mainly how much) you eat.

I'm still dropping weight, slowly.
The same way it went on.
In about another year I should be at my 'normal' weight.
If you like, I can post links here.

Anyway, good luck.
:-)

[S n o w b a l l]

9. That's exactly what Weight Watchers is.

It's probably the best program out there and believe me, I've tried them all. It's a very healthy eating program with emphasis on portion control, nutrition & total lifestyle change including exercise.

[trof]

12. OK, so why PAY them for it?

AND, you can weigh yourself in the privacy of your own bathroom, or wherever.

The 1500 cal diet, the portion control guidelines, all of it is available FREE online.

[S n o w b a l l]

14. You don't have to pay or go to the meetings....

You can do it on your own. All you have to know is the points you're allowed each day & the pt values of foods. The information is out there on the net without going to meetings. The meetings are just for those that need a more regimented form of support and weekly weigh ins. I went to one meeting, got all the books and info and never went back. I think it was $14.

[Karenca]

15. You're right ---All these diets are just variations of

cutting calories.

People think that each new diet is better than the last, but the only way to
lose weight is to cut calories.

I never could figure out why people go to these great lengths to try
the diets (South Beach, WW's, Atkins, etc), when cutting calories is the only sensible approach,
and doesn't deprive you of any necessary food group.

And, like you said, FREE.

[Left Is Write]

32. May I add...

Cutting calories and increasing one's energy output.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

20. everybody cannot lose weight easily

When I was a child, my mom and grandmom yelled at me all the time about not eating ENOUGH. They thought I was going to starve to death. Even in elementary school, the teacher would go down the aisle in the lunch room, looking to see who ate all their food, and she'd shake her head when she saw me being picky and not eating it. I was of normal weight thru high school and college.

The pounds just very gradually piled on over the years. I have never eaten as much as the average person. The typical huge restaurant portion is two or even three meals for me. I always get a doggie bag.

I went to an M.D. diet doctor, was on a strict 500 calorie a day diet plus vitamins etc. for several months and only lost about 15 lbs. Not nearly as much as I needed to. I exercised as well. Basically I was on the verge of having hypoglycemic attacks a lot, because I wasn't getting enough to eat, and finally stopped doing it.

She thought I was cheating and I wasn't. My thyroid is dead and I take twice the dose most people do, and still couldn't lose weight. I would have done better taking the money I spent on that doctor and getting liposuction.

I wouldn't pay money to go on a diet anyway, or waste my time going to meetings.

There are lots of different reasons people can't lose weight, and low thyroid is one of the most common ones. It is thought that one out of five adult women in America have some level of inadequate thyroid production. Mine started when I was 11 years old. Some men have it too.



Flame away.

[Blue_Roses]

25. it's not so much a "diet program" but changing the way you

prepare your food and of course monitoring intake. I think I need it for the accountability. Those of us who have lived on a diet their entire lives know everything there is know about how to lose the weight, but the lifestyle is something totally different.

Personal opinion fine and congratulations on your loss:)

[GenDem]

4. I didn't go to the meetings, but I followed the points program.

I lost about 50 pounds and looked and felt great. I got down to a size 4. This was 8 years ago, and I have put some of it back on, but am holding steady at a size 10. Would do me good to do it again -- need to take off about 20 lbs.

It's a good plan, and it won't break the bank.

[trof]

5. Is the 'points program' a calorie counter?

[GenDem]

7. Not really

Different foods have different points. You start out with a point total for one day. You pick your foods to stay within those prescribed points. Everything is included, but if you choose to eat ice cream you will use up a lot of points.

You will need a weight watchers point book. The book is like a food dictionary -- listing every kind of food and drink and its corresponding points.

[trof]

10. Sounds very much like my diet. It's a calorie counter.

You learn how big a 'portion' is and how many calories the portions have. You think of the 1500 calories you have to 'spend' each day and decide how you want to spend them.

[Blue_Roses]

26. you can now do "flex points" or "core"

2 different programs in one

[qnr]

6. I started to, but then everyone started b***ching about cannibalism, so I had to stop. They sure

looked big and juicy though.

Er, sorry. I'll go whap myself upside the head a few times...

[Left Is Write]

11. LOL!

;)

[AlCzervik]

8. i used to go and it worked for me but i hated getting weighed in with

people standing around the scale. I've been to the message board a few times to look and some of the posters were really nasty.

[Blue_Roses]

27. they are pretty nasty

I had an encounter with that today and on the "newbie" board of all places :wtf:

Didn't understand why all the attitude on a "support" board :shrug:

[AlCzervik]

29. from what i could tell it seemed there were a bunch of them that must

be long time posters and they like to tick together and gang up on the new people, i think it's their way of keeping people out. I didn't bother joining after reading a bunch of their posts. I ended up going on the south beach diet and it's worked out well for me, plus the only thing i bought was the actual diet book itself.

[Blue_Roses]

30. that's what I saw too

I just don't get it. :shrug:

[AlCzervik]

31. it makes them feel special or it's filling some void in their lives

what surprises me is that weight watchers does nothing about it, you would think they'd want a good message board, our weight loss forum here is much better.

[Blue_Roses]

33. from what I saw on some of those threads

they make GD look like a kids park. The women were so brutal to some newbie on a simple question. I followed for a while and finally had to throw my 2 cents in. Got pretty heated but I held my own.

Don't know why I even bothered, but I just can't stand bullies.

[Dastard Stepchild]

13. I have used it....

I always felt really hungry on WW... my sneaking suspicion is that if you were to actually translate the points into calorie amounts, they would be quite low. But I did lose weight when I followed the program. Of course, I also lost weight on a 1400 calorie diet, and didn't feel quite as hungry all the time.

I think they are the best commercial diet out there. And I have used the online tools, including the forums. I wasn't consistent because I would get frustrated with people saying they were "bad" for eating a piece of cake. You aren't bad - you ate cake. :) I found it to be negative energy - kind of like the meetings. In short, perhaps I was not a good WW candidate. :)

[S n o w b a l l]

18. It's hard to get hungry on WW because you can eat

all the vegetables you want. Most of them are 0 points. You can munch all day if you want. That said, I agree it's not exactly easy. Some amount of fat usually makes these things more palatable and fulfilling. Cheese and butter on my cauliflower please. :)

[Dastard Stepchild]

21. I did eat the veggies :)

All the time. And I still found myself ravenous. Of course, I am pretty physically active, so I think that I personally wasn't getting enough calories on WW to sustain myself. But I have known others to be tremendously successful on it.

:)

[GenDem]

22. I discovered a little trick that curbed the hunger

I bought Jell-O fat free puddings. If I ate one of these after lunch or dinner, or even for a snack -- it filled me right up. I bought all different flavors for variety and topped them with non fat whipped cream for an extra treat.

I also kept fig newtons on hand. They are fat free and I'll bet I ate two after just about every lunch...or sometimes I saved them for a 3:00 snack.

For lunch I stuffed a whole wheat pita pocket with so much stuff. It was one humongous sandwich. I started with a couple of slices of low fat turkey breast, then I piled on the fixings. Leaf lettuce, grapes, alfalfa sprouts, tomatoes, cucumbers, even a small handful of pine nuts. Then I topped it with a splash of balsamic vinegar and a wee bit of evoo. It was very filling. I also drank lots of water

My food did become very routine....but I looked forward to every bite. I really wasn't that hungry. This thread makes me want to try jumping on it again.

:hi:

[MorningGlow]

16. I haven't done it but a coworker is a big fan

Actually (and no offense to the WW folks here--I'm just talking about my coworker) she's turned into a Weight Watchers nazi.

Basically, she forces her lifestyle on us whether we're interested or not. I respect her right to attend WW, but she really shouldn't try to drag the rest of us with her. She's always talking about it, which is fine, but when it's her turn for snack day, she always brings in something HEALTHY--often a Weight Watchers recipe--which she firmly believes we'll go nuts over. Trouble is, the rest of the gang at work wants JUNK, dammit! :P

She's always trolling the Web for low-fat, low-cal recipes on company time, and prints out many copies of ones that she thinks look good and gives them to everyone whether they want them or not.

Plus she foists stuff with aspartame on us, and that freaks me out. I think that stuff is the devil.

Question: Does WW rely a lot on food and drinks with aspartame, or is that a personal choice (depending on how you choose to mete out your points)? I'm just curious.

[Beaverhausen]

17. I joined 3 weeks ago - lost 9 lbs

it is the best way to lose weight bar none. Going to the meetings every week, for me, is a recommittment to lose weight. The ritual of the meeting keeps me on track.

They really emphasize exercise now, which I think is a really good idea.

[NC_Nurse]

19. I f*ckin' hated it!

Just me...:shrug:

[Metta]

23. My wife's lost a couple of pounds. The diet is torture, I think.

She eats two times nothing. I feel bad for her.

[u4ic]

24. Try this

www.fitday.com - it's free.

I lost 20 lbs last summer by just keeping track of what I ate on that site. :hi:

[Godhumor]

28. I'm one of the results not typical guys

Joined Weight Watchers August 17th and lost 40 pounds before quitting the program 3 weeks ago. It turned out the only help I really needed was portion control and smart substitution for foods--my natural metabolism kicked in after a few weeks of reduced caloric intake, and I'm now back down to my competitive swimming weight.