I love me some Weight Watchers!

TattedUpGirlie19

So I am new to the group so many of you may not know that I have been trying to lose weight for some time now.

I joined Weight Watchers in Febuary or March of last year, and of course I have been on and off of it through out this whole time. Currently I am back on it, and today was my weigh in day and I lost another 3lbs, yay!!

In total from when I started I have lost a total of 38lbs.

A lot of people knock Weight Watchers, but they have changed their program recently and instead of caclulating with the Calories, Fat, and Fiber, you do the Fat, Carbs, Protein, and Fiber now.

Weight Watchers teached you portion control, so I can basically always guess right on how many points something is worth since I have been doing it for so long now. I highly suggest WW to everyone. It's hard at first but once you get the hang of it and add it into your daily routine it is very simple. And you don't have to go to meetings, you can do it all on-line, that's how I do it.

I get support from my friends and family, and even the on-line community at WW, I figure it wouldn't hurt to post on here either, and get more advice, info, and support from all of you.

I got my gym membership back this week, and it felt great to go back. I am going to go 3x a week, and do 30 mins of cardio and then one day do the circuit training, another day work just lower body, and then the other day upper body.

Let's see how long it takes me to get to my goal weight, I only have 57lbs to go.

MAGIC

Congrats on the success.

Lots of women here at the office "use" weight watchers. I haven't read much on it, but I hear them saying they can have a cupcake because its only 1 points. I don't know what that means but it sounds like a good plan.

ardichoke

The girlfriend was sort of doing Weight Watchers for a while.... basically all food is assigned a point value based off fat, calories, protein, sugar & fiber (IIRC). You get a number of points that you're allowed each day based off your age, sex and height. In addition to that you're supposed to drink a certain amount of water each day and have a certain number of servings of fruit and veg.

Basically it takes all the different factors to diet and boils it down to a single number.

Seems to work for a lot of people (if they actually stick to it).

TattedUpGirlie19

Thanks Magic. It sounds like a pain and it kind of is at first but once you get the hang of it it gets easier and easier. It basically teaches you portion control. Ive been telling Steve to try it. I think he would like it.

WagsFTW

How much is a Weight Watchers membership? Do you truly feel they encourage a well balanced diet while using a "point" system?

TattedUpGirlie19

It's $17/month, and yes I believe it does. I love weight watchers and support them 100%

Thrax

WagsFTW wrote:

How much is a Weight Watchers membership? Do you truly feel they encourage a well balanced diet while using a "point" system?

Hard to say without following it to the letter, then entering whatever food it advises into a site like fitday.

That's the real problem with programs like WW: they're an abstraction layer for the data that can be used to answer questions like this. Convenient? Sure. Balanced? No way to know without looking behind the curtain. And if you know how to look behind the curtain, why bother with a program that costs money?

ardichoke

I know I'm reviving a really old thread, deal with it.

My girlfriend has been on WW for a few months now. It really does seem to work pretty well. The points are not the only facet to the system (though they are the core of it). You're also supposed to get a certain number of servings of fruit and veg every day, a certain number of servings of dairy and a certain number of 8 oz. servings of fluids. They also encourage participants to take a multi-vitamin every day. The points calculation is based off fat, carbs, protein and fiber (I'm pretty sure this is just subtracted from the carbs to get "real carbs," but obviously they don't just give out the formula).

Based on my experience helping her with the program (I do a lot of the cooking for the two of us as she doesn't like to cook as much), I would say that the real benefit of WW is the fact that it really makes you think about what you're going to eat. When you're considering a meal, you really have to think "I could be lazy and eat fast food, but that would blow my points for the day OR I could make something sensible and maybe have a treat later because I'll have the points left over." At least that's how it seems to work for us. It's almost like gamifying eating. I plan on joining after the New Year, hopefully I'll find the same success she's having.

primesuspect

Awesome!

I find that the cooking at home thing (I cook basically every day now) is a big game changer because, yeah, it really forces you to think about what's going into your body because it's by your own effort.

If we were speaking in Buddhist terms, I'd call cooking a critical part of "mindful eating".

ardichoke

I do enjoy cooking, my problem used to always be time management. Oh, that and having the ingredients around to make something. I've taken to just going to the grocer after work and picking up what I need to make something, then making it when I get home. Usually have leftovers for at least the next day or two. Rinse and repeat as necessary. Sure, it involves going to the store more often, but when the grocery store in question is Horrocks that's easily justified.

WagsFTW

I love Horrocks. It definitely makes going to the grocery store more enjoyable when you're cooking more often. And CHEESE!!! They have so much CHEESE!

ardichoke

Yes to everything you said about Horrocks. That 3,000 lb wheel of cheese they have (at the Lansing one anyway) is a sight to behold o_o so glorious. Also, the beer and wine selection is amazing. I never thought I'd be excited about going to the grocery store a couple times a week... but when it's Horrocks, I am.

Cliff_Forster

I've found that a weight watchers routine coupled with exercise is the only effective way for me to loose weight. I've done the Yo Yo so horribly coming off though. You must stick to the maintenance plan once you reach your goals. I went from nearly 270, down to 212, I'm back to 240, I need to get back on the bus and take this seriously and stick with it.

Okay, TattedUpGrilie, you talked me into it! I'm gonna re join and earn my fancy little key-chain again.

ardichoke

Welp... having decided that I'm sick of being a tubby sack o' lard... I joined WW with my girlfriend finally. I attend my first weigh in and meeting in 1 1/2 hours. Let's see if I can get this to work where nothing else has so far...