Frozen Peach, glad the trainer wasn't too hard on you, and that DD is feeling better. Stinks when you don't feel well around the holidays!

Shay, I think I'm going to check out the library website to see if I can "checkout" the program rather than purchasing it....I'd rather use that $$$ for new clothes!

sBrooke, the plan has changed here and there, but they do still basically recommend that you eat all your points. One of the changes has been in determining how many points you should eat....you may not be figuring that correctly. That said, if I'm looking at your numbers correctly you're still showing a loss of 2.8# for the month, which works out to .7# per week. I know it feels slow, but that is within the healthy range of .5-2.0 per week. I did notice that while I lost a lot faster than that for quite a while, once I got down to my last 20 pounds, my weight loss looks very similar to yours. Down one week, up the next, etc., but overall I (and you) have a downward trend. Try cutting your points by 2 per day for a week and see how your weigh in turns out. Also, you may want to take a look at what you're eating...are you eating more sodium within a day or so of your weigh in? That is an important factor for me! Stick to it, you can do this!

Jane, Oooooh, scrapbooking! Sounds fun! I haven't had my supplies out in so long that I'd be embarrassed to say!

I've tried WW several times, and have lost weight every time, so I know it works! However, I'd always quit after I got to a certain point. I decided to try it one last time ( I have the at home kit, and I was about to try to sell it!) and for some reason, it's really clicked this time.

The flex program works for me because I really can eat absolutely anything I want. Last week we ordered Thai food for lunch at work, and I love Thai food. I ordered my usual, only ate a small portion of rice and about a cup of the curry, and felt completely satisfied and stayed within my points for the day. Before I would have eaten all the rice and all the curry and felt miserably full for the rest of the day.

Since I've been known to go off the deep end in the past, I'm trying to take things with my eating and exercise one day at a time. However, I think I'll be able to reach my goal with WW.

Well, I am already glad I joined this site and this forum. Thanks so much for all of your thoughts and encouragement. I definitely had not realized that, on average, I have been losing .7 a week...it's not a lot, but it's better than gaining!! I am going to try to listen to my hunger-if I'm hungry, I'll eat my flex points. If not, then I'll leave them be...same goes for my AP...Also, I MUST drink my water! Those will be my goals for this week as well as making sure I focus on eating healthy points (ie fruits rather than processed food). I have given up on WW in the past and am determined not to this time. I also know I need to remember that these are life changes and will help me not just lose weight, but not gain anymore!! Thanks again. I hope to continue 'talking' to everyone here. I will also continue to go to meetings every week and track everything I eat on line (I have the on-line tools which I like better than writing in the little journal).

Kelly--You shouldn't have to pay for the program. Here is the link:
www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_3/181.shtml

For podcasts or mp3 podcasts:
www.ullreys.com/robert/Podcasts

I've been on and off WW for years, alas. It hurts to admit it, but I just haven't had the discipline to stick to it. I'm almost always semi-on program -- which means conscious of what I should be eating, even when I'm not strictly following the plan. I do flex because of the flexibility, as others have said, and also because I don't believe in fat free foods. I want something I can live with.

A question. What ever happened to the points pie? I don't think I dreamt it, but I can't find it in etools.

I'm just curious - I've paid for a good many of WW's resources, but I'm not actually paying to be IN the program (as in, going to meetings. My schedule is simply too tight, especially since I just added in frequent visits to the gym for water aerobics). So I've got a question that I'm having trouble getting answered.

I have a lot of - a LOT - of daily points to eat. Technically, it allows me to eat MANY things I loved to eat while I wasn't on plan. I've started eating a LOT healthier than I used to, but there are certain times when I'm running to and from errands, the gym, the grocery store, etc. and fast food beckons - I'll need to eat quick, don't have a lot of time to cook, etc. I've started putting protein bars in my purse to take care of that sometimes, but it still happens.

Thing is, I have so many points I can use in one day that I COULD probably eat fast food every single night of the week and not go over my Points total; I rarely EVER use any of my Flex points.

My question is, is there any kind of rule about eating "bad" foods, even if they fit well within your Points range? Sometimes I find myself at the end of the day, before I've eaten dinner, looking at something like 24-26 extra Points for the night. But of course, whenever I get fast food, even if it's within my limit, I'm still thinking, "I KNOW this isn't 'good' for me and I really should be eating vegetables and lean meat instead."

Is there any kind of limit re: the frequency with which one eats fast food or typically 'naughty' foods? Or is it really, absolutely true that if you stay within your Points total, you will lose weight (no matter what you spend your Points on)?

Miss Alex....I don't think there are any rules on bad foods, BUT you need to make sure you are getting in your minimum requirements of dairy, protein, fruits, veggies, healthy oils. I know if I eat regular foods (not diet) then I have pretty much used up my daily points allotment. I of course only get 25 for the day.

As for bad foods...start recording how good you feel when you don't eat them. Pretty soon they don't have so much appeal after all. I think a lot of the fast food has more damaging effects other than just the calories. Then again, it tastes yummy and occasionally it won't hurt.

I learned a lot about food and digestion by reading material on the GI (glycemic index) diet. I highly recommend reading about it. My personal view is that fried foods, high fat foods, sugary foods aren't going to kill you in MODERATION. But, many of us don't know about moderation!

I've lost my taste for fast food, and others do too. Also, one of the problems with counting points and fast food is that you really don't know how a food is cooked locally and how many extra points there might be in what you're eating.

Good luck,
Rhonda

Hi Jane!!!

I do Core with Flex as my check on points. It's the best of both worlds because I have a big tendency to overeat. I've lost 53 lbs. in 26 weeks plus 1 day... I cheated and did a sneak peek on the scale!

Anyways, I kind of tick off the WW Core Boards because I am lousy at following the once a day rules and can't digest brown rice and whole wheat pasta so I'm non-compliant on both accounts. I also eat potatoes some days twice so again, I tick people off and yet tweaking Core, I had been losing. A couple of weeks ago I had a 2 lb. weight gain which incidentally was TOM week. I figured oops! I must have REALLY overeaten so I went Flex and talked with WW Flex people who helped me a lot.

So here I am walking the fence for now. Eating Core foods mostly but breaking their rules yet eating healthy. I'm eating 30 pts. per day and I give myself 5 wpa's as a use it or lose it option. This assures me that I don't concern myself with any overeating and if I want anything like a snack in the evening, I do have the points for that or whathave you lol.

hi NurseChef-I've seen you on the WWCore Boards!
Good luck with Flex/Core combo

I've been on the flex plan since about May 2007. So far I've had pretty good success with it. Flex has really taught me about portion control and how much I should be eating. I find my appetite has decreased and my choices are improving. I like Flex because it doesn't limit any foods!

Just this morning I was reading blog entries. Someone was kicking themselves from somewhere they ate. I ate there 2 weeks ago and I fit in that food within my points. The only difference, I don't feel like I blew everything. That is why I like FLEX. Good/bad foods have no power over me!

Totally. Places like Burger King and Pizza Hut and Taco Bell aren't going to stop existing once you're on a diet, and to basically live like you're never going to take a bite of pizza or a burger again - at least, for me - is as good as an omen of failure. The crazy thing is, I used to think that way! "Hmm, so I'll do THIS [insert fad diet here] and not eat ANY [particular item] until I lose my weight, and then when I'm done, I'll finally be able to have pizza as a reward!" Uh, no?

WW is a lifestyle change that didn't intimidate me. In fact, the only intimidating thing became how many Points I have to eat - sometimes I can't fit them all in in one day, it seems, yet I know I was easily eating TWICE as many Points values when I was scarfing nothing but junk food.

You can't get much better than a diet that requires you to make the choice between bulk (healthy food) and indulgence ("bad" food), making no one food forbidden - it's just going to cost you. With as much of a bargain hunter as I am with my money, I'm the same way with my Points; normally, I want as much bang-for-my-buck as possible when I spend Points on a meal.

Ten pounds later, I've made more progress with Flex than any other 'diet' I've ever tried, I feel healthier and more energetic, and I have NO guilt whatsoever. <3 Flex.

Hi everyone,

Yep, I agree - Flex is so doable, for anyone.

NSV - I sent home food from my party with the guests. Let them worry with it, right? LOL! One of them took the dessert that was left, for her brother. She says he has a sweet treat and a glass of milk every night before bed. Better him than me, I say.

Here in southern Indiana, I'm snowed in, with some big drifts, in the boonies where I live. The snowplow will be by later today, though. It's so windy out that I can't go play in the snow. Boohoo.

Have a good one!

Just back from vacation and trying to get caught up!

Shay, thank you for the links! As soon as I get home I'm going to see about putting the info on my ipod!

Miss Alex, sometimes is does feel as though you have so many points to spend, but use this time when you have lots of points to learn and to adapt to your new lifestyle. Notice I said lifestyle, not diet! As you lose and your points decrease you will naturally gravitate towards the healthier choices as they are lower in points. A splurge now and then (within points, of course) is fine, but part of the process is learning to eat better, so for me the option of being able to eat fast food daily would be self sabotage. I just don't allow myself to do it! Good luck with your choices and your new lifestyle!