Weight Watchers <tm> Discussion

[BlinkyTheRed]

Divash

So, after gaining back about 12 pounds over a 3-month period of laxity, I seem to be back on track. I'm down about 7 pounds out of that 12, as of last week's weigh-in, and today I'll be weighing in again and seeing how much further I have to go to re-reach my record low. Wish me luck.

Good luck! You really don't even need luck, since you know how to do it with hard work. biggrin

It's really hard to jump right back on the wagon after letting yourself slip for a while-- but I bet you're sooo glad that you're already halfway back on track, instead of letting yourself slip back to your original weight!  

[Divash]

You're absolutely right, Blinky, I'm glad I caught myself before slipping all the way back up. I guess it's true, Weight Watchers doesn't mean the same thing as Weight Losers. Sometimes you have to watch it go up. But I learn something each time I gain, so overall, I'm still losing and still happy. I think I can lose another 5 pounds before my cruise next month.  

[BlinkyTheRed]

Yeah.. as for me I'm still battling this mysterious plateau. Last week's weigh in: absolutely nothing. No gain, no loss.

I'm really getting frustrated, guys.

I'm on week 7 and I've only lost FOUR POUNDS. (And I have at least 45 to lose from here to get to my maximum "Acceptable" weight, in terms of BMI.) Every time I've done Weight Watchers in the past, I've lost like 4 pounds in the first WEEK.  

[Divash]

Weight Watchers is great that way. Weight loss of any kind is great like that, actually. You lose enough for the first two or three weeks to make you feel like you're getting a head start, and it feels good, so you keep going. After that first month, it'll probably slow down. But here's the thing. Even if you only lose 0.1 pounds per week, you're still LOSING instead of gaining, and so it's progress.

Good luck, Blinky. You're doing a great job, and I'm totally proud of you.  

[BlinkyTheRed]

Yeah.. I'm just used to the spectacular "bang" beginning, not to this... absolutely-nothing-changing sorta thing.

Starting to feel like I'm wasting a lot of money, but oh well.

Today I'll weigh in after work as usual, and let you guys know the result (maybe not today since I tend to hang out with my friend all day after we weigh in.)  

[Divash]

Blinky, I did the same thing. A few of my friends joined Weight Watchers. One lost nine pounds the first week and eleven the week after; the rest of them lost seven or eight pounds a week for the first month or so.

I lost... two pounds. Exactly two pounds for the first three weeks. Then about half a pound a week for a month. Now my pattern seems to be that I lose anywhere from one to three pounds a week for three weeks out of the month, then gain about two pounds for the fourth week, so I'm losing anywhere from one to seven pounds a month... usually around four. Still, it's progress. I promise, it's science and not magic. If you do the right things, you'll eventually get the results you want to get. If you work the program, the program will work for you.  

[Divash]

Lost 10 pounds before joining Weight Watchers

Started Weight Watchers: 9 March 2006

First Weight Loss Goal: 22 pounds -- GOAL MET

Second Weight Loss Goal: 47 pounds -- GOAL MET

Total Loss: 50.6 pounds since joining Weight Watchers. 60.6 pounds in all. A new low!

Current Weight Loss Goal: 1.4 more pounds till I hit my next 'decade' (110, 120, 130, and so on are 'decades' for me) of total weight. Next goal weigh is 67 pounds down from my official Weight Watchers starting weight, 77 down from my highest-ever weight.

Is it worth the cost?
Yes! When I look in the mirror, I see a new person. I still have a little bit to go, but now I can see that I'm definitely a good portion of the way there. Yes, I pay $10 per week to attend Weight Watchers meetings. This makes about $520 a year. You know what? If I hadn't lost some weight, I'd soon be starting to have doctor bills that would cost more than that. Plus, I'm saving money on new clothing, because smaller clothing costs less than larger clothing, and I don't have to buy it in specialty (fat girl) shops anymore. The groceries cost less because I'm buying fresh, luscious ingredients instead of processed stuff, and I'm not buying quite as much of it.

Is it worth the effort?
Absolutely! Keep in mind that weight loss is not a goal. It's the means to an end. Your goal isn't really to weigh less, is it? Of course not. Your goal is really one of three things, and please notice which one takes last place, because that's intentional:

Health
Self-Esteem
Appearance

Weight loss can help with all of these things, but the numbers on the scale don't mean anything unless they can contribute to one of these goals. Is your health worth the effort of making a delicious and healthful meal? Is great energy worth exercising for, so that you can build up to not getting tired when sight-seeing on a vacation? Is looking fantastic worth avoiding eating seconds or thirds on dessert, when you already had a satisfying first or second bite? And what's it worth to you to feel good about yourself? I hope that your self-esteem is already good enough that you're able to see that you do deserve those four things: to feel good physically, to have the energy to go about your day, to feel you deserve to look your best, and to feel you deserve to feel even better about yourself.

Wouldn't it be easier to take diet pills or have a weight loss surgical procedure?
Yes. Here's the thing: easier isn't always better.

It's easy to take a pill like ephedra, and in the short term, that will help you lose weight. But you can only take ephedra for six months or so, and when you go off it, your metabolism will slow WAY down. You'll probably be back up to your starting weight within a year's time, and possibly much higher.

It's easy to have surgery, if you can pay for it through insurance or your own savings. But unless you change your mind along with your body, you'll soon find that the weight loss after surgery is only temporary. According to a study I've read about, though I can't find it and cite my source at this time, those who undergo weight loss surgery (lap-band, gastric bypass, stomach stapling, and others) tend to lose a good bit of weight. However, within five years, the weight tends to come back, because the person is now eating the same unhealthy foods that made them overweight in the first place. What's more, they eat those foods in the same amounts as before. See, those surgeries make it so you can only eat a handful of food at a time, and it sounds pretty smart. But they don't say how OFTEN you can eat that handful of food. Believe me, if you eat a handful of food every half-hour throughout your day, it adds up just as easily as if you only eat three big meals per day.

So, sure, it's easy to take a pill or get a surgery. You'll lose weight fast. But you won't keep it off. And when you've lost that weight, before you start packing it on again, how will you feel about yourself? "I had no willpower, no strength, and no confidence. I can thank my doctor for my weight loss. I didn't earn it." Believe me, the best feeling I've ever had about my body and about myself was the day I hit my 50 pound weight loss (that first time) and realized that I didn't have to thank my doctor. I could look in the mirror and know that I was the one who'd had the strength to do it for myself. I felt like Wonder Woman.

Is it worth the time that it takes?

YES. I did the math and realized that I'd gained about 5 pounds a year since I was last at my optimum weight. Losing only one pound per week, that'll get me down about 50 pounds per year (because let's face it, I'm not losing any weight during the week of my birthday or during Passover). That means I'm losing the weight ten times faster than I put it on. That SO doesn't suck!  

[Divash]

Quick update: I'm up 0.2 pounds this week, but I'm fine with that. Last week I wore a light skirt and tiny sandals, and this week I had on my heavy jean skirt and my heavy loafers because we had a cold and rainy day, so I'm actually probably a little bit down this week. Anyway, wish me luck -- I'm about to go on a week-long cruise, and I hear nobody loses weight on those.  

[Divash]

Quickie update, which I forgot to post on Tuesday:

I'm up 0.6 pound. However, this is actually cause for celebration. I went on a cruise, and I ate a LOT, but I also exercised a lot. I went horseback riding, rock climbing, swimming often, and took a hike on a mountainside in Jamaica. The fact that I didn't gain five pounds is amazing to me, so I'm celebrating not weighing appreciably more than before the cruise.  

[spiitze]

I started WW yesterday =]

the online plan. Because my mom is scared of the meetings. But its going pretty well. (after 2 days? x3 ) I'm doing the FLEX plan.


I've been doing about 24 points per day. is that about right? I'm 15, 5'10" and 190lbs.  

[Divash]

Hey, Nimmie, welcome to WW! Congratulations on joining, and good luck!

I'm not sure what your daily points should be, but the online Weight Watchers has a points calculator for how much you should be eating, and also for your ideal weight range. Check them out, they're great.

About the meetings: I was really scared too, but as it turns out, you don't have to speak up; you can just listen. They don't make you do weird things. They never talk about your starting weight, your current weight, or your goal weight -- you're free to bring it up yourself, but they never do, ever. When you weigh in, only the leader sees the scale and writes down the numbers. They MIGHT say "Down quite a lot this week, I see, congratulations," but they won't say "Oh, look, you're 312 pounds, so you've lost 1.2 pounds this week." They never do that, in case someone gets embarrassed. And you never, ever have to talk about your feelings about food or weight, unless you bring it up yourself.

Most of all, those who go to meetings lose an average of three times the weight of people who don't go to meetings, including people who do the online plan. Note: We don't lose three times faster, but we do wind up losing more, over the long term. On the other hand, I know three people who've met their goal by doing the online plan and never going to meetings, and one of them had a LOT to lose, so it can definitely be done. I wish you all the best, and I'll be here for you, as will we all, to support you in your journey to better health and self-esteem. smile  

[spiitze]

Thanks alot for the advice & encouragement =]

I'd love to go to the meetings, myself, but my mum doesn't really want to, and she's the one who's more motivated in it than I am, so I dont think i'll be going.  

[Statistical Anomaly]

So, I have a Weight Watchers related question:

How do things that are zero points per serving (like those Progresso soups) work? I mean, math says that if something is zero points, you should be able to eat an infinite amount, which just doesn't make sense. Is the zero just a rounded value?

Sorry, this was just bugging me.  

[__penguin__]

I've been thinking about joining WW recently, but I'm not sure yet, and I have some questions that I can't find answers to on the website. 3nodding

How often do you reccomend going to the meetings? Once a week? Twice a week?

Also, I don't really understand the payment thing... do you pay per week or per month or what? I guess money shouldn't be an issue, 'cause there's hardly anything I want more than to lose about 50 lbs, and WW seems like it would really work, but still. sweatdrop


One more thing. Are the plans hard to follow? Like, if you do the points one (i'm not sure if it's core or flex), do they have a list of point values for EVERYTHING? I mean, like really EVERYTHING? And do you have to know EXACTLY how much of it you've eaten? That sounds kind of hard to keep track of. :XP:

Edit: Oh, wait, I lied, one MORE thing. Can I join if I'm 17? You don't have to be 18, do you?  

[Divash]

Statistical Anomaly:
Zero-point things are things you can eat until you're satisfied. Notice, I didn't say until you're full. Satisfied comes way before full. Think of it as about 1/3 to 1/2 full. Eat one serving, wait twenty to forty-five minutes, and then eat more if you still feel the need for more food. Eating until we're past satisfied is what made us overweight, so zero-point foods are good to eat: they teach us how to redefine what "enough" feels like.

__penguin__:
I buy a monthly pass. They take it out of my credit card every month automatically, and it works out to a bit less than $40 a month. For that, you can go to as many meetings as you like, but the minimum suggested is once a week. Miss too many, and you'll have to re-register and possibly pay a fee. You can also pay for one meeting a week (around $11 or $12), and that's the meeting in which you weigh in, but then you can go to as many more meetings that week as you like. Once in a while they offer a seasonal pass, a three or four month pass, but it works out to slightly more than $40 a month. The cheapest way if you intend to really go for it and DO the program, including meetings, is to buy the monthly pass.

I don't find the plans hard to follow at all. Both Core and Flex are designed to help each particular type of person, so you can switch back and forth from week to week (never in the middle of a week), whatever you want. The Flex plan list, coupled with the Complete Food Guide (or whatever they've renamed it this year, I forget) has a LOT of foods listed, and so does the Dining Out Guide, but I prefer to check the calories, fiber content, and fat content and use the points calculator myself to determine the points. It's necessary to either know, or make a really educated guess, about how much you've eaten. But they give you good ways to estimate how much. For example, if a piece of fish or meat is about the size of a computer mouse, that's roughly four ounces. If you've got a ball of rice that looks about the same volume as a tennis ball, that's one cup. If you spend time measuring things at home, and really get to know what a cup or two ounces of something looks like, you're more able to guess appropriately when you go to a restaurant or someone else's home.

And yes, teenagers can join Weight Watchers, but you probably can't pay for the Monthly Pass unless you've got a credit card or your parents are willing to use theirs to pay for it online. The Monthly Pass lets you attend as many meetings as you want, plus you can use the entire Weight Watchers website. It's a great deal.