WW or BFL?

OK. I don't think it is possible to be anymore confused. I didn't think I was eating enough on WW and after losing 15 pounds I got stuck as well and was concerned about it messing up my metabolism even more. After reading some of the posts I started to think maybe I was wrong but now this post...

;(
 
My vote is for WW online. I've done it all anonymously and have lost 12 pounds in 8 weeks. It's been great. Went from a size 10 to a size 6!!! It's so easy, and nothing is prohibited. You just add up your points. It has really taught me portion control. Oh, and I always, always eat up my activity points!!! It works!
 
Hi Sarah,

It's definitely confusing, isn't it? And frustrating! Yes, I lost 99 pounds on WW, but I weighed 289 when I started. I still have a LOT to lose! At one point, I actually GAINED weight while on WW, eating approx. 1100 calories a day, riding my bike 2-3 hours a day, and lifting weights 3 times a week. When I started physiquetransformation.com, I started LOSING weight--at 2,840 calories a day, no cardio, and weights 3 times a week.

I'll tell ya what, I was desperate when I happened across this program. People were starting to tell me to give it up, that maybe I was at a healthy weight already. But I didn't care what anyone said, 190 is NOT a healthy weight, even at 5'll"! I was ready to try anything. I did try almost everything. Everything that was reasonably safe, anyway. I tried different diets. Even Atkins. But I'm a vegetarian (at least I was then). What a fiasco! Talk about miserable! I never want to see another egg! I tried vitamins. I tried changing my thyroid meds, then my other meds. I tried eating more, eating less. Exercising more, exercising less. More strength, less cardio. More cardio. More intense cardio. You name it, I tried it. I guess I just never tried eating ENOUGH of the right stuff.

This program is working for me when nothing else has. It doesn't work the same for everyone, but I've never heard of anyone who competely failed with it, at least not unless they gave up on it. A lot of people I talk to about it think it's too much work. I don't think so at all. Once you get the hang of it, it's no more difficult than WW, and it teaches you so much about good nutrition and fitness, not just about weight loss. I've learned an immense amount!

I know I probably sound like a commercial, but you can see by the number of posts that I've been around here for a long time. And if you've been around long, you've heard me whining about not being able to lose weight. I just think this program is terrific for someone like me, who has totally screwed up their metabolism (I didn't mention that this is the THIRD time I've lost over 100 pounds), and I want other people to know about it. It's been a miracle for me!

Good luck in whatever program you choose,
Shari
 
Sarah,

The program Wutheri is describing is the same one I talked about in my initial post. It is an awesome program if you have a lot of time to devote to entering your food into a journal. I did not. www.physiquetransformation.com It only costs $8 a month. HOWEVER!!!! It takes A LOT OF WORK & is VERY restrictive when you get into the fat burning phase of the program. You can't eat ANY (ok about 5 grams a day) sugar or fat. NOT EVEN GOOD FAT. I had a very difficult time eating ANY vegis on this program. When I did, I went over my allowances.

The other thing that I didn't like about the program is that the creators are very active on their support board & if you gripe in even the tiniest way, they send you insulting e-mails. There are others on this forum that have used the program that will atest to that fact. You either get it or you don't. And if you don't you are an idiot. They don't post this stuff on their support board, they send it to you in a private email so the new people don't see it. When I quit the program, I received an e-mail from one of the creators telling me that I would never be succussful because I was a quitter. Well, he can just bite me because I've lost 5 lbs in 5 weeks & I'm not spending an hour in front of the computer trying to figure out what to eat today.

I did learn a lot about nutrition from the program. So, while I didn't like the time I had to spend, I will say that is one of the good things about the program.
 
Deborah, Thank you...

I appreciate you taking the time to help my confused self:)

That definitely does not sound like a plan I would enjou, let alone stick to. I did enjoy the freedom of WW and if I decide to go back to a plan that one is the most reasonable and doable. I was probably just in a plateau and being close to your goal weight doesn't make it any easier.

Well, I am getting married next April(on the beach) and would like to be at my "fighting" weight. So, if by December, I haven't made any progress on my own, I am jumping back on the WW wagon. :+


Thanks everyone!
 
Hi Tina, I don't know anything about the BFL, but I joined WW online about 4 monthes ago and lost 22lbs in about 3 monthes. So my vote is for WW. I use to go to meetings but prefer the online tools. Now im trying to maintain my goal weight which is harder then losing or gaining, but of course the help of Cathe's video's and this forum really keeps me motivated. Good luck on your success:)
 
I'm probably the only one but my vote would be for BFL because:

It incorporates both diet and exercise changes
No weighing or measuring (doesn't get any simpler than that)
No calorie counting
You don't have to give anything up (you have a free day once a week and can eat whatever you want)
It promotes fat loss AND muscle gains

Colleen
 
Went to the doctors yesterday for a follow up on my Lyme's
disease and I am up 6 more pounds. My doctor is now really
concerned and doesn't think it is related to the meds now.
She is sending me to a specialist to find out the cause.
I am more determined now to watch EVERYTHING that goes in
my mouth. I am going to try the on line version of WW as
I seem to have no spare time to fit in meetings. Oh yeah,
I'm also going to buy a scale RIGHT AWAY. Thanks for
all your imput guys. I really value all of your opinions.
What would I do without this forum?

I'll keep you posted.

Tina
 
OH TINA!!! Lyme's is horrible! I hope you aren't having too many complications! Diet & exercise are supposed to be really helpful. I have a friend that has been fighting with it for years--they didn't catch it until she had had it for a loooong time.

Has your doctor checked your thyroid? What kind of specialist is he sending you to? I hope its one of those hemotologist. They are supposed to be able to find anything in your blood! Good luck & keep us posted.
 
I'm with Colleen on voting for BFL. I've been doing the program off and on for the past 3 months now. It really is not very restrictive on food, they give you a list of approved foods. I think the hardest part is eating 6 meals a day. They also have a very good exercise plan. If you want to know more go to www.bodyforlife.com. My hardest part is eating 6 meals a day, I only am able to get in 5. Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
Francine,

Sorry to hear about your friend. They caught my Lyme's in
the very early stages. If my health wasn't so bad for
the last year, they never would have checked me for it,
so I guess I'm pretty lucky. I know first hand how bad it
can get. There are many children and dogs testing for it
all around us. I'm kind of nervous for my children. I
guess deer ticks are so small, most people never know they
have had one, and only 50% get a rash. I'm going to see if
they can get tested at their physicals next month just to
rule it out. My girlfriend's daughter had Bells Palsey (sp?)
from it and my daughter's best friend was sick for over
a year with it. It's very scary to think we will soon have
to worry about West Nyle too. My doctor is sending me to
a Rheumatologist and hopefully she will know what is causing
my enormous weight gain. Wish me luck that it is something
easy to cure! Good luck to your friend.


Tina
 
Oops, I meant to address that to Deborah. Sorry about
that! One day down on WW. So far so good! Going grocery
shopping for only CLEAN foods.

:7
Tina
 
Don't deprive yourself! Yesterday I had such a good day eating during the day that I had 12 points (4 activity points included) left at the end of the day & had 3 chocolate chip cookies. I still got to bank 9 points!
 
Deborah;
I've got a question for you.
I just got back from weightwatchers online and I'm confused...are you doing the at home program ? or the stuff that is is online?
I've not been on that site for ages ...
 
Just one more suggestion. Instead of committing to a program, have you considered just reading and learning everything you can about nutrition and fitness, and applying everything that fits you (and ignoring what doesn't)?

I read Body for Life but I didn't enter their contest or anything. I have also read Debra Waterhouse's Outsmarting the Female Fat Cell, another book by other authors called Weight Lifting for Dummies, BodyRx, 3 books by Pavel Tsatsouline (a Russian male trainer good with words), and others.

Now I'm reading Life is Hard, Food is Easy, by Linda Spangle RN, MA (it's right in front of me).

I have not reached a point where I can stay at a good weight comfortably. It's always a fight, like if I let my guard down for a week, it's like there's a leak in the dam. I want to fix the leak for good rather than just keep plugging it up. For me it's a psychological issue. I would rather be able to focus on my whole life than so much of my attention going to controlling my weight.

In your case it sounds like there are some mystery physical factors, possibly having to do with medication.

I can agree with some who say that more calories (with Cathe-intensity exercise, at least some workouts) really seems to work better and be more fun, than constant restriction or rotations that are intense every day.

But is more variety from one person to the next than I expected, so what works for you might turn out to be unique. When I find out what really works for me I will let everyone know!!
 
I picked up a copy of Women's World Weekly a couple of months ago
that talked about a "renegade" Weight Watcher's plan. This woman
had been doing it for a while and had gotten stuck on a plateau
like some here have described. On her own she took her weekly
points and tweaked them here and there, having a "low" points
day, followed by a regular points day, say, and once a week a
"high" points day. She didn't go over her points, just moved them here and there to avoid plateaus and keep her body confused.

She went on to lose the rest of her weight. She has a website, and
I didn't keep the magazine so I don't know it. Maybe someone here
is familiar with that article or website, or can go to the WW
chat boards to find out. It's real WW, she just personalized it.

Gwynn
 
Yes, there's a WW "sub-program" called the Wendie Plan. It sounds very similar to what you're talking about. I don't think it was designed by WW but by a program participant. You could probably find a lot of info about it on their support board by asking for info about the Wendie Plan. It even has its own website, or it did way back when. I didn't have any luck with it, but from what I've heard, a lot of other people have. It's worth checking into.
 
Wendie Plan

The Wendie Plan is great if you're trying to lose the last 5 or so lbs. It is as described in the prior post, you take the total points allowed for the week, have one super-high day (if I remember right, it's 33 points that day) and then have alternating point days. I haven't really given it a good enough try to say that it works. Since I am a recovered eating disordered person, I found that the super high day felt like a binge to me (not good!). The other thing that has helped me enormously is Laurel Mellin's books The Solution and The Pathway. This is the woman that started the nutrition program for kids called ShapeDown - it got a lot of press back when it started (showing my age...think it was 15 or 20 years ago). Anyway, she has adapted it for adults and it just really resonates with me. If you are eating for emotional reasons, it may for you. Her theory is that food is an external solution for those of us that lack the skills to deal with our feelings. Her program is experiential to get the skills...you can't do it with just reading and getting the insight. It works for me. You can read more on www.sweetestfruit.org. (it's a non-profit org. affiliated with UC-Davis).
Meredith
 
RE: Wendie Plan

Yes, that's what it was! Thanks for reminding me, I was racking
my brain to remember. Although I never tried it, it sounded like
it could work, just like differing workouts keep the body confused.

Gwynn
 
RE: Wendie Plan

If you do a search on WW support forums you are likely to find nothing about it because WW deletes those posts as fast as FitPrime deletes anything negative about their tapes. Rumor has it WW is "perfecting" the Wendie plan & will release info about it in August.
 
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