Eat like Body for Life or Weight Watchers...Please help!!

M

Momtoaaa

Active Member
Hello, OK, so I have done tooooo much research and now I am sooo confused. Is it better to eat VERY strict and clean like in BFL or just stay in your calorie zone like Weight Watchers?? Honestly, I eat very healthy! For breakfast I will have and egg omelet with parm. cheese and sauteed onions and bell peppers. For lunch, it is usually a salad w/ chicken, a turkey sandwhich or tuna with boiled eggs in it. For a snack I will have a protien shake. However, it is dinner that is driving me nuts. I want to eat a moderated portion of whatever I cook my family. But, I am feeling bad if I have pasta!!! SIGH. I am making them a very tasty spaghetti and meatballs tonight. I would just have maybe a cup of pasta and 1 meatball. NO bread. Please give me your advice. I just had my 4th child(actually she is 6months), and I still have 20 pounds to loose. Will I lose weight still? My workout's are 40-60min of cardio in the morning and then I do my weights at night. My weights right now are Slow and Heavy 3 days and then a total body 1x a week. Thanks for any help:)
Jennifer
 
Depends on what works for you <G>. I do know of a few people doing WW and following BFL. They can go hand in hand. Me, personally, I follow BFL and it works best for me.

Colleen
 
First of all, congrats on baby 4! I am in awe that you carve time for yourself every day to exercise. With 4 kids, that alone is a Herculean feat I'm sure.

Calories in / Calories out is the key.

I am not a nutritionist, so my answer is in no way scientific. I find that when I forbid myself from certain foods, I crave them. It's purely psychological, I know, but it causes me problems! When I tried South Beach, I was consumed with cravings for food that I don't even normally eat, just because they were restricted. So I stopped and went back to my Weight Watchers, watch what I eat, get my 5 a day, water drinking, Activity Point-earning maintenance routine.

I believe that an overall healthy diet permits all foods in moderation. Eat pasta (whole wheat), skip the bread. Couple it with a wonderful salad. Denial of foods sets me up for future binges.

Your diet sounds healthy. I assume you consume more fruits and veggies than you indicated. If your meals are always the same thing, introduce new foods into your diet. Your body can actually grow accustomed to foods; you need to shake it up.

Are you eating enough? If you are working out vigorously, you might not be consuming enough calories.

Also, is your work out routine always the same? How long have you been doing it? Maybe it's time to switch from S/H to a different weight routine.
 
I agree with Pennstater. It is about total calories, portion sizes, and the quality of what you eat and drink. No need to give up anything but certain things you have less often and in moderation. I switched to whole wheat pasta and DH thinks it is better. With 4 kids you can also help them by introducing them to healthy eating (most of the time). I am not sure about BFL but WW promotes making good choices and changes for a healthy life style.
 
Hi Jennifer,

I think it all depends on where you are at now and what your goals are. If you have a lot to lose, just taking in fewer calories and working out more (although it sounds like you're working out plenty) will help you lose weight. The more fit you are, and the less weight you have to lose, the more strict you have to be in the clean eating department. So if your goal is to look like Cathe, then you probably have to be pretty strict and eat lots of good carbs and lean protein. (And diet will become much more important than exercise the more lean you want to be.) But if you just want to be at a healthy weight, WW will probably be sufficient. And like other people mentioned, you might be at a plateau, so just changing things up should help. Maybe for one of your cardio routines, throw in a few higher intensity intervals to increase the calorie burn (both during and after).

Elaine
 
RE: Eat like Body for Life or Weight Watchers...Please ...

Personally, I never counted calories...

I went on a low fat diet and lost about 15 pounds a couple of years ago-this is also when I began seriously exercising.

Since then I pretty much maintained my weight by watching the fat in my diet and continuing to exercise...

At this point I am trying the BFL style of eating but not for weight loss yet...simply to keep from GAINING excess weight in the last months of my pregnancy so I'm not as strict with it as I will be down the line. I like it a lot so far though. I find it to be a good, sensible, healthy plan IMO and it keeps me satisfied.

I don't think there is anything wrong with a weight watchers style diet or anything else that's out there...it's just whatever works best for you but still gives your body enough of what it needs to be healthy.

Have a great work out!

~Wendy~

I smoked my last cigarette on March 17, 2004 at 10:00 pm!

http://www.picturetrail.com/gallery/view?WENDYMIN

http://lilypie.com/days/050519/1/0/1/-5/.png[/img][/url]
 
RE: Eat like Body for Life or Weight Watchers...Please ...

I have done both and lost weight on both (after each child). Here are my thoughts on them:

WW: This was before turn around--it was the points system. It was such a pain in the neck to figure out how many points foods had (like recipes), and even though I would bank points, I never really felt like I could let my hair down and use them. So I felt like I had to eat clean all the time with no breaks, even though I could technically eat what I wanted. But seriously, can you really? If what I want is chocolate cake, there goes half my points for the day!

BFL: Takes more planning, you don't realize how hard it is to get all your protein in (I didn't). I got tired of making those darn smoothies, although I love the taste of them. The foods themselves were not much different from how I already ate, just getting the timing right and always having a carb and protein together. But I love, love, love the free day concept!

Incidentally, I just started the food portion of BFL again. I'm not doing his exercise program exactly, because I do Cathe's rotations instead!
 
RE: Eat like Body for Life or Weight Watchers...Please ...

Well, I don't really have an answer for you since I am somewhat debating the same thing myself. If I want to up my protein intake, then I am going over my WW points. But, if I am doing some heavy workouts, I need the protein, so it is a dilemma.

I just wanted to say that you will probably drop those 20 pounds rather quickly if you are consistently exercising and watching what you eat. I have six children and was down to 131 lbs; unfortunately, I've gained some of that back and am currently working on getting into shape again.

Shirley
 
RE: Eat like Body for Life or Weight Watchers...Please ...

Hi Jennifer!
First of all, congratulations on your fourth addition to your family! That is very exciting. I know it must be difficult to carry the extra weight, but if you just had your baby 6 months ago and only have 20 pounds left to lose - kudos to you!!!!
It sounds like you are in control of your eating - that is great. I would have exactly what my family is having, just keep the portions small - like you said. On days when you know that you are having a pasta dinner, I would replace the bread in your turkey sandwich at lunch with a bed of lettuce. Also- I would check the sugar level in your protein shakes. If the carb count on your protein shake is higher than 27 grams, you are better off eating a candy bar (no, really, I am being serious). I have managed to lose 15 pounds and keep it off for 6 months by not eliminating carbs, but just limiting them to 2 servings a day (lower calorie bread, like weight watchers, melba toast, fat free crackers, etc.). I would just try it for a week or two and see what happens. Also - if you are really hungry at night, I would add a second protein shake at night for "dessert". I am not a nutritionist by any stretch but perhaps it will help you like it did me.
Also - kudos on your workout program. You seem really motivated!

Keep up the good work Jennifer!
 
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