Ok, so I have been running for 5 months now trying to loose 3 stone of baby weight. Sadly I have put on half a stone in that time. So I decided to join weight watchers to help monitor my food intake and have kept within my points allowance and still running 25- 30 miles a week (i do not eat the extra points my running allows) but I have still lost nothing.
When I mentioned this to my Weight watchers leader her response was "do you have to go running" well that was supportive!!!!!
So I am wondering what are your experiences of weight watchers or slimming world. I have heard many runners doing slimming world as it allows plenty of carbs to keep you running. I am desperate to loose this weight.
Best wishes
A
Comments
If slimming clubs actually worked they'd go out of business! We'd all go once and never again.
Save yourself a fiver a week and monitor your food intake on a free online nutrition diary like fitday.com (there are others).
Aim to get at least 50+% carbs - the pie chart gives you the % of carb/fat/protien. Experiment by putting in the foods you like to eat, you'll soon see which ones contain loads of fat or protien but fewer carbs. You can also enter your weight now and your goal weight and add in your exercise.
In addition to diet, try to vary the types of run you do to include some faster sessions such as intervals or fartlek runs.
Also remember that if you don't eat enough you won't lose weight either, your body will think it's going into 'famine' and hang onto whatever it can.
Good luck, it will go eventually, and the longer it takes to come off the more likely it is it will stay off.
I have been maintaining my weight loss with weightwatchers for a good while now and find that it really works well for me. In fact I have trained for and run 3 marathons and a bundle of half marathons whilst sticking to my points. I found the points system was an excellent way for me to keep an eye on what I ate and so on - much like counting calories but much, much easier.
My ww lady was much more helpful though. I found that I needed to eat at least half of my activity points to keep my body going. If you eat too little your body will start conserving.
I am a big fan of healthy carbs kept in balance with everything else, and use my flex allowance regularly. There is plenty of room for carbs on weightwatchers - in fact there is room for everything in moderation and that's a much better way of fuelling your body. It's not a diet it's a matter of changing how you look at food and what you offer your body for fuel.
Weightwatchers really does work if you stick to it, use at least half of your activity points and write down everything. The weight really will come off. I lost about 25 kg on ww and maintain it nicely now - and have gone from a size 16+ to a much happier size 8.
I have to agree with Sunluvva, there is nothing that either WW or SW tell you that most people already know, and if they don't know, can easily find out.
They are there to make money, plain and simple, unless you really, really need the "group support", people I know just go for the weekly weight in and nothing else, waste of a fiver if you ask me.
Just do it off you own bat.
If you need the support and the weigh in every week then they are good...........
I think it depends on you.............I liked weight watchers because there was no food that you could not eat....you worked out the points and you decided if it was worth it..........by having no foods banned and no food treated as sins or treats I found it easier to start to make the healhier choices myself.......
I still have a weight problem but thats because i stopped going and because I am so greedy.........I do understand wghat I'm eating now.
I lost a load of weight (three stone) by eating less, and exercising more.
I was fat because I ate too much, and did not exercise enough.
I ate less and started running, and the weight came off - gradually.
It cost me nothing. Well, except for all the running gear.....
*puts on tin hat and waits for backlash*
Thing is, it is really that simple Wilkie.
It is our relationship with food that causes big problems, food is not seen as "fuel", its a pleasure item, an entertainment item, and I think this mindset causes some of the problem with obesity, that, and the laziness our society has.
I still do see food as a pleasure item - I love food!
I'm just more controlled about how much I eat - I have no foods which are forbidden, I just eat high-fat or sugar foods only rarely, and in small amounts.
Pass the cheese.........
I lost 2 st at WW, twice and the weight started creeping back on so I ditched it and followed a low GL diet (like GI but you can have more carbs) not looked back and maintained my weight for 18 months now. You only have to look at the WW forums to see ppl torture themselves over food when on it, I thought it was just me. The WW foods are so full of cr*p and not filling enough. I had a look at the dietfreedom website and bought a book, thats the only cost. If you eat regularly - good carbs, plenty of fruit & veg, snack on protein plus some treats you don't get the sugar cravings. Works for me but each to their own
nicks Wilkie's tin hat for slating ww then hides.
I am also an ex ww.I lost 2 stone twice after 2 pregancies and have to say the support was excellent.
but then i discovered running and whilst at the beginnin the weight still dropped off slowly I came to a standstill and the few pounds i wanted to shift wodnt budge.I was told by class leader "you are not eating enough!!!!!!!".
I then decided to give up on ww,keep fit (+sane) with the running and enjoy my food!!!!!
result=few pounds dropped off,done first half marathon in1.50+1st 10km in 48 mins...........happy days!!!
i too tried ww but was starving all the time! i run 3 times a week and do spinning and boxersize twice a week when fit.(ad a opp recently done nothing for 6 week exept eat!!) have just started slimmingworld 2 week ago and lost 6 and half pound so far with out being hungry.think it a personal thing if you can do it on your own i take my hat off to you but i need that insentive of getting weighed every week.of course i kno what i should be doing(eat less exersize more) but the reality is i cant do it on my own.i go for a run/class and come home and think i've then earned the glass (well bottle) wine and crisps/takeaway.so its the weigh in that (hopefully) stops me.thats the plan anyway what does annoy me is when people say oh but you run you should be skinny!! uhuh not if your over eating happy healthy eating everyone .
I use Weightlossresources.co.uk, it's a calorie logging site (I reckon it's like fitday - but this one you pay for!), there is great support on the forums (especially the runners' forums) and I agree with Wilkie, eat less and exercise more.
I think part of it (for me) was about taking absolute responsibility for what I'm eating and the exercise that I'm doing and not putting all my faith in (as I perceive them) 'magic' cures.
And ultimately I know what to eat to lose weight and to feel good. That's never the problem. The problem is getting to the triggers that make me stick two fingers up at myself and sabotage my own efforts! The weight thing is much more of an emotional thing for me than anything else.
If I ever work it out, I'll let you know!!
One thing to remember, how you THINK you look in comparison to others, is not normal how you ACTUALLY look.
I still see the 10 stone heavier person in the mirror, even though its clearly not.
On the subject, we had a local "community" magazine through the door last night, and it had quite an interesting piece on losing weight, or course it was advertising, however, I still think its a valid piece, I can scan it and post it should anyone be interested.
Why do you think you need to be a certain weight N-r?
I look bulky next to some of my friends, but that's because we just have different body shapes - my shoulders are wider, and my hips, so I'm always going to be bigger than them.
I'd make myself ill if I tried to be the same weight!
I'm not skinny, but I'm no longer over-weight, and I'm happy enough with my body shape.
It's not perfect, but so what? I'm healthy and fit, which is more important.