Hi,
I'm new to this forum. I started LAWL on July 15th on a 5 week trial and I'm trying to decide if this is the right program for me. Six years ago I lost 30 pounds in 7 months on Weight Watchers, reached goal, and became a lifetime member. I looked and felt great, and was able to keep the weight off for five years, until my mom was diagnosed with cancer. I became very depressed and my doctor put me on effexor. Over the course of the year that I was on it I gained all the weight back, which made me feel even more depressed because none of my clothes fit me anymore. I went off the effexor and began watching my food intake and excercising but wasn't going anywhere - lost maybe 3 pounds in a month. I knew I needed to do something, but was too embarassed to go back to Weight Watchers, so I decided to try something different and began a five week trial at LAWL on July 15. I was on the two day express and to my horror gained 3 pounds in two days. I was then put on the Gold Program and my net loss after the 2 days of juice and one week of Gold plan was 1 pound. My counselor called the nutritionist and they decided I should move to the Red Program instead because I was excercising about an hour a day. The second week I lost 2.4 pounds, and this, my third week, I lost 3 pounds. So the total loss in 3 weeks is 6.4 pounds. The short term goal was 10 pounds in 5 weeks, at which point I would decide whether I wanted to sign on for an additional 15 weeks of weight loss, 6 weeks of stabilization, and 52 weeks of maintenance. I started off doing two Lite Bars each day, and then switched over to one bar and one Lite. That seems to be working better, but I'm really not sure whether or not I want them to be a part of my life for the next year and a half, and I'm also concerned about the costs. One of the counselors in the center is very pushy. She seems more concerned with making sales and doing inventory than anything else. I try to avoid weighing in with her for that reason. The other counselors are pretty nice - but that initial weight gain frightens me, and also the three weigh-in's each week. Typically I have a good loss over the weekend, and then go up or down a half a pound the other two weigh-ins for the week. I find that frustrating. I would love to hear from others who have been on this program - I'm in desperate need of group support. Thanks for listening.
Hi June, and welcome to the group. All I can say is that it's working for me. I have had the same history at becoming a WW lifetime member. Then, I got out of control, quit smoking and gained back my weight. I tried starting WW 3 different times. The first time I had just gained 10 lbs, I felt like a 5th wheel at the meetings, so quick after not being very successful. Tired again the next year, this time I was up 20 lbs. Same thing happened. This past year - I finally went back to WW with a different attitude - in 3 mts lost 12 lbs. Also, want to mention that when I became a lifetime member, it was not on the point system - it was the old fashion way. On April 1st I started at LA with 2 of my sisters. I love the plan, it's like the old WW plan with the exception of the LA Lites. I'm having a hard time this week, as I think it's PMS/TOM for me coming up. Today was my biggest setback of being up 3 lbs. I knew that all my complaining this week true - I felt FAT because I did gain weight. I'm sure once TOM comes, I will be back to normal. I was also getting discouraged at getting weight'd 3 times a week and have cut back to 1-2 times a week. Seems like if I go on Monday and Friday, I do better. I'm going to start doing that again next week because I'm determined to get the last 10-20 lbs off. My older sister has lost 30 lbs and my younger sister has lost over 40 lbs in the same amount of time (I'm down 21 lbs, or a total of 33 since Jan 5th). WW was way to slow of a process for me, and I think that is why they changed to the point system. I do find that the WW community message board is a great place to get aquinted with as well as here. Just a tip, if you go back and read some of our other threads, in decreasing numbers at the end (ie, LAWL & Friends #80 and back) you will see all of our posts and read all about us. There are a few newbies, and it's great to get to know and talk to everyone here. If you run into a problem, or have a question - we are all here to help. Just remember it's still summer time, and there are a few that post here - but are on vacation or just plain busy enjoying their summer.
To others. Well, you read above - I'm up 3 lbs. First time since being on plan. The only thing different I did this week as that I started drinking Crystal Light - and if you remember, I'm sensitive to sodium - so the person at the center said, that with TOM arriving any day now has probably brought me up and if I come back next week - I'm sure to be down. If I'm not, I'm doing the Take-Off (of my own choice, not there suggestions this time).
Have a great weekend on plan. I will be back tomorrow morning, but I know that others do have a life and may not be posting. ~Sy~
SY
thanks so much for writing. i'm up one pound this morning ( i have not had a bm yet, even though last night i did the nature's reply and also had 8oz of hot lemon water. as i said, my weight loss on this program has been extremely eratic. not at all like WW. i was on the winning points system there - so for me this is very different from LAWL. i've been trying to compare the two programs. on WW winning points my point range was 20-25 points. for comparison purposes i have also been counting points for whatever i eat on program in LAWL. one of the things that disturbs me is that the LA lite bars are four points each. so that's a third of my points for the day. i rarely eat sweets, so for me i'm forcing myself to do the bars. the shakes on the other hand are only one point. i didn't get anywhere at all with this program until i changed from two bars a day to one bar and one shake - and like i said i've been following to a t. i'm considering trying two shakes instead now, but quite honestly, i'd rather do the program without the bars/shakes, and use the trimax and fb instead. eating something sweet tends to make me crave sweets - something that i don't generally do. are you taking any of the supplements? have you tried nature's reply or any of the breakfast bars?
Sy,
i looked back through the threads and decided that i will try takeoff this weekend. i can't remember the person who put the post up, but she couldn't do citrus, and hence not the drink, so she substituted cantaloupe instead. i also work out so, i am going to try to follow her set up for today and tomorrow and see how it goes. when i used their drink i gained 3 pounds, so i don't want to go there again. here are my plans for the next two days:
breakfast: 1 egg + 1/4 tsp morton lite salt, 1/8 cantaloupe, 16 oz. water
mid morning snack: 1 LA lite bar, 8 oz. water
lunch: 3 oz. very low sodium tuna, 1 cup lettuce, 1/8 cantaloupe, 16 oz. water
afternoon snack: 1 LA lite bar, 1/8 cantaloupe, 8 oz. water
dinner: 3 oz. very low sodium tuna, 1 cup lettuce, 1/8 cantaloupe
i will probably also do the nature's reply at night, as well as hot lemon water.
June:
They do have a plan without the La Bars and shakes, I never tried it but have heard of others that have had success reaching there goal.
I have done both WW and LAWL and have more success with LAWL, I think just because I know exactly what food I can eat. WW gave me too much a range of food.
I would like to have done better with WW because I do get board with LAWL, But I just get to out of hand. But others I know just Love WW.
Sy the past two days have been a mess for me, I just need to get it in my head that I need to have the structure of LAWL and just get it done. I have not been working much this summer I have been really bored and it hasn't help any. I only weighed in once this week, I know what the scale says I don't need to hear it. I need a good swift kick, I think sometime the councelors don't tell you like it is, they try to be nice all of the time.
Good luck with the take off, Its cool here how is it there? Usually when I eat out thats when I notice the sodium having an effect. Is thre that much sodium in crystal lite?
Diane
Hi Ladies;
I ended up going to weigh in today anyway, I was up 2 pounds.
The center I go to did have something new though, they had smoothies in three different flavors, mixed berry, strawberry banana and pina colada and it just counts as a fruit, I was thinking of usuing it with the vanilla or chocolate shake. I tried the pina colada it tasted o.k. a nice change especially since I am not much of a fruit person.
Diane
HI all and especially to June. It sounds like we've all been on WW. I started WW in June '03 and lost 40 pounds by the fall. I started LAWL April 15th.'04 because I had gained back 20 of the 40. I liked WW but I just felt I needed a change and so far I have lost 30 pounds since I've been on LAWL . June I worry about LA bars too. I think they are too high in calories but I really like them and look forward to them but I know I can't eat them forever (for one thing I'd be broke!). Sy being up that much could very well be due to sodium and also TOM. I'll bet you're down on Monday. Diane hang in there - slow and steady wins the race!
Beachlover
Hi again,
I'm so glad that I found this site - the encouragement and advice is very helpful. I am almost through the first day on Takeoff using my posted menu. Just have dinner to get through - it really wasn't too bad - not sure how I will feel tomorrow night, but I'm determined!!! I really do want to make my first mini-goal of 10 pound during my 5 week trial period. I hope I can do that - then I will be more encouraged to continue. Good luck everyone, and have a nice evening.
June
Good morning everyone,
I'm very happy to say that i am down 1.5 lbs today after one day on the modified takeoff (juice replaced by canteloupe). That puts me exactly where i was last Wednesday, before i started gaining. So net loss is back to 6.8 pounds in just over 3 weeks. This is much better than my initial results with the LA express on the first two days during which i gained 3 pounds. For me it looks like whatever is in that juice causes me to retain water - something I am very prone to. I'm so glad i read the post regarding this slight modification, and I am hoping that the scale will show good results tomorrow morning after the second day. From what my center tells me I'm the only one they've ever had that has gained weight on the LAa express with their juice. There was one other person that didn't have good results - she neither gained nor lost - but I'm the only one that actually gained - everyone else has lost 2-5 pounds. So now i'm convinced that the takeoff does work - I just need to replace their juice with canteloupe.
How is everyone else doing?
Diane, I am going to stress that if I sign on after my 5 week trial I do not want to be obligated to buy the bars. If they are working I will use them through weight loss and stabilization, but I'd rather not be using them during maintenace and I especially don't want to commit to buying 52 weeks worth of bars for that period of time - I need to be able to stay stable without them, and like I said, sweets are not a normal part of my diet, and they are starting to have an effect on me where I am craving sweets when I never did before.
Beachlover, thanks for your imput on the bars as well.
Sy, a special thanks to you - your post really lifted my spirits and helped a great deal. Sounds like you and I have a lot in common with the water retention. I know how frustrating that can be. I also know when I'm retaining water because I too get that "I feel fat" feeling, and am very sensitive to certain ingredients in terms of water retention, surprisingly enough, not necessarily sodium. I agree with Beachlover, what you are experiencing is no doubt due to sodium and TOM. I too had a water retention issue with Crystal Light. Originally they had suggested that using Crystal Light as a diuretic - didn't work. Hot fresh squeezed lemon water works better for me - though not consistantly. Similarly, the Nature's Reply is helpful, but again, not consistantly. No adverse reactions to either, but Crystal Light is a no go for me as well. This doesn't surprise me based on my negative results with their takeoff juice.
Thanks to all for welcoming me to this community. I look forward to reading the new posts, and already feel at home here. Thank you so much!!!!
June
beachlover,
Nature's Reply is an herbal tea that is an LAWL product. It's a natural herbal laxative. If you have problems with constipation it's worth a shot. Adding lemon helps - you can't add any sweetner - not even sugar subsitute. The box says 6-12 hours to take effect - but my experience has been sometimes a bit longer. It doesn't produce cramping or stomach pains.
June
Good morning again,
I lost another 1.5 pounds!!! So that's a total of 3 pounds after doing Takeoff replacing their juice with a canteloupe!!! Of course my net loss is really 1.5 pounds because I gained at the end of last week. I'm going to weigh in later this morning - so I will see what the verdict is on their scale. My net loss since starting the LAWL program on July 15 is about 8 pounds now. Total loss since June 25, when I began to try to diet on my own is 11.5 pounds. I get so frustrated by this yo-yo weight loss. This is something that I did not experience at WW - but I think that's because I only weighed in there once a week, and so I was always looking at a loss - never a gain. I am going to talk to them today about weighing in less than three times a week. Last time I brought it up they did not like the idea. Part of me can't help wondering if the reason for the three time a week weigh in is the opportunity to sell you more products. I know that sounds very cynical of me - but the one thing they drummed into us at WW was not to weigh in more than once a week, because anything more would frustrate us due to normal fluctuations in body weight. I have to agree with that. Well, have a good day everyone. I'll check back again later.
June
I just got back from weigh-in, and yes, the loss i saw on my scale is real!!!. So i am down exactly 8 pounds from when I started LAWL on July 15!!! I have 2 more pounds to take off in the next 10 days in order to make my first mini-goal, which is 10 pounds by August 19th. I am hoping that I can do this, because it will really give me incentive to continue. My center had free samples this morning of the new LA Smoothies. I tried the Pina Colada and it is really very good, so I purchased one cannister. It counts as one unlimited fruit. There is also strawberry/banana which I may pick up next time since bananas are something that isn't on program. My weigh in today was with the counselor that I signed on with for the five week trial. I really like her the best. She is also the manager of this particular center - our weight loss histories are very similar and so we connect, which is important. Anyway, we discussed the problems that I had originally with the Take-off drink. My doctor had told me to stay away from grapefruit because it has been shown to cause water retention in people taking a medication which I must take on a daily basis. It turns out that the Take-off drink has grapefruit in it - so that is probably the mystery behind my orignal 3 pound gain during the first two days of the program back in July. So she noted it in my folder, and canteloupe will be my replacement for the Take-off drink. We already know that works well for me. Wish me luck on the remaining 2 pounds for the minigoal. I really want to do this!!!! Hope everyone is having a good day on program. Looking forward to hearing from others to see how they've been doing.
June
Hi June:
congrats I am glad you are doing well. I bought the smoothies also. I used the pina colada with my vanilla shake and milk it was really good. I tried the mixed berry today that was also pretty good.
Good luck this week reaching your mini goal.
beach in Canada they might not have the tea. I use it sometimes, june it right I don't get cramps using it either.
HI Sy.
Diane
Hi June: I wrote a post early today at work in WORD and thought I cut and pasted it on this site but I didn't so I will post it tomorrow. I'm so happy for you that what you saw on your home scale was the same or better than the center. Your doing great. I don't take any medication, but I don't know if I programmed my body this way - to be sensitive to stuff - or it just happens. My husband and I only eat frozen or fresh fruits and veggies. We have been doing this for years. About the only canned stuff we get are tomatoes, and most time they are 'no added salt', and chicken and beef stock. So, I think we made our bodies be sensitive in a way. Also, we only eat out on 'special occasions', and I mean they have to be special! Maybe 3-5 times a year. It's not because we don't have the $$, but because my husband is a great cook. It is his hobby and who can argue with that!! . Well, we both feel that if you can do it better at home, then why go out and waste the calories on something that we will be disappointed with (that goes for when we are thin and heavy). We are not food knobs either - I don't want to sound that way. We both like all different things and we are not picky eatters. It's just we honestly cannot go out to dinner and just eat the stuff that is OP. If they put the bread and butter on my table - you'd have to fight me to remove it! We know some of weaknesses so try to avoid them as much as possible. All of this I believe has programmed our bodies to be sensitive to things like perservatives.
This part may make more sense after I post my reply tomorrow. But, tonight I went on a bike ride, and my bike holds 2 drinks. I had 1 bottle of water, and 1 saw a Sam's Choice Strawberry/Kiwi seltzer drink in the refrig and thought I'd bring on my trip. So, I took a few sips and put it away, then stopped again for another sip and thought that my hands felt a little swolen, so looked at the ingredents and there is was again, that potassium stuff (the drink itself is sodium free). Now, I'm looking at my daily soda/drink, it's a Waist Watcher Orange - it has the same stuff in it. Maybe I should just stop drinking anything but water and decafe coffee ! I don't have the same problem when eatting fruits or veggies that are high in potassium (other than bananas - they give me cramps in my feet) - so it must either be somthing a little different - or man made? I re-read this and I sound like a freak, but I'm not really. I'm just in search for what causes me problems and try to avoid them. Maybe I should stick with wine - I think I can count that as a fruit!
I will post again tomorrow (the thing that I left at work). Have a great evening everyone.
Diane, I'm hoping that your having an awesome day. Yesterday was great here as far as weather - today another beautiful day. In the low 80's and low humidity. I'm taking each and every nice day and savoring them as much as possible.
Mel, my mouth is watering just thinking your in Maine eatting that awesome lobster with tons of butter!
( i have not had a bm yet, even though last night i did the nature's reply and also had 8oz of hot lemon water. as i said, my weight loss on this program has been extremely eratic. not at all like WW. i was on the winning points system there - so for me this is very different from LAWL. i've been trying to compare the two programs. on WW winning points my point range was 20-25 points. for comparison purposes i have also been counting points for whatever i eat on program in LAWL. one of the things that disturbs me is that the LA lite bars are four points each. so that's a third of my points for the day. i rarely eat sweets, so for me i'm forcing myself to do the bars. the shakes on the other hand are only one point. i didn't get anywhere at all with this program until i changed from two bars a day to one bar and one shake - and like i said i've been following to a t. i'm considering trying two shakes instead now, but quite honestly, i'd rather do the program without the bars/shakes, and use the trimax and fb instead. eating something sweet tends to make me crave sweets - something that i don't generally do. are you taking any of the supplements? have you tried nature's reply or any of the breakfast bars?
. Well, we both feel that if you can do it better at home, then why go out and waste the calories on something that we will be disappointed with (that goes for when we are thin and heavy). We are not food knobs either - I don't want to sound that way. We both like all different things and we are not picky eatters. It's just we honestly cannot go out to dinner and just eat the stuff that is OP. If they put the bread and butter on my table - you'd have to fight me to remove it! 
