Weight watchers skepticism

[nygirl22]

Reading the posts about how WW is "bad" and doesnt work because it allows for too many bad choices is so rediculous. If any of us made the best decisions about what to eat, none of us would be on this forum. You can take the good and the bad with any diet. I have tried Adkins, SBD, and WW. My only sucess has been on WW. I guess my problem is that I have trouble sticking to a plan were I have to cut out a food group. No carbs, or no sugar can cause me to be grumpy, have mood swings, and be very tired. Not to mention the cost of buying all those lean cuts of meat. Dont get me wrong, I know I need to eat tons of veggies and lean proteins, but if I want to have a small piece of chocolate or some ice cream every now and again, I dont want to feel like I have destroyed all my hard work for that week. Does that make any sense? I know there are alternatives to any diet plan or way of eatting. But to bash WW just because some people shoose to use it the worng way just seems silly to me. I know people that stay in Phase 1 od SBD because they are afraid to even eat a piece of fruit. They think it will "ruin" their progress. You would think after tying so hard to get to the same place we would all be a little bit more open-minded...

I think some people just might feel there are too many "openings" that allow for mess-ups -- for a lot of people, it [dieting] is (or starts out as) an all or nothing thing. Yes there are people out there who can have "treats" daily and deal with that and do well, but there are also those who will choose to use all of their "points" on the wrong foods if *allowed* to do so.....

the purpose of SB is not just healthy eating - it is to get the blood sugar under control, which in turn, helps us to not even want sugars and other foods that are simply not good for us - and none of us should have those every day. We live in a world where not many people know how we're supposed to eat so we need to be trained (literally) to eat healthy. You are absolutely correct in saying that a little treat (ice cream or w/e it may be) here and there is fine - and many on SB believe this and do have treats once in a while. It's important to recognize we can all do this regardless of the "diet" plan.

Whatever way of eating, as long as it's healthy - as you said, we should all be open to them. I think the idea here is that WW allows for the eating to be unheatlhy to an extent but you can still lose weight (and many poeple take advantage of the "treats" or "points" or w/e).

By the way, are you hungry all the time when on WW? [I was reading your old posts.]

[mrspug1212]

Actually, I was very hungry the first time I tried WW, but I was not really that informed. We had a WW at work group provided by the company for free, so I joined the meetings for the support and knolwedge. But when I first started WW I just counted the points alone, and not so much what I was eatting. I notice a huge difference if I eat protein for breakfast vs. if I just have oatmeal. If I eat protein at every meal I am much more satisfied throughout the day. WW is a 'strict' as you make it, but then again so is SB. You can go wrong on either way of eatting. I try not to bash any way of eatting as I have tried them all. :) But it tends to bother me when I see one singled out as being bad, or not a healthy way of eatting. Maybe some people do need the extra strict rules to feel like they are being healthy. But you can be healthy on WW just as you can be on SBD. One thing that was big in my WW meetings that isnt much talked about at all is the activity points. My WW leader was real big on getting you to move. Even if you just walk for 20 minutes at a slow pace, you are still burning calories, and you still earn Activity points. Many people that post to this forum talk about not doing any excerise and still losing weight. That is great, but just imagine if you did? The results would multiply. Any diet or way of life can be done wrong. But that does not mean it doesnt work. :)

[nygirl22]

I try not to bash any way of eatting as I have tried them all. But it tends to bother me when I see one singled out as being bad, or not a healthy way of eatting.

I get you. It drives me nuts when people bash Atkins [b/c after all, he went against the grain, so-to-speak, and got us thinking differently - fat is not bad!]

[Reignking]

It's presumptuous to think that SBD is the "right" diet, for everyone.

Besides, this diet wasn't even designed for weight loss. Red wine doesn't help weight loss.

To each his/her own.

[Need to lose]

I won't dish either SB or WW. I struggled on both in the past. 11 weeks ago I switched and joined Weight Watchers. I have to admit I really like their point system and find it fast and simple to use.

At my weight in today, I have met my 10% goal and have lost 24.8 pounds. Needless to day, I was thrilled.

I see good in both programs. I have kept some of the theories of the South Beach diet in my life, and incorporated some of WW.

I also think the weekly meetings of WW helps me personally. I need that structure of accountabilty.

So, I wish everyone on SB and WW the best of luck. What ever works to try and get us healthier is great.

[louise64]

I'm not going to bash WW either. It works for many. I have several friends who have lost their weight on it and met their goals. Some ate very healthy foods, others not so great. Interestingly, most of my friends don't have the kind of cravings and obvious carb sensitivity that I have so perhaps this is why they can be successful just eating 'whatever?'

At this point I am a WW member and combining it with SB. Either one doesn't work for me by itself. On WW I am hungry and have cravings. I've tried SB twice in the past - the first time stricktly from the the book and I kept cycling between phase 1 and phase 2 because I kept getting messed up when I added too many carbs too quickly. Then about a year later I tried it again and found all the internet SB support groups. This made me much more informed however I did SB for many months (perhaps 6?) and only lost the 8 pounds I lost of Phase 1. What happened was that prior to SB I was eating a relatively low-fat, high fiber, fairly high carb diet and I simply replaced my calories with SB foods - many of which were higher calorie than what I normally ate - beef, cheese, etc. So I switched from 3000 calories of one type of food to 3000 calories of other types of food. I felt great, but I had 70 pounds to lose and knew that to do that I needed to create a caloric deficit. At this point I've lost 25 pounds so I'd say it's working.

The best WOE is the one that you can stick to and helps you meet your goals!

[Mama2ThreeBlessings]

I have combined the two ways of eating WW and SB to make it a great way of life for ME...here's what I do:

I take the low sugar attitude AND whole grains, fresh veggies, lean meats and combine the point system with it. I know according to my weight I can have 24pts a day. I know w/SB I can have all the fresh veggies and salad and yummy stuff like that a day...so, for the last 3 days I have gone ahead and calculated my points at the end of the day and so far haven't gotten to the 24. I've lost 10lbs in the last 2 weeks combining the lifestyles. Here's the thing...I'm NOT going to eat the way some WW's eat...they can have pringles or pizza or whatever as long as they stay within their point range...me? I KNOW how food should be made...I know it's not good to eat tons of sweets and fatty foods REGARDLESS of the point value...so, I guess Im really just adapting the points to my SB eating...but WILL NOT allow myself to be hungry. If I want to snack, I will..I will have a cheese stick, or a V8...and I'll add them to my daily points. It works for me and I think that for some ppl who WW is not working for is this main fact: They eat WHAT THEY WANT regardless of what's in it because it's part of their daily points...that won't work if you are a big person because you have to KNOW the difference between the good carbs and bad carbs, etc...that is what SB teaches you...

[mollyshea]

I did weight watchers after my second baby was born, about 4 years ago and lost over 20 lbs on it. I liked it because I wasn't limited at all as to what I could eat, just the amount! The theory behind the point system is that everything you put in your mouth has "points" so if you want you could eat a piece of cake for say 6 points or an apple for 2 points. I was allowed 20 points a day with 35 extra points each week. I could use those 35 points in one meal (trust me...not hard to do!) or I could space them out, whatever I wanted. Now, I WAS NEVER told that I had to limit my protein consumption or do a "meat free" meal once a week.

She may be going to meetings once a week and they could be feeding her that information as an opinion, but Weight Watchers would never suggest that. I ate protein at every meal, because I am hypoglycemic and protein is a good way to prevent occurances of low blood sugar. I would have egg white omelets for breakfast, usually a weight watchers meal for lunch and I ate whatever I made my family for dinner (some form of protein was always included), I just ate smaller portions.

I don't want to go back to Weight Watchers to lose the 15 or so pounds I have put back on, for several reasons, but not because it was strict, because it certainly is not. I like the SBD (which I am back on after going off of it last year) I actually feel better when I am on it. Hopefully this time, I will succeed!

Hope this information helps!

Starting Again 8/22/207
CW 142
GW 125

[janlynne2002]

I did wonderful on WW as did many of my friends..I went from 227 to 162 in slightly under a yr..but then my weight stopped when I injured my low back and had to stop exercising..:( SO my friend recommended So Beach and here i am

[Mid-Century_maven]

I'm new to SB and so far, so good. However, there was an intriguing post that appeared in the WW discussion. Somewhere in the thread was the idea that "breaking the rules" every fourth day assisted in keeping metabolism up. Is this a rule everybody in the world but me knows? How would you accomodate that on SB--a glass of nonfat milk during P1?

Thanks so much!

[ladybugnessa]

I'm new to SB and so far, so good. However, there was an intriguing post that appeared in the WW discussion. Somewhere in the thread was the idea that "breaking the rules" every fourth day assisted in keeping metabolism up. Is this a rule everybody in the world but me knows? How would you accomodate that on SB--a glass of nonfat milk during P1?

Thanks so much!

you have the old version of hte plan. read the FAQ and stickies and see that dairy has been added in phase 1 up to 2 cups per day...

as for breaking the rules.... as you learn about SBD you will see that it ebbs and flows on a daily basis. it's not a rigid plan.

[Myrealana]

My mom is still on Weight Watchers -- two years now.

Her cholesteral and blood pressure, once dangerously high, have dropped to healthy levels. She was pre-diabetic and taking a glucophage medication which she has since stopped. In fact, in two years, she has gone from taking about six medications to taking one.

She has reached her goal weight after about a year, but has yo-yo'ed a bit since that time, with a net weight loss of about 40 lbs when all is said and done. She doesn't think she has lost enough, but her viewpoint might be a little skewed. To me, there's nothing wrong with a 58-year-old woman spreading out a bit. The medical progress alone is worth it. She does the point system, and exercises at Curves three days a week

She has all the books, so she stopped paying for the meetings on a regular basis after about 3 months. Now she pays for about one a month to go in, get an official weight and just check up to see what might have changed.

Weight Watchers is most definatly not a joke. Like any good plan, if you take a snapshot of it, it can look like a bad idea. But just because it's not South Beach doesn't make it wrong.

[MSGirly72]

Weight Watchers works if you work it just like any other program! I personally am on that website listed above. I lost 120 pounds on WW and then I got pregnant and have not been able to get my head back on straight since! I came here to SBD to hopefully curb my sugar cravings and get my body out of the roller coaster it has been in lately.

I see this on the WW boards too...people knock other plans and honestly ANY reasonable plan works if you follow it and stick with it! Nothing works long term if you get to where you want to be and then just quit....I am using myself as an example there.

[Myrealana]

Think about this.

A person walks up to a friend at work and says "I'm on this great new diet! I can eat as much as I want and still lose weight. I get to have all the eggs I want every day, and real salad dressing - not lite, and there's no limit to how much cheese I can have! I don't even have to exercise. I read all about it in this book..."

"Really, what's it called?"

"The South Beach Diet."

South Beach - what a joke! After all, everything the friend says is right out of the book. It's not the spirit of the plan, or what Dr. A ever intended for people to do, but all of that is in the book - so is SB a joke?

[Long Island Bob]

Weight Watchers works if you work it just like any other program! I personally am on that website listed above. I lost 120 pounds on WW and then I got pregnant and have not been able to get my head back on straight since! I came here to SBD to hopefully curb my sugar cravings and get my body out of the roller coaster it has been in lately.

I see this on the WW boards too...people knock other plans and honestly ANY reasonable plan works if you follow it and stick with it! Nothing works long term if you get to where you want to be and then just quit....I am using myself as an example there.

I like your attitude.
though I'm still shopping for for my diet plan, I'm leaning heavily toward SB and was attracted by something I read on the back of the book.

“. . . Nobody seemed to be able to stick with low-fat regimens for any length of time. And a diet is useless is you can’t stick to it. . . .”

My wife was raised in Taiwan. Feed her all the turkey fish and roast beef you can find and she'll still crave a bowl of rice (no kidding). If she doesn't eat carbs she is hungry, not satisfied, miserable.

Me I'm the polar opposite.
If I shoveled down enough rice and noodles etc. to choke a horse, an hour later I'm hankering for some lunch-meat or ham and eggs.

I think I could make a "low carb" diet plan work.

although i note that SBD is not "low carb" it is about "good carbs" vs "bad carbs"

As Anne Collins (author of a differnt diet plan) notes

"Simple carbohydrates are high in refined sugar. Sugar contains 'empty' calories - i.e. non-nutritious. Too much refined sugar tends to disrupt our appetite mechanism and can cause food cravings.

Complex carbohydrates are no lower in calories but take longer to digest. Thus they keep us full for longer and help keep blood sugar-levels (and appetite) stable. "

If I understand it
- Ms. Collins recommends that people replace "simple carbs" with "complex carbs,"
- WW recommends people replace fat with carbs, preferably complex carbs.
- SBD recommends people replace simple carbs with a protein (phase 1) and a helathy mix of proptein and complex carbs (phase 2).

I am convinced that any of these would work as long as people stick to them. It's about finding the right diet for you.