Weight Watchers questions and request for advice

In My Humble Opinion
1

First, no Weight Watchers bashing. Adkins-ites, I’m looking at you! :smiley:

Anyway, I need to drop about 50-60 pounds. I’m overweight and most of it in a potbelly, so I really really need to take some off.

The standard “eat less/exercise more” thing, while true, isn’t structured enough for me to do it. Yeah, I know I should, but I don’t despite my best intentions.

That said, my dad has had a ton of success with Weight Watchers. Lost about 100 lbs and keeps it off, and I’m going to join up by the middle of January. (Because it’s nuts at work until mid-Jan. and why start when I know I won’t be able to attend meetings and so on?).

Anyway, a couple of questions: what happens at the meetings: is it just cheerleading, or is it “tips and tricks” type stuff?

I’m not going to exercise much. I’ll be honest: I know I should, but I hate doing it and despite my best intentions probably won’t. Given that, how effective will Weight Watchers be, if at all?

Anyone have any tips they can give a soon-to-be Weight Watchers newbie?

Fenris

2

Also any Weight Watchers recipes would be nice too.

Thanks!

3

I’ve been on WW for just over a year. I lost 35 pounds my first 5 or 6 months and for 7 months now the last 10 pounds and I have been getting to know each other really well.

I did not exercise at all, nor will I probably ever. I want to, but my motivation to do so hasn’t materialized yet. It might someday if I get fed up with these last 10 pounds.

I have never been to meetings. I belong to the online-only version which I really like except that their website & database has some serious uptime issues. Frustrating.

I do have a bunch o’ WW recipes (some from WW and some other favorit recipes that I’ve figured out the points for), and I can rustle them up. Want them emailed to you or posted here?

4

I went to meeting for about 6 mos. In the beginning it helped but then I started cheating and it wasn’t working for me anymore. That, of course, is my fault, not WW’s. I think the program is good and I intend to do it on my own as my New Year’s resolution.

The meetings I attended each had a theme such as the emotional stages you can expect to experience as you lose weight or how to get all five servings of fruits/vegetables each day. Then the attendees chime in with problems and solutions they have found.

It’s overwhelming women who attend so I felt kind of left out.

They give you some temporary access codes to the Web site so you can get recipes that way. Also, my local library has the magazine and lots of cook books from WW so that’s a free way to get more recipes.

Good luck!

5

How 'bout just posting one or two of your favorites here? That way everyone can benefit.

Thanks!!

6

Heh. :slight_smile: Given where you live, there’s a pretty good chance we’ll be bumping into each other (I’m juuuuuust past the Lakewood border in Golden): the one I’m planning on going to is on (roughly) Wadsworth and Alameda. That the one you go to?

Fenris

7

I did the at home version for a while, and will most likely be signing up for the online version on the first of the year. (Yes, I know)

I did, this year, go to one meeting, but it seemed (a) very expensive to keep going (with incredibly expensive penalties should you miss a week, no matter what the reason was) and (b) not really my thing… The one I went to was cheerleadery, with a lot of pep talk. They did the thing where they took a word and then made up a phrase that began with every letter of the word. I can’t handle that.

On the other hand, the people seemed very encouraging to each other, and celebrated each other’s weight loss.
YMMV at other centers.

As far as exercising - the people I know personally (not online) who have done it and had weight watchers work were either hard core exercisers, breast-feeding moms (which is probably not an option for you), or both. Not only were they allowed more food, they never even got close to their maximums. It does help.

8

Fenris, I went witn the "Nutra-System’ and lost 55 pounds. It’s a tad expinsive (225.00 a month) and you do have to by your veggies and salads. BUT, the food is good and, well, It woked for me.

Too bad for me I lost my Gig, and well, have to live on Beer again.
(Back up to fat boy again .:slight_smile:

What the hell I’m just turning 62 and don’t give much of a good goddamn! :smiley:

9

Okay, as I said in the other thread, I did WW for a year, lost 50 pounds, and have been off of it for another year (in which I gained 30). I re-started again yesterday.

For men especially (in my experience), they lose the weight very fast on WW. I personally lost all 50 pounds without exercising. Once I started doing aerobics 30 minutes 5 days a week, I didn’t lose any more weight, but I did shrink another clothing size.

My only argument with WW: they use body mass index to calculate your recommended goal weight range. I would highly recommend going to a nutritionist or even just your GP and ask for a body fat percentage measurement. When I had mine done, the doctor told me that WW’s highest acceptable weight for my height would make me about 20 pounds underweight, because I simply have more solid body mass (muscle, bone, blood, organs) for my height than most people do. You can get a note from your doctor if you care about making WW lifetime membership. I think it’s important to get the personal evaluation. BMI is based on what’s average for people your height.

Good luck. It really does work, and it really is a program that you can live with in the real world. I eat out 1-2 meals a day, no problem. My reasons for quitting were stress-related, and had nothing to do with the program itself.

10

In regards to the meetings:

Mostly women, that’s for sure. But depending on where you are, there will be a sprinkling of men, too. I try not to be too female focused in my meetings, especially when there’s a man there. I don’t want him to feel left out. Think of it as a place to meet some women!!! (okay, maybe not, but maybe so?)

Depending on the leader, things may be cheerleaderish. Everyone has a different style. I try to be positive without being disgustingly sweet. If possible, try different meeting times to find the best group and best leader for you. It really does make a difference. I changed meetings because I didn’t like my leader. Why the hell would I sit through 30 minutes of her?

I try to encourage people to share tricks, tips, foods they like, restaurants that are healthy, etc. I want to know what kind of things are working for people. Because then when I get bored, I’ve got new ideas.

I’ve got pretty much EVERY WW cookbook that’s been printed in the last 5 years. I’ll try and bring a few in tomorrow and share them with you.

WW encourages exercise. Initially you will probably still lose weight without it, just because you’ll be eating less than you have been. But as you get closer to your goal, it may become a little bit tougher, unless you incorporate exercise.

And a note on goal weight ranges: you’ll get a chart when you sign up. It’s the same for men and women. Please, don’t cry when you see it. If you bring in a note from your doctor with a goal weight range FOR YOU, that overrides the standard WW chart. Set your own goal that gets you where you want to be. [I generally encourage that for the men, otherwise they’re going to have to try to get down to 160 or somesuch crazy number]

And keep in mind that early January is JAM FRICKIN’ PACKED at the meetings. New years resolutions and all. If that’s too much to bear, it’s probably wise to wait until later in the month.

Email is available if you want to contact me directly. I work for them part time, so definitely have some inside experience.

11

My favorite recipe (not WW, but healthy):

Chicken Chili Blanco

6 oz. boneless chicken breast, cut in 1-inch cubes
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced

2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
1/2 cup diced red bell pepper
1 8.5oz can creamed corn
1 15.5oz can dark red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 4oz can diced green chiles
1 cup reduced sodium chicken broth
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp crushed dried oregano
Dash of salt

1/4 cup fresh snipped parsley

In a medium-sized pot (~4 quarts), cook chicken, onion, and garlic until chicken isn’t pink (~2 minutes). Add all the other ingredients (except the parsley) and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, simmer 10 minutes. Stir in parsley.

Makes 4 servings. 240 calories, 3 grams fat, 7 grams fiber. 4 WW points.

It’s really filling, and it’s better 1-2 days after you make it. I put it in the fridge in serving-size Tupperware and eat it for dinner all week long.

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Regarding the doctor’s note thing, I’m prepared for that one. They wanted my dad to be 160-some, IIRC, and he’s an inch taller. We’re both barrel chested stocky guys (even him after a 70-some pound loss) and 160-some would have been insane for him. He went to the doctor who said he should be in the low 190s. I’m gonna ask for a note for about 210, which is about my comfort level. Hell, I can always lose more if I want, right?
One major issue for me is that I’m completely unable to eat beans. There are bad reprocussions (which is why I’ll never be a vegetarian). Do their recipes have a heavy bean-as-a-meat-substitute emphasis?

Fenris

13

I’ve been on WW for about 5 months now, and have dropped over 50 pounds. I’ve never really used their recipes, just ate the things I normally ate, but less so it would fit into points. I probably eat more veggies now, but I also eat a lot of pizza.

I try to get 30 minutes of exercise; at least, everyday. I’m online only, couldn’t really see going to the meetings. I’m a big fan, this is the most success I’ve ever had losing weight. Still have a ways to go, but I’ll get there.

14

Fenris, I’ve been on WW for about 8 months now and have lost 46 pounds and still counting!

The BIGGEST lesson I learned from WW is accountability. When I am accountable for each bite I take, losing weight is not difficult. You keep a written journal of everything you eat and have a maximum number of points to eat each day. Journaling is not as much as a pain as it sounds and it’s the only way to stay on program. You just can’t keep all of the points values in your head.

The recipes use normal food perhaps prepared in a less fattening way but the whole idea is that you eat regular food in reasonable portions and count the points for everything. Even that Snicker’s bar!

I attend the local meetings but I really like the leader. She’s not a rah-rah type but very encouraging. I’ve learned a ton of “tips and tricks” by attending the meetings and talking with the other people there and it keeps me motivated. The meetings are mostly women but we have about 4-5 men that are regulars. If you want to go to the meetings and don’t like the first one you go to, try another meeting site with a different leader. You can go to as many meetings each week as you want to at no extra charge.

Keep us posted!

15

This is spooky. I just joined WW last Thursday night. This is my second go-round. The first was 5 years ago, when I lost over 70 pounds. It’s crept back up a bit, and my wife was getting concerned, so, back I went.

What can I say? It’s a LOT better than their earlier version. At the first meeting, I got a lot of good ideas. One of the best was a handout called “Today’s Special” that looked and felt like a Denny’s menu, except that each page was divided vertically, and on each side were suggestions for a whole day’s menu that fit in 23 points, 24 points, 25 points, etc. It gave you all the information you needed to make that day’s menu, and the point value of each. Entertainingly, it was written in “menu-ease.”

Here’s one example: “Omelet, southwestern style…6 points. This fluffly omelet, made with 1 2hole egg and 3 egg whites and cooked in a sizzling hot nonstick pan, is filled with browned onions and bell peppers, and topped with spicy salsa. Serve with 2 slices of reduced-calorie toast and 2 tsp of reduced-calorie margarine, a juicy navel orange, and a cup of tea.”

Best of all, on the back pages, three clever “Create your own…soup…salad…pizza.” with a pizza paddle, for example, in the center, shot from above, and portions of all sorts of food arrayed around it listing point values for each, so you could cobble together whatever point value you want. Nifty.

Even cleverer is a sliding cardboard device that lets you calculate the WW point value of any storebought food with a nutrition label on it.

Bottom line is, you can eat whatever you damn well please, as long as you stay within your points allocation. Beer, for instance, is 3 points. As an over 300 pounder, my point range is 30 to 35 a day. Theoretically, I could down 10 beers and eat nothing else. Of course, they also encourage you to drink six glasses of water a day, so running for the john would keep me in good shape.

Seriously, they want you to get the water plus five servings of fruit and vegetables. The last is easy, as many veg count as zero points and can help fill you up.

Sorry to go on so long, but I am very encouraged and excited about the program and the thought of actually dumping the weight and feeling slender again. My co-workers all expressed their admiration for being able to start before the Christmas holiday and round of parties, but, hey, if I can make it through December, January should be a lot less tempting. Even knowing that I paid $20 to sign up in Dec and they will have a free signup promotion in January, it’s worth it.

I’ve got over 100 pounds to go, but the losses start now.

16

Fenris, you must live close to my neighborhood. The location you mentioned is where I started attending WW meetings. That particular location moved about a month ago. It is now located at Kipling and Florida. I highly recommend that location. They have a fantastic leader named Margaret, who is nationally recognized in WW. I have been doing the WW gig since February and have lost 75 pounds. The “Winning Points” program is pretty easy to do. I usually attend the 6:30am Saturday meeting.

I don’t look at the program as a “diet”, I look at it as having a healthy diet. Basically if you want to eat any quantity at all, you gravitate toward foods with zero points (mostly vegetables). Foods with high fiber lower points; fats increase points. You wind up eating foods that are healthy.

17

I’m about 20-25 pounds overweight (225, should be around 200). Should I look into a WW program? Is it beneficial to start if you don’t need to lose a lot (50+) of weight?

18

Fenris,

I joined WW online last January and lost 30 pounds by July. The weight is still off and I am very happy I did it. At first I was going to go to meetings, but as scout1222 mentioned, in January the meetings are packed to the rafters, so I joined online instead. It’s cheaper to do the online version, but if you think you need the personal encouragement and support, then meetings are a better option (the site has message boards, though, so you can still interact with people who are on the plan. They even have a board that’s just for men). You also get a lot of materials at the meetings that you don’t get when you join online, and you also don’t get life membership since there really isn’t any way to prove you’ve lost the weight and kept it off if no one from WW ever sees you in person. On the other hand, the site has an online points calculator you can use and also a recipe builder, where you can enter recipes that you already like and see how many points there are in them. I used that to calculate points for some of my recipes and was able to get many of them to fit into the plan just by substituting ingredients (i.e., light sour cream instead of regular, etc.)

Don’t worry about the beans thing - you really, truly can eat whatever you want on the WW plan, and if one thing doesn’t work for you, you are free to try something else. WW is really about learning to control portions and make wise choices. I actually ended up eating more meat on the plan than I was eating before - the protein helps to keep you from feeling hungry and it keeps your blood sugar stable, so meat is actually a good thing in terms of losing weight, as long as you control your portions. BTW, shrimp has a real low point value, so you can go to town on those :slight_smile:

As for exercise, it is encouraged, but you can lose weight on WW even if you don’t do it. Still, you should, because you can lose all the weight and still not like how you look when you are done because you are still out of shape. I started exercising when I joined, and I look better now than I ever did, even when I was a skinny teenager. Also, if you exercise, you get credit for it on the WW plan, so you can eat more. And adding to your muscle mass means that you will burn more calories even when you are sitting on your butt watching TV - I started lifting weights for precisely this reason.

Going to the Weight Watchers web site will answer a lot of your questions about how the plan works. They fully explain the program there - go to

http://www.weightwatchers.com/mywwprogram/a_my_visitor.asp

and click the link that says “Find out about our Winning Points Plan.”

I wish you the best of luck - I think you will be glad you did this.

19

Online WW member since the third of August and as of this morning I’ve lost 43 pounds. Not eating anything special, but I am more conscious of what I eat and the point values contained.

I don’t exercise much at all. I try to go bowling once or twice a week. A little Dance Dance Revolution on the Playstation from time to time. But nothing major. You’d be surprised what all WW considers exercise when it comes to factoring your points. Walking around a mall, vacuuming, ironing(!)

I had that neat slider card for points tallying but gave it to my mom when she joined up. However diku found the calculation used to determine a food’s point value, so while you’re grocery shopping, you can figure this out in your head (after a while):

(Calories + (fat grams x 4) - (dietary fiber [up to 4 grams only] x 10)) / 50

Yeah it’s a bit to wrap your mind around but it becomes second nature after a while.

Bit of warning. For about the first 2 weeks, ALL you will think about from the time you wake up till the time you go to bed is points points points. And you will lose a lot at first due to undereating probably. Try not to undereat too much though. The plan works best if you eat in the middle of the points goal they give you.

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress!

20

In regards to beans: as others have said, you eat what you want. My SO doesn’t like beans, so I actually almost never eat them, simply because when I cook for us, I cook for what we’d both like. I also want to let you know that you don’t have to substitute anything for meat. Eat the meat. Just eat lean meat.

I made this recipe last week, and it was pretty tasty:

Savory Sausage Stew

1 tsp vegetable oil
3/4 pound Italian turkey sausage, casings removed
2 onions, chopped
1 turnip, peeled & chopped
1/2 carrot, sliced
1 celery stalk, sliced
4 new red potatoes, scrubbed & quartered
1 c chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp dried sage
1/4 tsp freshly ground pepper
1/2 small head green cabbage, cut into 4 wedges
1 tsp flour, dissolved in 1 Tbsp cold water
1/4 c minced parsley
2 tsp cider vinegar

Heat oil in a pan. Add sausage, onions, turnip, carrot & celery. Sautee until the sausage is brown and crumbly. Stir in potatoes, broth, bay leaf, thyme, sage & pepper. Bring to a boil. Place cabbage on top of stew. Cover and simmer until the potatoes & cabbage are tender (15 min). With slotted spoon, transfer cabbage to a serving bowl.

Stir flour solution into stew, and simmer, stirring frequently until the mixture thickens slightly. Remove the sausage and veggies to the serving bowl with a slotted spoon. Take out the bay leaf. Stir parsley & vinegar into liquid. Pour over the sausage & veggies.

Serves 4

Per serving: 260 cal, 11g fat, 4g fiber 5 WW Points
Since you’re an Iron Chef, Fenris, I’d also strongly encourage you to check out www.cookinglight.com for some good recipes. They are light recipes, but they are also gourmet and tasty. Weight Watchers recipes are good, but you won’t find as much exotic stuff, or top notch ingredients in them. For the true foodie, I think Cooking Light will probably be up to par. Once you start WW and you have the Points Finder, you can use it to calculate the points in a CL recipe and use it just like you would a WW recipe.