WW made me obsessive about food! I was even diagnosed with bulimia and then binge eating disorder. I never purged regularly until I joined weightwatchers. I think assigning values to food made food the end-all be-all of my existance. I began purging when I went over my points total. Whether or not I was a good and deserving person was completely tied in with whether or not I went over my points total. This went on for TWO years before I sought treatment. I am no longer bulimic but I do still suffer from binge eating disorder. Oh yeah, I have never lost the weight and in fact, I'm still gaining! I now realize that I do not need a diet. I need to work on emotional problems because when I'm happy and active I loose weight and when I feel sad, helpless and powerless I gain. Hubby and I have been trying to conceive for 5 years and for 5 years I have struggled with weight. We actually had a baby placed with us for a week (her birthmother chose to parent) and during that week I was so busy being a Mommy that I never once binged - a BIG accomplishment. As soon as she was taken away I had a massive week long binge that resulted in a 7 lb gain. I feel certain that once we become parents I will again have that happy sense of fulfillment and won't need to fill my emotional holes with chocolate. Until then I struggle - I'm seeing a specialist next week. I also now work out daily on my new treadmill that they hubby got me after the baby was taken away. I'm just trying to keep it all under control but I also know that I will never again try to diet. From now on I'm going to try to eat for health instead of weight loss.

WW works for some people and it is one of the more psychologically healthy plans out there but for someone like me who is prone to eating disorders it is best to be avoided.

happyness

I am sorry you had such a bad experiance. I too found parts of WW tough. The calorie count is very low and i also find it sad that one can only earn 4 extra points a day. I did loose weight on WW, but i found it very hard to keep up the low calories and amount of exercise to maintain 145 lbs. i never could have reached the goal of 125 I was supose to.

The only think you said in here that I think is a little scarry is that you think having a child will change your bad habbitts. While it may put them off and chane your routine, you can an will find the time for the bad habbits. babies do take up a lot of time but also bring with them a whole load of stresses.

I hope you find what works for you. I did leve WW knowing that low fat and high fiber is a good plan for me. i am 15 lbs hevier now, my moods have gotten better (DH demanded that I eat and get in better moods) and I am finally learning to be happy with myself and disconnect the food from the emotion.

I wish you well, keep posting and you will find that the people here have lots of really good things to say.

-L

WW is NOT a low calorie plan. You can make it that by your food choices but if you eat a balanced diet like it tells you in book 6 - The Right Mix - it provides a healthy amount to lose. Adding an additional 4 activity points is a lot...I have a lot of problems with people who say they are on WW but actually have no idea of the whole plan. They think eating a certain number of points is all that it is about.

You can always get your goal weight changed with a doctor's note.

Some of us have problems that go way beyond simply losing weight and really need the help of a professional to get our lives in order.

L,

Thanks for your thoughtful post. Yes, I do know that having a baby is not the cure. I recognized that I need to address feelings of powerlessness and helplessness with means other than food. You can fill emotional holes with chocolate, much as I have tried. That is why I am seeing a specialist next week.

I attended WW in England and they gave me a weight range as my target. I'm not sure if it is the same here in the US but I thought the idea of a range instead of a specific number was pretty good. I think the range was determined by BMI - perhaps you should be below a BMI of 25. For instance I am 5' 6" so my max weight based on a BMI of 25 is 155 lbs which for me seems acheivable and sensible (I've got 35 lbs to loose!). I think that 3FC offer a BMI calculator to help you figure your ideal weight range.


Quilter,

I agree that WW is a pretty good and flexible plan for the average dieter. But for people who are prone to bulimia it baaad news! I noticed within the last couple of years that WW has put a disclaimer on their website saying that you cannot join if you have an active diagnosis of bulimia specifically (no other eating disorders are mentioned). I firmly believe that they should change that policy to state that you cannot join if you have EVER had a diagnosis of bulimia. Using points just fits in to that whole bulimia mindset of assigning value to food and can easily trigger a setback.

HappyNess

I am glad you are going to see a specialist. It sounds like it is well within control for you.

Quilter,
I do think if you do the calculations that 18 points in the low range can be as low as 900 calories. There is flexability within the program which is why I follow it. I do know the program. I do find that the winning points seems to push for faster loss rather than slow loss, which in reality works better. The cap of 4 grams of fiber did me in and a day at the gym can be a burn of 700 or more calories and the 200 extra calories left me hungry and ready to binge. my goal these days is to maintain and to eat healthy. I find that 35 points keeps me full and happy and not craving food. I eat tons of fiber and have swithed back to 123. Healthy is what WW is about, but it also has to leave room for the non average person. A newbe can find it very hard to follow if they are exercising a lot and not meeting the calorie needs. Looking at the raw numbers can give a preson a better sence of what they need.


I also did have a dr's note, but again it was not realistic for me to weigh less than 155. I am big boned and carry a lot of muscle.

I agree it can be an easy program to follow, but as with any diet, not everyone fits the mold. I don't think that any diet plan is the end all be all for everyone. It does take time to find what you can do for a lifetime and not what will work for just the here and now.

-L

I believe you are erroneously assigning a 50 calories to a point when you say 18 points = 900 calories. That does not take into account the zero point foods and the extra calories taken care of by the fiber . 18 points more nearly equates to 1200 calories - if you spread it out the way it should be. You also add more points when you reach goal.

I don't think anyone with any food related psychological problems should be on any food program - WW, eDiets, Jennie Craig or any of them. WW doesn't cause it and neither do they, but they can make it worse. That's a whole different ballgame.

First off, Weight Watchers does not allow people with eating disorders (e.g. bulimia, anorexia, etc.) to be members. They recognize that people with these disorders need more than just an eating plan and group support, they need professional psychological help.

Second, you CAN earn more than 4 activity points per day, but you cannot BANK for than 4 per day.

I agree with Susan that if you make the right food choices (which is what WW encourages) you can eat 1200 calories or more at 18 points. And that's the bottom of the points range, so you could be having more than that still.

Best of luck to you, but I want to correct some inaccuracies about the WW program.

Paula

If you have a eating disorder you shouldnt be on any weight loss program, you should be seeking help. Also, I do not believe it is fair for you to come here and thrash one of the most respected programs that is out there, because you had a PERSONAL problem. It is not WW fault. If you have deeper problems then losing weight isnt going to make you happy, you first must be happy.

My, those of you who use WW and are successful are being very harsh towards happyness. She was merely giving a synopsis of her situtation. This may help someone in a similiar situation. I don't think she was trying to "trash" the program. This beauty of the 3FC forum is that all views are presented. There is no harm in disagreeing, but please try to respectfully disagree. :-)

I think it's great Happyness, that you are trying to obtain the professional help that you need. It is good that you realize that WW was not for you with the type of eating disorder that you have. It's just unfortunate that you didn't realize it sooner.

I wanted to add something about those who mention that they use the activity points for additional food each day. I personally don't do that. I know that WW currently endorses that. But for me, I used food as a reward all my life and that's one of the reason I was so heavy. I decided that if I exercised, then it was just a bonus for me in that I would feel better and be more fit. I never keep track of the points I could have used. I have lost over 100 lbs. so I am doing well despite not eating the extra foods. I have gained a certain will power from being able to reason through these types of decisions. If you had asked me if I even owned any will power 106.4 lbs. ago, I would have said no. In fact, I was so sure of that I threw away every stitch of clothing that was a smaller size. Now it's the other way around. Who knew?!?!?

Ok

I don't have an eating disorder, but have been on WW many times. I think it is a good plan , but for those who are disciplined enough to eat within their points healthily.
I know I was not. After the first few weeks, I always stopped losing weight, and I got lazy. Breakfast become cookies and coffee, lunch was fast food, and dinner was whatever, and snacks were whatever junk I could fit in. My meetings (and many others I have heard about) were filled with different ways you could get your sinful goodies into your points - blue bunny bars were 2/1pt, silhouettes were 2 pts, dunkin donut holes were a point a piece, and so on.

I think the point system can work, but WW really needs to focus more on changing people WOE, not encouraging them to fit their current eating habits into the WW system. They also need more on exercise.

I follow a high protein/low carb weight training plan (Body Rx) and it is great!! I am never hungry, I get to eat occasional treats, and I have already lost weight and inches (only been 6 weeks) and I eat way more than on WW or any other low fat diet.

Good luck to you all!!

Robin

WW is a fine plan but is NOT for everyone. You need to find a good HEALTHY eating plan that works for you. Allow yourself at least 2 months of staying on a program before deciding it isn't working for you, then look into something else. I am on a cal/fat counting plan that has worked well for me. I have lost 90 lbs so far with a lot more to go. Obsession/Compulsiveness of any kind can be a danger so where that is the case, you need to get that worked out before starting an eating plan or you will fail miserably. You may lose weight, but I guarantee your health will suffer and weight loss is fine, but a healthy body is more important.

If you would like to know how many calories you need to lose a safe 2 lbs a week, go to www.dietician.com and she has a calculator to help you figure it out.

Good luck to you!

Faye

I have never had an eating disorder in my life. I would overeat and underexercise which = fat.

But I had to quit WW because I developed compulsive eating disorder!!! I would eat 30 points worth of food in 15 minutes. I would journal from dinner to dinner, allowing me to eat "as much as I wanted" as long as I had about 6 points for breakfast and lunch.

I got out of there, and quit dieting for awhile. I read a lot of books about compulsive eating, and ONE YEAR LATER I finally have a better view of food (eating to fuel the body- I even have days where I eat because I know I have to not because I want to).

I think WW is a great program for a LOT of people. But happyness is right- for those who assign so much value to food, it could lead to very dangerous things. I never binged on Jenny Craig (I just got really bored) or any other program.

I binged so much I actually really really wanted to purge, but I never could.

Yay for finding help and getting on the road to healing!