OT - LA Weight Loss?

[steen995]

I've been doing Weight Watchers forever and seem to be pretty stuck. I've thought of joining LA Weight Loss.... Anybody else try this? How do the two styles compare (if you've tried both). And, the bottom line, is it worth the $$.

Thanks for any input!

 

[Adi12982]

I am going back to LA Weighloss this year - BUT I used them 6 years ago and followed the plan EXACTLY and from February to June I lost over 40 lbs. It works, it isn't terribly hardif you have your mind set on losing weight. You pay $6 a week ahead of time, and they calculate you will lose 2lbs a week, so if you want to lose 50 lbs you will pay $150 ahead of time plus some set-up fees. The only other thing you have to get is their bars . . . at full price they cost $28 a week - but if you buy in bulk you can get them for a lot less - especially during open houses.

It really worked for me, I am going back because I got cancer a few years back and I just gave up on careing about my wieght and got depressed and gained it all back plus some. Anyhow, I am healthy again and ready to get on with it!

 

[mommiepoppins]

I've been doing Weight Watchers forever and seem to be pretty stuck. I've thought of joining LA Weight Loss.... Anybody else try this? How do the two styles compare (if you've tried both). And, the bottom line, is it worth the $$.

Thanks for any input!

well I am going to ww and leaving la
la is great for getting the lbs off ...of course 2 lbs a week and it is a 1600 cal plan! they charge big $$$$$ here is a tip .. tell them you only want to loose 10lbs that will cost you 60 $ do not buy the bars they are 28$ per box and week. you can use balance bars. pm me if you have any ? I am a pro!!!

 

[Adi12982]

Luna bars are also equivalent to their bars - but they have one that tastes JUST like snickers, and since I got them in bulk they are cheaper.

 

[Adi12982]

well I am going to ww and leaving la
la is great for getting the lbs off ...of course 2 lbs a week and it is a 1600 cal plan! they charge big $$$$$ here is a tip .. tell them you only want to loose 10lbs that will cost you 60 $ do not buy the bars they are 28$ per box and week. you can use balance bars. pm me if you have any ? I am a pro!!!

You will still have to buy extra weeks if you REALLY want to lose more, but the already member price is something like $3 a week or less if it is during open house time. You can PM me if you have any other ?'s

 

[goofyforlife]

LA makes you think they are a sound weight treatment center....

In my experience....

They are just a money making franchise....

None of the so-called counselors actually had nutrition experience...

And the bars...what a scam....In the beginning i was told you had to buy them for the protein, ok....THen they went and changed the brands...
Less bar..hardly any protein, same price....What a scam

and if they try to sell you their vitamins...beware...lots of untested herbals added to what looks like normal multivitamin.

To tell the truth i did not lose the 2 lbs a week unless i was walking 5 miles a day.

WW is far better if you ask me...

 

[kmp1191]

Ok...just my 2 cents here.....I am a lifetime member of Jenny Craig. I went and checked out LA a few weeks before Thanksgiving and they were the rudest, pushiest people I have ever met!!! My quote for wanting to lose about 30 pounds was $750.00!!! I told the woman I wasn't willing to spend that kind of money and she told me I would never lose the weight!!! I went New Years Day back to Jenny Craig and have not regretted it. The counselors are wonderful and very willing to work with you every step of the way!!! I don't like the vitamins...they make me nauseous...I don't have to take them. I don't like the peanut butter bars...I don't have to take them. No stress, no pressure.
LA was 3 minutes from my work....JC is 30....I'll go the distance.

Good luck w/ what you decide.
marie

 

[pezheadmeg]

I think it really all depends on your motivation and personality. I've done WW, and really had no sucess. Furthermore with my age and height WW told me ideally I should be about 120 pounds. Mind you at the time, there was no question I was heavy, but I'm a lot of muscle I would be anorexic at 120 pounds!

I'm doing LAWL now and absolutely loving it. I guess I have the advantage that the center manager lost 120 pounds following the precursor, then went back for her masters degree in addiction counseling. She totally understands the need of food as a drug.

Yes, it's pricey to start, but I'm down 2 sizes since I started the program, 3 days after drinking my way around the world!

 

[patsal]

It works if you follow it to the letter, be careful to follow the maintainence plan--I moved and was unable to as the centers were not yet open in the area I moved to and I gained it all back and then some. The bars are tasty. Be careful as they make their $$ on the extras there. The counselors are supposed to get you to purchase about $60 per week in extras above and beyond the bars so watch for viatmins, teas, juices, muffins, etc. No biggie, just stand your ground on the no thank you!

 

[Happy4Disney]

I just decided to leave LA and go back to WW 2 weeks ago. Every time I weighed in at LA they would push the bars and supplements. I could not eat the bars, I am allergic to soy yet every single time I went there they would pressure me to buy their products even though I told them hundreds of times I could not eat them. Who wants to eat those bars for more than a year? You have to keep eating them on maintenance too. I had an allergic reaction to the bars when I first started in Oct. 05, I went to the center and told them I could not eat their bars and the counselor at the time got angry and threw the purple plan book at me! She was let go shortly thereafter. Yes I complained but they would not let me out of my contract no way no how so I just sucked it up and tried to make the best of it.

They call and call on the phone even though I just weighed in the day before AND told them numerous times not to call me, especially at work. LA is very expensive, I will lose my "rebate" since I quit. The money I have invested with them would pay for a week at Disney with the meal plan at a moderate resort.

I did have some success with them but it was always a chore weighing in 3 times a week. When I came back from my Disney trip in Nov. I had gained 2 pounds, they went on and on about how I should have tried harder to stick to the plan and then said I needed to pay to extend my plan (I did). If you don't lose the weight according to their schedule you have to buy another plan.

At least with WW I can eat regular food without the hassle of the extras add ons and I weigh in once a week when I can get to the meeting. And, if I gain at WW I don't get the condescending speech.

Choose a program that works with your needs. WW is also not for everyone either but you really need to know what you are getting into with LA. LA depends on the add on sales and people like me extending their plans and quitting. When I called them 2 weeks ago and said I quit after 15 months struggling with them, they seemed very happy to get rid of me.

Good luck!

 

[got2travel]

I haven't done LA but from what other posters are saying, it's something that would be very difficult to stick with if you left. Since you are dependent upon their bars and supplements, it's not going to work so well in reality.

I've had great success with ediets.com. They have several plans to choose from, low carb, glycemic index, low cal/low fat, suzanne summers, etc. I've done the ediets plan which is a basic low cal/low fat similar principals to WW. But they do all the counting and planning for me. I check in each week, report my progress, get a new week's meal plan, shopping list and recipes. What I really like is that I am eating real food that I make so as I'm losing weight, I'm learning portion sizes.

Several years ago I lost 90lbs and kept the majority off (gained 15lbs). I'm going back now to lose the 15 I put on plus the remaining 30 I didn't lose yet. I'm not sure what the current cost is since I'm on a lifetime plan, when I first joined it was only $15 per month.

 

[totallydisney]

I have done both, but WW works better for me. I think that LA weight loss is there just for the money. I followed there plan to the t and I kept gaining weight the next time I was there I would loose what I put back on. It was so frustrating. There counselors, are the rudest people I have ever come in cantact with. The bars they sell are bad. I would not buy any bars from them. Check ebay for LA weight loss products, I found them to be cheaper. I am a big fan of Weight Watchers, I feel it is easier to follow, more foods you like.

 

[nbodyhome]

I have a friend who has done WW, and I do think it's really a great way to go if you can't do it yourself.

I've lost 70 pounds over the last 4 years, on my own. I have been a member of gyms (I love the YMCA) but have great walking areas here, as well as a small fitness center at our apt. complex. I'm also studying to be a personal trainer, so I hope to be one at the YMCA next year (because I think they are very good about teaching whole-health, and don't try to sell supplements and such).

If you up your activity level, and eat healthier, the weight will eventually come off. I have only lost 5 pounds or so this past year, but I'm much leaner now since I've taken up running this past summer (I do it during my walks, in intervals). I don't eat any bars, supplements, I just take one vitamin a day (I really get enough of nearly everything in my food now). I just try to make little changes all the time. I just switched from store-brand bread to often making my own (with recipes that are at least 1/2 whole wheat flour). I found Motts Healthy Harvest, which is a great applesauce with a lot less sugar. No matter what plan you do, you have to think about it as a life-long process. And I do eat some junk food (if I can cut that in half, I'll be in great shape for losing at least another 5 - 10 this year). But most of what I eat is healthy, and I do try to be active a lot - it actually hurts my legs now to sit down for too long of a time.

 

[DaisyD]

LA wanted $700 from me and $800 from my mom! No way. We went to WW's instead. I am done 25lbs with 5 more to go. My mom is down 40 lb with 10 more to go.

 

[hlane]

Sparkpeople.com is a lot like ediets but it's FREE!!!