So, now that my life is starting to get back on track (ALMOST done with getting rid of the house!!!) I decided it was time to get my health back in order. I re-joined weight watchers last sunday. I had done WW in the past, lost almost 150 lbs on it, but then the stress of buying a house, finding that my wife was having an affair, trying to reconcile for about a year just to find her cheating again, and divorce took its toll on my body and i put a lot back on. Well, i weighed in today, and the scale gave me great news. I lost 8.8lbs!!!! SWEET!!!! I love WW, it makes my life so simple, and puts food in a perspective that is easy to see, its an easy to follow plan, and there are no banned foods. last week while losing the weight, i had a piece of apple pie(regular, not low fat or anything like that), have had chocolate, lots of the "normal" food i would always have, but knowing how WW works and how to use the point system, i was able to lose!!! yay!!! Granted i know a lot of it was water weight, the first week always is, but still, it is still almost 9 pounds off of my frame, 9 pounds off of my back, and 9 pounds closer to getting back to my goal weight!!!
-Joe
I was on WW too. I am one of those people who fell off the wagon after reaching lifetime membership. I put back on almost 30 pounds of the 70 I lost and I'm finding it hard to get back OP. It is a great plan, especially for people like me who need the structure that they offer. I think that's why I like the points system so much. For me it's easier than counting calories.
Good luck!
Wow you lost 150! That is amazing.
I tried WW, it was hard for me because I felt like I was always hungry. I worked out like crazy though; most people told me I probably wasn't eating enough.
Dana Wrote:I tried WW, it was hard for me because I felt like I was always hungry.
Me too. I quit after 2 months and 10 pounds.
I am so glad to hear that it worked for you though! Congratulations!
Well here in the UK they do it different than the US. Had I'd known I may not have even tried. They don't do flex points at all, for example. They also frown on you using activity points. So I'd do an intense hour long workout and was not supposed to get more points. However I'd feel famished and starving afterwards and would always give in.
They do count points a bit different - don't use fiber grams... forget how else. But I don't like that they focus only on the scale - I've been 110 and unhappy with myself as I was a very high fat percentage. I'd lose a bit of fat but not pounds and was looked at like I "failed" that week you know "Aw that's too bad maybe next week" but at the same time if I said I lost fat they still acted like it was a "failure".
Then while waiting to be weighed, women in line would talk about how "roly poly" and "OMG BIG" they were and they were more than me - and I am NOT that big, never being over 160 in my life. AND they were taller! I just hated the negativity so I quit. Plus paying the membership in British pounds while getting paid in the American Dollar sucked.
I think it can be a great program though - better than fad diets! I like going to their online community board, good info and good support. Def Joe check that out if you get a chance. They have a men's section too.
Dana, maybe you could start a WW chapter on the base so that you can all pay in American $$. I bet the other army wives would join up.
Dana,
I do use their online system already. They have a monthly plan where it covers your membership and also covers E-Tools. I do all my point tracking online, can look up pt values of foods, look up restaurants, etc. plus the online community is great too.
I hate to hear they put such pressure about the scale over there. my meetings are so supportive, and no one ever looks down on you or makes you feel bad.
as far as feeling hungry etc, its a matter of learning the system and learning what 0 and 1 pt foods are out there. I am NEVER hungry on this program, eat a LOT of food, but i know what i can have to maximize my food intake and get the most out of my pts. As time has gone on, there are more and more and more low pt foods out there which makes me very happy!
Congrats, Arkved! Good for you! I'm glad you've found something that really works.
Arkved. Well, my hat's off to you for losing 150 pounds! That is just amazing.
Good for you for re-joining WW now and not gaining a lot of the weight and then having to fight the difficult task of losing it again. Losing weight is one of the hardest things to do, IMO.
It takes, patience, self-discipline, self-control and even more patience.
TW has convinced me to join NS. I am a terrible one with picking and grazing. I know that if I did WW I would excuse a few extra points here and there and then I would always go over my limit.
My mom did WW and lost 25 pounds, but she just gained all of it back+ more. It is really depressing for me to watch her be so self-destructive, but she is the only one that can decided that she would like to change.
BB, wished i could say i didnt gain a lot of it back, but i did, the stress of going through the hell i went through for 2 - 3 years just tooks it toll on me, but i didnt gain it all back. Luckily for me WW is such an easy plan that i know losing the weight wont be a HUGE challenge. Weight will always be a battle i will fight, i just have to make sure i win most of those battles. the last 2 - 3 years was nothing but losing that battle, i was depressed, i hated myself, and i just let myself go. That man no longer exists,i now am not depressed, i love the man that i am(good hearted, care about my friends and family, would do just about anything for them, nice, polite, considerate, etc). Now comes the process of getting my health back where i want it. It will take approx 1 yr for me to get to my ULTIMATE goal weight wise, but i know the secret is setting smaller goals, and rewarding myself for achieving them. I am going to set a target weight to be down to by christmas. If i make that target, i am going to buy myself the new Blackberry Storm(after reading many customer reviews of course, its slated for release Nov 21st).
thanks everyone for the encouragement, it really means a lot to know people care
-Joe
Arkved Wrote:BB, wished i could say i didnt gain a lot of it back, but i did, the stress of going through the hell i went through for 2 - 3 years just tooks it toll on me, but i didnt gain it all back. Luckily for me WW is such an easy plan that i know losing the weight wont be a HUGE challenge. Weight will always be a battle i will fight, i just have to make sure i win most of those battles. the last 2 - 3 years was nothing but losing that battle, i was depressed, i hated myself, and i just let myself go. That man no longer exists,i now am not depressed, i love the man that i am(good hearted, care about my friends and family, would do just about anything for them, nice, polite, considerate, etc). Now comes the process of getting my health back where i want it. It will take approx 1 yr for me to get to my ULTIMATE goal weight wise, but i know the secret is setting smaller goals, and rewarding myself for achieving them. I am going to set a target weight to be down to by christmas. If i make that target, i am going to buy myself the new Blackberry Storm(after reading many customer reviews of course, its slated for release Nov 21st).
thanks everyone for the encouragement, it really means a lot to know people care
-Joe
I think that's great that you are setting small goals and then rewarding yourself when certain goals are achieved.
That kind of puts a fun twist on a difficult task.
yeah, plus it makes the ultimate goal more attainable. if you set your goal at "i need to lose 100 pounds" you are going to be disappointed because it takes a long time to lose 100 pounds. If you set it at like 10 pound increments, then as you achieve them, you reward yourself, it doesnt take anywhere NEAR as long to lose 10 pounds as 100 pounds, so you feel like you are making progress and you get something nice, be it a new piece of clothing, some new gadget, some small tchotchke, or something. plus those little rewards act as anchors, reminding you of your success. everytime you wear that new piece of clothing, or use that gadget, or see that little trinket, you know you have it because you accomplished something really good and it helps keep you focused on attaining that next goal.
Sorry to be late to this thread.. I am so very proud of you Joe!
Kudos to you
I did WW many years ago, and of course gained it all back.
I know WW is very easy now. Especially since they provide point chart graphs and such. My GF is on WW and My MIL goes back to it once in a while too.
But, I like My NS plan much better.
Its a lot easier to do. And I don't have to count anything.
Plus I do have a LOT more to lose then most people.
So with WW I would only sabatage myself.
With NS there is no way I can screw it up unless I know I purposfully cheat.
So, I am in it for the long haul.
I may have some cheat days coming ahead ie. Turkey Day & Vegas
But, after Las Vegas I will be back in the saddle once again.
And hopefully By Aug of 09 I will reach my goal.
well you can sabotage yourself on any plan, and you can cheat on any plan. my only problem with NS is most people wont eat NS food the rest of their lives. WW if you really put the effort and follow the plan, it teaches you how to eat every day foods, real world stuff without over indulging, etc. it gives you all the tools, you just have to apply them. and with it having the 2 plans now, both Core and Flex, you have so many more options. personally i stick with flex because i like the structure. i know how many pts i have, and i stick to that. i dont play the "oh, i can have a nibble of this, or a bite of that" game. To me that would be a childish thing to do, and i am an adult and have to be accountable to myself for my actions. with Flex, i know what i have, and what to do with it. It is just like banking, you only have so many dollars, if you OVER do it its like stacking up credit card debt. ALL diets work, never found one that didnt, its just a matter at the END of the diet, do you know how to sustain, and WW IMHO gives the BEST chance of sustaining the weight loss. If you can afford to eat NS foods the rest of your life and are willing to do that, then yes, NS is a perfect plan, but to me, that just isnt feasable.
I wish you the best of luck on NS, i know you are doing good on it and i know you will continue to do good on it!!! i have faith in you!!!
As far as my weight loss, i forgot to update the list here, i figured since i had such a drastic weight loss the first week, the 2nd would kind of level off while my body adjusted to the big drop. I still lost 0.8 lbs which made me happy, so i am down a total of 9.6lbs. This weekend i am finally going to make my list of goals that i want to get to for christmas, birthday, 6 months, and 1 year. This week will be a big test to see how strong i am as far as control. I passed a big test last night. my mom made her Swedish Meatballs....omg...they are so good, but i passed on them and had a healthy dinner instead since i had no idea how many pts were in the dish she made. I had already planned out my meals for the day that morning so i stuck to my plan and it worked
-Joe
alright, here it is Sunday, my weigh in day. I was DREADING weighing in today. Having had Thanksgiving, and also the day before, my co-workers sprung a "we should have something special for lunch". Well i went anyways, so that i could hear what the leader had to say etc, and see how much i gained. I stepped on the scale and....huh? what? that cant be right.....i LOST 1.8lbs!!! holy crap! I knew i had been trying really hard, all week to be prepared for thanksgiving, i did really well, i didnt over eat at all. i didnt have dessert, and i avoided all the high point snacks that were EVERYWHERE. I found if i stayed outside and talked to people, i wasnt as tempted since all the food was inside. For work, i went and bought a big veggie platter. i munched on that all day and just had a little bit of the stuff the co-workers brought in. I know i went over my pts on those days, but it wasnt WAY over and i do get an extra 35 pts a week to spend how ever i want so i think all in all i stayed within the plan, and it paid off!!! whoot!!! i am so stoked!!! so for 3 weeks i am down a total of 11.4 lbs i think it is!!! whoot whoot!!!!
Congrats Arkved!
I hit 10lbs lost today. Not bad considering that I didn't go to the gym once during the four-day weekend and, well, ate pie and other goodies!!
Congrats to both of you!
I am starting Day One of Atkins again today. I hope I don't get derailed again this time.
good job CNK, and good luck CFS on atkins. I did that plan once, and it worked really good for me while i was on it, but i couldnt sustain cause i love my starchy foods too much. cannot have a steak without a potato, rofl. and cannot live without rice, bread and pasta. but some people dont care for those foods that much, so atkins works great for them!
FTR I did Atkins once, and I gained it all back and more besides.
So, I am hoping I will have better success with NS.
BTW, I dropped another pound.
Joe: good luck with WW I wish you all the luck & success in the world.
thanks TW, i know i can be successful with WW, because i was successful before, i maintained for a long time, everything was good, i just lost focus because my life became a living hell and i gave up on myself. now i have renewed faith in myself and the weight is coming off again!