WW? for 10lbs?

[golden]

Hey! Happy Holiday''s!

I would like to lose 10 pounds or so, I am at an average weight for my height, but have put on a few and would like to get back to where I feel comfortable and good about myself.

I just wanted to see if anyone has done Weight Watchers (points system) when wanting to lose 10-15lbs.

I eat unhealthy foods so I think doing it will also get me eating healthy foods and actual meals, instead of snacking so much or eating 1 or 2 really big meals.

Thank you!!

 

[Mara]

i know WW has worked for a lot of people, i have personally never tried it.... but you basically know what you need to do...you said you eat a lot of unhealthy foods. why don''t you start slowly replacing a few of those with more healthier alternatives? don''t necessarily go cold turkey on everything as i think that will be hard to sustain...but start slowly replacing things. i would imagine with only 10 lbs to lose you could replace a handful of your unhealthiest items and see a change.

aka replace 1/2 sodas with water (not juice, those have just as many cals as soda); replace fast food with a few salads a week; replace some potato or fry items with steamed veggies. doesn''t have to be everything, just some stuff. small changes can make a big difference!!

 

[Independent Gal]

Hi there,

I'm like you - healthy normal weight for my height - but a couple of times in the last few years, my weight has fluctuated by 6 pounds or so. When I put it on, I take it off again, since that way I don't put on ANOTHER 6 pounds, if you know what I mean.

Anyway, for this kind of thing, I have found sparkpeople.com to be extremely helpful. It doesn't just track your calories, it tracks the nutrients you take in too, so that you can focus on whether you are eating a healthy balanced diet, not just on how MANY calories you take in. It makes you very aware of what you put in your mouth, and whether it was really worth it. It also helps you make an exercise plan.

Great site to help you be disciplined. And it's free. Maybe worth a try?

 

[golden]

I drink iced tea daily, I think that is going to be the hardest thing to break from !! HAHAHA
I am not looking to lose weight over night, I want to be down the 10lbs by summer time, so I am figuring half a pound per week.
I am also going to get on the treadmill. I feel like I need a routine; I was going to start out slow and I still want to, but I feel like that is just me being "not ready" and I want to be commited to a healthier diet as of the New Year. I feel that if I do the points, it will be something to keep me "in line", if I don''t have something like that, I will snack or stray!!!

 

[Mara]

i agree with IG...sparkpeople is a great resource. for me i can''t do points, i have to actually know nutritionals in what i am eating. it helps me longer term make the right choices.

do you put a lot of sugar in your iced tea? if not, it''s not bad for you to drink it as it''s basically just tea and water. so you are probably getting a fair amount of water through your iced tea. but yeah if you have sugar in it, cut it out...that will make a huge difference!

 

[neatfreak]

I second the sparkpeople recommendation...

And also, iced tea is one of the best things you can drink if you drink it sugar free and homemade! I make my own iced tea during the summer with yummy flavor teas that don't need sugar. The tea itself has 0 cals...it's just all the junk you put in it that's bad.

So I would just try to wean down to plain tea and then you don't have to give it up!

 

[Independent Gal]

Mmmmm... iced herbal teas are the best! I love Celestial Seasonings teas, especially the Dragon one and the Tiger one. I''m sure those have names, but I only remember the animal on the label. They are sweet and yummy, even though they have no sugar in them.

Plus, in the summer you can make them into homemade popsicles. tea-pops! Very yumm-o.

 

[golden]

I drink Snapple daily, I don''t make my own iced tea.

 

[Skippy123]

Date: 12/30/2007 12:55:16 PM
Author: Mara
i agree with IG...sparkpeople is a great resource. for me i can't do points, i have to actually know nutritionals in what i am eating. it helps me longer term make the right choices.

I love WW, there is the group support, food ideas, meeting people who are going through what you are going through and they teach you to make healthy choices. You can either do core or the points system. If you do points you still have to look at the nutrition labels in order to figure out your points and they talk about getting the proper amount of fruits/veggies, calcium water and protein/fat/carbs. If you want to try WW I think it is free to attend a meeting to see what it is like. Once you sign up they weigh you and give you materials; also they give you online tools which are super cool. I was cooking something and wasn't quite sure how many points were in it so I typed in all the ingredients and out popped the points. I still do points and journaling. I think Sparkpeople looks great too but I love the real person support of a group meeting.

If you have any questions about WW I will peek back later. I know there are a few other WW here on PS and hope they chime in since they have been successful at doing it. HTH

 

[phoenixgirl]

If WW sounds appealing to you, then you have nothing to lose (but fat) by trying it, right? I say go for it. I got healthy starting back in March, and it was definitely a marathon, not a sprint. Start out with what you can handle or what appeals to you at first. As you get more healthy, you''ll probably want to add more workouts and eat more healthily, but the important thing is to take baby steps. You can get overwhelmed if you take too much on at once.

BTW, I drink honest tea when I want a drink other than water. With 63 calories (versus 200 in non-diet Snapple) in the whole bottle, no high fructose corn syrup, and some caffeine, it''s a great little pick-me-up.

 

[brazen_irish_hussy]

Date: 12/30/2007 1:16:15 PM
Author: golden
I drink Snapple daily, I don''t make my own iced tea.

That is probably one of your biggest problems. People don''t feel any fuller after drinking calories from sodas and sweetend tea, so it can really ruin all their other good eating.
Tea is great for you and if you are willing to switch to a nonsweetend variety, you will be well on your way.

I have a suggestion for a tasty snack that I love and is healthier than a lot of snacks. Low fat graham crackers with peanut butter. It is a great for a sweet tooth and it is a lot healthier than most sweetend snacks.

 

[KimberlyH]

I lost a significant amount of weight several years ago using WW as a stepping-off-point and then adppting my own methods to fit my life/personality/whatever you want to call it; in the past year I''ve lost additional weight counting calories. The points really helped me monitor intake and an awareness of how much crap I was eating in the beginning. I was a super overeater and had no self-control, WW forced me to reel it in. Now that I''m content with my loss I watch what I eat, splurge in moderation and just go about life.

I am not a rah-rah meetings sorta gal; I prefer to celebrate successes privately, so WW wasn''t great for me in that regard. Also, the meetings were very food focused, and my goal was to get away from food being a central part of my existence, it''s part of why I overate (e.g. I was bored, I ate; I was sad, I ate; I was happy, I ate). I think choosing an appropriate weight loss program, whether it be 10 lbs. or 100 lbs., is very personal and you need to figure out what will work for you in the long term. If you like being surrounded by people who can sympathize WW is a great place to be. If you''re more private, I''d recommend sparkpeople.com, or developing your own, reasonable, weight loss plan. If you need to be controlled, Jenny Craig would probably be quite helpful, as long as you are capable of adapting once you''re back in the drivers seat (i.e. translating food that is portioned for you into your beling able to portion your own intake properly).

Good luck to you!

 

[jfus]

I lost 35lbs on WW about a year ago and have maintained the weightloss since then.

It is hands down the best thing I have ever done! For the first time in my life I actually feel in control of my weight and how I eat.

I rem''d WW to anyone who says they want to lose weight. I was a meeting girl.. Knowing I needed to be on that scale every saturday morning at 8am really kicked me in gear. Now that I really need to go only 1x a month to weigh in to maintain my lifetime status I have made it harder for myself. But my resolution for the new year is to attend more meetings.

The key to the meetings is finding one with a leader you really like! You may need to try around at different centers until you find one that seems right for you.

 

[Joolskie]

With WW... it actually pays to know the nutritional information of the food you are eating. Because it is usually the case that the more nutritious the food, the lower it is in points!

I lost 20lbs on WW this year. The cool thing about WW is that nothing is inherently off limits. You must, however, choose wisely within your points range. WW also provides parameters regarding maintaining your weight once you reach goal. When it comes down to it, WW is all about being sensible and making wise choices. While allowing for you to actually have a slice of birthday cake at your coworker''s party. LOL!

If you are talking about 10lbs, however... my first suggestion would be to change your unhealthy eating habits first. Replace the junk food with fruit for example. You may find that those 10lbs are the result of eating unhealthy foods.

 

[divergrrl]

Hey, I am also like you and was when I first joined Weight Watchers. I was 5''5" and 144 lbs. The "acceptable" weight range for that particular height (its all by height) is 120 to 139lbs. As long as you have at least 5lbs to lose you can join. You can call the 800 number to find out.

I love WW. Go to the meetings works so much better than online.

I''m still a member (Lifetimer) and working (successfully) on losing baby weight...(my baby is 3 months old...

 

[marvel]

It looks like there''s about 200 calories in a bottle of Snapple. Depending on how many you drink a day, that''s a lot of empty calories. If you could start substituting bottle water for snapple, and getting on the treadmill for 30 minutes a day, I bet you''d see the weight fall off. Sparkepeople is a great place to start tracking your nutrition and fitness. Good luck!

 

[steph72276]

I''m another fan of Sparkpeople.com. I find it really helpful to track what I eat and track my fitness. And it is free

 

[golden]

I just fall into the "acceptable" weight for WW (by a pound or so) so I have a feeling that if I join and go to meetings, they would turn me away. I really feel like with WW and points, I will be eating healthier aside from the losing weight and I want to do it in a healthy way, I do not plan on crash dieting nor starving myself as I love food too much haha. I also know this will take time and that is why I am starting now and my goal is summer time (half a pound per week). I drink 1 snapple a day, which I believe is 220 Calories. That snapple IS going to be the hardest thing to give up.

I would be ok with not doing WW and just replacing unhealthy foods with healthier foods, but for me, WW and the points give me that rigidness?? I don''t know if that is the right word, but I will be so much more aware of what I am consuming, I won''t touch the pizza right now because I know chicken will be less points or if I do have pizza I will only have 1 slice.

I am starting with the points today, doing it on my own and I am going to "join" the WWT. Just my luck I have an AWFUL cold as of yesterday and couldnt even stay awake for the ball to drop last night!! Wish me luck and thank you for all your input and help!!!