Hey guys, I went in today to the COD, and it basically closed officially, I'm a angered over the situation, but I'm more curious as to what's next in my weight loss. I'm currently on Plan 4(For Men), 3.5 Protein, 4 Veggies, 5 Starch, 3 Dairy, and 2 Fats. Also, I don't use the bars. I've been with them for almost 6 months now, and lost over 50 lbs. I'm just wondering what i should do now in terms of getting a refund, that's if they even give out refunds. Also I'd like to know that while i continue on the plan, when do i switch plan (At what weight do i drop to lower plan) and also how to go about stabilization? Any extra advice you can give me as to how to handle the situation for refunds or anything else i haven't mentioned, I'd greatly appreciate it. Thanks

Well, if you paid with a credit card and still have payments due, you can contact your credit card company and stop payment.. As far as refunds go, was there a note on the door with a number or email for you to send inquiries?

As far as you weight loss goes, I can tell you that when my COD closed in April of 2007, I was not far from goal.. I just kept doing what I was doing and by October of that year, I hit my goal on schedule. The COD is/was very helpful when it comes to accountability, but that's something you can, especially if you have someone at home keeping tabs for you. I'd go and buy a good scale ($40-$60 range) and just keep doing what you're doing!

Thanks for the advice Dan, but no , no emails were given regarding inquiries and so on. Also regarding the plan, how do i know when to drop it to a lower plan, or once my weight loss stops at some point should i just lower the quantity of foods or is there anything else specific i should do?

3mar - what are your stats - height / weight? I've been wanting to find out about which plan my DH would be on...

As far as the plan - I've been talking with a counselor from the LA on the go program - it has been working out ok - at least you would still get info as to when to switch plans and the plan information. I feel that now that I have all the info to lose weight I can always go back to the information if I ever need to - its the knowledge that is key. Good luck! and keep us posted in the losers and friends thread!

Well, it all depends on what your goal is and how close you are.. If you're still losing while doing what you're doing right now, keep it up.. If, in the near future, you start to yo-yo or plateau all together, then you need to start changing a few things up.. That might constitute adding or decreasing certain amounts of proteins or starches, or it could just mean that you're in a rut and need to increase the variety of foods you're ingesting..

My biggest problem was that once I reached my goal, I didn't know how to stop, and kept losing until I was about 10lbs. below my goal.. I started adding more green veggies into my daily intake and added a starch.. That slowed me down enough to ease me into the maintenance phase.

Are there any other stores in your area? I'm in no way familiar with your part of the world, but it might be worth it to call your nearest other location and see what their advice might be for 1. program help and 2. refund information.

The biggest advice I can give is to not over-stress the diet part. I know you feel abandoned (like all of us who have had to deal with COD closings feel/felt), but in the last 6 months, you've gained enough knowledge to do this on your own and if you can resist going back to your old ways, you can still succeed.. Keep posting here and fire away with any questions...

All the stores in my city closed today, yea ur rite i have enough info to continue this on my own which is what i was gonna do anyway. As for my goal im half way there and i still have to lose about 50lbs or so.

To jewljz - Im currently 5'8 and standing at 200lbs. Plan 4.

Thanks for everything guys

I also attend the London centre....or should I say...attendED. When I went in this morning, there we stood...3 people with dumb expressions because the weight lloss world as we knew it just changed. I literally signed up 5 weeks ago and now they're gone. I'm also on plan 4 and not sure when/how much the next plan should look.
No one has answers on how to get a refund, but when I called she said they will figure it out....that was right before she hung up on me. so who knows.
I'm mostly concerned about being able to follow the plan. I live alone and my support system is over an hour away. Makes it really difficult.

Hope we get our $$ back too!!! Otherwise I paid $100/week.....for 5 weeks....not worth it

Hey mikkim, i think i was one of the 3 people standing outside that u mentioned but anyway, i've been on the plan for about 6 months now and what i know from the first month is the same that i know now, which is follow the exact amount of servings given without any more or less. Keep it the simple foods if u can such as chicken, veggies, apples, oranges, those kinds of things. And if time allows, get some exercise in cuz it did wonders for me when my weight loss stopped. Any other questions i'd been happy to answer if i can, but most important thing is to keep you determination and goal in check and remember why ur doing this in the first place, and u should be fine.

3mar...thanks a lot and I meant no disrespect about the "dumb looks" I'm sure you knew what I meant. When I left this morning i cried because I feared I wouldnt be able to continue on the right path without the accountability. Congrats on your weight loss and keep it up!
I'm pretty sure I've got this in the bag....I know I can complete it now without them...just a ****ty way to learn it.

If I hear anything about a refund I'll keep you posted. In the meantime, I called my credit card company to which I made a full payment 6 weeks ago and I have protection when it comes to this kind of thing. She told me to hold off a couple weeks to see if we hear anything from them, but if not Visa will offer a refund.

It may work for you too!..Check it out!

Im at a loss too. My centre is now closed here in Ottawa, and I really don't think I can do it without the accountability.
:s

Oh and we paid for a year, for both DH and myself. We have 6 months left!!!
Thats like 700$

Yea I know its a really awful situation, but I'm not sure if u even can get refunds back as the company is most likely going bankrupt, but yea ur right; the accountability thing was a big factor in the weight loss process , and somehow ur gonna have to change it into some other form , same for me also.

I really feel the pain you guys are going through.. When our centers closed, Liz and I were at a total loss... It's a sick feeling. When a VERY successful program (at least in our case) suddenly goes under you're left with a very empty feeling toward the future... BUT....

Jess, in your case, you and your husband have accountability built in.. You just have to make sure you can be the taskmasters you have to be..

Mar and Mikkim.. Your situations might be different without someone there to hold you accountable in person, but think about this.. Is there really any reason for you to slide back to your old ways knowing what you know now?? Just because your center closed are you now going to start going to the drive-thru for burgers and fries instead of a salad or low fat smoothie?

Heck.. You guys live in the same town.. I know you don't know each other at all, but if you're willing, share phone numbers and twice a week, call each other for your WI amounts and discuss what you can or should be doing to further the process. Obviously you both would have to be comfortable with this idea, but it was just something that jumped into my mind.

In the two years since our COD closed (can't believe it's been that long!!), there have been good days and bad days.. Not having the accountability around the holidays is tough, but by now, even if ours hadn't closed, we wouldn't be going to the COD because our programs would have finished up..

Eventually, you're going to have to realize that you CAN do this alone.. Once you get over the initial shock of the closures, your true mettle will be tested by how quickly you pick yourself up and get back on track, mentally...

Yes, it's going to be hard, but it's not impossible.. We're all here for you too, don't forget!!

Another thought is to ressurrect our weekly WI thread where those of us displaced LAWLers would post our weight once or twice a week.. I think we had it set for Wednesdays, but I can't remember..

Just some food (non-fat/low cal of course) for thought...

See Dan, it seems like we have accountability in each other but in reality we are the WORST influences for each other.

Its going to take some time and adjustments... Thankfully we went and bought a ton of takeoff when everything was 75% off.
I just don't know when to move to a new plan etc...