Hi,

I agree with everyone here who has encouraged you to stick with WW, whether you choose to do 123 or Winning Points. While I think for some people, the suggestion that you look at some of the older exchange plans may be a good one, I have found that for people with a lot of weight to lose (like me, with a little over 100 pounds to go), the amount of food allowed by those plans was too small. There was no allowance for how much food larger people need to maintain their health and keep their bodies out of starvation mode. I never seemed to have enough energy to exercise and I used to get a cold during the first month after I started one of those older programs, but that didn't happen with either 123 or Winning Points.

I went back to following the 123 Success plan with one exception. I use the Winning Points slider for calculating activity points, but subtract two from that number to take into consideration the two activity points built into the 123 point ranges. It's working well for me. I'm averaging 1 pound each week. It's slow, but steady. And I tend to lost slowly, which is why I started that Turtle thread someone talked about. You're welcome to check it out. It's under the "Other Clubs and Groups" forum.

Good luck!

Lin

Sounds like you've got a Plan ! Good luck Lin !!! Denise

Geez, I don't feel so bad about my weight loss.. I'm one of those who may shed a little here, then, not shed anything for a while.. Now that I've read some took them longer to shed a few pounds, I don't feel so alone.. Even though I ate a weeks worth of sweets today at an office Holloween party, and still came home and at a large potato with bean dip.. Smoochies my WW family... I'm not kicking myself so much now... I'll start back on my way tomorrow...

In addition to the great advice Kelly_S posted, there is one thing that was mentioned, but not really emphasized:

Be religious about portion control. This means weighing or measuring EVERYTHING.

Get out those measuring cups/spoons and use them. Invest in a decent kitchen scale. Find one that weighs in ounces or grams. Then use it! You will probably be in for some surprises.

For example, many people simply pour some cereal into a bowl. Then they look at the box and calculate the points for one serving. Well, unless you measure it, I can guarantee you have poured a lot more that the recommended serving size into the bowl and you are counting the points too low. 1/2 - 3/4c cereal does not fill up much of the bowl.

Another common place to make errors on points is on meat. The ever-popular boneless, skinless chicken breast is a great example. The WW books say a 3oz boneless, skinless chicken breast is 3 points (1 point per ounce uncooked weight). However, when you put the average chicken breast you get from the store on a scale, most of them weigh 4-6 ounces and should be should be 4-6 points.

Good Luck!

I agree with everything everyone has said - especially regarding portion size - the cereal thing is so true. When I found out how little of my favourite sugar snack cereal I got for 3 points I decided it wasn't worth it.

My one comment is that I think the points that gsc4 mentioned for the chicken breasts are wrong. According to my WW points book, the 3 oz. of skinless boneless chicken is for the cooked weight not the uncooked weight and most chicken breasts that start off as 4 or 5 oz. uncooked will end up as 3 cooked. Does anyone else know about this for sure?? I was counting most of my chicken breasts as 3 points and I hope I'm not wrong.

Elisa

In general chicken is 1 point per ounce cooked! Tyson extra lean is 4 ounces cooked for 2 points.

I agree the cooked / uncooked issue is confusing. I have actually weighed a chicken breast before and after cooking and did not find a 2 ounce difference. If the chicken weighed 5 oz before cooking, I consistently find it weights closer to 4 oz after cooking, not closer to 3 oz. So I figure it is safer to over count points than to under count them and use the 1oz uncooked , 1 pt rule for chicken. Maybe I have been counting chicken wrong over the years, but when in doubt I try to over-estimate points!

Or looking at it another way ... Using the 3oz meat/poultry equals a deck of playing cards guideline (that is widely quoted in the media and at WW), there is no way the average cooked chicken breast is the size of a deck of playing cards. The ones I see are usually the size of my fist which is definately bigger than a deck of playing cards.

Hi, Snowball.

I can't add much to the advice that's already been given but I can tell you my story. I lost 113 pounds on WW 123 program so I know how you feel. It took me 18 months to get to goal and although that may seem like a long time, I figure that it took me nearly 50 years to gain all that weight. I was very strict with myself over that 18 months but I also had weeks where I gained weight no matter how carefully I stayed OP.

I carefully measured portions (and I still check portion sizes often), drank my water, wrote down every bite that I ate, and I exercised every day. I also find that I need to attend meetings to keep on track even now. I think that strength training has been very helpful to me although I did actually gain weight when I first started lifting weights! I started with 3 pound weights and worked my way up very slowly. If your health problems limit the exercise that you can do, there are videos available with exercises that you can do sitting in a chair.

I had high blood pressure and my knees ached all the time when I started WW. My blood pressure is now normal and I walk 4 to 5 miles a day without my knees bothering me. The rewards are great if you can stick with the program.

If you feel that the 123 program will work better for you, go for it! It certainly worked for me.

And hang in there and try to be patient.

Rosemary

Deal snowball,

I have just one question for you. Are you eating some fat each day? I am one of those persons who can go pretty much totally fat-free and as soon as I find myself doing that I know I have to stop. I don't lose at all and sometimes gain if I don't get some fat in. I don't know why but every once in awhile I see myself falling back into that mode. As soon as I start adding a pat of butter or two each day, I immediately start to lose again. I am just one of those people who really can do without adding butter or oil, mayo etc.... I really have to make sure I get some in each day. What can it hurt? Give it a try for a couple days.

Brenda

Kelly and others,

Thanks for all the super advice and information. This thread really helped me.

I'm always frustrated on WW 1-2-3 even though I'm convinced it's the best program out there --- because I seem to lose slowly also, however my body does seem to shrink because I'm able to get into smaller clothes. I walk at least five times a week for an hour and plan to soon add 20 minutes of calisthenics a day as well.

Thanks for the reminder to eat enough fat, to be diligent about journaling and to be honest as well and to record every BLT (bite, lick, and taste). Also the warnings about eating processed food as opposed to fresh and to read and track by the food labels. Excellent advice here!

I've been doing WW on my own for about four weeks but planning to go back eventually...not knowing exactly when. This post helped me appreciate that I need to plan to go back this week rather than eventually. And, that I need to get better about knowing and understand the program and applying it.

Snowball, I know you're encouraged. Best to you!

Delia

Just wanted to give you some encouragement from another sloooooow loser. It has taken me since July 2000 (16 months) to lose 52 lbs.... At this rate it will take me another year to lose the last 40. I feel good, I look pretty good, and I know I have developed a lot of great habits over the last 16 months.