Weight watchers vs Low carb
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dietbepsi
Posts: 136 Member
I thought this was interesting. My friend joined weight watchers, and I plugged in one of my days that I was at around 1330 cal. (Low carb, high fat)
Where I would get "30 points" on that program, and basically starve myself, this day would equal 49 points. Interesting. Yet I still lose. I'm not knocking weight watchers, I did it after I had twins 12 years ago and it worked wonderfully. However it doesn't work for me anymore. I just so much prefer this way of eating. (And the energy!!) I also don't see how WW is sustainable. My friend for today has a smoothie, a cheese stick, and a salad, and she's at 20 points already. She has only 10 points left for the day. That's ridiculous!!!
Where I would get "30 points" on that program, and basically starve myself, this day would equal 49 points. Interesting. Yet I still lose. I'm not knocking weight watchers, I did it after I had twins 12 years ago and it worked wonderfully. However it doesn't work for me anymore. I just so much prefer this way of eating. (And the energy!!) I also don't see how WW is sustainable. My friend for today has a smoothie, a cheese stick, and a salad, and she's at 20 points already. She has only 10 points left for the day. That's ridiculous!!!
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Wow I'd be starving. 30 points for a whole day? Is there a protein she can eat that's less points, like a grilled chicken breast or something?
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That's what she has on her salad! Crazy0
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@carimiller7391 is doing a modified WW plan staying lower carb, and doing really well. She kind of tweaks the system to work with her plan, and lately she's been spending more time on the WW site due to limited time resources....but she had bad reactions to going full keto due to underlying conditions. So, modifying the calculations of points works well for her.0
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I also did WW in the past (including after I had twins 7 years ago
) and I definitely feel more satisfied and am losing weight faster than when I did! It actually worked OK for me the first time I tried it, when I wanted to lose 20 lbs before TTC, but it stopped working for me at some point postpartum; I could not lose the last 10 lbs and when I tried it again a few years later after getting Dx'ed with prediabetes, I tried it for 4 months and only lost 2 lbs. I don't care what the CICO people say; I can only lose weight if I go low carb. 0 -
That's me! No matter how strict I am with myself I ONLY lose weight low carb.0
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I nearly starved to death on WW and I didn't even lose very much weight. I tried it about 10 years ago so obviously an older plan. I just remember after weeks of starving I decided to track calories instead of points and I was only getting like 900-1000.0
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macchiatto wrote: »I also did WW in the past (including after I had twins 7 years ago ) and I definitely feel more satisfied and am losing weight faster than when I did! It actually worked OK for me the first time I tried it, when I wanted to lose 20 lbs before TTC, but it stopped working for me at some point postpartum; I could not lose the last 10 lbs and when I tried it again a few years later after getting Dx'ed with prediabetes, I tried it for 4 months and only lost 2 lbs. I don't care what the CICO people say; I can only lose weight if I go low carb.
This is why I can't stand seeing someone challenge another persons interest in low carb. Everyone likes to say things like "if you don't have a medical issue..., then just CICO and you're not working hard enough" Blah blah blah
Makes me so mad! And I don't even have any of these problems myself, but I understand them.
This infographic notes that 1 out of 3 Americans is pre diabetic, and that 9 out of 10 of them don't know it. 9 OUT OF 10! That's huge! And insulin resistance preceded pre diabetes... So how many people that are getting CICO drilled at them are actually fighting a losing battle and simply learning to blame themselves? A whole stinkin lot! That's how many! Makes me really sad to see people really putting in hard work but applying their efforts in non effective ways.
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Also, I like how it says "normal" is what comes before prediabetes. Completely ignores insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia all together.
And everything about that graphic will lead you to believe that being overweight is the cause for prediabetes. Not that the condition creates weight gain.0 -
And that makes me think of this article going around, too...
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2016/01/an-open-letter-to-oprah-winfrey/0 -
I tried in a few years ago and made it 3 days. I was hungry and cranky.
When I was a young kid in the late 70s my mom was a WW leader. She had lost 100 lbs. As a leader She had to stay under goal by 10 lbs. I remember very few meals during those years that mom wasn't eating a separate meal from the family. She still to this day won't eat most of those foods!
I do remember once as a kid getting off the bus and she told me she broke her diet and ate my 1 pound chocolate Easter bunny so hop in the car so she can buy me a new one. As a kid I thought it was funny. Now I get it.0 -
KnitOrMiss wrote: »And that makes me think of this article going around, too...
http://www.wheatbellyblog.com/2016/01/an-open-letter-to-oprah-winfrey/
Love that!0 -
I did WW about 12 years ago and was pretty hungry. I lost some weight but it was hard. Harder than I needed to be.
I did like it for relearning portion sizes, but that was about it.0 -
@dietbepsi glad I'm in good company.
@Sunny_Bunny_ I know what you mean!
I have PCOS, so I knew I might be IR (thought I still haven't had that medically confirmed but it seems like it must be true).
Then when I saw a new PCP for a bunch of tests 3-4 years ago, I told him I was at very high risk for diabetes and wanted him to check for that among other things. He did an Oral GTT. My fasting blood sugar was 107 and the midpoint one was 146. He told me my results were normal. I had texted my sister during the test since she's diabetic (@lukesydaisy ) and she told me 107 was higher than normal. So when I got home I googled, found the ADA info on prediabetes and found out I was indeed in prediabetes range. I also saw from my labwork that my triglycerides were 217 and again, no mention. He was all "I don't know why you're getting dizzy and light-headed at times; your labs are all good. Must be your MS."
By the time I had a physical a year later with a new PCP, I had lost about 12 lbs on a low carb diet, my blood sugar was good and my triglycerides were 52. HDL had improved as well.0 -
I did WW back in the '60's. Liked that plan better than this points business. It seemed more like the way we eat here except that it may have been lower fat. Larger protein portions and restricted starchy vegetables.0
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It's a darn shame @macchiatto that with advanced medical knowledge in 2016, people aren't being properly warned about dangerous health conditions that are so obviously already crossing over into. That article @KnitOrMiss shared is right on the money when it says that people are being blamed for being weak when they were never given the right advice in the first place.
It's like telling someone to mix purple paint but you only give them blue and yellow. How are they supposed to figure out how to get purple?!? Oh yeah, you gotta hike 20 miles a day to get red, you lazy #*%#! lol or.... They can just supply red (the right info) and people will do just fine without a boat load of unsustainable exercise.
Seriously though. It's not much different than that.0 -
I was on WW and became a staff member back in the mid 80's, Again a different plan. I got the weight off but could not maintain. When I talked to other staff, who had been staff and therefore at goal for some years, they too admitted that they had trouble maintaining. Most cut out bread and other starches to keep their weight down. Their calories were well below what was recommended, at least before the staff weigh in.
I also had trouble because at the time I was very active. Scottish dancing 3 times a week for 2 hours each through the winter as well as regular gym work with a trainer, and skiing whenever I could. Through the summer, I changed skiing weekends, and all holidays, to canoe trips. I was always hungry.
However, my niece is doing WW now. She was offered gastric bypass by a new doctor. It shocked her into doing something and she is losing weight on WW. I am not going to rock the boat, at least while it is working for her. But I do wonder how hungry she is,0 -
I hear you, @Sunny_Bunny_ . I'm just glad my sister tipped me off that it wasn't normal so I did my own research and got on the right track and was able to reverse it. I also made sure to leave feedback with the practice after I left.
My other sister actually just told me today that her dr said her fasting blood sugar is 101.
Since both parents and both grandmothers have Type II diabetes, it's apparently hard to avoid! 0 -
I've never done ww, but I have done cico (not that that's actually a diet plan, but for this convo we know what that means) more than once. One thing that is entirely unavoidable with using that method is the tendency to nearly eliminate fat from your diet. Since fat grams contain the most calories one of the easiest ways to reduce caloric intake is to go with low fat everything. That's why I feel guiding someone who knows very little about nutrition to that method can be very damaging. You quickly learn you can eat a bag of microwave rice for lunch everyday or dry tuna on a plain pita, and feel full. Completely missing that you're starving your body of the essential fats for proper nutrient absorption and hormone function. And in the end creating that "im starving" feeling over the long run.0
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macchiatto wrote: »I hear you, @Sunny_Bunny_ . I'm just glad my sister tipped me off that it wasn't normal so I did my own research and got on the right track and was able to reverse it. I also made sure to leave feedback with the practice after I left.
My other sister actually just told me today that her dr said her fasting blood sugar is 101. Since both parents and both grandmothers have Type II diabetes, it's apparently hard to avoid!
I think it's hard to avoid even without a possible family link. Apparently the CDC does too according to their infographic. But, everyone keep eating their healthy grains and low fats.
You're so right about the low fats @auntstephie3210 -
Thanks for introducing this topic. I use to do Weight Watchers too. I lost a lot of weight but after about 6 months I just couldn't take the hunger anymore. I was always hungry on weight watchers. I was only satisfied for a couple of hours after I ate and then I would be planning my next meal. It was all I thought about because the hunger was so overwhelming.
The Always Hungry diet really does keep me full. I have to remind myself to eat or I would forget. That never happened on WW. I can't follow the recipes in Always Hungry but I follow the generic rules (I have a spouse who is on dialysis and needs a special diet - but high protein and fat are a requirement for both diets.) My calorie count was so low a couple of times that my log warned me to eat more. I did eat more but next time I may not.
I've only been on this diet for 3 weeks and I've only lost 1 pound. I've extended the phase 1 until I lose at least 3 pounds. But the other side affects of this diet are just amazing. I have soooo much energy I can't believe it. The pain in my ankles and wrists has gone. My headaches are gone. I've lost an inch off my waist and my pants are slipping off if I don't wear a belt.
With both diets I had quit smoking and gained the weight so the extra energy my also be due to the quitting smoking. But I never experience all that energy with WW even though I had quit for a year. I would never go back to weight watchers even though my weight loss was more rapid and had immediate results.
The other wonderful side affects of this low carb, high fat diet are just too good to believe. I wish I had discovered this diet sooner in my life.0
