[army2010]

let me give you a run down, counting calories and exercise didn't work for more than ten lb weight loss, diet pills did not work at all for me, and i tried low carb and it worked very well. However, i looked at the new weight watchers but i'm scared to try it bc i'm scared i'll gain all my weight back.. has anyone switched over, or know anything bout carbs and points plus program?

[RoseRodent]

If low carb worked for you, why are you looking to potentially change?

The other worry is whether you are giving each program a really good run before deciding it's not working for you, if you quit because the weight is not coming off fast enough for your expectations, or you quit because you hit a plateau. You aren't going to find a diet plan that makes the pounds fall off Biggest Loser style unless you go join the show. You probably aren't even going to find a plan that makes the supposed "average" of 2lbs a week come off - I'm not even sure what that average is based on, a 7,000kcal safe defecit? The average of all people who ever begin diets? (Therefore it includes an unfair front weighting of all those who only ever do the beginning of a diet).

What you will find is an abundance of plans which give you a couple of weeks of promising weight loss followed by some frustrating weeks with gains, 1lb losses, 0lb losses, weeks you lose 4lbs and have no idea why because you did exactly the same, plans which stall out if you get anywhere near the weight you want to be, plans that are hard work.

I don't think you can say that a plan doesn't work for you unless you tried it for about 6 months, the exception being if you cannot bear the restrictions of the plan or understand the system, like I couldn't bear WW because I was not into "points" and couldn't have stuck to low-carb because it's financially draining and all the things I like are carbs so I was doomed to fail. But if it's a plan you can understand and put up with then anything under 6 months doesn't do it justice to whether or not it "works" and whether it works is whether you lose any weight, not whether you lose as much as the combination of media obsession and doctors have driven you to expect.

[JerseyGyrl]

Originally Posted by army2010

i tried low carb and it worked very well.

If it ain't broke, why fix it

[cuteazz1]

On Atkins I ALWAYS lost 4-5 lbs a week.My first week back on WW I lost .2 lbs..LESS than a pound lol....and i NEVER cheated not even once.I did not eat all junk,but I did have lots of fruits ,veggies,lean meats,ff milk,and rice 2 times last week.I also had a few light beers on Saturday...I tried to do their program and their good health guidelines,but MY BODy LOVES Atkins....so now I'll keep my carbs under 90 per day and see how that works for the next weigh in....some of us just dont handle carbs well and thats ok,we have to evaluate and tweak things for our lifestyles and bodies.My WW meetings are free,but if you KNOW that you are insulin resistant like me then I would not pay for WW meetings especially when Low carb is working for you...

[igorgriffiths]

The goal is to adopt a new lifestyle that makes it impossible for the weight to return, low carbing allows you to live a life designed by you for you. I have never done WW but the money spent on the classes could be spent buying quality food.

[kaplods]

Originally Posted by army2010

let me give you a run down, counting calories and exercise didn't work for more than ten lb weight loss, diet pills did not work at all for me, and i tried low carb and it worked very well. However, i looked at the new weight watchers but i'm scared to try it bc i'm scared i'll gain all my weight back.. has anyone switched over, or know anything bout carbs and points plus program?

If low-carb dieting is the only way you've ever found to lose weight without 24/7 hunger (I certainly have) then Weight Watcher's new system probably isn't going to help you any more than any other non-low-carb plan did in the past.

If you do decide to try WW's new plan, you probably will initially gain a few pounds. That's just what occurs when you switch from a low-carb plan to a higher-carb plan. It's not fat gain, it's water gain - because your body needs more water to digest carbs, so it holds onto that water.

I do alternate between higher and lower carb plans, and every single time my carb-count goes up so does my weight. If even a couple pounds of water weight is going to freak you out, do not switch to a higher-carb plan.

I have a higher-carb "alternate" plan (of about 1800 calories) for days in which it's going to be hard to restrict carbs (for example family gatherings). I don't lose very well on higher-carb, so to me it's more of a Plan B than my primary plan. The fewer Plan B days I have, the better my weight loss (not counting the three or four pounds that make up the transitional difference. I just consider 306 lbs my low-carb weight and 309 my high-carb weight).

For me, higher carb plans, even "good carb" healthy carb foods increase my hunger dramatically. Also on 1800 calories of low-carb, I lose more weight than on 1800 calories of higher-carb. I've proven it to myself dozens of times (to test it yourself, keep detailed food journals for at least three months on each diet - you'll learn too if you lose more on low-carb, document hunger too).

I know that the WW points plan would not help me lose better than I do on low-carb. Just the free fruit along would be a problem for me (I've even maintained my weight on an all-fruit diet in the past).

From what I understand, you can eat low-carb and follow the WW point system, but if low-carb is working for you, why on earth take on the expense and learning a new system.

If you want the support and accountability of a weekly weigh-in, consider TOPS (taking off pounds sensibly) or other non-profit weight loss groups. TOPS allows you to choose your food plan (though they offer information that is exchange based).