Okay, I’ll preface by saying I have done both lifestyles before - and both have very good benefits as far as I’m concerned. But I’m trying to decide which one I want to do right now. One notable thing to mention is that I’m hypoglycemic.
I have 5 1/2 months until my wedding. At last dress try-on, it was very tight. Luckily, I have lost about 10-11 lbs since then, so it may fit, but I want it to fit comfortably. I need to lose about 15-20 lbs - I can’t lose more than that because if I do, my dress can not be altered properly. My first fitting is in about three months and my goal is to continue to maintain and stay at that weight, whatever it may be, until after the wedding, at which point I will go back into full weight loss mode.
So - I’ve done WW and lost nearly 50 lbs before - two years ago. I enjoyed it, but at the time I was the most successful, I was a vegan and had no issues with blood sugar. When I added meat back into my diet, I found it was easier to start eating bad things. Since then, I have struggled with it - mainly because of my hypoglycemia. I try to limit sugars and high-carb, bad-carb foods without totally cutting them out, but it’s not working.
I did Atkins for about six months. I loved the energy, I loved the lack of cravings and I loved the fact that I felt full. Unfortunately, I’ve never been a big meat eater and I don’t care much for eggs. I found the diet was quite restrictive - and when I started adding in the special low-carb foods, I ate too many of them (same sort of trap as with low-fat foods). But I find myself thinking about this more. My meat intake has certainly increased over the past two years, so perhaps I could try this again.
I’m not debating the overall aspects of the diets - I understand why people choose both of them, and I believe that they both work. I’m trying to figure out which one is right for me.
While Atkins definitely takes the pounds off- no two ways around it- I personally wouldn’t try it until the long-term effects studies come out (expected in the next couple of years). The long term effects studies for Weight Watchers are very positive and in line with the most recent “food pyramid”.
I would go with WW. With women, Atkins tends to lose its effect much more quickly than with men, and since you aren’t a big meat eater, it would be hard for you to keep up with.
Another Atkins dieter that thinks you’ll probably be more successful and happier on Weight Watchers. Just make sure that what you’re eating on WW isn’t high in refined carbs, which will help with the blood sugar issues.
I have to agree with the others here and vote for Weightwatchers. The thing I think maybe you should be looking at is the long term benefits of losing the excess weight and how you can maintain that weight loss in the future - WW is more realistic to manage long term than Atkins. I have a problem understanding how Atkins works and, from the nutritional studies I’ve read, I can’t see how this won’t affect your heart in a negative way in the future.
I’m also getting married this year (August) and losing weight for it (but not primarily for that, more for health reasons and so I’ll be a healthy weight and fitness level for when we decide to start a family). I see it more as a long term thing rather than a diet so I can fit in my dress - I want a healthy life with my husband and family to be, and, IMO, a healthy eating plan like WW fits more into that idea.
I know a few people doing WW and it seems easier than I thought if well managed. The woman I work with who does it brings lunch and two snacks to work every day, having had breakfast, so she’s not starving herself. Sometimes she doesn’t eat all she brings because she’s not hungry enough. Last week I bumped into someone I hadn’t seen for months, he has been doing WW and looked great, much trimmer and fitter. He had been going in for knee surgery but lost so much weight his knees are now fine.
I’m more on my own, but I guess from just understanding nutrition for years, I tend to have the characteristics of both.
I eat less than the calories I need each day when I need to trim a few pounds and fine tune. But I choose good foods that are lean and nutritionally dense. I will eat carbs, but ‘good’ carbs - not refined white flour products or refined sugar products. So my carb count can be 80gs for the day. That’s not Atkins-ish.
But what is Atkins-ish is that I do pay attention to the type of carbs I eat.
Overall, when near my right weight I will enjoy some cookies and milk. That is not Atkins firendly.
Weight Watchers has alot of the ingredients of the type of plans that works: A life style change. Something you can live with because of the flexibility.
I find that most people execute the Atkins approach the wrong way, by under eating fruits, veggies, nuts, whole grains and beans. So many studies show a correlelation between these earthy foods and their antioxident power (disease and age fighting), that it’d be a crime to under eat them.
I think this may be your problem - the specially-made “low-carb” foods. I’m doing Atkins, and what I don’t eat are the low-carb shakes and bars and snack foods marketed toward Atkins dieters. They can be higher in fat and calories then what you should be eating, which is whole foods and natural foods.
I think a lot of people think they’re doing Atkins by buying those shakes and bars and low-carb snack crunchies, but that’s not it at all.
(One exception are a specific brand of shakes from a company called EAS. Their low-carb shakes are okay. They come in square silver juice-box type containers.)
Some of that other low-carb stuff contains Maltitol, which can stall weight loss in Atkins dieters. Some of it also has a lot of soy, which can also cause a stall.
Hmm, I didn’t mean for my previous post to sound so abrupt. I hope no one thought I was coming off as snide or anything - I was rushing out the door to an appointment and was just trying to get something in quickly.
First off, if you think WW is the best way for you, then do that one. I know many people, including posters here, who love WW and have lost a lot of weight with it.
Anyway, back to my thoughts. In other diet/Atkins threads, others have said they found Atkins was too limiting. Sure, you can’t have bread and pasta and cereal, but I thought what you could have was pretty open. Chicken, turkey, fish and seafood, eggs, nuts, lots of veggies, limited fruits once you’re past the Induction part, and all kinds of cheeses. I think some people assume “eggs” means fried eggs to go with that pound of bacon you’re having every morning ( ), but I made small omelets with chopped ham or sausage and a little cheese. Eggs are pretty versatile, same with chicken and turkey. There’s all kinds of fish to have, plus beef and pork. Salads were pretty easy, too. There’s lots of different greens to choose from, and lots of different toppings; cheese, hard-cooked egg, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever.
I just always have to stop and say, “Wha…?” when people complain that Atkins was too limiting.
Whichever you decide, consider adding a workout routine 2-3 times a week. I know it doesn’t sound fun, but it will melt off pounds and you will be toned in time for your wedding.
I’d go with WW if I were you. It sounds like it would be easier for you to stick to, because you wouldn’t feel as restricted as you might on Atkins. I’m kind of in the same boat as you - I eat mostly vegetarian, so going on the Atkins diet isn’t really a good option for me. What I’ve found really helpful is to just try to get the maximum number of fruits & veggies per day, and to keep all your grains brown (brown rice, whole wheat flour). So I usually have at least one fruit and one vegetable with every meal, then for snacks I eat a fruit or vegetable with yogurt or something. That way I get all my nutrients, and I find that if I focus on trying to limit foods from my diet, I’m not nearly as successful as if I try to add them. I also try making a lot of South Indian food and Chinese food, a lot of which is vegan or vegetarian, just because it tastes so good, and that way I don’t feel like I’m eating bland rabbit food.
In my experience (mostly gleaned from reading diet threads on this very board!) people on Atkins tend to lose fast and lose quickly, but at a much more irregular rate than WW. If you’re looking to easily stop and stabilize, I think WW might be better.
Stop focusing on your weight and focus on your health. That will, by definition, mean cutting back on refined sugar and junk food while increasing the amount of fruits and vegetables you eat. Look at your daily meal plan. It should be filled with color (tomatoes, bananas, red peppers, grapes) and variety (fiber rich foods, protein, carbohydrates). Not only will variety help you overcome boredom with food, but your body needs the vitamins and minerals and antioxidants provided by a varied diet.
Atkins focuses on weight at the expense of health, IMO. Unless you are so overweight that your size is an immediate threat to your health, then I wouldn’t recommend Atkins to anyone. Because it has been proven that a healthy body and a healthy immune system begins with what you put in your mouth. And what you DON’T put in your mouth. Any diet that tells you to forego a grape in lieu of a slab of bacon is focusing on weight at the expense of your HEALTH. IMO.
Weight Watchers, if you follow the plan, will lead you to choose a healthier diet because you will want to fill up with 0 or 1 point foods. And those, my friend, are fruits and vegetables. It will also mean that you get at least twenty minutes of exercise in a day.
You may also want to consider making an appointment with a dietitian. Your insurance may cover it, especially in light of your hypoglycemia, but it’s not tremendously expensive in light of WW or Atkins.
What a dietitian will do is sit down with you, get an idea of your likes and preferences, and take into account any medical problems that are going on at the same time. So, you’ll get a customized diet that takes everything into account, instead of a one-size-fits-all thing. I did this several years ago, and am glad I did. I’m still considerably overweight, but I feel better than I did. (I wasn’t after a weight-loss diet at the time; I had high cholesterol and some other stuff going on.)
I started WW yesterday and so far, I like it. There are no “forbidden” foods, as long as you stay within your points target, so you don’t have to freak out if you eat a doughnut sometimes. And you get extra “splurge” points (35 per week) for those times you have a date, go to a wedding, etc. I live in a place where the only entertainment is going to the local Walmart and eating out (unless you just happen to enjoy watching grass grow). So I find this is a nice flexible plan that allows me to eat well (I had fruits, salads, meat, and even dessert yesterday), but gives me the option of having a fast food taco or hamburger without totally messing up my weight loss plan.
You don’t have to go to meetings to benefit, either. I bought the basic books (which give point values for most types of foods*)from eBay and so did my Mom. We are supporting each other via Instant Messaging and email. So it doesn’t necessarily have to be prohibitively expensive to do!
*To my surprise, I found listings for foods like beaver, armadillo, and horse. You can’t imagine how relieved I was to find I didn’t have to cut these things from my diet!
I should have added in my first post - I do exercise. I do a fairly strenuous pilates tape (Crunch Pilates), as well as the 2 mile Walk Away The Pounds video, on a fairly regular basis - at least 4 times a week. I also eat a ton of fruit and veggies - I go through about ten roma tomatoes, 4 regular tomatoes, an entire onion, 2 red peppers, a bag of grapes, two-three pears, and a stalk of asparagus a week. I try to include a veggie in every meal. I love veggies - always have, so that’s not an issue. My biggest problem has been finding the right combination of foods in order to regulate my blood sugar. I’ve realized that sugar is truly the culprit. So after reading your responses, and on the advice of several other friends, I’ve come up with a game plan.
I’m going to do straight induction on Atkins’ for two weeks. In that two weeks, I’m going to get rid of the sugar in my body. After those two weeks, I’m going to eliminate the more high fat products and go to more of a South Beach thing, with more whole grains and things added in, but still severely limiting my sugars. And I will start counting points again. But I know that doing Atkins’ for the first two weeks will help me get past the hurdle of eliminating sugar - at least I won’t be hungry.
My whole problem is sugar. I need to get it out of my body because it’s poisoning me. And I can’t do that on WW with the option of bread and things still there. Once the sugar’s gone, I can start adding the bread, but only in whole grains. And I will pay strict attention to the glycemic index.
I plan on starting Monday when I have the money to go grocery shopping.
I definitely appreciate all of the advice! I’ve discovered that I just have a weird body and I need to combine several plans into one instead of concentrating on just one. And the sugar needs to be gone from my diet, period. Special occasions only (I WILL eat a piece of my own wedding cake;).
And I also should have added that losing weight for the wedding is my short-term goal - I do want to be healthy in the long-term and that’s my main reason (that’s why I’m stopping once I’ve lost enough for my dress, then starting again when my wedding is over). We would like to have children in the next 2-3 years, and I have a myriad of health problems that will already give me problems (endometriosis, depression, etc), and I want to be as healthy as possible. Cutting out the sugar may actually help my anxiety disorder - I find that I’m more anxious when I’m eating too much of it.
), but I made small omelets with chopped ham or sausage and a little cheese. Eggs are pretty versatile, same with chicken and turkey. There’s all kinds of fish to have, plus beef and pork. Salads were pretty easy, too. There’s lots of different greens to choose from, and lots of different toppings; cheese, hard-cooked egg, sunflower seeds, cucumbers, tomato, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever.