I have tried Weightwatchers, on and off, for a few years now. I just can't get in to the program any more. I cancelled my monthly pass tonight, because in the past 3 months, I have only lost 4 pounds. When I would go to the weekly meetings, I didn't feel that I had much to contribute, and I just lost interest!!!

I am kind of down now, because I just can't motivate myself to start over once again. Could you share with me anything that keeps you going and works for you long term??

Thanks!!!
Sue

Most losers will tell you that whatever finally worked for them is not the first thing they tried.
Read, search, ask questions. Maybe WW is the one for you ... maybe it's not.
All you can do is try.

I am a WW dropout too. I hardly lost any weight the month I was with them, I felt deprived, grumpy and generally p*ssed off the whole time. So I quit and started just plain old calorie counting, and have gone to a more whole foods approach. I bought a copy of Eat, Drink and Weigh Less and more or less follow that plan (eat from the Harvard food pyramid - lots of whole grains, healthy fats, veggies, fruit, beans, nuts, fish and on occasion beef. But I stick within my calorie range. I did that I needed a weekly weigh-in in PERSON to help hold me accountable. So I joined TOPS and love it. I find it more of a supportive atmosphere than WW and also cheaper!

So WW doesn't work for you. Keep looking and find something that does!! Good luck!

I joined WW for exactly 10 weeks, two years ago. I joined for the 'wrong' reason: to go because a friend I wanted to know better went there & it was the only way I could attend meetings with her. In other words, I never joined because I wanted to be in WW.

Partly the reason was because any time before that, if I wanted to lose weight--and put my mind to it--I could. So when I started, my mental attitude within myself was all wrong. In the back of my mind were things like: "Huh. I know this stuff already. I know how to eat properly. I hate counting things. Just eat smaller portions, that's all. So the second week I was there, I had gained .2# (2/10ths of a lb). The third week, I had gained another .2#. By the next time, I had gone to another meeting time, one led by a guy named "Ed". At the weigh-in, he jotted down the weight (it had gone up again), he started to say something comforting, then noticed it had been going up all along. I interrupted his discomforture by saying, "Don't worry--I joined just to be with a friend. Is there a 1-800# I could call to maybe get a refund of my remaining weeks? I really don't want to be here."
TO HIS EVERLASTING, UNDERSTANDING CREDIT, he read me correctly (I really did want to be out of there), AND DID NOT TRY TO TALK ME OUT OF IT. Instead, he looked on the little pamphlet, found the number, and showed it to me. BECAUSE HE TOOK ME SERIOUSLY, I backed off, and just went in to the meeting, where I discovered he was a better listener than the other leaders I had seen. I never did call for a refund; I went to the rest of the meetings at his time.

Because I was going & getting my weight read on a consistent basis, I found it puzzling that I was gaining. I mean, even with not exercising much and my "bad attitude", I was still eating better, and should have been losing like I did before. But I wasn't. Hmm. And I was starting to notice I'd been profoundly thirsty the last couple weeks. Not just thirsty, but thirsty.

Oh dear--that's a sign of diabetes! Maybe I better see the doctor and find out what's going on! So I did. The doctor himself called the day after my appointment--which has never happened, before or since--to tell me no, I wasn't diabetic--my thyroid had stopped working! So he called in a prescription for the thyroid hormone my body didn't make anymore, and I was once again able to lose weight.

Now that's my story. If I had not been going to WW, I wouldn't have found that out. I stood up after one meeting and said, "How many of us here have heard the phrase, 'Before starting any weight loss program, see your doctor'?" Everyone (including myself) raised their hand. Then I asked, "And how many of us have actually done this?" Only a couple individuals did (I was not among them!)! Then I told them that if they were doing what they were supposed to (eating right and exercising), and they still weren't losing weight, they should go to the doctor to find out why.

So there was a reason I was there.

Hey Sue,

I'm sorry you're feeling down! I know how depressing it can be to feel like
you're back at square 1.

I've been on and off WW several times myself. This time, I've been back
since mid-March. With the guideline for losing 2 pounds a week, I could
have exceeded my goal of losing 20 pounds, but have lost only 9, and am
munching on candy as I write this.

Everybody blows their diet from time to time, even for a few days in a row.
I've been blowing it since Friday night, and today it's Tuesday. If I don't get
my act together, I'll start gaining back.

So...I don't know if I'm the best person to give advice, but here's what works
for me:

I have a toddler at home, so if I'm going to go out
at night, it's because I want to have fun! I just use my old booklets from years ago to following the program.

That is, I'm trying to personalize WW to fit my needs.

I've found that, when I get bored
with the food choices that I make, I tend to start eating junk. I really rely
on Dannon's All Natural Yogurt (2 oz. is 2 points) and Quaker Rice Cakes to satisfy my sweet-tooth (Butter Toffee, Peanut Butter, and Peanut Butter
chocolate chip rice cakes are great 1 point treats)

For example (I know this sounds
weird) but I'm a fan of the StarTrek Enterprise series. There's a gorgeous
actress on the show named Jolene Blalock. For some reason, she pops into
my head when I'm at the checkout counting eyeing the candy bars, or
at Borders books looking at the Lindt truffles. I think to myself "You can bet
Jolene's not snarfing down the chocolate when she's buying books." Somehow, it reminds me that people who look like her achieve those looks
only through avoiding temptation on a regular basis. (Okay, maybe she's just
blessed with great genes, but it works for me.)

Okay, this is an obvious one. However, let me say this, I work out to the Richard Simmons "Fat Burning Dance Party" DVD. I am the laughing stock of all my friends (sorry Richard). The thing is, I really feel like he cares and, even though he's really corny, I think his work outs are kind of fun. Also, the folks in his video are regular people. At the end of the workout, you find out
who has lost weight, and how much they've lost. One woman actually lost
149 pounds (although I do wonder if it was just from working out).

For example, I think mind set is extremely important when you are trying to
diet, so I'm going to attend a class on weight-loss and hypnosis. I feel like
hypnosis could be another tool to help me lose weight.

Another obvious one. I know I eat more when I get less sleep. I've read
articles that say something chemical goes on in your body when you don't
get enough sleep, and your body gets signals that make you want food. Unfortunatley, I don't always follow through on this (I'm typing this at 2:30
a.m. I better get to bed!)

Anyway, I hope you feel a little encouraged. I'm really rooting for you!


Anne

I'm a calorie counter through and through - I find it ends up being more intuitive than weight watchers after a while, and much simpler! Fitday has saved my life - its a fabulous free program that tracks all your calories for you when you type in the food and gives you lovely little readout charts. For 20 bucks, you can get the deluxe offline version, which I have recently invested in and think is SO worth it - esp. when you consider what other ppl spend on diet programs. So yeah, that's my best advice, give fitday a try and see if that makes more sense to you.

Well...here's what I did. BTW, I went through my "why am I not losing!!" slump two weeks ago. to you, I sure could've used some.

I decided to count calories but then decided I really wanted to start eating healthier as well. Luckily, my sister joined me (we're roomies, so it's better/easier if we're on the same diet plan). We went grocery shopping but made a list before we went. It had fruits, vegetables we liked and whole grain bread (our only carb).

We've been following this plan for the past week and I've already started inching my way back down again. I'm sorta counting calories. I know the calorie contents of most of my junky snack food so I make sure that I'm only eating the serving size and keeping track of that (eating this kind of food is rare, I realized that I can't have the best of both worlds, my chinese buns have to be a rare treat, not an everday). The other stuff I eat...well...I don't count calories. I have carrot sticks that I cut up as a snack, along with strawberries or grape tomatoes. Since those things are natural, I don't feel like I have to count calories with them. Hope that makes sense...

I've done WW before, and it had always worked... as long as I stick to it. Which is a critical point, as I only seem to be able to stick to it for a certain amount of time, then I invariably revert to my old habits and gain back the 10 (or whatever) pounds I've lost. I guess I just can't imagine counting points for the rest of my life, so in the back of my mind, it's a temporary diet, not a permanent lifestyle change.

This time around, I'm doing more or less the Bob Green Best Life Diet. Results are slower, so I'm learning patience! But this IS something I can see myself continuing to stick to indefinitely. Plus, I haven't been bingeing, which is a huge victory, all by itself, even if I never lose another pound.

I too am a WW dropout in the sense that I don't go to meetings anymore, but I've used their "point" system to help me lose 96 pounds. I use it because it's what I got used to instead of calories (and no matter what anyone says, it boils down to the same thing, or better because it takes fat and fiber into consideration for you). I find that counting points is easier for me, and when I'm not sure of the point value of a food I estimate using the "roughly 50 calories = 1 point" idea. This means if I'm eating 24 points, I'm generally eating at least 1200 calories but probably up to 1400 or so with the extras factored in. It's a loose way of counting calories for me, which is what works in my world, and it's absolutely working. It doesn't work for everyone, obviously, but if you stick to counting your points, it WILL work. If you don't like meetings, don't go. I used to like them, but I honestly don't have the time or money for them anymore. I use the knowledge I gained when I used to be a member, and I tailor the program to fit my needs. You can do the same, or if you find that it doesn't work for you, you could try something else or just go to calorie counting if you don't like the points system. Don't feel like a "dropout." If you're not into it, you're just not. But you can still do this.

All I can say is...if it's not working, try something else. I love calorie counting. I'm not perfect at it, but i think i do pretty good. I can eat anything I want to, i just have to put down how many calories are in one serving, then only eat one serving. But the goal is really to make healthier choices about what i want to eat. Calorie counting is great because if it's someone's birthday and I want cake, i can have it, i just have to figure out about how many calories are in a small slice and add it into my fitday....but i try not to do that very often.

There are alot of ways to lose weight, you just have to decide what you can live with for the rest of your life. I believe once i hit goal and learn to maintain, i won't necessarily have to count calories every day because i will have learned by then how much food my body needs to maintain that weight and what foods i like and how much of a serving i can have and so forth. Just find something that works for you. It may take trial and error to find a program that works for you. Talk to lots of people who have lost weight and see what you can incorporate into your life.

And keep posting here. I know i couldn't have ever lost any weight if i didn't have these wonderful people here to educate me and motivate me every single day!!!

I just love reading all your posts. It is good to know that I am not alone in my weightloss struggles. I really enjoy all the info. that you have shared, with me. I need to just pick something and just follow through with it. Any diet I have ever been on has been successful, as long as I was willing to stick with it.

I am really trying to do a whole lifestyle change.

Thanks again for your encouragement and advice.

Sue