Weight Watchers and Cathe's DVDs

jrichards111

Cathlete
Hi,

I'm considering losing weight with Weight Watchers Online. Does anyone have experience with this and can share? I don't have much to lose so I think I can do it for 3 months or less. While on Weight Watchers I want to work out with Cathe's DVDs (Hardcore). I gained 6 pounds in the past month. A lot of my extra weight is in the middle. I've been eating a lot of almonds thinking that I'm doing my body good. Obviously I'm over doing it. I'm sure other reasons also contributed to the weight gain. The bottom line is that I'm taking in too many calories and not burning enough.
I plan to start Weight Watchers at the end of the month (while signing-up is free) along with Cathe's workouts.

Any advice is greatly appreciated.

Hope everyone is doing well! :)

JR
 
I post on another board with a WW thread. I am not doing WW myself but several women there are, some online, some by going to meetings.
they like the program and are mostly losing slowly but steadily. most of them don't exercise as much as the people here... many don't exercise at all... and they are still able to lose. no one complains about being hungry or not having enough to eat. the points system( I don't know details) seems simple to use, and track.
 
I know that Fit_mommy is a big WW proponent (successfully) and a veteran Cathe workout person. I know that she would be very generous about answering your questions if you wanted to send her a message.
 
Hey JR
I am currently doing weight watchers on line and I love it. I didn't have a lot to lose either 10lbs. I just started 3 weeks ago. I'm on my 4th week and I lost 6 lbs already. I am really liking this system and never signed up before because I always thought you needed to lose a lot of weight to be on it but that is not the case.
Right now I am doing the Chalean Xtreme program which is also great. Different. I am not new to working out and I do have all of cathe's DVD's. While on WW if you workout you can accumalate activity points and swapp them for food. I use my activity points on a daily basis and usually earn about 3-7 points day depends how hard I'm working that day.
BUT I dont eat them all the time. Somedays I do somedays I dont. I like to keep my body guessing kind of like zig zagging calories :)
I havent done cathe and WW but Chalean's program is definitely not a beginner program. Cardio's pretty intense (plyo)& heavy weight training but only approximately 35 min a day.
You just have to be really honest about your level of intensity. The more intense the more points you get.
And you have to be be accurate with the point counting.
HTH
PS Thanks for answering my previous post about my sitter issue
 
Thank you! This is very helpful. I will definitely stay active while on WW. The point system seems easy to manage. Losing weight will keep me motivated.

JR
 
Hi! I'm a Lifetime member and a Cathlete. Next month is my 6 year anniversary of making Lifetime. I used some Cathe workouts when I was losing, mostly Kick Punch Crunch and High Step Circuit. I mostly used The Firm, but maintained using primarily Cathe's workouts. The new plan encourages eating healthy foods with treats here and there. Just try to follow the good health guidelines. The plan is very flexible. You can eat the foods you like and there are some customizations like changing the number of daily points you use or switching between simply filling technique and tracking each day. There is a learning curve to start, but you'll get the hang of it quickly. You can totally follow WW with Cathe workouts. Good luck on your journey. If you have questions, feel free to ask.

Sent from my iPad using CatheForum
 
Thanks!
What does a Lifetime member mean? Does it mean following the healthy eating by WW for life? What's the new plan?
I was on the WW website yesterday trying to learn about the program. I will probably do the online vs. meeting. I'm excited to start WW and Cathe workouts. Many people that I talked to really believe in this weight loss program. Will I have enough energy to get through Cathe's workouts?

JR
 
Thanks!
What does a Lifetime member mean? Does it mean following the healthy eating by WW for life? What's the new plan?
I was on the WW website yesterday trying to learn about the program. I will probably do the online vs. meeting. I'm excited to start WW and Cathe workouts. Many people that I talked to really believe in this weight loss program. Will I have enough energy to get through Cathe's workouts?

JR

I'm a WW member too- I lost 14lbs since last summer, have about 6 more to go to get to goal. Lifetime is when you get to goal, your membership shifts to lifetime status, and you get your membership for free if you go to the center once a month and weigh in- you keep your etools that way. This doesn't apply if you do it on line I don't think.

You may want to pop in at a meeting and stay afterward for the start-up instruction. I did it online for a few weeks and had difficulty getting going until I went to a few meetings- then I switched to meetings and have found the process to be easier. I don't go to all the meetings like I used to, my schedule doesn't allow it, but I do weigh in once a week.

Cathe workouts are intense, and I account for them in the activity point portion. For me (based upon weight) a high intensity workout for 60 minutes is 10 points earned. I make sure I eat my activity points, but I don't always use my weekly points- I try to leave some behind.

Good Luck to you!

Bridget
 
I know that Fit_mommy is a big WW proponent (successfully) and a veteran Cathe workout person. I know that she would be very generous about answering your questions if you wanted to send her a message.

Yep, Tracy is right! I love WW and I love Cathe! When I started WW I was in the middle of doing a 5.5 STS rotation and it was no problem at all!Then after finishing STS I moved on to shorter high intensity circuit or interval work outs and WW worked well with that too! While I was losing I chose to stick to my point allowance as closely as possible so I ate AP's or WP's on rare occassions only.

I lost about 11 pounds with WW in about 4 months (April to August) and have been maintaining the loss nicely ever since. Since being on maintenance I have loosened the reigns a bit. The way I choose to do it actually is to eat at a lower point level closer to what you would eat if you were trying to lose 5 days a week and then let myself splurge on the weekends. I count points during the week but have stopped for the most part on the weekends. This is what works for me and how I am finding success at maintaining a weight that is lower then it's been since I was in my mid 20's w/o feeling deprived! I will be 40 in 2 months by the way! :D I must add too, that my body fat % dropped nicely along with the pounds. I am lean, muscular and have a 6 pack for the first time in my life! I couldn't be happier!
 
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jrichards111 said:
Thanks!
What does a Lifetime member mean? Does it mean following the healthy eating by WW for life? What's the new plan?
I was on the WW website yesterday trying to learn about the program. I will probably do the online vs. meeting. I'm excited to start WW and Cathe workouts. Many people that I talked to really believe in this weight loss program. Will I have enough energy to get through Cathe's workouts?

JR

A Lifetime member is someone who reached goal and proved they can maintain the weight for at least six weeks. Only meeting members can qualify for lifetime, however, some online members get close to goal then start attending meetings. If you reach Lifetime, you get free meetings and free e-tools (the meetings member version of online). The new plan is Pointsplus 2012. It's an updated version of Pointsplus. The update allows members to change the number of daily or weekly points they use plus allows you to switch between counting points and not counting (simply filling technique). WW encourages members to choose power foods, a list of healthy and lower calorie foods with high nutritional density. The list contains foods like fruits, veggies, lean proteins, whole grains. If you need to eat more, you have lots of points available to you. In addition to daily points, you get 49 weekly points and whatever activity points you earn. Using them is optional. WW recommends following a set of good health guidelines. They're simple. It's things like eating 5 servings of fruits and veggies, exercise, take a multi, drink water. It's not a difficult plan to follow. You just have to work at it in the beginning. Following the plan does get easier over time.

Sent from my iPad using CatheForum
 
Hi,
I've been eating a lot of almonds thinking that I'm doing my body good. Obviously I'm over doing it.
JR

I always gain when I eat a lot of almonds. You might try going for a month without them. Some people put on with nuts, I do.;) Its not just the calories, sometimes its the food itself.

Alisha
 
I'm a lifetime member too but have been unable to maintain my weight: I'm 10 lbs away from goal. I'm finding that the new plan is not as successful for me.

Question: how many calories, approximately, would you say you eat on an average day following the new WW plan? I eat around 1500-1700 and am doing the 3 month STS/LIS rotation. I'm wondering if I'm eating too much, which would explain why I haven't lost anything? Haven't lost inches either. Just finishing up my 6th week of the rotation.
 
Thanks ladies!
Congrats FitMommy! It's great that you are achieving your goals.
I'm excited to get started! I feel like I should consider doing the WW-Meeting vs. Online. Do you all think the meeting version is easier to do and maintain for someone who is new to WW? I don't know if I'll have to time to commit to the meetings though.

To all you ladies who are losing the weight and getting closer to your goals...you are an inspiration.

Take care!

JR
 
Thanks!
What does a Lifetime member mean? Does it mean following the healthy eating by WW for life? What's the new plan?
I was on the WW website yesterday trying to learn about the program. I will probably do the online vs. meeting. I'm excited to start WW and Cathe workouts. Many people that I talked to really believe in this weight loss program. Will I have enough energy to get through Cathe's workouts?

JR

I'm the opposite- I didn't like WW. I found the points ranges were too low for me and they were putting me into starvation mode, even with charting my exercise as intense. I started seeing a Registered Dietician and with my foods logs I was under eating at any given point by 700-1200 calories!!!!!!!! I stopped WW after about 4 weeks, I was constantly starving, gee I wonder why, and started just using portion control. It helped me to lose a total 20 pounds with using Cathe's workouts. I did gain it back due to illness and surgeries and 3 miscarriages, but I'm getting it back off now. I found the problem for me is that although my weight is high, I have a normal BF% (I fall within the normal ranges for women my age). Since I have more muscle, I have more caloric needs and couple that with Cathe's workouts, I needed A LOT of food to help me LOSE weight. I was under eating and it was causing me to retain fat and lose muscle.

That's my 2 cents. I'll lose weight slower than most, but I'll retain my muscle and metabolism. I just can't do restrictive eating and diets, it messes me metabolism up badly.
 
That's intersting. So WW had you eating 700-1200 under. What is the point system based on? Age, gender and weight?
I have a feeling that my extra weight will eventualy come off if I stay away from almonds for awhile, start Cathe's workouts and eat clean. I don't have much weight to lose; about 7 pounds or so. I'm wondering if it makes sense for me to wait and see about WW. Just start off with Cathe's workouts and eat clean.
 
That's intersting. So WW had you eating 700-1200 under. What is the point system based on? Age, gender and weight?
I have a feeling that my extra weight will eventualy come off if I stay away from almonds for awhile, start Cathe's workouts and eat clean. I don't have much weight to lose; about 7 pounds or so. I'm wondering if it makes sense for me to wait and see about WW. Just start off with Cathe's workouts and eat clean.

I have no clue how the points plus system was created. All I know is that eating Quinoa with chicken, vinegar, tomatoes, and onions it was 7-8 points (depending on the ounces of chicken) and I was only allowed 28; 33 was the highest I was ever able to get and that was doing some INTENSE Cathe work plus walking or something a little extra at night.

When I calculated the calories, mind you I'm OCD so I know everything down to the teaspoon, I was only consuming 1200-1500 calories and I should have been comsuming no less than 2000 on an rest day and on my intense days 2400; both were my weight loss ranges. 2800-3200 was my maintenance range based on age, height, weight, and most importantly activity level AND Body Fat%.

I would try eating cleaner and/or watching your portion sizes. There are a lot of success stories with WW but what you can't find are all the unsuccessful stories. I couldn't find them to save my life... until I joined various forums. I think WW is great for people that don't workout or those that have more body fat to lose. The less fat you have the higher your metabolism which means you need to eat more just to lose weight. As Tom Venuto would say, "you have to feed the fat, not starve it".

And just an FYI not only was I hungry on WW I also was constantly dragging butt and I couldn't do what I normally would have with exercise and fitness. I was drained after workouts and barely had the energy to just do basic house cleaning. I was toast!
 
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Hi,
Thanks for sharing your experience. We don't typically hear the unsuccessful stories. I hope you're able to accompolish your goals other ways. I guess you were dragging because your body was not receiving the fuel that it needs to function well.
I will definitely eat cleaner and will stay away from those almonds for awhile. :)

Take care and good luck!
JR
 
Tracking Cathe on WW

Hi Fit Mommy,
I posted this on a separate WW thread, but am still struggling to get an answer, so I'm hoping you can help. I just joined WW, and am struggling to figure out how to track Cathe's workouts in the activity section. Especially the latest Xtrains. Any suggestions? I'd love to suggest Cathe to work with WW to get her workouts on their tool, but I'm afraid it will go against her own nutrition tracker.

Thanks for any help you can provide!!
Erin
 
Hi Fit Mommy,
I posted this on a separate WW thread, but am still struggling to get an answer, so I'm hoping you can help. I just joined WW, and am struggling to figure out how to track Cathe's workouts in the activity section. Especially the latest Xtrains. Any suggestions? I'd love to suggest Cathe to work with WW to get her workouts on their tool, but I'm afraid it will go against her own nutrition tracker.

Thanks for any help you can provide!!
Erin

Use the intensity scale for high, medium or low intensity then use the activity calculator. Alternatively, if you have a heart rate monitor, count 1 point for every 80 calories burned.
 

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