Weight Watchers experiences

[Poohlove]

I am currently doing weight watchers and while the last few weeks I have gotten away from the tracking aspect I have been pretty goo about making smarter food choices and I am down a total of 15.6 in about 12 weeks. I have only had 1 week with a gain and it was .8 after being on vacation. I am happy with a sustainable loss of about 1lb per week, in the long run slow and steady wins the race.

 

[alizesmom]

I’ve done the old WW with success as well as the old fashioned calories in/calories out but found neither sustainable. I just started Freestyle 3weeks ago so it’s effectiveness remains to be seen but I find it very easy to stick to.

 

[tinkerbellandeeyor]

I did something wrong because I felt like I was joining a club for future Anerics sorry for the spelling

 

[Luv Bunnies]

I started Weight Watchers in October and have lost 47 pounds. My loss has slowed down in the last few months, but that is to be expected. As long as I'm trending downward, I'm happy with it.

Here's my take on Freestyle vs. Points Plus. I lurk in a WW Facebook group, and a lot of people are frustrated with Freestyle. They say their weight loss either stopped or they started to gain when Freestyle was rolled out in December. On Points Plus, non-starchy vegetables and fruits were zero points. Freestyle added a number of foods to the zero points list including chicken and turkey breast, all fish and shellfish, corn, beans, and whole eggs. Note that these foods are "zero points" and not "free foods." Many people saw this as a free-for-all, and began eating unlimited amounts of the zero point foods. Consequently, their loss slowed considerably and some people began gaining. Even though WW has a points system, it's still about limiting calories. Zero point foods still have calories and still need to be monitored.

The way I see the zero points foods is that they should be the base for your meals. For example, breakfast can be built around a serving of eggs (which is two). Using your points allowance, you can add items like turkey bacon and an English muffin. Add some zero point veggies to the eggs and a serving of fruit and you have a low-point breakfast. Lunch and dinner can be built around reasonable servings of chicken, turkey, or fish. You can really have any type of food you want, you just have to count the points. Besides the daily allowance of points, you get an additional weekly allowance that can be used anytime during the week. You can add a few each day, use them all over a few day, or not use them at all. It's very flexible.

In terms of being low-carb, WW encourages you to eat foods that are higher in protein. These foods will fill you up and help keep you from snacking or feeling hungry all day. However, it's not a traditional low-carb plan at all. You can have your carbs and still lose weight. You just have to count them. Personally, I cannot go without carbs. I've tried and I get headaches and basically feel awful. And I'll feel like this for weeks until I start eating carbs again. I do stay away from heavily processed carbs. I stick with rice, whole-wheat pasta, and whole-wheat breads (pitas, tortillas, etc.). I eat a few servings of fruit each day. I also have oatmeal once or twice a week.

The best part is that for months, I have really had no desire to eat high-fat or sugary foods. I know that I won't feel well if I eat those foods and it's just not worth it to me. Yesterday was staff appreciation day at the school where I work. The staff room was brimming with donuts, muffins, cookies, a nacho bar, candy, etc. None of it appealed to me. I had some of the fruit salad with the lunch I brought from home. I've had to buy new clothes and it feels amazing to wear a smaller size. I have no desire to overeat and go back to my old size. So yes, I would recommend Weight Watchers. It works. But like any weight reduction plan, you have to stick with it for the long term.

 

[lisaviolet]

But like any weight reduction plan, you have to stick with it for the long term.

Yep.

In fact while I'm losing weight I often ask myself if this is something I can keep up with or not. To me that is more important than any weight loss. The body reacts to change.

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And Luv Bunnies, I forgot to say congratulations on your success.

 

[dotfurio]

Note that these foods are "zero points" and not "free foods." Many people saw this as a free-for-all, and began eating unlimited amounts of the zero point foods. Consequently, their loss slowed considerably and some people began gaining. Even though WW has a points system, it's still about limiting calories. Zero point foods still have calories and still need to be monitored.

I’ve heard this over and over again on Connect. Zero isn’t free. Of course most people understand that. After losing quite a bit I didnt suddenly start gorging myself on a pound a chicken and a dozen eggs a day when freestyle came along. The problem is that I already ate a lot of newly zero point foods, so where I used to eat close to my dailies I now ate very few dailies. And I was told I need to eat my points. So I started incorporating more pointed foods, usually carbs like rice or bread. I also started eating corn and beans, which I hadn’t before Freestyle. Obviously I dont have a handle on the perfect balance of portion control and nutrition for me or I wouldn’t need a diet in the first place. But I think for me smartpoints was the right amount of guidance and Freestyle is just a little too non-restrictive. The weight watchers app doesn’t track daily calorie totals, so without double tracking how is one supposed to monitor their “zero point” calories with Freestyle? That’s why I’m now using my fitness pal to count calories and macros. In general I believe in weight watchers as a healthy eating system. It pushes users to make healthy choices. It’s much easier not to have to calorie count every fruit and veggie and still be successful and that’s why I’m going to try the itrackbites app to go back to smartpoints. Not every diet works for every lifestyle. I think it’s great that Freestyle works well for so many. But it’s annoying when people assume those that it doesn’t work for are simply binging on “free” food.

 

[sara mom]

I’ve been on it for 8 months....and love it. The online support of Connect helps me on the days I don’t want track. Yes... there are days I may not follow it to a t. This is my 5th time doing it and 10 pounds to my goal weight. I will get there because with the warmer weather I am for motivated to walk.