In a nut shell, I did LA weight loss last year and in 4 months of being good I only lost 12-14 lbs. I took a diuretic and lost 6-8 more lbs. They could not give me any answers or help so I quit and got my money back. But the weight fluctuated and now I'm back to where I started. I'm needing to get back to losing but I'm REALLY discourage.

I had everything tested to make sure I wasn't ill......all system/levels/etc are fine, I'm just one cookie shy of being obese on the BMI scale.

I work out 3-4 times a week doing cycling classes and weight resistance either before or after the cycle class. I average burning about 1200-1300 calories on those days. I have not lost much in the month that I have been doing this. I'm thinking of joining either Nutrisystem or Weight Watchers but leaning more towards Nutrisystem because of the ease and portioned meals so I don't have to think.

I'm also wondering about if/when you do lose the weight, what do you just stop NS and hope you have learned how to eat? I don't know how it works.

Can anyone help me get started in the right direction?

Welcome!
I understand your frustration-- we've all been there.
I've done both Nutrisystem and Weight Watchers. I'm sure many people are successful on Nutrisystem, but WW has worked much better for me. Nutrisystem's foods weren't too great-- some were pretty good, some were terrible. You have to add your own fruits, vegs, and milk in as well. I lost a small amount of weight (maybe 10 pounds or less in several months) which I promptly gained back when I stopped.

In my opinion, to lose the weight and keep it off, you have to change your lifestyle for life. WW allows me to do that. I started last June and reached my goal in January. Once you reach maintenance, you are free so I am able to go to meetings for inspiration and motivation and get weighed in to make sure I don't backslide. I have changed the way I eat, cook, and look at food. I cook delicious healthy meals and have been successful at losing weight and keeping it off for the first time in my life. I am a true believer in WW. If you work the program, the program works!

Good luck in whatever program you decide to go with. I am new to this site and have loved it so far. There are so many inspirational stories out there!

And I am a calorie counter I have done WW and NutriSystem and for for me calorie counting works best . It is less restrictive and can be used to keep the weight off, too. And it is free.

I think it's great that you're exercising regularly! You've got part of the equation down. But, as you noticed, exercise alone does not usually take weight off. Now it's time to work on the food side.

I'm a WWer. What I appreciate about WW (& Calorie Counting!), is that nothing is truly off limits. It means that we must be accountable for what we eat, though, and the portion sizes. It's a little more work, a little more planning, but both plans are great in that you will learn something about food, and you will hopefully be able to make better choices for the rest of your life in all kinds of social occasions, etc.

For me, it would not be healthy to "not think" about what I'm eating. I spent my entire life not thinking about what I was eating. I was forced to look at what I was eating when I began WW.

If you want to try something for a little while without using a lot of money, I'd suggest Calorie Counting.

I chose WW because of the group. I knew I needed in-person help & support. I don't mind spending the $40 a month, because quite honestly I ordered out and went to restaurants spending more than that on a bunch of crap to eat.

Whatever healthy route you choose, we'll all support you

I agree with the others here. I don't recommend any plan where you don't have to "think" about what you are eating. Honestly, not thinking about it, is the reason that many of us are here.

I recommend that you look at plans that you can live with for life. Weight Watchers, calorie counting, South Beach...these plans are good not only for weight loss, but as lifestyle changes. There are others of course, these are just examples.

The problem with some diet plans, are that they are "diets". If you lose weight, and then go back to your old habits when you are done...then the weight is going to come back. You have to do the same thing to KEEP off the weight, as you do to lose it. In the maintainers area, all of these women are still exercising, and following their plans. This is how you keep it off. The only difference is, they can eat a LITTLE bit more than they were when they were losing.

First, welcome! I am just going to throw my 2 cents in and say that maybe you aren't eating enough calories and that may be why you aren't losing weight. To burn 1300 calories in one day of exercising is a lot, and since you are a little taller, you may need to start pretty high with your calorie intake and work your way down. WW would probably be a good plan for you because they give you a basic calorie range that you have to stay in (based on a point system), and as you lose weight, you lower your calories. If your body doesn't get enough calories, and you exercise like a fiend, your body might panic and try to hold onto your fat out of fear. Bodies are weird like that. You also might be gaining muscle, which weighs more than fat. Did you notice a change in your body? Maybe try measuring yourself with a tape measure instead of using the scale. You might have been getting fitter- but the scale didn't show it. Just don't get discouraged!!!! You can do this!!! All of us are here to help you!

Hi there IBJC ~ and welcome to the boards!

I understand the frustration, I'm starting over again - I did WW years ago and was successful, but then was stupid and went back to my old ways and gained it all back. I tried NutriSystem and honestly, I hated the food. It was convenient, but I found myself choosing the same 3 or 4 things over & over and that's a fast track to eating boredom. I thought the food was just horrible, which is really the only component to NutriSystem.

The thing I most like about WW is that nothing is off-limits, you just have to "give up" other things to have that one thing you really want - and you have to learn portion control. In addition, WW teaches getting off your butt and exercising! Also, meeting with a group of people face-to-face each week who're in the same situation as you is motivation. WW has me practicing more of the "right" things than NutriSystem did.

Anywho - try not to get discouraged. You can totally do it - you just have to find YOUR way of doing it. GOOD LUCK!!!

I have done all the plans and they never worked for me. One big problem IMHO, was that for me, the exercise calories allegedly burned were never accurate. If I thought I burned 1200 cals.. likely was 600 or so. So I would say drastically underestimate your exercise calories.

Also, when you eat someone elses plan... you have NO idea what you are eating. I am not saying that the calories are wrong but they might be slightly wrong. Enough that you might not lose if you have an unusually low BMR or count even slightly wrong.

IMHO any dieter has to get in touch with his or her own body and find out what his or her body is telling them. Via trial and error find out what your body's actual BMR is. Jenny Craig can't know, and doesn't really care. They get money from enough people that do see results. Once you find what calorie count will allow you to lose -- you have the key.

I vote for Paul Mckenna's show "I can make you thin". It's on TLC. You can find the schedule on their website. Best part----it's free!!!
He also has a free website. I purchased his book and cd before he became "popular" in the US. It's hard to find it right now, but he's supposed to have it available soon.

I have a friend who's been doing Nutrisystem for 2 years!! Just to lose 20 lbs. Talk about expensive. She has also done WW in the past (more than once) and Jenny Craig. Worst part- she's skinny anyway!! She says she registers as underweight on the BMI calculators. CRAZY! She's taking Alli now and still eating Nutrisystem food.

Best wishes

I just went through the same thing you're going through. I was either going to join WW or do Nutrisystem. What I ended up doing was researching nearly every diet/group out there and found Medifast. Now, I know that that's not right for everybody. The allure for me was that I don't have to plan every single meal and snack of every day. (I am NOT a planner.) I don't even really have to supplement the diet with a lot of other food... just my Lean & Green meal. Another thing was that Medifast seems to have a really good transition and maintenance program, so I can learn to keep the weight off, as opposed to Nutrisystem which just kind of leaves you hanging after you stop using their food.

The reason I didn't go with WW is that there seems to be a lot of planning and counting, which from my previous experiences I am not good at. And even though nothing is off limits...you still have to count it. They do have a good support system though, which is good for most people.

What ever diet or program you choose to do, at least you've made up your mind to do something! And I think that's half the battle right there.

I have a friend who is about your size. She went to WW, lost 50lbs and has kept more than 40lbs off for almost 3 years. She still goes for weigh ins.

I would have done WW, but I live too far away from the mtgs, and I have a dial-up, so can't use the on-line version. I do have their cook book which I think is very good.

I think I understand what you are saying about not wanting to "think". I hope I get to the point of having good eating habits and not have to think about food all the time.

Hi everyone!

I count calories. I use FitDay so it's relatively easy. I do use the custom foods option a lot because I like to see the nutritional information for myself rather than what might be in a database (could be an error).

I just started (again) and am doing 1200 calories per day. So far so good!

Best to all!

Karen