Whether or not join Weight Watchers or Slimming World?

YasminTE

I'm starting to get desperate in losing weight so thought maybe I should try the weight watcher or slimming world online membership which I have never done before or even if I could get a nutritional meal plan or work out plan, I'm unsure how I'd go about this? Or maybe try blood type diet? My weight loss is so slow and my digestive system is very slow and have noticed I am retaining a lot of water lately and weight appears to fluctuate on a weekly basis +/- 3lbs sometimes which I know may be water retention or monthly cycle (sorry if TMI)? Which can be discouraging sometimes when the scales are up and down. I don't eat very much in a day in comparison to other people I have spoken to. I'm a mother of a 1 year old and are home with her 5 days per week so tend to be running around a lot after her most days and then only recently have decided to start running again when I can (usually around 10-11pm each night depending, which I know isn't the best time to work out but sometimes it's the only time I can depending on OH work commitments etc. Any advice would be appreciated!

MissusMoon

The blood type diet is woo.

If you're having the issues you describe, perhaps see your doctor and get to a dietitian?

You can lose weight for free here simply by logging your calories. Getting a food scale to weigh your food helps a lot, too.

kshama2001

I've done WW and prefer MFP.

There are mistakes that people commonly make that cause them to not lose weight that we might be able to spot if you change your Diary Sharing settings to Public: http://www.myfitnesspal.com/account/diary_settings

kommodevaran

How long have you been doing what you are doing now, to lose weight?

You need a sustained calorie deficit to lose weight. Do you log your food? If so, what do you do to make sure you are doing it correctly? Do you have cheat days/meals?

You need to be patient, because weight loss IS slow. 0.5 to 2 pounds per week, depending on height and weight.

Everything else is not important for weight management. WW and SW may work, but so will MFP, it depends on you using it correctly. You don't need a special plan for what to eat or how to work out. Find something that you like. The blood type diet is utter scam.

Weight fluctuates, from day to day, and for some women, through their monthly cycle. Do not let that discourage you.

If you are retaining water to a degree it's a medical issue, or your digestion is a problem, talk to your doctor about it.

trigden1991

Both the programmes you mention rely on the basic principal of eating in a caloric deficit. MFP is free and simple!

dizzieblondeuk

How slow is 'slow weight loss'? It sounds like you are losing weight, you've just got to be patient. You didn't put on all your weight in a few weeks, nor will you lose it in just a few either! Weight fluctuations are totally normal and are, as you suspect, likely related to water weight or your monthly cycle. Try not to be discouraged by the fluctuating weight. You may find it useful to get an app that can record your weight, and should be able to show you your downward trend even though you see the number changing every day (that’s normal!) – weigh yourself at the same time of day (that’s really important, I’ve found), and only as often as you feel will keep you on track. If that’s every day, fine. If it’s once a week, do that. I weigh myself every day, first thing in the morning, but only log my weight once a week on a Monday morning.

SW and WW are only useful if you need external accountability, and essentially just keep you on track if your own internal motivation can’t. Last year, I joined a free NHS weight loss group for a few months. I found it incredibly useful, simply because I knew where I had to be on a Monday evening, and my competitive nature needed not to have ‘failed’ when someone else was weighing and measuring me – plus there was an NHS qualified nutritionist leading the sessions and providing excellent, unbiased information about healthy eating. The fact that they also tracked my BP was a huge incentive, when I saw how much is improved after just a short time, but I didn't need all of this for my long-term weight loss. I did SW some years ago, but grew to despise the corporate aspect of the group, who pushed (IMO) unnecessary products onto people.

You may want to look at some of the well-reviewed exercise programs on the exercise forum here, such as Jillian Michael’s 30 day shred and similar. Many of these DVDs would fit around a busy mum’s schedule, without leaving you with only late night exercise sessions – i.e. things that could be done during your baby’s nap times.

However (sorry, long post), the biggest thing is to log your food on MFP – unless you know exactly how many calories you’re eating every day, I’m not sure if you’ll really know if you’re eating less than other people. Concentrate on that, fit in a little exercise when you can, and I'm certain that you’ll see the weight drop. Good luck!

LivingtheLeanDream

MissusMoon wrote: »

The blood type diet is woo.

If you're having the issues you describe, perhaps see your doctor and get to a dietitian?

You can lose weight for free here simply by logging your calories. Getting a food scale to weigh your food helps a lot, too.

+1

Annahbananas

If you do weight watcher or not, stay away from their frozen meals. There's enough salt in those packages to kill a horse. Salt creates water retention.

I tried weight watchers. It's the same principle as counting calories. However, logging calories is free. Weight watchers is not. If you want weight watchers to have a lot of accountability partners then go for it.